IKEA HACK
Create this stunning starburst design by following this recipe.
Tools
X-Acto knife
Miter saw or hand saw
Brad nailer or hammer
Drill
Orbital Sander
* For links to all these tool visit My Amazon Shop
Ingredients
2 – Ikea Ivar Cabinet 12” depth
11 – 1/4 x 2 x 48” poplar
5 – small dowels 1/8 x 48”
4 – medium dowels 1/4 x 48”
5 – large dowels 5/16 x 48”
2 – 3/4 x 12 x 36” stain grade panels or one 12 x 62” wood of your choice
1 set of 4 Metallic Gold Legs or any substitute you wish
1 quart of paint – I used Woodrow Wilson Putty 6006-1A
Alex Plus Silicone Dap
Rust-Oleum Vintage Gold
Gorilla Wood Glue
4 – screws
Brad Nails or small nails if you don’t have a brad nailer
Recipe
I purchased two Ivar Ikea cabinets. It’s important to know that there are two different sizes of theses cabinets in terms of their depth. You can get 12” depth or 20”, for this project I went with a narrow look and chose the 12” depth. I assembled the cabinets and gave them two coats of Sico Furniture Paint in Woodrow Wilson Putty 6006-1A in a pearl satin finish.
I used a small foam roller for the smoothest finish. I didn’t put a finish on the cabinet because, well…I don’t know much about painting furniture but I know an awesome woman who does! Check out Molly Miller @therenegadehome on Instagram, she has great how to videos that have helped me with my projects. Here is a video of her sharing tips for painting furniture, click here.
I added a single shaker to the cabinet doors by attaching ¼”x 2” of trim made of poplar. I did this to close the gap between the doors that these cabinets tend to have an issue with. You’ll need at least ¼” depth so that the dowels can sit inside the trim when you create the starburst design.
First I painted them then I cut the corners on a 45 degree angle. I used my miter saw but you can very easily use a hand saw. I used a Brad Nailer along with some wood glue to attach the trim to the doors but you can totally get the job done with just some wood glue. I covered the holes and seams with some silicone Dap. Once the Dap dried, I gave it a light sanding and another light coat of paint.
Now for the fun part of adding your starburst design. I found it important to use 3 different size dowels small 1/8”, medium 1/4" and large 5/16” (all 48” in length) and cut them to different lengths to give the starburst some dimension. I spray painted them with Rust-Oleum Vintage Gold. I simply used an X-Acto knife to cut the dowels and some wood glue to adhere them to the doors.
Large dowel: I cut 3 large dowels pieces for each door, 12 in total. Your large dowels will be cut to fit exactly within the frame of each door so you will do that measurement yourself and I recommend doing each door separately as they may vary. It should be around 12.5” for the middle dowel and 19” for the corner dowels.
Medium Dowels: I cut 4 medium dowels for each door, 24 in total. I cut them to be 11” long.
Small Dowels: I did two different lengths for the small dowels. I cut 4 small dowels 5.5” long and 4 at 8.5” for each door, so 8 small dowels per door.
I combined the two cabinets by drilling 4 screws on the inside walls. You may want to drill them into the back of the cabinet so they aren’t very visible when you open the doors. Also see Upgrades below for some tips on adding a support bean underneath which can help you avoid having to add a leg in the middle.
I bought two stain grade panels for the top of the dresser that were 3/4 x 12 x 36". This was a cost savings choice since buying one piece that was 62" long was really expensive. I cut each down using my miter saw to 31". You could use a hand saw for this as well it just may take a bit more time. I gave the top a light sanding as well as sanded down the front edges so it wasn't so sharp. If you’re going to do this be sure not to sand down the edges where the two pieces are going to meet in the middle as you want those to be flush.
I used brad nailed to secure it to the top. If you done have a brad nailer that is totally fine you could use a hammer and some small nails to avoid big holes. It might not be as easy on this portion to use wood glue because the top of the Ikea cabinet is not flush, the edges stick out further than the rest which is why I added this countertop, to give it a more elegant look. Once they were attached, I caulked the seam in the middle of the dresser with some DAP and gently sanded down the seam when it dried. Lastly, I gave it two coats of paint.
Next is what seems to be the star of the show, these gold metallic legs that everyone has fallen in love with! I attached a set of legs to the bottom of the cabinets thinking "woohoo I’m finished!" But when I lifted the cabinets onto their newly mounted legs the entire thing slighting began to cave towards the middle…ekkk! I needed to add a supporting leg to the middle. I really loved the legs I had just put on and didn’t want to change them but I also needed to find a way to support the middle of the dresser with a leg that matched the ones I already had. I don’t know how the idea came to me but I had some metallic gold paper in my craft room that matched the legs and I decided to wrap a 2 x 4 piece of wood in the metallic paper and place it in the center of the dresser for support. It was definitely a proud MacGyver moment of mine. ‘To avoid this, continuing reading the Upgrades for a smoother finish.
Upgrades
A very talented woman, Amy @amyshag11, shared with me her version of this Ikea Hack, I call it the Ikea Hack 2.0 because it has so many great additions and upgrades. She added wallpaper to the back board so when you open the cabinets the background has a really beautiful design which is another cool option. She also ran a support beam, length wise under the cabinets so she didn’t have to add the middle leg. She said that is important to run the beam vertical rather than laying it flat across the bottom because it helps disperse the weight better.
If you create this piece I'd love for you to share it me and any tips or tricks you've learned along the way so we can continue to grow and learn as a community.
Links and Cost Breakdown
Quantity | Item | Description | Price | Link |
2 | Ikea Ivar Cabinet | There are two depths you can choose from 12" and 20". I used the 12" | $99 x 2 = $198 | |
2 | Countertop Two 3/4 x 12 x 36" stain grade panels You can buy one long piece if you'd like to invest in that option. | I cut each down to 31" and caulked the seam in the middle of the dresser. This was a cost savings choice, to buy a piece that was 62" long was really expensive. | $22.79 x 2 = $45.58 | |
1 set | Metallic Gold Legs | $38.98 | ||
11 | Trim for shaker style doors | I used Poplar 1/4 x 2 x 48" | $2.65 x 11 = 29.15 | |
5 | Small Dowels | 1/8 x 48" | $1.40 x 5 = 7 | |
4 | Medium Dowels | 1/4 x 48" | $1.70 x 4 = $6.80 | |
5 | Large Dowels | 5/16 x 48" | $1.70 x 5 = $8.50 | |
1 quart | Sico Furniture and Cabinet Paint | Colour Code 6006-1A Woodrow Wilson Putty in a pearl stain finish | $31.99 | |
Total = $365.99 ** this is all in Canadian dollars and not including tax