Successfully Painting Laminate Furniture

When I started planning Luke's nursery, I knew from the beginning that I really wanted to use the Ikea Expedit shelf that we have for the changing table. The problem was that after quite a few moves, the white shelf had some scuffs and scratches on it, so I began trying to figure out how to paint it. During my googling and pinteresting, I came across this tutorial by LiveLoveDIY and basically used the same technique! I decided I wanted to paint the inside of the shelves a different color than the outside, and suggest that if you do the same you use the lighter color on the inside like I did to avoid the piece looking too dark!

What I used:

Zinnser 123 Primer
Behr Sample Paints in Acorn Spice (brownish orange) and Grass Cloth (green)- I used 3 containers of the Acorn Spice and four of the Grass Cloth
Miniwax Clear Polycrylic Protective Finish
Paint Rollers
Painter's tape

The Process

1)I started by wiping down the shelves with a wet cloth so that they were free of dust and debris, and then put two coats of the Zinnser primer on the entire surface. I had started off using paint brushes but quickly realized that it was much quicker and easier to control how evenly I spread the primer by using a paint roller.

2) After waiting for the primer to dry, I painted the inside of the shelves with the Grass Cloth, While I was waiting for the first coat to dry, I went ahead and painted the outside with the first layer of Acorn Spice.

3) After finishing painting 3-4 coats of Grass Cloth on the inside and letting it dry overnight, I placed painters tape around the edges of each cubby to ensure that I would stay within the lines when I painted the edges of the shelves in the Acorn Spice. Then, I finished my coats of the Acorn Spice!

4) I let the paint dry overnight again (mostly because I was working on this between going to work and doing other things) and then I painted 2 coats of the Miniwax Polycrylic finish over the top to seal it!

Once I let the shelf dry and air out for a while, I bribed Brendan and one of his friends to put it up in Luke's Nursery and was able the check another thing off of my To-Do list! I even used the extra Grass Cloth paint to paint these pine frames that I found at Michael's and hung above the shelf in Luke's room. (To see the rest of his nursery, go here!)

All in all, this was a very easy DIY project. I loved that there was no sanding involved and that it was relatively inexpensive- probably less than $40 total for all the supplies! I would totally do this again if I have any other furniture later that needs a little facelift!