Ikea Buffet Makeover

The hubby and I searched high and low for a white buffet for our living/dining area for what seemed like forever. And when we finally found what we were looking for it was over 2,000 bones, pffft. So what did we do? Repainted an Ikea version. Why didn’t we think of this sooner?! While I’loved the Stornas Buffet’s dark color, I wanted to add some more white into the mix to play off our kitchen cabinets. Plus our dining table is dark and I like to keep things fresh with different wood tones throughout. I wish I could tell you what I did to paint it but it was actually the hubby who completed the job. He briefly worked for a cabinet guy back in the day and is pretty good with a paint sprayer. We also switched out the handles to give it a more custom look.

Here is a rough step-by-step of what he did. Since my steps are lacking some much needed detail for you DIYers out there I found this post from Jenna Sue to fill in the blanks. Looks like she had the same idea!

1. Sanded it down

2. Sprayed on a primer

3. Sanded it down again

4. Sprayed on white paint color and sanded in between to get an even coat of white gorgeousness.

5. Once it was dry he painted on a Polyurethane

Viola! a brand new take on the Ikea Buffet.

So here was the original color: (again this is the Ikea Stornas Buffet)

And here is how it turned out. I love, love, love the open shelves which I added Target baskets to. It really pops against the white. I’m still not set on the styling on top and plan on doing maybe a gallery wall in the future. For some reason the thought of creating a gallery wall completely terrifies me. Weird I know, but hopefully one day I will conquer my fears… 😉

Everything aside from the baskets are from Home Goods or TJ Maxx (my go-to stores if you haven’t noticed). The pillows are Ikea and the handles are Home Depot. So that about sums up our Ikea re-do, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Living Room Progress

Today I’m going to share the progress of our living room before I get bored and want to switch things up. Caleb my brother and photographer came over to get some pics, and with this being his first interior shoot, I think he did an amazeballs job!

We really loved the bones of this home, but the finishes just weren’t “us”. Luckily the whole house (aside from the kitchen and bathrooms) had carpet which made it super easy to rip out and put down tile (wrote about that here). The rest was a matter of furnishing, which took far longer than I expected, and adding a fresh coat of paint. As I have mentioned before Travis accidently deleted our before pictures (poor guy will never live that down) so I had to get most of these from the MLS listing which means they are terrible quality, but you get the idea.

It took us me forever to furnish it (and it’s still not complete) but here is what it looks like today.

Source List:

• All the accessories are from TJ Maxx, Home Goods, or Target
• The couch is from West Elm (Henry Sofa but it doesn’t look like they I have the color I got anymore)
• The leather chairs are from a local furniture store. I originally didn’t want any leather but Trav insisted and I’m actually glad we got them so he can sit in them when he is dirty, eating, ect.
• The coffee and end table are part of the Paula Deen collection. Her stuff is great quality which means it’s also a little pricy but look for sales. I’ve even seen her furniture on Joss & Main for almost half the price!
• I forgot where I ordered the rug from but I found them here. This thing has been great! No problems with staining, even after we potty trained our second Yorkie.
• The light is another Lamp’s Plus Purchase. Another place I always use coupons!
• And the mirrors above the leather chairs are from Target. (I can’t find them online but originally bought them in-store)

If I left anything out just ask. Hope everyone is having a great week, our weather here is in the 90’s this so I’ve been in a much better mood knowing Fall is right around the corner. And by around the corner I mean like 3 months away. 😉 Ahhh gotta love Phoenix!