IKEA Rast Dresser Makeover

We are excited to finally show you our IKEA Rast dresser makeover. I say "our" because it involves the design of Autumn, and the wood skills of Nicole. We have given you a couple glimpses of the unfinished dressers over the year, but we really wanted to wait until the room was finished to give you a good look. 

Autumn, Nicole's Sister In- Law, helped me design my bedroom and the dressers into night stands.

She wanted us to knock off the night stand above...she describes the plans over at her blog,  Design Dump.

So, we started with a pair of Ikea Rast dressers.  I ordered them online for about 30 dollars a piece.

Nicole and I sketched out the curve pattern on paper, by alternating a paper arch.

In order to add our decorative legs, we had to brace the bottom with 2x4's and 2x2's.

The curved legs were also cut from mdf and nailed in on each side with a mitered corner.

We added a fake drawer to the bottom with a piece of mdf cut to size.

Here is one of the dressers ready to be finished with the wood veneer curves that Nicole cut out of 1/4 inch mdf with a scroll saw. We also added a piece of mdf to each dresser top, Nicole routered the front edge to give the night stands a finished look.

My sister has some serious wood skills to cut these curves out! I owe her...BIG time...like one of my children...(just kidding).. for all the effort she put into these dressers.  She was able to match up the lines with each drawer and they still have the ability to open.

Nicole brought over her paint sprayer and helped me paint the dressers with Benjamin Moore's Dartsmouth Green.  The finish is so nice because of the paint sprayer. Another trick to a great finish is lightly sanding between coats. For protection, we finished the dressers with a Polyurethane spray.

I just love them in my room!  They are the perfect little night stands. We haven't quite figured out what to do for knobs.  Do you have any ideas? I'm tempted to leave them as is.

Thanks Autumn and Nicole for all your hard work! I will be back to share the headboard, it was a little tricky hanging the thing.  Thank goodness for wall spackle!