Hack-a-Rast!

I decided to jump the bandwagon and become the last person on the face of this earth to Hack-a-Rast! I'm so happy that I did. It was a fun, easy & inexpensive project, and now I have an awesome piece of functioning furniture that I can say I made it pretty all by myself! Now that my first one is finished and still looking awesome, I kind of want to make three more. 

Before

IKEA Rast Dresser (photo from Ikea)

During the Hack

S assembled it for me. As far as people go, he is amazing. 

First I took the tiny wooden drawer pulls off. Then I lightly sanded the entire surface.

I the drawers I was going to paint, so I applied primer first. I believe I used Kilz for this since the Rast is untreated, natural wood. (For treated, shiny, or laminate surfaces, Zissners is simply the only way to go.)

While the primer was drying I started staining the outside surfaces. I wanted a medium brown color with no red in it. 

I think I pretty much nailed it.

I did one coat of stain and followed the directions on the can. 

Here is the stain I used & my buffing rag!

Progress. 

On the right side is a primed magazine rack. You will see a post about that later!

While I DIY I like to listen to music. Today it was Nada Surf. 

One of my most favorite bands ever. S introduced me to their music & my life has not been the same. 

I used Montana Gold spray paint to paint my drawers. I wanted more of an electric blue color, but what I got was more bright blue. The can said "Shocking Blue", which is why I thought it would be more...well...shocking.

Its still a nice color, so all is well. Next time I'll try to pick a color with a little more uumph! 

I like Montana Gold because there are many, many colors to choose from, and the coverage seems to be very even. 

You have to be aware of the little plastic doughnut under the spray nozzle though! 

Before you can use the spray bottle you have to take the nozzle off, remove the plastic doughnut, and then put the nozzle back on. 

I didn't know this. 

I was SO excited when I bought my very first can of Montana Gold (For the neon pink step stool). When I went to go use it though, I couldn't make it spray! I gave the can to S, and he couldn't make it spray! 

I ended up taking it back to the store, and the kind girl who was manning (woman-ing?) the counter very nicely showed me how to make it work. 

Long story, short solution.

So, now you know - remove the doughnut!  

More progress!

I bought glass drawer pulls from Hobby Lobby. I went shopping while they were having a 50% off sale, so these six pulls cost me a whopping $19 total. Score!  

Awesome Glass Drawer Pulls with Vampire Weekend Vinyl

This is me being handy with my powder drill!
I had to make the screw holes a little bigger for my new drawer pulls.

Installed!
Look how sparkly!

My stash of DIY paints, stains & sealers!

After I let my Rast dry for a week, I sealed the entire thing with two coats of Polycrylic (which I let dry for 2 days in-between coats).

The Polycrylic is water-based, which makes cleaning up a breeze.

It is quite durable, which makes it my favorite sealer for almost everything!

After! 

I just love how it turned out.

This post was featured at Redoux!