Two-Toned Hemnes Glass Cabinet Makeover for Bathroom
January 20, 2026
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Two-toned Hemnes cabinet makeover with glass doors. {Beautiful bathroom storage!}
Over the years I haven't made a ton of updates to our main bathroom -- just a few changes like new mirrors and a DIY ledge next to our soaking tub.
I shared a tour of this bathroom shortly after we moved. This room is super spacious, but there's not much storage. We have a very skinny closet and the two vanities, but because of our plumbing they don't offer much storage.
For a while I had this bamboo shelving by the shower for our towels and bath needs:
As much as I love that bamboo piece (you can see how I made it into a bar cart here), it never felt substantial enough for that spot.
I always knew I wanted something with more storage here. I looked online for nearly a year for a secondhand cabinet I could transform. It had to have drawers and some shelves, and preferably some glass doors as well. I looked at Craigslist and the marketplace on social media and never found anything I liked.
Enter IKEA...one day I was walking through and found exactly what I wanted. Well, near exact. It checked all of the boxes except for one -- the color. I wanted a true black. But I knew I could easily fix that (I was planning to paint a wood piece anyway).
The HEMNES glass door cabinet was a perfect fit (not too deep for this spot) and offered all the storage I wanted! I had an idea in mind for the final finish, so I went with the wood version of this cabinet:
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I thought it would take forever to put together but I was pleasantly surprised. I had it finished in about an hour. I'm getting really good at building those drawers!
We actually quite liked the wood grain. My husband wanted to keep it this finish, but he knows how my brain works and knew I had a vision. ;)
So I taped it off to start the painting process. (I had already secured it to a stud in the wall at the top -- I just added one line of painter's tape along the back so the paint wouldn't get on the wall.)
I get this question every time I paint -- why not paint it all before you put it together?
I never do that because inevitably something will get scratched in the build process. And there are some spots I don't think need to be painted. I don't do the backs of drawer fronts for example. I find it much easier to paint when it's all together. ๐
I primed this piece because I wanted to make sure the paint adhered well. The wood wasn't super slick to start with so I think it would have held paint directly. But I've learned it never hurts to take this extra step:
I used BIN Primer for the first coat (I have it tinted). You can see how I use this on our interior doors when I paint them as well.
It's a very thin primer that is super easy to apply and dries incredibly fast. Because it's harder to clean up, you have to protect your surfaces well.
I paint the detail areas with a small brush (see above) and then roll on the larger areas:
Because it dries so fast you can move along pretty quickly. I used the same black color as our mud room door for this project, called Tricorn Black.
A foam roller will give you a super smooth finish!:
A quality paint like this will dry down to a beautiful finish.
IKEA sells a dark version of this cabinet (as well as white), but it's more of a brown/black. I wanted a true dark black for this space.
Once it was dry I was able to put the new hardware on. So pretty!:
These ceramic knobs are so pretty and give a similar vintage look.
Do not fully tighten your hardware for at least a week after painting. It takes a good amount of time to really cure.
My idea to make this cabinet look a little different came from IKEA -- they have a white version of this cabinet that has the wood tone inside. I went for that look by leaving the inside the original finish:
I LOVE the two-toned look! All black would have been beautiful but I love warmth that the wood gives.
This cabinet is perfect in this spot and we're thrilled with the extra storage:
Why does everything look prettier behind glass?:
We already had most of the storage jars (from IKEA) but grabbed a couple more as well.
Isn't it pretty? I love this project! I'm glad I decided to paint it:
I also ended up adding a battery-operated light from IKEA as well. (This was my husband's request cause he's like me when it comes to cool lighting.) I hung it at the top of the cabinet inside.
You can only see the actual fixture when the doors are open (take a look at the pics above). It gives a soft glow that's even prettier at night:
This room kind of demands some pops of black with the marble tile. I added some with the IKEA light above the tub first. I knew a tall black cabinet would really balance it all out.
Since first shared this project, it looks like Ikea now offers a very similar version of my makeover!:
Again, the dark tone is labeled as "black/brown" -- so if you want a true black you could probably get away with one coat of paint!
Here's a view of that area before:
And here's how it looks now:
I have big plans for this room (I think crown molding is next), but this piece is a beautiful addition. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!
Have you ever painted a piece from IKEA? If you use a good primer your possibilities are endless! I love these pieces as they come, but they are so fun to customize as well.
Check out how I transformed these Tarva dressers into nightstands:
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January 20, 2026
bathrooms
before and after
DIY
Master Bathroom
painting furniture
shopping
I love your cabinet makeover! I am getting ready to paint a lot of furniture, thank you for the tips!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Do you have any concerns about the drawer bottoms being sturdy enough? That is always my worry with IKEA pieces.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve never had any issues. ๐ The wider ones (bigger dressers) have supports underneath each drawer so they hold up great!
DeleteLove this! Especially leaving the inside natural.
ReplyDeleteI love this cabinet. I've been oogling it for years-since we got our IKEA here in town several years ago. My hope is to put it in our living room. I just keep going back and forth because I have 2 boys...I'm not sure the glass would survive! I love those drawers though! This whole piece is so great. I love the Hemnes line.
ReplyDeleteLooks great. We have s few IKEA pieces but not familiar with this piece. Your bath is so spacious!
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely, Sarah! Perfect fit for the bathroom... definitely nicer than the cart. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSpa
ReplyDeleteVery nice, I think it gives the room more depth and texture and maybe the no drawers oops, wasn't so much of an oops after all!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, that cabinet is beautiful, and I'm now wishing I had a place for one in my home! I'm painting bedside tables that were already painted. I have used chalk paint in the past as a primer which has worked; however, this time when I paint the final paint over the chalk paint, it just peels right back off onto the roller. It won't stick at all. I've used the foam roller as well a very low nap roller. Has this ever happened to you? Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteHmmm...are you sure you didn’t put wax over the chalk paint? It sounds like there’s a protective coat. If not, I would still try sanding it down and seeing if that helps! ๐๐ป
DeleteThe cabinet looks great in that spot and love the two tone look. Can you share your bathroom wall color? I’m currently struggling with choosing a paint color for my living room and kitchen. Ugh, why is it so hard!?!
ReplyDeleteIt's called Agreeable Gray by SW. :)
DeleteThis is beautiful Sarah, and your bathroom is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI love what you did with this cabinet and wish I had space to do the same. My eyes were drawn to other parts of the bathroom and I wondered if you could tell me where you got your shower door. I’m not a fan of shower curtains. Thanks!
ReplyDelete