11 DIY IKEA MALM Makeovers That Take It From Basic To Beautiful

The IKEA MALM bedroom series features minimalist modern furniture like bed frames, chests, desks, dressers, chests, nightstands, and more. With a little DIY, you can dress up these simple furniture pieces, giving them new purposes inside and outside of their intended bedroom spaces. The streamlined design has many opportunities for additional features that add aesthetic appeal and functional uses.

Below are 11 ideas that will dress up, expand, and alter your MALM series to be more befitting of recent interior design trends. Many of these projects are doable without special tools or extensive building knowledge. They're also budget-friendly, as the IKEA furniture itself is the most expensive component, and IKEA keeps its costs low. All you must do is assemble the IKEA product according to its instructions, order any necessary project supplies, and follow the directions in the provided tutorials. In no time, you'll have a new, game-changing piece of furniture without breaking the bank.

When installing your MALM furniture, be sure to take notice of any safety warnings released by IKEA on its website, product listings, or in the product packaging.

Both the MALM dressers and nightstands can be jazzed up with decorative moulding. Order unfinished wood moulding, either basic or ornamental, from Amazon, and paint them in a color that matches your IKEA furniture. The safest bet is to use paint swatches to find the right color, or you can order DWIL matte wood paint from Amazon. Once painted and dried, adhere the moulding to the furniture using a wood glue like Titebond.

Create a combination dresser and hanging rod for clothes using two tall IKEA MALM drawer chests, a wood slab, and a closet rod like this one from Amazon. Put the drawer chests along the same wall, leaving enough space in between for the extended closet rod. Visit a local home improvement store, and acquire a large wood slab that fits across the entire length and width of the IKEA furniture. Stores like Home Depot can cut this wood to size for you. Simply lay the wood slab over the top or use screws or wood glue to securely adhere it to the chests. 

IKEA's MALM series is very modern and minimalistic; the entire line of desks, dressers, chests, and drawers comes without legs. Legs add a decorative element in addition to functional purposes. They keep furniture from blocking baseboard radiators, make drawers higher and easier to access, and make it easier to add anti-scratch foot pads. Purchase legs from IKEA or Amazon. Screw them in using simple screws, or use steel hanger bolts and leg mounting plates. You'll need four of each item per modified dresser.

IKEA's MALM chests and dressers have neat, uniform drawers, which you can paste over with rattan to emulate a beachy or bohemian vibe. Purchase a roll of rattan webbing from Amazon. Cut it slightly larger than the dimensions of your MALM drawers. You'll also need a wood picture frame to disassemble or long wooden crafting sticks and self-stick adhesive to create the frame for the rattan material. If you've never worked with rattan before, follow House of Bamboo's installation guide for instructions on how to place it on the drawers.

Painting is one of the easiest but most transformative ways to DIY IKEA furniture. Order any item from the MALM series in a light color. You don't have to sand the furniture before you begin, but it will help paint stick to IKEA laminate. Use a standard semi-gloss varnish and a paintbrush, or use non-glossy spray paint in the color of your choice. It may take multiple coats to get your desired color. Paint the drawers, legs (if added), and any modified cabinetry hardware in complementary colors using masking tape to block off nearby areas.