Major Closet Redo

This is our beautiful dining room closet now:

And this was it before:


Ok, that photo was from mid-July. In late July, I did a closet reno on this SAME closet. I took the dowel rod and moved it deeper into the closet under the stairs (so we could use the rest of the closet rather than just have a dowel in there. I also painted the whole room in a tan, including under the stairs.


I remember being very proud that we could now also store our vacuum machines in there. AND I bought a small, 6-drawer unit for various items.

Well, count forward to October. The closet was a mess. The drawers were great, but they got overloaded with stuff on top and then you couldn't make your way to the coats. The vacuum in the closet was a bad idea since it was way too bulky. Plus, with the new robot vacuum, we don't use the old vacuum much and it now lives upstairs.

And UGH, don't get me started on the old linoleum. DISGUSTING.

WHAT I DID:

• I painted the walls using paint we already had.
• I took out the molding in the closet and put in new molding that I had found on the street, leftover from someone's home project.
• I had a $20 credit at the recycle store, and there, for $20, I found a box of REALLY nice hardwood flooring (like a $200 box!). Since the space was small, all I needed was one box, so this worked really well.
• I moved the 6-drawer unit to under the coats, and it works perfectly there!
• I took down the old hooks and put new ones up in a spot more convenient and not in the way.
• I labeled (with the new labelmaker) the 6-drawer unit: 5 drawers dedicated to winter-wear, one drawer dedicated to dog stuff (leashes, brushes, etc).

And voila:

The dowel is still in its late-July spot, but now, the drawers are underneath it. I should add that there's enough room next to the unit for the large umbrella and the yoga mat.

The hooks are along the left-hand wall as you walk in. We used those hooks at our old apartment and so I repurposed them and used them in the closet. They're very nice hooks, so I'm glad they worked. I've promised to only keep my current purse on the hooks and not use the hooks for purse storage.

The wood floors are WONDERFUL and were so easy to install (50x easier than the linoleum I just finished installing upstairs. Yes, I'm questioning myself, but then I remember the cost and I stop questioning). The molding job, while not perfect, is DARN good enough, and I love the blue/white/wood contrast. We're doing this same color scheme in the laundry room, so I'm really glad it worked here.


So, that's our new closet. Yes, I installed wood floors and revamped a closet. But, it makes us RIDICULOUSLY happy, so it was well, well, well worth the effort.