Caroline Burke | Burkatron

i love ikea and i will do anything to visit. i will come up with alllllll kinds of reasons to justify a trip (and the inevitable trolley full of plants that comes back home with me) but now my latest and best excuse to persuade james to come? RESEARCH! 

james: what kind of research? 

me: oh you know DIY ikea hacks and stuff, so basically it's work.

james: i guess so then.

me: *fist pump* 

but seriously, even when i visit for a specific piece of furniture i can't help but hunt out smaller items to makeover. i've been planning this particular hack for a while and i'm dead pleased with the result.

you may remember my wood slice hairpin table from the start of the year -i'd originally planned to make this stool but when dad brought back a huge piece of wood from ireland i made a coffee table instead. fortunately for me i was home in ireland last month so i picked out a couple of smaller slices with this stool/side table in mind.

want to make one? all you need is a slice of wood and a cheap ikea stool..

this is such an easy hack ..and it looks waaaay more expensive than it is.

i originally spotted the marius stool in ikea late last year, i grabbed one with no idea what i'd use it for at the time. it comes in black/white/red and the best part- IT'S £3.

WINNER!!

it's easy peasy to make:

1. source a wood slice, try your local lumber yard or garden centres. you can find them online too just make sure they're big enough (mine is approx 35 x35cm)

2. lightly sand down the top with a hand sander- you could also remove the bark and sand the sides as well but i prefer the natural finish.

3. screw the stool legs directly onto the bottom of your wood slice. the screws that come with the stool are too short so switch to longer ones- at least 5cm length depending on the thickness of the wood slice! (you don't need the ikea stool seat- you can recycle it if you don't want it.)

4. flip the stool over and it's ready to use. you can treat or stain the wood but i'm going to leave mine unfinished for now. 

not bad for a £3 ikea stool? i can't decide if i should keep it indoors or put it in my garden? 

ps. those little white cacti planters are a DIY i made with clay here.

i think it looks really cute and it's actually big enough to use as a side table, ikea i heart you!

do you like it?

back soon

caroline x

i spend an unhealthy amount of time stalking mid century furniture on the urban outfitters and west elm websites. there's so many beautiful pieces but i can't afford to buy them all so i wanted to attempt a DIY version of one! 

i have such an easy DIY for you today! 

I spend far too much time hunting for keys- I always seem to find them hiding in a place that I'm convinced I didn't leave them? in an effort to preserve my sanity I decided to make a welcome home shelf and now my daily battle to find my car keys has come an end.

..when I get home I dump out my pockets and hang up my keys (where I can find them) hurrah!

this shelf is super easy to make and only needs a few materials.. read on to find out how to make your own.

materials:

pine (I used a ready made shelf)

wooden dowel

wood glue

hacksaw

you need 2 pieces of wood- they need to be the same length but different widths. the larger piece which makes the back is 8" x 14". the smaller piece makes the shelf is 5" x14".

I used a ready made pine shelf that I cut into smaller pieces but you can also buy a length of pine and cut it down.

use wood glue to secure them together into an L shape as above. you can also add a few nails but mine felt pretty damn sturdy after it had dried so I didn't bother.

cut some small 1" pieces off a length of dowel with a hacksaw to make the wooden pegs. you can also cut up an old broom handle! (I've used 21mm dowel but you can use any width you like.)

sand the pegs down and line them up onto the back of the shelf - mark where you want them to sit.

dab some wood glue onto the pegs and place them into position, if any glue seeps out you can wipe it away with a cloth or small brush. leave to dry and your key holder is finished!

I positioned my pegs to one side so the other half of the shelf is free to display other items.

so there you have it- one easy peasy key holder designed to stop me having a meltdown over lost car keys every morning.

would you be tempted to make one?

back soon!

caroline x

I bought some plain wooden boxes a while back so I dug them out and decided to jazz them up.

I had lots of ideas, covering them in marble contact paper, spraying them with my new found friend- stone effect spray paint or just simply staining them a nice dark walnut...

but I really liked the unfinished wood so I thought I'd do something that would leave some of it exposed -colour block boxes were the answer!

materials

small wooden boxes

spray paint

mini screwdriver

this is the easiest DIY yet!

take your boxes and remove the screws from the hinges.-you only need to remove the screws on the bottom half to separate the lid from the base.

now the box is separated you can paint the bottom of the box. I've used gold spray paint on the above image. you can use paint too just varnish afterwards.

leave the painted box halves to dry then screw the hinges back together.

if you want to upgrade them buy some foam and cut it to fit the inside of the box- you can then cover the foam in fabric or velvet to make a ring cushion- super fancy.

easy peasy huh? 

these little boxes are perfect for holding smaller items and my rings won't be sliding around in the drawers of my bedside table anymore! if you're looking for some cute little stocking fillers I would defo recommend these as they're super quick to make.

hope you've had a great weekend, back soon amigos!

caroline x