Yup. I’m hot for potatoes. Preferably fried, but this time…
…..I can’t get enough of printing with potatoes, especially when they can transform one of the most widely-owned pieces of furniture from Ikea. Yes, we have a lovely mid-century modern dining set that we refurbished a few years ago, but our labor o’ love is packed away, vacuum sealed, and hibernating in storage right now (along with a lot of our other beloved pieces). You see, we planned a move to Europe this summer but things changed for several reasons and we are postponing it until next year. And so, we are back in my small pad south of San Francisco in Mountain View and I’m having a field day with filling it (not too much) with a few necessities.
I naturally trolled Craigslist in search of used bargains and came across one of the most popular items sold at Ikea.
This is the BJURSTA table and BÖRJE chairs (I’m not sure why, but Abba’s music always starts playing in my head when I read the names of Ikea products). It’s practical and cheap, and even cheaper when found on Craigslist. We paid WAYYY less than half of what it would cost for the set with 6 chairs; my Bargainista prowess once again in full force.
HOWEVER…….not wanting to own the same thing as what gazillions of families in Europe and millions of families in the US own, my mind started imagining ways I could make ours a little different. So I turned to my favorite vegetable (yes, potatoes are vegetables IN MY WORLD) once again for help.
They look like little Christmas trees because the wood tone of our newly acquired dining set reminds me of pine trees.
My sweet and curious little 5-year-old niece assisted me. Special creative bonding time with auntie.
Just one potato and a tube of black fabric paint later…..
The space is sparse and I’m thinking of putting a few black and white prints on the walls, but I’m sorta liking the minimalist look that is essential to Scandinavian design.
A few knick knacks certainly don’t hurt. This is an antique sake set I got from the historic town of Locke near Sacramento, where many of my peeps settled back in the gold rush. It’s worth checking out if you haven’t been there. Blast from the past for sure.
And that’s pretty much it, folks!
This is what happens when I get a BJURSTA creativity.
What’s your Ikea transformation?
Filed under: DIY, Projects Tagged: bjursta table, dining table, diy interior design, diy potato prints, fabric stamping, furniture, home decor, home furnishings, home improvement, Ikea, ikea BÖRJE chairs, ikea hack, interior design, potato printing, potato stamping, scandinavian interior design