Do you ever get taken in by the adverts you see on Instagram? Silly question? I know for sure that I’m not the only one obsessed with these floral print tiles from Your Tiles (Jardin Rose). But I have no need for tiles right now so instead I reached for my trusty Cricut to help me give my IKEA Bekväm stool a make over. In this blog post I’m going to link to my Design Space project so you can do your very own Cricut x IKEA hack. It’s one of my favourite Cricut makes to date! So here’s your low down…

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Cricut x IKEA Bekväm Hack

Rather than a tutorial on the actual application of the vinyl etc, I’m just going to outline what I used for this project.

The Stool

IKEA products are primed for some good ol’ hacking and personalising. The Bekväm step stool is hugely popular and one I’ve had for years. It comes in an unpainted solid Aspen version and a finished white or black version.

We bought the unfinished on and painted it with leftover Valspar wood exterior paint from our front door (in shade: Tribal Headdress). I use it as a dressing table stool which is extra handy as I can also use it as a step to get to the top shelves of my wardrobe (short people problems). We had also painted the tops of the stool white, having planned to paint/stencil it but 4 years later it was still bare, or in my opinion- just waiting for the right inspiration to come along!

Cricut Design Space Image

The design I used is a Cricut Design Space image which is available for £0.89 or with Cricut Access: ‘Tile Long Cut’ #M18BC9E30

I grouped this together to create the tiled effect and resized it to fit the surface. You can use my project as-is using the link to my Design Space Profile here.

Vinyl Choice

I used a mix of removable and permanent Smart vinyl* and my Cricut Explore 3* to cut the design. The mix of vinyl types was purely based on what I had to hand and the colour palette I was aiming for. Permanent vinyl would be best to use for a project like this as it has the strongest adhesive and less likely to peel off. As removable vinyl is made to be, well, removable- it’s likely to start peeling off, especially with the more delicate cuts.

The colours I used are:

  • Smart Vinyl in Ocean (blue)
  • Smart Vinyl in Light-Pink
  • Smart Vinyl in Aqua

You will also need Transfer Tape.

You can find almost all of these colours in their normal vinyl range if you are using a machine that doesn’t cut Smart Vinyl. The only colour that doesn’t seem to be in the ‘regular’ vinyl range is ‘Ocean’ but a Medium Blue looks like a close match.

Construction Tips

Be warned, this is a fiddly project and will take time- some of the pieces are quite delicate and I had to break it up colour by colour so I didn’t lose my patience. But it is oh so worth it.

To make it easier to line up all the decals, I would cut the Ocean and Aqua pieces as they are and started with applying Ocean layer first. This gives you the main framework of the design to apply the rest around.

For the handle I hand cut away the overhanging vinyl with a sharp craft knife after I had applied the rest of the design.

To finish off I sealed this project with clear sealant. You could use something like the Rust-Oleum Clear Sealer or spray. Just make sure you read the instructions and let it cure according to the directions. I find most sealants go a little yellow over a few years? But maybe there’s some new fancy ones about these days!

Another option

Alternatively if you love this style but can’t bear the thought of weeding and applying all that vinyl, you could use the Cricut to cut out a stencil of the design and paint it on using which ever colour paint you fancy. Smart, right?

Although this project was (is?) probably my longest one to date, I absolutely love the finished product. It’s one of those projects that make me think ‘wow’ every time I see it and just fills me with happiness and satisfaction of creating it myself with my own two hands. And judging by your reactions when I shared it on my Instagram, it’s one of those projects that made you think ‘I need a Cricut!’

So what do you think? Worth the effort? Or should I have just bought some tiles? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. And if you haven’t yet taken a deep dive into the Cricut world, what’s stopping you? Let me know your questions and sit tight– I’ve got a series of posts coming up soon I think you might like.

Now, off I go to see what else I can ’tile’ around the house!

Love,

*Materials and machine were gifted as part of my ongoing relationship with Cricut UK. This is not a sponsored post. As always, opinions are my own.

One thought on “Cricut x IKEA hack: How to create a ’tiled’ effect Bekväm stool”

  1. Pingback: Small Craft Space Hacks- Tips to make the most out of the space you have (Part 1) – The Little Pomegranate | Rumana

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