Oh, Micke.

Living in about 750 sqft doesn't leave much storage room for all the accessories that come with a project like this. I needed a piece that could be multi-purpose, can be easily moved, and can be wiped down with a lysol wipe. Hello, Ikea!

I got this beautiful little thing:

Micke Storage Unit from Ikea, $70.

Ben and I call it 'My Mickey.' This was by far the best $70 I've ever spent at Ikea. It's sturdy. It's on wheels. It fits a ton of crap. It has an opening in the top for chords (for my printer + Cameo.) And most importantly, I can literally hose it down if I want to.

But one thing it is, is sooo boring. So super boring. So minimalist-ly boring. Not my style.

So, I set out on a project to remedy this. It needed some stripes. It needed some drawer pulls. It needed some serious panache.

I love the texture of chalkboard paint, but I don't like that most of the pre-mixed stuff is super dark. Thank goodness I found this little recipe:

One cup of paint, 2tbs unsanded tile grout = chalkboard paint.
Thanks, Martha, I guess. 

Want to know the best thing about this recipe? The samples they give you at Home Depot are exactly 8oz (one cup.) Yahoo!

I am in love with Behr Graceful Gray (see the cheeseboard I made for my mom.) And it's a perfect neutral for this piece.

So I put some tape up for stripes. Mixed some paint. And got to painting.

Taped it. 

Painted it. 

Ripped the tape off. 

Ripped more tape off.

When I was waiting for the paint to dry I took a trip to Home Depot and grabbed some drawer pulls. Found some awesome brass ones:

When I placed the drawer pulls up with some masking tape, I felt the front was missing something, so I added some extra paint.

I have some cleaning up to do, and need secure the drawer pulls more than just with masking tape. I'll post the finish product tomorrow....