DIY help please

[Tiddlywinx]

posting for traffic, sorry

Any pro DIYers here?

doing up my spare room into spare room cum office on a modest budget, trying to work with what we got. Got a desk from IKEA oak effect and black (micke or something) to match a bunch of malm furniture. Cue heartbreak when hubby assembled it and it doesn’t match exactly so looks off. The malm is apparently white stained oak veneer rather than plain oak.

anyone know if or how you could tinge plain oak veneer to look a bit lighter? Is it even possible?

There are lots of YouTube videos about how to lighten wood veneer. You will need to sand the finish off first but you have to be careful because veneer is very thin and you can easily sand through it if you are too aggressive. Then you can apply a wood bleach according to the instructions and refinish it. Make sure it is veneer and not laminate before you start.

There is also the option of sanding off the finish and refinishing with a varnish which has a white dye in it. I tried this once but the amount of dye recommended by the company was way too much so mix the varnish and dye cautiously using less dye that the manufacturer says you will need.