How to design and build a wardrobe

Building a proper wardrobe is like building a home. Indeed, you should think of it like a home, because it is something you're going to live in. It must be comfortable and suit all your needs.

Edith Head


Now ain't that the truth? In daily life a well designed wardrobe saves you time and money. Gone will be the mornings spent rushing around trying to locate your grey trousers, or your red polo neck sweater. Gone will be the days of finding your new pink silk Laura Ashley dress crushed on the floor under an avalanche of winter shoes. Everything will have a place. Oh the dream was so sweet. And it is finally here.



After almost 5 years of looking for a wardrobe company that would design and build my dream wardrobe, without me needing to sell a vital organ to pay for it, I came across this post The View Along the Way - Closet reveal .

And my eyes were opened to the possibilities. I could design and build my own wardrobe. Brilliant!
Why had I never considered this before?

So off to work I went.

Step one: Cull your wardrobe contents.
By far the hardest part of the whole process. Now is the time to discard any item that is too well worn to be seen in public again, anything stained, misshaped, unflattering, or just plain ugly. This includes shoes, belts, handbags, and accessories.

Stocktake whatever is left and decide what should be grouped together.  Business clothes, leisure wear, etc. I went with a simple tops, bottoms, long items, shoes, bags, underwear, folded items, and miscellaneous things (bathing suit, sarongs, gloves, etc).

Step 2 Decide on your design.
Pinterest is the place for this pleasant task. I drew my plan on some math book grid paper. I measured my wardrobe area and wrote the dimensions onto the outside lines. Then I drew up spaces for each type of item from my stocktake list. When calculating the area, you need to consider how long a space you'll need. Include the length of the hanging garment from the rail, including the hanger itself. Do not measure from the top of the space. You'll need room to put the hanger on and off  the rail with ease.

Step 3 Engage the Labour.
Now was the time to convince The Bloke that he should abandon the half-done garage storage project (Build a garage storage unit) and move his carpentry skills into the wardrobe.
If you are thinking you or your husband /partner don't have the skills for this project, add a 'yet' to this thought. While The Bloke is very handy with metal and engines, until the kitchen cabinets (Building a retro inspired kitchen shelving unit) he hadn't done a lot of woodwork other than basic stuff like fencing (just nailing in place straight cut boards). Once I showed him the wardrobe post he thought he could do it.

Step 4 Buy / hire a router.
A router made a huge difference to how professional this job looked. The router cuts out a space in the wood into which you slot the shelf. This makes the unit look like one complete object rather than several pieces stuck together. We bought our router from Bunnings for about $90.
It did take a bit of practice to get the hang of using it. The Bloke recommends clamping a board onto the piece you are about work on. This means you can rest the router against the board and cut a nice straight line.

The router creates the space for the shelf to slot into the upright side. Once its filled and painted it looks like one piece. Can't emphasis enough what a difference this made to the end result.

Step 5 Measure twice, cut once.
This old adage is vital if you want to avoid martial disharmony and any swearing or throwing of small pieces of equipment (or large ones for that matter).
Again make sure to measure your longest item of clothing to be hung so whatever you have decided to put into that area, the section is made long enough so the clothes don't drape on the floor. Don't forget to allow space for the item to be moved on and off the railing.

Step 6 Make your wardrobe.
The Bloke cut all the pieces according to our measurements and then added the routing slots. He used glue and screws to secure the shelves. Right angle brackets were used to attach the shelving units to the wall.
The other thing that made a big difference to the end result was, again, a tip from The View Along the Way Closet make-over. We attached to the front face of the units a 1 1/4 inch strip of cut pine to give it that chunky solid look. What a difference that made when I compare it to the garage unit (Build a garage storage unit).

Step 7 Fill and paint.
We used plaster to fill any gaps or holes. Any nail or screws were tapped in (or screwed in) so they sat below the surface of the wood and were covered with plaster. Once dry, I sanded the excess off and painted the whole thing.  One undercoat and two top coats.  This is a long tedious process and in reflection I should have done the undercoat before the wood was cut up as it would have been so much faster.

And voila...dream wardrobe complete. It was worth every second of work. After a while I did add some wire baskets and as many hooks as I could to store all those little items that never seem to have a place, like fabric flower brooches and fascinators and long beads, and nail polish, and toe separators and on and on...

Sadly when my mobile was stolen most of my photos of the building process were lost (along with all my fiji holiday snaps. Whaaaaa) so only a few of the end result are here and one from the construction. But apart from the routing, we used the same technique as the garage storage unit, so check out that post for details.

