Cheap IKEA Table Became a Farmhouse Living Room Accent. How?

Monika and her husband are just over thirty, happily married, and live in a separate house in the American countryside. The young couple loves modern European design with Provence and farmhouse style references. Many things are made by hand: the guiding idea and inspiration — Monika, and the actual hands — her husband. "I'm not a lumberjack or a carpenter," he laughs. "My only talent is that I'm not afraid to do something I've never done before."

Let's get started. Step 1 — something you've never done before

It's unlikely you've ever bought two identical IKEA dining tables. But it's time to do exactly that! They cost very little, but you'll learn how to join and finish tables so they look like those luxurious dining areas in Scandinavian and French interiors. And yes, these are the familiar IKEA INGUST tables.

Step 2 — increase the surface area: all will fit at this table

Join two IKEA INGUST tables together. Create an intermediate layer between the table and the tabletop using pine boards. It doesn't matter what they look like: the top boards will be covered by the tabletop.

Step 3 — cut the dream tabletop

Cut boards for your future tabletop. It will have two horizontal boards on the short sides, and the rest — vertical. Do all calculations and cut the boards to size.

Step 4 — sand the surface

Sand the boards, slightly rounding the edges to give the tabletop a finished look.

Step 5 — check and fasten

Lay the boards in place. Look at your future table: do you like everything about it? If everything looks good, attach each board to the bottom of the table with screws. The screws should be long enough to hold the table together, but not so long that they go through it.

Step 6 — hide the clues

To make sure no one guesses that this table was once IKEA, you need to hide the evidence: namely, the middle layer of horizontal boards. Measure and cut four pine planks to match the sides of the table. Attach the planks on each side under the wide top boards, hiding the frame.

Step 7 — optional

If you want, you can age your table to make it look truly 'farmhouse'. The creators of the redesign, while working, always placed on the wood: screws, washers, bolts, and various keys. They constantly pressed these items slightly into the boards. Later, when they were coated with varnish, it became clear why this was done.

Step 8 — invite guests and enjoy the effect

Will anyone ever guess that this table came from IKEA?