A little while back, I posted about my master bedroom design dilemma. I wasn’t exactly sure where to spend my hard earned money, but I was in need of a new dresser option. I tend to be drawn towards more expensive items (that’s because I have good taste right?!), but even though I loved the dressers I was finding on say, West Elm, I knew they were slightly out of my reach. So instead of dolling out a ton of money, I thought I could create something similar. I wanted a modern white dresser similar to this one, and after seeing what my girl Janna had done with the Ikea pine dresser that’s always in stock, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on my own West Elm inspired Ikea hack!
The Modern White Dresser Hack:
- I started with the Ikea pine dresser…building it took a little bit of time, let me tell you! There are six drawers people!! But before I attached the base, Ryan trimmed down the legs for a more mid century modern look (it was a bit tricky because the pieces are smaller – so be careful!! I had a pro do it!). TIP: to create that mid century line, take a pencil from the top corner of the leg and draw a line down to the bottom, about a 1/4 of the way in (again, about). Then use a chop saw with a jig to keep it stable when you cut it. It’s not a very big piece so again be really careful!
- Then I stained the entire base section using Minwax 70012 1 Quart Wood Finish Interior Wood Stain, Dark Walnut
. I really like this stain, in lots of finishes but this one worked great for this project.
- Next, I painted the entire dresser (excluding the base) a basic white paint. Honestly, I just used the trim paint we already had on hand from Home Depot but I would also recommend a white like Simply White from Benjamin Moore.
- Instead of black or chrome knobs, I loved the look of the brass. Janna had found these perfect sized Richelieu Metal Knobs so I copied her and grabbed a bunch myself. A quick sanding and a coat of spray paint changed the look completely! I have brass in the graphic above but I actually used a gold one because I liked the look of it better – had more of a pop.
Want to see the finished product?
What do you think of the dresser and my Ikea hack?! Check out the rest of my bedroom here – the full before and after transformation! xo
Shop the room: Basket | Rug | Planter | Gold Box | Knobs (no diy required)
YES YES YES!!! OMG I love this so much!
How did you do the angle on the legs/ what angle did you use? I’ve never dont that before but love the idea.
In terms of the angle I just went from the top corner and drew a line to the bottom of the piece right in the middle. That created an angle. It was a pretty small amount to take off so be careful!
Such a great idea! Thanks for the share and inspiration. Love it. I’m moving into a new place and want an affordable white dresser too. I used to have the Ikea malm dresser but would love to have something like this one that has legs. May just have to do my own DIY project! 🙂
That’s awesome Karla! Affordable is the key word for sure. I would have loved to purchase something from say, West Elm, but it wasn’t in the budget! I hope you can do your own DIY!! All the best!
That’s gorgeous, great job! I’m looking at the same West Elm one right now, and rather spend the money on fancy bed linens……
Oooooh yes fancy bed linens would be so fantastic 😉 Good luck!!
Can you tell me where you found your round mirror?
Ikea 🙂
oh great! thanks!
how do you “sand” the knobs? and what does this achieve?
Just rub them a little with some sandpaper. Makes the spray paint stick a little better so it’s not wearing off really quickly
Where did you get that small planter on the desk?
The planter looks like it’s from this brand:
https://modernica.net/shop/ceramics/case-studyr-desk-top-cylinder-w-stand
You’re right! It’s a Modernica planter 🙂
Did you paint the inside of the dresser drawers?
I didn’t actually…took the lazy route!
Love this!! I’ve had the same dilemma! Do you have a link to the dresser?
I don’t sorry. But last time I walked through my local Ikea, I saw it!
It is called the TARVA 6 drawer dresser!
Can you provide details on how ryan trimmed down the legs? That seems to be the part I’m going to struggle with but the biggest detail I don’t want to skip!
Do you see where the legs join the bottom portion? From that point draw a line with a pencil down to the bottom. You want it to be a nice angle but not too drastic so I think we decided on 1/4 of the way in, whatever that measurement ends up being…sorry it’s been about a year since I did this…Then use a chop saw with a jig to keep it stable when you cut it. Hope that helps!
Thank you! My boyfriend figured it out 🙂 one more question, did you paint the entire thing? Or just the outside? What about a finish over the paint?
Sorry for the late reply! I hope you already made those decisions but I only painted the exterior and we did a eggshell finish.
Could you please tell what paint base you used? Was it oil base or latex? Satin or glance?
Sorry I just saw this comment! It was a latex based and in a satin finish. I didn’t like the look of high gloss for this particular dresser.
Hi there, did you use a primer? How many coats did you do?
I didn’t use a primer since the dresser is pretty basic but hey, it couldn’t hurt! I can’t remember how many coats I did…I think 2-3.
Hi! Can I ask where you got that lamp and candle holder from? I’m going to attempt to make this ikea hack this weekend so wish me luck!
I got the lamp from target years ago…but I linked a bunch of similar ones in my shop section (shop our home- http://www.kristinalynne.ca/our-home/ ) and the candle holder is there as well. Good luck!! You’ll do great!
Do you know the color of the white paint that was left over from your trim? I love the look of that color! Going to try this – this weekend!
It was just from Home Depot. I want to say the Behr trim paint!
Wow, this looks incredible!! I’m always for a good IKEA hack or DIY… great job!!
Question about the stain. I purchased the exact same stain in the dark walnut. When I stained one of the legs, it was really, really dark. I stained it by painting it on and then wiped it off after only a minute and it’s still super dark What is your staining method? How can I achieve a better stain?
I actually didn’t even paint it on. I just dipped my rag in and lightly coated it and then immediately took the other side of the rag and sort of rubbed it in. I wouldn’t let stain this dark sit for too long at all. Hope that helps!