IKEA LEKSVIK Dresser

Ronja Lotte
by Ronja Lotte
$0-20
1 Day
Medium
Like so many other people in Germany I grew up with IKEA. As a teenager I got my IVAR shelving and as a student I bought some pieces of LEKSVIK furniture. The darker wood looked very classy to me and I immediately felt much adult and cultured. Over the years I've gotten even more adult, to my regret, totally without the help of more IKEA furniture and now I'm tired of dark wood and black brass fittings. But since money doesnt grow on trees I didnt buy a new dresser but instead went for paint and a leather belt.
Finished dresser.
Before
Since I had no choice, I first sanded off my drawer. As always, first with a coarse grit and later with a finer one. I freely admit that I have cursed continuously during the whole process since I do not particularly like this part of working with wood but since I have a made a terrible noise no one heard me and I've been wearing a breathing protection so I also didnt perish because of the saw dust.
Since I wanted the drawer to vary slightly from my white wooden floor, I diluted the white acrylic paint in a 50/50 ratio with water. I now applied the paint to the wood with a scrubbing brush and then wiped a part of the paint off again in order to keep the coat of paint thin. Of course, the dresser is still very white but unlike a coat of paint with undiluted paint, you can here still see the wood grain and the pine wood still shines through.
For my new pulls I cut an old buckskin belt into equal strips and drilled small holes at both ends of every strip.
If you like to read the whole tutorial just visit my blog :-)
Ronja Lotte
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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4 of 6 comments
  • Hannah V Hannah V on Jan 27, 2015
    STUNNING!
  • Patricia Patricia on Jan 28, 2015
    I didn't grow up with IKEA since they just opened in our area about 5 years ago. But I love shopping there now and stopping for a bite to eat in their cafeteria. The transformation of your dresser is beautifully done.
    • Ronja Lotte Ronja Lotte on Jan 31, 2015
      @Patricia Thanks, dear Patricia. It is funny that you mention the cafeteria because a few month ago I read a blogpost of an australian women who moved to Germany and was totally amazed that it isn´t unusal for people in Germany to drive to IKEA just to eat a Hot Dog :-D It´s true but because that is normal for me I never thought it as a cultural thing :-D
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