Kanjivaram Sari inspired painted IKEA step stool

This IKEA stool (BEKVÄM) retired from its services in the kids bathroom since both girls can now reach the sink without any external aid. It sat in the garage among the donation pile for a couple of months before I brought it back inside. It was a sturdy wooden stool still functional except the unsightly toothpaste blotches so I decided to rescue it with some paint. 

I had picked up a pint of  SW Blue Mosque on an impulse a few weeks ago and it seemed perfect for the stool. It was bright enough to make a statement and dark enough to bear some rough use. 

It took a couple of coats to fully cover the wood and looked beautiful in itself but I was looking for a little more spunk and so I decided to add some accent color. 

The bare blue stool had a fabulous color and I wished, I had a sari that color  (I secretly wish to own saris in all colors that inspire and move me...). It was that wish which prompted me to add a gold border to the base of the stool, much like the gold zari border of a Kanjivaram sari . 

The gold paint is a craft acrylic color that I had on hand but since it is just used on the leg of the stool which doesn't get rubbed so often so I think it should hold up well, else I'll give it another touch-up coat.
Here's the final product: 

I am planning to secure the top of the stool with polyurethane or wax to increase the longevity of the paint but that needs another trip to the hardware store so I am calling it done for now. 

Very happy with my Kanjivarm inspired painting on the stool and I think it would be an elegant addition to the study room where the girls still need help reaching the top book shelves... 
I had some extra paint left in the dish that would just have to be washed off so I put it to good use by painting the inside of this wooden dish that I use for holder paperclips, erasers and other small things.