Storage in the closet!

February 27, 2014

HEY everybody! Man, I’ve been busy. I’ve been working on a master bedroom project and the master closet for the past week or so and it’s all coming together really well. My body is screaming uncle but I’m so excited about the progress. :)

I wanted to give you an update on the closet redo I’m working on! A few weeks ago I shared how I’m planning to rework the back wall in there that’s just begging for some storage and organization. Up till now we’ve had random dressers and a bunch of wire shelves and they just aren’t working.

So I came up with this wall of storage I showed you:

Closet design using kitchen cabinets

Imagine that’s a fancy rendering, OK?

Those black rectangles are supposed to represent the new storage -- using kitchen cabinets of course!:

    

So getting these cabinets home and upstairs was quite a feat. First of all, did you know cabinets are crazy heavy? Yeah. I’m used to carrying around the uppers for projects and those are bad enough – the bottom ones are monsters.

My sis and I went to Home Depot last week to pick up all the cabs because I can rent a truck to get them home. They found three of the six that we needed but couldn’t find the others, so they offered to deliver them all together the next day. I paid for the delivery but they graciously offered 20 percent off the whole purchase for the delay, which I thought was awesome.

So the next day it’s all delivered and since my husband was out of town my sis came by again…God bless her. We carried each cabinet up the stairs and yes we are BEASTS. The tall pantry cabinets were a little rough. I swear they weighed 200 pounds each. We got the six of them up stairs and then I realized my mistake in measuring – I had two inches less than I thought I did. Two inches is a big deal when the cabinet is 18 inches wide and you only have 16 to work with. GAH.

So…we took the two middle drawer cabinets back down the stairs (cursing a little at this point) and I had to rethink my plan for the middle. I finally came up with something that may work even better:

I ended up with the two drawers on each side, the taller pantries and then in the middle I put a 30 inch upper cabinet. This one holds shoes. :)

The great thing is, this spot was always going to be a vanity-like space but a chair would have been awkward right there. (With the original cabinets coming forward so much.) Now I’ll put the counter there and there will be a great spot for a stool. :) I don’t know if I’ll really use it as a vanity often (and actually sit down), but it will be a good spot to put on socks and stuff like that.

I’m REALLY excited about the possibilities of all the storage! The taller cabinets are absolutely huge:

They go back two feet. Because it’s so deep I have a plan to install more shelves and the make roll out drawers eventually. When I’m done I think it’s going to be awesome storage. For now I just love that we’ll be able to put everything in there and shut. the. door.

I’m not a great cabinet installer but I did it all myself in one evening and it went pretty smoothly. It’s tricky to get them all level and flush and even but I got close on everything. You just have to make sure the cabinets are attached to each other and the back wall (in studs). These are really sturdy and aren’t going anywhere, which is most important to me.

As you can see by the photos the light is horrible in there. I installed one of those directional light things (three lights that you can point wherever you want) years back and it doesn't work. I knew we needed something that just shines everywhere. I found this at on clearance at Lowe’s the other day and fell in love:

style selections chandelier lowe's

It’s pretty tall so I’m crossing my fingers I can make it work in there. We may just have to duck to walk under it cause I love it so much.

So that’s the progress so far – it’s coming together pretty well! So much left to do and as you can see in the photo above we still need to go through a pile of the hubby’s clothes. :) But we’re already using all the cabinets and they are working great! YES!!

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Comments

  1. I've been following your blog for a couple of years now, but I love your use of kitchen cabinets EVERYWHERE! I'm kind of wondering why I didn't think of this when I just updated my closet recently!!!!

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  2. I bet this is going to look awesome! Can't wait to see it all come together. I love that chandelier as well! I think there is something to be said about making closets pretty, I think it helps us keep them more organized and put together because they feel like real spaces, at least that's what I am telling myself!

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  3. This is going to look amazing! I can't wait to see the finished product. How nice of HD to give you that discount too...score!

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  4. I can't wait to see the finished product!! Our house is 112 years old and all of the walls are plaster, so we've been on the lookout for options that don't rely solely on the walls for support. This is going to look fantastic!!

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  5. I love the chandy! Can't wait to see how it all comes together. Sometimes those facepalm moments send us in a much better direction :)

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  6. Your closet storage is going to be fantastic! And you installed them yourself?! So looking forward to what else you do in there.

    Hubby and I used these cabinets in the laundry room and I've tried to get him to
    use them in the closet. We finally installed 4-drawer cabinets for folded garments. The nice
    thing is you can paint them up and they are solid wood. My favorite part.

    JaG

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  7. Looks like the closet is coming along nicely! I would love to have that kind of storage! Love the chandelier :)

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  8. Are the middle cabinets the right height to put a cushioned seat on top of them. It would save you from having to move your stool every time you want to get into the cabinets. (I know from experience.) I have very long legs and it looks like the cabinets would be a perfect height to sit down and put shoes on. Just a thought. I have to say that I absolutely love your blog!!! Your style is soooo close to my own and I think that everything you do turns out beautiful. Keep up the good work.

    Kathy in California.

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  9. Those cabinets were totally 200 pounds!!! :)

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    Replies
    1. Ouch! And going up the stairs they felt like 500 pounds, I bet. Hubby and I've hauled bookcases up ours and they were unbelievably heavy. Like I almost cried heavy. You guys did good!

      Jake's a Girl

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  10. Sarah, will you post the model # or link of the specific cabinets you used? Thanks.

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  11. WOw nice how can i grabbed this one and thanks i have got the topic for my site as well http://homesdecoratingideas.org/

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  12. What a cool project! Can't wait to see the finished product!!!

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  13. Do you have a tutorial on installing the cabinets? I would love to do something like this in my laundry room (on a much smaller scale). You've inspired me to DIY and get the cabinets from HD/Lowes.

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  14. Wow! That's an expensive closet redo, but so worth it! Thanks for sharing the link on the light fixture, I'm heading to my Lowes now where they have just 4 left!

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  15. Christy -- you better not be getting all the light fixtures at my Lowe's in Chicago! Heading there on my way to Michael's.

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  16. I just found this five year old post and it's a revelation! I never thought of using kitchen cabinets in a closet, or anywhere but a kitchen. This is so wonderful. We built an addition to our house 18 years ago when my mother in law died. We thought my father in law would move in with us, so we built this big room for him. We left the closet unfinished. He ended up not moving in with us, but all these years later, my husband and I are moving into it–it's ground floor. Have to do something with the closet. Your ideas are FABULOUS. Now to get measuring and see what fits. What did you do for hanging clothes? [I'M POSTING THIS A SECOND TIME, AS I DON'TKNOW IF IT WENT UP THER FIRST TIME.]

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If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!