I already shared our finished office nook on Instagram and today I’m going to give you the behind-the-scenes look at how we took basic (laminate) Ikea cabinets and made them a bit more special. Moody and modern? Trendy? Or just fun. However you want to look at it.

There are some great tutorials already out there for painting Ikea cabinets, many of which I read before having the confidence to try this, but most of them tell you that using a paint sprayer is the best way to do this. Or using an additive to your paint to thin it out so it dries slower and settles smoother.

Now, that may be.

But being that we had a paint sprayer in the past and sold it because we didn’t like it or use it, and that I can never remember to order that paint additive and thus, never have it on hand when we need it…well, I needed a way to paint Ikea cabinets WITHOUT using a paint sprayer or a special paint thinner.

(Or without going broke buying cans of spray paint I suppose. Basically, we’re going to brush/roll it, friends. And it’s going to work! Really!)

We’ve had VERY mixed luck in painting furniture around here and Wyatt hates doing it only to have it chip off or always feel tacky even after proper drying time, so I had pretty much sworn it off for a few years. Painting a shiny, laminate Ikea cabinet was NOT something I ever expected to do. But it was Wyatt who finally convinced me to try it.

The tables truly turned, ha. And since it is mostly his workspace, well, I figured why not?

Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Lighting sand the cabinets using P120 grit sandpaper
2. Wipe all the dust off.
3. Use a foam roller to apply shellac-based primer. Allow to dry based on product recommendations.
4. Sand VERY LIGHTLY using P220 sand paper. Seriously, very lightly. If you do it too much, you’ll peel the primer off.
5. Use foam roller (and brush where needed)  to apply your paint.
6. Let dry fully and VERY LIGHTLY sand using P220 sand paper. Again, LIGHTLY!
7. Apply your second coat of paint using light, smooth strokes with the roller.
8. Let dry FULLY again and use P220 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the surface one more time. You can be a bit more firm now but don’t go crazy.
9. Wipe away all dust.
10. Apply last coat of your paint using foam roller and brush.
11. Let dry fully.

Now, keep in mind, this is NEVER going to be totally scratch/scuff proof. It just isn’t. (To be fair, neither are the original Ikea laminate cabinets-ha!) But, we’ve had ours painted and installed in a room we use daily for about 3 months now and there are no scratches on it, so I feel confident in telling you this is worth it, even if it does eventually get scuffed.

Also, you can see there is SOME texture to the paint but I was literally shining a light on this to show those roller marks. It’s really not noticeable in every day use. For us, it was worth worth not investing in a paint sprayer to get a slightly better texture. (Honestly, you’ll probably still see some texture even with a sprayer.)

We used this primer and I’ll admit, even though it was pricey, I had my doubts. Apparently there are two kinds of Zinsser Shellac primer, one says synthetic on the front and is low VOC. That’s the one we used.

If I was the one who had gone to the store, I likely would have gotten this other one. But, Wyatt was being environmentally responsible and wanted to protect my lungs I suppose. Gotta love a gentleman.

I honestly don’t know the difference as we just decided to go for the one he brought home and I didn’t compare ingredients very closely. But I included both cans above so you can see them.

And as it turned out, the finish was still pretty durable in the end, though it didn’t seem like it was going to be at first.

For paint, we used Behr Premium Plus Paint & Primer in One in Dark Everglade, which is almost an exact match with our guest room bed (it’s a hybrid guest room/office).

After the first coat, the primer didn’t seem all the stuck to the cabinets. I could peel it off with just my fingernail when I tried it on a hidden corner section. Same after the first coat of paint on top of that. That’s why you need to be sanding VERY lightly at this point. Like, barely touching it. You’re basically just inspecting for and smoothing any ridges.

But, after the second coat of paint (so third coat overall including the primer), it finally felt hard. I could no longer make a mark when lightly scratching it with my fingernail.

After the last coat of paint was dry, it still felt really strong when touching or scratching the surface, and I even accidentally dropped the metal roller on the door and it didn’t leave a mark, so I’m pretty confident this will last a decent amount of time for us.

All in all, would I do this painting project again, absolutely!

I’m really glad Wyatt had the idea because it transformed these basic white cabinets into something a lot more special.

To recap the supplies list, because I know that’s likely the bulk of what you want to know if you’re reading this post, right?

This is the primer we used.

This is the roller frame we used.

(Extra foam rollers here.)

This is the brush I used.

If you’d prefer to watch this process or just recap the steps, you can check out the video below! What do you think? Will you be brave enough to try this?