Hey guys - Happy Friday + Jummah Mubarak! On a side note - there are 3 days left to enter your penny projects for a chance to win $150 giftcard at Value Village/Savers!
So confession time - the unsettled-ness of the new house is driving me nuts! We've been here 2 months and there is still a ton left to unpack. You know that feeling where everything is disorganized and you don't know where to start? Yeah, that's been me for the last 6 weeks or so. In all fairness it's partly because there's nowhere to really put things away - we have a lot of space but not so much storage. But the fact that I'm a master procrastinator isn't helping matters either. I am SO ready to be rid of all the clutter.
So naturally I was really excited to finally check some storage off our to-do list last weekend: the linen closet. It's a small start, but it's a start!
When we moved in the closet was in pretty sad shape - gross yellowed paint and no shelving. You could see the patches where the previous owner had fixed up the drywall, presumably from ripping out the old shelves (which I'm guessing, from the state of the other closets, were pretty gross too).
Since there were no shelves I just piled a bunch of stuff in there, and for weeks I avoided opening the door in case everything fell out on me in an avalanche of bags :) So last weekend we finally got around to making it functional.
I thought about wire shelving vs solid shelves, and although wire shelves are airier, I'm just personally not a fan of the lines they create on fabrics - plus the solid shelves actually worked out cheaper.
We started with a quick paint job to freshen things up - a gorgeous blue grey called 'Light French Grey' by Behr. Then we got to work on the shelving - the hubs picked up 3 8ft-long 1x3s and cut them to size for new supports. I measured out the spacing for the shelves and then we attached the supports to the studs (pre-drilling the holes and then securing them with screws), checking that everything was somewhat level along the way.
I wanted the supports to look really neat so we also made sure the screws were sunken in a little, then I spackled all the holes. I also caulked the corners where the supports met up for a more seamless look.
Finally I gave the wood a light sanding and then painted out the supports to match the walls.
You can still see them a little but they blend in to the walls pretty well. After that we just placed the shelves on top - we had them pre-cut at Home Depot from 8 ft pieces of laminate shelving that they carry in the lumber section.
It turns out I made the top shelf a little too high - there's a ton of room up to the ceiling but the opening to the shelf isn't tall enough to put anything really big up there, but luckily there's enough room that I can still pile things up. I've already started putting a few things away.
This isn't everything that will be going in the closet so it's very misleading - it won't be quite this sparse for long :) But I LOVE when things are neat and organized so you can only imagine how I'm swooning over this linen closet :) I already had the iron holder, so all in all the supplies only cost us around $25 - not bad right? I can't wait to tackle some of the other closets!
So confession time - the unsettled-ness of the new house is driving me nuts! We've been here 2 months and there is still a ton left to unpack. You know that feeling where everything is disorganized and you don't know where to start? Yeah, that's been me for the last 6 weeks or so. In all fairness it's partly because there's nowhere to really put things away - we have a lot of space but not so much storage. But the fact that I'm a master procrastinator isn't helping matters either. I am SO ready to be rid of all the clutter.
So naturally I was really excited to finally check some storage off our to-do list last weekend: the linen closet. It's a small start, but it's a start!
When we moved in the closet was in pretty sad shape - gross yellowed paint and no shelving. You could see the patches where the previous owner had fixed up the drywall, presumably from ripping out the old shelves (which I'm guessing, from the state of the other closets, were pretty gross too).
Since there were no shelves I just piled a bunch of stuff in there, and for weeks I avoided opening the door in case everything fell out on me in an avalanche of bags :) So last weekend we finally got around to making it functional.
I thought about wire shelving vs solid shelves, and although wire shelves are airier, I'm just personally not a fan of the lines they create on fabrics - plus the solid shelves actually worked out cheaper.
We started with a quick paint job to freshen things up - a gorgeous blue grey called 'Light French Grey' by Behr. Then we got to work on the shelving - the hubs picked up 3 8ft-long 1x3s and cut them to size for new supports. I measured out the spacing for the shelves and then we attached the supports to the studs (pre-drilling the holes and then securing them with screws), checking that everything was somewhat level along the way.
Finally I gave the wood a light sanding and then painted out the supports to match the walls.
You can still see them a little but they blend in to the walls pretty well. After that we just placed the shelves on top - we had them pre-cut at Home Depot from 8 ft pieces of laminate shelving that they carry in the lumber section.
It turns out I made the top shelf a little too high - there's a ton of room up to the ceiling but the opening to the shelf isn't tall enough to put anything really big up there, but luckily there's enough room that I can still pile things up. I've already started putting a few things away.
This isn't everything that will be going in the closet so it's very misleading - it won't be quite this sparse for long :) But I LOVE when things are neat and organized so you can only imagine how I'm swooning over this linen closet :) I already had the iron holder, so all in all the supplies only cost us around $25 - not bad right? I can't wait to tackle some of the other closets!
Now can you give us a lesson in how you've folded everything so nicely? :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful Samaa!!! Funny, I've been fixing my linen closet too in our bathroom! :-)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a Martha Stewart closet. Dreamy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alyssa - that's like the ultimate compliment :)
DeleteI bet they had wire shelving in that closet. Is the door the same width as regular size bedroom doors. Trying to figure out how wide your closet is. Love the color choice. I just picked up a sample of that exact same color to try on a hutch. Your closet turned out beautiful! I love the idea of putting the iron and ironing board on the door. Do you mind if I steal that idea?!!! We have been in our house for a month and there are boxes still everywhere. Today we are going to work on the upstairs bathroom and there is a small linen closet up there that I decided needed to have the shelving redone. Your post is so timely! Thanks for the ideas.
ReplyDeleteThanks Caren - you're so sweet! The door is a little narrower than regular doors, but inside the closet I think it's about 3ft wide. And I'd love you to use any and all these ideas - pretty sure I saw the iron holder somewhere else first too, and that's the whole reason I share anything on this blog! I got my holder at Homesense but I'm sure they sell them at many stores. Mine was a little too wide to hold my iron so I just squeezed it together a little.
DeleteAnd I'd LOVE to see that hutch you mentioned - I bet it would look amazing in the french gray!
Seriously so pretty! I love the colors you used in there.
ReplyDeleteI really need to clean and organize my linen closet....this just gave me a little motivation. It looks so nice and organized!!!
ReplyDelete