How to build a closet organizer {post 3} Building drawers
I love drawers. I do not love drawer glides. Drawer glides are going to be the death of me. It’s going to have to be a write in on my death certificate. Cause of death: drawer glides. But those come later…first we need to build some drawers.
I used to build drawers like I did in Pip’s storage bed. I don’t think I will put them together like that again. In this version I assembled the sides and then nailed on the bottom, whereas for the storage beds the bottom was inset. The only cost I had for these was the 1×2 drawer faces, glides, and the knobs–all the rest was scrap plywood from other builds!! Love. That.
So to build the drawers the easy way, first you cut the boards so that the sides are the width you want the drawer to be. Then the front and back pieces are the length you want the drawer to be minus your (plywood width x 2). So I want a drawer that is 14 width x 15.5 length. My sides would be 14″ and my front and back with 3/4″ plywood would be 14 also (15.5-1.5= 14).
To assemble this quickly, I modified an idea I saw on Pregnant With Power Tools. She uses scrap wood to make a jig for holding your wood square while you assemble. I had the idea to use some of these Rockler assembly squares screwed down to my workbench instead. Use Pregnant with Power Tool’s idea if you don’t have the Rockler squares. If I didn’t have the Rockler version, I would definitely build the scrap wood jig (being sure it is absolutely square) and save it after for future projects. Very handy!
How to build a closet organizer {post 1} The plans
Oh my gosh the glitches today! I’m working hard on Pip’s closet organizer, but all sorts of tiny things (some not as tiny) keep happening. The final thing was when my hearing protection snapped in half as I was putting it on my head and it cut me a little bit. I had been wondering lately if they make them with mp3 capabilities–guess I’ll be looking into that really soon! Until then, I’m going to begin the How to Build a Closet Organizer series with Post 1: The Plans.
Now I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Don’t rely solely on these drawings and chicken scratches to build your own! So often I’ll catch a mistake I’ve made on the drawings right before I cut and don’t take the time to correct it–or I change a part completely. This is to show what I begin with. You would want to customize this for your own project anyway…
First off, I did play around with some different scenarios on the Easy Closet website. Pip’s closet is not very big, so there weren’t a lot of options, but it was still fun. I’m keeping it in mind when I redo my closet. And I researched how Ana White did her closet organizer as well as followed along with Sandra as she built her executive closet.
This time I chose to use graph paper to sketch it out. Ridiculously, often times I’ll be surprised when the proportions of my project don’t jive with what I’ve got in my mind and it’s all because what I’ve got in my mind is my sketch. My very primitive sketch. Graph paper gives me a much more accurate depiction.
I should have DIM {Done It Myself}
Curtains for Pip’s room. It should not have been hard–I decided to spend the money rather than the time, and buy them rather than DIY. OMG…I should have bought some sheets and stitched them up myself!!!
I have bought and returned 3 sets of curtains until I found magic #4. And the same number of rods. What made it so hard? The criteria:
- black-out lining on the back
- Grommets on top (so they would take up little space when pulled open–she has a great view!)
- cover the 84″ span of window
- Raspberry color
In the end I had to compromise–these are not black-out lined and they are fruit punch colored (which I ended up liking better than the raspberry anyway). I’m probably going to add the lining myself later. Due to the grommets, they just barely cover her windows, but they do and they should be open when anyone else sees them. I found them at Hobby Lobby:
When I planned the built-ins on each side of the windows, I left a couple of inches between them and the edge of the window molding so that when the windows are open, they have room to come over and not obstruct the view. The plan was to connect a rod to each cabinet for the curtains. It worked just like I imagined! I used a closet rod I cut down with a hack saw to fit the width. I thought that was going to be way harder than what it was. Pleasant surprise!
And some of these closet rod sockets. The open one with the lip allows the rod to be removed to clean the curtains.
Used painter’s tape to keep them in place while I screwed them in.
It’s coming together now! I’m working hard on getting one room in this house completely finished to the point where I walk in and there isn’t a single project I’ve got in mind for it.
How to sew a Ruffle Flower Pillow
Ok, the New Year is here and I’ve got my resolution in place: set small goals and write down how I am going to work toward them daily. So often I get overwhelmed when I’m looking at the big picture—once I wrote down everything, even the really small things, I wanted to get done in every room in our house AND outside—O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D. !!!
So my current short term goal is Pip’s room. My goal is to have it done—minus repainting her desk and building a hutch for it—by the end of January. I still need to map out the month with the baby steps to get there, but I did one of them today without the map.
