Check out the transformation of our master bedroom in the photos below. This room went from dark and dingy to bright and beautiful. In this article, I’ll take you through the removal of the outdated wallpaper (Ew, 90’s grossness! I bet there are some hanging grapes somewhere in that floral border), these hotel-like drapes, as well as the old carpet. Also, I’ll share a little bit about the french provincial bedroom set that we revitalized with Annie Sloan’s Pure White chalk paint as well as some of the super awesome decor we hand-picked for this master bedroom makeover!

Removing the Old Wallpaper

One of the very first things we did in the makeover of our master bedroom was remove the outdated wallpaper and border. While you’ve probably heard some nightmare stories about wallpaper removal, it’s actually pretty easy.

Items You’ll Need:

• Disposable Plastic Drop Cloth
• Wallpaper Scoring Tool
• Wallpaper Stripper
• Spray Bottle
• Putty Knife
• Garbage Bags

Before you get started, make sure to purchase a disposable plastic drop cloth to protect your floor. Now while I own a canvas drop cloth, I’ll still use a disposable plastic drop cloth for easy clean-up. At the end of the project, I can just grab the four corners, bring it together and just throw out all the pieces of wallpaper that didn’t make it into the trash. Talk about easy clean-up!

After you put your plastic drop cloth down, start by scoring your walls using an inexpensive scoring tool. This small tool creates tiny holes in the wallpaper which will allow your wallpaper stripper’s enzymes to get behind the wallpaper and breakdown the glue.

Once you’ve perforated the wallpaper, apply your Wallpaper stripper using a spray bottle. Apply the Dif lightly and start by doing only a 5-foot wide section of the wall. If you try to do an entire wall at once, there’s a good chance most of the Dif will dry and you’ll be wasting a good amount of your stripper. After you’ve sprayed roughly a 5′ area, allow the solution to soak in and go to work breaking down the wallpaper glue for a good 15-20 minutes.

Next, go back and respray the small 5′ section you just let sit and begin removing any sections of the wallpaper that are loose. If you can peel them off go for it, just do it slowly and evenly to avoid damaging the drywall behind it. If the wallpaper cannot be peeled off by hand, you may need to use a putty knife or scraper. It can be pretty easy to get overaggressive with a putty knife, so do your best to carefully remove both the wallpaper and backing without damaging the wall.

Repairing the Wall – Skim Coating vs. Stucco Finish

Often when removing wallpaper your walls will get damaged and the adhesive from the wallpaper glue will remove large chunks of your drywall. Before you can paint or put up new wallpaper you need to repair the wall surface. You can do so by skim coating the wall or in our instance we chose to create a textured stucco wall.

Now in order to stucco the wall, you’ll need drywall compound and a drywall taping knife. Simply scoop a small amount of compound onto your blade and spread lightly across the wall. The goal here is to spread a very light amount of compound and create random textures and patterns across the wall. When doing so, try varying your application techniques and patterns. Apply some compound in a left to right, a right to left motion and again, keep the application light.

In our room we gave the stucco finish a full 24 hours to dry. A day later we were ready to paint. For our Master we wanted a fun color, but nothing too overpowering, too bright or too dark. Just something right in between.

We ended up going with Sherwin-Williams’ North Star and added some awesome Silver Paint Crystals. These crystals are extremely subtle and you only notice them about maybe 10% of the time. That’s because the light has to hit the wall just right, but when it does it give the room a super glam feel. Funny thing is, even when you’re looking at the photo below as you scroll the sparkles seem to change as if you’re looking at it from different angles.

Painting the Wood Trim/Door & Replacing the Handles

Originally this room had quite a bit of brown wood in it. That included two separate double door closets, the entryway door as well as the attached half bath door. We painted the trim in the room as well as all of the doors a bright white. For the closet doors, we removed the old and outdated pull handles and put up some inexpensive crystal handles. For the main entryway door, we removed the old, outdated, weathered and worn bronze handles and put up these fresh scrolling satin chrome handles.

