Beginnings of a Craft Closet
Okay, before we talk about another closet here on IBC, I need to warn you: This post does not contain a lot of pretty pictures. But, as they say, it gets worse before it gets better. So we will start with the bad and the ugly and work our way to the good! OK?
As you probably know, I have big barn doors near my front entry. However, you might not know that there is a disaster behind those doors.
What? Yes. But before I tackle it, let me share the backstory of this closet.
The space that is now covered by the doors was once a standard closet with a single door. When the previous owners were making renovations to turn the house into a bed and breakfast, they widened the opening so that this little nook could function as a reception area. Given that it’s near the front door, it worked well.
When I bought the B&B, I also did some work, and this area became part of a gift shop. If you’re a long-time IBC reader, you might recognize the chevron wall peeking through the shelf. Back in 2012, I shared a post on how to paint a chevron wall. (You’re welcome to take a peek at that post here, but please don’t judge me too harshly since it was five years ago, and at the time, that space was a gift shop, not my home.)
An aside: Much to my surprise, that little post was featured in a few places, including The Huffington Post. And that exposure proved to be a big break for me. I guess you could say that IBC is here today because of that chevron wall and that little post.
Once I closed the shop and the B&B, I needed a way to cover the nook to make the house look and feel like a home. My solution was to install the barn doors (details on those here). I also threw in some shelving units, and it’s been kind of a cluttered mess since then.
This year, In an effort to boost my spirits and improve my outlook on life, I’m working to clear the clutter and get more organized. For me, “mess = stress,”, so this disaster has to go.
Following my recent mini shoe closet makeover, I thought a prefab shelving system would work perfectly in this space as well. A couple weeks ago when I was researching closet storage online, I noticed that The Container Store was having a sale on their Elfa system. This was the brand I used in my closet upstairs.
I was sold.
I took measurements, worked with one of their Elfa experts online, and designed something to fit this space. The whole system ended up costing just over $600.
Once I received notification that the system had shipped, I prepped and painted the space. I removed everything from the closet, including the existing shelves, which I donated. I decided to paint the closet Frosty White from Sherwin Williams because it’s a lighter variation of my entryway and living room paint color. Goodbye chevron! Gone, but never forgotten.
With the painting finished, I installed the closet system. While the install was simple and straightforward, it did take a few hours. Some of that time was spent removing the packaging and stickers that identified everything.
However, it was well worth it. My closet is complete! Isn’t she lovely?
I couldn’t be happier with my first steps toward an organized, clean, and pretty closet. Even though the style of the shelves won’t win any design awards, organization and function were a top priority here, and that’s exactly what I got.
The next step is going to be the hard part. I have to put things back into the closet in an organized and functional way. While I already have quite a few plastic storage containers and totes, I’m hoping to pick up a few baskets and organizational tools to add just a touch of style to this space.
Ultimately, the closet will hold craft supplies and work-related items, such as my camera and gear, printer, ribbons, paper, photo shoot props, and current project supplies. My plan is to start organizing things this week. I’ll be sure to let you see the results when everything is in place.
For those of you who are new to Inspired by Charm, I hope it was fun to learn a bit more about the blog. For those who’ve been with IBC for a while now, I hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane. Thanks to all of you for giving me an opportunity to come clean about my closet disaster!
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