How One Enthusiast Turned an IKEA Chest into a Chic Bathroom Cabinet

IKEA bathroom cabinet hack
Photo Credit: Berger Porta.

Berger Porta, an interior designer, moved into her apartment and immediately started working on a project to upgrade her bathroom. The bathroom was small and lacked proper cabinet storage and vanity space. Working on a small budget she looked to IKEA for ideas.

She stumbled upon the IKEA RAST chest of drawers, made of solid pine, and saw the potential for a bathroom vanity hack.

With the help of her brother, she designed a chic and compact piece for her bathroom.

DIY Bathroom Cabinet Hack

Materials used:

RAST chest of drawers
RAST chest of drawers | IKEA.com
  • IKEA RAST chest
  • BLANDA BLANK salad bowl (14 inches / 28 cm)
  • LANSA handles
  • CAPITA legs
  • Faucet
  • Plumbing
  • Wood planks (at the sizes 12″ x 35.5″, 12″ x 27.5″ 12″ x 11″ / 30 x 90 cm, 30 x 70 cm and 30 x 28 cm)

First, on the IKEA RAST chest, she drilled holes for the faucet and plumbing.

They also hired a specialist to help drilled out the IKEA Blanda Blank bowl to fit the sink drainer to the bottom of the bowl. At IKEA the Blanda Blank stainless steel bowl is sold as serving bowls.

DIY bathroom cabinet vanity hack
Photo Credit: Berger Porta.

After that, they assembled the chest according to IKEA assembly instructions, but added a few things. They extended the length of the chest to the side with wood boards, and made open shelves for towels.

She then filled out the holes for the knobs on the drawers with wood filler and drilled new holes placements for the handle bars.

DIY bathroom cabinet vanity hack
Photo Credit: Berger Porta.

After that came the painting. She primed the wood with Trinat universal primer twice on the outer parts, then sanded it off. Then, applied high-gloss enamel paint, which she mixed with Trina and color. She then sanded it down again and painted it once more. Lastly, she painted the furniture from the inside with white enamel paint.

They also installed the IKEA Capita legs, opting for the shorter of the two sizes. Finally, they installed the plumbing, and cut off a bit of the drawer insides to accommodate the plumbing fixtures.

A good piece of advice for anyone attempting this type of work is to cut the pieces to the right size before assembling the drawers, to save unnecessary work and frustration.

Read next: IKEA RAST as a shabby chic bathroom vanity

It took 3 to 4 days to make it, but she’s thrilled with the result of her one-of-a-kind DIY bathroom cabinet.

DIY bathroom cabinet vanity hack
Photo Credit: Berger Porta.

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