changing the look of ikea hemnes

[lasareena]

Hi decor experts!

We have hemnes shelving and cabinets in our living room. They're black-brown and too dark, but we're stuck with them for at least a couple of years.

I was wondering about changing the look by putting printed self-adhesive vinyl / contact on the outer panels, and possibly also on the inner back boards. This might mitigate the darkness. Also, it's a fairly plain, boring room right now and I love patterned accents.

Possibly something from here: rainbowzoon

Opinions please?

[IreneR]

Hemnes are all wood, aren't they? Can you paint the panels? I wouldn't ever use contact paper for ... well, anything, actually, although the link you posted does contain some great patterns.

I like this website, where a woman blogs about the changes she's made to Ikea furniture: www.thecharmingnest.com/2012/09/turning-ikea-into-custom-built-ins-part.html

[lasareena]

Yes, they're wood. I hadn't thought of painting them, that's a good idea. I'll take a look at the link. Thanks!

[burnishedsilver]

Definitely consider paint rather than contact paper.

Google hemnes ikea hackers for ideas on whats possible.