Turn a Chest of Drawers into a Vanity Unit

Materials: "RAST", wood placemat, meter tape, pencil, jigsaw, some scissors and a big mug

Description: I was looking for a vanity unit but at first everything was too deep and cost too much money. As RAST height and depth (70x62 cm) and price (29€) were quite what I was looking for I decided to hack it.

To do this you'll have to buy a RAST chest of drawers and a wooden placemat and you'll need to use a precision saw, a jigsaw would be a lot better tho.


1: Build your RAST without putting the back side, and without the drawers inside (built them separately). Invert A with B. as the holes are at the same place it won't be a problem.

2: Calculate the maximum height you need by measuring under the sink. report these measures on the side of the furniture to know where to cut the legs. Cut the legs to resize the height. Sand the cuts so that it would look better.

3: Calculate the center of the top. Center the RAST unit in front of your sink to see where you need to cut. Mark the cut 1cm larger than the pipe. Draw the lines and use a large mug to perfect the curving end. Then use the jigsaw to cut it out. Sand your cut. Check if everything is ok by putting RAST under the sink.

4: Once done put one of the drawer in the first raw upside down so you can mark the cut with a pencil by following the curve of the existing cut. Cut the drawer with the jigsaw following the mark. Sand the cut.

5: Take the wooden placemat and check the height to know where to cut. Cut it so it won't be higher than the height of the back of the drawer itself. Nail the back of the drawer with the bottom using at least 2 of the provided nails.

6: Then staple the wooden placemat to the bottom of the drawer following the curve. This would provide your items to fall behind the vanity unit.

7: Put the other drawers in.

That's it! You've got yourself the perfect vanity unit!

With this hack I gained a full drawer of supplementary storage compared to my previous vanity unit.

~ Kalinda Walker, EU

Updated: 11 October 2012.
Kalinda send in an almost finished photo of the vanity.
She adds, "I painted the chest of drawers and I added a plexiglass top to protect it from water...  

The main idea was to save money, because I just bought a flat, but also to have something really fitting the space I needed. In fact nothing on the market was small enough to fit.  

Once I painted it it really looked like it has always been there."

NOTE: The Rast chest is untreated wood. To avoid water damage or mold, do treat it with the appropriate water resistant finish. ~ Jules