Master Closet – Final Reveal

Today’s the day I bet you thought would never come (you and me both!).  Here is the finished master closet that we started back in October.  All the specifics are below the pictures.

New flooring, new paint, new custom cabinets, new light fixture – the only thing remaining from the original closet is the baseboards which we reused.  We lost a lot of floor space, but gained a ton of storage – more than I was expecting.  All the drawers have stuff in them, but most aren’t close to being full.  You can also see that we still have a lot of hanging space available and a lot more stuff could be stored on the top shelves, if needed.  For the most part, the left side is His and the right side is Hers, but there are sections that we are sharing.

The first cabinet on the right is the shallowest since it is right in front of the door (which is thankfully a pocket door).

Since we have extra hanging space that isn’t being used, we have been keeping our laundry hampers in the first bottom section.  We started a matching cabinet in the bathroom, right outside the closet, which will eventually have built in hamper drawers whenever we finally finish it.  For now, this is working out well and is better than the floor ;p

There was originally 2 cut outs for the breaker boxes, but (go figure) we had a breaker fail so David had to take the cover off the breaker box to replace it.  We knew that might be an issue at some point – just not this soon.  They’re not pretty, but if we ever hang clothes there, they won’t be visible.

I chose blue crystal knobs for the top 2 drawers on the rear cabinet.  They tend to look purple depending on the light.

The bathroom still has the original linen trim color which quite a contrast to the white closet.

Chrome closet rods are surprisingly expensive, but they look nice and are sturdy.

In leu of the old florescent fixture, we now have a chrome fixture with 4 100W Reveal bulbs which give the room (and our clothes) a more natural color light.

The crown molding matches what is throughout the rest of the house.

In addition to the breaker boxes, I also had the water heater control and coax cable box to design and build around.

The water heater control just involved drilling a hole in the side of the first cabinet for the wires, then mounting it to the inside of the cabinet.

The coax box is hidden behind shelves which leaves it still accessible, but out of sight.  I could put the cover back on it, but you have to get on your knees to be able to see it anyway.

The carpet was replaced with wood tile which will not show the wear that the carpet would and is easier to clean.  David did pretty good with the herringbone pattern!

To see the progress from the beginning, start Here.

So, would I do it again?  It would depend.  Obviously, it would be a lot easier the second time around, but it was a lot of work.  I would look at trying to customize stock cabinet boxes first to see how the price would compare.  The white looks really nice, especially in a closet this size, but I probably would pick a different color.  White isn’t the best choice for a room that sees a lot of lint and dust.  Anything on our shoes ends up on the shelves despite the fact that our closet is about the farthest room into the house.  I think I would do a wood stain, but that would significantly add to the cost and time involved since better lumber would have to be used.  I do plan to build storage for The Kid’s closet and the pantry, but those won’t be anywhere near the scale of this project.

Regardless, I like how it turned out.  It’s not perfect, but most people won’t see what I know is there.  Most of all, it’s functional and I designed and built it.

 

Here are the details:

Room Size:  12′ deep x 7’6″ wide with 10′ ceilings

Cabinets: 10′ tall with crown molding.  First cabinet on the right is 14″ deep.  Rear cabinet is 18″ deep.  All other cabinets are 20″ deep.  Cabinet boxes are made of sanded plywood.  Trim is primed MDF boards.  Drawers are made of poplar and MDF boards with sanded plywood bottoms.

Crown Molding and Baseboards:  Woodgrain Distribution

Flooring:   Style Selections Serso Wheat Tile with Mapei Chamois Grout

Walls:  Behr Premium Plus Ultra Eggshell in Salt Glaze (PPU12-11)

Trim and Cabinets:  Behr Premium Plus Ultra Satin in Silky White (PPU7-12)

Drawer Slides:  Gliderite

Drawer Pulls:  Hickory Hardware Dew Bar Cabinet Pull P3698 in Frosted Chrome

Drawer Knobs:  30mm Diamond Crystal Knobs in Blue

Closet Rods:  Chrome from Lowe’s

Lighting:  Kenroy Home Marilyn 4-Light Island Light in Chrome

 

I think that’s everything.  Stay tuned for updates on all the painting and updates we’ve been working on elsewhere in the house. . .