Desk in a Closet

Hey there! Sooooo, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that most of us don’t have enough closet space. It’s a common problem, right? Speaking for this house, the first floor is decidedly lacking in storage, which we are seeking to remedy. We currently keep out-of-season jackets and coats on a rack in the basement, kitchen appliances in the hall closet, and the back of the basement door serves as our family’s “command center.” Be that as it may, we did rip out one closet in the foyer because it was so ill-placed. The bi-fold doors took up way too much room when opened, causing a lock jam where the garage door and half-bathroom door are, too. So we made that closet into a mudroom of sorts.

Now, upstairs…upstairs is a different story. Every bedroom has a huge closet with a built-in shelving system. Yes, the clanging metal bi-fold doors with 1970s hardware are atrocious, but for a house without any walk-in closets, we can’t complain about the storage upstairs. The kids’ closets have plenty of room for their clothes and toys, as well as books. The guest room is no different; however, we just didn’t use it as much. We had our winter coats in there, but when the need arose for a proper office space (see yesterday’s post), those quickly became banished to the basement laundry area, and we got to work.

So one day when I was out with the kids, my husband demo’d that closet. He took off the bifold doors, ripped up that section of carpeting and replaced it with extra vinyl we had, and took down the closet system. I was so pleasantly surprised and happy he started the project that I couldn’t really complain that he didn’t take a “before” shot for the blog. So here are the doors from my daughter’s closet, which are identical to the ones we removed from the guest room. Once the doors were off, I was absolutely amazed at how much square footage we gained. It probably equaled about 20 square feet, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but wow! It really opened up the room.

So after the whole thing was bare, I scoured thrift stores for a matching set of filing cabinets and found 2 perfectly great (albeit brown) ones for 10 bucks. And lo and behold, they fit! Just so you know, this never happens to me. After I danced a happy jig, my husband cut a piece of plywood to fit on top and voila! We had a desk. Then we decided to retro-fit the closet system that had already been in there to save money. It works. Here’s where we stand now. (Mind you, this space isn’t completely done…I just can’t ever seem to “reveal” a finished space here on Home Made Modern. Sometimes “good enough for now” is the stage of things for a looooong time around here, so who knows when I’d ever get to show it to you if I waited until it was officially finished.)

Beauty shot from the front

The mess I had to clear off the desk in order to take said beauty shot…hey, just keepin’ it real.

Closeup of the floor–We need to finish the raw edge of the carpeting, but the extra vinyl we had left over from our foyer really worked well in this space.

Closeup of the filing cabinets–These were originally brown with chrome hardware but of course I had to change them. I sprayed the cabinets white and the hardware oil-rubbed-bronze. Much better!

Another beauty shot from the side

Was able to get a basic, unfinished bulletin board at a thrift store for a buck. I sprayed it white (of course), covered the cork in fabric, and attached nailhead trim.

Love these bins from Target! They hold our stapler, push pins, paper clips, and business cards.

Here’s a larger shot of the room so you can see how the desk is tucked in there. From this angle, you can imagine what the bi-fold doors would’ve looked like on, and see how much space we gained. I’d love to get that chair recovered, and change the whole scheme to blues and oranges, rather than navy and pink. I still like the navy and pink color combo, but swapping the pink for orange makes the most sense since this is a shared space with my husband. Anyhoo, here’s the panoramic shot:

And here’s a less-than-beautiful shot of everything that’s NOT right about the space yet.

So that’s where we stand for now. We don’t miss the closet at all, and really feel like we gained some hardworking square footage! I’m sure I’ll keep you posted on our new business ventures. Until next time…