We loved these handles so much we ended up putting them throughout the entire house.

Removing Carpet & Cleaning Hardwood

While the carpet in our room wasn’t in too rough of shape, we found out there are beautiful hardwood floors underneath that were original to the house.

Removing carpet is a surprisingly dirty project! Dirt, grime and all sorts of gross things collect underneath the carpet and padding, so if you ever decide to remove your carpet, prepare to get dirty.

As you pull up the carpet use a fresh razor blade to cut the carpet and padding in roughly 2′ x 7′ sections. Then roll then up the carpet and padding and secure with duct tape (for easy removal) and disposal on the curb.

After you remove all of your carpet, you’ll be left with tack strips around the exterior of the room. I’d suggest wearing a pair of heavy-duty work gloves when removing the tack strips as you’ll be dealing with sharp old rusty nails.

Use a pry bar to lift and pop up the tack strips and make sure to remove any nails that might be leftover in the hardwood. I have this awesome pry bar which I use for all my remodel projects and is a must-have for demolition!

After removing your tack strips you’ll then need to sweep, mop and scrub the hardwood floor 2-3 times with a mixture of hot water and dish soap to get the gunk and grime up that may have collected over the years.

In this room we left the floors their original color, but in our daughter’s room we ended up painting the hardwood floor white. If you’d like to learn more and see that project check out the blog post below.

How to Paint Hardwood Floors White

Chalk Painted Furniture

One of the best parts of this room is the chalk painted french provincial furniture. Annette ended up inheriting this awesome French Provincial bedroom set from her mom’s neighbor that consisted of one tall 6-drawer dresser, one short/wide 13-drawer dresser and a nightstand. Originally, these pieces were your standard maple brown wood and we painted them with Annie Sloan’s Pure White white chalk paint.

If you love this French Provincial bedroom set check out the dining room set, vintage TV stand, numerous end tables, curious and even chalk painted chandeliers that we’ve created over the years.

The Master Bedroom Bed

One of the most important pieces of a master bedroom is the bed. And in our room, we did not skimp on the bed. We have a split King Tempur-pedic with adjustable bases. This thing is huge, comfortable and both my wife and I can adjust to our own preferences.

While this bed is super comfortable, a huge component that really spices up its visual appeal is this old school curved/round bed frame.

Comforter, Pillow Cases, Quilted Blanket and Bed Skirt

My wife Annette did an awesome job creating an inviting and comfortable space here, which all starts with this awesome white pintuck comforter and matching pillowcase set. She had read that having all white bedding is conducive to the best night’s sleep, which is why you see pure white bedding in most hotels and decided to make that a theme of our room.

She then picked out quite a few big pillows that add some awesome complementary colors and texture. Last, she topped it off with this light pink quilted blanket and then at the foot of the best, a DIY gold and fur bench and super awesome white faux fur rug.

This is most definitely a killer bed. Even our lazy cat Larz approves. See his raving review below!

Creating a Fun Sitting Area

Even after getting this monster Tempur-pedic bed, we still had some extra room, so we decided to create this little sitting area. In this space, we got an awesome clear acrylic armchair to play off the lamp as well as another custom chalk painted end table for books flowers or anything else you might want to store there. Annette likes to sit clad in a robe in this luxurious space, apply cold face masks and either read historical nonfiction or watch The Bachelor.

I can’t remember exactly how we got this end table, but I’m pretty sure we got it for free. It was a weird gold color with a dark wood top. We painted the body of this piece with Maison Blanche’s Silver Mink chalk paint. I love this piece as it has some cool detail and ornamental patterns on the side. After painting this piece Silver Mink I also used Maison Blanche’s Le Dirt Antiquing Dust to make the super detailed carpentry pop out and seem more three dimensional.

I painted the dark top with Annie Sloan’s Pure White to match the french provincial nightstand and dressers.

