We finished the office built-in wall. I mean, no big deal. Just a tiny little project we started and finished. No exclamation marks necessary.
We are all TOTALLY CALM AND RESERVED ABOUT THIS.
Extremely accurate depiction of both of us.
Okay, for OTHER people, this would be no big deal, because OTHER people can start and finish projects in NO time. But reaching a “finished” point for us is KIND of huge. Hence the freak-out moment.
SHUT UP AND SHOW THE PICTURES.
That’s what it looks like. But here’s what it used to look like:
Then we made a plan for the wall:
And started building the cabinet boxes:
And the doors:
Then started installing:
Added some snazzy moulding:
And the coolest lighting system ever:
Chose some pretty cabinet hardware:
And selected a paint color using our patented Thinking Tube Method:
Which all led to this:
It’s fresh and new and built-in. Custom. Andy did a fabulous job. I’d totally hire him again. Here’s our cost breakdown:
- Lumber: $275
- Special inset hinges: $30
- Door hardware: $30
- Paint: $15
- Lighting: $35
- Total: $385
We kept costs low by using lots of coupons, shopping around online (tips on this later this week!), using paint and wiring we already had on hand, and um, of course – doing it all ourselves.
It’s hard to say exactly what this would’ve cost to have it done professionally, but a little online research makes me think we’d be looking at a minimum of $3000. I like saving about 90 percent of things.
Update: We finally added all our junk to the shelves. See that process here!
(You can also see our DIY capiz shell chandelier in that pic. Here are the details on that.)
But there it is! Something start-to-finish complete! Hallelujah y’all. Did you get anything finished this weekend?
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Hi, I'm Kelly. Glad you're here! This little blog is where I chronicle our efforts to fix up our beaten-down home on a tiny budget. We're not there yet, but here's a peek at the view along the way...
UMMM HELLLLOOOOOOOO THIS IS FRICKIN AMAZINGNESS. I’m so thrilled for you guys! That is beautiful and I cannot wait to see all the crazy in your head come to life! AH-MAZING!!!!
YEAH!!! I can’t wait to see it all styled!
ahhhhh they are SO gorgeous and professional! I’d never guess in a million years that you guys did them yourselves. Total perfection.
awesome. awesome.
Woo Hoo! You did it, You did it, You did it. Yeah. Kelly & Andy built a built in bookshelf, you did it, you did it, hooray! Sorry for the random Dora the Explorer song. They look fabulous! Want to come build me some now? Can’t wait to see it all styled up! Now it’s time for the nursery reveal tomorrow right?
You guys rock!!!
Oooooooo, so very pretty! Me like!
holy canoli! it looks AMAZING!!!!!!!! wonderful job! love that backing color!
Oh. I don’t like it.
Juuuuust kidding! It looks fabulous. Now you must spend the 90% saving on equally lovely things to go in it. Surely?
You can’t hear me but I am giving you and Andy a round of applause! Take a bow! It’s looks freaking amazing and I love the goodies you have lined up to fill it! This has inspired me to such an extent that I want to do it. Just out of curiosity, what level of carpentry skills does one need to accomplish this beauty??
Kelly it’s fabulous!! I want to close my eyes really tight, make a wish, and open my eyes to see these in front of me in my house!! What a beautiful built in, I can’t believe you both did this from scratch. Very impressive!
Wow, you two did a great job! LOVE this (especially the 90% savings)!
http://MyersMaison.blogspot.com
Wow, you two did a great job! LOVE this (especially the 90% savings)!
MyersMaison.blogspot.com
seriously, this looks amazing! the addition of the moldings makes it look SO custom!! i think my favorite part is the hardware you chose…its SO beautiful!!
Omg Kelly!! It’s magical! Turned out super amazing and now I want one even more!!! Especially at that price. 90% off. Best day ever!!
Xx. Patience
You 2 are pure genius! I guess you can have your baby now huh? Congrats on a fantastic job both of you.
SO awesome!!! I love them! I can’t wait to see how you decorate them!
Beautiful job! Love the white and teal.
Inspiring! Now I want to build them too.
OMG! The result is spectacular!! You two did a first rate job on this built in. My uncle is a custom cabinet maker and I can tell you, for sure, it would have cost at least 3k if not more with all the details you added. WAY TO GO! and I still can’t thank you enough for finding and sharing that brilliant lighting!! My cabinetry thanks you too!
AMAZING!!! They look so great! They look so professional. Can’t wait to see them all styled!
Gorgeous! Love the blue!
Awesome! It looks SO GOOD! I know you must be thrilled that it’s done and looking so amazing!
WOW! These are GORGEOUS! You must be so happy with them! I really love the blue you picked for the back too.
Can’t wait to see how you style them!
