Friday, December 28, 2012

The last big project of the year.

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How was your  day today? Hubby had a short day so we decided to go to the movies (used a giftcard that we got for Christmas) to see "The Hobbit". I read the book when I was about 11-12 years old, so I was surprised to see how much I still remembered. It was fun!

Otherwise, I worked all day and also cleaned a ton. We are having a little Christmas get together with my sister on Sunday, so I tried to make this house at least somewhat acceptable for hosting.

So I'm absolutely exhausted today and my brains are not functioning properly. That's why I thought that instead of a long post full of goals and plans, I would share with you our last big project in 2012.

You might remember that for our carpet in the living room we saved a little over $600. Well, turned out that we only needed $400 out of it, so we had about $210 left. After we used $30 for a Christmas gift budget shortage, we were left with $180. First, we wanted to just put it into savings but then we decided to finish a project I've been dreaming about for a while.

If you ever watched "Clean House" I always drool over those nicely organized closets that Trish creates. When we were buying this house, the walk-in closet in master bedroom was definitely one of the selling features. It's not big and very soon we realized that it doesn't have enough storage (or more, that we didn't use it wisely). Here's what my Hubby's side looked like:

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Yep, no comments...And this is what my side looked like:

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Well, it's a little better... But these huge bookshelves that were holding my shoes and sweaters were just taking up way too much useful space. So we decided to re-do our closet and make it look fabulous but all on a budget.

First, of course, we took stuff out and cleaned it:

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Then we re-purposed a few things we already had. First, I sanded, painted and primed a little shelf that my MIL gave us a few months ago. As usual, I forgot to take a before picture but it was a basic oak shelf:

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Then we used a little storage unit that I originally bought for a bathroom (on clearance at Walmart for $12.50) but it turned out to be too big for the space. But it works just perfect in our closet:

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The rest of the materials we got from Lowes- some pre-made shelves, brackets, millions of screws and anchors...Here's my cute Hubby installing it all:

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Isn't he a cutie? :) And cutting straight to the chase, here's a finished product:

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Love it, love it, love it!  Here's another picture, already with clothes (and shoes:) :

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I added a small kitchen rail from Ikea (only $2.99!!) for my scarves:

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And some hooks for jewelry (and hey, if you decide to rob me, there are no diamonds here :) I'm one of those crazy girls who would rather get a gift card to Home Depot for a special occasion than bling bling...I do like flowers and candies though :) :

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I love that now I have a personal space for MY things like jewels, purses, and make-up:

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We have a small mirror on the door, so it works perfectly. Total cost of the whole project: $176. All paid for with cash. And now I have my (almost) dream closet for a fraction of the price of what it would cost us if we used a pre-made version.

And here goes our last big project in 2012...Phew, now I need to go and get some rest...

PS. - and just so you know, it was actually finished two weeks ago, and Hubby's side still looks perfect and organized. Aww, I'm so proud of him :)

I shared this post with these great parties:

Blissful and Domestic 
DIY Project Parade 
Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After 

30 comments:

  1. It looks great. And you just made me realize how much wasted space is in the top of my closet. We have a shelf but above that we have plenty of room that we could put up another set of shelves all the way around.

    I am going to talk to DH tomorrow about doing that in all the closets. That is the only thing with a house built in the 1940's, we have very little closet space.

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    1. Funny that you said it because that space on the top started this whole process! Hubby kept saying that we needed to do it so when we got leftover money, I told "Let's do it!". The rest just kind of came along.

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  2. I would love a closet like that ! Well done on making the most of your money ! Great job! Happy New Year to You!

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  3. Lena, I need a hubby to do many projects for me, is yours for loan? *smile* I love love love your walk-in closet it is amazing Doesn't it feel wonderful to walk in and see it every day now? xx

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    1. It does :) And yes, you can borrow him...Well, after he's done with all the projects on his mile long hubby-do list :)

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  4. The closet looks great. Wish I had a walk-in closet. Oh well. Another thing we did to expand our closet space was put up hooks behind the hanging shirts for belts.

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    1. That's a great idea! I put my belts (I only have a couple) on the rail with scarves. I actually forgot to get a picture but Hubby has the same rail on his side for his belts and ties.

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  5. I love the scarf idea, that is really neat. We have "custom" closet systems in our closets and they are worth every penny we have paid for them. Plus they do add value to the house if/when you sell.

    Great job. Reminds me I really need to clean out our closets!!

    Gill

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    1. Custom closets are awesome! I was always drooling over those, just wasn't in our budget :( That's why we went with a cheaper "version" :)

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  6. That all looks absolutely brilliant, well done.

    If it was me I would keep peeking in every time I passed just to smile at the neatness.....but I'm sad that way :-)

    Sue xx

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    1. You know what it's exactly what I do :) Hubby laughs at me every time :)

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  7. Girl, you should be working for Clean House; that closet is a thing of beauty!! Great job!

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    1. Nah, their style is definitely not in my budget :) But thank you!

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  8. Such a neat, tidy closet. I'll bet you felt really good about finishing off this project. Did it provide motivation to get on to the next one on the list? :)

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    1. Oh, every time I work on one project I have two more in the works in my head. It drives my husband insane :)

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  9. Wow that looks great! I love the scarf rack. What alot of work. Good for you.

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  10. Your closet looks great. It just shows with a little imagination we can get projects done with a lot smaller budget. I am also proud of you guys for voting to get your closet done, I know it is hard to spend money on "non-necessities" sometimes. Clare

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  11. Lena! It looks awesome!!! LOVE the ideas and organization!

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  12. You are truly amazing. It looks great - and I love the idea for the scarves.

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  13. WOW!!! I am green with envy! That looks just amazing! You rock my dear!!

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  14. looks great and even nicer that you did with little spent.
    You won't find many diamonds in my jewelry box either, I never understood the appeal of them.

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  15. WOW!!!!! What a wonderful gift for you both!!! That cute hubby knows his way around a tool box for sure

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  16. WOW! That looks amazing. (And yes, your husband is super cute! Especially all engaged in a task, hard at work for his wife. :-)) I once asked for a closet door for my birthday (who knows - our house didn't come with one? and the clutter drove me mad), so this is a project I can definitely relate to. You've inpsired me!

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  17. Very nice! Having an organized closet is so important. You and your husband did a great job. Stopping by form Thrifty Decor Chick.

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  18. i'm having major closet envy right now! yours looks so organized now!

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  19. Wow! I love it...so organized. Great job!

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  20. Your closet looks so great!! The before picture looks so much like my closet right now. I NEED some organization. Thanks so much for the inspiration. Now I am sure I could get the storage I want for less.

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  21. Your closet looks so great! The before picture looks so much like our closet right now. Thanks so much for the inspiration. Now I know I can get the storage I need for less!

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