MetaChat - Pimp my furniture!

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30 August 2007

Pimp my furniture! →[More:]So as I finish packing I realize my white particleboard furniture is sad, so very sad. I want to jazz it up a bit and I'm trying to think of the coolest ways to do this.

So far I thought of spray paint, which can look good if done properly. Any cool effects? What else can I do to this ugly student furniture (I can't complain since I did get it for free :P)? Decoupage?

Seen any cool treatments out there?

post by: SassHat at: 15:06 | 11 comments

You could batik it.

posted by Ambrosia Voyeur 30 August | 15:09

LACE!

YEah, it might be way too trendy, but it's really cool to do a "negative" of a nice big chunk of lace. Either get paper-lace doilies (Sp?) (the kind of stuff you put under plates at parties), or get a bigger chunk of lace trim from the nearest home decorating shop and use it as a stencil, or heck laquer it on!

Just to show you the kind of crazy I mean, I'm going to sneak in to babies bedroom and snap a shot of her ex-boring cabinet. Hang on.

posted by dabitch 30 August | 15:11

Comic book chest of drawers...I want to do this.

I can't wait to see your photo, dabitch. Tip toe in there...

posted by iconomy 30 August | 15:16

Here we go, rubbish shot I'm afraid but that type of lace is very inexpensive an you could use it as a stencil. (Come in very wide, super-duper-wide and thin like here)

posted by dabitch 30 August | 15:18

Cartoon drawers are fun too! Make a big stencils of the best Modesty Blaise squares you can find! Yeay!

posted by dabitch 30 August | 15:20

Be careful with spray painting if your particleboard is surfaced with melamine: it won't stick.

posted by Specklet 30 August | 15:22

If you do spraypaint or decoupage, consider roughing up the surface first --- just a bit! --- with sanding blocks or sandpaper. Paint or mod-podge should stick better to a rough surface than to a slick one.

As you may be aware, mod-podge and its ilk are sticky in humid weather; you'll probably want to treat the finish with a coating, maybe of polyurethane.

Or perhaps you're using a nicer decoupage glue than I do. My stuff always gets slightly tacky on humid days.

posted by Elsa 30 August | 15:25

Contact adhesive paper will stick nicely and saves the hassle of painting. Solid is good to try first, but it's easy to remove it you don't like it/get tired of it - which is a big bonus.

Find some solid graphic images/outlines/blobs you like, enlarge them to huge size and cut out of contact paper, then adhere. Let them run from one part to the other, such as, if you have something with cabinet doors/drawers, have it go over several. You can layer differnt colors/images for additional complexity.

posted by mightshould 30 August | 15:34

There are many fine ideas on Ikea Hacker.

posted by matildaben 30 August | 16:11

Craftster, linked above with the comic book dresser, will have TONS of clever DIY ideas.

posted by kellydamnit 30 August | 16:19

dabitch beat me to it - I was going to say stencil, baby.

posted by chewatadistance 30 August | 17:10

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