How I Transformed A $79 IKEA Pine Table Into A One-of-a-kind Piece
It was easy to do once I figured out how — spilling the secret here to save you the time
I had my heart set on a vintage pine table to complete the dining nook in my Brooklyn, New York apartment. We had used a temporary cheapo circular table for two years, and it was time for a grown up table. I trolled Facebook marketplace relentlessly on the promise that affordable, perfectly patinaed furniture was one click away. After almost a year of fruitless searching, my husband turned to me and suggested an alternative: buying a brand new pine table, the INGO Table from IKEA, customizing it to fit our style. So, that’s what we did, and I’m here to share how.
The dimensions were perfect, I had a vision in mind, and I was up for the challenge. I expected the answers for what to use and how to do it would be easy to find; boy was I wrong. So, I’m passing along the very easy process I followed to transform my new pine table along with the exact products and steps I followed.
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sense of spen• cer
noun [sɛns, əv, ˈspɛnsər]
Reflecting one’s identity through their interiors
A home with character and soul
When a house becomes a home
Before & After
Drum roll please…. we started out with an unfinished pine table and transformed it into an English country kitchen table with a finished wood tabletop and painted apron and legs.
Before: unfinished pine IKEA INGO table
After: customized table
The Vision
I am very drawn to the English style of decorating kitchens to look like regular rooms, and often at the center of them is a cook’s table. Not to be confused with an island, a cook’s table is, in fact, a table at counter level with a worktop surface and colorfully painted apron and legs. Although our table isn’t in the kitchen, I liked the idea of using this as a design reference. There’s a warmth and practicality to the wood tabletop and the paint brings some personality and additionally would help ground the space at the end of the room.
Supplies
Here’s everything I used — the total came to under $200.
An unfinished pine wood table - I got the INGO Table from IKEA
Tried and True Finishing Oil - 8 oz was plenty to do several coats on a tabletop and still have lots leftover for maintenance
2 clean white cotton pieces of cloth
Small paint brush
1 quart of paint - I used Etruscan Red by Farrow & Ball
1 quart of primer - I used a Farrow & Ball primer from a past project
Finding the right products
This part proved far trickier than I was expecting. I just wanted someone to tell me the answer. So that’s what I’m going to do for you. :)
Finishing oil for the tabletop
We searched endlessly for a solution to protect the pine and achieve the color we wanted. We looked at wood plank comparisons of different stains and oils and read about the processes to achieve them. Overwhelming to say the least (if that’s the step you’re at, keep reading, I hope to solve your woes). After a dozen YouTube videos and Reddit posts, we narrowed down the right (or what we thought were) products to tamp down the yellow and give us the amber glow of aged pine and purported to be easy to apply. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super confident, but I decided to go to Lowe’s and picked out a mass brand Danish oil with walnut stain. No sooner had I gotten home that I had second thoughts — I was concerned the stain would be too dark and realized it had high VOCs.
That sent me down a rabbit hole looking for a more harmless oil alternative. My search kept bringing me back to this brand Tried and True, it was available on Amazon only but was a small business. I immediately had a good feeling — it looked very authentic and claimed to be natural. They offer a number of products including oils and stains. I was gun shy about tweaking the color too much and figured it was easier to add than take away, so I decided to start with a basic option, the Tried and True finishing oil, which is made of linseed oil and beeswax.
Paint for the legs and apron
The paint was easy in comparison. I pretty much knew what I wanted — I liked cook’s tables I’d seen in oxblood red or deep dark blue but ultimately leaned toward the red because it’s a favorite of mine and was nice to have an excuse to use it. I tracked down the exact color / brand (Etruscan Red by Farrow & Ball) and though photos online can’t be 100% trusted, I was confident it was what I was looking for. Aside from it having the color I wanted, the other reason I prefer Farrow & Ball is that their paints are low VOC so I can feel good about using them.
Typically with Farrow & Ball (or any paint brand), you can get a sample pot, but unfortunately, since this one is an Archive color, you can only order a full can (either quart or gallon). So if you’re less certain, I’d suggest testing with a paint (or several) you can sample. At the same time, it’s not a big deal to change if you paint it a color and hate it.
The other tip is selecting the appropriate finish. For kitchen cabinetry or other hard-wearing surfaces, Farrow & Ball recommends using Modern Emulsion, which is the toughest finish providing more protection. It’s a 40% sheen, which is the highest outside of Full Gloss. I was looking for a higher shine, but I will say, it is not super shiny. So, I’d apply the same thinking to any brand you choose.