The cost of this fabulous creation? Materials (wood, nails, brackets, screws) approx $570 + $90 for the router. The paint and filler we had left over from painting the interior walls. Quite a substantial saving on the commercial wardrobe that would have cost several thousand dollars.

A few wire baskets for holding my purse collection. These were screwed to the free wall and have been soooo useful.

The two free standing units were free from a friend. I have painted one white which turned out better than I had thought, so I must get on to painting the other one!

 I already had the white cane baskets from a unit I used elsewhere in the house. They fit quite well, but will eventually be changed out for black fabric ones.

Hangers that are all the same would be great and make the whole space look more uniform...one day.

This photo is a reflection in the mirror covering the inside wall. This wall couldn't be used for anything else as it backs onto the cavity for the sliding door. The mirror is great for making the space look huge and, of course for checking out my outfit for the day.

The blokes shoe storage...I take no responsibility for this.

So very happy with the end result. A place for everything.

I'm pretty lucky to have such a big space. I'd just like to say after the stocktake and clear out The Bloke has more clothes than me!!!!

But not as many handbags...

Pebble and paving garden path

"But circumstances change. Small causes lead to large effects. New paths are added.
And all anyone can do...is choose".

Kelseyleigh Reber

There is most often that one spot in your garden that really annoys you right? And each time you see it you are reminded that you STILL haven't done anything about it. You berate yourself and swear to rectify it immediately...shortly...in the very near future...next year.

The pathway leading to our lovely new deck is that spot for me. When we moved here it was an old cracked asphalt walkway. Over the years and as the rest of the house became more renovated that path began to look worse and worse.

I decided to concrete over the already defined space. And so a friend dug the asphalt up in preparation. Then I began the tedious process of finding a tradesman and getting quotes. When I finally managed to find someone willing to so such a small area, it was way outside my budget. I thought about laying the concrete myself, and was working up my courage when another idea saved me.

I was looking at photos of the garden of a friend. One of the photo's was of her pathway around the side of her house and I was instantly captured. The photo showed ten large paving slabs laid in a row and surrounded by pebbles. This looked easy, surely it couldn't be that easy? I haven't wasted all this time being annoyed about something that could be sorted in a day could I?

Yes I could.

So off to the landscape depot (Central landscape, sorry Bunnings, it was just a price and convenience thing!)
As luck would have it, there were some end-of-line pavers going for $5 each, rather then $14.95 each that I'd seen at other stores. Hoo-ray!

The pathway is quite wide so we decided on two columns of pavers to help fill the space. As these were end-of-line, we could only get 13 pavers, so had to plan our design around this limitation.

As the area was already defined and mostly flat we only needed to give it a bit of a smooth over to get rid of  any bumps in the ground. If you don't have a set space you would have to dig it out and use some kind of compactor to flatten out the earth. But I'm no expert so I can only tell you what I did.

I covered the whole area in Weedmat making sure I overlapped the pieces so there was no space for weeds to grow through. Around the parameter edges is more difficult, and in the end you have to accept that you will need to pull out a few weeds that push up there.

Next The Bloke set out a string line to make sure the pavers were equal distance from the concrete edging that was already there, and from each other. I do love symmetry.

Then the pavers were laid on their allotted spaces.  We used one bag of finely crushed gravel to lay under the pavers to make sure they were completely level and there was no wobble when stood upon. A level really helped this process and it was the part that took the bulk of the time.

Once this was complete we shovelled on the pebbles. We used something called Hoki-Poki, which are quite small multi-coloured river pebbles. I had read that the smaller the pebble the easier on bare feet.
Well here in New Zealand we are often barefooted so small pebbles it was.

A going over with the rake to smooth out the pebbles and it was done.

What a difference! I did wonder if the pebbles would float with heavy rain, or if the pavers would move, but they have been down now for around six weeks and we have had torrential rain and the path is still looking great. I don't use weed spray due to the dog and the children spending a lot of time in the garden, especially now it is summertime here, so I have had to pull a few weeds, but not many. I may have spend 10 minutes in total over the last six weeks on weeding.

The finished path (the few dark spots are bark from the garden beds caused by the dog running through chasing the ball. Annoying, but great job for the kids when they want to earn a little cash, they come out and pick it up and throw it back into the garden.

