Gold leafing

I need to stop going on Pinterest. I keep coming up with this "brilliant" ideas/projects that take me forever to complete. My most recent project was on a blog I saw HERE. This chick turned this Vittsjo nesting table from Ikea into a beautiful high end looking table, so of course I had to do the same. It's easy she said, only need  little patients, she said... UM YEAH RIGHT!

Have you ever worked with gold leaf? Cause it's a bitch! 

Before attempting this crappy project I watched countless videos and read a number of blogs on gold leafing. Apply adhesive, slap on gold leaf, and then add another coat of adhesive... seems simple enough. NOPE!

Issue #1: I live in a 750 square foot studio apartment, without a balcony

Issue #2: Spray adhesive gets everywhere (my remote will never be the same)

Issue #3: Gold leaf is a fussy fussy bitch. She needs to be handled as delicately as possible and even then she may still have a nervous breakdown                      and fall apart. 

 I started off with spray painting the table gold (at my moms house). Then I brought it home and put it together. As I was doing this I noticed that some of the spray paint was chipping, but thought that's okay I'm putting leaf over (#doomedfromthestart). Then I started with the gold leaf. I tried a number of different adhesives, but found Modge Podge to work the best. I must have put 40 hours into this table and it was not looking good.That's when I found this little gem... Liquid Leaf.

I should have started with this bad boy from the beginning. Once I finished leafing the entire table I went in with the liquid leaf and filled in all the cracks. It looked so good that I ended up covering the entire table with it. Doesn't it look so much better?!

Now I'm proudly displaying my gold work of art in the middle of my dining room...

PS I'm never gold leafing again!

Ikea Hack with O'verlay

As you know I've slowly been decorating my apartment. I have this small space between the bathroom and my wardrobe, which just fit this simple, slightly ugly Micke Ikea desk perfectly. Even with this little set up, the space looked so drab. That was until I ordered a custom decorative strip from O'verlay (Similar size here). 

The O'verlay is made of a sturdy plastic, which is made specifically for Ikea furniture and easily adhere's to anything with glue dots. Of course, I had to pick the Greek key! LOL

While it was pretty in white, it wasn't really standing out on the desk drawer where I wanted to put it, so I decided to get fancy and paint it gold.

 I LOVE IT! I swear it changes the entire look of the space and makes the desk look so much nicer. It might be one of my favorite things in my apartment. I want to O'verlay everything now!

When I was at Ikea, I also got this cute kitchen cart, which I'm using a bar cart. ADORABLE!!