IKEA Table Makeover – Perfect Fit Office Desk – Using MMSMP

We’re covering a few things in this post today:

1. An IKEA table/desk makeover from raw wood to Hamptons style finish.
2. Staining using Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint, some hints and tips for using MMSMP as a stain and the magic of Hemp Oil.
3. De-cluttering the UGLY space we have in our home – I’m sure no one else has one of these!!?

So starting with the 3rd point … I’m almost too embarrassed to post these pictures … please tell me you all have an UGLY space?!  You know, the place where you come home and just dump stuff: the keys, the spare change, the magazine you half read, the papers that come home from school.

It’s the space that doubles as my “office” so there’s always filing, bills, receipts, computer drives and cables, and the odd jar of Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Wax ready to mail out … NOT TO MENTION that laminate top desk with metal base that was left here by my parents who previously owned this house, which I’m sure was handed down to them in some office clear-out via my dad’s workplace back in the 80s!

So needless to say, this space was crying out for attention, so let’s just put that thought in the back of our minds as I began my IKEA table makeover without even thinking it would actually fit into this very space. What a DUH moment that was!

Here’s the table I started with, and this is AFTER I had sanded the top back, which was sporting some creative mini-artist felt pen and pencil marks, when I first bought it from a second hand store. Now look at the top – good as new and ready for some staining!To stain the top, I used Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Curio (dark brown colour), mixing with a ratio of:

3 parts water : 1 part paint powder

For this table, I wanted to cover the entire table – top and base – even though I would be painting over the base in a white colour. I wanted the dark colour to show through when distressing, and not the blonde raw wood.Here’s what the stain looked like as I painted it on using my natural bristle, MMSMP brush. See how you can still see the wood grain through the paint?As the Milk Paint dries, you can see that it appears chalky and light coloured compared to the above picture, when the paint is first applied wet. This is normal! This is also why you always need to finish your painted pieces properly with a furniture wax or finishing oil, such as Hemp Oil or MMSMP Furniture wax, White wax or Antiquing wax (more on this below).You can see below, where I started from the front (now fairly dry) and worked towards the back (still slightly damp). Milk Paint is very quick drying and if you were doing more coats, you could paint over it in an hour or less. For a stain though, I only usually need one coat.

Once you have stained your wood surface with MMSMP, you will need to apply a protective, sealing finish to bring that colour back out and give it a beautiful lustrous finish. Introducing one of my favourite MMSMP products: HEMP OIL.

Look at this picture to see what I’m talking about:

Instructions for using Hemp Oil:

Apply generous amount on a lint free rag and wipe on!

So easy to apply, and looks AMAZING! It really penetrates and soaks in to the wood and the porous finish of the milk paint. For more info about HEMP OIL, click HERE.

Looking good after 2 coats of Hemp Oil (leave for drying time of a couple hours between applications).

I knew this table would get a good beating as an office desk, so for added protection, I added some MinWax rub on varnish (available at Bunnings in Australia), but if you didn’t want to use something with chemicals in it, you can just stick with the Hemp oil or you could use MMSMP’s Tung Oil (not available in Australia just yet). I wasn’t sure if this would go over the hemp oil okay, but it worked a treat and came up beautifully.

Now for the base: I used Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in colour: Ironstone (the whitest colour in their range) in a ratio of:

1 part water : 1 part MMSMP paint powder

Here’s the base after just one coat of Ironstone:

And here it is finished after two coats of Ironstone, a little distressing on the edges to reveal the dark Curio stain underneath, then topped with a coat of MMSMP Furniture Wax (the clear wax). And now I was after a place to put this desk. I even asked one of my kids if they wanted it for their room as a study desk, before I saw my “UGLY SPACE” and had a DUH moment, measured up the space and PRESTO! This was a perfect fit!

So here is the beginnings of my TIDY SPACE … (please excuse my iphone pics at the moment while my good camera is at the doctor!)

Yes, if you noticed, I didn’t show you the shelving to the right of this nook … and there’s a good reason for that! Ahem, yes, the makeover is a WIP, so those messy shelves are still getting a workout.

I hope you enjoyed the read and learnt something in the process. I’d love you to subscribe to my blog posts if you are interested in keeping up to date with my makeovers, etc. You can subscribe via the top right hand side on this blog.

I’d love to know what your thoughts are on this makeover:

• Did you learn something new about a MMSMP product?
• Did you get inspired to stain a piece of wood furniture or paint it?
• Did you get inspired to transform an UGLY space at your place?

I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to comment below.

Happy Painting!

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