Ok so BOOM! Fast forward from September 2019 to April 2021, my shelf falls! Big bummer! And this couldn’t have happened at a more worse time because literally the day before I get a call that my dad is in the hospital! So of course I drop everything to go home and be with my family. In the back of my mind, “I’ll address it when I get back in a week or so.” Or so I thought. What I thought was going to be a quick “let me help my family and I’ll be back home in a week, two weeks tops.” Actually ended up being three months at my parents house out of state. So now it’s July I'm finally heading home where this is still waiting for me.
In my mind I'm telling myself it's time! "Put your big girl panties on! Let’s get some real power tools!” So I purchase a miter saw and a table saw. Sidebar: The table saw did not make it out of the box until almost a year later cause I was TERRIFIED to use it. Looking back, it would have made this project a lot easier. OK back to my story... I had also received circular saw a fews months prior as a birthday gift. (Guess mom saw my potential before I did.)
I sketched out a design for this closet, with the focus being on the shoe shelves and having a way to display them in a way that is both appealing and organized.
I come up with my design and instead of thoroughly measuring and having fully concrete plans I thought that I could just wing it, which led to a lot of wasted materials. When I say wing it, yes I had an idea of what I wanted the space to look like. But I did not take the time to measure out all the elements to ensure that it was all feasible and structurally sound. I basically was trying to build as I go rather than having accounted for everything measured out on said sketch. Not sure if that makes sense to you, but in short I had an idea and not a plan. And if you did any type of home projects in 2020 and 2021 you know that wood prices were insane!
So eventually I decided that I was frustrated and I was going to put this project on the back burner for a little bit to regain my bearings and figure out my next steps. Two additional months of back burner storage. Ultimately, I came up with an actual game plan, measured out my materials and finally got to work. Realistically speaking I had no choice but to get my ish together because my son was getting ready to start online school and I couldn’t be messing around. His school workspace was also now doubling as a storage room for all of my clothes and shoes and it was a zoo.
First was the vinyl flooring install, which was a first for me. It was also a learning opportunity because I had plans for flooring in another room in the house. Before I get off topic again...next was my base for the dresser, at this point things are going smoothly...thankfully! The hardest part with the shelving was getting the height right for the different types of shoes but also having enough shelves for the amount of shoes. Painters tape and several dry fitting later I got the first shelf in and in my mind I can finally see the finish line. I was able to get the framing up for the clothing side, the shelving box for my purses and we were rolling! What probably could’ve been easy from the jump definitely taught me how important planning is when it comes to home projects because the last thing you want to do is waste materials and time.
As I said before this closet is by no means my dream closet, but it’s definitely a labor of love. It is the greatest display of my shoes that this girl could ask for. From the motion sensor lights when I open the doors. To the sneaker store like shelving it’s just magnificent and most importantly, I love it!
But I'm still not done.
Tune in for the finale and full reveal!