Nightstand Redo (an IKEA Rast Hack)

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A couple of months ago, I became enraged that Mr. RH didn't have a nightstand next to his bed.  Not even a table or anything.

Myself, I can't live without a nice table next to my bed with at least 2 drawers in it.  Plenty of room for all of my nighttime essentials.  Ibuprofen and allergy meds and chapstick and at least 6 different types of lotions. 

So, I found myself seeking out nightstands anywhere I went.  Target, TJ Maxx, random other places.... no dice.

But then there was the trip to IKEA.  Three months ago, no big deal.

And then an amazing Rast Hack tutorial from A Charming Nest. 

And then, of course, I convinced my dad to help.

First I put the IKEA pieces together.  Boring but necessary.  Letting them sit in the garage for a week or two is optional.


Next up, deciding what size of trim the piece should have.  Who knew 1/4 of an inch would make SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE?!  Difference?  Negligible, in the end.


Then there was the testing of stains.  How in the heck are you supposed to know what stain is going to look like?!  Also, stain is scary and dangerous.  


My dad borrowed a fancy saw from a friend... and we then spent an entire morning sawing.  I sawed at least 5 pieces. 


The hardest part of cutting all the trim was making sure I didn't accidentally cut a long piece into a short one thinking it was scrap.  There was a lot of stacking and counting and re-stacking of trim pieces.


Then there was the varnishing of the top piece.... let's just say I'm not so familiar with varnish.

The hardest part for me was putting on the drawer pulls straight.. and if you can spot it, I may have messed up once... fortunately, my dad fixed this a couple of days later.


So, if you're thinking that you can't do a major IKEA overhaul on your own... you may be correct.  It actually ended up costing me quite a pretty penny to complete the project.

$40 each for the night stands.
$21 for paint, stain, and varnish.
$22 for the wood piece we used on the top.
$15 for drawer pulls.
$10 for disposable gloves used for staining.
$10 for moulding for the base of the piece.

And of course I'm missing the receipt for the trim which was probably the most expensive thing... bringing us to at least $80 per night stand.

 
Can't say I'm sad with the finished project though.  Now if only Mr. RH didn't view them as a major imposition on his daily life.  Apparently they're blocking his zen or something.  
Men.
Feel free to tell me how impressive the transformation is.  My favorite thing to do as of late is to go visit them at Mr. RH's apartment when he's not home.  They miss me, I can tell.