My 'cloffice'- Closet Turned Office!

I've walked past this closet thousands of times since we've moved into our home, it connects our kitchen to our master bedroom. I LOVE having storage, but these particular shelves weren't deep enough to store things and it just became impossible to keep organized. It has always just collected games, toys and things we shoved in there to hide from guests. :)

It wasn't until a few months ago that I had the idea to turn it into a small office space! I usually work from the kitchen table so I'm able to keep an eye on the kids, but it made me nervous keeping my expensive computer and camera on the table where the kids could easily get to them. Crew also HAULS butt in his little walker these days and loves to pull my cords.

Turning the closet into a small workspace just seemed like the perfect solutions to both of my problems!

First I started the demo- I removed the doors, hardware, shelves and baseboards.

After drawing up a tentative plan for the space, I realized the outlet that was (very conveniently!) in the closet was in a bad spot. Phil moved it over a few inches so it would be hidden behind drawers but still accessible.

Next I built the base, or desk part. I love to cross my legs when I'm working at a desk so I decided instead of having a 'keyboard' drawer above the leg space, skip that and build two drawers to the right of the leg space.

Next I built the storage space where I would add baskets and a little cubby to keep my laptop when I'm not using it. I ordered baskets ahead of time and measured so they would all fit there perfectly.

Because I wasn't using the space to the sides, I drilled 2x4s into the door frame studs and will secure the sides of the upper cabinets to these.

I had a lot of scrap 3/4" plywood and used those scraps for the top since they wouldn't be visible once the cabinet was finished.

I built the top two cabinet boxes and attached them to studs in the back wall as well as the 2x4s on the sides.

I used scrap wood as spacers for the back wall on the right side since the closet itself wasn't square.

Once they were secured, I added 1/4" plywood as a backing, nailing it into the back braces.

Once all the units were in, I started to figure out how I wanted to trim it out.

Originally I had 1x2 for the main side pieces, but once I got the countertop I decided it looked better with 1x3s so I replaced them.

I made the doors the same way I have in my past few projects, except this time I added decorative shoe moulding to the inside to have the doors match our kitchen cabinets a bit more. I was SO proud of the way these turned out!

So pretty right!?

I made the drawer fronts the same way and installed those.

I cut out 1/4" radiata pine for the sides and back of the desk area and used wood glue + my nail gun to secure it to the sides and the back wall.

Then I framed the two sides and back with 1x5 primed pine. See how the 1/4" backing doesn't have to be EXACTLY right, because the 1x5 boards will cover them up anyways?

Once the 1x5s were in, I added the same shoe moulding I used on the door/drawer fronts to tie everything together.

I added dentil crown molding to the top, and although I have this NO WHERE else around my home, our bedroom furniture (and Crew's crib!) that's just through that door to the left has it. I love the look and although we don't have it anywhere else (so far), I think it works well because I wanted this to look like more of a piece of furniture than cabinetry that came with our home.

I added back the baseboards under the desk area.

Then primed and painted with my sprayer!

I chose the same hardware we have in our kitchen but instead of the brushed nickel I chose honey bronze. And now I want to swap out all of our kitchen knobs- these are just so perfect!

If I wasn't working during nap times and in between taking care of the kids, this project could easily be a 1-2 weekend one! This space serves our families needs MUCH more now and I'm so happy I did it! As always, thanks for following along!

XO,

Lauren

LINKS

Pulls (9" in Honey Bronze)

Knobs (Honey Bronze)

Baskets

Chair

Pendant