Inspired by Pimp My Billy (discovered via Amy) we took it upon ourselves to renovate and re-invigorate a slammin' IVAR shelf unit, and turn it into a kickin' TV stand. Does using lots of words that end with an apostrophe convince you that I am cool? Or, chillin'? OK. So IVAR is the second worst furniture that IKEA sells (STEN takes that honor, and yes I have some of that too). Hey, some people even write poetry about these guys. I'll show you a "before" picture once I have an "after" to share, so you'll have to content yourselves with the "during". It's all together now and it's rather bitchin'. This process was tedious but easy, especially if you're an anal retentive perfectionist. Here are some tips: 1. Pick out your IVAR pieces carefully. There aren't any pieces with NO knots, but at least try to select shelves with knots on the undersides. 2. Obsess over stains at Home Depot. Make it easy on yourself and go water-based. You'll need to do 2 coats in order to cover up the streaky flaws in IVAR. And get a pre-stain as well, just for kicks. 3. Sand! Sand those suckers until they're not splintery. And wear a dust mask. 4. Apply that stain! Best with a buddy, so you can work out a careful ballet of applying and wiping stain. 5. Sand! Yes, again. IVAR is some rough stuff. It's freakin' Chinese firewood, so you have to baby it a little. 6. Final touches! Get some Polycrylic matte clear coat to make it look all professional like. You'll want several coats of this as well. 5. Shazam! It almost looks like real furniture. At this point, you'll want to fill your living room with other items from IKEA so that IVAR looks at home. Get ready to soak in the compliments.