‘Lil Striped Ikea Bekvam Stool

Back in May we made our annual pilgrimage to Ikea in Houston and stocked up on some “necessities”, including their little Bekvam wooden step stool.  We have a step ladder but I wanted something I could grab quicker, something shorter, and something I could leave out if I wanted to and not be hideous to look at.  At $15 the Bekvam is perfect.

There are a ton of super cute Bekvam makeovers in blogland, like Kristi’s, Dana’s, and Liz Marie’s, the possibilities are endless with this little guy.  I was going to go with a dipped look but decided to go with vertical stripes instead in my favorite palette: gray, natural wood, gold, and white :)  Depending on what design you want to do, it may be easier to paint his pieces before you put him together.  For me, I have already been using mine and the stripes I wanted are easier when he’s put together.

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{Supplies for Ikea Bekvam Stool Update}

Start off by taping off your section to be stained.  Lining the tape up straight was kind of a pain.  I tried to use a carpenter square and a level, to not much avail, so I just started eyeing it.  Whatevs, I didn’t measure anything either.  The stain will bleed some so do it first so you can paint over them for nice crisp edges.  I chose a section where I didn’t already have paint feet prints from doing the office ;)

I let the stain dry for an hour or so (more would be best, but I’m impatient) then taped the plastic bags over the stain, lining the tape up so that the blurry edges show and get painted over.  Do the underside first so you can flip it and do the top last.  I knew I wanted two gold stripes so I went ahead and sprayed this whole section then painted over the gold later.
I let the gold dry then started taping my other sections as I did them.  You can see on the left here the bleedy edge of the stain and where I placed the tape so it would get covered.  I also made sure to run my fingernail over all the taped edges before painting a section.  It really makes a big difference in the sharpness when you do this.
I took the tape off before the paint dried in case it might peel some.
I did a few little touch ups in areas where there wasn’t a clean line or there was a splatter dot, either by sanding (in the natural section), or paint on a tiny brush.  I had to touch up the gold so I sprayed it on a little brush then dabbed it on.  Brushing it gave a different finish than the sprayed parts, which is the blob you see in the thin gold stripe.  So be careful around your gold sections :/
It still needs the poly coat applied then it will be ready for real use, although I’ll have to watch my painted feet during projects now cause it’s too pretty!
Do any of you guys have a little Bekvam or a cute makeover to a similar everyday, boring utility item?  What would/did you do with yours??  They are so easy to update, I would love to just play with a bunch and do all kinds of different things :)  A Bekvam for every room!
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33 thoughts on “‘Lil Striped Ikea Bekvam Stool

  1. LOVE this! Such a unique, yet perfect, color palette! Thanks so much for sharing!

    ~Abby =)

  2. G’Day from Oz! That looks so cool! I love the colours you chose.

    If you have a minute to spare I’d be thrilled if you could share your post at my weekly Say G’Day Saturday linky party. It has just started and this would be a fabulous addition.

    Best wishes for a great weekend.
    Natasha in Oz

    1. I just popped back to say thanks for sharing this at the #saygdayparty. I just pinned this to the Say G’day Saturday board.

      The party is in full swing now so if you haven’t had a chance to visit some the links please do stop by and have a look!

      Best wishes for a wonderful week,
      Natasha in Oz

  3. I love what you did with this Ikea piece — the colors you chose work beautifully together :) Stopping in from SITS Sharefest; thanks for the morning inspiration (now off to circle items in my just-arrived Ikea catalog). XOXO

  4. How clever! I just pinned this so I can come back to it. I haven’t made a trip to Ikea in a while, but I love how easy it is to take a simple piece and make it your own. I love what you did with this. Happy #SITSBlogging!!

    1. Thanks Sarah! Your Wifi password printable is super cute and is perfect timing, we have visitors this weekend and I just wrote ours on a notepad for them, all the while wishing I had something cuter! Yours is WAY classier ;)

  5. Your little stool is so cute, love the stain, paint combo you used, gives your little stool much sophistication. I’d love to have one of those stools, I’d need one in at least couple rooms. Great update on your little guy.
    Oh I am quite envious of you folks that can visit an IKEA, the closest one to us I believe is Denver, not a trip I relish. Have driven over those mountains and not in hurry to do again. Guess there might be one in Salt Lake, not in hurry to make that trip either. Don’t see why Grand Junction, CO can’t get one of their own. Haven’t been on IKEA website for long time, they had a round metal table I loved but they didn’t ship it. Maybe I’ll have to take a look again.
    Enjoy your wonderful little stool, they are invaluable.

    1. The closest ones to us are both four hours away so it is definitely a special visit that we stock up during ;)

  6. Congratulations! This post is going to be featured over at Diana Rambles tomorrow and has been pinned in the Featured at Diana Rambles board at Pinterest, Tweeted, and Recommended on G+. Please grab a featured button off my sidebar or via the link under the features. Thanks for sharing this awesome idea!

  7. Such an excellent job! I featured this beauty on our link party today. Be sure to stop by and grab a feature button!

  8. This is great! I saw you featured on Delineate Your Dwelling and loved the colors and stripes :) Following on Pinterest now :)

  9. What a great transformation! I love how you used a combination of spray paint, stain and paint. Thanks so much for linking up to Your Designs This Time! I’m pinning to our favorites and features board.

  10. This is soooo good! And you make it look so easy! Well done :)
    I would love for you to stop by my blog and join our Something to Talk About link party every Monday-Thursday!
    Have a great day!
    Karen

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