Young House Love

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How To Customize Ikea Furniture Legs With Paint

That’s right, Karl‘s legs are pale no more. After some thought we decided to give all 12 of our sectional’s cheap looking birch legs a coat of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint to deepen them and give them a subtle sheen and dimension that brown paint just wouldn’t offer. It was pretty easy except it necessitated a bit of Karl disassembly. Poor guy.

Karl Legs Wrecked Liv

But once we got all of those legs off it was as simple as sanding each of them with low grit paper by hand (I used 60 grit stuff I had around).

Karl Legs Sanding

Although the legs looked pale and stain-less, they actually had some sort of clear finish on them (here’s one before sanding):

Karl Legs Unsanded

So in order to get the best adhesion for long-term durability, we wanted to make sure to create the most gritty (and grippy) wood surface that we could. Hence the quick sanding step (here’s the same leg after sanding):

Karl Leg Sanded

It’s subtle in the pics, but hopefully you can see how the sandpaper stripped off that shine and left the wood looking raw and ready for paint (which always sticks a lot better to non-glossy surfaces).

And before I sprayed them, I also removed the little furry floor-protecting pads on the bottom since I didn’t want them to get all gunked up with paint. They peeled off pretty easily and still had enough sticky stuff left to go back on nice and securely afterwards.

Karl Legs Foot Pads

So after each leg was un-padded it was time for their little makeover. Here’s what I went with: Rustoelum Universal Metallic spray paint in “oil-rubbed bronze” with a trigger spray nozzle (here’s an affiliate link to it on Amazon for anyone looking for it). It’s pretty fumey stuff so I laid out some cardboard and did all the spraying outside while wearing a mask that I’m sure freaked out all of the neighborhood squirrels.

Karl Legs Rustoleum

Here are all of Karl’s legs after being doused with coat one of their new “spray tan” (I actually applied three thin coats for super even and non-drippy coverage):

Karl Legs Sprayed

Oh and for those of you looking for a few quick spray painting tips, here ya go:

  • Skip the cheap $2 stuff in favor of the $7+ quality stuff (I like Rustoleum’s trigger spray nozzle because it goes on thin and even and doesn’t get all over your fingers).
  • Always keep the can moving. If you’re a-sprayin’ your arm better be a-swayin’.
  • Keep the nozzle about 8-10″ away from whatever you’re spray painting.
  • You really want a mist, not a heavy wet coating.
  • Three thin and even coats are better than one thick and drippy one.
  • Spray paint has yet to go no-VOC, so apply it outside with a mask, and let it fully cure as long as the can recommends outside whenever you can (usually 24 hours, we try to double that just to be even safer).
  • You can “seal” any spray paint (to limit any off-gassing at all once you bring it inside) by applying two thin coats of Safecoat Acrylacq, which is low-VOC and non-toxic.

So once I applied my three supa thin coats of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint, I just let them “cure” outside for 48 hours (12 of them were spent in the sun and the next 36 were spent in the carport because I worried it might rain) while our living room looked like this:

Karl Legs Liv Room During

Yup, for two days that was the look. It was actually kind of fun to sit on our super low sofa. And Clara had a ball climbing on and off of it like she never could when it was up on legs. It was almost a shame to put them back on. Except for the fact that our living room looked crazy and getting off of such a low sofa while holding a 20 pound baby girl wasn’t exactly enjoyable.

Thanks to two days of outdoor drying time, by the time I brought in our newly bronzed legs they were nice and hard. Almost coin-like thanks to the oil-rubbed bronze paint that created a sleek finish. It’s hard to depict that in photos, but it has a nice metal-like sheen when you see it from different angles. And when the light hits it, it sort of bounces off and reflects like glass. Thankfully they didn’t smell all nasty and spray-paint-y after 48 hours of drying time outside (even when I stuck my nose right up against them like a weirdo). If they had I definitely would have applied two thin coats of Safecoat Acrylacq as I mentioned in the last bullet above though.

