Friday, April 16, 2010

Master Closet Redo

Since I have a closet the size of an entire bedroom for my clothes, our master closet is mostly Shaun's. Knowing this, I went for an understated, somewhat masculine feel for the paint and finishes. 
HAHAHA just kidding, that was not gonna happen!  This closet looks like a Tiffany box, and I don't care that all his man clothes are drowning in aqua and crystals. 
Okay, okay, I have some tops in here too...
I reconfigured some shelves and rods, but I have a couple shelves I need to cut down.  I'm not sure the best way to cut melamine without chipping it all up.  Everyone online suggests this $100 saw blade, but that is not happening!  I'm have to figure it out because we need more shelves, and less hanging storage. 
I'm not the only one in the house that loves brightly colored clothes!  And he looks so good wearing them, too...
He graciously allowed me to hang some of my summer tops in this closet because the hanging bar is too low for his shirts, anyway. 
I am thrilled with the way the new hardware on the dresser turned out!
What we had before was ok, but the handles were a thin and they were bronze.  I wanted to bring more nickel and chrome into the space to match the bedroom chandy and lamps.  These bin pulls not only look great, but they cover up the 3.5 inch center holes that were drilled.  Have you ever tried to find 3.5 inch center pulls?  Maddening!  These are long enough to cover the old holes, so I just drilled new 2.5 inch center holes inside them and I was in business.  Of course the entire thing had to be primed and painted with two coats of semigloss first. 
I saw these amazing crystal hooks at Home Depot, and I just have to splurge on them!  They replaced the silly plastic hooks that were here before.  There are two on either side, but Shaun's shirts cover one up.  So Fab!
Ah, the light fixture.  This thing is ridiculous in the best way possible.  Each of the tiny crystals had to be put on  the chrome 'cage' by hand, there were ~250 of them.  Shaun did it for me while I was at work!  Gotta love that man.  And Overstock!   This is actually a long pendant that I hacked to make a semi-flush fixture.  LOVE it. 
For a rug, I wanted something plush and orange to tie in the pops of orange in our bedroom.   After perusing Ebay, the same rug from my dressing room (Pottery Barn Moorish Tile rug) in the Clementine color was the obvious choice!  I love it so much that I really want to buy the 8x10 version for our room, but I think Shaun might strangle me.  How about a gift for my birthday?  Hmm?  Anyone?  Bueller? 
I especially love how it relates to the PB tile print duvet (also from ebay) that I got for the bed a few months ago.  Lucius was all up in my business for this photo shoot, obviously. 
See, here he is showing his privates...
(Enhance!)
Hey, at least he was looking at the camera!  So, there's my closet in all it's glory.  I'm super happy with the result, and Shaun has no opinion and thinks I was crazy to do anything at all. Well, he did say he likes the new dresser hardware.  Guess you have to actually work on a project to appreciate it!  Oooo, burn!  Deadbeat homeowner alert!  Ok, he assembled the light and then held it up while I installed it.  Interesting fact, even when men go to the gym every day and lift, it still hurts their arms to hold a light fixture over their head for more than a minute.  How about that!       
Here's the cost breakdown (this wasn't a cheap makeover):

Crystal hooks from Home Depot: $30 ($7.50 x 4)
Drawer pulls from Home Depot:  $32 ($4 x 8)
Crystal Pendant from Overstock:  $80 (sorry, I got the last one again!)
3x5 Moorish Tile Rug in Clementine from Ebay:  $100 (and totally worth it for protecting the floors and muffling the loud squeak right in the middle of the closet) 

I used leftover bedroom wall (Behr Aqua Smoke) and trim (Behr Ultra Pure White) paint in the closet. 
I added extra shelves the previous owners left in storage, spraying the gross ones with Rustoleum Universal spray in White Gloss from my stash. 
stained the regular wood clothing rods with leftover floor stain and sprayed them with a gloss top coat I already had in my arsenal of supplies.   

Total: $242 - good thing we got a nice tax return this year...which I submitted YESTERDAY, holy last minute!  Have a great weekend! 

51 comments:

  1. Love the closet! I am ashamed to admit that Shaun has more clothes than I do!

    To cut melamine shelving, I found the best way is to use masking tape (or painters tape, which ever you have laying around) and masking the area you will cut. Worked a treat when we did our robes last year!

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  2. That looks amazing! And April took the words right out of my mouth. I use painters tape and just cut through the middle of the tape.

