Today’s post brings me great pleasure to share! It’s a secret project I’ve been working on since I was 7 weeks pregnant. It is my first DIY project for baby Crowder. (First person to come up with a solid nickname for the IBK Fetus gets a prize!) I’ve always been in love with wingback rockers. You might as well trade your first born child for one, and then, what’s the point?! The rocker on the left came from Nurseryworks, and the rocker on the right is from Pottery Barn Kids. And then, it hit me hard like my pregnant emotions during country music. I could EASILY make my own wingback rocker. All I would need to do is find a wingback chair, and some rocking chair runners. It was so simple. I thought “surely, this has been done a million times.” But I googled it hard, and didn’t find anything on the matter. (But in the Internet’s defense, my googling skillz are weak like a teenage girl at a One Direction concert.) We picked up the Strandmon Wingback chair from IKEA, for $279.
I looked online and found a place that sells unfinished wood rocking chair runners. I order a pair of adult large in maple. We measured where we would need to drill holes for the legs to attach to the runners. The holes need to be 1&1/8″ in diameter. The center of that hole needs to be 7 1/2″ in from each end. The hole needs to be 3/4″ deep. **DISCLAIMER** Double check those measurements by holding up your runners to the legs of the chair to make sure it ‘dry fits.’ It has been brought to my attention that there is variation in the legs of the Strandmon, and my measurements might not be a perfect fit for your chair. We used the drill press at my parents’ house. But if you have a cordless drill, you can use a forstner bit to drill the same kind of hole. My two favorite men! I spent countless hours in this shop, learning the ways of woodworking and DIY from a great teacher. We brought the runners home and fitted them to the chair.
Fit like a glove. Now we had to match the runners to the legs of the chair. Instead of painting the runners, I thought it would look better if we stained them black. I will admit, I did help with staining. BUT I was very careful to not get it on me (and when I did, I scrubbed it right off), and we had all the windows open, with a fan going. Aaron did most of the staining. The wood was so blond, it took several coats. This is how thin it still looked after the first coat. Several coats later, it was looking like a dead match to the legs of the Strandmon. We used a matte poly finish. I love this poly. And it has a soft touch. I don’t know how to explain it, but it is magical. Buy it and try it. After they were dry, it was just a matter of attaching the runners to the chair. We put the runners in place, and drilled a skinny little pilot hole to make sure the wood didn’t crack when we put the screws in. Let’s take a minute to talk about how much Buster loves the chair being upside down.
Here’s a montage of Buster in his fort, on several different days. Now that your heart is sufficiently melted, we can get back to the real work. Then we switched out for a bigger drill bit to make a hole (not all the way down! Just slightly below the surface) the same size of the screw head to counter sink the screw. Then we sanded the bottoms of the feet, and coated the holes in the runners with wood glue. After we put the runners in place, with the wood glue, we use spax screws and secured the runners. We filled the holes with black wood putty. And now, it’s ready to rock. And let me tell you, it rocks like you wouldn’t believe. It’s probably as good as Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. Or when Adele came out of the womb singing her feelings. You sit in this chair, and you just have a good feeling about life. There is no real “skill level” required for this project. It’s just about taking the time to measure. No major tools are required.
The simplicity of this project blows me away. This is a DIY project the average person can easily take on. The result is incredible and classy. And for a little designing on a dime and high/low comparing: And if you really love this project, please think about pinning it. For your pinning sake, here are a few more images to choose from 🙂 The Spring 2017 Palette Creativity starts with a spark - ignite yours with these fresh ideas Get your daily dose of inspiration right here 2 week open return policy and secure payment Care for our planet Machine washable fabrics with a focus on 100% natural materials 3 year quality guarantee & designed to fit beautifully browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click here to find outBabies are tiny, but somehow their stuff manages to take up a lot of space and can be very expensive. IKEA is great for its affordable options and modern style, but sometimes you want something with a bit more personality and color for decorating your nursery.
Our very own Brit rocked the DIY nursery for her little guy with lots of creative and colorful touches, and you can too. Whether you want a colorful changing table or some more interesting options for displaying those teeny tiny shoes, IKEA hacks are the solution for your dream nursery. 1. Shelf Storage: IKEA shelving is the perfect place to hang all of those tiny, adorable baby clothes and it helps create a space to store toys, books and photos. 2. Wall of Dots: Make a colorful grid of polka dots intermingled with hangers for coats, hats and backpacks. 3. Gray and Pink: Convert an IKEA dresser into a stylish changing table. The open shelving is a great way to display favorite books and toys and keep them still within reach of little arms. (via Made By Girl) 4. Nursery Wardrobe Shelf: Starting with an IKEA wall shelf, just screw a rail to the bottom for a super easy but clever hack. Books and decor go up top, and clothing on the bottom for a piece that does double duty.
5. Wallpaper Dollhouse: Turn a bookcase into an adorable little dollhouse by just using a wallpaper cutout or some paint to make the outline of a house. 6. Bar Cart: Keep that changing table organized by turning the classic IKEA bar cart into a diaper caddy. You can also paint it in whatever color you want to fit into your nursery decor. (via Style Me Pretty) 7. Vertical Bookshelf: If there isn’t room for a bookshelf, hang magazine racks on the wall for book storage. This vertical book shelf also doubles as wall art, because kids’ books have the prettiest covers. (via Joy Ever After) 8. Golden Wardrobe: Embrace the openness of a closet without doors by putting up stickers or wall art and using open shelving and baskets to keep things organized. 9. Changing Table: Play with painted patterns and colors on a simple wooden dresser for a changing table that really reflects your nursery’s personality. 10. Modern Accents: We love a project that can be completed in an afternoon.
Painting these geometric shades in bold colors is a fantastic way to update a plain old dresser. (via Buy Modern Baby) 11. Turn It on Its Side: Can you spot the hack in this colorful circus nursery? For the window seat they used an IKEA bookshelf, added some legs and made a cushion for the top. They also used bin containers and painted circus numbers with stencils. 12. Get a Handle: Just the simple act of replacing the knobs with leather pulls on this dresser/changing table gives the whole nursery a fresh new look. 13. Wooden Play Gym: Hack this wooden play set with a much more grown-up color palette that won’t clash with your living room decor. 14. Contrasting Dresser: Rather than painting the whole dresser, just paint the drawers an accent color and replace the knobs with gold ones for a feminine, vintage look. 15. Train Track: A little glue and some foam can take a plain wooden train track from “meh” to ah-maz-ing. (via Kickcan and Conkers) 16. Green Accents: A basic Molger painted bright green is a fun way to store all those stuffed animals where little ones can easily access (and put away!) all their favorite toys.