Getting Crafty
1:25 PM
I am all about getting that high end designer look but not always to pay that high end designer price. In other posts I've talked about how I choose what to splurge for and what to save on. I came into this project realizing I had a certain idea and tried my best to extrapolate that thought. I have a huge brick wall in my living room and wanted a nice statement piece to balance the space. Once I started looking for 6' long modern media consoles I quickly realized I wasn't ready to spend $2k on a piece quite yet. So of course I started where all DIY professionals start; Ikea.
I know I know… Ikea isn't exactly known for selling glamorous pieces and their products are a royal &$^%* to put together. However, I see it as a stand-alone piece that will rarely see much use other than to store some DVDs, my vinyl collection and to support my T.V., I thought this could definitely work!
For any DIY project you should definitely gather some inspirational pictures to start with. This way you'll have a clear image (and visuals) to help you find accessories that will add a custom look to your piece. Ikea has some really great "basic" products to start off with. I already have a lot of natural materials in my house so I actually wanted to stick with a man-made material. The glossy white finish on the doors gives this piece a designer look and I think it pushes to really read as a statement piece.
This is the Ikea Besta and I know, its kind of bland and definitely looks like its an Ikea piece. The first issue I ran across was that the t.v. is sitting very low so my objective was to give it some height. (I am too much of a chicken to mount my T.V. to the wall, I couldn't drill into my beautiful brick!) I had done a lot of searching prior to deciding on the Besta and knew I wanted hairpin legs! This look is super chic and very versatile for just about any piece. I found mine on amazon and decided the 6" would be more than acceptable. (They do offer other sizes to fit any need!)
To jazz up my hairpin legs I took bland black and spray painted them to get glam gold! Its amazing what a little paint and extra effort can do.
(Measure twice, drill once. We keep saying it… but its because it works! Consider the placement of your legs. Since this piece was meant to sit on the floor I wasn't sure if the materials would hold the entire 6' span so I pulled the legs in about 1' from each edge of the console to more evenly distribute the weight of all my stored stuff and my t.v. on top.)
I found these gorgeous natural agate drawer pulls on easy and fell IN LOVE with them! So I highly suggest in taking a look at this shop. They have lots of colors, shapes and sizes to fit your needs. I saw the gold edge on these pulls and knew I had to have them!
This is my final product! The 6" harpin legs are absolutely divine and now my t.v. sits at the perfect viewing height! These agate drawer pulls add a bit of personality and color to a basic Ikea console and make this look far more expensive than it really was! I got a custom piece for $405! A steal compared to the $2,000 options I contemplated.
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