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You are here: Home / Home Ideas / Ikea Rast Hack : A Unique Coastal Style Dresser Transformation

Ikea Rast Hack : A Unique Coastal Style Dresser Transformation

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Let me begin by telling you that I admit without any shame that I do love me some Ikea furniture BUT some of it can be so boring I just can’t bring myself to put it in my house. One of these not so pretty pieces is the Ikea Rast. I found one for very cheap second hand. It wasn’t pretty but I just knew it was absolutely perfect for an Ikea Rast hack I had in mind and I’m glad I purchased it!

Ikea Rast Hack : A Unique Coastal Style Decor Transformation

Now with much shame I will let you know that I’m still not done with my sons “nursery”, now big boy room. I have been going at it for two years and just keep getting sidetracked (bad mom!). I chose a nautical / coastal style theme for his room. I also admit I never really considered this theme for his room but one day as I walked past a home decor store I spotted a beautiful child’s book case in the shape of a boat perfectly finished with a very subtle grey wash. I HAD to have it! Then of course I got home and had no idea what to do with it because it matched nothing in my house and there the idea was born to create a nautical bedroom for my son. Perfect!

DIY Ikea Rast Hack nightstand / dresser with a beautiful coastal style decor finish. This is an easy and unique idea.

Once I put the bookcase in his bedroom I made this pretty starfish wall art. I found some beautiful starfish in a little shop in a seaside town we visited last summer. They where perfect to match his room. He also needed a nice lamp and when I found this total bargain I knew I had to give it a nautical lamp makeover!

It took me a while to finally decide what I wanted to do with the Rast chest and in the meantime my kids were making sure they completely destroyed it as it waited patiently for me to decide. I kid you not, these kids drew on it, bashed hammers on it, smeared food on it. They didn’t hold back. It was gross and I by the time they where done I struggled to look at it! 😛

Read on as I will show you exactly how to recreate this look! In the meantime don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest to get daily pinspiration! Did I tell you I’m a pinnaholic? You can also subscribe to my weekly email newsletter to stay up to day with everything that goes on around here and receive FREE Printables!

Coastal Style Ikea Rast Hack nightstand / dresser. An easy furniture home for any beach decor

Ikea Rast Hack : A Unique Coastal Style Decor Transformation

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience and at no extra cost to you. For more information please refer to my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Pastels and Macarons!

What you will need

Supplies and Tools for Ikea Rast Hack:

1 x Ikea Rast Chest

Old or new palette wood boards – Mine where free from a neighbour.

Handheld Electric Sander

Electric Jigsaw – I love my Bosch 

Hand Saw

Wood Glue

White Chalk Paint of your choice (I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint but there are cheaper options)

Finishing Wax of your choice (I used Annie Sloan Clear Wax but there are cheaper options)

Paint Brush

Nails

Hammer

Clean, lint free cloth

Here’s the before:

Before we begin allow me to show you this Ikea Rast Chest in all its former glory… not fabulous at all. It was sad and needed serious love. I think I see some food on it also. Thanks kids!

From boring to amazing coastal style Ikea Rast Hack

HOW TO RECREATE THIS COASTAL IKEA KALLAX HACK!

I started by removing the draws from the chest and removing the hardware. For this project I kept the original knobs because I felt the design I chose to put on the draws was enough, I didn’t want anything taking attention away from the pretty sea creatures I applied to it.

Easy Ikea Rast Hack coastal style tutorial

To recreate this look start by measuring the top of the chest in length and cutting your wood with an electric saw. It’s a small chest so it doesn’t require much wood. I was able to fit three and a half pieces of palette wood on the top of the chest. I also added a piece of wood to the bottom of the chest so that I could take the images all the way to the bottom of the chest. Set your pre-cut pieces of palette wood aside.

Easy Ikea Rast Hack costal style idea

You will notice on a Rast Chest that you will find the top surface is not even. The sides slightly rise above the rest of the surface making it difficult to place on any other surface over the top without a gap becoming visible. I got rid of this obstacle by using a handsaw and gently removing these little extra pieces of wood. I was too scared of using my electric jigsaw incase I accidentally started sawing into the actual chest. I can be a bit clumsy that way! haha. Once removed I quickly gave a light sand to the area.

