Before & After: Discarded Dresser Becomes Clever Kitchen Counter
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(Image credit: Jason)
Jason’s studio apartment lacked sufficient counter space, so when he saw this IKEA dresser on the side of the road, he snagged it. See how he made it work for his kitchen:
(Image credit: Jason)
From Jason:
I was driving home from work when I glanced over to see a couple moving out of their house. Three Ikea dressers were sitting on their front lawn with “Free” signs taped to each. 20 minutes later I had all three loaded into my truck.
This is the first one I attempted to tackle. I live in a studio apartment and I’ve been short on counter space for a while now, so I thought with enough elbow grease this could help fill the gap.
I’ve been inspired by the modern look, so that’s the aesthetic I tried my best to emulate. First part was removing the two sets of bottom drawers. Next I cut a $35 piece of pine I purchased at Home Depot to be the bottom shelf. I removed the top and replaced it with a $5 Ikea table I found in their clearance section. The tricky part was it’s mostly cardboard underneath laminate, so after cutting it to size I had to fill two of the sides with spackle. After that I coated it with three layers of feather finish cement, sanding after each layer, and then finishing with two coats of sealant. Next came cutting off the legs and replacing it with a plywood base I cut and nailed together and then coated in cement just as I did the top. After that came priming and painting the dresser itself followed by replacing the hardware. All together the project cost somewhere around $100.
Thank you Jason!