Take Your IKEA MALM From Builder-Grade To Custom-Made With TikTok's Simple DIY
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IKEA is a DIYer's dream store. The basic yet quality furniture lends itself to being customized to best fit their particular interior style. The IKEA MALM dresser fits those qualifications to a tee. The simple, six-drawer dresser has flat drawer faces and a sleek design that's ideal for both minimalist interiors and a good DIY project. The MALM dresser was the base for a simple but impactful DIY. @kristinapeer on TikTok, upgraded the dresser in her home office with gold peel-and-stick paper. She wraps the peel-and-stick paper around the bars that stop the drawers to give a subtle pop to the piece of furniture.
The six-drawer MALM dresser costs $299.99 and comes in four colors: black, gray, white, and oak veneer. @kristinapeer used the white version for her DIY. A metallic contact paper from Amazon retails for $8.99 for a sheet that is 17.71 inches by 78.7 inches, which is more than enough for this simple DIY. You'll also need scissors to cut the sheet of contact paper down to size. The project is simple and will most likely only take a few minutes. Cut strips of paper wider than the bars behind the drawers, remove the backing, and adhere the paper slowly, smoothing it out as you go. A nearly instant upgrade to a standard furniture piece.
Transforming a MALM
In a TikTok video, @kristinapeer showed this simple method of transforming the MALM dresser from IKEA. This is also one of the easiest and mess-free methods of updating the dresser. Many people like to flip IKEA furniture by using paint. You can get a similar look with paint; however, it's a more involved project. Before painting IKEA furniture, it's the best practice to sand the laminate so the paint sticks. Similarly, you can spray paint the furniture for a quicker painting process, but you should sand before spraying. However, be cautious about using paint for this project as it can chip over time from the drawers hitting it when closing. Using a sealant as a clear finish can help prevent chips in the paint.
Contact paper doesn't chip as easily as paint might from repeated contact with the drawers. But there is another advantage to using the peel-and-stick paper method over paint. With a variety of peel-and-stick contact paper and wallpapers available, you have nearly limitless options for this type of DIY. You can recreate this look and give the MALM dresser a pop of print by using floral, stripes, or abstract shapes instead of a solid color. This allows you to easily customize the MALM to fit your exact taste, color scheme, or interior design.