We finally completed our last built in. Unless I find another spot (see one of our favorite built in projects here). This bathroom shelf idea for our guest bath (the main bath downstairs) has been stuck in my brain for years and after all that time it only took about 1 day to complete it (and 8.00!). The only storage this room came with was the space under the vanity (and I really want to toss it for a pedestal sink) so now it's transformed and has oodles of storage. I'm really excited to share the process since it was very uncomplicated and took pretty basic tools.
Last fall, when we spruced up the bathroom with fresh paint and linens, I included a picture of my dream shelves idea in the blog post. Below is a picture of the vision and the result side by side. Nice.
Here is the wall we started with. It's right next to the shower and the back of it is the closet of the office/guest room.
I started with a piece of paper (the same measurements as my shelf unit) taped in place where I wanted the shelf to go. I used a shelf I've had for years and I think it was an Expedit from IKEA which has been discontinued but their KALLAX shelves are nearly identical.
Here is a before shot of the closet directly behind the bathroom wall. I hammered a few holes to make sure there was no wiring. The only obstacle I found was the wall stud going straight down the middle.
We pushed a stretched out and sharpened wire hanger through the four corners on the bathroom side to mark the spot directly behind it. You could use a long screwdriver as well (we just couldn't find ours). My husband scored a bunch of lines with the utility knife and we put our teenager to work tearing apart the wall. Teenagers are great when you need something destroyed.
We did the same thing on the other side and now you can see where we made an opening all the way through (and the stud is right there in the middle).
Hubby sawed the stud out and repurposed the board as the support across the bottom. He leveled it and nailed it securely.
Now it was time to install my crusty old shelf. It's really been a great shelf so I'm happy to give it a new life.
Here it is. Perfect fit!
We nailed through the shelf into the 2x4 to hold it securely at the bottom. I patched and painted the holes later.
On the backside we anchored it with a corner brace screwed into the stud.
We were able to scrounge enough trim pieces from the garage to avoid an added expense and trip to the hardware store. The back beadboard is something I got from a lady in a community group on facebook. We spent 8.00 and didn't have to drive far to get it. She said she offered it to me first (even though there were others before me who expressed an interest) because I said "I can come get it today" so I'm going to remember that!
We had to piece the beadboard together so here's what the back looks like now. The shelf sticks out about 6 inches so it really didn't affect the space as much as we'd anticipated. We still need to patch and trim it out but for now I can just shut the door. Update: Here's the finished closet.
I caulked it and gave it two coats of white gloss paint and now I'm in love.
Here it is now all decked out for guests! So much storage!
I bought some cute containers for the mundane supplies like cotton balls. My husband Joey had already made me that little box with pallet wood and it's perfect for wash cloths. I added a couple of candles which make it smell good even when they're not lit. The little plate of chalk is for the door (people leave the funniest notes there!).
I found these metal lacy boxes at World Market and was kind of freaked out at their price (30.00 each) but when I remembered that I'd only spent 8.00 on the whole project thus far I said "why not?" and splurged. They are perfect. Just perfect.
I go in this room about 10 times a day just to stand and stare at it all.
I even found a darling bath mat at Ross to complete it all.
That's it! Feel free to ask questions!
