IKEA: Emma's LATT Children's Table Set DIY Makeover

Sponsored

Being a big fan of IKEA, I'm stoked to be part of the 2016 IKEA Blogger Program. This program runs over 4 months and I'll be taking on one different task each month to create useful, interesting and fun home fix ideas. 

For this month, I need to do something crafty! Oh yay, my favourite!

LATT Children's Table Set Makeover

With Emma's room revamp well underway, I decided to update one of her IKEA pieces - the LATT children's table. It costs S$39.90 and is one of the cheapest children's table around.

We could have easily bought the white SUNDVICK or KRITTER table set last year but both would cost at least $100. Since I love doing DIY anyway, the crafty and thrifty me thought it would be better to do a DIY makeover instead.

Before

I happily spent a few nights cutting and wrapping up the table set with wall papers. It turned out lovely and totally matched the theme of our living hall.

But, there was one down side which Hubby frowned upon for the past 1 year. The corners where pieces of wallpaper met (forming right angles) created some pointed edges that lightly scratched us once a while. Thankfully, all were small scratches that recover quickly. 

After

Can you spot the differences?

So, it's finally time to say good-bye to the wrap and hello to a new facelift! After some intensive googling and brainstorming, I decided to (1) paint the table set, (2) upholster the seat and (3) add on an acrylic table top. 

 

White Painted Table Set

It's white again to match our living hall theme! I didn't try this last year as I wasn't very confident with paint until we got Nippon Paint to paint Emma's room.  

In the end, it wasn't so scary to handle paint. However, the wood paint is quite smelly and best to paint it outdoor. The neighborhood paint shop guy recommended Nippon paint wood paint and it works really well! I don't even need to apply primer. 

I would love to paint it in pink but it just doesn't match our living hall. Besides, keeping the table in her pink room won't work as she plays a lot in the living hall.

Materials used for paint work:

1. LATT Children's Table

2. Sandpaper (optional, I needed it as there was some rough surfaces after removing the wallpaper)

3. Nippon Paint Wood Paint

4. Paintbrush

5. Newspapers (to protect the flooring)

Step-by-step guide

1.  Lay the newspaper 

2. Place the (sanded) table/chair on it

3. Start painting! 

4. Let it dries for a day and repeat 1-3 for a second coat. 

Black & White Stripped Upholstered Chairs

I'd DIY-ed my IKEA dining chairs covers about 2 months back and I can't resist to get Emma a matching one!

I added some foam pads to the table/chair tops and upholstered the chair for comfort.

Materials used for chair upholstery: 

1. Foam pad (from Art Friend)

2. Fabric of choice (from IKEA, choose a thin one!)

3. Hot Glue/Double sized tape

4. ScotchGuard (Fabric protector from Art Friend)

5. Scissor

6. Fixa screwdriver (from IKEA)

Step-by-step guide

1. Measure the size of the chair top

2. Trim and fold the foam pad to desire thickness and secure the layers using double hot glue/sized tape

3. Dismantle the chairs using FIXA screwdriver and remove the table top.

4. Place the foam pad on the chair and secure it using hot glue/double sized tape

5. Wrap the chair top and foam pad with the fabric and seal it with hot glue at the bottom of the chair.

3. Fix back the chair. 

4. Spray ScotchGuard over the fabric and let it dry.

Black & White Acrylic Table Top

Emma's table is stained with pens and highlighter marks so I used the remaining fabric to cover up the stains. I figure out that the table top got to be hard so I can't leave the fabric as it is. Since I have no idea where to get the plexiglass, I used an acrylic sheet for a hard surface as well as to protect the fabric.

Materials used for table top:

1. Table 

2. Acrylic sheet

3. Fabric

4. Scissor

5. Hot glue/Double sided tape

Step-by-step guide

1. Measure the table top size

2. Trim the fabric to size, made folds and secure it by hot glue/double sided tape to form hem.
3. Iron it.

3. Apply ScotchGuard on the fabric

4. Trim the acrylic sheet to size using scissor

5. Lay the fabric

6. Cover it with the acrylic sheet

 

And it's done! 

This is my biggest DIY project so far and I'm so happy with it!

Somehow, I find it really therapeutic to be on a DIY project. I guess my love to craft and create never dies, and such projects fuel me up. But, I got to admit it's hard to set aside long hours on such projects. So, I just got to bite some bullets and spend my many late nights for it. It's not perfect but I've definitely put in all my best!

Emma said she likes it even though I know she would very much love it to be in pink. It's just too bad that pink won't sit well with our black, white and red theme. But I guess she will grow to love her new table set very soon. Furthermore, she already has a pink room to enjoy! 

Look out for my next post on 10 ways to makeover a LATT table if you're toying with some table makeover. Two of the ideas will spice up any table in 10-15 mins!