 

 

The before shot is not available due to a technical hitch... but just imagine a cracked, weed-filled path so unattractive that visitors chose to walk across the lawn instead of using it!!

 

 

The area covered in Weedmat, and if you look closely, a string line down the middle of the path.

   Laying the first pavers on top of the crushed gravel.

Garage revealed

Plan your progress carefully; hour-by hour, day-by-day, month-by-month. Organized activity and maintained enthusiasm are the wellsprings of your power.

                                                                                                             Paul Meyer


This, I'm discovering, is the key to getting something finished. I am excellent at the inspiration and planning stages of a new project, but I lack in the follow-through-till-its-done department.

I spend more time looking at ideas on Pinterest and other people's blogs than getting down to the business itself.

What I need is to plan, then act, and most important of all, not stop until it is done.

With this new self-awareness and a renewed commitment to live in a tidy organised home where I can find a pair of scissors without losing my sanity, I have completed one area of the garage revamp.

When I say 'I', that should be a 'We', I could not have done this without The Bloke.

The whole project took quite a long time, because despite my best intentions, I was side-tracked by a wardrobe revamp half-way through! You'll see the wardrobe in a later post. I am beyond excited about having that completed!

But back to the garage.





   Drum roll please....




the finished area

 and a little reminder of the horrific beginning.   


words fail me...truly

How we got there...

First step was to THROW AWAY THE JUNK! This step cannot be over emphasised.

I bought the plastic 60L storage bins from The Warehouse, after seeing a design I liked on Pinterest. Once I had the bins, The Bloke and I were able to design a made-to-measure storage unit that would store all our bits and pieces in an orderly (and findable) way. I took the opportunity to add in a craft area which moves this activity away from the dining table.


Next we bought the pre-cut boards from Bunning's hardware store, the number of boards being determined by our plan. Just make sure you both count and agree on the number, as somehow we came back with one too few. Seriously annoying.

Then Miss B went to work pre-painting the boards. I highly recommend this step, even though waiting to start putting them together is really hard. For a few of the boards we skipped this step and it made painting at the end much more time consuming as each rectangle had to be painted instead of one flat plank.

Miss B pre-painting the Hardi-planks (plain pre-cut boards from Bunnings)

The Bloke cut the shelves, and using a router,  made a cut out for each shelf. He slid the shelves into place and used screws to reinforce them. He made four units like this, then attached two units together to make two complete double units. I wanted the craft area to sit between the two units for symmetry and to give the craft area a sense of containment.


the first unit put together

 To give the unit that lovely solid look, The Bloke attached 20mm x 10mm facia to the front of the unit with nails. This is a tip I gleaned from The view along the way blog  and it makes a huge difference to the finished look without a big cost.

I then went around with the hammer and punch to knock the nails in for plastering. If you haven't done this before, it is super simple. Line the punch up with the nail, then bang it with the hammer until the nail sits just below the surface of the wood. Fill the indentation with plaster, wait for it to dry, and sand off for a nice smooth painting surface.

facia nailed in place

                  

 hammer and punch

                                      

plastered and ready for sanding.

With the first of the twin units completed and attached to the wall, I painted a top coat of creamy white paint with a small roller. This was the most tedious part, and again I was very glad to have undercoated (most of) the boards before the unit was assembled!

the finished unit

 Along the way I found a few additional items for use as hanging storage. I painted the lot the same shade of white as the shelving unit, (and the wall too) this helps tie the whole area together creating a cohesive feel.

cheap (read ugly) wooden shelf from the charity shop for $2



        a single draw from an old set of draws too damaged for use, I levered off the front
facia and handle then sanded and painted it.

Both units were attached to the wall, and a store bought wooden counter top situated between them for my craft area. I wanted a counter top wide enough to lay out fabric etc. This countertop is the same type we used in the kitchen unit, so I was able to account for the size in the design.

The counter top is 600mm deep, and 2200mm long. I sat at a chair to check the height would be right for me to sit and sew here. I reused some cheap shelving we already had, and another old chest of draws that was surplus to requirements in the main house for additional storage.

I would like to paint the draws and units white to match, but that will have to wait.

the craft area with a place-holder top

 Then it was a matter of mounting the shelves, putting away all the craft supplies into the draws, and attaching the counter top once all the painting was complete.

\

    the single draw with some tin pails from the charity
shop $1 each, a ceramic egg holder (free from a neighbour) for beads and a glass jar for paint brushes.

