Before & After: Noelle’s Painted IKEA LACK Hack

From Noelle:

I decided to tackle my own project with my ages old white Ikea Lack coffee table using Cece Caldwell’s paint in Destin Gulf Green. I figured the worst that could happen is that I’d have to head out to Ikea and buy another Lack coffee table if it was a total bust. 

I was a bit cautious as most of the projects I’ve seen using the CC paint are more on vintage pieces made of real wood – but buoyed on by claims on the web saying you can cover virtually ANYTHING with Cece’s paint, I forged ahead. I can now vouch that yes, even furniture made of hollow wood and paper can be transformed using CC paint.

The entire process took me a Saturday afternoon into early evening — the paint was quick to apply and to dry — I used two coats, although I suppose one would have sufficed for a more shabby chic look. The wax that must be applied after painting to seal and protect the paint (as well as to bring out the vibrant colour) was the most worrisome part — it went on unevenly and was very splotchy — but I eventually realized that it evens out after drying (and a light sanding to distress the edges). The most time consuming and labour intensive part was hand-buffing the wax to a glossy shine (next time I will use a buffer attached to my cordless drill). I added some trunk hardware (from Lee Valley) to the corners and legs for a campaign-ish look, and voila!

Total cost was definitely more than the original table — approx. $60 for the paint and wax and about $15 for the hardware, but the end result was worth it to me. I LOVE how it turned out, (and how it brings out one of the colours in my steal of a floor sample rug from Crate and Barrel). My cat Boo appears to like it, too (or maybe that’s just the fire).

Thanks, Noelle!

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(Images: Noelle Smith)