Hi Everyone,
Somehow, I thought once December came, things would calm down.
Well, I was wrong.
My to-do list is never-ending. Some of it is things that got put off because of the renovation. But much of it is furnishing my home and completing some of the details the builders don’t do.
Like the closets… We’ll get to my closet solution in a bit.
In the meantime, my little tree is up.
Just one problem…
Ya think?
The air handler was installed in front of the existing outlet, even though the electrician was told, “It’ll be okay.” Well it’s not okay because I need to plug things in back there, and it’s inaccessible. Bob, the electrician, had a brilliant solution. He was able to plug in a power strip with a short cord.
Alas, the power strip doesn’t work. I checked the electrical panel and all is fine. The switch on the power strip also doesn’t turn on. Anyway, Bob is coming tomorrow morning to hopefully fix it.
Otherwise, I am trying to get more organized.
However, it’s impossible.
I still need shelves and other fittings in my closets. However, I was horrified to learn from a friend that she had a quote for $6,000 to put up shelves in a not-very-large closet.
My musician son Cale is super into woodworking, and while he’s not yet a master builder like my guys Brendan and Eugene, I think he could handle some shelves. Plus, it’s a win-win if I pay my son for the work.
Interestingly, last summer, when I was staying at my neighbor’s place, I admired her extra-thick bathroom shelves.
The other day, I Googled extra-thick bathroom shelves and came across some Etsy sources that will build custom wooden covers for cheap wire shelves.
What a fantastic idea! You can see my favorite source below.
cherry tree gallery on Etsy, custom wooden shelf covers
Then, I located some nice wire shelves and searched YouTube for a video about how to put them up.
I broke out in a cold sweat when I started watching the video. The instructions were so complex.
There must be an easier way.
And then it came to me.
Why not just put the shelves on top of iron L brackets that would be covered by the fronts of the shelves?
This isn’t exactly right because the bracket would be completely hidden. But it gives you an idea of what I’m talking about. Here’s the source for the brackets.
Below is a brief video to show you a bit of what else is going on. I had to edit a big part because I received some new hinges with the wrong finish. Anyway, you’ll get a little tour of the upstairs as it is right now. These videos sometimes give a better perspective than the photos.
I really love this shelf idea!
Of course, I also need a few bars and other things. I need to run this past Cale and then begin my designs– quickly.
The most pressing closets are the linen closet and the primary bedroom closet.
I could keep Cale quite busy for a while. However, it’s fine if he doesn’t do it all in the upcoming trip. Hopefully, I can get everything in time.
Okay, that’s all for now.
xo,
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22 Responses
I went through the closet saga when I moved into my house. I couldn’t unpack anything until shelves & rods were put up. Fortunately I know my way around tools. I went to Home Depot, bought some lumber & brackets & got them installed myself.
I love your cute tree. Did it come in the blue & white pot?
Hi Mary,
I wish I had learned how to use power tools. It’s probably not that difficult. Alas, this isn’t a good time. I need all the help I can get!
Laurel, I love the wood cover, however we have the wire shelves in our home in Florida and had an occasion where we had some heavy stuff on them and they came right out of the wall. The best shelves are wood and all you basically need is a board in the back and two on each side that are screwed into the studs so the wood can rest on them. You can even add the wood covers on top of them.
Good Luck
Hi Barbara,
We’re not doing the wire shelves. I agree that putting them up is problematic. If I did straight wood shelves, I most likely wouldn’t bother with the covers. Yes, we could do the perimeter supports and that was my first thought, but having that structure of steel underneath would give some added support.
Sorry Laurel, but what is an air handler?
Hi Lisa,
The indoor air handler is the part of the mini split AC (and heating!) system that was installed. Downstairs, the air handler is in the ceiling. Upstairs, behind the settee it’s a console unit which you don’t see because of the settee.
Ames company (owns Closet maid) designs closets for $10 or $20 if you send them your measurements. I find them as creative as Elfa design from the Container Store and so much more reasonable. Design comes with a product list that one can buy online or at Lowe’s. If you can find studs, you can install them. It just required us some patience and marital harmony 🙂
Elfa lover here. started with basic closets, biggest project was garage, the only installation for the shelving is level the top horizontal track. I only screwed in about 1/2 what they recommended into the top track into studs. I never did screw in the vertical standards. I had huge heavy rubbermaid tubs full of stuff, mulitple 20 lb bags of charcoal stacked on top of each other, 40 lb bags of salt for the water softener and also for saltwater pool. The downward pressure of all the weigh held it against the wall. It didn’t move for 12 years. Unhooked it all, unscrewed the horizontal tracking, sprayed with cleaner and hosed off, patched the holes, painted, sold the house, and moved it all to knew home. Parts are now in pool pavillion storage room, some in back closet for misc. I have closet pieces from the early 2000. I alway buy on sale and look for coupons, you can use both. Best part is it adjustable, have tall stuff, move the shelf, need more shelves, get another and add it in.
