I have to start by giving my mom a huge shoutout for her help yesterday. She is amazing, and I’m so incredibly thankful for her willingness to come over and help me get this closet ready to be loaded with all of my stuff. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed after the weekend we had, and by the end of the day, I was feeling so excited, encouraged, and ready to tackle these last few items on my check list for the walk-in closet.
The last time I showed you a somewhat full view of the room, it was pretty messy — paint cans, tools, and supplies strewn about. But what you can’t really see in the photo is that everything from top to bottom was covered in dust.
So we first got the protective paper out from underneath island since the island base is now completely finished. And then while I helped Matt with his lunch, she got busy clearing out all of the tools and supplies from the room and then started cleaning. Each shelf had to be vacuumed and then wiped down. She wiped down all of the trim, vacuumed all of the baskets, and even dusted off my necklaces. She also vacuumed the floor, but it will need a more thorough cleaning once every single thing is checked off of my list.
When Matt was finished with his lunch, I started working on a few items from my checklist that still needed to be done. First, I drilled the holes in the washer and dryer cabinet countertops for the light cords since I’m using plugin lights for those areas instead of hardwired lights. I used this desktop grommet kit (affiliate link), which comes with a hole saw.
I also had to reinstall al of the hanging bars because I had initially installed them too far back, and the hangers touched the back walls of the cabinets. So I moved them forward 1.5 inches, and then had to fill, sand, and paint the original holes. But now there’s plenty of room for the hangers and my clothes to hang free without being smashed against the backs of the cabinets.
I also headed to Michael’s and Hobby Lobby to find new frames for my artwork that I’m going to hang above the washer and dryer. I didn’t find exactly what I wanted. I had hoped to find brushed metal gold frames, but neither place had those. So instead, I had to opt for these wood frames with a brushed gold foil wrap. It was either that or order something online and wait for delivery, and I chose immediate gratification instead.
I also headed to Home Depot to pick up some extension cords that I’ll use to wire the lights. These lights are intended to be hardwired, but they do have a hole on the backplate so that they can be wired for plugin use. They don’t supply those cords, though. So I’ll have to use extension cords to wire them. I didn’t have time to get that finished, so maybe I can get this done today.
One of the bigger projects I still need to do is add all of the shoe molding, not only at the floor around the baseboards, but also vertically where the cabinets meet the wallpaper. So that really needs to be done before I hang the artwork and the lights. I’m not really sure that I’ll get that done today, because my priority for today is to get the island completely finished. But you can see that that trim is needed because I didn’t do such a smooth job at trimming the wallpaper along the edges of these cabinets.
But anyway, check out my clean closet with clean, ready-to-load shelves, y’all!
I could not be more excited to be at this stage, and I wouldn’t be here without my mom. I’m keeping the island covered until I know that I’m completely finished with tools in here because I keep setting tools, screws, etc., on that island top, and I’d cry if I scratched it and had to do repairs to it at this stage.
Another item on my list that still needs to be done is cutting the holes in the backs of the cabinets for the four electrical outlets that are in the room. That note that’s taped to the back of that center section is the measurements for locating those outlets. I should have done that long ago, but I kept putting it off. Thankfully, it shouldn’t be a very messy process since the backs of the closets are only 1/4-inch plywood.
But these shelves are ready to be put to work. I can’t wait to get all of my handbags and shoes in here! I’m almost to the finish line!
Sadly, I never got that tenth basket, and my order shows that it’s complete. And now, Kohl’s is completely sold out of those baskets. It’s fine, though. I can just use eight baskets. I still need to attach the labels that I made for them.
But, oh my goodness, y’all. The finish line is in sight.
So, as I said above, today will be about finishing the island. Right now, it’s holding my paint cans and paint tray. But I’m almost done with those, and I’m really hoping that by the end of the day, I’ll have a finished, usable closet island.
The sun is out today, so maybe the weather will cooperate so that I can get the drawers and doors painted and clear coated. If the humidity is still too high, I’m going to turn the bedroom into a spray booth and get it done. I’m so glad that the only things in that room that need to be protected at this point are the floor and the windows. I don’t care if overspray gets on the walls or the ceiling, so I can bring our dehumidifer closer to that area of the house, cover the floors and the windows, and get this thing done.
If I can get the island completely finished today, that just leaves a few small projects for the room and one final big project for the room — the chandelier. And after all of the building and construction that has gone into this room, I’m actually quite excited to wind down this closet project with a fun, creative project like a chandelier makeover. It will be the perfect ending to this marathon of a project.
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
