I'm on a roll...

I'm on a roll of projects not turning out as good as I'd hoped.
First my brothers curtains were not as symmetrical as I had expected.
Then my own simple curtain shortening was anything but.

I thought I'd get on with my Ikea Bekvam step stool and guess what? It's turned into something really uninspiring.

Let me refresh your memories of the step stool as it comes...

I decided to begin with staining it walnut as I wanted to use my milk paint for a bit of hardcore shabby chic, and I like the wood that shows to have a strong contrast with the paint.

So here's the walnut:

 

Already looking better I think as the wood takes on this richer tone. 

Then I mixed up my milk paint and started to paint. Several coats later, NOTHING was happening. Not a single hint of a crack.

I blame the unfinished wood. I hate to waste my milk paint on things that go wrong. It's very expensive, whether you buy it here in the UK or import it yourself from Canada to save some money. I could have used a tester pot of emulsion from Wilkinsons for the same look. Nice smooth paint. I made it really thick and there was no change.

Distressing therefore doesn't look beautifully natural and chippy, just a bit forced.

I was hoping for some of this:

And I ended up with this:

Meh! Nothing special.

Anyway, there are plenty of other ideas on pinterest if you're into colourful, floral, or work that people are actually quite proud of.