Craft Room: Progress

I’ve been working hard all weekend to finish up a couple of projects in my new office/craft room (the old guest room). The first step to making it functional was to put in some organization and storage in the form of shelves. So I searched all over the interwebs for some sort of inspiration when I ran across these images:

{Heart Handmade}

{Heart Handmade}

Um, genius. I wish I could find the original source as this appears to be a commercial product rather than a DIY. But in any case, I hacked it! This solution was a perfect fit for the narrow space between the wall and the closet door frame in the office. So I set out to maximize the slightly longer than 8′ x 10.5″ area.

We (by that I mean the hubs and I) started with a sheet of cabinet grade plywood which runs $30 for a 4′ x 8′ piece. While at Home Depot, we had them rip it into 10.5″ strips.

I decided I wanted a counter height work table with wheels. I prefer to stand a lot when I work, and I could always use a bar stool if necessary. After picking out some wheels, I subtracted the height of those from the final height I calculated, and we cut 4 legs from the 10.5″ strips (2 for each table). The width of the room is 106″, so I decided to make each table top 51.5″ long to take up most of the space without having too tight of a fit.

We finally busted out the Kreg Jig I got for Christmas for this project. I won’t bore you to death with the details of it because it comes with instructions and there are plenty of videos on youtube, but here’s it in action:

We added metal brackets for extra support.

Hubs makes a great handyman model, yes? I added clasps on the underside of the tables to connect them together (7 total).

8 wheels and some Minwax Dark Walnut stain on the top and sides completed the tables (for now…I plan to add a closet bar near the bottom of each table eventually for more support/foot rest). I just got some fabric to make a skirt for the front and back as well. When the tables are stowed, I’ll put the skirted sides facing outwards-which in my head looks totally awesome. I hope it pans out, but we shall see…

To make the upper shelving, I chose 1 x 10 x 10 lumber cut to 106″ long. I stained them with Minwax Dark Walnut to match the table (and the floors!) Mike put up 4 brackets in the studs for each shelf to be sure they would be secure. I’m debating whether or not to paint them to match the wall. I kinda like the contrast for now, and I’ll have to see how they look with everything on the shelves to see if it even makes a difference.

That said,

I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THE LOOK SO FAR. Try to look past the unfinished-ness. I didn’t trick out the shelves or anything, and the tables look pretty awkward at this point. But, you can see the area behind the door that sparked the idea.

I’m going for a little bit of industrial chic in here…

Finishing touches on the table will happen this week, so I can share more of a big reveal later

One of the main motivators for the streamlined look was to have more floor space to work on painting furniture. There could also be room for an air mattress if needed. I’m still planning on adding a couple more small pieces in here, one of which in the closet possibly. I’ll be sure to keep you posted as I work on this space!