Painting and Hacking the Ikea Brimnes Day Bed
15:03Hello, lovelies,
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| What happens when a mommy is in serious nesting mode. |
It has been a bit, I am exactly a month away from baby "W" making his way into the world... and I have been going through a bit of SERIOUS nesting. I don't mean just organizing my house, but finally getting around to full-on D.I.Y. projects!
With the baby coming, we had to start thinking about creative ways to house my family when they come to visit, as my Mama always stays a month to help out with the new addition and also to spend time with them! My husband and I thought about various options from sectional sofas that turn into beds to just buying a mattress and putting on pallets temporarily for us, as I won't be able to climb stairs right away after a C-section. But all seemed to fall flat, as we wanted whatever piece of furniture we purchased to eventually go in the Games Room that we have been slowly building for the past year.
While perusing IKEA, we found the perfect solution the IKEA BRIMNES DAYBED. It was a useful solution for us as we liked that it functionally could work as a couch or a queen size bed when pulled out for guests, the extra storage for board games or toys for the kids acted as bonus points.
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| Ikea Brimnes Daybed |
After getting it in the house, I was then faced with the thought... that I didn't want something just plain white down in the Games Room... I wanted to add some personality to the piece and since we had saved a lot from what we thought we would be spending on the bed... I thought I would do a fun D.I.Y. project!
So off to Home Depot my husband and I went.
First off, everyone should be aware that IKEA laminate products are NOT paint friendly. You can't just buy any laminate furniture and slap paint straight on it... there is a little bit of a process that I have learned through working in Set Decoration.
Here is a small list of what you are going to need. (Click Products to See what I Used.)
- 100-250 Grit Sand Sponges
- Zinsser BIN Shellac Based Primer (1 Quart)
- Behr Interior/Exterior Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel Paint (1 Quart)
- Min Wax 24444 Clear Sealer
- Drop Cloths or Tarps (You'll Probably Need 2 for This Project)
- Two Small Rollers (One for Primer and One for Paint)
- 1 Angled Paint Brush (For Inner Corners)
- Leather Strips for Handles (I Used an Old Leather Belt)
Again Ikea furniture is hard to paint, so the Shellac Base Primer is VERY important to use beforehand, the last time I tried to paint laminate furniture and miss that step... the paint just bubbled right off.
The first step is sand all the pieces that you are going to be painting, you don't need to sand it very heavily, just enough for the primer to find some grip and stay on the piece. Think of it more as "Dulling" the coating on top of the laminate.
After sanding all the pieces you want to paint, the Primer comes into play. Coat all pieces in the Primer and note that it only takes 30-45 minutes for the primer to dry!
After my primed pieces dried, I then went over it with my Behr Paint in the color Emergency Zone. This is the longest part of the process... I found that I could apply the second coat within 4 hours on pieces that I only had to paint one side of BUT when you are painting double-sided pieces... you want to wait 6-8 hours from after you've applied your second coat on one side BEFORE the first coat on the other side. So double-sided pieces in total took me 20 hours in total to be COMPLETELY cured. Of course, using different paints can change that drying time... and I might change the paint type I use next time I attempt to repaint Ikea furniture.
I know a lot of D.I.Y.er's like to use Chalk Paint when refinishing IKEA furniture, but I wanted to try something else.
After all your pieces are done you can choose to seal it or not with a protective sealant. If you choose not to, it's up to you whether you want to protect it from chipping too much in the future. I guess it depends on how much is going on in the room your piece will be living in. If you have animals or children... I HIGHLY suggest the sealer.
Next came assembly.
I knew that I definitely did NOT want to use the included handles that came in the box... it was just too boring, so after some digging around on the internet. I discovered the idea for leather handles!
As I didn't feel like going out again to purchase leather strips, I took a look around my house and found an old belt that I had not used since I was probably a teenager.
I measured out the handles to be a little bit longer than the regular handles, cut them out, used a pick to create holes and whalaaaaa a piece ready to be screwed into the ready-made holes on the drawers!
Needless to say after a job like that, I was well exhausted and now my joints in my legs hurt like I've done a thousand squats... so maybe no suggested for women so far along in pregnancy, but if you are easily bored like me... just go for it. Just be safe and careful!
It was the weekend for D.I.Y.'s that's for sure! My husband was my champion for helping me off the floor or holding pieces for me when I needed to paint edges... so I pulled him away from his deck painting project... but he as well is SUPER thrilled with the results!
Much Love!
Hadessah
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