DIY Pottery Barn-Inspired Faux Wood Finish on My IKEA Hemnes Bedroom Set

This started as a TikTok — my first attempt at the Pottery Barn-inspired faux wood finish — and it ended up being my most popular video, with almost 100,000 views. I learned most of these techniques from ShellyChicBoutique, and I love how it turned out.

The pieces were my old white IKEA Hemnes bedroom furniture: two nightstands, and eventually the dresser as well. They’re holding up great.

What you need

• Liquid sandpaper (deglosser)
• Shellac primer spray paint
• Foam rollers
• Base paint: any light brown or tan color (I used Sherwin-Williams Warm Winter)
• Glaze: Rust-Oleum Java Brown decorative glaze
• Chip brush
• Deck stain brush
• Straw broom
• Satin polyurethane topcoat

How I did it

1. Start by deglossing with liquid sandpaper.
2. Prime with shellac primer — it works the best and sticks to everything. I rolled it on with a foam roller.
3. Roll on the base coat. Any light brown or tan color works; I used Sherwin-Williams Warm Winter, and the color from Sherwin-Williams is amazing.
4. Apply the glaze with a chip brush.
5. Then make long strokes with a deck stain brush, using very gentle pressure to get the look I wanted.
6. Don’t forget the edges. I made sure the edges went in the same grain direction as the top.
7. Then I went over the whole thing with a straw broom. It gives the texture more layers and dimension.
8. Once I liked how it looked, I let it dry for 12–24 hours.
9. Then I rolled on the satin polyurethane topcoat.

Here’s the process straight from the video:

I’m obsessed with how these turned out. What do you think?

Shop This Project

Some of these are the closest I could find on Amazon to what I actually used, since the exact products aren’t all on there.

• Klean-Strip Liquid Sander Deglosser (if it’s pricey or out of stock, Krud Kutter Gloss-Off is the alternative)
• Shellac Primer Spray Paint
• Foam Roller Set for Painting
• Chip Paint Brushes
• Magimate Deck Stain Brush, 5 inch (closest find to the Wooster 4″ brush in the video)
• Rust-Oleum Chalked Semi-Transparent Aged Glaze Paint (closest find to the Java Brown glaze in the video)
• Varathane Water-Based Ultimate Satin Polyurethane

Also in the photos

• ROSGONIA King Size Comforter Set, Olive Green — the green bedding in the bedroom shot
• Goldenwarm Gold Cabinet Knobs, 2 inch — the brushed brass handles on the dresser and nightstands

No link for the straw broom (I picked mine up at Home Depot) or the Sherwin-Williams paint color (you get that at Sherwin-Williams).