I love good, clean-lined etageres for displaying just a few pretty things. They’re not the most functional pieces of furniture (I wouldn’t want to overload these with piles of books), but they are perfect for picture frames, a few horizontal stacks of pretty design books, little boxes and baubles that tell your story and that you want to display, but never know where to put out.
House and Home (Tommy Smythe’s apartment)
Lonny
Atlanta Homes
If you’re lucky, you can find vintage etageres in thrift stores or on craigslist. Sometimes eBay comes through. But buying new will set you back at the very least $1200 and up into the thousands. That’s when I was surprised to see in this pretty room by Ana Antunes (via VT Interiors) that these pretty brass-looking etageres were actually IKEA shelves painted gold!
Each of these Vittsjo units was only $70, which is a steal!
While I sort of like the original black version, I’m sure the finish is less nice in person. And I’m really loving the brassy tone Ana painted the frame. You could try gold leafing for a really natural, mottled look, but Rustoleum’s Metallic spray paint in brass would work really well too (and would save you about 10 hours of labor).
And can you even handle those chairs? So pretty! Wishing they shipped to the states. :)
Such a great IKEA hack- i never would have guessed! Keeping this in mind for sure.
-Katie
Athomewhenimwithyou.blogspot.com
I too love etageres! Thanks for sharing this creative solution to getting the look while also saving.
I love these! I am using them in a playroom install next week. Replacing the glass with wood and painting a lemony color. Such a great deal!
Wow! What a fantastic hack! I am so doing this in my office!! Thanks for the link.
Amy
soo pretty! I'm not usually a fan of gold finishes, but this looks great!
WOWZA! I am amazed and must have.
WOWZA! I am amazed and must have.
I LOVE them – fantastic find
I've had a love affair with gold spray paint recently, AND need an open shelving unit for purse storage. I think this just might be it :) I'll send you a pic if I gold leaf it :)
I wonder if it wood work with silver spray paint? Anyone found a convincing silver paint?
Great post; thanks! Gonna try it! Beth
Love it! I'm going to get the smaller size for my half bath this weekend. I've been searching craigslist and finding nothing. I think my hall bath will need to be silver or nickel, but I'll switch it to the fab brass when we move. Perfect! Thanks
This is so great! I've been wanting a brass etagere for our master bedroom, and this is such a smart solution.
So great! Great idea too with the clip-on mini lights.
Beautiful! I've been loving those shelves from Ikea but I wasn't in love with the black – I really like the idea of painting them gold!
Brilliant! Truly Brilliant. That room is amazing! Love everything. Especially those awesome chairs!
This is fantastic! It looks SO good. And I love all the neutrals and pinks in that room – so pretty.
http://www.ambsgoodlife.blogspot.com
This is a fantastic idea, but do you think all the tones in the room then need to be gold or would it be acceptable to mix it up?
Fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing Jenny. I have just started planning my office so this would be great for the space.
Loving your blog, I read it daily. Inspiring.
Lisa xox
Amazing hack!
I passed on a bamboo etagere at a thrift store about 6 months ago ($75) as I didn't have a place for it at that time. Now I do. Ugh! Still upset about that one that got away.
This is a little embarrassing…I just posted this today too. Sorry I didn't read your post first or I would have held off. Definitely a favorite hack though :)
I am IN LOVE!!! I have needed something in my bathroom to fit a very narrow wall to place towels and display things on. This may be a perfect solution. It isn't a too large space, so with the glass shelves and the lightened gold color this could be the bright airy solution that I need!!!
Thanks for sharing.
XOXO,
Whitney
Thank you so much for writing this post! I was on craigslist today and saw the EXACT Etagere that you featured from Lonny. I picked that baby up for $75 and can't wait to fill it up with mags, books and beautiful ditties. Although, now I'm thinking I should have done this great Ikea hack for more bang for my buck! Love your blog!
Wow!! Ikea makes all things possible. I have a vintage brass etagere that was my Mom's – this is such good inspiration to re-style my shelves!
This is a FABULOUS hack! Thank you for sharing it!
I just saw these on the ikea website, its such a nice new line of furniture! Painting them in different colors will look bombshell in any room! Nice post!
That is so good! And I agree the black finish looks alright as is. I may just have to keep this shelf in mind for my own home. :)
Great idea! Glass always scares me with little ones roaming around, but it's definitely pretty!
I have been searching for affordable gold shelves for a couple of years with no luck. So excited to see this and I can't wait to make some myself!
This is genius in about 1 million ways. I saw a brass etagere a while back and put it on my blog as inspiration. It was over $1000. I felt almost guilty posting it because I would never be able to buy it at that price! Thanks so much for this idea! I just moved in to a new apartment and need new shelving anyway!
P.S. Sorry for the late comment! I saw this a link to this post on another blog today!
Hi. I have 3 of the single IKEA etagere cases and I want to paint them too. I didn’t see what type of paint you used. I will need to hand paint mine. What do you suggest in the type of paint that will cover well and adhere to the metal? Thank you!!!! Beautiful work!