Painting Your IKEA KALLAX: DIY-Tips and Inspiration for a Beautiful Ambience

5 min reading time

Who doesn't know the indestructible, functional and inexpensive shelves from IKEA that offer so much welcome storage space? Unfortunately, there is only a limited selection of colours and so you may also be missing a little individuality. So if you want to turn an ordinary piece of furniture into something really special, then you should grab a brush and paint and simply paint your KALLAX shelving unit

Would you like to paint your KALLAX?

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Table of content

1. Turning old into new: repainting KALLAX shelves
2. Video: Painting a Kallax shelf
3. Before and After photos from our community
4. Painting an IKEA KALLAX shelf: how it works
5. DIY Scandi look or shabby style - paints and varnishes for your new KALLAX shelf
6. Little helpers: Buy tools from MissPompadour

Turning old into new: repainting KALLAX shelves

You're probably asking: Can KALLAX shelves be painted? Does the paint stick to a smooth plastic surface? Yes, you can easily paint all IKEA furniture with plastic veneer without sanding!

Painting furniture with plastic surfaces is a popular IKEA hack. At MissPompadour, you'll not only find the right paint and the perfect painting tools - you'll also find ideas and inspiration here. And the exact instructions you need to pimpyour EXPEDIT or KALLAX .

Inspiration: How to use and showcase your new KALLAX shelving unit

As the KALLAX shelf is open and has no back panel, you can not only place it against the wall, but also use it as a room divider. If you want to paint it, consider not only painting the outer walls, but also the inner walls. It can look nice to contrast the colour of the front edges.

Another option is to paint the IKEA shelf exactly the same colour as the wall paint. This makes it look restrained and discreet. This is particularly recommended for smaller rooms. If you have matching pieces of wooden furniture, why not paint them in a matching colour too? In our article on painting wooden furniture, we show you how easy it is!

With new legs and matching doors, which you can also paint in a matching colour, your KALLAX can easily be transformed into an individual chest of drawers.

Why the re-use? Why you should paint your KALLAX and not buy a new shelf or chest of drawers

One thing you have to give IKEA shelves credit for: they are stable and virtually indestructible. And why throw away something that can last for many years to come?

By giving your KALLAX or EXPEDIT a new coat of paint with our colours, you get the look of new furniture. Your KALLAX will probably look like no other in the world. And the environment will be happy about it. Why not give your other IKEA furniture a new, completely individualised look? We'll show you how to easily paint your MALM chest of drawers.

Video: Painting Kallax shelves

Watch our video to see exactly how it's done.

Before and After photos: Kallax transformations from our community

Let our painting community inspire you! Our customers have already embellished many Kallax shelves.

LittlePomp Apricot & Cheerful

Before After

Suitable for children

- This black all-world shelf has become a highlight for the children's room.

MissPompadour Green with Forest

Before After

In love with detail

- Our customer was fed up with her IKEA furniture and designed a completely new, elegant look.

MissPompadour Grey with Green

Colourful

- The white elements give this shelf a special chic look.

MissPompadour Pink with Grey

Before After

Chic

- A design piece in pink has been created here.

MissPompadour Green with Sage

Organised

- This Kallax is well organised but not at all boring!

MissPompadour White with Melting

Before After

Remodelling -

With Rollerrs and new doors, our customer has created an individual favourite!

Painting an IKEA KALLAX shelf: how it works

With precise instructions, you can achieve a perfect result even if you're a "painting novice". If you really don't know what to do, simply contact our friendly and competent customer service team, who are available almost around the clock.

Degrease, sand or simply paint?

Cleaning and degreasing IKEA furniture before painting is absolutely essential. The colour must be able to adhere well. The best way to do this is to use our mild MissPompadour To Cleaner. Even if your KALLAX is completely new, you need to clean it thoroughly. Because even new furniture has residues of grease or silicone. Rinse well with clean water and allow the furniture to dry thoroughly before painting.

KALLAX chests of drawers have a smooth, non-porous plastic surface. You should not sandthem . If you want a secure hold for your paint, we recommend our primer MissPompadour To Bond & Block. This primer creates a perfect base for your colour. It is important to use separate, really clean rollers and brushes for primer and varnish.

Tips for painting the plastic surface of the shelf

The smooth plastic surfaces of IKEA shelves are easy to paint. Leave the primerto dry for approx. 3 hours, preferably overnight. Now start painting your EXPEDIT or KALLAX. Regardless of which varnish quality you choose, always paintat least twice. For the smooth surfaces of the KALLAX, we recommend working with a varnish roller.

Tip: If you are using your shelving unit as a shoe rack, for example, or if it is subject to heavy use in any other way, we recommend applying an additional coat of MissPompadour To Seal, at least on the shelves. This will make your coating even more impact- and scratch-resistant and longer-lasting!

DIY Scandi look or shabby style - paints and varnishes for your new KALLAX shelf

The choice of colour should match the rest of the room. Light colour shades that go well with the Scandinavian furnishing style underline the character of KALLAX. Or choose an intense colour to give your KALLAX shelving unit a new look. With the right decoration, it becomes a real eye-catcher. With its strictly geometric shape, the KALLAX is less suitable for the shabby style. But with a soft pastel colour, it will also find its place in a vintage interior. By the way, it's no problem to paint a black KALLAX white, as the varnishes from MissPompadour provide fantastic coverage.

Which colour you use to paint your KALLAX depends on your personal taste, of course. We recommend lacquer colour in any case. Choose between our slightly glossy MissPompadour Eggshell Varnish or our matt MissPompadour Matt Varnish. Both are available in many great colour shades. If you're having trouble deciding which colour to paint your KALLAX in, our colour cards are sure to help.

If you want to grab your shelf with chalk paints, you will find a large selection of soft, rich chalk varnishes with a chalky, velvety finish in the CosyColours Collection and the LittlePomp Collection.

You can also paint your KALLAX with chalk paint. However, please note that wall paints do not achieve the same durability on furniture as varnishes.

Little helpers: buy tools from MissPompadour

Every handyman and DIY enthusiast knows that you can't get the job done without good tools. You also need the right tools to paint your IKEA furniture. Start by covering the floor under your workpiece well. MissPompadour has a particularly environmentally friendly film for this, which is even compostable. If you like to work with a varnish roller, we also recommend our compostable paint tray. Our environmentally friendly varnish rollers make working on larger surfaces much easier. If you prefer to use a brush to paint your IKEA shelf, we recommend our fine MissPompadour brush. With its soft bristles, you can achieve completely smooth surfaces without brush marks. How practical, order your painting tools at the same time and save yourself a trip to the DIY store!