Bank Holiday Ikea hack

If you’re looking for a quick and effective IKEA hack, to do over the long bank holiday weekend, then look no further! With some simple flat-pack building skills and a can of Rust-Oleum, the plain metal and tempered glass Ikea Vittsjö can go from mass-produced cheap to bespoke and unique in no time. 

Shimmering metallic tones give this desk a high-end edge, but if silver isn’t your thing and you’re ready to go beyond gold, why not update your desk with Rust-Oleum’s trend-setting millennial pink hue, Rose Gold Metallic. 

No one will ever guess where you got this pretty little number after this quick and easy DIY…

What you will need:

• Rust-Oleum Rose Gold Metallic 
• Rust-Oleum Surface Primer 
• Ikea Vittsjö
• Clean cloth or sponge 

Instructions:

1. Assemble the Ikea Vittsjö laptop table leaving the glass top to one side.

2. Move the metal frame out to a well-ventilated space and place on top of a large dust sheet or some old newspapers. You may want to cover the surrounding area with additional dust sheets/ newspaper to protect from spray mist.

3. Wipe the frame with a clean with a damp sponge or cloth and allow this to dry before proceeding to the next step.

4. Holding the can approximately 30cm away from the metal frame. Apply up two coats of Rust-Oleum Surface Primer, leaving at least four hours in between each coat.

5. Take your can of Rust-Oleum Rose Gold Metallic and shake thoroughly. Hold the can approximately 30cm from the surface of the frame and spray in a steady back and forth motion, slightly overlapping with each stroke. For best results whilst spraying keep the can the same distance from the surface and keep the can in motion. Apply several light coats a few minutes apart.

6. Leave to dry in a well ventilated place for 24 hours.

7. Place the glass top on the finished frame and admire your brand-new expensive desk.



This article is brought to you by www.makeityours.co.uk 

Dinning table make over.

Before

Well finally after their last property let down, my daughter and her little family will be moving into a new flat in a few weeks time, so they have been on the lookout for some cheap furniture, and during the week my daughter was lucky enough to get this table for free! 

 Over the weekend we got stuck in and I helped her give it a makeover.   The black stain was sanded back using an electric sander,  then we added an Annie Sloan wax to the top, and painted the legs in an old white. Needless to say, we think it looks so much better than before! 

 After

Plaster and paint industrial art.

 stylist Emma Wallmén , photographer Therese Winberg for Alcro Trend via Still Inspiration,

Experiment with colour and texture by mixing paint, cement or plaster together, to create an  eye-catching industrial-inspired  piece of wall art using a  canvas or sheet of MDF. (Full instructions here) An ideal project for renters wanting to inject some personality into the home. but who can't or don't want to paint the walls. 

How to Help Your Digestion.

If you read by blog on  a regular basis, then you will know that I am a huge fan of IKEA, and the Life at Home section on the Swedish website, I'm always inspired by the styling and simple DIY tips that they post, and today is no exception.  I heard that sitting at a table that has been  nicely set out, even to eat just a simple meal is actually good for your digestion, and it doesn't have to be posh or elaborate, take simple white china, and add a table cloth and napkin, all from IKEA, styled with a DIY napkin ring made from off cuts of leather strapping, that you can buy on Ebay, and finish with a flower. Perfect.

Give a set of draws a quick update.

Before 

 After.

On my last trip to IKEA, I bought a pack of six SÄTTA handles in black simply because they were so cheap, £2.50 of six handles can't be bad!  And as luck would have it, they were a perfect fit for a couple of sets of drawers in my office/spare room,  I didn't really like the silver handles much before and the black ones made for the perfect update. 

Turn an old Photo Frame into a Marble Tray.

Some old photo frames destined to be chucked out got a reprieve the other days, it was a nice sunny day outside and I was in the mood for a DIY project so out came the spray paints and these embarrassingly hideous old frames got a makeover.

While messing around with the camera and creating a mini 3D flat lay, I noticed how nice the frame looked against  the marble effect board  and decided to cover the hardboard from the photo frame in marble effect contact paper to create a mini tray, perfect for those moments when you need a nice backdrop for a quick photo shoot as you do. 

Photography and styling Samantha Stansbridge

I used Rust-Oleum for this makeover, and spraying with a primer is a good idea to get a nice even coating, I'm also a fan of Plasti-Kote spray paint also which leaves a nice finish I find.

Weekend DIY Project.

Livet hemma.ikea

One of these days I'm going to get to around trying this. I think it's a great idea for renter's who can't change the colour  or hammer any nails into the wall for pictures etc.   For a splash of colour, you could always paint or cover the board in some lovely fabric.   I also like the added idea of clamping a spotlight on the side of it for extra lighting. 

