CATHERINE CARTON’S BLOG ‘The Dainty Dress Diaries’, I’ve had the DIY bug, (hence why I started this series).

The one DIY that has been on mind since then? It has be her IKEA hack stool, the fluffy pink princess chair of dreams.

On the surface, it seems idiot proof. But is it actually? Given that Catherine is the queen of DIYs and I am very much still a novice, I was skeptical. Nevertheless, I trucked away from IKEA hopeful that this was the start of my transformation into the ultimate crafty gal.

What you will need

• Marius stool
• Surface primer
• Spray paint (I went with a rose gold/copper colour)
• A cushion (mine is from TK Maxx)
• Sharp scissors/Knife
• A screwdriver to assemble your chair (I used the electric one from IKEA but in the instructions it explicitly says not to use an electric one. OH WELL)
• Protective gloves, to save your hands when using the spray paint

Here’s what I did

First, I assembled the stool. This was my first mistake, which will become clear later on. Anyway, I followed the manual (and also looked to YouTube for some help. Embarrassing, given that this stool is piss easy.)

After that, it was time to prime. I applied one coat of the white primer all over, being careful not to breathe in so that my lungs didn’t explode. Then, I left it to dry overnight.

The next day, I applied two coats of paint to the stool in thin layers. I didn’t try to do the underneath of the seat because you’re not going to see it (and frankly, it was too hard).

Once it was dry (or at least, mostly – I was on a deadline. I do not recommend going ahead with this unless it’s fully dry), it’s time to attach the pillow. Here, I realised that I couldn’t do this unless I disassembled the stool. Having done this, I lined up the pillow with the seat and slipped it into the pillowcase.

With that zipped out, I cut out holes where the legs would be attached. I used a scissors for precision (I have butter fingers), but a box cutter or sharp knife will also work.

Once that’s done, you can reattach your legs – and voila!

This is unbelievably simple to do: bar the few idiotic things I did like fully assembling it and not leaving it dry properly, this is completely idiot proof.

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