Unique coastal style Ikea Rast HackDIY Coastal Ikea Rast Hack

Now we are ready to attach the palette wood to this Ikea Rast hack! This is so simple. Put a good amount of wood glue over the surface then place the palette wood on the top of the chest, use nails and a hammer and start hammering away. I don’t recall how many nails I used but the beauty of a project like this is that you don’t have to make it perfect or hide the nails. Just place enough to secure down the wood. I made sure to keep a very small space between the pieces of wood. Once I secured the wood to the top of the chest I cut the excess wood off with my electric jigsaw.

Ikea Rast Hack : A Unique Coastal Style Decor Transformation

Nail the last piece of palette wood to the bottom of the chest.

Give the entire chest and draws a quick sand using an electric sander, sanding block or sanding paper. Note that sanding is not required when painting with chalk paint but because we added the wood to the chest it is important to buff down the rough edges. Brush off saw dust, ready for painting.

Coastal / nautical Ikea Rast Hack

I gave the entire chest two coats of paint. I didn’t completely cover the palette wood on the top as I wanted some of the wood texture to show through for a more coastal feel.

Allow 5-10 minutes between coats. I love chalk paint for this reason, the drying time is very fast, so you can get things done quickly. Perfect for busy moms! Don’t forget to paint the knobs unless you want them to stay their natural pine color. After I finished painting the chest, I did an image transfer of the sea creatures you see on the chest. See below for more information on this technique.

Once you have painted, transferred image and are happy with your project. All you need to do is get a clean white rag cloth that is lint free and buff on the clear/finishing wax over the entire thing. This step is vital to keep the paint on the chest protected. I didn’t want an aged look but if you like the aged look you can also use a tiny bit of dark wax in certain spots to give it a vintage finish.

Ikea Rast Hack : A Unique Coastal Style Decor Transformation

HOW TO ADD THE SEA LIFE IMAGES TO THE IKEA RAST HACK?

Because Nautical is what I was going for, I thought it would be fun to add some nice images to the front of the chest. I wanted some beautiful images of sea life that where more realistic and I wanted to distress it to make it look a little worn. I found some beautiful illustrations on a website called Creative Market where you can purchase vector images that you can then transfer into Photoshop or Illustrator and create cool art prints or whatever else you want.

DIY Coastal / Nautical Ikea Rast Hack home decor dresser / nightstand

If you don’t have the time or skills required to do this and you like the exact images I put together you can download a free printable PDF HERE.

To see the exact method I used to transfer the marine life images to the chest, check out my image transfer technique post with a step-by-step guide on how to do this technique.

Now I have a beautiful dresser in my sons room that I am so proud of! Here is a little peek at his room.

Coastal / nautical Ikea Rast Hack

Hopefully I finish it sometime this century! I have to say I’m very happy with the room so far, I’m just struggling to find the finishing touches and some nice curtains I love. But once thing’s for sure. I love my Ikea Rast hack!

Tell me what you think of it in comments! Would love your thoughts.

Have you hacked anything Ikea before? Let me know what you have done in comments!

PIN THIS POST SO YOU DON’T FORGERT ITLearn how to create this amazing DIY Coastal / Nautical Ikea Rast Hack dresser / nightstand for your beach inspired home. This simple idea and tutorial will help you get a unique look for your next furniture makeover. I made this for my sons nursery but it is perfect in any room of the home like the kids rooms, in a bathroom, hallways or bedroom. I'm in love with the beautiful white finish and delicate blue sea life illustrations. get the step by step tutorial and download your FREE copy of the marine creatures here!

LOVE Coastal / Nautical Decor? Here are some of my favorite finds!

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Comments

  1. Kristi Cathey says

    March 20, 2017 at 3:38 am

    Oh my God! Looks so cute. I love it <3

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      March 20, 2017 at 11:17 pm

      Thank you Kristi! Appreciate the lovely compliment. 🙂

      Reply
  2. debbie says

    March 20, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    Maria!!! Oh my! This is the most beautiful DIY I have seen in a long time. I want to make it! I am just in love and so excited to know that something like this is even possible!!!

