Why I Decided To DIY My Closet/Laundry Area Combo Room (And Decided Not To Use IKEA Cabinets)

I don’t know what number of instances I’ve mentioned this by way of the years, but it surely stays simply as true right this moment because it’s ever been. Typically I get so dug in on an thought, and whereas my remark part can usually really feel like I’m ingesting from a hearth hydrant with the entire variety of concepts being shared with me (which I like, however may really feel a bit overwhelming at instances 😀 ), generally it’s one single remark that will get my consideration and actually will get me pondering in a brand new route.

And that’s precisely what occurred when Phoebe made a suggestion concerning the closet and laundry space mixture room that I’ll be constructing within the present visitor bed room. She urged that I divide the room into two separate areas in order that I can have a separate closet and a separate laundry space.

That’s an thought I had already thought-about, however I had dominated it out as a result of in my thoughts, one room (presumably the laundry room) could be accessible by way of the present door into the room from the hallway, and the opposite space (presumably the closet) would require a brand new door from our soon-to-be bed room into that sectioned off space. I shared this concept some time again, and it seemed like this…

I had thought-about that possibility very critically, and had even talked to Matt about it, however for some cause he’s adamant about not constructing a wall in that room, and particularly about not placing a doorway from the bed room into that room. I don’t know why he’s so adamant about that, however he’s. And since he makes so few requests in relation to this home, I concentrate when he really is adamant about one thing, even when I don’t perceive his reasoning. 😀 And since then, I’ve gotten fairly enthusiastic about having a comfortable little studying space the place the door into the closet would should be, anyway. With that concept in thoughts, I had moved previous the two-room possibility and have actually change into hooked up to the studying space thought, so I don’t wish to give that up now.

All that to say that when this concept was introduced, I didn’t actually think about it. I wrote it off instantly, and defined why I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it. Phoebe defined that’s not what she envisioned, and she or he despatched an e mail to clarify her thought extra intimately. She wasn’t suggesting closing the 2 areas off to one another utterly, and she or he wasn’t suggesting placing a door from the bed room into the brand new closet area (which, for some cause, is the half that Matt actually objects to). And she or he despatched me this drawing…

I used to be intrigued. Her design nonetheless confirmed a wall diving the 2 areas, and I knew that Matt wasn’t thrilled with that concept. However I believed that possibly because it didn’t require a doorway from the bed room into the sectioned off a part of the room (the half labeled Laundry Room), he is perhaps on board. So I began taking part in round with the association.

What I spotted in a short time is that this plan wouldn’t even require me to construct a wall in any respect. I might actually simply use the wardrobes, positioned in two “U” preparations and secured to the ground and ceiling, to part off the room into two areas.

At first, I used to be having a extremely laborious time getting all the things to suit as a result of I used to be nonetheless set on utilizing the 23-inch-deep IKEA wardrobes for each areas. Wrapping such deep wardrobes round corners causes a complete lot of wasted area, so with 4 wasted corners, I wasn’t really gaining any cupboard space by having extra wall area accessible. Something I’d acquire with extra wall area I’d lose with corners.

So I headed to Pinterest and Houzz (my two go-to sources once I want fast inspiration) to seek for closet inspiration, and I spotted that almost all closets don’t use 23-inch-deep frames. Most closet system are solely about 14-16 inches deep. The one cause you’d want 23-inch-deep wardrobes is if you wish to put doorways on them and have all the things closed inside. However should you’re not utilizing doorways, there’s actually no want for such deep frames.

Right here’s what I’m speaking about. That is a picture from Home Depot’s custom closet systems page. You’ll be able to see that the hanging garments stick out previous the frames of the cabinets and drawers. These frames are solely about 14 inches deep.

And there’s no want for them to be deeper since there aren’t any doorways on the frames, and no want for the hanging garments to be utterly contained inside these frames. And having shallower cabinets simply makes extra sense to me. I used to be having a lot hassle picturing storing my sneakers or folded sweaters or purses on 23-inch-deep cabinets. It appeared like plenty of wasted area. And the excellent news is that whenever you cut back the depth from 23 inches to 14 inches, the corners change into usable. You’ll be able to construct usable nook cabinets into 14-inch-deep frames with out taking on an enormous quantity of area contained in the room, so no cupboard space is misplaced.

So with all of this newfound inspiration, I began again at sq. one with the room. I began off attempting to make IKEA’s 14-inch-deep wardrobes work, however since they solely are available three widths, the dimensions limitations turned an issue. Plus, the principle dimension I would want to make this new design work (the 14″ deep x 29.5″ broad) is the one dimension they’ve been out of inventory on for a number of months now, and there’s no indication after they’ll get extra in. I can’t base my complete design round one thing which will or might not be accessible once I’m prepared to begin the room. They usually didn’t actually match completely anyway. It was extra of a “it’s the closest to what I would like so I can in all probability make it work” sort of scenario.

So in the long run, I simply determined that the way in which for me to squeeze each inch of usable cupboard space out of this room is for me to construct it myself from scratch. With that in thoughts, I designed, and tweaked, and moved issues round, and tweaked some extra, till I got here up with what I feel is the proper plan based mostly on Phoebe’s unique thought. This offers me fairly a bit extra closet cupboard space than my unique thought, and it separates the laundry space from the closet space. And one of the best factor of all is that going from 23-inch-deep frames to 14-inch-deep frames permits room for a small island in the course of the closet space, which not solely offers me extra drawer area, but in addition offers me a countertop to fold garments as quickly as I get them out of the dryer. So right here’s the brand new plan…

I’m so enthusiastic about this new plan. I lie awake at evening and dream about it. I can’t wait to get began! You’ll be able to examine that to the previous plan beneath. I used to be capable of do the previous plan on the IKEA planners, which provides a 3D view of the plan. I wasn’t capable of do the brand new plan on the 3D IKEA planner as a result of it gained’t help you put Pax wardrobes wherever aside from lined up on a wall. Anyway, right here’s the previous plan, which solely utilized the 2 lengthy partitions of the room. This was the laundry room facet:

And this was the closet facet:

The brand new plan does require a stacked washer and dryer, however I’m okay with that. I imply, I’m solely 5 ft tall, which implies that I’m used to issues in life being a little bit bit inconvenient for me. Once I had my previous washer and dryer (earlier than I purchased my present ones), I had to make use of a step stool to get issues out of the washer. Fixed slight inconveniences are only a lifestyle whenever you’re solely 5 ft tall, so I’m used to it. So if I’ve to make use of a step stool to get issues out of my dryer, it gained’t be any worse than my previous washer.

Facet be aware: As I used to be ending up scripting this publish, the driveway guys confirmed up!!! They weren’t scheduled to be right here till Monday, however they completed up their final challenge early, and got here proper over to get began. WOOHOOOO!!!! They’re going to begin in the back of the driveway (again part of driveway behind my workshop, and the ramp to the workshop) right this moment, after which work their solution to the entrance of the property. So by the top of the day right this moment, I could have a ramp, however the bulk of the progress will nonetheless occur subsequent week. However at the very least there’s progress, and EARLIER than scheduled! How usually does THAT occur?! 😀

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and beautify the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.