The Interior DIYer
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IKEA Bekvam step stool gets a faux marble makeover

After a very welcome few days with no agenda other than eating, remembering to occasionally change position so I don’t get DVT, more eating, drinking and throwing my sleep routine into complete chaos, I decided it was time to actually do something. Something not too challenging that could be done whilst watching endless seasonal movies and Top Gear. Queue the need to repaint something.

After updating our bedside tables, I had plenty of Rust-Oleum paint left over. Our IKEA bekvam step stool was looking mighty haggard after I used it while sanding and repainting all the doors and skirting boards in our hallway last spring, so I had the idea to give it the same treatment as our bedside tables. Marble-ise it. It’ll be marbleous! [sorry / not sorry].

I took it through the same steps as our bedside tables with the exception of using more coats of white paint to cover the dark grey. Ideally I would have disassembled the stool, except that long ago I painted over the hardware the first time I painted it [now 3 colours ago]. I know, bad DIYer. But that was in my hasty youth and I have since learned. 

Once I had enough layers of white paint all over, I used a really subtle marble effect on both steps. It shows up incredibly subtle, so I may paint the rest of the stool black to really make the steps pop, but I’ve yet to decide on that. For now, it’s miles better than before. And if the steps get scuffled, I think it’ll only just add to the marble effect.

So what about you? Have you made use of your time off this season? Or are you still hiding under the duvet? I actually didn’t realise today was Monday until about 13:00, soooo … 😀

Disclosure – while this blog post is not sponsored, the paint I used for this update was leftover from paint I received free of charge from Rust-Oleum. Just FYI-ing you so you’re in the loop. I only work with companies I like and of course, think you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that support The Interior DIYer. 
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Faux marble bedside table update and tutorial

As part of my seemingly never-ending saga to update our rental, one of the rooms which is unfortunately ignored decor-wise the most is our bedroom. Which makes zero sense because it’s the room we spend the most time in. 

Our rented apartment didn’t come with bedside tables and as you can imagine, that was tremendously awkward. We needed bedside tables mainly for storage so they had to have a lot of drawers and a good sturdy shape. Earlier this year I kept an eye on adverts.ie for a set of bedside tables I could update and eventually found a pair for €9 each. SOLD! They had a faux wood finish which was a bit bleugh, but they had a great shape and I knew I’d eventually update them. As a reminder, here’s what they looked like before [try not to be jealous of our glamorous bedside light situation] …

I’ve worked with Rust-Oleum before, so when they got in contact about their new line of furniture paint and asked if I had some furniture I’d like to update, I immediately thought of our bedside tables. I also like to make more work for myself, so I thought why not try my hand at creating a faux marble effect for the top too? I panicked as I started, but I have to admit, they look absolutely incredible. Even Robert has said a number of times “I cannot believe that’s not actually marble“. I did not pay him to say that. 

I began by disassembling the bedside tables [took the drawers out and the handles off] and gave everything 3 coats of Rust-Oleum’s ‘Cotton’ white furniture paint. The reason I painted 3 coats was to ensure I covered the dark wood knots for an even finish all over [you can see the original finish and knots on the inside panel below. What a difference some white paint makes].

I then started on the faux marble top. Here’s how I did it … 

1. I began by painting a layer of white paint in the same direction I wanted the grain of the marble to go.
2. Using Rust-Oleum’s ‘Slate’ grey, I roughly marked the main marble bands across the top of the bedside table. 
3. Using a dry brush, feather the ‘Slate’ grey paint into the white paint. This gives a base to the faux marble look. This doesn’t need to look perfect, but smooth strokes do look the most convincing. 
4. Dip your fingers in some water and flick little droplets onto the top of your bedside table. This sounds mad, but trust me. 

5. Using a rag or piece of kitchen towel, dab off the excess water droplets. What this does is lift a very soft layer of paint and reveals the white paint underneath [as seen better in the picture below]. You can feather this again with a dry brush to smooth any imperfections.
6. Add further detail to the faux marble effect by using the ‘Slate’ grey with a thin paint brush and adding subtle marble veining throughout. You can soften any bits with either a dry brush or with a wet finger. Mix things up and see how it best works for you. Remember – the less perfect it looks and the less symmetrical the pattern, the better. 

I let the bedside tables dry with the drawers open slightly and nothing on top for a minimum of 24 hours to ensure the paint dried completely. I couldn’t resist getting new handles for our bedside tables too, and at a whopper of a bargain.


I really am impressed with the finish from Rust-Oleum’s furniture paint. It dries very quickly which means my initial 3 coats of paint were done and dry in under an hour. I have a good amount of paint left over after painting each set of bedside tables, so I’ve had my eye on our IKEA step stool for repainting it white and doing a similar faux marble finish on each of the steps. Well lush!

UPDATE: see our updated IKEA Bekvam step stool here! 

Before you plan on buying a new set of bedside tables or furniture, just think of all the sad furniture out there in need of a home. They can not only look fabulous but feel fabulous and loved once again. Think of all the second hand furniture and their potential … All they need is love. Okay, less sap. Thank you again Rust-Oleum for helping me update our sad bedside tables! Happy Friday, friends xx
Disclosure – this blog post was sponsored by Rust-Oleum, who also sent me the necessary paint for updating our bedside tables free of charge. As always, all words and opinions are my own. I only work with companies I like and of course, think that you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that support The Interior DIYer. 


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Ideal Home Show – autumn 2015

Let’s not focus on how haggard my hands are. #DIYproblems

For the second time this year I was asked by Colortrend to conduct video interviews for their Interior Design Forum room sets as part of the Ideal Home Show. I did the same interviews earlier this year during the spring exhibit and found it great experience to see the goings on behind the camera. I was more than happy to help this autumn by interviewing some exceptionally talented designers and of course, oogle at their room sets. 
I couldn’t resist sneaking in a photo [or twelve] between takes of the fantastic room sets this years’ show had to offer … 

The Dust girls did not disappoint with their dark design, pops of colour and jungle of faux flowers. Ladies after my own heart.

My college wife Catherine Murphy and her beautifuly whimsical nursery. Check out the laser-cut wood flooring and  the bespoke giraffe night light. Srsly.

Nina Kati‘s feng shui living room had shades that did not disappoint. 
There were also room sets by Ciara Drennan Interiors, Noelle Interiors, State of Grace and Thelma Henry Interiors, but I didn’t have the opportunity to take some sneaky photos before the doors opened to the public. 

I also had the opportunity to interview Roisin Lafferty of Kingston Lafferty Design about the DFS show house her and her team designed. Roisin took me on a tour and I proceeded to tell her how much I hated her and her mad wizard design skills. This is a show house, people. The entire set was built from the ground up in just 2 weeks …

Kitchen, study, bathroom and bedroom. That bathroom in particular needs to happen in our future when we grow up and have a real life home #Goals. I’d strongly suggest you check out the whole process from start to finish on Roisin’s blog here. 
The autumn Ideal Home Show was a real treat. I find it so inspiring for getting the creative brain juices going. When you’re among such incredible designers, it’s really hard not to. 

p.s. I was armed with only my phone for taking pictures, so please excuse the shoddy quality. My pictures don’t do nearly enough justice to all the room sets. Trust me, they were all amazing.