In August, after picking up Jim from the airport, we made what was supposed to be quick trip into Ikea to grab some picture frames for the photos I received from contributing to a KickStarter project. Of course, hardly any trip to Ikea, just like trips to Costco, Home Depot, or Fry's Electronics, can be quick. Getting in and out with just what you targeted to get doesn't usually happen. Such was the case this time.
We found the frames. The frames being metric and the prints being on US sized paper, the cut-outs of the provided mattes are just a hair too wide, showing some of the white border of the print. But the next size smaller would just constrict the fantastic images from antartica.
Walking out through the warehouse section towards the registers we spied a sale! And we have been looking for a bench to put under one of the double windows in the house. Yeah, it's for Dru to hop up on and look out to the world. The item is the August Bench pictured above. An "Ikea firm", white, leather cushion on top of a natural pine trestle platform. The sale? 20% of list price. We assume it was a clearance of an end of life product or it just wasn't moving out the door.
After loading it into the car, we went back in for a breakfast bite at their cafe. For a whopping total of about $10 we each had some eggs, juice, bacon/sausage and split a cinnamon roll.
There is a place for Ikea furniture in the world. But some of it is just so plain. We couldn't deny the functionality of the piece. And the firm, but comfortable cushion, even in white was well done. I just thought the platform could have been so much better, particularly for the list price. But for the sale price I could easily make the purchase. I had a plan. Let's change the platform more to our liking.
Taking Ikea creations and enhancing or modifying can be a talent and can result in some amazing things. Ikea Hackers can show you some amazing ideas. We just needed a paint job.
Below to the left is a piece with the original finish in the middle; my first attempt at staining the pine with a dark walnut stain is to the left and along the bottom and the final selection.... a can of chocolate brown, satin finish spray paint.
Below and to the right is the finished and assembled August Bench. All ready for Dru!
Since we elected for the painted finish we had a small can of walnut color stain left on the shelf. The bonus? I applied this to the faded and aging coffee table we keep on our covered patio. I liberally applied the stain to the faded finish and the wood jump to life soaking up the stain. It is really amazing how the stain livened up the table. You have to love how the stain can react with the wood to reveal some amazing texture and depth.
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2 comments:
I also want to stain my August bench that I recently purchased. Did you apply the new stain directly to the existing bench or did you sand it first? Did your stained product turn out well even though you ended up going with the paint?
I tried sanding one of the cross bars before staining and it helps with the stain. However I didn't have the patience to sand all those round surfaces, so I opted for paint instead.
If you try to stain without sanding, the grain is darkened. See the photo in the post. But for a deep rich even stain, I can't see how you can do it without sanding off the factory clear lacquer finish.
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