6 Ways to Make IKEA Pieces Custom

Yep, this bed started as an IKEA frame.

My first trip to IKEA was revelatory: I was enthralled with the array of options and styles, the sheer size of the warehouse, and the "how is this so cheap?" prices. Then came the inevitable backlash: Some of my chairs started falling apart, and I grew tired of the college-dorm look of many of the pieces I'd purchased.

Until I discovered the Internet underworld of "IKEA hacks," clever ways to make the store's cheap pieces look custom. And expensive. Of course, these easy upgrades won't solve the whole falling apart thing, but they do save you enough cash that you can afford to redecorate every few years. I call that a win.

Gold Coffee Table

Vittsjo Nesting Coffee Tables + Gold Spray Paint

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More at The Hunted Interior

Upholstered Bed

Wooden Bed + Batting + MDF + Fabric

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More at All Things Campbell

Gilded Drum Shades for Pendant Lights

Kulla Pendant Lamp + Gold Leaf + Spray Adhesive + 

Spray Sealer + Gold Spray Paint

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More at Haute Khuuture

Bar Cart

Vittsjo Laptop Table + Spray Paint + Acrylic Sheet + Wheels + 

Patterned Paper + Long Screws + Machine Screws + Clear Acrylic Spray

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More at Style Me Pretty

Dresser

Pine RAST Dresser + Primer + Spray Paint + Stencil + Gold Paint + Spray Polyurethane + Gold Hardware

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More at Roost

Nailhead Side Table

Two Side Tables + Nailheads

(The project calls for IKEA's Expedit Side Table, which is no longer available. BUT, the LACK Side Table is strikingly similar, and only 10 bucks.)

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More at Clementine & Olive

Make Your Own Chevron Coffee Table Tray!

As I mentioned before, I'm in a bit of a blue phase. Unfortunately, it seems that the rest of the decorating world is not. I have an insanely difficult time finding blue accessories for my living room! (Maybe I should take that as a sign...) But not to be deterred, I've resorted to making my own blue accent pieces.

Several months back, I purchased this tray for $5 from a garage sale:

It was originally red, and I painted it orange. (I had some pillows of a similar color I wanted to match.) But when I realized the pillows didn't match my living room, I was left with a tray that didn't look right, either. 

After months of staring at it with disgust, I finally got around to redoing it. I had some leftover high-gloss royal blue paint from another project, which, on top of the orange (I was in no mood to prime), came out closer to navy. The high-gloss looks great, almost like a lacquered finish, which is all over the place these days.

For the middle of the tray, I bought some blue-and-white chevron scrapbooking paper. I wanted a pattern in the middle, but the size of my tray meant I'd have to buy a million sheets to achieve a seamless look if I chose something crazy like a floral. But chevron? It's just the same thing over and over and over again, making it super easy to match up and keep the flow of the pattern going. 

To apply the paper, I used high-gloss Mod-Podge, and to avoid wrinkles, applied the bottom layer first, pressed down the paper, and waited several minutes for it to dry. Then I applied the top layer of gloss. Of course, a few wrinkles/bubbles are pretty much unavoidable; I fixed these by poking a sewing needle into the bubble, then pressing out the air and applying a little more Mod-Podge. Voila, a classy-looking tray for about $10!

Can You REALLY Paint Upholstery?

Before & After

Reupholstering a chair is expensive—like, upwards of $300 expensive. Of course, going the reupholstery route makes sense if you've invested in pricey furniture. But I've never been willing to take the plunge, since most of the chairs I want to change are Goodwill cast-offs. It's hard to justify dropping $300 to redo a $10 chair. 

Most recently, I decided one of living room chairs needed a facelift. I purchased this one a few years back, and while it looked good in my last apartment's living room, it felt too modern in my current one, with its sleek black legs and off-white fabric. My vision: Make this contemporary piece look like an antique, but with a little colorful flair. 

I chose a daffodil yellow paint for the upholstery (to match a West Elm chair on the other side of the room), and gracefully curved wooden legs to replace the contemporary ones. 

