Fabric-Wrapped Ikea Rast

Materials: Rast 3-Drawer Chest, Fabric, Poly-Acrylic, Iron, Ironing Board, Paint Brush, Razor

Description: For my version of the Ikea Rast Hack I decided to upholster the chest with a heavy-duty linen fabric I bought from the scrap pile of my local fabric store.

I guided my way through the upholstering process by watching the simple steps in a DIY video from Martha Stewart called, "Linen-Wrapped Table How-To" instructed by Christophe Pourny.

Step 1: Starch and iron your linen so it's crisp and has no wrinkles.

Step 2: Apply Minwax Gloss Polycrylic Protective Finish to the side of the wood you want to upholster with a paint brush. While still wet, place the linen over the wood board.

Step 3: Iron dry over the linen fabric on the wood board, this permanently adheres the fabric to the Ikea Rast.

Step 4: Cut the corners of linen at 45-degree angle; fold and crease fabric to make the corners even. Apply poly-acrylic finish to edges; iron to keep it in place and trim excess corner fabric with the razor blade. (This was the hardest step for me, watching the Martha Stewart video a few extra times really helped!)

Step 5: Apply topcoat of poly-acrylic finish to the entire Ikea Rast. This is optional but it will protect your fabric from spills or stains with a clear shiny coat. I did not do this step because I like the texture feeling of the linen.

Step 6: Add hardware of your choice. I bought my ring pulls from Lee Valley Tools and my nail heads from a local fabric store.

See more of the fabric wrapped IKEA Rast.

~ Kelly Boudreau, Florida