Home Decor and Prop Closet Makeover

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Hey y’all…I have to admit that I’m starting this post with just a tinge of trepidation. Jennifer and I strive to be nothing but honest with all of you and the time has come for a dose of transparency and disclosure.

My house has some hidden hiding places. You know, spaces where all of the clutter and junk get crammed into? We have a closet downstairs that has never had any real definitive purpose. It became the perfect place to hold tablecloths, napkins, seasonal decor, papers, and on and on. When I clean the house and I have a bunch of stuff I don’t know what to do with – it gets stuffed into this closet. “Company is coming?” “Quick, throw this in the closet”. Now, please don’t judge me…but this is when I finally decided that enough was enough!

Isn’t this ridiculous? So embarrassing! I knew I needed to get my act together and for there to be any real change, this closet needed a designated purpose. I thought about what made the most sense as an organized storage solution and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I would makeover and create a home decor and prop closet. This would be the perfect space to store oversized platters, candlesticks and more.

But first, I had to clear everything out of the closet. This took a hot minute! It all just about filled my dining room area.

I knew the first design solution needed to be a way to eliminate the wire shelves. Not to defend my bad behavior 🙂 but the wire shelves aren’t practical for storing items that aren’t completely flat. Small and narrow items have no stability on these shelves either – everything topples over.

I mapped out an idea on paper that would put my DIY skills to the test. This project needed to be easy as I would be doing it 100% on my own. I tried to remove one of the shelves to see what I would be facing. After I removed 10 screws from the wall, the shelf didn’t budge. Apparently the builder also glued the shelf into place. I didn’t want this to turn into having to repair holes in the wall so I put the screws back in.

I decided to cover the existing shelves with wood. I also wanted the shelves to be pretty so I needed something for the trim. I measured everything out for my materials. And measured again just to be safe.

I cut out all of my shelves from 3/8 inch plywood…

…then stained each one with this fantastic ebony stain. The coverage was wonderful.

I got creative with the shelf trim. I knew it needed to be lightweight and sturdy. The trim also needed to be 3 inches wide to completely hide the wiring shelves. I was fretting as there were not a lot of options with this size requirement. As I was perusing my options at Home Depot I had almost given up. And then I turned around and heard the angels sing. The vinyl and wood composite baseboards would be perfect. And they were already the right color! I measured and cut the trim.

Titebond III is my new best friend. This stuff has a fantastic grip and doesn’t drip.

I added a bead of adhesive the length of the board…

…and added it to the shelf fronts. Painters tape held everything into place. The adhesive was completely dry in 30 minutes, but I waited an hour before removing the tape.

Are you ready to see what the shelves look like now? Here you go…

I finally have space for all of my oversized platters…

The baskets house tablecloths and napkins…

 

 

All of my candlesticks now have a safe place to hang out. No more topple-overs 🙂

 

I am very proud of myself for dreaming up this project and for being able to complete it on my own. I think it turned out beautifully. If there’s a project you’re wanting to try all by yourself…go for it! You can do it!

Until Monday…

XO~Vicki