Ikea Hack Art Deco Table

From a very early age I was obsessed with the illustrator Erté and his wonderful depiction of fashion during the Art Deco period.  The beautiful dresses, the amazing furniture and fantastic architecture just did it for me.  The Empire State Building and the Chrystler Building are just two of the most famous and most beautiful Art Deco buildings, and for most of my life in NYC I was able to look up and appreciate them every day.  I decided to take my love of Ikea hacks and create an Art Deco side table with the new super glossy MAXX GLOSS paints from DecoArt.  From $5 table to showstopper!  Enjoy.  Be creative.  Make messes.  Have fun

xoxo, Mark

Watch how easy it is to make here!

I think my table would look amazing in this room!

This poster served as inspiration for my design

Stuff You'll Need

Lack table from Ikea (or small, square side table)

Maxx Gloss in China White and Patent Leather

Jigsaw

Metallic gold paint pen

E-6000 Glue

1/4" plywood cut in the following sizes:

8 - 2" x 6"

8 - 4" x 8"

8 - 6" x 10" 

1.  Using a large lid, trace a curve on the corner of each of the 24 pieces

2.  Cut each curve with a jigsaw and fine blade

3.  Sand each piece with a sander or sandpaper

4.  Paint the 6"x 10" and 2" x 6" pieces with Maxx Gloss in black

*Make sure you paint 4 sets facing each direction

5.  Paint the 4" x 8" pieces in China White

6.  When dry edge each piece with a metallic paint pen

7.  Paint the entire table with the Maxx Gloss in black

*Ikea tables come in black, but they are not glossy which is the effect I wanted

8.  Glue the painted wood pieces together in sets

9.  With E-6000, glue them to the corners of each side of the table and let dry

In love!

Ikea Hack Kate Spade Desk DIY

LOVING the Kate Spade furniture and lighting lately, but just not loving the prices.  Sooooooo I decided to hack a few things and see if I could get the same look for less.  You know, the old High/Low challenge!  As much as I wanted the original $3,500 desk, I thought I could save some cash and make a similar version with the Alex desk from Ikea.  Um, as you can see, they're pretty similar and I'm just fine having spent less than $200 on the entire project.  Now you can, too.  Unless, of course, you're loaded and you really want to spend that much on a polka dot desk.

Have fun!  xoxo, Mark

The original Kate Spade desk

My version with slightly different hardware

I used barrel bolts to get the same feel as the Kate desk and I'm pretty happy with them

See the short video tutorial here!

Stuff You'll Need

Alex desk from Ikea (or your own)

American Decor Maxx Gloss in Patent Leather

2 polished brass Barrel Bolts

Drill

Soft bristle brush

3/4" daubers

Center and screw in the barrel bolts in the center of each drawer

Clip tiny divots in the dauber

*Kate's polka dots aren't perfectly round

Stir the Maxx Gloss thoroughly

Test the dauber on piece of paper to get the hang of it

Paint polka dots on the top of the desk

Paint the legs in solid black with a brush

Looks perfect with my Kate Spade inspired polka dot lamp!

Kate Spade Lamp DIY

AKA Thrift Store Lamp DIY!  So a few weeks back I was dreaming about buying a few Kate Spade pieces for my home.  I love her aesthetic, always have.  Then I saw the prices!  $570 for a lamp! Are you kidding me?  Do you also want my first child?  Right then I realized that with a little elbow grease and some MAXX GLOSS paint, I could create that very same lamp for about $25 bucks.  Less if I could find the shape at a thrift store.  BTW, I hit 6 thrift stores and could not find this shape (because I was looking for it).  The following week, after the project was done, I found 3 of them!  If you're not having any luck, head to Target.com or LampsPlus.com and check out the sale items. This column shape is very popular and MAXX GLOSS will cover anything.  Have fun!

xoxo, Mark

My beautiful polka dot, Kate Spade inspired lamp!

See how easy it is to make right here!

Stuff You'll Need

Column lamp

MAXX GLOSS in patent leather

Americana Decor Chalky Finish in lace

Krylon Short Cuts paint pen in metallic gold

3/4" dauber

3/4" metallic gold sticker dots

Fine hair paint brush

Paint the lamp with MAXX GLOSS and let dry

Create a pattern of dots with the chalky finish in lace using the dauber

Cover each dot with a gold sticker leaving a crescent moon on each

Paint the top edge with the Krylon Short Cuts paint pen

I love my new work space!