Walk-In Closet Progress: Redoing Shelves And Adding Shelves

Properly, one other weekend has handed, and I nonetheless don’t have the closet primed and painted. However that doesn’t imply that I didn’t get a complete lot of needed work executed! I spent the weekend not solely including the final two cabinets to 2 of the closet sections, but additionally redoing the ten cabinets within the two cupboards that flank the doorway to the closet.

I had initially deliberate so as to add cupboard doorways to the 2 closets flanking the doorway in order that I might have some closed storage within the room. However after giving it some thought, and seeing how these two sections seemed with the open cabinets, I made a decision to forgo the closet doorways and depart these sections open. I most popular the cohesive look of getting all the closets lining the partitions open. I’ll have all of my wanted drawer storage within the heart island.

Since I had deliberate so as to add inset doorways on these cupboards, I lower and put in the unique cabinets in order that they sat again from the entrance of the cupboard about 1.5 inches. As soon as the entrance trim piece was put in on the cabinets, they sat simply behind the entrance trim on the cupboards, leaving simply sufficient room for inset cupboard doorways. You’ll be able to see what I imply in these photos…

However entrance trim on all the remainder of the cabinets within the room sits flush with the trim on the entrance of the cupboards. So now that I made a decision to go away the doorways off of these two cupboards, I had to determine carry that entrance trim on these ten cabinets ahead in order that in addition they sat flush with the entrance trim on the cupboards. There’s no method I may depart the doorways off of these cupboards and have them look fully totally different from the remainder of the cupboards.

I initially thought I may simply take away the entrance trim items, add a plywood extension to the cabinets, after which reattach the trim. That plan didn’t work out. Even when I had used a complete lot of wooden filler to fill within the joint between the primary shelf and the plywood extension, after which sanded them as easily as doable, I feared that it might nonetheless be apparent that these extensions have been there. I didn’t need that sort of “make do” afterthought in my customized, built-from-scratch closet.

I lastly determined that the one method I might get that clear look that I would like could be to chop all new plywood for these ten cabinets. In order that’s what I did. I eliminated all ten cabinets, lower new plywood for these cabinets, after which needed to wooden fill and sand them easy earlier than I may add them to the cupboards. (As a reminder, I used a lesser grade of plywood on this complete closet to economize, so a number of the items are sort of tough and want wooden filler and plenty of sanding to make them easy.)

After which I made a decision to chop all new entrance trim items somewhat than reuse the items that I had eliminated as a result of within the strategy of eradicating them, I sort of gouged the sides of a few of these items.

Anyway, that complete course of took up all of my Saturday, however I bought all ten new cabinets put in, trimmed, and wooden crammed. They nonetheless should be sanded, however right here’s how these finish cupboards look now.

They now have cabinets that match the remainder of the cabinets within the closet, with the entrance trim of the cabinets sitting flush with the cupboard trim.

It was quite a lot of work to redo all of that, nevertheless it’s vital for me to get it proper. I by no means need my tasks to appear to be apparent DIY tasks, and I feel it’s vital to do it proper as a way to get knowledgeable completed look. Consider me, I didn’t need to redo all of that. I had hoped that I may both dwell with the inset cabinets or discover a shortcut, however I knew I might by no means be happy if I left these shorter cabinets that seemed totally different from all the remainder of the cabinets. And shortcuts in a customized closet that I’m constructing from scratch didn’t set properly with me. If I’m going to go to the difficulty of constructing a customized, built-from-scratch walk-in closet, I would like it executed proper. No shortcuts.

I additionally bought the opposite two cabinets put in that I’ve been needing so as to add. I added the center shelf to separate the 2 bars the place I’ll be hanging shirts. That piece of plywood had an apparent bow to it as soon as I put in it, so I sat two weights on it in a single day (45 kilos in all) to take away that bow.

That’s the one shelf in all the room that I had this downside with. A number of others had slight bows to them after I put in them, however these have been simply straightened out as quickly as I added the entrance trim piece. However this one was unusually cussed, so it required weights in a single day. The weights took care of the difficulty.

And eventually, I bought the underside shelf put in the center part on the other wall…

I really put in that one twice. The primary time, I had it 4 inches increased in order that it was even with the decrease cabinets on the 2 sections on both facet. However the part simply above that shelf will likely be my necklace storage, and I doubted that I had left sufficient room for the necklaces. So I eliminated the shelf, lowered it 4 inches, and reinstalled it.

So whereas I did get a complete lot of labor executed this weekend, it wasn’t precisely the work I needed to do. I’m so anxious to see paint on these cupboards, however I can’t rush the method. The excellent news is that I simply have one shelf left so as to add. The final remaining shelf that must be added is the glass-top shelf that may cowl my earring/ring drawer, however I don’t need to begin constructing that till I’ve that piece of tempered glass in hand. It’s purported to arrive tomorrow, so as soon as that will get right here, I can add the framing items and entrance trim piece for that shelf, after which all the constructing for the wall cupboards will formally be executed.

Each massive undertaking tends to have a degree the place I’ve to take a number of steps again earlier than I can transfer ahead once more. That’s what this weekend was all about, however I’m so glad I took the time to redo these cabinets and ensure that they matched the remainder of the room. Now they give the impression of being intentional, like they have been designed to be open cabinets from the start, somewhat than wanting like an afterthought.

Right here’s how the entire room seems to be at this level…

It’s getting there, y’all! I’m formally on my fifth week of engaged on this undertaking, and whereas it’s going decrease than I had hoped, I’m so extremely enthusiastic about the way it’s turning out. There’s nothing higher than one thing like this and feeling that delight of realizing that I constructed the whole lot with my very own two fingers. It certain would have been a lot simpler to make use of IKEA Pax wardrobes to create my closet, nevertheless it simply wouldn’t have been the identical. They wouldn’t have match the room as properly, and I wouldn’t have that very same sense of, “I did that!” once I seemed on the closet. This one is all my very own creation and all my very own work, from the very starting. And I’m so near being prepared to color!

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and adorn the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.