Hi Christine,
Sounds great. My son Cale put together these bathroom caddies back in 2020, shortly before I moved to Boston, but right before I decided to do so.
Laurel, You can buy battery operated white lights for your tree so there won’t be the messy cord situation. Would look much better…
I agree with you, do your shelves yourself. We used California Closets for a normal size walk in and it was over 5K.
Everything is looking lovely!
Hi Monica,
The tree is already lit and the cord situation is getting taken care of. Bob the electrician came by and indeed, the outlet isn’t working to power the power strip. The power strip does work in other outlets, however.
Elfa from Container Store has some gorgeous solutions, but it’s expensive unless you wait for their sale, twice yearly in winter and September, usually. It can be nitpicky to install but they also offer installation services.
Hi Ann,
We did Elfa caddies in 2020. The link is in my reply to Christine.
Have your son check out the wood shelves at Home Depot or Lowes. Much less expensive than custom and comes with brackets, rods or whatever you need to install. The shelves and rods do need to be cut to size but my not too handy husband was able to do them and I was able to get a customized closet.
Agree with Anne and Chris. The Elfa system from the Container Store is great. Easy to design with their help, easy to install, easy on the wallet with their yearly sale, easy to reconfigure, easy to clean….easy,easy,easy. They have multiple styles with wooden or fabric covered shelves. We moved to a home that had old sticky wire shelving and I could not wait to replace them. We have gone through each room and changed the closets to Elfa products and it is really nice. I would think Cale would be able to install them for you. Good luck and can’t wait for more video and posts as the rooms are coming together. I love the deep paint color of the den.
I used the Elfa solid shelves in my linen closet and really like them. I have even reconfigured them a few times over the years. Also the Container Store usually has a big sale on Elfa every January
We had wire shelving in all the closets of our last house. In the next house I wanted thicker wood shelves but it seemed prohibitively expensive. In out pantry closet we put up the nicer versions of the Container Store elfa shelving (the kind that screws into the wall and hooks on but with the wood look shelves. Unfortunately, in spite of going into the studs, I would over load the shelves and twice in 3 years the whole thing collapsed in an avalanche of canned goods (I have that shelving elsewhere in the house and it works/looks great). We needed pieces about 12 x 37 x 1 inch thick and anything that size or with the ability to cut to that size was expensive. Then we realized that wood stair treads came in the sizes we needed, allowed you to choose a bevel amount, and were SO much cheaper! We ordered from Hardwood Lumber Company, and with shipping it was still much cheaper (and higher quality) than our local big box home improvement stores, etc. I put up Cole & Son wallpaper in the closet, husband put 1×2 wood pieces as a frame into the studs that the shelves are screwed into (I painted everything a pretty green to match the wallpaper pattern) and it both looks amazing, it is custom fit to my needs, and could hold an elephant without collapsing. Happy to send pictures if it would be helpful!
Hi Cris,
Yes, the wire shelves are problematic for the reasons you state. Thanks for the tip. I would prefer to not have to cut anything. The dust is toxic and my exposure has already been maxed out.
Is the outlet with the power strip controlled by a wall switch? Power strips do fail and need to be replaced.
Hi Caryl,
It’s a new power strip. The electrician was here earlier and confirmed that the issue is with the outlet. He will need to install a new one.
Laurel, love the Etsy find of custom wood cover for wire shelves! Am going to check those out. Would add some elegance to my front hall closets. I renovated our large back hall closet, front hall closets and laundry room with Elfa shelving from the Container store a few years ago. My father was extremely handy with carpentry and plumbing – so I had a good role model. Once I got a rhythm going the shelving went up easily. However, I may be a bit eccentric regarding home projects – I absolutely love hardware stores and have my own collection of powertools. Treated myself to a small chainsaw for my birthday. 😉
Hi Marlene,
You can operate a chain saw? Wow! I’m impressed!!!