Project: Upcycling Ikea Tarva Chest of 5 Drawers

Over the past few months I've been trying my hand at a bit of upcycling.  I thought it would be pretty easy just to give this chest of drawers a few licks of paint but it has taken waay longer than I expected!

BEFORE

AFTER

If you fancy giving this a go yourself then here's is a handy rundown of how I got this chest from plain and boring to interesting and unique:

1) Make the drawers as per Ikea instructions - a feat in itself! 
2) Give the whole chest a light sanding so the primer/varish has something to adhese to.
3) I started by painting all the wood stain parts first so this included the main body of the chest and all of the drawers, although I only used wood varnish on the front of two of the drawers. I just used a cheap oak wood stain varnish from Wilkinsons and I gave each area 3 coats. I think next time I would like to try using a wood stain wax as this might be less messy.

4) Next I used a white primer on the front of the remaining three drawers. The reason this process takes so long is because you have to wait a few days days each time you add a new coat of varnish or paint!

5) I used a pale green varnish on the front of two drawers. In the name of keeping this upcycle as budget as possible I just used paint I had left over from painting the front door. Although the paint I used is meant for external surfaces I really don't think it matters too much plus I don't really want to buy lots of new tubs of paint as our flat doesn't have loads of storage space. I think the best thing is to try and use what you have and ad lib if you can!

6) A little experiment for the last drawer front - which I actually don't recommend but fortunately it just about did the job! I decided to add a colour to some white varnish I already had so I bought some Plasti-Kote enamel paint (which I will be using in a future project) and added a few dots into the varnish. Unfortunately, this made the varnish very delicate and a strange texture.
7) Lastly, the fun part is adding colourful and fun drawer handles! I got mine from These Please.

I also upcycled two Ikea Tarva beside tables to match:  

New Home

My boyfriend (Tom) and I have been in our new home for almost one year now and I have lots of DIY tips and cool ideas for decorating on a budget!

For this first post, I will just mention a few little items I've bought to make our flat look a bit more unusual and quirky. I love looking on sites such as Etsy and Folksy for cute additions but I also love going to the weekend market at the Tynemouth metro station.

First thing I bought was a really cute knitted cover for our kitchen clock which can be bought from Baban Cat on Etsy. It didn't cost much but it really adds a cosy feel to this cheap clock.

Knitted Clock Cover

Another really affordable item which is ideal for new home owners is the Vittsjo shelving unit from Ikea.  Here is ours, which was a present from Tom's parents, in our living room.

Vittsjo from Ikea

I have filled the shelf with cute little jars from John Lewis and Orla Kiely, a Ben de Lisi fruit bowl, Ikea boxes, Ikea vases, books and plants!