Sunday Styling.

 Photography and styling Samantha Stansbridge

I bought this little white table ages ago for a tenner  from a hairdresser in town who had advertised it on a Facebook selling page, a scented oil burner had sat dripping its contents onto the table acting like paint stripper, and had left a huge round mark on it, and it has been sitting in the living room ever since with a strategically placed flowerpot on it, up until now that is, I finally got around to sanding it off (actually, I left the sanding to my dad who has a workshop full of  industrial-size power tools and could do it in a fraction of the time it would have taken me do) and giving it a repaint with some Farrow and Ball All white Eggshell paint.  This just left me the job of playing Sunday afternoon stylist while dinner cooked! 

Mini Trend: Inky Art blots

 boligliv

 boligliv

S220

luku home

This is something I use to do as a child with my paint sets, and also with my own children, creating paint blots then trying to figure out what the pictures look like, most often butterflies, insects and sometimes a scary monster or two!   And I'm seeing a mini trend going on at the moment, either creating your own abstract inkblots (top two photos) or if you don't feel particularly artistic, you can buy similar online, I found some at S220, and Luku Home. 

Over the weekend, I had a  go at creating my own inkblot art, and after several attempts, (I should of have borrowed a two-year-old and let them loose with my paints) made this one using the technique on the boligliv website.   

5 DIY Projects to Try.

My mind is in the mood for some DIY, but sadly my body has other plans, I'm on my 3rd round of antibiotics for a mysterious thing going on with my ear, apparently I have developed a bulge in my ear canal, but the Doctor is not sure what is going on, so I have been feeling pretty rubbish over the weekend, but I found these DIY project here and there which I fancy having a go at, at some point.   Follow the links listed to find the tutorials. 

Pegboard Shelf.

From boligliv.dk

Simple DIY leather strap shelf.

From burkatron.com

Magazine Rack

from passionshake.com

Breakfast Tray

From passionshake.com

Ladder shelf

From burkatron.com

Create some Graphic Copper Art.

Graphic shapes are very popular of late, and so to is  the copper metallic trend, so here's a simple DIY project incorporating the two.  

You will need:

• Sharp craft knife.
• Artist Mount Spray to hold template in place.
• Two pieces of paper, one to make a template, and one to spray your circle on to.
• Can of Spray Paint,  I prefer the Plasti- Kote brand, it covers well. 
• A plate or bowl in the desired size for your circle.
• A cutting mat or several pieces of news paper for cutting out your shape.

What to do.

• Place one of your pieces of paper on the cutting mat or new paper, and position your plate or bowl where you want your circle to be.
• With your craft knife, run it around the edge of the plate, pressing down firmly to cut through the paper, creating a template, a really sharp craft knife is good for this to create a nice clean edge.
• Spray a light coat of spray mount on the reverse of the template, and neatly place it on the top of your second piece of paper, pay particular attention to the edge of the circle to form a good contact between the two pieces of paper, as this will stop any spay paint bleeding under your template.
• Now take your spray paint and lightly spray over the template, do this a couple of times, allowing each coat to dry a little.
• When dry gently peel away the template from the bottom piece of paper and you should be left with your copper graphic art. 

You could also try using a couple of different colours together, or if you don't have any spray paints, try a roller and craft paint or sample pots,  which would be ideal for involving the kids too!

updated living room.

Hasn't it been a fabulous summer?    September has actually been hotter than August this year,  but now the days are starting to cool down and the nights drawing in, so  Autumn will be here very soon, and to ring in the change in season, I have been doing a bit of updating in the living room to make it feel  cosier in the evening.   I've swapped out the white curtains for some lovely dark charcoal ones, which actually started out as a pinky peachy colour, but transformed using a pack of fabric dye.

Before

I bought these pink linen  ones in the sale at IKEA a while back, but wasn't  really sure of the colour  for the living room, so they had been sitting in the draw for a while, too good to discard but not really sure what to do with them, until I spotted  this post  on Strawberry Dreams blog while doing a bit of blog hopping,  and had a bit  of a light bulb moment, so decided to try dyeing my  pink curtains black, and I'm very pleased with the result! 

If you fancy trying this your self, natural fibers such as linen or cotton take the dye the best, and I used  Dylon Washing Machine Fabric dye in Velvet Black.

Creative Juices flowing.

Last week while at the charity shop I spotted an unopened new canvas going cheap, so decided to buy it with the view of creating a little something.  I haven't really done anything arty since leaving school, (unless you count making room displays in the Nursery for preschool children in my previous job)  so at the weekend I had a little try, and for my first attempt I'm pretty pleased with in.  Its also very therapeutic too, to be lost in the moment of creativity.