Ikea Hack- Upbeat Aztec Stool

Stools are a requirement in my house. Due to the fact that I can't reach anything. We have two cheap Ikea stools, one in the master bedroom closet and one in the kitchen. The one that was in the closet is the Ikea Bekvam stool which is solid wood and only $17! Besides the great price and sturdy structure, this stool is great because it is a blank canvas that you can make it your own. Ours sat untouched for two years but I finally got around to it this last week. I also decided that once I painted it I would move it to the kitchen instead of hiding it in the bedroom.

I didn't really have any plan at the beginning. At first I just picked one color. I did not buy any paint for this- just picked from our paint sample collection. I decided to use Valspar's Pitch Cobalt in Satin which we bought to test out on our shed (In process! The weather sorta halted the painting process though...). 

I lightly sanded the stool and then just painted it with a small brush. Normally I use oil based primer first on my wood projects. However...this is a stool. So I didn't care that much. And the raw wood soaked up the paint fine. It only took two coats for complete coverage and there was no bleed through from the wood. 

I thought the stool looked good as is but I wanted to add something else. Some type of stencil. I thought about it for a couple of days. I thought about just doing stripes or tracing a stencil like I did with this dresser. Finally, I remembered a side table that the amazing Emily Henderson had posted. I love the Aztec style and the simplicity of the triangles. I figured that was something I could manage! 

I taped off a pattern on the top with triangles. I did not measure or anything since it doesn't have to be perfect. I then taped off random triangles on the rest of the stool. 

I picked three other colors from my paint stash that coordinated. All Valspar in Satin. The dark blue-gray is Cobalt Cannon (another shed option). The gray is Wet Cement which I used in our office and on our credenza (and also in the upstairs bathroom, almost done!). Finally, the light blue/gray is Barely Blue from the upstairs bathroom-almost done with that project! 

I rotated colors and did two coats of each. Once I was done the second coat, I pulled the tape off right away. I always want to let the paint dry first but then the lines are not as crisp...

After painting, I added two coats of Polycrylic in semi-gloss to protect my stencil. I only did it on the two steps. I worried that this would make the stool too slippery but it feels fine and I want the paint to last. But if this stool was for actual children and not just a child sized adult then I probably would skip that step. 

I am so happy with the finished product! It is much better than the plastic stool that I have now moved into the bedroom. Hmm, I may have to replace that one as well. 

Now we just need to replace those floors so my stool will look better on them. :)