Did I really say PAINT an upholstered chair? Yep! You simply mix acrylic paint with textile medium (sold at Joann Fabrics) and water, which, together, keep the fabric from becoming stiff when you apply the paint. Hint: For about $6, you can get a quart-sized paint "sample" at Sherwin-Williams. (For more detailed instructions, check out this how-to from Hyphen Interiors.)

I bought the legs from Home Depot, which I stained and then accented in a few places with a very light coating of silver spray paint. I can't take full credit here, though: My husband had to put them on for me. (He's handy to have around!) Finally, I added upholstery tacks, following the subtle curve of the arm, with a few more just above the leg. 

I've already gotten lots of compliments on the final product...totally unsolicited, too! So would I do it again? Absolutely—although I'd probably limit my upholstery painting to pieces that are more decorative than functional, since the paint does make the fabric firm (although not crunchy by any means). 

My First Etsy Listing: Vintage Teal Dresser with Distressed Finish!

I've been interested in refinishing and selling furniture on Etsy for some time, and now that I've gone freelance, I actually have the time! I chose this adorable dresser as my first project for a few reasons:

1. That deer decal is precious! I'm always nervous about any business venture that involves throwing out money upfront (in other words, any business venture). But when I spotted the sweet deer on this chifforobe, I knew I couldn't leave it behind. So he came home with me. 

2. I won't be tempted to keep it. This is a nursery/children's item, and since I obviously don't have children (unless you count Kitty Adelaide), the urge to hoard my first piece is not strong. It's still there, but I'm fighting it.

3. Chifforobes are fantastic. You can find a standard dresser anywhere. But chifforobes are harder to come by...and so classy! They have a distinctly vintage feel, yet are still incredibly functional. 

4. It has a history. This piece was made by Lullabye Fine Furniture for Children, a company started in 1897 in the Wisconsin home of John Bukolt, the inventor of the first swinging crib. It was likely produced in the early- to mid-1900s, based on this advertisement, which features a similar 5-drawer chifforobe. (If you want to read the words, the ad is here.)

I wasn't crazy about the wood's color, so I borrowed my generous (and brave) husband's belt and orbital sanders and went to town. Then I painted it a pale teal with a satin finish, which I distressed and sealed with furniture wax. 

See the listing here! 

Before & After: My Dining Room Makeover

Frank bought our home because it has good bones. You know, it's structurally sound, made of brick, that kind of stuff. Which means, in true bachelor fashion, design didn't really factor into his decision.

Let's start with the dining area: It featured worn-out carpet, an etched glass and brass chandelier circa 1980, and a faux stone wall. Leroy, the old owner, had painted around one of his China cabinets, leaving a faint mint green rectangle on one wall. The bleak situation was not improved by Frank's high-top table, which was a different wood than the other furniture (left by Leroy) and was the wrong shape for the space. An intervention was in order.

Step one: We ripped up the carpet to expose the wood floors (those good bones!) and ripped down the faux stone drywall. Then I replaced the chandelier with a brushed nickel fixture with a white drum shade (Lowes, $169), and installed GE Reveal bulbs, which mimic natural light. I replaced the high-top table with a farm table bought on CraigsList for $45 (what a steal!).

When we removed the drywall, we discovered two junction boxes. Perfect for sconces! I chose nickel sconces with white glass shades (Lowe's, $30 each). The new wall color is Rainwater by Martha Stewart (sold at Home Depot), which gives the space a calming, almost ethereal feel.

I found the chairs in the basement, and I liked their shape and the cane headrests. But the finish was just ugly, as was the red damask fabric. So I painted them white, and reupholstered the cushions with a light teal and beige burlap. I also stained the table to darken it and bring out the scuffs (so it looks like a true farm table). 

Then came the big project: refinishing the China cabinet. I removed the metal lattice on the glass, painted the whole thing white, then painted the backboard Magnolia Yellow by Martha Stewart. (The yellow pops beautifully against the surrounding pale teal walls.) I replaced the old hardware with cut glass knobs, and painted the hinges with brushed nickel spray paint. 

