There has been some talk about starting a post that could show Ikea products that have been re-vamped and personalized.
We love this idea. We are starting with this Luva pendant lamp that we used for a client on a budget. We simply (and gently) stained out the light wood decorative veneer tube with a dark stain.
Other thoughts might be to try a color wash of a slightly watered down latex paint. We think it's really lovely and for $30.00, not a bad way to light the way.
I thought I had struck gold when I saw this bright blue children's MAMMUT table from Ikea ; with a little spray primer and Krylon paint for plastic in off white it is the perfect outdoor companion for my Philippe Starck Bubble Club Sofa! Not bad for $25.00!!
we spiced up our dining room chairs by using silver leaf on the bottom 3rd of the legs. we were going to use yellow, but changed our mind. there was actually a post a while back on our chairs. it was called "How To: Spice up an Ikea dining chair". check it out. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/112204/how-to/how-to-spice-up-an-ikea-dining-chair-001484
Yay! I love modifying Ikea stuff!
i took a $30 black low 4-drawer dresser and switched out the plastic "silver" knobs with chrome ones. sure, the knobs cost almost as much as the dresser but i always get asked where it's from. people can't beleive it's ikea.
I just plain ol' stained some unfinished pine pieces, and people can't believe it's IKEA...I still think it kind of has that ikea feel, but the stain definitely took the "i got this cheap" feel off of it.
Here's what I did with some Ikea kitchen wall cabinets:
alec -
nice! i'm assuming that the original veneer had some sort of protective finish on it, so did you have any problems getting the stain to "take"? did you have to sand or strip it first?
TeoNYC - where's the rest of your post? i'm curious about your Ikea cabinets.