Again, if you’d like to learn more about chalk painting, check out our blog post with TONS of photos here!

Pink Curtains, Curtain Rods & Holdbacks

With a mixture of gray and whites in our master, we wanted to add a bit of color and pop with our curtains which could also easily be changed. Check out the fun color pallet below.

These fun pink/blush curtains, a poofy curtain over the bed and fun decorative curtain rod were picked up by my wife at Target – all part of their Simply Shabby Chic line.

Also, we love to think through the tiny details and accents that make a room unique and different than others. One of my favorite accents in this room are these Curtain Holdbacks. These were super easy to install, look awesome and are also functional when we want to let light in and have the curtains held back.

To finish the room, Annette opted for mirrored frames for some of our favorite wedding photos and our family photos. She also added the pops of color with the addition of the chinoiserie blue and white ginger jars and other accents – all from HomeGoods. A few strategically placed touches of gold accessories added the final layer of glam to this perfectly curated master.

Overall, we couldn’t be happier with how our master bedroom makeover turned out. It is truly a sanctuary, a place we made our own at every level. Next, we’ll be doing a short post on the remodel of the master bath.

In the meantime, please comment below and let us know what you think!

Thanks for reading!

– Mike from SCH

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This bathroom was one of the last areas in our house that was severely outdated and in need of a major makeover. I completely gutted this bathroom. I mean I demo’d the tiled walls, floor, shower pan and had this room all the way down to the studs. Check out this short before video, so you can really appreciate the after.

Now that we got that 70’s grossness out of the way, let’s talk about what you’ll see in this post. I’ll walk you through all of the awesome materials we spent hours carefully curating. You’ll see tons of awesome Italian Carrara marble, subway tile, vintage looking chrome faucets as well as a few mirrored showpieces perfect for a small bathroom remodel!

Selecting Flooring for our Small Bathroom Remodel

One of the first things we knew we wanted to do in our new bathroom remodel was feature lots of Italian Carrera marble. We live 2-3 minutes away from The Tile Shop, so that was our first stop. There we found both a 2″ and 3″ hexagon shaped Italian Carrera which was exactly what we were looking for. The only downside was the cost, which was $21.99 and $22.99 per square foot.

After doing quite a bit of research I found pretty much the identical tile on Amazon for a fraction of the price and decided to take a chance and buy on-line, which paid off huge.

I ended up buying 2″ Italian Carrara hexagon tiles for the shower floor and niche. The cost per square foot was only $9.25! I then got 3″ Italian Carrara hexagon tiles for the rest of the bathroom floor, which was $11.95 per square foot.

This is a face melting deal! I ended up buying 14 square feet worth of the 2″ tiles and 33 square feet of the 3″ tiles for $523.85 with Free Shipping. These same tiles from the Tile Shop and similar stores I visited would have cost me $1065.21 before tax. That’s twice as much!

How Much Tile to Buy

This shower measured 3′ x 3′ which equals 9 square feet for the floor and the nook I was planning to build was only about 2 square feet. Although I only needed 11 square feet it’s best practice to order an additional 20-25% in materials. Having extra tile is huge because you may need a little extra to fill in gaps around the edge of the room and also as you’ll want a few extra pieces in case you find any cracks or imperfections before installation. Also, if you go back and try to buy more of the same marble tile down the road, there’s a chance that it may be cut from a different stone/quarry and may not match well.

White Subway Tile Shower

For the shower walls, we put up your standard 3 inch x 6 inch white subway tiles which only costs $1.20 per square foot at Home Depot. We tiled three walls which were each about 3 feet wide and 8 feet tall. Now again, for any tile project I always order an additional 20% in materials. Even including that additional 20% in material this shower came to 86 square feet and only costed us around $100 in tile, which is pretty amazing.