My final purchase was two tufted benches with silver legs from Pier 1. They're actually vanity benches, but I wanted something more elegant than wooden farm benches.  

 

How to Make Cheap Curtains Look Custom

Frank bought our house from an 87-year-old man. He apparently had a thing for pastels. And, apparently, Frank does too, because he did nothing to remedy the situation. The living room was a tricolor Easter egg of pastel peach, mint green, and cream. In other words, a nightmare. I promptly began redecorating. One of my first tasks: removing the vertical blinds (who ever liked those anyways?), which featured the same hideous trio of colors as the walls. 

I envisioned a sweeping pair of linen botanical print panels. Yeah, couldn't find those. Unless, of course, I wanted to drop a grand on the four panels the room requires. 

Curtains are tricky. I'm too budget-conscious to blow hundreds of dollars on custom curtains, yet I hate the generic look of store-bought panels. Alas, I settled on Nate Berkus curtains from Target that have an Aztec-inspired border. (I told myself this made them unique.) But when then I hung them, I realized I'd made a novice mistake: They were hovering about a foot above the ground, like flood pants. That's completely unacceptable. 

Original panel (left); altered panel (right)

My solution: I purchased muslin in the same off-white color as the curtains, sewed it to the bottom, then decked out the new addition with rows of fringe. The extra panel looks completely seamless and allows the curtains to puddle beautifully. The total cost of all four panels? $160. Not bad.

Want to upgrade your own curtains? Start by measuring the distance, in inches, from the bottom of your existing curtains to the floor. Add 10 inches to that. This allows enough for a 4-inch hem and about 1 inch of puddling, and also accounts for the seam between the addition and your present panels.

Example: 12 inches to the floor + 10 inches = 22 inches

Now measure the width of each curtain panel (in inches), add 2 inches to that (to allow a1-inch hem on either side), and multiply that by the number from above. 

Example: (54 inches + 2 inches) x 22 inches = 1,232 square inches

This is the area of fabric you need to purchase per panel. 

Now translate that to yards. One yard of fabric is 36 inches long. The width will vary according to the size of the bolt; most bolts are 45 inches, but can range anywhere from 30 to 60 inches. (Hint: Bring a measuring tape to the fabric store!) Assuming the bolt is 45 inches wide, a yard of fabric is 1,620 square inches. Divide the area of the fabric you require by the area of a yard of fabric to determine the yardage you require per panel. 

Example: 1,232 square inches / 1,620 square inches = .76 yards per panel

Whew, lots of math!

But you're not done. Now, you need to calculate the amount of fringe to purchase. Add 2 inches to the width (in inches) of each panel, then multiply that number by three. 

Example: (54 inches + 2 inches) x 3 = 168 inches (or 14 feet) per panel

Finally, you're ready to start sewing! Well, almost. Iron your fabric, then cut it to the appropriate size for a panel, making sure all four corners are completely square. (Remember, you want each piece to be 2 inches wider than the actual curtain.) Now hem it: Fold the sides over by 1 inch, pin, and sew straight across. Then, fold the bottom up four inches, pin, and sew straight across (align the presser foot of your sewing machine with the raw edge, not the crease of the fabric).

Now you're ready to attach your new fabric to the existing curtain. Spread out the curtain panel, pretty side up, and pin the unhemmed edge of the addition, pretty side down and upside down, to the bottom of the curtain. (So the front of the addition should be facing the front of the curtain.) Like this...

Unfold the fabric, iron the seam, and begin pinning the first row of fringe to the additional panel. Allow two inches of fringe overhang per row, and fold an inch around each side of the fabric before sewing. Make sure to use a thread that matches the color of your fringe. 

Not sure how to space your rows? I aligned my top row with the seam between the curtain panel and the fabric addition; then for my bottom row, I aligned the base of the fringe with the seam of the 4-inch hem. Finally, I centered the middle row between the top and bottom rows. 

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