Step-by-step process
Before I dive in, I just want to point out that I did all of this in my apartment while my newborn son was around. That’s only because I choose low VOC products.
Tips for applying finishing oil on tabletop
The good new is that it’s pretty straightforward and frankly foolproof. But if you haven’t done it, I can see it being intimidating. So here are some tips I have from my own experience. First off, I would recommend testing on the bottom of the tabletop just to make sure you’re happy with it.
Here are the steps to applying the finishing oil directly on natural pine:
Prep - make sure the surface is smooth and if not sand down and wipe away any residue (the IKEA INGA table is completely smooth to begin with so I skipped this step)
Apply the finishing oil - pour oil on a section of the tabletop and use a clean cotton rag to rub it in. Repeat until the whole top is covered.
Don’t make the same mistake as me and use a black cloth - the fibers got stuck in the oil (glad it was just a test!).
I started out putting the oil in a can and dabbing it on the table but I found this step was completely unnecessary. The oil doesn’t leave any marks.
You can rub it in however you want. It doesn’t matter if you follow the grain. Just make sure you cover the area and don’t forget the sides!
Wipe away excess - there will be a sticky layer left after applying. After an hour, wipe away with a clean white cloth.
Let it cure - leave it for at least 24 hours.
Buff - using 0000 steel wool (available in hardware stores or Amazon) lightly buff the tabletop. You’ll see a faint oil residue on the pad.
Repeat
I applied three coats of oil. I could see the biggest difference after the second coat. While I couldn’t visibly see a change in color after the third coat, I felt it at least added more protection.
I plan to add fresh coats every so often as part of ongoing maintenance.
Tips for painting the legs and apron
I’ve painted furniture before and applied those lessons this project (and learned a few new ones). Here’s what you need to know.
Here are the steps to painting natural pine:
Prep - again, make sure the surface is smooth and if not sand down and wipe away any residue (skipped this step because the IKEA INGO table is already smooth).
Prime - apply primer to the wood. The rule of thumb is to apply 2 coats and let each dry for up to 24 hours. But I didn’t follow that…
If you’re using, Farrow & Ball recommends a specific primer depending on whether the paint is warm/cool, dark/light and wood/wall. Since this is a small project, I just used the primer that I had even though it wasn’t exactly right (turns out it was fine).
I applied the first coat in the morning and the second in the evening and let dry overnight.
Paint - I started out applying paint from the can with a brush, but found it was streaky from the bristles so I changed tack. I used a small brush to paint hard to reach areas like corners and the bottom of the legs. Then, I got 3 -Piece Polypropylene Tray/Applicator Kit which included a 4” roller and pan. This method yielded a more even coat of paint.
I wound up getting some paint from the top of the roller on the bottom of the tabletop. If you’re picky, I’d suggest protecting with some painters tape.
Dry - I let dry for 24 hours before applying the second coat.
Paint again - I repeated the same steps as above, using the small brush to cover the hard to reach areas, then went over the big areas with the foam roller.
The result
We are THRILLED with how the table turned out. I’m not exaggerating when I say my husband is extremely profuse in his praise — he says he cannot get over beautiful and warm the wood finish is. I have to agree. Although there’s still an undertone of yellow, it has been subdued and instead the amber color of the pine has been brought to the surface. I feel like it’s only going to get better with time and use. As for the rest of it, my husband was neutral on the deep red paint to begin with, but he’s also come around on that too. He thinks it’s quite striking. From my point of view, this deep, earthy color was just what this corner of the room needed. It grounds the table and helps pull together everything together.
Final thoughts
I started out down this journey because I wanted to create a warm, stylish dining table keeping in mind my limited skills and appetite for dealing with headaches. Then along the way, I realized that it was a priority to use harmless products, especially since we’d be eating on it. All of these criteria have been addressed and exceeded.
I still think vintage tables are wonderful, and if I could find the right one, I’d get it, but not right away. I loved the ability to customize a table to suit my space and needs — it truly adds so much warmth and character, as much as a vintage piece or more, and it transforms the space by adding a grounding element. I also think it turned out so professionally. You would not know this is an IKEA table.
I was so reassured that the products I choose are low VOC so I felt good applying them in our small apartment with my newborn in it, but also using it ever after as our dining table.
Finally, I will say there were no snafus in the entire process which is virtually unheard of. I was pretty concerned that the yellow of the unfinished pine would be unworkable, but the finishing oil was all that was needed. We’ll see how it does over time, but at least I know I can always apply more or even stain or paint it in the future.
Overall, I highly recommend this two-step process for transforming a plain old pine table into a one-of-a-kind piece.