IKEA Hemnes paint: New look for your Hemnes chest of drawers, Hemnes shoe cupboard & co.

With the Hemnes series, Ikea has launched a furniture collection made of solid wood. This basis makes the furniture stable and extraordinarily durable. Do you also want to customise your Hemnes and give it a unique look with a little DIY? You are not alone! Of course, the easiest way to do such an IKEA hack is with paint and a brush.

Table of contents

1. Painting IKEA Hemnes: A new look for your chest of drawers, shoe cupboard & co.
2. Painting the Hemnes chest of drawers: The preparation
3. Painting the IKEA Hemnes: How it works
4. Paint, chalk paint or varnish - the right choice for every look
5. Helpful accessories for painting & designing by MissPompadour

Inspiration: This is what your IKEA furniture could look like

It's the simplicity of Ikea furniture that makes it so popular - it fits into pretty much any interior. If you want to paint your Hemnes chest of drawers, you're guaranteed to find what you're looking for in our community pictures!
Whether you want to paint with chalk paint or our bio-based varnishesn, just get inspired. Get inspired by the many DIY painting results and creative ideas of our customers: from plain monochrome to stylishly decorated with stencils and furniture stickers - there's something for everyone.

Painting the Hemnes chest of drawers: The preparation

First think about which colour shade you want your shelf or chest of drawers to shine in. If you want to set an accent, then paint to complement your wall paint. If you want to paint your piece of furniture in the background, you can use the same colour shade for the wall and chest of drawers.
Now it's time for the brush. Unlike most Ikea furniture, which is veneered with plastic, the solid wood in the Hemnes range is stained or glazed. For your project, this means a different preparation than you are used to with your other Ikea furniture, but you don't have to despair! You can find out what you should bear in mind in these instructions.

The furniture series is available stained white or black-brown, as well as glazed grey. IKEA has the surfaces stained or glazed to make the wood structures visible. While glazing only works on the surface of the wood, staining penetrates deep into the wood structure. Nevertheless, the surface structure remains visible with both methods.
However, unlike furniture with lacquered and plastic veneered surfaces, stain and varnish require a primer.
If you are planning to paint your black Hemnes chest of drawers white, we recommend our To Bond & Block - MissPompadour Primerin advance . This stainblock ensures that neither the stain nor the varnish will leak out and leave unsightly traces in the white varnish. If you want to paint another piece of furniture with a wooden surface, just take a look at our blog article on " Painting wooden furniture". There we also explain how you can easily paint with chalk paint.
Just paint your own Ikea range: Malm, Billy, Kallax and other furniture in the same colour or in a similar style will make your rooms look more impressive.

Painting IKEA Hemnes: how it works

Clean, sand or can I simply varnish Hemnes furniture?

Every piece of furniture must be thoroughly cleaned before painting, as sanding dust, dirt particles and grease prevent the paint from adhering . Use the MissPompadour Cleaner to do this .
You do not need to sand varnished and stained furniture as long as its surface is intact.
However, be sure to prime the furniture - the water contained in the varnish can dissolve the stain. If this leaks into the varnish, it will become stained.
Even with a varnish, you cannot be sure whether pigments will come off. Also treat the substrate with our To Bond & Block primer. This means you can easily paint a black-stained Hemnes chest of drawers white without sanding first.

How To Paint IKEA Hemnes Furniture

With this how-to you can turn your Hemnes chest of drawers into a truly unique piece. Whether you're a beginner or a pro: just paint!

Step 1: Preparation

Firstly, remove all drawers and carefully clean your workpiece on all surfaces to be painted. Use the To Clean cleaner from MissPompadour to remove all dirt and grease residues effortlessly. Even if your piece of furniture is completely new, it still needs to be cleaned and degreased thoroughly. Because residues can also be found on new furniture.
Don't forget to wipe the surfaces with clean water afterwards.

Step 2: Priming

Now prime all surfaces with an opaque coat of To Bond & Block from MissPompadour. This will help your varnish to adhere particularly well to the surface of the Hemnes piece of furniture, even without sanding. You also ensure that neither stain nor varnish can penetrate your colour. Allow the primer to dry for at least 8 hours or overnight. Always make sure to use clean tools when priming.

Step 3: Varnish

Now paint all surfaces in the colour of your choice. Leave the paint to dry for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Then apply a second coat. Normally, no sanding is necessary between coats.
If you want to apply patterns with stencils or finish with wax, allow the second coat to dry well before continuing.

Step 4: Drying

Now comes the hardest step: let your furniture dry! Note that this can take between 6 and 14 hours, depending on the thickness of the layer. However, the varnish will only be properly hardened after about 14 days.

Which varnish? The right choice for your look

With the choice of varnish quality, you can give your Hemnes chest of drawers a completely different look. If you paint your chest of drawers or shoe cabinet with MissPompadour Matt Varnish, the surfaces will have a powdery, elegant finish. You can also treat the matt varnish with antique wax or metallic wax afterwards. This allows you to effortlessly create a nostalgic shabby style. You can find out how this works in detail in our shabby chic painting guide.

You can also paint with the varnish variant Eggshell Varnish. This varnish creates a subtle, elegant sheen. It gives your furniture a fresh and modern look and makes the colour shine. If you would prefer to make the solid chest of drawers or shelf disappear, simply use the same colour shade for the wall paint as for the piece of furniture. This can be particularly useful in a children's room to make a small room appear larger.
For a nostalgic style, simply paint your shelf with the powdery, matt chalk paint. Treat it with wax to give it an antique look.

Chalk varnishes are also a wonderful way to transform your chest of drawers. Choose your desired colour from the CosyColours collection or from the LittlePomp chalk varnishes and you're ready to go! If your piece of furniture is subject to heavy use, we recommend sealing the paint to finish it off.

Helpful tools for painting & designing from MissPompadour

Paint your furniture within your rooms without hesitation, as the wood paints from MissPompadour do not release any toxic substances. Lay a plastic drop cloth around the furniture to protect your floor. However, our varnishes are so low-splash that this is more of a safety measure.
The practical brush tray makes your work much easier. The brush is placed upright in it and is therefore always easy to reach.
And last but not least, the most important thing: you need a really good brush. Take a look at the absolute super brushes in our shop.
With the fine MissPompadour brush, you can work precisely and without brush marks. This brush guarantees a perfect painting result and is a "brush for life" in the truest sense of the word.