Follow along over the next few weeks as I turn a plain ol’ white closet into a colorful, patternful sitting nook! Here’s an inspiration photo:
This is the space that’s going to turn into something like the above photo:
Blah, yeah?!? There’s a bit of work to do! I’ll be sharing a few DIYs during this project:
- How to make a pierced metal ceiling lantern like the pricey ones you see on Pinterest, but DIY inexpensive and easy!
- How to build a seating bench with hidden storage under it, so you have *some* storage in the closet.
- How to make a foam cushion but not any ol’ cushion – this one is silk and stenciled with patterns!
- Tips for making professional-looking pillows.
- How to paint new walls to look old.
- How to turn plain wood into an exotic wonderment of stencils and patterns.
So watch for the series of upcoming posts both here and at Paint + Pattern!
To kick off this closet makeover project, I’ll answer an obvious question:
How can we give up the storage space of a whole closet? How?!?
Well … discipline and choices. That’s the answer. It’s not an easy answer. It’s not a super sexy answer. I struggle with accumulating stuff. But the stuff that was in this closet hadn’t been touched for many years. So do we really need that stuff? And, if this closet was holding things we don’t need, we really don’t need the closet either. Right?! That’s one way to look at it. Do you have any closets full of things you haven’t used in a long time?
It comes down to being honest with ourselves about what we really do and don’t need. And ridding our lives of some stuff. That’s what I’m doing now – moving stuff out the door in one way or another: giving it away, throwing it away, donating it to Goodwill, selling it on eBay.
What you see hanging in the closet above is not what was there – that closet was crammed with crap from floor to ceiling, from wall to wall. The stuff is now pared down to that final batch of old clothes to be shipped out.
And, the stuff is not moving to another place in our house. That’s not a solution for us. Our older house has a pathetic lack of storage space by today’s standards. As one example, two hall closets – a closet by the front door and an upstairs linen closet – were lost to retrofitted central air conditioning ductwork. Imagine the shock when we toured this house and kept opening closet doors to find a faceful of ducts. Why did we still buy this place? Clearly, not for storage space.
So, on top of the existing lack of closets, I’m giving up a closet! It is possible to carve out unique spaces in our homes, no matter the size house. This project is proof that can happen. Decide how you really want to use the spaces available to you, and adjust how much stuff you have accordingly. Yes it does involve making choices, and maybe making cuts deeper than you think you can do. I just know the sitting nook I’m creating will make me much happier than a closet full of stuff.
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