We rented this house for three years before we purchased it. That means, for three years this was the site of my laundry closet. It was okay, I guess, if you love peacocks and shelving using old door trim. I mean, it works, right?!
This was my very first project, circa 2013, before cell phone pictures were any good, and long before starting a blog was on my mind. Many of the first projects were just that; not planned for anything but to improve the space we were living in. So please excuse the before pictures that look like all prehistoric iphone photos do.
I always paint the insides of closets before I start to work on them. The builders-white with 40 years of scuffs and dings just doesn’t cut it for me. I typically pick a fun color that I wouldn’t put in a large room, but that brightens up and adds a little joy to a small space (or a color that I grabbed of the oops-paint shelf, or leftovers picked up at a yard sale – hey, we are on a budget here!).
The cabinets were a steal at a yard sale. I was scrolling Craigslist one Saturday morning and this picture of what looked liked a teeny tiny cabinet popped up. I could not tell how big it was, but I something made me throw back the covers and race to the sale. The seller had these two cabinets, which were so much bigger and so much better than I could have ever imagined! And at only $40 for the pair, I could not get them in my car fast enough. He told me they came out of some old apartments that were going to be torn down and he rescued a pair from each apartment. These were the last two he had left!
They originally sat on the floor as a room divider so there were no holes to hang them. I predrilled holes after carefully measuring the location of the studs on the walls and transferring those measurements to the inside of the cabinet to pre-drill the holes. Then my awesome hubby held them in place while I used cabinet screws to secure them to the wall.
They could not have fit more perfectly! The doors open enough to get in and out of easily, and they leave plenty of room for the light above, while also giving the wash lid plenty of clearance to open and close! They were literally made to fit! And if we ever move, these babies are coming with me 🙂