Again, that’s an awesome price compared to most other shower tiling options. Another great thing about subway tiles is, Home Depot sells single subway tiles, so you can buy a case of a hundred and return any tiles you don’t use and get credit.

For our shower niche we used a sheet of the 2″ Italian Carrara marble that we also used for the shower floor. Around the edges of the niche we used a white bullnose subway tile for a smooth transition. For the niche shelf we used a piece of 5″ Italian Carrara marble threshold that I cut to size.

Shower Head & Knobs

We really wanted our shower head and handles to have that old school or vintage look to match up with the subway tile. My wife Annette picked this Pfister shower head and handles. These handles have some awesome weight to them which makes them feel high quality. Also, I love the “H” and “C” markings designating “Hot” and “Cold” which really give them that classic and timeless look.

Italian Carrara Shower Curb

For my shower curb I used a second piece of the 36″ x 6″ Italian Carrara that matches the piece I used for my shower niche shelf. As you can see in the picture below, I have four different pieces of Italian Carrara in the bathroom remodel. The shower floor, bathroom floor, shower curb and marble baseboards. While they don’t match each other perfectly they are pretty dang close and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.

Marble Instead of Wood Baseboards

Now instead of doing a boring old wood baseboard I wanted to do something different. So instead I purchased several pieces of 4” x 16” Italian Carrara which we used as a baseboard. These were pretty easy to cut to size with my wet saw and act as great accent with the white walls.

Mirrored Vanity

My wife Annette knew exactly what she wanted and months before we even began demolition she bought this awesome Italian Carrara topped mirrored vanity. You can see in the photo below that the marble top is a whiter marble and it actually has some very light brown veining. This current model has more grays in it and would have matched way better with the rest of the Italian Carrara tile throughout the bathroom.

Finding the Perfect Faucet for our Mirrored Vanity

Again, in this bathroom we wanted an old school, classic or maybe even vintage look that would match the rest of the house as well as the faucet in the shower. After some research we found this awesome Kingston Brass Heritage Widespread Faucet in polished chrome. This thing looks awesome and also is cool as it swivels both left and right.

Mini Subway Tile Backsplash

After installing the mirror vanity we decided to add a very small subway tile backsplash which would match the subway tile in the shower. For the backsplash we considered terminating the edges with a bullnose tile, but I found a cool pencil quarter round tile and thought it would be a cool and different way to accent the edges. Take a look at the photo below to see both the bullnose termination in the shower and then the quarter round termination around the sink’s backsplash.

Finding the Right Mirrored Mirror

After picking out the mirrored vanity and mirrored light switch plates, I wanted to carry the mirrored look/theme on to the actual mirror above the sink. I did quite a bit of searching in stores and online. The 20″ x 30″ mirror with 2″ beveled mirror frame that you see in the photo above I found on Amazon! I searched in stores and online and this mirror had 5 stars and was also quite a bit cheaper than any others I could find.

While they sell this mirror in a variety of sizes, I went with the 20″ x 30″ mirror as my vanity and sink sit back in a 24″ nook. This leaves 2″ of space on both sides of the mirror in the nook.

Choosing a Chrome & Crystal Light Fixture

We love incorporating crystals in all of our lighting and with chrome faucets throughout the room we decided to stick with a chrome fixture. Annette picked out this super glam Jayden 2 Light Bath Bar light fixture from Wayfair.

Overall, this full bathroom remodel was messy, at times frustrating, but in the end totally worth it and one of my favorite projects that I’ve taken on in the house.

In the future, I plan to detail this bathroom remodel from nose to tail. I’ll get into the demolition that went down to the studs and then some of the roadblocks and technical aspects of this remodel. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think of this transformation. Please comment below!

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Before the Remodel

Here is a photo of the room before the remodel. Pretty boring and somewhat outdated, right? Also, the walls and curtains were pink. What if we had a boy? We’d have to paint, and I’m not sure I’d have the energy on top of learning how to deal with our first new born.

