Rast Ikea Hack

Full disclosure, while I wish I could take full credit for coming up with this genius hack, I actually  was inspired from a pin on Pinterest, which was from here.

The idea was, to take the most boring Ikea dresser ever, Rast...

And turn it into something, spectacular. Dare I say, something almost unrecognizable to its original form! So, it was as simple of partially building good ol' Rasty boy...

Staining him using a dark walnut color. I like to use a cloth to stain, but using a brush is fine too.

It's just a matter of going back and forth, making sure to always follow the grain of the wood.

I didn't want it to be too dark, so I opted for one coat of stain. I followed this with three coats, yes three, of a polycrylic protective finish. (I finished mine in satin.) This will keep the wood protected from stains, and most importantly moisture. This was a giant pain in the butt, as each coat had to dry for 2 hours

Romy snapped this shot of me as I was adding the first coat. I think its hilarious to view the chaos that surrounds me.
 

I painted both the front and back of the drawer boards in a semi-gloss white paint. I just used the paint we had left over from the trim. Ikea wood always comes with pre-drilled holes and if you plan on painting anything, make sure to protect the wholes from paint seeping in. I just screwed in the screws, and used Q-tips everywhere else. 

Lastly, I replaced the cheap-looking wooden pulls with ring pulls.

And now, the final product! Please bare in mind that the lamp is temporary, I need to get a smaller one, and that no, the bed will not always be on the floor! Also, some flowers would be nice in that vase. I'm thinking a few yellow daisies!

Lovely,  no? Now I just have to make one more!