Turn Ikea Dressers Into Built-In Bookshelves, step by step
It is been a busy but productive week in the nursery built-in department, so I am going to cover a lot in this post. Hang on to your hats, crank up your go-to Swedish electropop, and be prepared for some nitty-gritty detail on how we began the transformation from free-standing Ikea dresser to built-in dresser/bookshelf combo (that is not a wrapped up result on the right, by the way, it is simply photoshop).
As you might recall, we picked up two FJELL dressers because they were the size we needed and they were made of solid wood. But they did need a little additional assist when it came to giving them a built-in look:
- The indented side profile meant it could not sit flush to the wall, leaving a fairly glaring gap that needed filling
- The nursery’s baseboards on both the side and the back also prevented it from hugging the walls tightly
- The bottom drawer was not built up sufficient from the floor to accommodate wrap-around baseboards, which we hoped to add to complete the built-in look
None of these issues were insurmountable, but it did take a some extra work to get them taken care of before we could move on to the lively stuff. Let us start with problem #2: the existing baseboard, since it is an issue that anyone would run into with any piece of furniture they are trying to build-in. The solution? Cut it out. I simply had to mark where to make my cuts. I marked where it sat originally, but kept in mind that when I took out the side baseboard, the whole piece would shift to the left against the wall. Same goes for marking the side cut (when I remove the back baseboard, it would sit further back).
To cut it out I used my Dremel Multimax. The metal radiator cover (leftover from this project) is simply there to assist protect the floor. You do not technically need a metal grate, but I figured this way it would make a fairly distinct noise when my blade got too close, which was a pleasant warning to keep me from damaging the floor underneath it.
Once I had cut all the way through, I scored the seam between the wall and the baseboard with a utility knife (to make sure no wall paint peeled off with the baseboard). Then I simply pried off the quarter-round and the baseboard.
With both the back and side baseboard took out, I excitedly pushed the piece back into the corner… only to realize that the top piece was now the problem. It was bigger than the bottom of the dresser, so the overhang was preventing me from getting the piece fully flush. Bummer.
So Sherry and I had a little “meeting of the minds” and chose to trim the top a smidge to remedy the situation. Luckily, being an IKEA product, it was straightforward sufficient to remove the top (after I marked how much would need to come off). I was sure to write my cut measurements on the side that needed a trim so that once I got downstairs to my saw I did not accidentally slice the wrong end.
I set the guide on my table saw to the correct measurement and simply sliced the two sides accordingly. This is a moment we were particularly thankful that we went with a pleasant sturdy dresser made of solid wood (and not particle board, which can be tougher to cut cleanly).
With the top cut and reattached, the dresser now sat pleasant and flush against the wall on the back… but I was still dealing with a gap-on-the-side (problem #1, if you remember).
This was an straightforward solution because the gap simply happened to be 3/4″, which meant I simply had to slip a 1 x 2″ piece of scrap wood in there (after I cut it to the right length with my miter saw). It was in fact a tight sufficient fit that it might’ve stayed on its own, but I put a couple of nails through the dresser into it, simply to be safe.
The last and final issue (#3) was building up the whole piece so that the bottom drawer would not be blocked by the new baseboard that we hoped to wrap around the base of each dresser. We chose a plain base/platform for the dresser to sit on would be pleasant and plain, and would buy us the extra height that we needed. Since it would not be visible, we simply chose some 2 x 4″ framing lumber (since we needed it raised about 3.5″ off the ground). I cut the pieces and then attached them to each other in place, using my Kreg jig and some pleasant heavy duty screws.
Here you can see how the dresser (sans drawers at the moment, for easier moving) sits right on top of this base. I did not in fact attach the dresser to the base, which leads me to my next point…
Securing everything in place was truly essential. We did not want this thing to move an inch – especially movement of the pointer-over variety (dressers can be especially wobbly if someone pulls all the drawers out at once). So using my stud-finder I found as many places as I could to drill through pleasant solid wood (i.e. not the thinner backing piece) into studs – along both the side and the back. Not only did that assist make things especially flush against the wall, but both the base and the dresser became rock solid in their placement. Phew.
I know all of that did not seem terribly complicated (or exciting), but there was sufficient careful measuring, cutting, and screwing together, that it took me a good day-ish to complete… especially since I had to do it twice over.
I was deep into building mode at this point, but logic told me that I should pause construction and Sherry and I should do some of our painting and staining before going further. Taking time for these steps while everything was still apart would mean less edging and taping, so it would hopefully save us time in the long (and result in a truly clean look).
First up was staining the top, since we chose we hoped to take advantage of its wood grain texture and make it contrast a bit from the rest of it. We had two stains on hand that we have consistently liked, so it was simply a matter of choosing which one worked for this application.
We were having a hard time judging based on the cans, so we chose to simply look at real projects that were already sporting those colors. Clara’s dresser was Red Mahogany and my bike frames were Dark Walnut.
It is hard to tell from that picture above, but in person the Dark Walnut color was closer to the floors (Red Mahogany was darker) and was also the exact tone that we’d used on the bike frames that would go in the room, so that made the decision fairly straightforward.
I took out the tops, took them out to the garage, and got to staining. They each took two coats of stain followed by two coats of Acrylacq sealer, which Sherry brushed on (it is non-toxic and excellent for sealing in any off-gasing from non-eco products like the stain). Including drying time, this step stretched over about four days, but each coat went on fairly swiftly, so a lot of that was simply drying time.
