Bright and Fun Ikea Hack for a Kitchen Cart
To add some extra storage to my cabinet-less kitchen, I stalked Craigslist for weeks, considering everything and anything that might not look totally out of place. When I saw this Ikea kitchen cart listed for only $30.00, I knew I couldn't pass it up! Apart from a few stains on the surface, the cart was in great shape and ready for a makeover.
Foolishly I didn't think to take pictures of my process, but here's a description of the steps that I took:
1) I disassembled the entire cart: wheels, frame, shelves, drawers, top, etc.
2) I sanded both sides of the top part of the cart. Since it had some food and water stains, I started with a grit of 60 and worked my way up to 220 until all the stains were gone. The shelves and drawers only needed a light sanding so I used 220 grit for those.
3) I stained the top with three coats of a dark walnut stain, waiting 24 hours between each application. I repeated the same process with the underside of the wood.
4) Meanwhile, I primed the cart's frame, shelves, drawers, and wheels with some leftover primer I had lying around.
5) After the primer dried, I painted over it with a light turqoise paint ( "sweet rhapsody" by Behr paint). I wanted something that was bright and fun and this color reminded me of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
6) I applied a second coat of paint.
7) Once all the parts were completely dry, I reassembled the cart.
8) I painted 2 sets of these hooks turquoise and attached to both sides of the cart.
The photo below shows you the final product. As you can see in the photo, I store my prettier dishes and bowls on the open shelves and hang my sieves off of the hooks. I keep various items (measuring cups, rubber bands, scale) stashed in the drawers.
It’s pretty to look at everyday!
Totally charming. Well done! Do you find it sturdy? I’m thinking of using one of these carts as a work surface.
Thanks! It’s very sturdy, especially once it’s loaded with dishes, etc. It would make a wonderful work surface.
I have the same cart, and decided to paint it, amd googled ideas…..and fell in love with this! I bought some oops paint from home depot in a very similar shade, and stained the top a color not quite as dark as yours, and I am so in love with it! Could never tell it came from Ikea!
Looks awesome! Would you please tell me how you got the wheels off?