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closet makeover #3

It’s BUILD week for my closet makeover (my favorite)! I showed you in detail in the last post how to build a DIY Laundry Basket Dresser, but there were a few other elements I wanted to talk about in this custom closet DIY project.  If you missed the video, you may want to start there to see what all these parts are and how they fit together in the closet space. Remember my main goal was to make this space as functional as it could be while also making it a space I’m happy to walk into.  

If you missed Part 1 – the Plan, you can see it here.

Part 2 was all about the Purge, you can catch that here. 

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Here’s how the back wall turned out.  I was using a mix of scrap wood from the closet and what I already had along with new pine.  It looks a little crazy with all the wood tones in these photos, but when it’s all painted and finished, it will be much more cohesive. The back wall will be where we store all of our shoes, I just wanted floating shelves with simple black brackets that kept it simple and functional above our laundry basket dresser. 

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I bought myself a new toy for this project, and it came in handy when hanging these shelves.  I bought these simple black brackets off of Amazon and just cut a 1×12 down to length to make these simple shelves.  Because there were going to be so many in a row though, it was really important to get them all lined up and all level. If they were off you’d really be able to see it! So I used this hand dandy laser level which just attaches directly to the wall with a suction cup type thing, and it helped keep me nice and straight.  

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Once the shelves were all attached I used a black Sharpie to make the screws black like the brackets, it worked like a charm to make them blend in.

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Now over to the shelf tower I built.  I showed how to do this in the video, but this simple cleat shelf system is the best.  It’s so simple and very easy to apply and use in so many areas of your home. 

The first thing I did was cut the side panel (of 1/2″ plywood) to size and attach it to the wall in the studs with my favorite building screws. Then I measured out the distance between the shelves and added my shelf supports along the back.  The shelf supports are just 1×2’s cut to size. These were attached to the wall with my brad nailer. (By the way, a brad nailer will change your life when it comes to home DIY projects!)

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Once the back supports were in, I attached the other side panel, and we had ourselves a shelf (almost).  I continued around each cubbie with the 1×2 supports attached with glue and brad nails.  *Do be sure your brads are the right length and don’t go all the way through the two pieces of wood*

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The shelves themselves were all cut from the same plywood, and I just attached them to the supports so they wouldn’t go anywhere.  

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Trim it out (because remember, trim makes ALL the difference) and you are done.  Now to tie it all together it took some paint and some stain. I stained the shelves with my favorite mix of 50/50 General Finishes mix of Antique Oak and Walnut water based wood stain.  The rest was all painted white in the same color as the trim, Behr Alkyd paint in Glacial Mist – any white latex paint would do as well, this is just what I had on hand.  The white keeps it bright and clean, and the wood gives it that upscale custom look I love.  

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Can you see it coming together?!  Next week is the big REVEAL!! We are so close to being done (and having a closet back).  Stay tuned, I’ll see you next week! 

Jenni