IKEA Raskog Trolley DIY

Have you met this sweet little trolley from Ikea yet? Lately it's been popping up everywhere...it has so many different uses...and it's super easy to put together. Based on some reading (ok Pinterest browsing!) I decided to change my trolley up a bit before I used it to store all things crafty.  Here's what I learned...what I'd do differently...and what I love about it...just in case you might pick up one yourself :)

In Australia (or at least the closest IKEA to me) the trolley comes in a medium charcoal grey, or a bluey-green similar to the label in the above photo.  I tend to start my craft projects all over the place...the idea of a trolley on wheels with all my favourite stuff in it that I could drag around with me was the reason I went with this product. I had my heart set on white...and I was willing to put some time in spray painting to get it.  Here's my process...things I learned, things I'd change up if I did it again...

  • The hardware store guy told me I needed to lightly sand the surface before spray painting...which I did (and it felt very wrong to be doing that to a shiny new IKEA product!)...I'm not so sure it was needed so next time I'd try without and see how it goes
  • The main post I based my project on was centred around achieving a vintage/industrial look with a flat (i.e. non gloss) paint. I realised after one coat that I preferred a glossy look to mine...back to the hardware store for another can of paint!
Click through to visit my store where you'll find both whimsical and bold 8x10 prints including custom designs...

Click through to visit my store where you'll find both whimsical and bold 8x10 prints including custom designs...

  • I used White Knight Rust Guard Epoxy Enamel in Gloss White.  There wasn't a huge range of colour choices, so if you want to change the colour completely you might want to visit a paint store to see what's there first.
  • I started the process in the middle of the first of many heat waves in the depths of an Aussie summer. The small print on the can names a temperature range that's ideal for painting...I couldn't get within this without getting up super early or staying up super late and using artificial light...so I waited.
  • I lost count of how many layers I did (hence my theory about not needing to sand as the last few layers would've just been going over the top of smooth paint)...just because I kept finding patches I missed and I wanted a really solid white. If I went gloss white with the original layer I would've used 3 cans total.
  • I got to the point where I hadn't sprayed white on the inside of two of the trays...and I decided I actually kind've liked this look...especially the messed up "distressed" looking edges that happened naturally from spray painting them upside down (to preserve the grey). The contrasting colours looked good together...so I decided to keep them that way just to make my trolley a little bit different.
  • Unless you're super careful, your trolley will get more of the "distressed" look as you're assembling it...it's virtually impossible to do this without a few scratches here and there. I didn't mind...and if you were doing a one colour trolley you could spray paint the whole thing after being assembled anyway I would imagine!

I'm still deciding what I'm going to put in it.  I already want another one for a mobile herb garden on the decking.  I wish IKEA wasn't so far away!

If you have one of these trolleys I'd love to know what you're using it for...and if you did an IKEA hack on it, what you changed up? :)

Click through to visit my store where you'll find sweet 8x10 prints including designs that use macarons, sprinkles and lots more! Custom designs available :)

Click through to visit my store where you'll find sweet 8x10 prints including designs that use macarons, sprinkles and lots more! Custom designs available :)

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