Back on track! After a few weeks of travel, holiday time, and overall exhaustion, I finally got back on the project train. First stop... nursery closet. Baby is due in 2 weeks and the nursery is struggling. With a baby shower under our belts, we had a ton of baby clothes and nowhere to put them. Because, of course, I ripped all the stuff down from inside the closet months ago thinking I would have it completed in no time.
Our original closet was not going to make the cut. It was too plain and it didn't have enough storage space or curb appeal for a nursery. First thing I did was remove the doors. In fact, I did that before I even took any pictures. So the before photo isn't even as accurate as I'd like. But there was no way I was putting 18 screws back in just for a picture.
Our original closet was not going to make the cut. It was too plain and it didn't have enough storage space or curb appeal for a nursery. First thing I did was remove the doors. In fact, I did that before I even took any pictures. So the before photo isn't even as accurate as I'd like. But there was no way I was putting 18 screws back in just for a picture.
Instead, I took some pictures of the doors after they were removed. You can use your imagination if you really want to picture what the closet looked like.
My next step was to tear down the existing shelving in the closet. Luckily it was only one shelf. Unfortunately, it was much harder to remove than I'd anticipated. That thing was in there pretty good. I probably could've hung from it and done pull ups. If I was able to do a pull up in the first place...
I ended up having to use a number of tools to get the hardware out. Hardest of all were the clips that were hammered into the wall. I had to use wire pliers to pry them out and I took quite a bit of drywall with me. I'm sure there's an easier method, but I don't know it.
After I had everything removed, and all that remained were giant holes in my drywall, I got to work on filling them. I used some lightweight spackle to fill the gaps. Then I let them dry and sanded them down as best I could.
Once the holes were filled, I felt a little better. I decided to paint the inside of the closet white. The same color as the trim so I didn't even bother with too much painter's tape. The trim needed touching up anyway. So I covered the carpet with a drop cloth and got to work.
Once the paint dried, I assembled the inside of the closet. At least, that's what I would have said if I hadn't been sidetracked by life. In reality, the closet was dry for about 2 months before I started on the inside. But that's not really relevant. Let's pretend I got this one done in a timely manner.
I did some research and purchased 2 pieces of furniture that I thought would give me the storage I desired. One was a dresser and the other was a cube organizer. I bought them both from Amazon, because that's what I do. In different circumstances I could've found cheaper alternatives at a thrift store or I could've built them from scratch, but I was running out of time and needed a quick fix.
I did some research and purchased 2 pieces of furniture that I thought would give me the storage I desired. One was a dresser and the other was a cube organizer. I bought them both from Amazon, because that's what I do. In different circumstances I could've found cheaper alternatives at a thrift store or I could've built them from scratch, but I was running out of time and needed a quick fix.
The cube organizer required assembly, but the dresser did not. I sized them up in the closet to make sure my measurements were correct. Once I knew their exact placement, I did some additional measurements for shelves and hanging racks. The idea was to stack the cube organizer on top of the dresser and put one shelf in between them and one on top of them. Then I would attach hanging rods below the shelves for the clothing.
Once I had my measurements, I went to the hardware store for the rest of my supplies.
Additional Supplies:
2 White Composite Boards (Shelves)
2 Wooden Circular Rods (Closet Poles)
8 Closet Pole Sockets (4 Sets of 2)
Obviously, with a closet project, measurements are going to be different for everyone. So I won't bore you with mine. I will just show you the steps I used.
First, I installed the dresser. I cut a piece of scrap wood out to secure to the back of the dresser so it would be even with the trim at the bottom of the closet. I don't have a picture of this step, but I hope it's self-explanatory. I didn't want the dresser to wobble and I didn't want to cut out a piece of the trim at the bottom either. So I secured that scrap wood to the wall, then secured the dresser to it.
Then I cut the white boards down to size. I wanted them to stretch all the way across the length of the closet and settle on top of my two pieces of furniture.
I used a jig saw to cut them. It isn't the most accurate tool for the job, but it was the safest and easiest to use as a very pregnant woman.
Once I had them cut, I installed one on top of the dresser. Then I placed the cube organizer on top of that. Finally, I added the top shelf above the cube organizer. The end result was shelves that were supported in the middle.
In order to further secure the shelves, I cut out some pieces of wood and screwed them into the corners of the closet under the shelves. This step is important. It keeps the shelves from bending. I left the wood as is. It can't be seen from outside the closet.
Once I added some screws to the mix and secured everything in place, I added the closet rods. I installed the pole sockets first. I actually used the wood in the corners of the closet, under the shelves, to drill the sockets into the walls. As for the inside, I drilled the sockets directly into the dresser and cube organizer. I left enough room below the shelves to add and remove hangers from the rods.
I forgot to include a picture of the socket installation, but you can see the placement of the rods in the big picture.
And that's it! I screwed the knobs onto the dresser and started hanging all the adorable baby clothes. It was very satisfying to have a place to put everything. I cleared up the nursery floor in no time and felt a huge sense of accomplishment.
There is probably one more thing I will do to this closet, but I decided it could be it's own blog post. As you can see from the picture, there are ugly holes of missing trim where the door hinges used to be. Instead of trying to fill them or paint them, I decided I am going to cover them. I imagine I may want to put those doors back on in the future for some reason. So I need an easy, but not permanent, solution.
My idea is to put a valance above the closet and hang some thin, white curtains on either side to cover the trim. This is usually done on windows. I found a good example from another blogger on Pinterest. Hopefully I can get to that in the next week or so. Future blog post!
My idea is to put a valance above the closet and hang some thin, white curtains on either side to cover the trim. This is usually done on windows. I found a good example from another blogger on Pinterest. Hopefully I can get to that in the next week or so. Future blog post!