Customized IKEA Barstools

I got a CB2 catalog in the mail a few weeks ago and immediately fell in love with these barstools. They are just a perfect mix of modern and rustic, with their rugged seats and crisp white iron legs. I wanted them badly. But unfortunately I didn't have $378 to spend on the most wonderful barstools I'd ever seen.

Thats when my wheels got turning to DIY something. I knew the first place to go- IKEA of course! The gigantic store with all kinds of goods just waiting to be "hacked". There I found the unfinished birch BOSSE barstool for $39.99. I had been wanting to experiment with stain for some time now, and this was my perfect chance.

I bought two of these guys, along with some Krylon white spray primer and
Fusion spray paint in satin white. I also got a little can of Minwax Wood Finish stain in Jacobean.

The first step was to just take everything out of the boxes. I laid out the chair frames on top of bricks and just got to paintin'. The primer and paint dries REALLY fast, so this took just a few hours for one coat of primer and about 1.5 coats of paint. I can't recommend highly enough that you don't skip the primer stage. The paint goes on so easily and covers so well after.

The scary part was the seats, since I haven't ever used stain before. Let me tell you if you haven't either, the stuff is messy. I would recommend latex gloves if you have 'em, because that stuff was in my fingernails for days. First, you want to sand the top of the seat REALLY WELL. I put my husband to work on this job after I realized I hadn't sanded hard enough. I'd recommend a pretty rough grit sanding block. The fine won't really do much. Get it really nice and even though, because you don't want any scratch marks showing up on the seat once the stain is on. Also make sure that after sanding, the item is free and clear of dust and debris.

I then put a coat of stain, using a foam brush and going in the direction of the grain, over the whole seat. I let it set for about 15 minutes, and then just buffed out the excess with a rag. It was tricky though, because by 15 minutes it's already starting to get gummy. I found the solution for that to be applying another coat of stain the opposite direction, and then only leaving that on for about 5 minutes or so before wiping off.

A few days later I applied two coats of Minwax Polycrylic with a nice brush. I was debating whether I even needed to do this step, but I'm glad I did because they look so much more finished now. Don't skip this step! It seals the stain and makes the wood look very finished.

 So maybe by now you'd like to see the finished product?

Total cost for the pair: under $100. I know my version isn't as cool and organic looking as the CB2 version, but I love mine, and my favorite part is the DIY :) I'm looking for other things to stain now too!