Wouldn’t we all love a Château to decorate shabby chic? I follow the Escape to the Château DIY Fan Club Facebook page and see first hand the home decorators who are creating their own Château Escape right here in the UK, Angel would be proud of your efforts!
It’s not always feasible to think about crossing the Channel to France to buy furniture at the brocante, and shops in the UK offering similar vintage items can be rather expensive. So why not use what we all have and jazz up our homes? What do we all have in our homes? IKEA furniture of course!
Let’s face it IKEA furniture is well designed for functionality and great for space saving but is basic in colour selection and definitely not shabby chic. So I did some research and found out that you can in fact quickly and easily upcycle and personalize your IKEA pieces to create your own Escape to the Château with you as the DIY specialist.
For best and lasting results the consensus is to definitely use a primer on laminate IKEA pieces and Zinsser BIN came highly recommended. According to the size of your project the primer is available in 2 sizes 1 litre or 2.5 litres (as a guideline 250 ml will usually cover a chair or a small chest or drawers). Before you begin, be sure to remove handles and nobs and clean off all surfaces to remove dust and ground in dirt. If you’re shabby chic’ing a cupboard with doors then remove the doors or drawers to treat them separately, then apply the primer and allow to dry overnight.
You’ve all heard of magic chalk paint for the shabby chic look, this particular product came highly recommended, Grace Mary Chalk and Clay available in 34 stunning colours and boasting 40% chalk for amazing (and cost effective) one coat coverage.
Final step is to finish it off with a finishing wax or as an alternative you can use Shabby Chic Multi Surface Sealant which offers protection from water, moisture, UV rays and light abrasions.
Final step – if you so choose – is to add new decorative knobs or handles.
Have fun and please send in photos of your [re]finished, remastered and shabby chic IKEA masterpieces!
