What do you think of unfinished/unpainted furniture? I’ve pretty much always hated it. But when we were faced with furnishing the condo in Florida on a tight budget, I found myself buying several pieces from Ikea’s Tarva line. Namely, a pair of twin Tarva bed frames and Tarva chests to put beside each.
In my defense, my plan was (and still is) to do the condo in glossy whites and light woods. (White + wood inspiration photos here and white + wood shopping guide here.) So far so good. I’ve been able to stick to the white and wood scheme in terms of furnishings.
I had planned on having a contractor put in a plywood floor (plywood wall and floor inspiration here), but after several false starts, a neighbor referred me to Steve Gee at Tiffany’s Flooring, who (re)sold me on a cork floor instead. The new cork floor is amazing. Sneak peek coming Tuesday. Today, I’m trying to decide what to do in the boys’ room. So, back to the unfinished wood beds and chests. The bed frames are staying as is, that is, unfinished.
I am playing around with the idea of painting part of the little chests that are beside each bed as night stands. I don’t want to paint the drawer fronts—that seems really dated (or too DIY “see what you can do with a coat of paint”). But what about painting the top and sides? Or just the legs (or are we done with dipped)?
I realize this scheme looks a bit too plucked right from the Ikea catalog, but I’ll remedy that. I have promised them a rug, but that’s a whole other post.
B O Y S B E D R O O M i n F L O R I D A
Ikea furniture, cork flooring, and Etsy artwork in the boys’ room.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE CHESTS?
Leave both chests unfinished?
Paint one white, leave the other?
Paint the tops of the chests white?
Paint the tops & sides white?
Dip the legs in white paint ?
Inspiration rooms with unfinished elements.
Dutch houseboat on Airbnb
Children’s furniture by Bedzrus
Top and sides white, but whatever you decide, SEAL THE WOOD. Having lived with IKEA unfinished furniture, I can tell you it eventually gets a lot darker.
Heidi, leaning on painting top and sides. Thanks for the sealing advice. Is there stuff that’s not too shiny?
Oh, Christopher has the answer for me. Thank you very much!!
Marni- We love wood, and I think that the knotty, exposed look can work very well in the right room. As a builder, I think you have to be careful what you seal the wood with. If you do not seal it, you eventually get these rubbed in marks from oil and abrasions on certain parts of the furniture. If you seal it with a basic oil-born poly, then it goes a bit golden. We find that a good option is a water-born poly. They are eco friendly, and they keep that “naked” look of pine, ash, maple and other pale woods. You can even get a flat option. Your blog is great! -Christopher at Noble Goods
I love that Ikea hack. What about painting the top and sides a very very pale blue, almost a white tinged with blue?