Finally sharing all the details on our Ikea nightstand hack that I completed for our master bedroom makeover. This is the fourth Ikea Tarva hack I have done in our home. We have 2 sets of the dressers, one set in our entryway, and the other here in our master bedroom. And I have made them both over twice now. They are great for storage, affordable, and are natural pine. Because of this, there are so many different ways to DIY them with different paint, stains, hardware, etc. (post contains affiliate links, see disclosure)
For this hack, I kept it simple with stain and large matte black hardware. I updated our existing dresser by sanding the drawer fronts and changing the hardware. However, this hack can easily be done starting with a new Tarva dresser.
BEFORE
Before we had two handles, which was great but not convenient when trying to get dressed in the mornings. Now we can open and close the drawers with one hand instead of two. Even though I loved the dresser before, it started to feel a little too juvenile to me. I wanted the focus to be on the new headboard and felt the lines of the dresser would distract from that. Now, I love how simple and stylish it is without being too fussy.
SUPPLIES
- IKEA Tarva Dresser
- stain, I used my favorite stain
- whitewash pickling
- polyurethane
- 240 grit sandpaper, I love this set
- measuring tape
- hardware, I used these 12″ black square bar pulls
- hardware template
- drill
- screwdriver
- saw
STEPS
- assemble dresser according to Ikea instructions
- cut the legs by 4 inches for a lower height, I measured according to our mattress height to determine how many inches I wanted to cut off of the legs. tip: this would be easier to do before assembling legs to the finished dresser, however, I was able to do mine afterward with a jigsaw
- stain and then apply the whitewash pickling in various spots
- apply poly and lightly sand between coats
- use a measuring tape to determine the center of the drawer front and mark, then use a template to mark the hardware
- use drill and drillbit to pre dill holes and install hardware by hand tightening with a screwdriver
This version of an Ikea nightstand hack is probably the easiest I have done so far. I love the warmth they had to the room without being too distracting. The large pulls make it convenient to use and add a little style. Using a dresser as a nightstand was the perfect storage solution for our bedroom.
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