by Stephanie Berenbaum - July 9th, 2012
trendy-woman-in-living-room
Upscale Your Low End Furniture
I don't know about you, but I have a major love-hate relationship with IKEA. Admittedly, I have had my share of Ikea disasters, but let me tell you about my recent major VICTORY which has me once again loving my Swedish friends…
PAGE_156_OFFER_00308066
In Search of the Perfect Table…
I won't keep you in suspense: my latest SCORE came in the form of the MALM occasional table. I have been on a seemingly endless hunt for the perfect console table to put behind our sofa. Given the fact that I have two young boys, I didn't want to invest a fortune in a piece that will likely end up being the target of a Sharpie pen. - But I still wanted something chic, sophisticated and colorful…
MALM is usually marketed with wheels on the bottom as a long table you slide over your bed to create a workspace, so you'll find it in the bedroom section at Ikea. But guess what? Take the casters off (or, rather, just don't put them on) and you have a chic, modern sofa table that has completely reinvigorated my living room - for only $79!
Ikea Hackers
I was so inspired by my latest victory that I started exploring the awesome site Ikea Hackers - full of great ways to think outside the box (literally) about your Ikea purchases. I could spend all day seeing the ways they re-invent even the most basic "Lack" tables. But what really caught my eye were two companies that are allowing us all to personalize Ikea purchases...
Screen Shot 2012-07-09 at 3.40.53 PM
O'verlays
Why didn't I think of this? O'verlays are lightweight, decorative fretwork that easily attach to your Ikea products (& other D.I.Y. projects), and they literally transform your piece in seconds! Check out their site - you would never recognize the "O'verlayed" pieces as Ikea!
They even have a custom department so you can order special sized pieces if you need to. With lots of designs in the $10-$20 range, you can upgrade your basic Ikea to look like a stylish Jonathan Adler in no time - and for almost no money!
Read More at Fabandfru.com
