How to Transform a Boring IKEA Cabinet into a Stylish Commodity with DIY

We got this idea from designer Liza Tilsen's website. The girl came up with a way to turn an IKEA IVAR cabinet into a vibrant and stylish commode. We're going to tell you the details.

What You'll Need:

• 2 IKEA IVAR cabinets;
• 4 wooden furniture handles;
• 8 furniture legs;
• 8 nuts and leg fasteners;
• paints;
• printed pictures (e.g., flowers);
• decoupage glue;
• decoupage wax;
• brushes (for paint, glue and wax);
• a piece of lint-free fabric.

Assembling the Cabinets

Assemble the cabinets, but do not hang the doors yet — we will paint them separately. For now, paint the cabinet surfaces white.

Painting the Doors

Before painting, apply a strip of masking tape to the inside of the doors — about one centimeter from the edge. This way, when painting, you can slightly go over the back side and avoid leaving unpainted areas.

If desired, you can also paint the doors on the back side.

Painting Handles and Legs

As with the cabinets, you can choose any colors. Just let the paint dry before continuing the work.

Decorating the Doors

Use the decoupage technique — you can print any images on A3 sheets and cut out the desired elements with scissors.

Before working with glue, place the painted doors on a flat surface and arrange the pictures (in our case, flowers) on them. When you find the perfect composition, take a photo of it with your phone — so you don't forget anything during the work.

Don't remove the flowers yet — leave them in place and work with each one individually. Before removing each flower, lightly trace it with a pencil.

Then apply special decoupage glue (the author used Annie Decoupage Glue & Varnish) to the back of the pictures and place them on the surface. Smooth the picture from the center to the edges to remove air bubbles.

Then apply special wax (the author used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint) in large strokes to the entire door surface to remove shine.

If you still want to bring back the shine to the pictures, you can polish them with lint-free fabric.

Attaching Handles and Legs

Drill holes and attach the legs and handles to the cabinet surface. Done!