Legs Sprayed

Then all that was left to do was to stick those furry floor-protecting pads back onto the bottom of each leg and cheer John on as he screwed them back into place (he’s the allen wrench ninja of our house). Bam, Karl was back to his old self. Only slightly more handsome and dapper. And can I just say that it felt inordinately awesome to have the living room put back together again?

Legs Detail On1

See how the side of this leg seems to glimmer in the pic above? That’s the difference between choosing a metallic oil-rubbed spray paint and a deep brown paint or stain. That smidge of glitz just does it for me. But of course stain or paint could have totally worked too, it just depends what tickles your fancy.

Actually from certain angles and in lower lighting situations (like at night) it reads a bit more like a rich chocolate wood stain, which we definitely don’t mind.

Legs Detail 2

So just for kicks, let’s flash back to Karl’s legs when they were all pale and birch-y:

New Rug Whole Room

And here’s the man of the house now. The difference isn’t heart-stoppingly amazing or anything, but as far as details go, it’s definitely a bit less “look at my squat little birch legs” than the original look. Most of all, look how happy Beansie is about the change. Just kidding, she’s just psyched to be on her favorite rug ever with a few toys. Oh to be a baby again.

Legs Full

And it’ll probably feel even more cohesive in there when we add oil-rubbed bronze curtain rods to the window and sliders (along with all the other stuff we’re craving, like a big console table behind Karl and a larger entertainment unit to add balance). But for now we’re just loving how our giant $1,248 sectional looks even more like the too-rich-for-our-blood $4,496 version from Room & Board that we fell in love with a while back:

Sectional Room And Board

Yay for a little sectional elevating sandpaper & spray paint adventure. If only my blindingly pale leg problem was that easy to solve…

Psst- Check out the weirdest baby toy that we’ve ever seen (p.s. Clara adores it) right here on BabyCenter.

Comments

  7. Melody says

    Karl definitely has a more commanding presence with those oil-rubbed bronze legs. I never would have thought to use that metallic spray paint, but it works!

    Reply

  10. Katherine says

    Ooo, love the change! Amazing how the little things can make a big difference.

    And thanks for the spray painting tips–once the weather warms up here in Ohio, I’ll be doing a whole (rather ancient) dining room set. Meep!

    Reply

  11. Rose says

    That looks great! I have that same spray paint and I’ve used it to spruce up a handful of things around the house that were too dull or too shiny or too bronze or too white. It’s a great product.

    Reply

  13. Abercrombie Wife says

    It makes all the difference. It makes Karl look so much more handsome than he was before. he looks more expensive. Love the change!

    Reply

  15. Katie says

    Love this — it really does make Karl look a lot more sophisticated. And such an easy fix! Will definitely keep this in mind for the future. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  17. Nicole says

    Ok, its time for summer. When I read the first paragraph, My mind erased the word ‘paint’ and all I saw was “oil-rubbed bronze spray” and I excitedly scrolled down thinking there was some new trick using Banana Boat bronzer or something along those lines.

    Anyhoo. The new dark painted legs look great.

    Reply

  18. liz @ btb says

    Ha, I just bought tat same exact spray pant for my curtain rods. I took them out to the front yard to give them a quick coat and as soon as I walked away they fell into the grass… smh.

    Your new ‘tanned’ legs make a subtle but noticable difference!

    Reply

  25. Jen says

    Such a huge improvement! Before I thought Karl looked like a college frat house couch…now I think he might look great in our basement game room once we get some drywall up.

    Reply

  28. Kim says

    Oh wow, it makes a huge difference!!! Love it! I’m also glad to hear that someone has used an “oil rubbed bronze” spray paint and was happy with the finished product. My hubby and I are going to reno our kitchen and I purchased a gold-tone chandalier from Craigslist ($10) that I plan to spray paint with “oil rubbed bronze”. Fingers crossed that it turns out as nice as yours did.

