My husband is a major DIYer. He loves to up-cycle, build, and create but on a larger scale than myself. I’m more of a handmade card kind of gal myself. He takes on the larger projects. That’s why I’m handing over the DIY reins when it comes to my blog by regularly featureing a “Daddyzoid DIY”.
This plain jane $70 Ikea TV bench has seen countless transformations. In our first apartment it served as an entertainment centre. It held our TV and all our DVDs. Once we moved into our condo we used it as a coffee table. Then we had a cushion made to fit on top to make a bench for extra seating in our living room. Now it’s time for another incarnation of this piece.
My husband has been wanting to experiment with Chalk Paint™ decorative paint by Annie Sloan for quite some time and when he mentioned a new life for our aging Ikea TV bench, I was game! There was nothing structurally wrong with the bench and no scratches. It was just starting to look tired and I guess we were growing tired of looking at it. The feeling was mutual, I’m sure.
About a 10 minute walk from our house is one of the two Chalk Paint™ retailers in my province. Rusty Hinges is one of my favourite stores in Halifax and owned by the sweetest most down to earth lady I’ve ever met! She helped my husband figure out how much paint he’d need to cover the table/tv stand/bench seat.
Once the baby was in bed for the night, he set to work on the transformation. He had a piece of wood cut to fit the opening of the bench to create a door so that we could stash our junk out of sight. We found a funky knob at a local shop called The Independent Mercantile Co. He attached that to the centre of the door.
Then the fun part began — the painting! The best part about using Chalk Paint™ for this project was there was no need to sand or prime the bench. He literally just shook the can, opened it up, and started painting. Even on cheap melamine! For the style we were going for, brush direction wasn’t a concern. He applied the paint in circles, back and forth, and up and down. He only needed to use the 4 oz sample size to cover the bench with two coats. According to the website, 4 oz covers an area of about 12 sq ft. A little bit went a really long way!
My husband has done a lot of painting and was so impressed with how well Chalk Paint™ went on. He said the thickness of the paint was what made it a dream to work with. The paint was dry to the touch in about 30 minutes!
Once the paint was dry he applied the Clear Soft Wax with a lint free cloth, although you can use a brush. He applied the wax in small areas making sure to work the wax into the paint until the whole bench was completely covered. The purpose of the wax is to preserve and protect the paint. The wax was dry to the touch shortly after it was applied. Once the whole thing was waxed he took a piece of 120 grit sand paper and lightly distressed the edges and random spots on the surface of the bench.
To finish it all off he added some brass corner hardware from Home Depot. For about $5, these little corners add so much pizzaz and really kicked this project up a few notches. I find it really plays off the decorative knob on the door.
What do you think? Did he do a good job giving this basic bench it’s fourth life? I am so happy we’ve saved this from entering a landfill yet again.
PS: I’ll be sharing this post on these amazing blogs =)
