Ikea LATT Activity Table

For my son's most recent birthday we wanted to make him something instead of buying him something. He has a LOT of stuff and we really didn't want even more. I came across the idea of some sort of activity table and thanks to good old Pinterest I was able to come across this!

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/50178411/

We started with a LATT table and chair set from Ikea which is $24.99 from our local store. We then went to Home Depot and got paint - the hubby and I settled on a really bright green and white. We only bought the small 'sample' tubs which cost about $5 each and we had lots of paint left over. And for the actual 'activity' portion of the table we settled on Chalkboard Paint. This was more expensive at $22.97, but even after 3 coats on the table we have LOTS left. We also purchased a spray lacquer which is a non-toxic sealant and goes for about $6 - $8 per can.

Painting in progress!

The hubby and I did this project over a week, working on it for about an hour or so each night. We did 2 coats of paint on the table, and 3 for the chalkboard. Then we let it dry and set and then sprayed it with the sealant. And then - ASSEMBLE! Now remember the chalkboard needs to be 'primed' - once the paint is dry and cured, you have to run a piece of chalk over then entire surface and then wiped off with a clean cloth and voila! You're ready to go!

The final (already used) product

Sorry I don't have a better picture of the finished product. You can sort of see that we painted the sides of the table and chairs green, and the legs white. The seats of the chairs were already white so they're unpainted. 

The Munchkin LOVED his table - the above pic is about 10 minutes after he received it at his party. And 6 months later it's still a favourite for colouring, activities and snacks. A definite win!

The whole project cost about $70 with table, paint, and a couple additional supplies like brushes. It may seem a bit steep but we have a lot of paint left over for future projects.

Have fun!

Here is where I found the original idea for the activity table...

http://designbuildlove.co/ikea-latt-childrens-activity-table-hack/