Turning plain wood into faded goodness

There are three things I love about IKEA, the seconds & damaged section at the end where you find all the bargains, the nice Swedish snacks in the cafeteria that keep the kids happy after you’ve lost yourself in there for over an hour. And the Bekväm step stool. The Bekväm stool is not just a practically step to reach higher levels, its is simply beautiful and always screams “color me” when I walk past one. The moment finally came, and upon a recent visit to my Swedish friends I decided to buy 2 Bekväm stools to give them ombre treatment. I don’t regret a thing.. Here’s why:

Materials used

Montana GOLD 400ml Spray colors; G4020 Dusty Pink, G4000 Baby Skin, and the new grey tones G7230 Buzzard and G7250 Asphalt
Montana GOLD Chrome Effect M3000 Goldchrome
A metal bucket
A drop sheet (plastic or cloth)
Gloves to paint with (optional but recommended)

decorative ombre stools

How it was done

Seeing as we knew exactly what we wanted to do from the beginning, we bought the Bekväm stools in natural wood. With a damp cloth we wiped them down and ensured they were dust free and dry before we started. If you already have them in a pre-painted color, you can either sand them down lightly and use the existing color as base coat, or we suggest applying Montana GOLD Shock White, or Montana Universal Primer before adding your color.

The studio was prepared with open window and drop sheet in place. So we pulled on our gloves and shook the cans for 2-3 minutes. This made sure we had perfectly mixed paint. We removed the nozzle and turned the can upside down which allowed the safety ring to fall out. We re-applied the nozzle and we were ready to go. Using the ombre aesthetic means fading colors of a same or similar tone to create a smooth gradient. And thats just what we wanted to achieve. So on one chair we first applied the Montana GOLD Baby Skin to the whole chair, and on the other Montana GOLD Buzzard. While waiting for these to dry we took our metal bucket (also an IKEA find) and cleaned it in preparation for some CHROME Effect color.

Our choice, Montana GOLD Line GOLDCHROME Effect. We weren’t going to handle the bucket after painting it as we wanted the “bling” chrome like effect. But if you have kids or you wanted a more durable gold finish, you could try any one of the stunning METALLIC Effect 400ml Sprays (which includes the color Gold Metallic as well).

The bucket got two coats of GOLDCHROME and it looked fab! Again, if you wanted to go to the next level you could undercoat it with Montana METAL PRIMER and seal it later with Montana VARNISH. By now the Bekväm stools were dry and we grabbed our other GOLD Line colors to give it the classy ombre touch. The Baby Skin chair now had Dusty Pink to the bottom half and the Buzzard chair now had Asphalt on the bottom half.

And they looked exactly liked we had hoped, warm, beautiful and classy. The finishing touch was a plant for our metal bucket. We chose an Alocasia but you could use one you have or choose the one that you think suits.

With approximately 30-60 minutes minimum drying time, there is only about 20 minutes of actual work time for this project. This project is for beginners and above. Pay attention to the fading between your colors ensuring you take time, and achieve the effect you want. Above all, have fun and Happy Crafting!