Ikea Dining Table Hack: Inspired by India

I have a weird obsession with dining tables. Every place we’ve ever lived in since getting married (which has been a lot of places), I’ve always prioritized buying or upgrading our dining table before any other furniture. Even though we now own a farm style table I love, this Ikea dining table hack will always be one of my favourites. 

We had bought this Jokkmokk dining table at some point when money was tight, and it was honestly all we could afford. I didn’t love it, but it was good enough. At some point though I decided to give it a bit of an update with some stencils I had lying around at home. The rest as they say is history!

ikea dining table hack

Like I mentioned the other day, I’m slowly working on bringing some old posts out of the archives and this one was originally published in April 2015! The pictures aren’t perfect – partially because I didn’t know anything about styling back then, but man I loved this room. 

I had painted the dining room wall this beautiful raspberry colour, and added the dark pantry cabinets, and then the colourful ikea dining table hack with the elephants just brought everything together perfectly! This kitchen/dining room will forever be one of my favourite rooms. It’s partly because my kids were little when we lived here, and it’s also because this is the kitchen I learned to cook in. 

ikea dining table hack, jokkmokk table hack

[wc_fa icon=”heart-o” margin_left=”” margin_right=”” class=””][/wc_fa] IKEA DINING TABLE HACK

This project was originally inspired by this elephant motif stencil from Plaid/Folk Art, and these elephant and floral shelf that I still love from World Market. You can use any style of stencil that you prefer, I really loved the elephant motif and went with a bright colour palette that I had spotted in Jaipur on my India trip. It’s really about your personal taste and what matches your room.

Supplies for edge design:

Stencil
Stencil sponges
Craft Paints (for exact colours, see the source list at the end of this post)
Clear sealant

Supplies for the top:

Sandpaper
Stain suitable for your table

ikea dining table hack, jokkmokk table hack, pink chai

For the edge design I held the stencil in place with one hand as I went around the table, but you can also use spray glue if you don’t have a steady hand. As with any stencil project, don’t overload your sponge, dab off some paint on a scrap piece of paper before working on the table. Also, make sure that the section you are working on is dry before moving the stencil over to prevent smudges. (I wish I had pics to share of the process, but in my early days as a DIY blogger I never really thought about this stuff!)

Once I was happy with the design, I sprayed it with an acrylic paint sealant. The table actually held up for almost 5 years, part of which it lived at my mom’s house. We really regret getting rid of it and wish we had held onto it.

For the top of the table I used a basic stain from Miniwax in a dark espresso colour. I followed the directions on their site to get the dark glossy finish I was looking for. The best tip I have for staining is to work with thin layers and take your time. Let each layer dry fully before applying another. The hardest part about this project was the top, and in the end it took almost 3 days for it to dry fully!

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If you liked this post, you might also want to check out this DIY Bollywood Quote Canvas Art, or this stamped jewelry holder. The source list for the Ikea Dining Table hack is below!

 

Source List:
Table – Jokkomokk Ikea
Wood Stain for Top – Miniwax Wood Stain in Espresso (from Home Depot)
Elephant Stencil – Handmade Charlotte by FolkArt
(All acrylic paint from Michael’s)
Blue Paint for Legs – Martha Stewart Wild Blueberry (Multi-Surface Satin)

Green Elephant Paint – Martha Stewart Green Olive (Multi-Surface Satin)
Gold Elephant Paint – Martha Stewart Brushed Bronze (Multi-Surface Metallic)
Pink Elephant Paint – American Royal Fuchsia 

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Ikea Hack: Stenciled Table, Inspired by India

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3 Comments

  1. April 17, 2015 / 10:39 am

    Wow! So impressive, Raj! This table looks like a million bucks! I really love all the colors in your dinning room and looks like the table completes the space so well. I have these wooden stools I’ve been wanting to paint for a long time, but I’m always scared I’m going to ruin them. This is definitely some inspiration to push me to try it.Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  2. April 17, 2015 / 2:03 pm

    I just love this table! I somehow found your blog, and I have been sitting here looking at all of your beautiful pictures and posts. Absolutely love your website!

  3. November 26, 2019 / 3:08 am

    Stenciling a table. That is a wonderful idea.

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