IKEA Rast hack with hinged lid

Do a quick search on Google, Pinterest, or Instagram for “IKEA Rast hack”…I’ll wait…

What did you come up with?  Approximately 4 million hits?  Yeah.  I can’t decide if I’m being redundant or if this is some sort of DIY blogger right of passage.  If it’s the later, I’ll run out and get a fiddle leaf fig tree too.

Here it is!  I’m actually pretty proud of this one.

Since we don’t have a garage, most of the tools we use all the time live in the hall closet.  I need some kind of (pretty) tool storage.  I wanted it to look cohesive in the house and also be really useful.  I bought the Rast dresser on an IKEA trip without a solid plan.  The dresser is solid wood so I knew it’d be a good choice for storing heavy things.  I measured the space in our dining room and Rast fit perfectly.  Plus the $35 price point sounded fantastic.  I figured there were so many tutorials out there I’d be able to come up with something that worked for us.

Thomas and I were both drawn the faux apothecary chests we’d seen other hackers do.  The trimmed out drawers matched the cabinet doors on the built-ins in our dining room.  The tutorials seemed easy enough but I still wanted something a little different.

And here’s what I ended up with…

Do you guys see what I see?  Any children of the 90’s DIYing out there?

I made a Tool Caboodle!

Remember those pink and purple makeup cases?  The top hinged open and there where little spots for all your Maybelline mascara and Lip Smackers lip gloss!

Over my brainstorming time I decided that the drawers weren’t super convenient for easy access to our most-used tools.  I thought about trying to make the drawers into a cabinet-style chest, but I couldn’t come up with plans I liked.  I saw a few tutorials that used the Rast as a nightstand.  They kept the bottom two drawers as-is and added a shelf where the top drawer would have been.  And that’s when I noticed this…

This is a pic of the top of the dresser.  The notch allows the dresser to be attached to the wall to prevent it from tipping over.  I knew that for tool storage, I’d like it to be portable, i.e. on casters.  So I wouldn’t be attaching it to the wall.  And then it came to me, that little notch would make a great finger/thumb hole if I made the top of the dresser into a hinged lid!  {Insert happy dance here.}

I followed the IKEA instructions all to assemble the frame, leaving off the part about attaching the top of the dresser.  I also left off the top set of drawer rails.  I assembled two of the three drawers.

If you look closely you can see that the board at the bottom of the dresser isn’t flush with the front.  I added a 1×4 to the front and attached it with wood glue and screws so the bottom rail didn’t look recessed.

I also added another 1×4 across the back of the dresser to add stability to the frame and keep the correct spacing across the top.  Next I inserted the middle drawer and marked a line just above it.  This marked the bottom of the shelf I’d need to create for the faux drawer front.

I created a support on each side out of scrap wood.  I made sure each support was level, then secured them with wood glue and screws.  I had some MDF left over from another project that I cut to size to make the shelf.

Next I added two more vertical supports that allowed me to create the faux drawer front.  I used the drawer front from the un-assembled third drawer and glued it to the supports.  Once everything was set I used small nails to attach a thin plywood board to create a back for the dresser.  I found a pre-cut piece at Lowes and it was the perfect size.

Next, I tackled the hinged lid.  We have bead-board wainscoting in our dining room and living room.  I decided to go for a cohesive look and add bead-board to the top of the lid.  The IKEA designs have the top of the dresser secured in between the two side panels.  I cut cheap lattice strips to create the trim for the faux apothecary look.  The doors on our dining room built-ins have trim that’s cut flush instead of mitered to 45 degrees.  So I used the same design with this trim.  The trim was thin enough that I attached them with wood glue and used my staple gun and small brad nails to keep them secure while the glue dried.

In order to make a lid that would sit on top of the dresser and not fall in between the two sides, I needed to add an overhang that would rest on the sides.  I headed to Lowes and grabbed a small package of tongue and groove bead-board.  I cut the strips to the right length and attached them to the lid with wood glue.

Time for paint and stain.  There were unused holes (giggle) from the changes I made to the IKEA assembly.  I used wood putty to fill them in, then sanded them down.  I also filled in all the holes in the drawer fronts.  The frame got two coats of Kilz primer and two coats of Valspar Polar White paint in semi-gloss.  The lid got three coats of Minwax Espresso wood stain and two coats of poly, both left over from other projects.

I trimmed out the two drawers (oh yeah, and always caulk!  It takes FOR-EV-ER but it’s worth it.)  Here’s a pic of the full dresser with the lid sitting on top.  The dresser has been primed and the drawers are waiting for caulk and paint.  P.S. those little tripods are fantastic!!

The drawers got two coats of primer and paint.

I found these cute little drawer pulls with a leaf pattern on them.  We loved that they were a really close match to the decorative trim on our bookcases.  You can see the two side by side in the pic below.  Each of the nine faux drawers needed a knob.  I originally found the knob at Lowes.  Then I realized that buying 9 of those suckers would cost more than we paid for the dresser.  Granted the dresser was only $35 from IKEA (and it’s real wood!!) but I still had angst about paying that much for the knobs.  Then I found ones that were almost identical on Amazon, and they were $23 for a set of 10!  Whoo hoo!  Yes, please!  And Prime shipping?  Yep!  Two days latter the knobs were here.  Thank you Amazon!

With all the pieces assembled and painted it was time to attach the lid.  I used gate hinges from Lowes for a slightly decorative look.  I taped the hinges in place and pre-drilled holes.

The hinges allowed the lid to open all the way back.  I needed some way to control the hinge so it didn’t fall open and split the wood on the lid.  Those fancy hinges that can prop open a lid are really pricey.  So I screwed in a small eye hook into the frame and the lid.  A length of chain holds the lid open at a slight angle.  Not elegant but it’s worked pretty well so far!

I wanted the Tool Caboodle to be movable so I added casters to the bottom.  I wanted two casters with locks and two without but the regular 2in caster were sold out at Lowes so I ended up getting 4 with locks.

At the very last minute before calling this project finished I stumbled over our big orange extension cord.  So I pulled out the cordless drill again and installed these two hooks to the back of the Tool Caboodle.  I had them on hand and they matched the finish on the hinges.  Works great for organizing (and hiding) the extension cords.

Here it is all finished up!  Betcha wouldn’t guess there are tools hiding in there!  It’s sitting in the dining room now and fits in seamlessly with the other decor in there.

Here’s an close up shot of the lid.  You can see how I turned the top around so the notch is in front.  Makes a perfect lift spot.

One more look at the fabulous caboodleness!

I have plans to create some kind of organized storage for the top section.  Now it holds the safety glasses, hammers, stud finder, screws and nails, Frog tape, and other stuff we use on a regular basis.  The screwdriver set, driver and bit sets, and drop cloths are in the first drawer.  Our electric sander occupies the bottom drawer for now.

Cost breakdown:

IKEA Rast dresser $35
Lattice trim x 2 $12
Drawer pulls $23
Caster x 4 $16
Hinges $8
Plywood for back of dresser $4
Pine 1×4 $4

Paint, stain, poly, MDF, eyehooks, chain, and hooks I already had from other projects.

I’m so thrilled with how this project turned out.  It’s come in handy so much already.  The top portion is so easy to access.

What do you guys think?  Anyone else have fun and interesting ways to store mundane stuff around the house?