Oh, the power of paint! I have had my Ikea Besta TV stand for many years – you may have seen my original Ikea Besta hack post, where I opted for a jewel-tone blue base with bronze accents. Fast forward four years — my design style has changed and I was ready for a fresh new look. Since we are moving soon, I didn’t want to replace this tv stand with a new one altogether, since I don’t know what type of piece I will need for our new space size-wise.
Instead, I grabbed some paint, new hardware, legs and voila — same piece of furniture but a very different look. While the piece still has a regency vibe, the muted colors fit the overall aesthetic of our living space better than the previous glam look. I was also very excited to get a new rug that didn’t need to match with the bold blue color from the last version.
How to get the look
I achieved this look by using chalk paint. I am obsessed with chalk paint because of how low maintenance it is — it does not require any prep or sanding. Just simply clean the unit really well with a cloth and soapy water. Once it’s dry, start painting! I used a foam roller but you can certainly use a paint brush if you like a more earthy look with visible brush strokes. I chose a dark charcoal chalk paint as the base and then went with a lighter grey for the decal accent (I had Annie Sloan chalk paint on hand for this part, which is spectacular quality, but it is a little pricier and not necessary – I found rust-oleum to be a solid budget-friendly choice).
The decal is from Ikea Overlays – the website has a ton of amazing ‘overlays’ that you add on top of Ikea pieces to transform them. I had the original ones from when I initially did the Ikea hack, but I was able to peel them off, paint them and reapply no problem. The 6″ modern tapered legs were and lucite knobs were really the game changers and elevated this into a sophisticated piece that you could not guess originated from Ikea.
Ikea Besta TV Stand Makeover Materials
- Ikea Besta Storage Combination with Doors // Ikea
- Harper Thick O’verlays Kit // O’verlays
- Rust-Oleum Ultra Matte Chalk Paint in Charcoal // Amazon
- Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey // Purple Painted Lady
- Lucite Brass Knobs // Etsy
- 6″ Tapered Furniture Legs // Etsy
- Gorilla Glue // Home Depot
- Foam Paint Roller // Amazon
- Paintbrush // Amazon
Steps
- Put the base of your Ikea unit together, but keep the doors off and take the shelving out
- Paint the whole unit with the charcoal chalk paint (base, shelves and doors) and also the tapered legs. I did two coats on all.
- Paint O’verlays decal
- Once paint is dry, apply O’verlays, see steps below*
- Screw in the tapered legs, add the doors and shelves to the unit
- Drill a hole in the center of each door for the hardware and insert the knobs
*Steps for Applying O’verlays:
- Lay the O’verlays down and wipe with a cloth to make sure they are clean
- Either paint the overlays with chalk paint or spray the overlays with a matte spray paint and let dry. (I used spray paint the first time around and it is much easier than paint for this step)
- Once the overlays have dried, prep the backside with Gorilla Glue.
- Align and place the glue-exposed side down onto the TV unit doors.
And there you have it, the final look of my Ikea Besta TV stand makeover! I am so happy with the result and it was truly easy to execute. Even if I don’t end up using this as a TV stand forever, I can see this living as a piece in my home somewhere for a while (maybe as a buffet or entry way piece). I hope you enjoyed this DIY!
xo, d