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  3. Haha! I had no idea I be reading about Lucius or his enhanced hoo haa this morning. :)

    And the closet looks great!

    Re: cutting malamine. I was going to suggest the same thing as April. Don't use a dull blade and go slowly.

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  4. Hi, first visit here. It looks fantastic and the light fixture is so gorgeous.

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  5. i've cut malamine shelves the same way april mentioned above too, they turned out fine.

    love the entire closet, i can't decide what my favorite part is, the rug or the light. i'm loving the orange with the wall color. that is similar to the wall color in our bedroom, i might have to start looking for some orange accessories.

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  6. Love it! It looks great, and it flows perfectly with your bedroom.

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  7. Good job! I particularly love the rug - it's beautiful and it's color somehow ties in the whole thing.

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  8. Sara this is to die for. The whole thing ties in perfectly from the bedroom too. Sigh. Gorgeous & relaxing!

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  9. wow! it is like a photo from a magazine. Congrats!

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  10. I am so drooling over your closet. It's gorgeous!

    Lucius looks like he's auditioning to be a Calvin Klein model. Or, you know, in Playboy. (Playcat?)

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  11. This looks great! I love that rug and think it is the perfect contrast to the paint color...not to mention the size of that closet! Dang, you guys are lucky!

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  12. You make magic! I can't believe you did so much for less than $250! It looks amazing. I really want to paint our walls that aqua color now, but it won't really go with our green bedding.

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  13. Sara - I love it! It looks fantastic! :) You seem to just fly through these reno projects... which is awesome. I, on the other hand, (along with B... I guess) seem to work sooo slowly. Maybe oneday we'll be done of the many projects we're working on *oh god*

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  14. What an awesome transformation!

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  15. Thanks, everyone! I think I may have to invest in a circular saw for cutting the shelving, all we have is a 'sawzall' type Dewalt. Or I can just ask my dad to do it on his table saw. Because it's all about delegation, people!

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  16. I hate the size of your closet and I hate that you got the last Overstock pendant. BOO.

    Because I love, love, love that pendant and your humungo closet! I am green with envy at the size of that thing. You could park a car in there! And it looks GREAT! I also love that GORGEOUS rug -- and you're right, it relates beautifully to the duvet in your bedroom. Great job, Sara -- oh, and the wall color is fabulous!

    Kelly

    p.s. I guess I haven't seen the linens on your bed in a while -- love 'em, too!

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  17. Me-ow! Prrrr! Another great makeover! If you don't mind me butting into your career, may I suggest that you start your own closet organizing business. Or design clothing boutiques! Or start doing on-line design consultations! I really love how you inject glam into fun and quirky spaces. Love the orange, love the hooks and LOVE the chandelier!

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  18. This looks AMAZING! I love, love that light, the rug, well, everything! We have two good sized walk-in closets, and they are definitely on my list to redecorate and add better shelving space. I'll be referring to this when we get to that!

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  19. This looks AMAZING! I love, love that light, the rug, well, everything! We have two good sized walk-in closets, and they are definitely on my list to redecorate and add better shelving space. I'll be referring to this when we get to that!

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  20. Gorgeous closet ... I love the light (well worth putting 250 crystals on!) and the way the orange rug connects in with the bedroom.

    Another fabulous redo!

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  21. I could live in that closet. :)
    And now I'm pretty much in love with that rug. I need one of own.

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  22. you know what the style and setup of yuor closet reminds me of Carrie Bradshaw's - and how its walk though an leads to another room.

    I love your update very stylsih and I like the color your choose! I like the orange rung so pretty, and is a perfect tie-in with your bedroom! loves

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  23. The pendant! The crystal hooks! The wall color! The RUG! This is an awesome closet. You also have an awesome cat... hilarious!

    $242 is completely, totally worth it. I would pay more to have a closet like that. I'll ask for some tips when I get around to our master closet - sometime in 2012, probably!

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  24. This is a great makeover! All the attention you paid to details has really paid off...I agree with you on the dresser hardware and crystal hooks...they're amazing. And the rug and light fixture were both great splurges.

    I can't decide if the matching rug would be too much when set right underneath the duvet, but I'm kind of obsessed so I'm going to have to go with a yes for now.

    Nice work!

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  25. I love my IKEA closet, but this is just so fun. I'm super impressed!!

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  26. Perfection.

    Can I move in? Baxter and I will sleep on his mat in your closet and be perfectly happy. Love the paint, love the rug, love the light, love it all!

