Faux Vintage Ikea Step Stool

Funny story about step stools. I always wanted an old wooden step stool for my girls when they couldn't reach the sink to brush their teeth, but our budget allowed for the small plastic step stools that have the little characters on them. You know the ones that will hold a toddler but not a full grown man? Twice...yes, twice my husband used their step stools only to come crashing down. I still remember hearing the snap and crash when he broke our oldest daughter's step stool, followed by her tiny voice yelling, "You BROKE it!!!" Maybe if we had one of these (weight limit 100 pounds) at the time, their step stools might have stood a chance against Dad.

This is one of those projects that can be easily done in a weekend. That is, the weekend after you go to IKEA because we all know that no one just runs in to IKEA for one thing. If you are that person, I salute you.

I picked up this stool on our last IKEA trip. At $14.99 you can't beat the price for a solid wood step stool, but it lacks a little in appearances. I wanted mine to have a vintage, justsnaggedthisbabyfrommygrandparent'sattic feel.

I grabbed a jar of "oops" paint I had. I really wish I knew what color this is. I do know that I love Behr paint with the primer included. I love a good thick paint that I know will give me great coverage in only a coat or two.

And at that price, I can't resist picking up colors that catch my eye.

Because of all the corners, I decided to paint all the parts before I assembled the stool. This really helped on the time it took to paint. Once it was all painted I put it together and got ready to distress it for the vintage look. Even without distressing it looked so much better.

When it comes to distressing, I like to mix it up. I knew that I wanted the top and the step to look like it had been used for years. That called for my palm sander with 100 grit sandpaper. I wanted the edges to look like they had been worn down from being carried around and knocked in to things over the years. I again used 100 grit sandpaper but hand sanded those parts.

When it comes to sealing a piece, I am a fan of paste furniture wax. It gives the piece a satiny, smooth finish that doesn't get sticky or yellow over time. You can also reapply as needed.

A big plus for me with the paste wax is that you wipe it one, give a few minutes and then buff it out. No long dry times or worrying about air bubbles that come with using poly. The one bit of info that I like to pass along is that the paste wax will deepen the paint color. Not a lot, just a bit. You can see it in this photo, I had only waxed the step at this point.