Coat Closet Finale

Phew…it has been a couple of crazy days around here, but the coat closet is finally finished and ready for the big reveal!!!  Just like any DIY project we had a few bumps along the way, but the end result of this closet has me grinning ear to ear.  I can take credit for the pretty bins and baskets, but everything else is due to my most awesome husband!

Notice those awesome bins and baskets!!!  I have been eyeing the stripped canvas baskets at the bottom for about six months at The Container Store and lucky me I had a gift card so you can bet I put that baby to use!!  They are the small ones for only $9.99 each and I love the rope handle.

Currently, we have toys in both baskets so the girls have some toys to play with downstairs as well, but the possibilities are endless on what we can use them for in the future.  Enough about the baskets, let's get to the real beauty of this closet…the shelves and cubbies!

Originally, the closet had one shelf up top and a clothing rod underneath it…not much going on in there except extreme clutter.  So Jeremy removed the clothing rod and put up bead board.  From there he built a cubby system that could be used to store bins with scarves, hats, etc.  We also decided to add two shelves near the bottom to hold some of our most worn shoes. 

To make it look more cohesive, we added bead board to the top two cubbies as well.  While we waited for the coat hooks to arrive, the bead board and shelves all got a few coats of paint.  Finally the hooks arrived from Amazon.  I ordered five hooks with the plan to put them inside the closet, but once we started installing them it seemed too crowded.  Change of plans, we put four inside the closet and added the remaining one to the door for our coats.

We added a piece of 1x4 pine board, that we stained, all around the closet and then installed the hooks onto the board.  Jeremy stained the boards using a slightly different method this time and we are both in love with the result.  After sanding down the board and wiping clean, Jeremy used a pre-stain wood conditioner prior to staining (the conditioner is for soft woods and helps prevent a blotchy stain).  Then applied two coats of Rust-oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Dark Walnut using an old white t-shirt.

There were no studs in the closet, so to secure the hooks to the 1x4, we used E-Z Anchors for Drywall that holds up to 50 pounds.

Now it was time to start to using the hooks, shelves and cubbies!!!  For the cubbies, I purchased four medium Kiva bins from The Container Store and are currently holding my scarves, girls' hats, and play doh.  I am sure you can guess the item that seems out of place, but all the little containers fit perfectly in a bin and easy access when momma is ready for the play-doh to come out.  The remaining bin is currently empty, but I am sure in due time I will find the perfect item.

Since we had an extra hook, we put it on the inside of the door to hang our coats on.  During the "winter" months we plan to have our coats hanging on the hook and in our master closet for the rest of the year.  Since the door is hollow, we used an E-Z Anchor for hollow doors that holds up to 40 pounds.

I put the girls' shoes on the top shelf and our shoes are on the bottom shelf.  Since the lower shelves are almost 17 inches deep I can put two rows of their shoes on it, which is a definite plus since they like to have options :)

Unfortunately I don't have an exact breakdown of our spending for the closet since some of the wood and paint we had leftover from previous projects.  The most expensive item from the closet is the bead board and I would say was definitely a splurge for this project.  A fair estimate with the bead board, puts the cost of the lumber and hooks around $180.

To get the complete transformation of the closet lets see a before and after picture.

If you could see me now, I am grinning ear to ear over here just looking at the picture!!  Hope you all have had an awesome week and remember the weekend is almost here!!!

With much love,

Kristin



 

Coat Closet Part 2

I have a small update on the coat closet for you guys!!!  My hubby has been working hard during the evening hours to finish up all the woodwork for the closet.

He added the top cubby to the existing shelf using the same material and method as the first one.  All cubbies are 6.5 inches in height and I already have the perfect bins ready to be put to use.

The second thing that was done, was to add a 1x2 board to the front of each shelf.  Next up for this closet is painting…that is where I step in!!!  I am armed with my paint brush, roller, and Behr Powdered Snow.  Once all the painting is done, we will add the 1x3 board on each wall, which will be used to hold the hooks for coats and backpacks.  The finish line is in sight and I can't wait!!!

With much love,

Kristin

Coat Closet Part I

I am about to share one of my dirty little secrets…my coat closet is absolutely, horridly unorganized.  I shamefully just throw things in there and the only thing "organized" are the coats, and that is only because they are hanging up.  At the beginning of this year I did an "inventory" of the house and made a list of projects I wanted to get done around the house.  The main area that was consistent throughout the house were the closets.  So the closets quickly went to the top of the list and the coat closet is first up.

I started looking on the world wide web for some inspiration and started piecing together my favorite parts of each closet.  I brought the pictures to my husband and he started thinking of ideas himself and drew up a plan for the closet…totally awesome!!!  This past weekend he was able to get a start on the closet, while I kept the girls entertained.

I will totally admit that I have a huge smile on my face just looking at the picture!!  Let's rewind to the beginning of the weekend and take a look at what we started with.  I will warn you the following pictures are not pretty and I cringe just looking at them.

One of the frustrating things about this coat closet is that it actually doesn't properly fit the bigger coats. The depth of the closet is too short so when you close the door you have to turn the coats sideways to shut the door.  We have lived with this for almost six years, but that has now wonderfully changed for the better!!!  First things first, we emptied the closet and unscrewed the clothing rod.  I am hanging onto the rod for a project for another closet upstairs!

For the coat closet, the main things I wanted in here were cubbies to hold smaller bins for seasonal items and two shelves at the bottom for shoes.  Since it is a "coat" closet, also want to add some hooks on the wall to hang the girls' coats and backpacks.

My husband used the existing shelf in the closet to build the cubbies, but made some adjustments first.  Since the cubbies I had my eyes on were averaging 6" in height, he made the height of the cubbies at 6.5".  In order for him to do this, he added a 1x2 board on each side.

Then to make it look seamless, he covered each side with a thin piece of birch panelling.

A few of our favorite closets had used bead board, which I love the look it gives the closet.  This step was purely for aesthetics, but totally love it!

Next step, was to make the bottom cubby.  My hubby used the Kreg Jig to assemble the two boards together.  This is where I forgot to take a picture after he installed the shelf in the closet…my bad!!  From here, he kreg jigged together two pine boards (1x10 and 1x8), to make the shelves for the shoes.

We decided to put the bottom shelf about 13" from the floor to allow for two bins to be placed under that we plan to use for toys.  Instead of always bringing down toys from the playroom, we want to have two designated bins of toys for downstairs.  The shelves for the shoes are placed 7" inches apart, which allows for plenty of room for our shoes.

It is hard to see, but quarter round was placed around the edges of the bead board.  Part II of the closet includes adding the additional two cubbies above the existing ones and then adding in the hooks for the coats and backpacks.  Once everything is assembled and installed, I will paint everything and then get to organize this bad boy.

Right now, I am over the moon in love with the closet and I will admit I walk by and peek inside just because!!!

With much love,

Kristin