Ikea Rast Dresser Desk

Can you believe that it is week 5 of the One Room Challenge? That means that there is only one week left and oh my goodness, we have so much to finish up! Last week, I teased that we had an exciting build that I would be sharing this week and I’m happy to say that we’ve finished it! Check out our Ikea Rast Dresser Desk!

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In the DIY blog world, completing a Rast hack is sort of a right of passage and there have been some really amazing variations done. So, when we started working on our tween daughter’s bedroom, we decided to use two unfinished ones that we had temporarily been using as nightstands.

Unfinished Ikea Rast 3-drawer chest

Even though she already has a small dresser, our daughter needed some more storage.  She also needed a desk for homework and such. Since she doesn’t have a large room (10’x12′), finding a way to fit so many different types of furniture pieces in was a bit challenging. So, after some brainstorming, we decided to donate our nightstands to the cause and make what we lovingly refer to as a “Dresker”.  That’s right.  A dresser and a desk in one.

Since our little dressers were already put together, it was just a matter of spiffing them up. We started by adding lattice pieces to the front of the drawers, a 1×4 piece of wood to the bottom front, and more lattice as trim around the bottom.

Then they both got a few coats of white primer/paint.

And some new, shiny cup pulls.

We brought them in from the garage after painting so that we could set them up in the room and attach the top pieces.

For the top, we used a 72″ x 15″ piece of poplar screwed in from inside the drawer and trimmed underneath with quarter round.

Finally, the top was painted to match and the dresker was finished!

Isn’t it glorious? We are so happy with how it turned out and think that this piece will work great for the various needs of a growing tween.

With only one week left, I feel like we are going to be super busy over the next several days trying to finish up all that we have to do. Here’s what is still on the to-do list.

• Remove old carpet and replace flooring
• Paint walls, trim, & doors
• Replace old electrical plates, outlets, and switches
• Add new lighting
• Install window coverings
• Create a workspace that can also double as clothes storage
• Bring in color and textures with accessories
• Organize craft & art supplies, books, toys, and clothing

See what we’ve done in previous weeks!

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