Also, at the time of this photo the flooring was a light brown carpet, but we knew there was beautiful hardwood underneath that was original to the house. We loved the idea of possibly removing the carpet and restoring the original hardwood floors.

Painting the Walls

One of the first things we did in this room was paint the walls. My wife, Annette, is a huge fan of pastels and since we didn’t know the sex of the child, so we chose to go with a mint green color which could work for both a boy or a girl. This color is called “Icing on the Cake” by Benjamin Moore.

The best part about painting was we knew we were going to rip/cut up the carpet, so there was no need to put down a drop cloth!

Removing the Carpet & Painting the Floors

So to make this baby room super fun we chose not to only remove the carpet, but also to paint the hardwood floor underneath an awesome glossy white.

There’s quite a bit that goes into removing the carpet, cleaning/prepping the hardwood floor as well as painting, so I made a short blog post on the process. Read it here!

Putting up Nursery Bookshelves

After getting the floor painted the next steps was to assemble our brand new crib from Bratt Decor and build some awesome mountain and could shaped shelves.

My wife was super excited to get this crib which was not cheap and shortly after our purchase, I found a nearly identical crib at a fraction of the cost on Wayfair. The coolest part about this particular crib is that it also can be converted into a daybed.

As we were searching for decor items for our gender-neutral baby room my wife came across Jellycat stuffed animals. They have almost every animal you can imagine and you can also buy an accompanying book of that same animal which our little one loves to snuggle when we read to her.

Here you can see I chose to stagger the shelves and put them in a tiered or ascending order. Also I used left over paint and touched up the screws I used to hang the shelves, so they blended in.

Creating the Tree Shaped Bookshelf

On of my favorite things I’ve ever built is this 6 foot tree shelf. My wife had been showing me pictures for months and we couldn’t really find any where to buy this unique tree shaped book shelf. When we finally did find someone that could build us one, the price tag was insane ($1,100 plus shipping)!

Being a pretty handy guy, I decided to give it a go and while this project took a little bit of time to figure out, it was totally worth it. To this day I still have friends and mom’s asking if I can create a tree shelf for them.

If you interest in learning more about how I built our tree shaped book shelf and want to give this project a shot yourself check out my super detailed blog post with awesome photos of the build. Check it out here.

Here’s a shot of the shelf with a few essentials such a Green Eggs & Ham, The Hungry Caterpillar, Humpty Dumpty and Go the F#$k to Sleep!

Additional Decor for our Gender Neutral Baby Room

In any new babe’s room you’ll want a comfy rocking chair for feedings, book readings, sleep sitting and more. We picked up this awesome glider in the photo below which I spent many nights rocking on.

Also, my wife’s sister bought us this awesome plush lamb nursery rocker from Pottery Barn as well as the matching lamb floor rug/play mat.

In the picture above you’ll also notice a chandelier. This room does not have a fixture hardwired into the ceiling. To combat that issue I picked up this awesome chrome and crystal chandelier, a ceiling medallion and a swag kit.

The swag kit is awesome as it allows you to take a chandelier that would normally need to be hardwired and convert it to a chandelier that can be plugged into a normal outlet. In this room there is a light switch right by the entrance that allows me control the outlet right under the chandelier and turn the light on and off therefore acting like your normal hardwired chandelier.

Gender Neutral Baby Room – Conclusion

Overall we couldn’t be happier with how our baby room turned out. The white hardwood floor brightens up the room an insane amount and a few years later we still love the mountain, cloud and tree shaped book shelves.

Oh…and in case you were wondering…we ended up having a beautiful baby girl that named Collette and now goes by the nickname Coco!

If you loved this post, just wait til my new one comes about out the baby-proofing process I went through. I locked this room down like it was for a madman and can’t wait to share the details.

If you want a heads up when that new post and other are ready, please join our email newsletter by sharing your email below.