But we did not sit idly by, we had two whole dressers to paint. Except one thing we worried about – which some of you explicitly warned us about – was the potential bleed-through. Strong knots like these have a tendency to make stains seep right through a paint job over time, even through layers of primer and paint in some cases.
So thanks to some of your warnings and a little bit of research on Sherry’s part, we chose to take a couple of knot-busting tricks for a spin. The first was to cover them in wood putty, since it is supposed to seal the knots and keep them from bleeding. I will admit I was not crazy about this technique, mostly because it was time consuming (this piece has Plenty of knots) and when it came to sanding down the dried wood putty (which I did with a palm sander) it was a thin line to walk between getting it smooth again and sanding all the putty off fully. In the end I think we got a pleasant thin glaze of putty over most of the knots though, which did feel like brought in protection.
Sherry also had another trick up her sleeve (thanks Internet!), which was painting a thin layer of wood glue over each of those puttied knot areas. This technique was considerably faster (glue is surprisingly straightforward to paint with) and it did not result in any sanding dust getting everywhere.
We could’ve avoided the putty and glue by using a shellac-based primer, but since we try to keep things as fume-free as possible (especially in a nursery where a newborn will soon reside), we prefer to use Kilz Premium as our primer (it is VOC-free). We used that on our kitchen cabinets a month ago, which were darker and had their fair share of knots, and nothing has come through their crisp white finish, so it does seem to do the trick in most cases – and the wood putty and glue that we used on the dresser feels like pleasant brought in insurance.
Not to skip ahead or anything, but it has been a few days since priming and painting, and so far not even a hint of bleed has occurred (sometimes things bleed right through the primer before you even get to the painting step, so it has been truly comforting). Only time will tell if these techniques truly work for the long run, but you know we will keep you posted either way.
Speaking of the priming step, we already had some Kilz Premium leftover from when we painted our bedroom dark blue, which is why it is tinted.
We likely did not need tinted primer, but we appreciated the chance to use up this can. Sherry detached and rolled all of the drawer fronts downstairs in the kitchen (it was too cold in the garage) and upstairs I rolled the bases in place, along with a few pieces that I had already cut for the top part of the build.
With the primer dry, we could move on to our first coat of paint (we went with Senora Gray in Advance paint, which is made for furniture and cabinetry, and has some pleasant self-leveling and low-VOC perks). It is the same paint we used on our office cabinets in our last house, along with our last two kitchens. Those office cabinets were beat on by Clara with wooden trains when she was younger, so we enjoy how durable it was.
The color nearly gave us heart palpitations when it first went on. It was so light and so, I dunno, beige. We in fact triple checked the swatch and can to make sure they had mixed it right. Fortunately it dried considerably darker and much closer to what we were envisioning. Phew.
Although I will admit we did second-guess the color a bit. It is not nearly as dark as our photoshopped rendering, but that was on purpose. After doing that mock up, Sherry found this inspiration picture (it is originally from Ballard Designs) and that is how we picked Senora Gray for the built-ins and Going To The Chapel for the walls (more on that process in this post).
Still, I think Senora Gray turned out a bit lighter than we expected – namely in that it does not contrast with the walls as much as we thought it would (even though it is four squares below the wall color on the swatch card). We considering picking a new color before applying our second coat, but we chose it was a blessing in disguise, because it makes the stained wood top and the hardware pop truly nicely thanks to more contrast, and as much as Sherry and I might chose moodier built-ins for ourselves, we keep trying to remind ourselves that this is a room for a little boy (and it only has one window) – so keeping things lighter is not a bad thing.
We wrapped up both coats and put everything back together – including the stained top, the hardware (which came with the FJELL originally), and even began attaching some of the molding on the floor. That baseboard and shoe molding will be painted Senora Gray too – we simply have some caulking to do first.
Update #1: People are wondering how we chose to paint the baseboard (and the crown we will be adding) to match the built-ins instead of keeping them white. We think it could look good either way, but we simply prefer the look of an whole piece from floor to ceiling being the same tone (as opposed to accenting something like baseboard or crown by choosing to make it a contrasting color – especially since we already have the stained wood top as an accent). Here is an example of a painted built-in with the baseboard and the crown in the same color, which we truly like.
We are especially psyched with how they are turning out. I know they are a bit anticlimactic without having their bookcase tops on yet, but after all the time it took to get this far we relished in them at least looking partially complete.
Update #2: A few others have asked if we have thought about filling that indentation on the inside edge of each dresser for more balance. In person we in fact truly enjoy that brought in detail (we feel like it gives them some special architecture, and once the crib is between them it’ll be a pleasant little accent). Of course we could consistently change our minds and add something to fill that down the road, so we will keep you posted!
Assuming things stay on course the next couple of days, we should have these fully wrapped up – built to the ceiling and primed/painted – by Wednesday or Thursday. Which is a large relief because when I first began planning these folks I felt like I’d be lucky to have them done before baby boy arrives. Guess I kinda overestimated the task!
We are certainly looking forward to crossing off the biggest project on our to-do list with ten weeks left for the lively stuff (Sherry cannot wait to tackle things like bedding, mobile-making, art, curtains, a bold green closet door, adding sconces and a light fixture, and doing something exciting to the wall between the built-ins where the crib will go).
More Built-In Storage Projects
We have done similar cabinet built-in projects in several spaces, so if you’d get more ideas and inspiration, be sure to check out some of the posts below:
