We’ve Given Our Old IKEA Malm Drawers A Makeover…

Read This Simple IKEA Hack For Kids Rooms, Using The IKEA Malm Drawers And Paint

Hands up who has something from the IKEA Malm range, and who has the IKEA Malm drawers? They’re a pretty ubiquitous and sturdy piece of furniture, aren’t they? Here’s what we did to upcyle ours.

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We’ve had our IKEA Malm chest of drawers for forever, and wanted to make them look a bit more pretty by mixing things up a little with an IKEA hack using paint.

Our IKEA Malm Drawers: A Little Upcycle

Our IKEA set of Malm drawers were a quick purchase from a speedy trip round IKEA when we first moved in together, to an unfurnished rented flat (it was a new build in south London and we were the first people to have lived there! The dream).

Fast forward 15 (!) years and the IKEA chest of drawers are still going strong. While aesthetically they’re not at all what I would pick now, they’re still a practical chest of drawers that hold a lot of clothes.

But as they’re a little boring for a tween’s room, we wanted to make them look prettier. Here’s what we did to upcycle the drawers.

This is actually the third of fourth attempt at upcycling these drawers. Previous makeovers have included washi tape stripes and the inevitable layer of kid’s stickers that get stuck everywhere when they’re little.

IKEA Malm Drawers Hack: What We Used

• Our old IKEA chest of drawers. We have the Malm four drawer chest, which is 80cm x 100cm, in the oak-stained veneer (other colours are available).
• For paint we used Rust Oleum Furniture paint we had from previous projects, in Belgrave and Dusky Pink. The good thing about this paint it that it doesn’t need any prep or priming.
• Duct tape to mask off the area (I know people say good things about Frog Tape too).
• Mini roller and tray, similar to this.

How We Painted Our IKEA Malm Dresser

• First we prepared the drawers by removing old washi tape and stickers.
• Next, we added the duct tape in a diagonal stripe. We only wanted to paint the front of the drawers, so this would leave a negative stripe to contrast the paint.

• Added two coats of each colour of the paint.
• Waited for it to dry!
• Removed the tape.

IKEA Malm Drawers Hack: Verdict

We love our new-look IKEA painted Malm drawers! It’s such a simple IKEA hack but it looks great.

It was also handy to use paint we had around the house, as well as give a new lease of life to old furniture instead of buying new. I’m not always sure about painting furniture, especially if it’s vintage. But it’s given these old IKEA drawers a new lease of life. 

Read Our Interiors Posts For Family Homes:

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• Tidying up with IKEA Flisat and an IKEA spice rack hack for kids rooms 
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