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Below is our ultimate step-by-step tutorial on how to transform your boring entryway closet from a catch-all into a fresh and highly functional shabby chic shiplap entryway nook. My goal is to give you an insane amount of detail on my transformation, so by the end of this read you’ll have the know-how and complete confidence to tackle this closet makeover on your own.

Affiliate Link Disclaimer: Every product we recommend we love and use on used on our own projects. If you do decide to purchase one of the products we mention, you won’t pay a penny more, but we may get a small commission which helps us keep the site up and running/bringing you new and awesome content. Thanks so much for your support!

Removing Old Shelving & Doors

First, remove any old shelving units, closet doors and door tracks. After doing so, you’ll most likely have a variety of holes in you walls. Patch these holes with a spackling blade and your standard issue dry wall compound.

Most closets have textured interior walls and ceilings. In order to put up your shiplap, you’ll need a flat surface. Quickly hit all of the textured areas with a palm sander before you start skim coating.

I love this Dewalt palm sander as the dust collector helps me minimize the amount of dust sprayed throughout the room and therefore, the amount of clean-up.

Skim Coating Your Closet Walls & Ceiling

If you’re not familiar with skim coating, it is the process of putting a thin layer off drywall mud/compound on a surface to level it out. In order to skim coat, you’ll need:

• Drywall Compound
• Drywall Mud Pan
• Stainless Steel Taping Knife
• Sanding Sponges
• Respirator (You might have a few lying around nowadays)

Using a drywall mud pan makes it easier to get an even amount of compound on your spackling blade. This is essential to get a nice and even coat of compound on your wall.

Start in one corner of your wall or ceiling and slowly work your way across the space. Your goal is to make a level surface while applying the thinnest layer of compound possible. Be careful not to spread your compound on too thick, as you only need a very thin layer.

In my closet I applied one coat of compound, waited a day for it to dry, sanded and then repeated the entire process again.

Making vs. Purchasing Shiplap

You can make your own shiplap by purchasing a few sheets of 4′ x 8′ plywood and ripping them into 4-6″ sections. However, Shiplap has now become so popular that Home Depot sells 8′ and 16′ shiplap in three different colors. A 8′ white shiplap board is only $4.98!

For me, the low price outweighed the inconvenience of having to rip 2-3 pieces of plywood into many smaller boards. Also the shiplap boards come in white, so there’s no need to prime before you paint. Last, Home Depot’s Shiplap is tongue and groove, making it easy to get consistent spacing.

Putting up Your Shiplap

Tools you’ll need:

• Table Saw (I have & absolutely love this Dewalt)
• Measuring Tape
• Level
• Nail Gun & Compressor or Finishing Nails & Old-School Hammer
• Punch Set

The first piece of shiplap you put up should be at the very top of your wall. Since the top of the wall is at eye level, it’s better to have a full shiplap board here and if necessary, a partial shiplap board at the bottom of the wall, where it is less noticeable.

I used this awesome Bosch laser level to make sure the first board I put up near the top of the ceiling was level and then to check my work as I progressed down the wall. Simply set the laser level up on a tripod to your desired height and hit a button. The laser level will automatically level itself and then project both vertical and horizontal lines on all six walls in a single room.

As you cut your shiplap it is important to note that you don’t want the boards to fit too tightly between the two walls. Over time changes in temperature will cause your walls to expand and contract. If your shiplap is fit too tight, it will crack.

For this project, I’d recommend purchasing a nail gun & compressor. I have this Metabo pancake compressor and 18 gauge brad nailer that is awesome for shiplap, floor trim, crown moulding, wainscoting and other woodworking projects!

However, I purchased that kit after this project and actually used an old-fashioned hammer, finishing nails and a punch. This is an inexpensive route, but quite a bit more timely as you need to use a punch to sink each nail below the shiplap surface.

