DIY - Ikea Rast Side Table Project

In September 2008, I was looking for side tables for our bedroom. At the time we didn't even have a couch, so dropping a lot of money on bedside tables wasn't something that we could do. I was flipping through my September 2008 Style at Home Magazine and I came across a bedroom shot and in the corner of a page I spotted a bedside table that was PERFECT. When I quickly flipped to the source of the table (expecting to be yet-again dissapointed by cost) I saw that they were Ikea RAST side tables. Seriously? Ikea?

They had made over the Ikea Rast tables, and although there weren't instructions on how to do the project, I decided to try my hand at recreating the tables myself.

I got these....



and the bedside tables turned out like so....



STEPS TO OUR IKEA RAST HACK

STEP 1 // WHAT YOU BUY
First you need to pick up an Ikea RAST table. For our table we used brass pulls from Lee Valley The size we used were the 51mm x 43mm ($2.80).

STEP 2 // ASSEMBLY
Assembled the table, except for the drawers.

STEP 3 // PAINTING + STAINING

[a] PAINTING THE DRAWERS - I primed the fronts of the doors and then painted them in Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore. I really love this white (it's the same white that we've used as the trim colour throughout our house)

[b] STAINING THE TABLE - I found it easier to stain the piece fully built, instead of piece by piece so I stained the "body" of the table in Antique Brown by Duraseal (this was the floor colour, left over from when we installed new floors.) I did 1 coat, as I didn't want the side tables to look too dark. I think the lighter the tone, the more modern it looks. UPDATE: Any stain, waterbased or not will work, we just liked the look of this colour. A deep walnut selection is my favourite.

Staining Part 2 - I did 2 coats of varnish after the stain had dried.

STEP 4 // THROW IKEA KNOBS OUT
I then put the drawers together on the built shelf, and threw out those ugly Ikea knobs, and put in the beautiful bronze knobs from Lee Valley Tools here in Toronto. They have an online shop, so you can easily pick up your own too. :)



FAQ ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Q: What is the quality like?A: I didn't even think that quality would be questioned until a lot of people e-mailed me to ask. These are great side tables, real wood, well constructed and easy on the pocket book. We've been using them every day, and they don't have any scratches or bump marks.

Q: The drawers don't have rollers. Doesn't that make it hard to open the drawers?
A: Rollers are good if you're opening drawers that are (a) Big and (b) hold heavy items. Keeping that in mind these tables are small, and (for us) house things like bedtime reading, socks, pajamas, the missing rollers are not an issue. We're not storing heavy stuff in these tables, so the drawers open easily. If you were to add heavier items (like lots of hardcover books) yes, it may be heavy to open the drawers, but they still open.



SHOPPING REFERENCES
Inspiration (Thank you!) Style at Home Magazine, September 2008 Issue
Knobs: Lee Valley The size we used were the 51mm x 43mm ($2.80) pulls
Side Tables: Ikea Rast Table,
Bed in picture: Colette Bed
Our Bedroom Colour - Classic Gray (oc-23) by Benjamin Moore
Drawer Colour: Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore, I used oil, and in semi-gloss

For a more complete shopping list from our bedroom, take a peek at our Before + After Bedroom post here.