Ikea Rast Dresser Mid Century Makeover

ByCharlotte Smith Published on Updated on

Psssst… this post *might* contain affiliate links: see my disclosure here.

Ikea Rast Dresser Turned Mid Century Show Stopper

This simple Ikea Rast dresser got a modern update for our new foyer.

bold eclectic foyer

The Ikea Rast dresser is a staple in DIY makeovers. It’s super inexpensive and, unlike lots of Ikea products, is made of wood! I’ve been drooling over this sideboard for years so I decided to turn my $40 Ikea purchase into something chic and modern and more appropriate for our new foyer! I’m working with a new material to me: flexible trim/ flexible moulding.  It’s not necessarily budget friendly, but it did exactly what I wanted it to do!

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rast dresser before

Modern Ikea Rast Hack

Step 1. Build up the kick plate

The bottom kick plate of the Rast dresser is inset from the drawers so I needed to build this up so it would be flush. A 1×3 piece of common pine fit perfectly but, in hindsight, I probably could have used the included kick plate and tweeked how  assembled this part of the dresser. I used wood glue and my brad nailer to attach the 1×3.

add wood to make base flush build up the kick plate

Step 2. Measure for trim

I used a ruler to mark guidelines for the trim. I didn’t mark out the arches themselves but the trim naturally curved where I wanted it if I lined it up with the straight lines. I marked out where the new handles would go as well to make room for them.

measure for trim

Step 3. Attach the trim

A nail gun is important for this and, as you can tell, I was distracted by wrangling my trim so I didn’t take pictures. Essentially I made sure to nail the trim close to the edges of each drawer and then every inch or so along the curves. I had to hold the trim in place firmly before nailing. It helped to train the trim a bit in advance before nailing it in place.

Note that I’m attaching the trim right over the three drawer fronts. I’ll cut the trim in the next step.

Step 4. Cut the Trim

Obviously we need to be able to open and close the drawers, so I used my Dremel multi max to cut the trim any place there was a gap (bottom kick plate and drawers).

using a dremel to cut the trim

use a brad nailer to attach the trim

Step 5. Caulk and Fill nail holes

To fill in around the molding, use paintable caulk. And then to cover the nail holes and the predrilled holes for the cabinet knobs, use wood fill. Sand smooth.

caulk for the sides of the trim

Step 6. Add support blocks for furniture feet

The dresser as-is felt awfully short so I wanted to elevate it with some furniture feet. (I picked up these acrylic ones last spring!) To create a space for the feet to attach, I needed to sister some 2×4 sections into the sides of the dresser. I used wood glue and wood screws to attach these pieces. The feet that I used had a center thread that I needed to drill a hole for and then I could screw them in place.

*Don’t be surprised by the peek of blue paint here…. before I had the foyer wallpapered as shown here, I painted this a simple blue. Eventually it got that citron makeover.

support block and drilling for feet

Step 7. Paint

I wanted this to feel modern so I used a high gloss latex paint.  I should have sanded the dresser first. It’s a smooth wood for sure, but the high gloss paint magnifies every little imperfection so… lesson learned.

paint dresser

Once you factor in the full cost of materials, this dresser cost me about $100 so it’s not necessarily a budget project. That said, I love the way it turned out and I suspect something like this would cost much more. Also… it’s always fun for me to see whether my ideas will actually work so it was nice to scratch that DIY itch!

mid century rast dresser makeover mid century rast dresser makeover

And just to give another glimpse of how it looks now after getting repainted to match the new foyer, here ya go!

bold and colorful foyer reveal

Materials List:

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