If you are looking for a cheerful way to add color to an end table or desk but shy away from breaking out the paint, this DIY idea for a bold striped table might be the perfect project. Elise of the design blog Enjoy It includes step-by-step photos in an easy DIY tutorial.
Elise explains:
I just taped long strips and wrapped them around the edges. I added a few extra strips of color at places where I felt like an extra color was needed. When I had all the colored tape on there, as an extra precaution, I secured them to the underside of the desk with some clear packing tape. This was absolutely a "stick with it" (no pun intended) project. About a quarter of the way through, it looked so stupid and I worried I was wasting time and money. By the end, I was obsessed.
Her final result transforms an inexpensive IKEA table into a unique piece.
Find the full instructions at Enjoy It: just for fun / taped work table.
(Images: Elise Blaha)
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Looks awesome! I might have to try that.
I love it! I wonder if I could do this to my countertops and then add lots of acrylic to protect it...
I may spray a clear coat over it just to make sure it sticks. Love it.
Oh I am picturing so many other cool patterns you could do with this, like a weave or a chevron too! Love it!
Maybe I'll do this with my Billy....spice it up a bit.
Brilliant and so well executed!
I love it! Thanks for the inspiration! I'm gonna do this on my plain headboard!
I love that! I think I'd want to clear coat it with something so the bumps from the tape edges were both secured and smoothed out. Thinking of other places I could do this!!!
I think this is a really cute and clever idea AND result. I would suggest some perspex or a piece of glass fitted on top, though. It seems like the type of thing that will pull and stretch out every time something is put onto it and in a few weeks or months, the effect could be a mess, complete with papers sticking to the adhesive of even pulled back tape.
Anyone who has ever lived with a duct tape repair knows that this is an unbelievably bad idea. The edges of the tape do nothing but attract dust and dirt. Nice for a photo, but completely impractical.
On the source website, the creator notes that this is "super impractical" or something like that, and says "I'll let you know how it's held up at the end of a week." I went through a page of comments but didn't see an update. But there were a few warping edges that would snag on something or gather dust, and the whole thing would start to unravel. The idea is unbelievably beautiful, but it needs to be done on a surface that can be covered with a giant swath of clear plastic, or a slab of glass, or some other protection.
I've seen colored tape at the hardware store, and I think I will use this suggestion for some plain pieces of furniture I have.