Inside: How we used Ikea Brimnes dressers to convert a closet into built in cabinets for an office space.
So you know when you have a problem area in your home and the work it would take to actually come up with a plan and carry out said plan seems almost impossible but you know you have to follow through or you might actually drown in junk mail and craft supplies?
Yeah. That’s where I was when I showed you those awful before photos of my office. But I knew that if I publicly embarrassed myself it would hold me accountable and I’m happy to say that following my method to declutter this space has finally gotten me to the point of being able to decorate it in a way that inspires me an the biggest. hugest. change has officially occurred in my office and things are lookin’ up!
Yep!
We turned the standard closet in this room into a beautiful built in cabinet and shelves for all of my office and craft supplies and it is life changing!
You’ve got to see this transformation!
The Closet Before We Converted It To Office Storage
We started with this standard 70 inch wide closet. First we removed the doors and gave the interior walls of the closet a nice coat of neutral white paint.
We didn’t bother painting the back wall of the closet because as you’ll see it’s getting wallpaper.
Adding Pattern Behind Shelves
I added a big dose of pattern (I know, so unlike me) with this beautiful wallpaper from the talented Ms. Kate Riley’s collection on Spoonflower.
The instructions warned me that I needed a buddy to assist me in hanging it, but the only person around was my 3 year old, and well, he would have probably had other plans for this pretty paper that mommy wouldn’t have agreed with, so I did it myself.
I started by drawing lines that were perfectly plumb to use as a guide. The pattern on this peel and stick wallpaper needed to be straight so I could line it up at the seems and I couldn’t rely on the ceiling line for this.
I hung it in 3 pieces part way down because I planned to install my built ins on the bottom half and this way I only had to buy one roll. Tip: Know your measurements before you start this project so you only buy what you need!
By the way, I sprung for the repositionable kind, and I’m so glad I did because it caused a lot less anxiety when I needed to make a few minor adjustments along the way.I had a little overlap on the side corners which were easily taken off with a sharp utility knife.
My mom was nice enough to come over and participate in an IKEA furniture-building-a-thon with me one day and we put together these 3 IKEA Brimnes dressers.
I really like that the top has a frosted glass front to add a bit of something to the space. I also used 2 different sizes to make it feel more custom and less like I threw a few dressers into a closet.
The problem (which you’ll see in a minute became an amazing bonus) was that I had 8 inches left over. I could have centered the dressers and used wood to cover the space….or even better, I could push them to one side and use that 8 inches.
Which is exactly what I did. 8 inches of space is a lot to give up when you have a lot of crap to store! Right?
We pulled the dressers forward to cover the hole in the carpet that once was the closet door track. Then we framed it all in with inexpensive wood painted white.
We placed one continuous piece of thin white laminate on top so that there were no seams.
The handyman cut a piece of laminate and glued laminate stripping on the edges to create this door for my 8 inch gap. This gave me a place to store my cutting mats and rolls of photo backdrop. I’m glad I had him do this because he was able to drill holes for those really nice hinges (just like the soft close ones at IKEA.)
I love this spot because these are the types of things I never knew where to put and they were always getting in my way!
Ok. Let’s just take a minute and step back to admire that amazing wallpaper and all of this handy work!
The hubs helped me install shelves on the top half for even more storage. I was careful not to add too many because I wanted the wallpaper to be the star of the show.
I’m excited about playing around with the styling of these shelves and switching it up as I get settled in!
This room is off to an amazing start. I still need to get things organized and the finishing touches complete so definitely stay tuned! UPDATE: See the shared office room reveal here!
Maybe I’ll have to do it in 10 minute time bits since my little one is giving up his nap most days, but this momma is determined to make this space happen! Being able to find a pair of scissors in 5 seconds flat is a definite productivity changer!
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Thanks for stopping by today to see me on my way to redeeming myself! Can’t wait to show you the end result!
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