{a silver leaf dresser: an ikea rast hack}

My teen daughter's room is finally coming together.

The latest improvement to her room is a new side table dresser. It is my version of an Ikea Rast hack. My inspiration was this photo from the September issue of Chatelaine magazine {another great Canadian publication}


I loved the bevel mirrored chest of drawers, which was from Ethan Allen. Wanting to replicate the look I called around for prices on custom cut mirrors. What I found was that most places charge a minimum fee per piece cut, around $40 a piece, then charge $5 per hole, which meant it would cost me $150. The Rast dresser was only $29, so $150 was too much. My daughter also thought the mirrors would be hard to keep clean, she didn't want to be constantly shining them.

Good point.

Glad I consulted with the client.

Instead I used a coat of black paint, silver leaf and crystal knobs to give it the glam it needed.

 The Rast dresser went from this:


to this:







My cost:
Rast dresser from Ikea: $29
black paint {Benjamin Moore Aura paint}: free {leftover}
silver leaf: $7 with 50% off coupon from Michaels
sizing medium: free {leftover from silver leaf lamp project}
crystal knobs: $6 each from Home Depot
Wipe-on poly: free {leftover from previous projects}

Total:$72


I am thrilled with the look. My daughter is glad that her room is finally getting the finishing touches. 


Now I am waiting for the fabric that is on back order to come in so I can make her some drapes!

26 comments

  1. Hey Barbara! What a great looking dresser! To think of what the dresser looked like before, it is a huge transformation! Your daughter is a lucky girl!

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  2. Fabulous. I have all the things to do a silver leaf project, but I'm afraid, and I don't know why?

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  3. I need to get to Ikea...STAT!

    Mr. Goodwill Hunting
    http://mrgoodwillhunting.blogspot.com

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  4. Barbara it looks great! What a smart idea!

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  5. The dresser is gorgeous! What a great idea.

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  6. Hi! I found your blog through Brandi's and am loving it! I'm doing my first remodeling project and am quite nervous because I'm so NOT crafty! And I don't have the eye to scope out treasures at garage sales and Goodwill... but I'm going to give it a try! Can't wait to read more of your blog for inspiration. I bet your daughter is so pleased with her dresser, it turned out gorgeous!

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  7. fantastic! i'm embarrassed to say i had a pair of these (unfinished0 as bedside tables for two years!! If I'd seen this, maybe I would been inspired to finish them - love it.

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  8. YAY!! Your Rast looks fan-tabulous!!! I am so excited to share mine with you, I should send you a sneak peak for fun :) Still waiting on the backordered ring pulls though :(
    I love that the silver-leaf really gives the same look that you were going for with out the cost and trouble of the mirrors. This was a super smart idea. And the crystal knobs finish it off perfectly. Yay for Rast projects!

    Nancy xo

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  9. Great redo - they look so glamorous now! I'm sure your daughter is thrilled!

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  10. Oooh, it's beautiful! I love it! Funny, I just read about a Rast night table makeover last week at Aubrey + Lindsay. I think I might need to pick up one of these puppies and do a little Ikea hack myself! :-)

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  11. Your daughter's room just keeps getting better and better Barbara. The dresser is just beautiful. No one would ever guess that it started out as a $29 dresser from IKEA!

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  12. Wow Barbara- it looks amazing! Your daughter is one lucky girl! xo

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  13. I love that dresser. There is something about the combination of black and silver in different ways that make me happy. Mostly it's things like black diamonds and platinum, but this works too.

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  14. Your daughter must be thrilled...it's wonderful!!

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  15. Looks great. Someone needs to do a roundup on all the ways this dresser has been decorated!

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  16. Your little dresser came out really spectacular. I also have fallen in love with the metallic finish, but being cheap, I opted for paint.

    Come on over an take pa peak at the little dressing table I refinished for my daughter.

    Merry tranforming!!
    Angela

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  17. Barbara this is just amazing! I absolutely LOVE the idea of using silver leaf instead of mirrors, it gives the same shiny effect but is so much cheaper and easier to keep clean. Great idea and wonderfully executed. I'm starting to get mighty jealous of your daughters room =)

    xo Linda

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  18. This looks so unbelievable! I love silver leaf, it gets every where, but oh so worth it. I saw this same dresser re-vamped here http://aubreyandlindsay.blogspot.com/2009/09/side-table-project.html
    Thought you would like to see another version of what can be done to the dresser. Both are just stunning.

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  19. Love this project!! I did my own Rast hack and it was linked to a page with yours so I came over to check it out. Awesome job I'm jealous.

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  20. I just bought two Rast chests today to use as nightstands and found this post while searching for hacks! My fav so far.

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  21. Holy crap Barbara what an awesome hack!!! Your daughter must love it! Way to go!

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  22. Hi there! I actually have something a little opposite. I have one of those slick black ikea dressers and I really wanted to turn it into an antique white or light grey. Do you have any suggestions?

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    1. Merrill, you don't have an email associated with your comment, so I am responding here and hopefully you read it! You can paint those slick black dressers - just give it a good sanding and use a high adhesive primer that is oil based. You can paint latex over an oil based primer. OR maybe chalk paint? I have never tried chalk paint before though.

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  23. Exactly the post I was looking for!!! I have two of these exact dressers and have been exploring options in silver. I think this is the most promising idea so far and I am going to try using white or very light gray instead of black and replace the nobs with silver balls. I have two little boys and the dressers are for them. THANK YOU for this wonderful and helpful post. Your dresser looks GORGEOUS!

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