Addressing a Gap Between Your Ceiling & Shiplap

A huge dilemma that I ran into with my closet makeover was that the ceiling was not level. The issue here is two-fold. If you put your shiplap flush with the ceiling, you’ll have a visual slant which will look off. If you put your shiplap up level, you’ll have a huge gap between the shiplap and top of the ceiling.

I chose to put my shiplap up level and address the gap. Now you could fill this gap with caulk if it’s small enough. My gap was so significant that I chose to feather in the ceiling with dry-wall compound.

To fix this gap, you’ll need to get your drywall taping knife and compound back out. Slowly add compound near your gap and taper/smooth off towards the center of your ceiling. The goal here is to create a subtle, unnoticeable transition. After applying a few coats of very thin compound, I hand-sanded with a sanding sponge and it looks perfect.

Add Your Baseboards & Fill Nail Holes

After putting up my baseboards, I filled in all the nail holes on both the shiplap and trim with DAP’s Wood Filler. This wood filler goes on pink and then turns white when it dries, which is typically about 20-25 minutes. Once dry, sand, paint and say goodbye to all of your nails!

Developing a Blueprint or Plan for Your Shelving

Before you dive right into building your shelves, grab a pencil and paper and draft a rough sketch. This step is VITAL, as having a visual plan of what your nook will look like and measuring your shelves 2-3 times before cutting will save you a lot of headaches.

A great place to start is with the height of your bench. I sat on a few chairs around the house and decided 19 inches was the best height for our bench. I put my shoe shelf a little less than halfway between the floor and bench, which was 7.5 inches off the ground. This height will allow you to fit shoes both above and below the shoe shelf.

Next, plan the optimal height for your primary/top shelf. I wanted this shelf to be right around eye-level and possibly just large enough to store a few rolls of paper towels.

Before I locked in a height for my top shelf, I also considered that I wanted to build two side shelves on each side between my bench and the top shelf. With that being the case, I knew the closet would look best if the three shelves were spaced somewhat equally apart to create a symmetrical look.

Check out the blueprint for my closet makeover below!

Building Your Bench Frame

Once you have a blueprint for your closet makeover, you can begin taking measurements for your bench frame. I chose to put my first bench frame 2×4 on the sidewall as there was a stud in that back left corner which would allow for maximum stability. Also, the 2×4 which I would be using for the frame on the back wall was significantly longer and would therefore lay across several wall studs.

As you’ll see in the photo below I chose not to extend my bench all the way to the front of the closet. I felt doing so would look weird and instead I chose to build a floating bench which ended up 3.25 inches short of the front of the closet.

Now in regards to screws, I used Spax’s 3″ T-Star head screws. These bad boys use a star-shaped bit and will never slip or get stripped like your standard screws. These screws are heavy-duty and when sunk properly into your studs can handle a pretty heavy load.

Now here’s really where an awesome laser level will blow you away. As you can see in the shot below, the laser level projects a line on the left side wall, the back wall and right side wall – making it amazingly easy to frame your shoe shelf, bench, and shelves with perfect accuracy (Yeah, you can call me Bob Villa).

Once you’ve measured and cut your 2×4’s, use a stud finder and mark where the studs are behind the wall. Screwing your bench frame into the studs will significantly increase the strength and load bearing ability of your bench.

In addition to Spax screws, I also used these 90 degree braces to provide additional support and strength.

For my project, I could only put up the two side 2x4s and the back 2×4 to start. If I completed the entire bench frame then I would have trouble putting in the shoe shelf which I had not yet cut or stained.

Measuring & Cutting Your Shelve Supports

At the same time start taking measurements, cutting and dry fitting the supports for your shoe shelf, side shelves and main shelf. While you should use 2×4’s for your load-bearing bench, 1″ wide pine should work well for all your other shelves.

When building the frame/supports for my shoe shelf I made sure the depth of the shelf was about 4 – 4.5 inches shorter than my bench. This is ideal because when you sit on the bench, you don’t want your heels to hit the shoe shelf.

