UPDATE: After posting this, I got a lot of questions on how exactly I assembled it. So I’ve updated the details below. Hope it helps!
I thought it might be fun to take a trip down memory lane and show you my first project… as in the first one where I cut my own wood. I knew that it wasn’t perfect, and that was, and still is, totally fine with me. I felt like I could tackle it because I wasn’t constructing it from scratch; I was simply adding trim and turning something basic into what I wanted. After all, that’s what drew me to woodworking to begin with… being able to make what I wanted. I didn’t realize how much I would love the process!
It started with a large wall in our living room where our TV hangs. It needed something besides a big black TV. Media consoles in the right size (like 8′ long +) were out of sight price-wise, and therefore out the question. I scoured antique and thrift stores for a large dresser or banquette that I could redo, but nothing even approached the length I needed. I wanted something long, low, and narrow. And then I realized that an IKEA rast, or 4, would do just the trick. After all, it has to be the most hacked piece of IKEA furniture there is! It’s cheap, and mostly solid wood. And it can take on almost any look you want.
And lo and behold it worked! I’ve had lots of house guests ask me where I bought it so that they could get one too. So to me, it’s a success. As a bonus, it offers tons of storage for things like seasonal décor, candles, board games, etc.
To think that I did all of this with a circular saw is almost laughable now. After all, it was the first time I’d cut wood with anything! If I’d had a miter saw, I definitely could have made it a little more cleanly with more accurate cuts. But hey, it wasn’t that hard. Anyone can do it, and you can too!
I wish I had detailed instructions, but it’s been a few years and my memory is a little rusty.
I decided to take out 3 of the vertical pieces, or sides, so that it would look like one continuous piece rather than 4 individual dressers that had been ganged together. I started by building one rast, then built the next one without one side and attached it to the side of the first rast. I did need to drill a few holes into each interior vertical support to accommodate the drawer slides, but it wasn’t difficult at all. I continued adding on until all 4 were ganged together.
For the bottom, I built out the empty space beneath each bottom drawer, the toe kick-like area, with a 1×4. I then skirted the bottom with 1x4s around the sides and front.
I made the top with 2 1x4s and a 1×6 running the entire length of the top. I trimmed out the edges of the top with 1 1/2″ wide lattice. The lattice helped hide the small gap between the top of the rast and the bottom of the 1x top. Lastly, I created the look of recessed panels by trimming out the drawers and sides with lattice.
I had wanted to add some fancy-schmancy knobs, but after multiplying even the most basic knobs by 24, I decided to just go ahead and paint the wooden knobs that came with the dressers and call it a day.
I hope this inspired you! If you liked this hack, check out a few of my other IKEA hacks!
UPDATED How-To:
Hope these new instructions are helpful! Good luck!
-Marianne
Sources: Items, or similar, seen in the photos in today’s post
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Fantastic use of Ikea Rast dressers! I am looking to fill a very long wall with some storage, and this is a perfect idea. Thank-you!
Yay Melanee! Glad to help!
Marianne,
What type of paint did you use or do you recommend for finished product? Did you sand it down before doing so? I'm about to start this project and had those questions.
Thanks
Hi Will,
No need to sand. I used bullseye 123 to block out to block out the wood seepage. My favorite paint is Sherwin Williams Pro Classic in semi gloss. It gives a great smooth finish that is easy to clean. Good luck!
Hi there! What did you use for the top?
oops never mind!
Hi there! Great hack, looks beautiful. I want to reproduce it but I noticed that in your the draws the area where the handles are is deeper than the rest of the front of the console. In ikea Rast the whole front is straight. How did you do that?
Thank you!
Thank you! I trimmed out each drawer with what I call lattice. You can find it at the big box stores in the trim section. It is 1/4" thick and 1 1/2" wide. I attached the trim around the edge of each board with glue. Hope this helps you! Good luck!
How did you hide your cable box and TV wires?
Hello,
The cords are fed behind the wall. Our cords then go under the floor to a closet where we keep our cable box and other electronics. But you can simply feed them down behind the wall then have them come out behind the console into your cable box.
Hello! I love your idea! I'm actually flung it right now! I purchased my 4 rast dressers & put one together so far but I got stuck on how you attached them to each other & also, how you attached the drawer glides? Because essentially, you're attaching the next one you the outside of the first dresser... But there are no predrilled holes for the glides...
Thanks so much for any help you can give me!
~Beth
Hi Beth,
Thanks for stopping by! I did this project a couple of years ago and I couldn't remember how I assembled it in detail, but your question spurred me to go ahead and pull it apart to remember! I'm updating the post now and will have it up soon. Hopefully that will answer your questions!
Hi Beth, it's updated now. I hope I'm not too late for you!
This is beautiful! I'm going to attempt a similar hack of my own. Can I ask how long your TV is? Trying to gauge if I should use three or four Rasts.
Thanks so much! My TV is 62" long. Good luck!
This is perfect for my husband and I! I would love to do this with 3 Rast dressers to make a 9 drawer dresser for our bedroom to put our tv on. The lattice that you used to trim etc is there a unfinished type that I could use so that I might be able to stain the dresser? We are military so we move every 3 years and this is completely move friendly and will be easy to pull apart to move when we are ready for our next duty station. Love this Idea!
Hi Kylie,
First of all, thank you so much for your service and sacrifice! You can definitely buy the lattice unfinished. At Lowe's it's called raw pine square lattice molding. Good luck! I would love to see pics :)
Fantastic idea.
Are the drawers deep enough to store DVDs laying on their sides?
Thanks Chris,
Yes, the drawers are a perfect fit height-wise for DVDs. The interior of each drawer is 22" wide, 10 1/2" deep, and 6" tall.
Just stumbled upon your blog post from Pinterest. What a great project! I would have walked right past those little dressers in IKEA, but now I'm dreaming of incorporating this into my bedroom!
This is so awesome! I am a little confused about the top though. Is it just the 4 individual ones next to each other?
Thanks Kimberly! I attached the 4 individual dressers together, then I made a top with 1 1x6 and 2 1x4s. I trimmed out the top with 1 1/4" lattice, so the top is almost like an upside down tray, if that helps!
What a fabulous piece! How did you actually put the top together? (The 1x6 and 1x4's?) Nail or wood glue?
Thanks Danyal! If you have a kreg jig, I would attach the 3 pieces together with pocket screws, then glue and nail to top of dressers. If you don't have a kreg, you can use flat metal braces on the underside. If not, you can just nail and glue each board individually. Good luck!
First of all I love this!!! I’ve read it 100 times and still trying to figure out how you did the top. Since it comes with tops did you not just use those and put it together?
Hi Amber, glad to hear you love it! I'm sorry it's not explained well enough! I did use the tops of the dressers. Once the whole piece is finished, you can't see the original tops, but they are there to help the stability of the individual dressers.
So once all of the dressers are put together and attached, I then laid the long 1x4 and 1x6 pieces across the top. These pieces rest on the the vertical dresser sides, and there is a tiny (maybe 1/8") gap between the long top pieces and the original dresser tops - you can see the gap in the IKEA picture above. I then used the lattice to cover that gap and finish off the look of the piece.
Hope that helps you! Good luck!
Was the top hard to make? I was confused as to how you did it, until you said "like an upside down tray" :)
I'm also confused by your term "lattice", is it like skirting board? Sorry for all the silly questions. Absolutely love the finished outcome, am hoping I can convince my husband to help me give it a go. We too have a leave wall mounted tv, and struggle for a suitable entertainment unit to sit underneath it. Also struggle for decent DVD storage too. Hopefully hubby gets onboard. Thank you for sharing your knowledge xx
Hi Candece,
These are not silly questions! The lattice I'm referring to is lattice moulding. Check out this link... https://www.lowes.com/pd/1-5-in-x-8-ft-Pine-Finger-Joint-Lattice-Moulding/1000443149
I personally shop at Lowe's often, and there it is included in the moulding section where you would also find baseboards and crown. Hope this helps, and good luck!!