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  27. Super gorg!! Glad to see I am not the only person in the world who organizes her clothes by colour and sleeve length! No joke there! lol

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  28. It looks great and I'm loving your kitty!

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  29. i love this happy, cheery, classy closet!
    how could you be in a bad mood in here? what a great way to start your day. i relaly love that you stained the curtain rods...something i would have never thought to do, but it really adds a richness to the space!
    bravo x100!!

    :)
    love the gratuitous kitty shots, as well...totally cracked me up!

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  30. Absolutely beautiful! How have I not seen your master bedroom before? Love love love it! Great job on the closet.

    -Ann Marie

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  31. Love the rug! Great choice. Those are the drawer pulls I have been coveting for the corner cabinet I am painting! Thanks for the heads up on where to purchase them, Lowe's has nothing even remotely similar... Shocking.

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  32. I absolutely love it! You sure have a way with decorating rooms that hold clothing :-)

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  33. Your closet looks amazing - I love the drawer pulls, the light, the pop of orange.

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  34. You must know that I ADORE your bedroom. The colors, the furniture, the fabrics. Perfection.

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  35. Your closest is DIVINE!!!! Love the pendant! Your closet makes mine weep with jealously.

    Cheers~
    e

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  36. Oh wow....I love it all. The rug totally makes the space though I have to say. And I especially love how it ties in with the duvet. You sure know how to put a room together. After reading this post the closet might have surpassed the entryway on the next item on the to-do list. Love.it.

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  37. is there anything you cannot do?!? i love the rug and the light fixture and the wall color... if i had this closet, i would probably just hang out in there for hours!

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  38. Love the color, love the crystal hooks, love the light fixture and I love the hangers (I have them, too... aren't they great?).

    Your cat is hilarious. Aren't pets a trip?

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  39. Gorgeous closet! I love the light fixture and the hooks. Great job and totally worth the effort!

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  40. Gorgeous! I'd expect nothing less from you :o) I'm thinking you may be able to rent the saw you need to cut the melamine. Try Home Depot or Google tool rentals in your area. Good luck~

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  41. Now THIS is a closet!! From the light to the fabulous rug its beautiful! I will be wishing for something like this for a long time...we are not planning to move and our closet is teeny teeny tiny!

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  42. LOVE this closet! I'm stealing the dresser-in-the-closet idea, and have already tracked one down on craigs list for 35 beans. Can't wait to make it happen in my current mess of a closet, i'll be sure to post pics on my blog when it's all finished!

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  43. It looks amazing, I love the color! I am new to your blog, and I love it! I can't wait to read more!

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  44. Kitty Porn - HA!

    Seriously this looks so great. I love the closet and I'm just sitting here with my jaw on the floor it all works SO well together.

    P.S. I love that dresser in the bedroom by the closet door - awesome!

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  45. this is a stunning, stunning room. and that photo of your cat totally made me bust out laughing. like literally, REALLY out loud.
    :)
    you are kicking ass and taking names on this whole house-reno business!

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  46. OMG.
    I just peed myself.
    That's how stunned I am by this space. I've lost control of my bladder.

    I don't know what I love more.....the serene wall color, the sparkly chandie, the bold rug, your chic summer tops, or Lucius' private parts.

    ::off to put on dry pants::

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  47. great job... love you closet. i never knew such a tiny space could look so fantastic!

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  48. I love this makeover!! This just might help me convince the hubs that it's worth it to spend a little money in our closet. The crystal chandelier was an excellent idea - never would've thought to put something so fancy in a closet, but it looks absolutely perfect. Nice job!

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  49. I ADORE the closet!! I can't decide what part of it I love the most but I would happily live in it :) One question though about your duvet-what do you do with it in the warmer months? We have down comforters to go in it in the winter but they are obviously too hot for the spring and summer (at least here in VA). Do you have anything in yours or is it "okay" to put it on the bed empty? Thanks!!

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  50. Christy, thank you! We still have a comforter in the duvet, but I will replace it with a lightweight quilted 'blanket' that I got from Target for the summer. It is the Woolrich brand and very light. Otherwise, I don't see why you couldn't use it empty, it would be a lot like sleeping with just sheets, which we do when it's really hot!

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  51. I love the closet and I love your humour! I was LOL at "Enhance!" because DH and I always say that (we watch CSI and engage in enthusiastic eyerolling when they do impossible things with video and images.)

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Thanks so much for reading....your comments mean a lot to me!
Sara