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Surprise Master Closet Makeover!

Submitted by ferbit on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 13:28

After over a year of other projects, I finally had the chance to completely redesign our master closet! I used EasyClosets.com to come up with the design again. :)  I still have a few more tweaks here and there, but I absolutely love it! I surprised my husband for his birthday by doing this project while he was on a business trip. :)

Other than mounting these boxes to the studs, this project was built exclusively with my Kreg Jig. I drilled all of the adjustable shelving holes with a nifty Rockler Jig-It shelving jig - wish it had been the Kreg shelving jig, but I bought mine before Kreg came out with theirs. The Rockler one works great - I just love Kreg's stuff so I'm sure theirs is awesome too.  ;)

I begged Kreg to let me buy their new circular saw rip cut product early for this project, but they said no.  :-(  Bummer because I saw Ana using hers and was so jealous!  I had to rip all of my plywood the old fashioned way on the floor with my circular saw and lots of clamps.  Yuck!

This time around, I used birch plywood.  I used white pre-drilled melamine for both of my daughters closets (brag post here), but I didn't like working with that stuff.  Too sharp, slippery and HEAVY.  I did our spare bedroom closet with pine 1x12 boards a few months back. I think I liked working with the pine best..

After a few months, I purchased a bunch of Closetmaid Fabric Bins/Drawers and they look so good!

Built from Plan(s)
Tower Based Master Closet System
Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
none
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

ferbit

Mon, 03/26/2012 - 18:00

My husband has more room on his side of the closet so his boxes are 16.5" deep. I think that's a bit too deep, but I was trying to use existing wood that had already been cut for shelving on that side. Heavy to hang though. :)

On my side of the closet, the depth is 14.5" deep.

The rods are awesome! Super cheap at The Container Store. You buy them in 2-foot, 3-foot or 4-foot lengths and they cut them on site for you. I posted hyperlinks to the rods and the rod hanging hardware on one of my other brag posts. Love them!

felicia (not verified)

Sat, 11/10/2012 - 17:23

Your closet looks great. How did you get the unit to float on the wall?

Rhea

Thu, 05/16/2013 - 15:00

The closet is amazing. Yesterday I finally took off the builder installed shelf and dowel. Took a while, still need to patch up the drywall. I am now research to get the closet renovation started. I have tons of questions.
I understand that the shelves itself were attached by kreg jig holes. How do I hang the shelves on the wall?

jyothianil

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 06:47

Yours closets are awesome. Can you please advice as i am a newbee.

White closets: For the white closets we buy the regular plywood from Home depot and then do primer and paint. Can you please advice on the primer and the paint I should use to make it white color.

Wood closets: I like the wood color closets. Do we need to do any polish. What sheets should we buy in home depot to make wood color closets. What are our options for wood color closets

Thank you

ferbit

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 11:16

Rhea, take a look at Ana's kitchen cabinet plans and look at how she braces them along the back. That's what you screw through into the studs. To make it easier, I screwed in a scrap 2x2 into the studs at JUST below where I wanted the closet shelves to go (sort of like a temporary shelf). Then I carefully set the closet box on my temporary shelf and screwed it into the studs.

Also, if you click on my username, I explain how I hang them in a bit more detail in one of my daughter's closet makeovers. :)

ferbit

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 11:24

Hi jyothianil,

I have done both actually. I did both of my daughter's closets using pre-peg-hole-drilled white melamine from HD. You can get it in two widths and it saves you a ton of time not having to drill all of those holes. A few things to consider... Melamine is HEAVY and a total pain to work with. The edges are sharp after being cut and it slips everywhere when trying to kreg-jig it together. But it's DONE once it's put together...

On two other closets, I just used ripped sheets of birch plywood or 1x12 sheets of pine. I didn't finish mine, but I probably should have. It doesn't snag the clothes, but it does create dust. If I had at least put one coat of poly on, it would have eliminated a lot of the dust that collects on the clothes.

If you want to paint them white, I would just use some sort of primer and any white paint. It's all personal preference, but I would get semi-gloss or gloss white paint because it won't show fingerprints and clothes will slide on and off the shelves easier.