    Reply

    • Sara says

      Good luck, Kim.

      We just used this same spray paint on our kitchen cabinetry hardware and were really pleased with the results. We bought the house in November, and just didn’t have the budget to replace 44 brass pulls at this time. So we decided to spray them for the interim. I gotta tell you, they look so good, we may never replace them with the real deal!

      We are also planning on using the paint on our brass chandelier in the dining room… again, slated to be a temporary solution, but maybe we’ll be just as pleased!

      Hope you like it as well as we did!

    • Alicia M says

      Kim, I think you will be pleasantly surprised! We just took the light fixture in our kitchen and our canister lids from bright shiny chrome to hammered oil rubbed bronze with spray paint and it looks AWESOME! Like a whole new set! I wish I had only thought ahead and taken before/after pics. :(
      Best wishes!!!

  30. sophie says

    I guess I’m the odd one out. I miss the light legs and find this way too monochromatic. But then, my heart is scandinavian and I love light wood.

    Reply

  31. Heather says

    Looks great! I wish I had looked for this spray paint…I took the long way around and mixed black paint with metallic copper craft paint to get that look on a chest of drawers.

    Are you planning on doing the legs of the new Parsons too?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re actually planning to keep those legs as-is since they tie into the color of the table so well. But with fresh green covers or upholstery they’ll hopefully look nice and updated.

      xo,
      s

  32. Allison says

    I’m jealous of your vibrant green grass! -Coming from Minnesota where we still have snow on the ground :(

    Reply

    • Courtney says

      Haha! I’m with you – I was mainly drawn to the green grass in the background! :) Here in Calgary, Alberta it was snowing LAST NIGHT! Ugh. So ready for spring.

      Karl looks great! I sent my husband pictures from your blog to further convince him that we should get a Karl of our own for the basement. Much easier to get down the stairs than a giant sofa.

  34. Rachel H. says

    Nice legs, indeed! Karl looks hot. And, wow, that baby toy is really freaky! But as long as Clara likes it, that’s all that matters!

    Reply

  35. Katie says

    What a great idea! I was just wondering what to do with some floor registers and an old, out dated, stair railing… A little clean up and nice spray paint could do wonders. I really like the safecoat idea, too. I can’t wait to try it out!

    Reply

  36. Erin says

    I actually do think it makes quite a difference! It takes it from the first apartment/dorm room look to worthy of taking center stage in the beautiful second house look! It ties into shaggy green even better now! Looks great!

    Reply

  37. Witty Wife says

    I love it. You two are totally brilliant when it comes to DIY!

    I am so envious, and I feel like I can do some of these things, because you’re ‘normal’ people!

    If you two every wrote a book (hint, hint), I would immediately snatch it up. I’d love having lots of your tips right at my fingertips!

    Reply

  38. DanielleR says

    Ha! My 6 year old nephew plays with that creepy toy like it’s going out of style lol. Skin-a-mar-in-ki-dinky-dink! Skin-a-mar-ring-ki-doo! Iiii … love … you! <— That's what his sings!

    Reply

  39. Hannah says

    WOW! What a difference a little spray paint makes! I use the oil rubbed bronze paint all the time and it holds up really well (even on parts that are used daily) and looks amazing. Great choice!

    Reply

  40. skye says

    as always you take something so simple and make it look amazing! i would have never thought to do that – adding this to my list of things to remember to do one day when i have a living room big enough for a couch. great job guys! :)

    Reply

  41. Barb says

    Once again….IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE THAT GET US BY!” Looks great and that much richer.
    Bravo to Karl.

    B.

    Reply

  44. Stephanie Phillips says

    It definitely makes a difference! All in the details, baby…

    And THANK YOU for using the word inordinately. I get made fun of for saying it (on FB, no less) so I can defend myself in that the smarty-pants over at YHL use big words, too!

    Reply

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