How to Transform a Boring Bureau into a Beautiful Nightstand

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My husband and I had just one end table for our bed. It’s an old table that he inherited from one of his grandmothers and it has served its purpose, but we wanted something a little more modern. After months and months of looking I couldn’t find what I wanted. I wanted end tables with a good amount of surface area so a lamp wouldn’t take over the whole thing but I didn’t want it to be so big that I bumped into it every time I got in and out of bed.

Enter the RAST three drawer chest from IKEA. It was the perfect size and shape and I loved the idea of having drawers but man, it’s so…boring. I saw an IKEA hack for the RAST bureau a few months back and it got my brain working on how to spice it up and make it more to my taste. This is what I ended up with:

It’s so hard to find wood furniture these days without having to sell a kidney to buy it. The nice thing about a lot of IKEA furniture is that it’s made of real wood. It’s just pine, but I’ll take that over MDF any day! The drawer bottoms are cheesy cardboard, but you can get some plywood cut to fit if it’s that big of a deal. I used wood glue to keep them in place and painted the inside of the drawer so it’s more secure and has a more seamless look with the rest of the drawer.

Anyhoo, put your RAST 3 drawer chest together per the (always fabulous) instructions.

I used walnut stain for the entire piece except for the drawers. The drawers are painted Glazed Pears from Lowe’s. Once the stain is dry I sprayed three coats of a spray on semi-gloss wood finish.

I am in love with this walnut stain! STAIN ALL THE THINGS WALNUT! Okay, that might be a little overkill…or is it?

I love these ceramic drawer pulls that we picked up at Lowe’s. Sometimes just changing out drawer pulls can change your piece from drab to fab.

It’s the perfect height and shape for a nightstand. The little globe lamp is also from IKEA. I love the lamp, but I’m not sure if I love it for a nightstand. It will have to do for now, though.