Awesome, you came back!! Thanks for visiting!
Not too long ago we bought two sets of the Svala table and chairs from IKEA for our “playroom”. I was kinda bummed they came unfinished but then got excited that I could do whatever I wanted with them. I mean, who doesn’t dream of this perfectly coordinated playroom that looks like it came straight out of a Pottery Barn or Montessori guidebook?
Svala from Ikea
The kids had different ideas, as usual. Within a few days they had scribbled all over the top with crayons and who-knows-what. Even the table legs had been colored on. I’m totally psyched with the creativity coming from these two little boys. Psyched. Too bad they didn’t consult me first because their artwork totally didn’t go with my Pottery Barn color schemes. 
Daisy Dreams laminated cotton
I recently came across a tutorial for an oilcloth table cover from Twig & Thistle, that I thought was a great idea for the boys’ workspace. I had some oilcloth that I picked up from my favoritest fabric coop but it was very girly.
Then it occured to me that I had a yard of chalkcloth in my stash. That would be perfect! It’s fairly water resistant for spills and such, and I could whip out the chalks when the kids were bored. Score!
Kathleen’s tutorial included adorable little scallops around the edge, which I thought would be okay if done in a nice manly color, like black
- Please ignore the mess.
chalkcloth. But man, chalkcloth is hard to work with. I didn’t have quite enough to cover both tables separately so I did one cover for both tables pushed together.
I ended up just having straight edges with a little bit of decorative stitching. I think it turned out pretty good and the kids have throughly tested it. Heck I even ended up eating on it last night because we had a HUGE crowd to feed last night.
Chalkcloth Table Topper
Pretty Colors
This is serious business...
(Declan was still napping)
So if you’re in need of something similar head on over to Twig & Thistle for the exact instructions. Or you can check out Oilcloth Addict for a no sew custom chalkcloth table topper, also.
