Ikea Dresser Hack


Our first IKEA Dresser Hack in the history of the DIY Playbook. Wow, we have a lot to talk about. Let’s first start with a step-by-step overview of what we did to dress up this $34 RAST Ikea Dresser. Then, we’ll get into what we love about the look, what we learned, what we would do differently and why we may never buy a $34 dresser again.
ikea rast dresserStanding 24 and 3/8 inches tall, arriving at our doorstep in all individual pieces, and costing only $34 (say whaaaat?!)… meet the Ikea RAST.
IKEA Dresser HackWith a little extra time in the DIY Playbook’s beauty shop, check out the new, improved, mid-century inspired RAST Ikea dresser! Let’s break down the transformation, shall we?

First order of business (no progress pics, sorry!): We primed and painted all of the parts BEFORE we put the dresser together. We figured painting first would eliminate some of the tedious work of trying to paint some of the nooks & crannies.

dresser leg suppliesSecond order of business: the dresser’s new legs. This is the first time we bought “legs” for a piece of furniture and we LOVED our experience with them! We bought 4 of these Dual Top Plates to screw into the dresser itself. We then bought 4 of these two inch legs. Neither item cost more than $3.dual top plate for IKEA Dresser HackThe dual plates were extremely easy to screw into place and once you have the dual plates on, all you have to do is screw the leg into the plate. The “dual” option allows you to place the plate in a way that you could have the legs go straight down or use the other opening in order for the legs to curve outward, which is more of the midcentury look. Although we love, love, love the curved look, with such a small dresser the curved legs looked a tad odd. So we went with the straight down option for this project.

We did, however, run into a slight glitch when adding the legs. After building the painted dresser, we realized that this dresser didn’t have a “bottom” aka anything to attached the legs to. Therefore, we bought a small piece of MDF board, had it cut to size, and nailed that baby in to create a bottom to attached legs to. Of course, we had to paint that piece white after the other painting was already done. Sooo… if you do plan on doing this, we would suggest buying the MDF from the start and painting it with the rest of the project.

dresser hooksLike we mentioned before, all we had to do was screw in the dual plates and screw in the legs….
dresser feet… and this bad boy was walking! Well, not exactly, but the whole process was pretty darn easy! (We will definitely be using these again).puttyThen…. painter’s putty. We took our white painter’s putty and filled in the existing hardware holes. We wanted to add one long, sleek handle to each drawer and we couldn’t find one to fit the existing holes. The painter’s putty allowed us to cover the existing holes, but did require a second coat of paint to cover them. (Tip: Just like the MDF board, we recommend you cover the holes from the very start so you don’t have to go back and paint… again!) #rookiemistakes
hardware for IKEA Dresser HackNow, our finishing touches and our favorite part of the project… the hardware! We scored these amazing pulls from Hickory Hardware. You can pick these pulls up at Menard’s or order them from the Hickory Hardware website. However, we’re warning you: LOTS of choices! Just so many darn options!
IKEA Dresser Hack afterWe drilled pilot holes for each of the handles and screwed the handles into place. DONE and DONE!
IKEA Hack dresser
We are totally digging the sleek, mid-century inspired look. Thanks to the legs and the hardware, this $34 piece of furniture LOOKS a lot more expensive.ย decorative boxhandle up close

However, we do have to be honest here. We love the look but the $34 dresser quality is exactly what you would expect a $34 dresser to be. Don’t get us wrong, if you’re looking for budget-friendly furniture that you can personalize on the cheap yet make look expensive… this project is definitely FOR YOU, and we will be cheering you on every step of the way.

Buutttttttt, if you’re looking for a quality, sturdy, long-lasting dresser, this $34 dresser may not be the perfect match for you. It looks awesome, but the quality leaves you thinking that maybe you should have spent the extra moola.

IMG_1277IMG_1270After the IKEA Dresser HackThe takeaways here? ย For $34 this IKEA Dresser hack is what it is. And regardless of quality, there’s no denying that those charming legs and that gorgeous hardware could totally fool any guest into thinking that your $34 could have actually been $340! Your secret is safe with us… #always.

Bridget&Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.