IKEA Rast Hack

After I finished my daughter's night table, I couldn't leave out my son so he got a dresser of his own also. I started out with a plain IKEA rast dresser.

I got the inspiration for this from the lovely blog Aubrey and Lindsay. I really liked what she did, but I wanted to make it a little more masculine for my big boy. First I assembled the dresser, but did not insert the drawers. I used Miniwax's Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner because it was the first time I was staining something, I wasn't sure how great the IKEA wood was, and I wanted it to come out good the first time around so I wanted all the help I could get. After following the instructions on the can, I stained the frame of the dresser - top, sides, and toe kick on the bottom - with Miniwax stain in Dark Walnut. I wanted a really deep, rich color and I got it after using two coats.

In the meantime, I primed and painted the drawer fronts white and then brushed on two coats of poly to help it stand up to the wear and tear it would get from a precocious little boy. After they dried, I switched out the plain wooden knobs for the glira knobs, also from IKEA.

And here it is all complete! I really love how it came out and it's great because it's a piece that can grow with him and last for many years.

  

This is another shot of the dresser with some of his favorite thing - books with Billy book-end, mr. fix-it picture frame and fire engine charity box.