How To Assemble Malm 6 Drawer Dresser

I live in a tiny house – me with my two teenage daughters, a betta fish and a parakeet. We all share two small bedrooms and two baths, with one bath in a mid-remodel state and the other in the middle of the unfinished basement. Neither bathroom option is super appealing, but having two is a lifesaver when everyone needs the facilities at once!

The overall lack of square footage means clutter happens regularly, so when the inevitable clutter spills into my cramped bedroom, it becomes uncomfortable, if not unbearable, to live here. Having come from a much larger, custom home pre-divorce, this transition has been a challenge for all of us. I've been doing my best to try to find solutions to the lack of space and storage. One way is to use height.

Instead of the beautiful but short dresser I bought from a catalog just months after I left the much larger house, I decided I needed a no-frills, tall dresser with large, full-extension drawers. The attractive, but short dresser drawers with their limited access would be put to better use in a front entry that has an inexplicably shallow "closet". After removing plastic accordion doors from the so-called "closet", my "beautiful dresser" is now front and center for the rare visitor who rings the front door, and it holds all the craft and nail polish necessities of two teen girls.

After searching furniture stores for a tall, practical, affordable storage solution, I decided not to make an investment, but to make a financially practical decision and purchase the IKEA MALM 6-drawer dresser and protective glass top. (See my IKEA obsession post!) I went with the black-brown color. With my IKEA FAMILY discount, it was a bargain and a blank canvas for any future paint job or embellishments.

Of course, all IKEA furniture requires assembly, and the MALM is no exception. For those of you considering future IKEA purchases, looking to assemble your own MALM dresser or just wondering about IKEA furniture quality and construction, here are pictorial, step-by-step assembly instructions:

Assemble MALM 6-drawer dresser frame:

1. Purchase IKEA MALM 6-drawer dresser in 2 flat packages

1. Purchase IKEA MALM 6-drawer dresser in 2 flat packages.

2. Open MALM Boxes.

3. Begin to unpack boxes.

4. Continue to unpack layers of dresser pieces .

4. Continue to unpack layers of dresser pieces.

5. Sort and lay out pieces

5. Sort and lay out pieces.

6. Locate instructions.

7. Unpack cardboard box with hardware and check this with instructions as well

7. Unpack cardboard box with hardware and check this with instructions as well.

8. Start with the dresser frame. Lay out dresser sides, glides-side up.

9. Insert screws into sides as indicated by instructions. Also tap bottom nylon floor protectors into bottom of sides.

9. Insert screws fully into sides as indicated by instructions. Also tap bottom nylon floor protectors into bottom of sides.

10. Place horizontal rail parts onto screws and insert cam locks as directed.

11. Hand-tighten cam locks with flat-head screwdriver, ensuring a tight, secure fit.

12. Continue to attach horizontal rails to dresser sides.

13. Stand dresser frame upright.

14. Attach screws and dowels to underside of dresser top per instructions.

15. Attach top divider to screws with cam locks.

16. Place dresser top onto frame and attach with cam locks. Later, you may wish to use the IKEA glass top to protect your new dresser.

17. Lay dresser back down, open out back and nail it onto back of frame, using small nails, evenly spaced.

18. Adjust safety brackets from inside dresser frame to meet wall. Place dresser frame in desired location and screw through brackets into the wall to fasten dresser securely and prevent it from tipping forward. Congratulations, you've finished the frame!

Assemble MALM dresser drawers:

1. Screw hardware into drawer fronts and attach sides with cam locks.

2. Slide drawer bottom into groove in drawer front with finished side up.

3. Attach drawer back, aligning it to grooves in sides.

4. Tap plastic fasteners into holes on both drawer sides while holding sides and back together.

5. Screw glides onto bottom of drawer sides with short screws.

6. Hand-screw small, sharp-point screw into center back of drawer front under drawer bottom. Do not fully tighten the screw - leave approximately 1/8". A longer screwdriver helps with this. (Look for the small hole.)

6. Hand-screw small, sharp-point screw into center back of drawer front under drawer bottom. Do not fully tighten the screw – leave approximately 1/8″. A longer screwdriver helps with this. (Look for the small hole.)

7. Slide metal, drawer bottom support onto screw as shown.

8. Rotate bottom support upside-down and tighter screw.

9. Attach back of support to drawer back as shown.

10. Screw back of support into back, measuring to find center of drawer back.

11. Admire your handiwork!

12. Tap drawer bumpers into backs of drawer fronts.

13. You've completed a drawer! Repeat drawer assembly steps 1-12 for the rest of the drawers.

14. Congratulate yourself, insert drawers and start to fill your new-found storage!

Since I finished the dresser, I've decided it is too dark for my bedroom. I plan to paint it with a teal paint to match my bedding (Behr Moonlit Pool, S-H-510) and possibly add embellishment. If I had planned to paint it from the start, I would have bought the birch veneer dresser, since the finish is smoother than the black-brown. I'm still optimistic that it will turn out well and add some life to my blah room. Check back for that project!