Wow wow WOW!!! I absolutely love it!!! And for less than $400?? Oh my goodness!! Way to go!!! (P.S. I love your drawing at the top of the post too
)
I am sooooo doing this in my living room and my office thanks
Wow!!!!! That is one beautifully thought out and executed project. I’m blown away (and pretty jealous!)
David
Oh my goodness that’s so great! We have a similar space in the basement and you’ve got some real gems for us here! Thanks for linking up to the RRR party, we’re so glad you came!
Oh, and we’ll be featuring you tomorrow morning – we really did love this!
Amazingggggg. I love it. And LOL to your thinking tube. (thinking of buying not going to lie…)
WOW! I am totally IMPRESSED!!!! This is exactly what we’ve been looking at to do in our office as well! Congrats on the AMAZING finished project!!!
I’m a new follower and can’t wait to see how you decorate it!
That is fantastic!!!!
Poppin’ over from Cassie’s to say how AMAZING this is!!! You so crazy, too…
Just absolutely beautiful!!! I love the color you chose for the backs of the bookcases. We are hoping to begin a similar project this summer so your tutorial will definitely come in handy. Thanks for sharing all the amazing details. Megan
These are amazing!! We are pretty DIY savvy here, but I think this would be over our head
Great job!!
Love this! I’m dreaming of adding built-ins on either side of our fireplace… oh how heavenly it would be to have someplace to put our books!
WOW, great work! We’re getting ready to do built-ins with our friends and can’t wait!
We are running a Before and After Link party to support Habitat for Humanity, with a chance to be featured on other big blogs and win gift cards. Would love if you entered! http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/2012-before-after-series/
Beautiful! I was looking for ideas so my hubby could get started on some built-ins for our living room and found your blog! I just was wondering if you have any pix or instructions on how to make the shelving. . . . Are the shelves fixed or movable? If movable, what type of system did your hubby use: pegs, etc.? Thanks for any info!
They are fixed, and he used pocketholes on the sides to hold them up. We didn’t take a ton of pics of that stage, so I hope this helps at least a little and you’re able to get your built-ins!
Thanks for the info.! I’m stuck though on how deep to make the cabinets below. . .help! I love that your cabinets are deeper than your shelves, that there’s a little ledge Could you pass along the depth of your cabinets and shelves? You are so inspirational!
I think the shelves are 12 inches deep and the cabinets are 18, so we have a six-inch ledge. Hope that makes sense. I also really hope you’ll send pics when you get your wall finished! I’d love to see!
Nice work, your shelves are gorgeous!! I have this linked to my DIY built-ins post too today, well done!
Beautiful and inspiring! Can you share the amazing lighting system? Thanks!
This is the first post where I talked about those lights (which are definitely amazing! we love them): http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2012/01/let-there-be-fancy-low-watt-high-tech-light/
And here’s the tutorial for how to install them: http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2012/01/how-to-install-inexpensive-energy-efficient-under-cabinet-lighting/
By the way, we also used those inexpensive, energy-efficient lights to make a cordless lamp, which you can see here: http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2012/08/lamp-hack-how-to-make-any-lamp-cordless/
Love the built ins. I al starting this project soon. What type of lumber did you use for the cabinet doors? And the cabinet tops? That a long span to cover with plywood. Did you use any extra supports?
Great job!!
Thanks! The doors are poplar with a plywood middle. All visible wood is poplar and the boxes that support everything is pine. The cabinet boxes are the only thing supporting the counter. Good luck with your project!
This is amazing! I’d hire Andy again too! I am blown away by all the work you did to build that. AND by the molding details. That’s crazy! Nice job and thanks for sharing. I’m curious what color you used on the back? Was it Symphony Blue? It looks a lot like my son’s reading nook closet.
Thank you so much! The wall color is “Brigade” by Olympic. It does remind me of that amazing reading nook of yours! PS: I could live in that reading nook for days at a time.
Love this! How did you affix the shelves to the bookcase frame? And did you follow any DIY for the cabinet bases?
Totally doing this but need help!
Thanks! Andy used a kreg jig to attach the shelves. He loves that thing so much and uses it all the time! To build the cabinet bases, he actually kinda just winged it and made it up as he went along. He didn’t even read up on it, which is unusual for him, just thought of how he wanted it to work and did it.
I know that’s completely unhelpful. So sorry! I bet you could dig around google a little and find some great tutorials. Best of luck to you!
This is beautiful, and you make it look so simple. This is similar to what I want in my “formal” living room. Right now it has computer cabinet in it. Anyway, wondering where you put your printer, and all your wires/cords from your computer stuff. I can’t see them in the picture.
Thanks for this demo. I cant fork out 3,000 either. This seems doable.
Hope to hear from you.
Thanks! We actually put all the ugly stuff – printers, computers, routers, etc – in the closed cabinets. My husband just drilled holes so we could run wires inside the shelves and they all stay hidden. I’d love to see pics when you finish yours!