Just Another Ikea Rast Hack

I've been without a nightstand for quite a while. I had a cheap one before I moved, but even that wasn't really suitable for my needs, and I didn't bring it with me because it was falling apart. I have actually been using a folding TV tray as a bedside table, not exactly the look I was going for. So I did what any crafty girl would do, I got on Pinterest and looked for inspiration.



There was one major thing I was attracted to:

Mirrored furniture!! There are few things that scream "luxe!" louder than mirrored furniture. But, as you probably know, something that gorgeous does not come cheap. More like really, really, really expensive. Like "who is out there paying hundreds of dollars on a single nightstand?" expensive.

Back to Pinterest where I discovered the Rast 3-drawer chest from Ikea and the millions of Rast hacks there were out there, seriously they're everywhere. If you're not familiar with this, it's a solid, untreated wood chest that is the perfect size for a nightstand.

 

It's basically a blank canvas, and the best part is that it only costs $35! I could smell the swedish meatballs in my near future. I knew I couldn't get the mirrored nightstand that I was dreaming of, it just wasn't reasonable for me to get that much mirror and I wasn't prepared to drill any holes in glass to accommodate the drawer pulls, so I had to come up with a new game plan. That's when I found this and this and I was inspired.

Day trip to Ikea later and i was ready to go (and so was Jack)

When you are putting together Ikea furniture before 9am, coffee is a requirement, and power tools don't hurt either. 

 The first thing I did was put together the frame. You can paint the pieces individually but putting together the frame helps because it raises the pieces off the ground it and allows you to see all of what will be visible so you can save paint and time.

Next I primed everything using Zinsser Cover Stain Interior oil-based primer. Make sure to use a cheap paintbrush you don't mind throwing away (but not so cheap that the bristles will fall out). I used Q-Tips to clean the paint and primer from the pre-drilled holes, you'll need those clear when you put everything together. Then I painted everything silver using DecoArt Elegant Finish paint in Shimmering Silver. (I wasn't planning on painting the drawer fronts, but I accidentally started painting one so I just went with it). 

 Here I started using a 4" foam roller to paint the silver on, but it was coming out bumpy and not as smooth as I wanted, so I decided to use a foam brush instead and I really love how it gave it a kind of brushed metal look. But the silver just wan't enough. I needed to up the ante so I headed over to Lowes' Glass Cutting center and I bought a piece of mirror and had it cut (for not additional cost!) to fit on the top of my nightstand. It was just enough to bring the mirrored look into my room while still being cost effective.

For the fronts of the drawers I used fabric. I bought linen from JoAnn (using a 60% off coupon of course) and I decided to use Mod Podge to attach it to the drawer fronts. I don't have pictures of this because I had a lot of trouble attaching my fabric, and in the end the silver paint ended up slightly staining the fabric, so go ahead and follow the drawer upholstery instructions over at RedBarberry if you plan on doing fabric fronts. Other options would be to do a contrasting paint color or even contact paper could be lovely (and what I'll probably end up doing when I decide to refinish the drawers). 

All in all, though not perfect, I am thrilled with my new nightstand! It fits perfectly with the aesthetics I am going for in my room (and yes, that is a Christmas decoration, but it just fits too perfectly all year round!). The best part is that this entire project clocked in at just around $60 start to finish, and I have tons of leftover materials.