Ikea Step Stool Hack: Faking The Vintage Look With Wrapping Paper
Finding vintage home decor can be expensive and time-consuming. When you’re in a pinch and you don’t want to search all over for the perfect antique piece to match your historic home, you can fake the look. Here’s how I turned an inexpensive stool from Ikea into a viable fake family heirloom with paint, mod podge, and wrapping paper …
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When decorating my own home, I am cautious to add pieces that are unique. Now that my home has a more modern look after our tornado rebuild (more on that here: Our Tornado Rebuild), I especially love the juxtaposition of old home decor with the new, modern lines. Here’s how we display our collections of antique and vintage finds in our bonus room:
You may also recall the antique bathroom scale I added as wall decor in our newly finished downstairs bathroom:
If you’re wondering where I source for vintage accessories, you’re in luck! I wrote a whole post about vintage and antique items for bathrooms: Finding Vintage Accents For A Historic Bathroom Renovation
The easiest way to find things that aren’t showcased in every third house you see on Instagram is to shop for antiques and vintage home accessories at local thrift stores and antique malls.
Buuuuut… we’re in a pandemic and it can be a little scary to go out into the world right now. So today, I’m showing you one easy idea for making a new item look aged with character using very cheap materials you can find online.
IKEA STOOL WRAPPING PAPER DIY
supplies needed:
- plain wooden stool
- paint – latex
- craft paint brush
- wrapping paper
- mod podge
- scissors
- business card or credit card
STEP ONE: don’t assemble stool
Pull out the step pieces as those are the only ones you’ll be working with to adhere the wrapping paper.
STEP TWO: wrapping paper template
trace the steps onto the back of the wrapping paper + cut out the pieces to fit
STEP THREE: apply adhesive to top of steps
I used mod podge as my adhesive and you will want to as well. Cover the entire top side of the step with mod podge. Be liberal. This will dry eventually.
STEP FOUR: apply wrapping paper
Place the paper face side up on the stool. Trim excess if needed. Then use a business card or credit card to smooth out any wrinkles or air pockets.
STEP FIVE: apply finish glaze
Apply a layer of mod podge over entire top of step to finish. Repeat entire process with all steps.
OPTIONAL STEP: Paint stool
I opted to paint the entire stool black but you can leave it natural wood or finish with a lacquer.
IT’S CALLED DECOUPAGE!
This technique isn’t new. I certainly didn’t invent it myself. The art of Decoupage has been around forever. Literally, it’s traced back to East Siberian tomb art.
The term decoupage literally translates to “to cut out from something”.
How My Decoupage Stool Is Holding Up: A Year Later
I originally created this stool as part of my craft room project last November. It’s been a year and this stool has been through some stuff (remember that tornado? yeah. it was in the hardest hit room).
This stool is a hard working member of our family. While it hangs on the wall in the kitchen, it’s often used throughout our entire home every single day. We use it to reach our overstock items on the shelves in the bathrooms.
The stool also comes in handy for small painting projects and touch-ups around the house. I use it often to dust the ceiling fans.
Although it’s looking a little dinged up and has some paint spatter, that weathering only adds to the character.
When we’ve had people over, they often see it hanging on the wall and ask if it’s an antique. That’s a real sign of a good fake!
GET THE LOOK: VINTAGE STOOL DIY
I’ll be back soon with more ideas for decorating your historic home. Until then, stay safe and sane. xoxo
RENOVATING HISTORIC HOMES ON A BUDGET ISN’T EASY
BUT I’M HERE TO HELP.
Commenting on this post is disabled so I can focus on our upcoming projects + client designs but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to hear from you. Send me your questions and comments on Instagram by either commenting on my latest post or sending me a direct message. I really love to chat it out!
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