Adding a RATIONELL Drawer to a BEKVAM Serving Cart.

With no drawers in our apartment, I had to come up with an alternative. Originally I planned to add the drawer to the BEKVAM cart just below it, but it was going to look ugly and there was all this space under the top which was going to waste. So I removed one of the faces, and modified the brackets to allow an 18" x 12" RATIONELL drawer to be installed. The bonus was I go to re-use the face of the cart as the face of the drawer. This took me 3 days, with the bulk of the work being done in 1 evening. 6-8 hours max.

Step 1: Remove the Top and One Side. of the Cart.

I started with an assembled BEKVAM cart. So I had to go back and remove two brackets and the bolts from one side of the cart. I used the wider side for where I was placing the RATIONELL drawer.

Step 2: Cut the Brackets to Make Space for the Drawer.

Unfortunately the RATIONELL drawer would not fit with the brackets as is. The bolts had to be removed and the brackets cut. New screw holds had to be drilled into the metal brackets so they could be attached to the legs once more.

Step 3: Install the Drawer

A spacer made out of wood need to be built to attach the rear end of the drawer rails, then the drawer rails need to be installed.

The drawer with the rails attached was held in place then traced. This was to make sure that the top of the drawer was at the right height. The rails were then removed from drawer, and held against the outline for the drill holes to be traced.

Once traced they were drilled, doing the front first then the rear. The rails were then screwed in place using the screws provided by Ikea.

Step 4: Add the Drawer and Drawer Face.

The face was made by holding it against the drawer without the brackets, and tracing it. The brackets were then placed in the drawer and the distance was measured to the top and sides, then these measurements were then transfered to the outline on the face of the drawer. The brackets where then placed where they would go, and the holes for screws traced. The holes were then drilled and the brackets attached and the face inserted onto the drawer.

Step 5: Add the Top and the Handle.

The brackets for the top are re-attached. The top is then held in place, and drill holes for the new location of the font to brackets are traced. The top is then flipped and the holes drilled. The top is then attached.

The handle was added, and the screws were sunk into the wood on the back of the face of the drawer so they would not get in the way.