Before and After: My own Ikea Hack of Svala Table

We wanted to have a table and chair for Lizzy to eat, play and work at that was her size, so we bought the svala children's table and chair from ikea. This table is great although it was too tall for Lizzy so we looked up the measurements for the Montessori weaning tables they use for infants and got the measurements 14″ high, and the chairs 7″ to the seat so we sawed the table down to that size.

The table comes unfinished and I found it hard to clean so I decided to finish it. I love natural wood but for Lizzy I wanted something colorful and fun so I painted it pink, purple, and green. Lizzy has butterflies on her walls so I added some butterfly wall decals to the table and to finish it I applied pour on high gloss that gives it a high gloss look and makes it much easier to wipe clean.

Before:

After:

Lizzy loves the table and chair, she eats her snacks and lunch at the table, plays at the table and I set up Montessori trays for her to work seated at the table. The high gloss makes it easier to clean and cutting the table and chair down to size make Lizzy much more independent because she can get in and out of the chair and table herself.