I was seeing these all over the place while I was Christmas shopping and I knew she would love to have one for her room. However, I was NOT paying $25 for one!
Here’s how you can avoid doing that as well. Mine was free because I already had a pillow form stored away and leftover fleece from making Pip a robe years ago (pack ratting paid off this time…)
You need: Read More…
Four legs + trim + paint = brand “new” dresser
I am so happy with how Pip’s dresser turned out! I didn’t do anything too drastic to it, but I think that the difference is dramatic. Let’s see if you feel the same. Before:
And now:
Remember that I mentioned going to the Pottery Barn site to be inspired by some of their options. This is the dresser that I felt I could somewhat replicate:
Potter Barn Caroline dresser
I considered adding some trim to the drawers as well, but in the end decided to skip that detail. I also considered keeping the original knobs which are just like the Pottery Barn version, but the new drawer pulls match the storage bed hardware. And I liked the contrast of color they add.
Here’s the process. Read More…
Pretty in Pink {Pottery Barn inspired} Bedside Table: The Reveal!
Whew! Finally we are at the reveal for this project! Life has gotten in between me and the final coat of Polyacrylic for this one. But now here it is, all set in its place in Pip’s room:
Pretty in Pink {Pottery Barn inspired} Bedside table post 3
I hate waiting for glue to dry!!! The bedside table is assembled, but it is upside down and clamped all over the place, so I can’t see the end result for another 7 hours and 20 minutes–and even then I might wait until tomorrow morning. The glue is in there pretty far and the stability of the table depends on the glue that is drying right now. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
First I built the drawers. These are very small drawers, so nothing heavy is really going to be able to fit in here. I put them together with nails and glue.
Once the drawer is assembled, take a finish sander to it and round off the edges and smooth the tops. Make sure the bottom is smooth as well--it will glide on the wood glides.
Pretty in Pink {Pottery Barn inspired} Bedside table post 2
So we’re about 99.99% sure we don’t have raccoons in the garage attic. Two nights and nothing came down, but KT commented on the last post that baby powder can deter raccoons. Which is what we sprinkled on the ladder rungs to see if anything came down or not. But My Man went up and looked before he screwed the cover on this time and nothing was out of place or different from the last look-see. Disaster averted. We are excited to try out the baby powder if we ever have a problem again. Thanks KT!
So I’ve been able to make some headway on the bedside table.
First I assembled the table top with a kreg jig and lots of clamps. The plywood is always just the slightest bit narrower than my 1x2s, so on this project I was trying to get an even top with lots of clamps and using scrap wood to push the plywood down so I’d get it all even. That still resulted in a bump between the two.
We interrupt this PB knockoff…
I got some work done on the bedside stand yesterday with some drawn up plans:
Disclaimer: Dimensions change as I build! Especially on this one, when I am using up scraps of plywood. I make the project fit the wood I've got.
But in the middle of making some of the cuts, My Man came out to see what I was up to and discovered this:
Pretty in Pink {Pottery Barn inspired} Bedside table post 1
I’m procrastinating again. That usually means I’m unsure about something. A few days ago it was finding 2×2 boards that were NOT furring strips. I don’t know how anyone finds a straight furring strip, they certainly don’t exist in my corner of the world. I’m going for this look:
Pottery Barn Cottage Smart Bedside Table from PBTeen.com
I need the 2x2s for the corners. I thought about cutting a 2×4 down to size, but I don’t have a table saw and cutting a small strip like that presents its own challenges with a circular saw.
Square dowels? Couldn’t find it in the 2×2 (or 1.5″ x 1.5″ dimensions) I needed.
Use pressure treated deck rails? Prefer not to use treated lumber, even if it will be painted.
Finally found these poplar 2x2x3′ poplar blanks in the hobby board section of Lowes for just over $5: Read More…
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The only plywood I use
Pink Toe Projects (click on the picture to get to the post)
Build your own crates:
Under Sink Storage:
Closet Organization:
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Pottery Barn Statton knock off in twin:
Pottery Barn Inspired Bedside Table:
Twin Storage Bed with Drawers:
Hide washer & dryer hookups:
Built-In Cabinet and Shelves:
Entryway Bench:
Board & Batten:
Laundry room cabinet & hutch:
Painting the dining room table:
Leaning wall shelves:
Thrift store lamp revamp:
Refinishing door hardware:
The $20 (or not) storage closet door:
Ruffle Flower Pillow:
Luggage Tag Tutorial:
TeePee Tutorial:
Fresh Eggs sign tutorial:
