IKEA Rast Makeover

This post is sponsored by The FAT Paint Co. However, all opinions and ideas presented are my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your convenience. Full disclosure here.

It’s Monthly DIY Challenge time!! Every month a group of my best blog buddies and I take on a challenge. This month we are happy to be working with The FAT Paint Co. on multiple painted projects. If you’re looking for inspiration you’ve come to the right place. Be sure to enter the GIVEAWAY at the bottom of this post and click through to see everyone’s projects.

This poor IKEA Rast nightstand has been sitting in my bedroom for well over a year waiting for something spectacular to happen to it. Well it finally happened! This little piece of furniture is only $35 at IKEA but it’s the perfect blank slate for DIY’ers like myself to give a fun makeover to. It took a little while but I was finally inspired enough to do something with mine. It will eventually live in my 7 year old’s bedroom, which you can see here. If you aren’t familiar with the lowly IKEA Rast here is how it looks once you put it together.

I knew I wanted to do something with square wood dowels on the front but I was just not finding the color inspiration I needed to move forward with this project. You know I love the contrast and minimal vibe of black and white but eventually you have to step out of that and bring some other neutrals into a space for it to look right. I was striking out in the color game until I found the color PEWTER in The FAT Paint Co. line of paints. It’s the perfect icy grey and I knew the second I rolled a coat on that it was going to be exactly what I was looking for. Before I get into the details of this DIY let me tell you a few things about this paint.

 

The FAT Paint Company makes chalk-style paint that goes on smooth, distresses easily, and finishes with flair. Developed by an artisanal brother-sister duo, FAT Paint transforms old furniture, frames, bowls, jars, and anything at all really into enviable works of upcycled art.

 

In addition to our famous FAT Paint, you can also load up on FAT products – only the best to make DIYing, creating, and playing that much more easy, delightful, and downright fun.

*This includes a beeswax polish and a clear top-coat, which is what I chose to use to seal my nightstand.*

Gorgeous colors right?! Once I show Pewter (7th color on the top row above) I was ready to start painting! I used a 4 inch foam roller to put 2 coats of paint on the outer casing of the night stand. Once I let that dry for 24 hours (you don’t have to wait that long but I have 3 kids and full-time job sooooo…..) I put 3 coats of the FAT top coat on, also using a 4 inch foam roller.. Water glasses will entually get sat on this and I don’t want any damages! This paint and top coat goes on like buttahhhh. So, so good! I will say if your piece is older you absolutely should put on a primer first because stains will bleed through.

Once all of the painting and top coat was on I started on cutting the wood dowels to re-face the front of the drawers. I decided on a design by winging it. Yes, I was just winging it. I don’t advise you to do that unless you work well under those kinds of conditions, ha! I do for sure but there were mistakes along the way. But you know what I say? Done is better than perfect 😉 I settled on this arrow-ish design and I love it, imperfections and all!

I cut all of my straight pieces first, using my Ryobi miter saw (ummm, hello lover. This is my favorite power tool.) Then I started measuring and cutting the angled pieces as I went. They are all 90 degree (straight) cuts or 45 degree cuts. This makes the whole process fairly easy, especially once you get in the groove. Measure, cut, measure, cut. And so on and on and on. As I made my cuts I used a scrap piece of dowel to space each piece then I glued each cut piece down with DAP RapidFuse glue. This stuff is amazing! So amazing in fact that my first spacer got glued down accidentally. If you look close you’ll be able to spot it but I’m not gonna point it out to you, HAHA!

I stained the drawer fronts using a natural vintage stain by Amy Howard. The color is called Salvaged Timber. It’s a fairly subtle stain which I love!

This project, as far as the wood goes, was kinda tedious but I think the end result was worth it! The paint was easy and I love how the fronts and the color work together! Here is the finished nightstand.

See all of the other FAT Paint projects below!! They all turned out amazing. These girls are some of the kindest, most talented women I know. I hope you’re as inspired by their work as I am!

Enter the Giveaway here!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Want to start your own FAT Paint project? Check out The FAT Paint Company’s website to find a retailer near you. Not one in your area? No problem! TFPC is giving $200 CASH away to anyone — yes, anyone! — who helps them make a connection with a new retailer. How cool is that? Here’s more info about their Finder’s Fee program.”