The best painted IKEA Ivar cabinets for the neutral home

The IKEA Ivar cabinet is one of the most popular pieces not just because you get great value for money but also because the potential to hack the IKEA Ivar cabinet is endless. This cabinet has a simple, minimal design and can be transformed in so many ways. I’ve shared some of my favourite IKEA Ivar hacks before but I wanted to share some beautiful Ivar cabinets that have simply been painted. Yes you can go for more complicated hacks like making fluted doors or adding custom legs but sometimes a simple paint job is all you need.

Each of these painted IKEA Ivar cabinets look so high end due to the beautiful colours they’ve been painted in. The colours are all muted but they really make the Ivar look so much more expensive than it is. And the best part is that the IKEA Ivar cabinets come ready to paint — no sanding or priming needed so it’s a quick, budget-friendly and easy update.

Whether for a kids room or a living space, you can’t go wrong with a painted IKEA Ivar cabinet. If you’re planning to get one of these cabinets, these colours will inspire you. I’ve included suggestions of similar paint colours in case you’re tempted.

the best painted IKEA Ivar cabinets

Tone on tone furniture and walls work really well to create a cohesive space. You can match the exact colour like they’ve done in the first pic above where the Ivar has been painted in the same shade of beige as the walls. Or you can do some colour blocking like in the second pic. That pale yellow shade is so lovely for a kids room — it’s a muted yellow so it’s not over the top but instead is very soothing. Or finally, you can go for a bit of contrast where you paint the furniture a darker or lighter shade of the same colour, like in the last pic where the IKEA Ivar has been painted in a darker beige than the wall.

Here are similar paint colours (contains affiliate links): beige | pale yellow | dark beige

As you can see, the IKEA Ivar cabinet looks great painted in dark tones too. All the colours here are muted yet rich, perfect for all of us neutral lovers. That rusty brown colour at the top is beautiful for any room and will go with any neutral colour schemes. Also how stunning does the Ivar look in a dark wood stain in the middle pic? This dark stain totally transforms the Ivar cabinet and makes it look like a much more expensive piece. The last pic is also a reddish-brown, similar to the top pic but here they’ve used a different kind of paint as the grain isn’t visible. Whereas in the top cabinets, the grain is very visible. Also the last is a slightly lighter shade of rusty brown and has more red undertones. Both these colours look great and really bring the Ivar cabinets to life.

Here are similar paint colours (contains affiliate links): rust | dark stain | reddish-brown

From dark colours to paler shades, the IKEA Ivar works so well. Here we have some beautiful soft, neutral shades like the palest grey, a nude-blush tone and a greige. These are three examples but I’ve seen the Ivar painted in darker shades or grey, in white and even black and it all works. So it really comes down to what colour you like and whether you prefer a dark look or a paler look, and also what works with the rest of your decor of course.

Here are similar paint colours (contains affiliate links): pale grey | nude-blush | greige