Before & After: An IKEA Desk to Compact Console for Under $60
Alyssa needed a console table, but the one she had her eye on to buy was too big and too expensive So when she came across this simple, dark IKEA laptop table, she realized for a little bit of money and only a few steps she could transform it into a cute, compact console perfect for her home.
From Alyssa:
A few years ago I stupidly sold a killer acrylic console table in a fit of re-decorating mania and I’ve regretted it ever since. So, I was on the hunt for a replacement. I’d recently fallen for a minimal and modern console from Blu Dot (a store with many pieces I covet) called the Strut. But, sadly, it was too big and spendy.
Then, I was walking through the office section at IKEA and noticed this little “laptop” table. Slim, metal and the right size. Like, PERFECTLY the right size. Plus it had a simple glass top! Score! The blah-grey finish was totally changeable and with a price tag of $39.99, it was worth the effort.
Since the blah-grey had to go, I ran through a few different color options first thinking yellow would be funky and bold and then maybe a teal-blue, but ultimately settled on white. See, I’m a Gemini which means I change my mind, A LOT, and white so perfectly allows me to do that. Over and over and over again.
So, how best to turn this puppy white? Good old fashioned spray paint. Powder coating was definitely my first option but proved to be way too expensive so off to Home Depot and back with two cans of Rust-Oleum. I read a lot about needing to sand the surface and use a auto-grade spray paint but that sounded like a lot of work. I settled for one-step ease and ended up using two cans of White Gloss with a built in primer.
Almost complete! The table comes with dark brown screw-on feet and dark brown felt surface guards for the glass top which just wouldn’t do. Luckily, I found clear vinyl surface guards at Home Depot for the glass top and larger squarish guards for the feet of the table.
And, voila! A modern, minimal console table for under $60!
Proof you can really change the look of something with only a few materials and a few steps! Thank you Alyssa! See more on her blog.
Re-edited from a post originally published 8.16.14-nt