Painted wooden shelf

huge glass jar (charity shop again!) for wool

A small fault in the design...where's the power socket???

Yes, don't forget to plan a source of power for sewing machine, hot glue gun, etc. I'll have to run a long lead over the top of the unit and down the wall instead.

the craft area

everything in its place.

I am so happy with how this area turned out. Most of all it gave us the confidence and skills to
tackle other areas of our home.

A revamped desk for Miss B's room

I've been looking for a desk for Miss B's room.

And I found a super cute retro wooden school desk from the 70's or 80's on an auction site in New Zealand called trademe.

It needed a little work.

So to work Miss B and I went. The first step was to clean off the dirt and spiderwebs and stickers. Miss B was happy to deal with the stickers, but the spiderwebs were Mum's job.

Next we sanded off the felt tip marks and sticker residue. I used an electric sander because I had one, but hand sanding would be just as good.

 Its already looking better.

I decided to undercoat with some budget all purpose white paint I already had and then to spray a top coat with gloss white so there wouldn't be brush or roller marks visible.

I rolled as much of the undercoat as I could then used a brush for the corners. As it is going to be subjected to the rough and tumble of Miss B, I did three lots of undercoat, then a light sand.

After the undercoat had dried I used this brand of spray paint ( this can says clear gloss but I used the white gloss for this project).

Two coats of top coat and the job was done. This is the finished article.

The stripe on the side is a light effect, I swear!
Miss B is delighted and so am I. The whole project took 3 days but it was worth it. All Miss B's art and stationary supplies fit under the lid which lifts up. A great bonus in the never-ending battle for domestic organisation.

See you next time.

How to turn an old wood bookcase into a stylish classic.

February garage month seems to have extended into March and on into April.


As it is taking so long, due to work and life getting in the way,  I thought a smaller project to revitalize my sense of achievement was in order.


 I have an old pine bookcase that has been in almost every room in our house at one time or another.  It's last incarnation was  in my wardrobe. However The Bloke has been set to work in there after a bit of blog surfing inspiration, so the bookcase has moved by default into our upstairs lounge.


The problem is that it just doesn't go with the decor and it looks frumpy and tired. Not to mention it seems to be a junk magnet where everything that doesn't have a defined home ends up, so it's messy too.


I'd had enough of looking at it and decided to take action.


Off to my second home Bunnings hardware store for some white gloss spray paint I tottered.


I used a paint with a primer and top coat in one.

This is the brand I used. I chose gloss white.

This is the bookcase when it was in my wardrobe.

I cleaned it really well but I didn't sand it back first, and I didn't undercoat it. Just sprayed the gloss white all-in-one primer and top coat. If I was doing it again, I would undercoat with regular white interior/exterior paint, as it would be cheaper. 

This is the first spray coat going on. 

I just kept adding coats until I was happy with the coverage. I did three coats in total. 

Here is the finished article

Then comes the fun part...styling.

and there it is, a classic white bookcase. See you next time.

February is garage month

Where did January go? I swear it was here one minute and gone the next. Did I make the most of it? Do I even remember it?

Oh dear, well I'll just move on to February then...

To ensure I'm making the most of this month, it's garage sorting time.

Our garage seems to harbor everything but my car. Each time I fight my way through the piles of random junk that accumulates here to get to the laundry, I feel my blood pressure rise. Something has to be done.

Oh Pinterest, my muse, my inspiration,  my husband's nemesis,  what ideas do you have for me and my garage?

Ahhhhh...perfect.

Here is a wee peek of the garage  before and the work progressing.

Firstly this is the Pinterest inspiration from Sawdust and Paperscraps blog.

This is our garage before shot...horrifying...

Are you feeling my pain? Out went a trailer load to the rubbish tip, another to the charity shop.
The rest was sorted into like catagories, picnic supplies, Christmas decorations, Halloween,
photo albums, craft supplies, children's things I can't part with, etc. Each catagory was placed into a 60L plastic see-through bin (or several bins in the case of Christmas decorations). Now the storage unit is being built to house those bins.

I also really wanted a place for my sewing machine and craft supplies. There is just nowhere for a dedicated space inside the house, so the garage it is. But more on the craft space another time.

Here are a few pics of the workers (The Bloke and Miss B) along with the work-in-progress. Stay tuned for the finished result by the end (hopefully) of Feb.


                                      Miss B hard at work pre-painting the Hardy panels

A blank canvas

A hint of what's to come.

Can't wait to see the end result!