Pirate Ship Chic (Ikea Hack)
I don't, in general, like dressers, but I needed a dresser. In August, I spotted this dresser on Pinterest and thought it quite lovely:
Shortly thereafter, I saw this dresser in an Ikea catalog and I thought to myself, "ooh! I can make that dresser look a lot like the other dresser! Yay!" A visit to the store confirmed my suspicions that the dresser could be quite lovely if changed just a bit. I stood in the showroom knocking on it and poking it and peering inside it to confirm that it was solid wood (I'm not a fan of veneers).
The Mandal Dresser was, for a little while, out of stock at the store, but last week, when I check the Ikea website, it said that they had a few on the shelves, so I zoomed out there and picked one up.
My plan was to stain the wood on the outside and change out the legs to some sort of pedestal + round tapered leg (á la the mid-century dresser that I had admired).
Now here's where I was a bit foolish: I thought it would be easy to sand off the polyurethane finish (polycrylic? lacquer?) and stain the wood a darker shade. Ha! So foolish! I tested out my little idea on a piece that would be hidden once the dresser was assembled. And...
I was a bit distressed by how distressed it looked.
I tried again on another piece that would be hidden.
I sanded and sanded and washed and stained.
And the result was no better.
Things got busy at work, so I just let the wood sit out for me to gaze at over during my morning coffee and my evening banana.
I knew it would easily take primer and paint.
I knew it would look just fine the color it came in.
I figured I could probably buy some crazy chemical to peel the seal off.
I had options.
And then on Friday afternoon when I came home from work and looked at it, I realized that I loved it.
"You look like you've been on a pirate ship," I told the board. "And I dig that about you."
Plus, a little voice in my head interjected, you can always paint over it if you change your mind.
I took the wood out to the garage.
I sanded.
I built a little pedestal.
I stained.
I waited for it all to dry.
Then I assembled.
And now?
Trés Pirate Ship Chic, no?
I don't blame you if you hate this.
I've been there.
But I love it.
And so I'm going to post more pics!
Shortly thereafter, I saw this dresser in an Ikea catalog and I thought to myself, "ooh! I can make that dresser look a lot like the other dresser! Yay!" A visit to the store confirmed my suspicions that the dresser could be quite lovely if changed just a bit. I stood in the showroom knocking on it and poking it and peering inside it to confirm that it was solid wood (I'm not a fan of veneers).
The Mandal Dresser was, for a little while, out of stock at the store, but last week, when I check the Ikea website, it said that they had a few on the shelves, so I zoomed out there and picked one up.
My plan was to stain the wood on the outside and change out the legs to some sort of pedestal + round tapered leg (á la the mid-century dresser that I had admired).
Now here's where I was a bit foolish: I thought it would be easy to sand off the polyurethane finish (polycrylic? lacquer?) and stain the wood a darker shade. Ha! So foolish! I tested out my little idea on a piece that would be hidden once the dresser was assembled. And...
I was a bit distressed by how distressed it looked.
I tried again on another piece that would be hidden.
I sanded and sanded and washed and stained.
And the result was no better.
Things got busy at work, so I just let the wood sit out for me to gaze at over during my morning coffee and my evening banana.
I knew it would easily take primer and paint.
I knew it would look just fine the color it came in.
I figured I could probably buy some crazy chemical to peel the seal off.
I had options.
And then on Friday afternoon when I came home from work and looked at it, I realized that I loved it.
"You look like you've been on a pirate ship," I told the board. "And I dig that about you."
Plus, a little voice in my head interjected, you can always paint over it if you change your mind.
I took the wood out to the garage.
I sanded.
I built a little pedestal.
I stained.
I waited for it all to dry.
Then I assembled.
And now?
Trés Pirate Ship Chic, no?
I don't blame you if you hate this.
I've been there.
But I love it.
And so I'm going to post more pics!
