A big reveal - closet style!

My heart might be fluttering a bit right now. Whew! I have been waiting to post about this for a week now, and the time has finally come. There are still a few minor things that need to be taken care of, but overall, the project has been wrapped up.

Abbi's closet is finally done! Hip, hip, hooray. Three cheers...for a closet organizer? Sad, I know, but it really does bring me a lot of joy. The geeky organizer in me really gets off on this kind of stuff!

Now, the first catch? It couldn't cost a penny. Or at least not too many pennies! We used materials we already had, and I plan to sell the old white wire closet organizer, which will then bring our total to zero. Possibly with a little profit!

So first thing, uninstall the existing hideous closet organizer. Which really wasn't all that hard seeing as how half of the shelves were already falling out of the wall, causing giant holes in the drywall. A few things to note. See the "lovely" baseboard? Straight out of 1980, and even better, its actually plastic, not even wood. Ugh...shudder. And the hanging rod deserves a mention. Gotta love that brown plastic wrapped around the bar. The bar that doesn't actually reach across the closet...classic!
Next, mud the crap out of the closet. I mean this took a stupid amount of time, and is actually probably why this project took nearly a week to complete (I originally thought it would be a lovely "weekend project," ha ha!). I would say there were at least 20 considerable holes that needed to be filled, including one that was about 2x3 inches! Unreal!
Then came two coats of white, semi-gloss paint. Then baseboard installation. I know, I know, you all are thinking, "but why wouldn't she keep those fabulous brown baseboards?"
Garbage dump, here they come!
I don't have a picture of our work area, AKA our backyard, but it was pretty intense. We had Rob's sawhorses set up, and painted shelves everywhere. Basically any available surface was covered in some piece of wood, painted white.

And that was the key, white paint. We wanted to use things that we already had, in order to keep the costs down. We took down an old shelf from our closet. We used the existing piece that was already in Abbi's closet. Then we shopped friend's garages. My cousin had some wood to contribute to our little project. So overall we used 5 different types/grains/colors of laminate shelving. Mostly ones that were a wood veneer laminate. Slap a little white paint on those puppies, and who could ever tell now? Unfortunately we did have to buy the long piece on the left set of shelves, but that was our only cost.

Then Rob had to make little cleats to add support to the shelves. He made these out of MDF baseboard that he had picked up at a worksite. The company had ordered way too much baseboard, so Rob was able to take it all (rather than it getting put in the site dumpster). So we have enough baseboard to completely redo our main floor, and likely do the entire basement when the time comes to finish that as well. Plus, there are numerous lengths of little pieces like the ones below.
Next, install the shelves. Note to self (selves?). When installing shelves in a closet, it may be a good idea to check that the closet is square before cutting the shelves. Rob happily headed upstairs to install his freshly cut square shelves, only to discover the left side of the closet is out by 5/8's of an inch within a foot. Ouch! So there was much grumbling, and eventually, after much more grumbling, much cutting took place. He finally got them cut properly and installed, but this did not make for a happy carpenter. He said he would like to go back to 1979 (when our condo was built) and smack the so-called carpenter upside the head!

This is Rob's angry carpenter look...

Finally the small shelves were in, and Rob just had to put in the supports for the top shelf. We actually don't have the top shelf as of yet, but from another job site raid, Rob has another load of wood coming home. They are tearing down the old office at Rob's site, so the workers were allowed to raid it and take whatever they wanted. I'm excited to see what he scored.

And finally...just open the doors already...end the suspense...

The before again...
The new, and much improved, closet

Look at all that delicious shelving. Mmm...

The yummy closet bar, which incidentally, is just the old bar with the nasty brown plastic cover taken off, and a little hacksaw lovin.'

TOTAL COST: $9.76 Plus, a few incidentals that we will use on upcoming projects.

So all this occured because the West side neighbors offered us a free desk (Really, aren't women amazing. All this...from a desk!). So I thought I would do a quick tour of Abbi's room, changed around, all to accomodate this new desk. And actually, the set up makes much more sense now, and is much roomier.

The free desk and chair. It goes perfectly. And it is in awesome condition. Sometimes agreeing to take things before you see them is a risky thing, but this worked out great.

Her little bookcase area at the end of her bed. So cute.

Her two dressers. With the little mirror above, which also came from my cousins house, it almost makes a little vanity.

A cute little sign hanging over the desk that I picked up at Value Village for $6.99. The sign's purple background is almost identical to the paint color in her room. Which is made by Behr. Pixie Violet. 620B-4.

And I just had to show this adorable little night light that my cousin picked up for Abbi while she was down in the USA. So sweet!

And finally just a quick shot of the closet after I put everything back in it. Which could almost be the funnest part! The two top boxes are diaper boxes that I use to sort through Abbi's outgrown clothing, Giveaway, Consign, & Keepers. The bottom dresser holds some toys and craft items.
I am envisioning coordinating canvas bins, little tags on the front, funky little boxes.
Mmm, I might just be drooling!
So my final shout out to my superbly, incredibly, talented Husband. I dream this stuff up, he makes it happen - all the while I look cute in the director's chair.
And to my cousin, for having wonderful little finds like this in your garage. Can I come shopping sometime?

Did I mention I've already got sketches of the upcoming closets, and the shelves already ripped out? I know, it never ends! But I figure I'll at least give Rob the rest of the weekend off ;)