How to Make IKEA Storage Look Like It’s a Hundred Years Old

I have had these pine IKEA drawers for a long time.  They were never my favourite, but they provide convenient storage so I have always hesitated to get rid of them.  At some point I gave the boring drawers a coat of cream coloured latex.  Still never liked them though.  Last week I finally had enough of them and decided to give them a makeover.

My intent was to stain the drawers a dark colour to mimic a nice rich wood and then paint them with Milk Paint.  I imagined the Milk Paint being really chippy so it showed the dark stain underneath.

For the makeover, I began by giving the latex a [easyazon_link identifier=”B00002N6FE” locale=”US” tag=”recredesig20-20″]light sand[/easyazon_link].  I wasn’t sure how well the stain would adhere to the latex so wanted to give it a little tooth.  To give the wood the rich colour I wanted, I brushed on a layer of [easyazon_link identifier=”B001DT59P8″ locale=”US” tag=”recredesig20-20″]General Finishes Gel Stain in Nutmeg[/easyazon_link].

I used a [easyazon_link identifier=”B01M3V09DZ” locale=”US” tag=”recredesig20-20″]chip brush[/easyazon_link] to apply the stain.  The bristles on a chip brush are thin and loose and helped to give the stain a streaky, old and worn look.    A quick wipe with a [easyazon_link identifier=”B00NO7BWJE” locale=”US” tag=”recredesig20-20″]shop towel[/easyazon_link] got off the excess easily.  The stain adhered to the painted pine beautifully.At this point, my plan was to paint the drawers.  I was just going to use the stain to give the appearance of dark wood under the chippy milk paint.

As it dried though, I was loving the look of the stain.  Letting the stain pool up a bit in the corners just added to the charm and made it look like it had been there for years.

I couldn’t believe how different the stain made the boring little drawers look.   The more I stared at them, the more I loved the aged look they had now.  The drawers were actually dovetailed so I turned them backwards to make it visible.  Once they were turned, some vintage hardware completed the old, antique look.Oh man I love that old hardware ♥  Having a collection of it to use on projects like this makes me so happy!I would not have guess when I started that I would end up with storage that I looove so much.  They look 100 years old now and have such a gorgeous vintage feel.   I am so glad I gave these little IKEA drawers one more chance!

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