IKEA Two-Tone Dresser Hack
With baby number two on the way, we decided to move my son out of the nursery and into his new toddler room — formerly the guest room/office. While I was excited to take on a new design project, I knew we needed to be mindful of the budget because, let’s face it, kids are expensive. I decided to go with IKEA for most of the big pieces, knowing our son will outgrow them in a few years. Plus, I’ve realized toddlers have a destructive streak. (At least mine does.)
The Basics
For the dresser, we selected the Tarva 6-drawer chest. While this is one of the least expensive 6-drawer dressers you can get, it’s constructed of solid pine wood — perfect for painting or staining. In my case, we decided to paint the drawer fronts only, leaving the natural finish exposed on the top and sides. I chose Sherwin Williams Antiquarian Brown to match the wallpaper, but you could substitute this with any other color that works for your room. We used a small roller, rather than a paintbrush, which provided a smoother finish application. You can actually see the wood grain texture underneath the paint.
IKEA Tarva 6-Drawer Chest
Designing for Kids
Since durability was important to us, we went with Sherwin Williams’ Duration acrylic latex paint. Trust me. Having already scrubbed crayon marks off the drawer fronts, I know it holds up. You may also consider a clear matte sealer on the top and sides to provide additional protection on the exposed wood surfaces. We skipped this step for now but may come back to it later. Another important note — if you have a small child, be sure to secure the dresser to the wall using the hardware provided. Because kids literally get into everything.
My son “helping” to assemble the dresser.
Almost Done
Finally, we swapped out the standard drawer pulls with vegetable-dyed leather ones for a special touch. Super easy. With just a few coats of paint and some new drawer pulls, we created a unique piece that complements the rest of the room perfectly.
Materials Needed
1 quart of paint - Antiquarian Brown, Duration Matte Finish
12 leather drawer pulls - Etsy Vegetable Tanned Leather Pulls, Color E
1 can of matte clear sealer or wax (optional)
Painting supplies