Rast Hack Nightstands

     So...I quickly began to dislike the nightstands that I refinished for my bedroom last year.  I scanned Pinterest for ideas, trolled Craigslist for nightstands with potential, and checked around at local Salvation Army and Goodwill stores but nothing really stood out.  What I wanted was amazingly wonderful mid-century modern nightstands in mint condition for almost no money.  That didn't happen.  However, when I was looking around for inspiration, I stumbled across this picture and I knew what I wanted to do!

Miles Redd

   Do you see the amazing chest in the back corner of that fabulous room?  When I saw that chest I knew that a Rast hack was in my future.  Ikea makes a plain 3-drawer chest that has been hacked by so many people because its clean lines, unfinished surface and low price make it an easy choice for DIYers.  Memphis has no Ikea but, thankfully, the Rast is one of the pieces of furniture that Ikea ships.  Yaaaayyyyy!!!  So...


This plus a little elbow grease turns into...

 I am soooo very sorry for the poor picture quality but who has time to take a professional looking picture these days?  Oh that's right-everyone but me!  I actually do have the time, but not the patience!  I haven't put any little trinklets (that's for you, Kathryn) on these nightstands because Ransom routinely takes anything that is on the top of these tables and randomly disperses the items in the drawers.  I have found those books in the bottom drawer so many times now that I just decided to let them be!  At a later date I may or may not try to remember to post a tutorial on how I did these.  The only thing I would do differently if I had to replicate these would be to put a protective top coat over the immitation gold leaf.  The top drawers are definitely starting to look a bit rough these days!  I thought I would like the natural patina of everyday wear and tear, but nobody likes the trashy look!  When you look at this picture try not to be blinded by the pattern and color overload of my bedspread used in combination with the carpet.  I was going to go with solid white linens but I ended up liking all of the colors together for some strange reason.  I'm sure I will change my mind again soon!

 





Update (Over a year past due)

Hello there my bloggy friends.  Um...I haven't posted anything here in forever because I have a tendency to get waaaay too caught up in waaaay too many things!  When I post something it takes me FOREVER to get things even moderately respectable looking and I would rather just be doing something fun and creative rather than writing about it or stressing about my picture-taking ability.

I have been working on so many different projects lately!  I have been completely redecorating my parents' house, sewing, working on art projects for my mom, raising kids, running a household (poorly)....the list goes on and on!  I wish that I did not have so many interests and the overwhelming desire to do everything perfectly.  I don't think that I have ever done anything perfectly in my life, so why waste time trying to fix that one little imperfection on the bottom side of the table that nobody is really going to pay attention to in the long run?  I can say those things and they make sense but actually acting on what I say seems impossible sometimes!  OK! Enough words.  I am just going to post a couple of random pictures of my kids and some projects that I have worked on in the past year.  All very random I assure you!

1. silver leafed table for Jessica
2. my diy jewelry storage station
3. Oliver + S shorts that I sewed for Ransom
4. Ransom in his Oliver + S outfit that I made all by myself!!!
5. Three pictures of the cutest kiddos ever
6. Ruffled skirt for Isabelle from tutorial at danamadeit
7. Dress for Isabelle from Oliver + S
8. Shirt using same pattern as above
9. My sweet Isabelle