    Reply
  3. Lynn Spencer says

    March 20, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    Maria, you’ve got some mad skills! That dresser is gorgeous! I love coastal, but sometimes it can be over the top…but you’ve managed to keep it very cool and chic. WEll done.

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      March 20, 2017 at 11:16 pm

      Thank you so much Lynn! I agree about over the top and it can also be tacky if not done right. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Roxanne says

    March 21, 2017 at 2:07 am

    So super cute, love it!

    Reply
  5. Marta McCue says

    March 24, 2017 at 3:25 pm

    Gorgeous!! Coming from a Coastal gal, I love it 😉

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      April 4, 2017 at 12:08 am

      Thank you Marta x

      Reply
  6. Sharon@BlueWillowHouse says

    March 25, 2017 at 7:51 pm

    Very creative Ikea hack. It is incredible. Thank you for sharing at the Snickerdoodle Create~Bake~Make link party!

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      April 4, 2017 at 12:05 am

      Thank you Sharon 🙂

      Reply
  7. Kellie says

    March 28, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    This is awesome!! I love this Ikea hack! and thank you for posting for Waste not Wednesday link party! you were my pick this week!

    Reply
  8. Denise says

    March 30, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    Very clever makeover. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us at Waste Not Wednesday. Hope you to see you again each week.

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      April 3, 2017 at 11:59 pm

      Thanks Denise! x

      Reply
  9. Leanna says

    March 30, 2017 at 7:31 pm

    Love this post for both the inspiration and the new chalk paint transfer technique. Pinning this treasure.

    The minute I looked at your post Disney’s Under the Sea started playing in my head. lol

    Enjoy your week and thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  10. Debrashoppeno5 says

    April 1, 2017 at 9:56 pm

    This looks fantastic. You took a plain piece of furniture and created a upscale look on it.

    Reply
  11. Liz says

    April 2, 2017 at 12:07 am

    Oh my gosh! That is so cute. I have the perfect dresser to try this on for a redo!

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      April 3, 2017 at 11:59 pm

      Thank so Liz. I love it so much 🙂 yay! Share your what you create with me when you finish. Would love to see. The beauty of this is that you can transfer any image you like. It’s just a great technique to get beautiful images on a dresser.

      Reply
  12. Rachel says

    April 2, 2017 at 7:51 am

    Beautiful and I love the images you chose for a nautical theme. It looks so perfect in the space! Pinning.

    Reply
  13. Maria Brittis says

    April 3, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    Very impressive job in every way! and a true winner for a coastal look.
    Maria

    Reply
  14. Amy @ mylifefromhome says

    April 3, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    This is darling! It looks so cute in the space. Great project.

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      April 3, 2017 at 11:54 pm

      Thank you so much Amy 🙂

      Reply
  15. Roxanne says

    April 4, 2017 at 2:29 am

    This came out great! I love the coastal vibe in this space, beautiful!

    Reply
  16. Nicole Q-Schmitz says

    April 5, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    Those boards on top are my favourite – you could reuse them for a different theme too!

    Reply
  17. Cassie Smallwood says

    April 7, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    That turned out amazing! Love the coastal look!

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      June 18, 2017 at 2:34 pm

      Thank you so much Cassie

      Reply
  18. Michelle James says

    April 12, 2017 at 7:32 pm

    I love this so much! What a great update!

    Reply
  19. Christine says

    April 14, 2017 at 3:34 pm

    Wow- this is gorgeous! Love how it turned out!

    Reply
  20. Brenda @Brenda Loves Sharing says

    April 15, 2017 at 12:09 am

    Wow, that turned out great! That’s amazing that you can do something like that. Your son will really appreciate it, knowing it’s from you.

    Reply

Trackbacks

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welcome, i'm maria

Hi there! Welcome to Pastels & Macarons! Most of the time you'll find me creating, caring for my two toddler boys, socializing or dreaming of my next project! I'm definitely a creative type and I love sharing it all with you right here. Join me as I share crafts, DIYs, recipes, home inspiration, travel stories and fun printables for you and your kids!

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