Garvin & Co

Motherhood, Lifestyle & Design Blog by Jessica Garvin

  • Shop
  • Living
  • Style
  • Wellness
  • Festive
  • About
  • Contact

Explore

  • Shop
  • Wellness
  • About
  • Contact

Connect

House & Home · December 10, 2013

Harper’s Playtable Makeover

I felt like a real, live Elf working in Santa’s workshop for the past few nights. After Harper went to bed, Brandon & I headed out to the garage, listened to some Christmas tunes & went to work on a very special play table for Christmas morning. I think Harper is going to LOVE her new little mini-workspace!!
ikea latt playtable
We bought this Ikea Latt table for $20 (it is available online!), stained it, dipped the legs & added a roll of paper underneath to make it extra functional. This was such an easy & cheap DIY, we are so happy with the result!! Here is a quick rundown of how we did it. The table comes unfinished, so we used Minwax Wood Stain in a dark finish (this particular one was Jacobean 2750), which actually has almost a metallic look to it once it is applied over the original light wood. The stain was applied before the pieces were assembled so it is easy to cover all surface area. We only did one coat of stain because we didn’t want it to be too dark.
Once the stain was dry, I applied Frog Tape to the bottom portion of the legs & used Behr semi-gloss paint to give the legs a dipped look. I got a little tape happy & applied it again another inch above that piece to add another block of paint, this time using Martha Stewart Gold Metallic Glaze. Just to warn you though, this did not dry like I thought it would, it took a few very thin coats in order to get it to dry smooth & streak free.
We let it dry in the garage for another night & then came the fun part, peeling off the tape!! 🙂 We also  picked up a roll of drawing paper from Ikea, one small dowel & two dowel holders to screw into the underside of the table (length wise) so that Harper could easily flip paper up onto the table top for coloring.
I hope this inspires you to get creative with this table! It is such a great price & so versatile that you can customize it so easily to fit your style.

   
 A plastic container from Target, this adorable star pillow (that is actually going to be part of her big girl bedding!) & these fun crayons were the perfect accessories for this little table. I can’t wait for her to see it!! 🙂
ikea latt playtable

You can find more of Harper’s Christmas List here! 🙂
Also, I just want to say THANK YOU for all of the sweet comments on our advent calendar activities! I love hearing your feedback, ideas & how you have been inspired!! I am always determined to find ways to bring a little fun & festiveness into the everyday. So cheers to all of you who do too!!
And I totally felt like Dr. Seuss with that last sentence.
XO
31

Posted By: Jessica Garvin · In: House & Home

Advent Calendar & Toddler Activities
Love List

You’ll Also Love

Mother’s Day Plans with Allswell Home
Mini Indoor Herb Garden
Guest Bath Remodel

Comments

  1. Bklyn100 says

    July 7, 2015 at 5:48 pm

    Did you sand before staining and wipe off the stain after you painted?

    Reply
  2. Bklyn100 says

    July 7, 2015 at 5:48 pm

    Did you sand before staining and then wipe off the stain after you painted?

    Reply
  3. Ciara Baldwin says

    March 18, 2016 at 1:27 am

    My husband and I just purchased this for my daughter who's turning one next week (already? Holy shit!) How is this table holding up after being used by the older girls? Did you apply any clear coat or sealant over the stain?

    Reply
  4. Liz says

    January 13, 2017 at 6:19 am

    Hey! I remember seeing this when you first posted it and guess what my girl is 2 now we purchased the table last night and I stained it this morning and assembled it after. I’m letting it dry a little more but then we’re going to add a satin coat over it once. I loved that I didn’t have to sand it and I used I think American Walnut and did a few coats of it which is cool because now it will match our custom dining table. Anyways thank you because you gave me the idea and i was able to search and find it for reference.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Photo
Welcome to Garvin & Co! So happy you're here! Grab a cup of coffee & look around. We hope you leave feeling happy & inspired!!

Get on the List

Look Around

  • Book Club
  • Chalkboards
  • Dinner Parties
  • Essential Oils
  • Festive
  • Friday Favorites
  • Gift Guides
  • Holidays
  • Homeschool
  • House & Home
  • Lake House
  • Monthly Edit
  • Motherhood
  • Playlists
  • Pregnancy and Newborn
  • Recipes
  • Skincare & Beauty
  • Style
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Shop the Goods

Search

Sponsors & Partners

jlgarvin

Need a fun & easy gift ideas for your kiddos teach Need a fun & easy gift ideas for your kiddos teachers? Throw together a color coordinated summer s’mores basket! You can find all of these items at your local grocery store & even add in a gift card (or a bottle of wine)! Also makes a great hostess gift for those Memorial Day weekend backyard hangs. 🤍
Forever obsessed with our new breakfast nook art b Forever obsessed with our new breakfast nook art by the one and only @where_is_frances !! She came all the way to Nashville so we could paint this together and I am beyond grateful!!! Not only is she so incredibly talented but she was so willing to encourage me and teach me so much. Such a genuine and fun human being, thank you Frances for this iconic experience and for making my walls so HAPPY!! Also, @garvin17 built this massive piece of framed wood for us to paint on AND this table & bench! 💪🏼 Now I need to find some new chairs and we will be finished.
More happy things pls. ✔️ More happy things pls. ✔️
Welcome to our garden! Found the cutest bistro set Welcome to our garden! Found the cutest bistro set to add to this fun outdoor space from @wayfair, sharing all the details on the blog! You can shop this set & lots of my other outdoor faves up to 80% off during the Way Day sale running April 26-27th! #sponsored #wayfair #wayday @collectivevoicehq
Easter 2023 🐰 Would like to point out that I di Easter 2023 🐰 Would like to point out that I didn’t find them any cute matching pajamas this year but they took it upon themselves to find some in their closets & dressed accordingly. They also surprised US with an Easter egg hunt around the house with recycled Easter eggs filled with hand written notes and coupons to cash in for hugs, compliments, etc. How did we get here?! The girls could hardly sleep Saturday night bursting with excitement to host our friends & neighbors for donuts in the morning, they were up before the sun ready to start setting the tables & rolling dough. For everyone reading this with babies & toddlers, just know that all of those sweet traditions you are creating will make a home in their hearts, and one day they’ll be the ones making the magic for you. 🤍🤍🤍
Our kitchen shelves are complete!! I was going to Our kitchen shelves are complete!! I was going to make you a reel but the thought of climbing up there to take this all down again was just too daunting. So you get a static post of the ultimate #shelfie 🤍 Swipe for before & afters, tap for sources!
Did your grandma ever make you a jello poke cake?! Did your grandma ever make you a jello poke cake?! They’re so fluffy and refreshing!! And always our girls birthday cake request! It’s too easy: make a white cake (from a box), poke holes in it with a toothpick, make jello according to directions in a saucepan and pour over top, and then put in the fridge for 3-5 hours to cool and set! Frost with whipped cream and serve chilled!!
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Garvin & Co · Theme by 17th Avenue