My media console and nightstand Ikea hacks were definitely my most popular projects of 2020. If you missed it, you can see it here. This year, my plan was to kick off the year with a bedroom refresh as I have shared in my 2021 Project list. I was on the hunt for 2 new nightstands but during an IG poll, most of you wanted to see another Ikea hack. So here it is! I searched Ikea looking for something that I could transform. I came across the Ikea Rast and thought it would be a great nightstand to work on. It is affordable, coming in at $39.99. It is made of solid pine and has 3 drawers, so plenty of storage. You can NEVER go wrong with storage, especially when you live in a smaller home. I didn’t really have a plan for this nightstand. I thought I would figure it out along the way and have you help me determine how this nightstand would look. I did a series of polls in my IG stories and the end result is based on your votes. You all rock! After putting the nightstand together, I knew I didn’t want the toekick at the bottom and wanted to reinforce it with a base under the drawer. I also wanted a top shelf for some books and decorative pieces. To do so, I: 1. Determined where the last drawers ended on the nightstand. I made a mark and then used a speed square to draw a line across the nightstand. 2. I took the nightstand apart so I can measure and cut the side panels. 3. I then accounted for the 1/2″ plywood that I used. I added 1/2″ plus a little and drew a line below my original line (where the drawers ended). 4. Once I determined where I needed to cut, I used my circular saw with a Kreg guide to cut each of the side panels. 5. I then measured the width and depth of the nightstand to determine the base I would need to reinforce the bottom of nightstand. (This should equal the top panel of the nightstand so I measured that to make sure my measurements weren’t off). 6. Using the circular saw plus Kreg guide, I cut the plywood to the determined dimension. I cut 2 pieces of wood, one for the base and one for the shelf. The piece of plywood I used will give you 4 pieces which is perfect for 2 nightstands. 7.Then using my Kreg Pocket hole jig, I added 4 pocket holes to the bottom of each piece of wood that I had cut. 8. I reassembled the nightstand. 9. Using 1/2″ pocket hole screws from my kit, I secured the pieces of wood to the nightstand. One at the bottom, under the last drawer and one right above the second drawer. This now leaves the first drawer empty to be used as a shelf. https://xomyhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ikea-trim.mov So that gave me the structure I wanted for the nightstand. Now, I wanted to add some details to the front of the drawer. I had a few options in mind but this vertical board look stole your hearts, so I took a walk around Lowes and decided that lattice trims were the way to go. They are thin, which makes them super easy to work with and also will have little impact, if any, to the profile of the dresser. To create the design: 1. I purchased 4 of these pine lattice trims from Lowes or you can also get 3 of the 10ft lattice trims. This would be enough for one nightstand (2 drawers). 2. I measured the height of each drawer front, then cut the trims to the right length. 3. Using wood glue, I glued the trims to the front of the drawers. I used nickles as my spacer. (One thing I would recommend is laying out all the trims on the drawers with the spacers before applying the glue so you can see how many pieces you need. This also allows you to adjust the spacing to ensure that you have full pieces of the trim for the entire drawer). I missed this step and ended up with a slither in the end. It does’t look bad but would definitely be a cleaner look if I had spaced out the trims a bit better. Another tip I have is to complete one drawer first. Put the drawer back into the nightstand. Apply the first trim to the second drawer and then immediately (before glue dries), put it in the dresser and check to see if it is aligned with the first drawer. Make adjustments if necessary. I think this is an important step as you want to make sure the trims on the two drawers line up. 4. Fill in the drawer holes from the first drawer with wood filler. Let dry and sand smooth. Now let’s prep for paint: 1. I lightly sanded the entire cabinet using 220 Grit sand paper to make sure the unit was smooth to touch. You can do this by hand or with an orbit sander. The higher the number is on the sand paper, the smoother the finish! 2. I wiped down the entire unit with a dry cloth to remove any debris. 3. I applied 2 coats of primer on the entire unit using primer I had from previous projects. Make sure you let the first coat dry completely before applying the second coat. 4. Once the primer was dry, I applied 2 coats of paint. I used Sculptor Clay from @behrpaint. It is the perfect shade of greige. Again, allow each coat to dry before applying the next. 5. Once everything is dry, add legs and hardware. To keep cost minimal, I used legs that I had from previous projects. I had the Hedvig Little 160 in brass from from Pretty Peg. It is a bit tall for this nightstand but I wanted to use what I already had. For hardware, I found a few great options but ended with this one. Here is the total cost breakdown: 1. Cabinet – ~$40 2. Plywood for base and shelf – ~$.8.50 (only used 1/2 for 1 nightstand) 3. Trim for Drawer From – ~$29 4. Primer – $0 from before 5. Paint – $5 (I used very little from the quartz I got) This project cost about $85 plus the cost of hardware and legs you decide to use. Will you give this a try?