After I measured, cut and dry fit each support, I took a Sharpie and labeled the back of each piece of wood. For example, for my shoe shelf supports had the following labels:

• Back Wall Support – Shoe Shelf
• Left Side Wall Support – Shoe Shelf
• Right Side Wall Support – Shoe Shelf
• Left Front Wall Support – Shoe Shelf
• Right Front Wall Support – Shoe Shelf

I did the same for all four of my side shelf supports as well as my primary top shelf supports. This allowed me to sand, prime and paint all of my supports in one quick fell swoop.

Painting Your Shelf Supports

Sand each piece of wood with a 100 grit and then 400 grit piece of sand paper. Clean each piece of wood after sanding, then prime and paint. I used two coats of Sherwin-Williams’ Extra White paint.

How to Cut Your Shelf Tops

For all of my shelf tops, I used 1/4 inch thick birch plywood from Home Depot. This is a great piece of wood with an amazing grain that will really come to life when you apply your stain. For my stain, I used Varathane’s Early American.

Also, before heading to Home Depot I took measurements and a gentlemen in the lumber department was able to rip them horizontally for me. When I got them home, I remeasured the width of the closet at the appropriate heights and then shortened them to fit.

In the photo below you can see me dry fitting (again) and testing out both the side and top shelves.

Creating the U-Shaped Shelf

One of the most impressive parts of this closet is the U-shaped top shelf which I created out of a single piece of my birch plywood. Again, I drew a mock-up and carefully measured both side shelves and after some thought felt 12″ was the proper center depth for my primary/top U shelf.

I made my top U shaped shelf using a fairly inexpensive, but high quality Ryobi jig saw.

Use a fine blade with your jig saw to keep the wood from splintering. Originally I attempted to use a guide that came with my Ryobi to cut a perfectly straight line, but quickly found out that I could actually cut a significantly straighter line by free handing and following the straight line I drew. My initial cut was not 100% perfect, but I made sure if I was going off my cut line, I was leaving a little extra wood which could later be leveled out with my sander. In the end this U-cut was a lot easier than I imagined and the shelf turned out amazing.

Measuring You Bench Top

As I was measuring the birch plywood for the top of my bench I added on an additional 1/4″ beyond where my 2×4 frame terminated. You’ll want to create this small 1/4″ overhang, so when you add your faceplate there is a nice and flush finish.

Staining Your Shoe Shelf & Bench

After cutting and testing the fit of your shoe shelf and bench, hit both with your palm sander (including all the edges), clean with a damp rag and begin staining. Use an old microfiber cloth and make sure to hit the edges of your plywood first and then the tops. As you’re staining the plywood make sure to keep moving and evenly spread/rub in the stain.

After about two coats of stain have dried, apply a protective coat using finishing wax/paste. I used Minwax’s Fine Finishing Paste. Once you get a nice coat of wax on, let it sit for 15-20 minutes. After, buff off the excess wax to get that perfect shine.

Hanging Your Shelf Supports

Now back to our closet where we’re ready to start hanging our painted shelf supports. Before screwing your shelf supports, drill pilot holes and use a countersink bit. Both of these steps are essential as without the pilot holes your 1″ support will split and without your countersunk heads, you won’t be able to hide the screw heads and have a clean look.

Check out the shot below showing the face-melting awesomeness of the Bosch laser level again! You can see how amazing this tool is at helping you make sure that all of your shelves are perfectly level. Truly some cool Bob Villa tech in action here.

Finishing Your Bench Frame

Before you finish building your bench frame, you’ll need to install your shoe shelf supports and stained shoe shelf top. This bottom shoe shelf will be impossible to install after you build you bench frame.

Originally I considered constructing my bench with three 2×4’s running parallel lengthwise, but felt the design below was significantly stronger. Also, I used a combination of 90-degree braces and joist hangers to build my frame. In the end, it’s going to take a sledgehammer to take this bench down. It can easily take on 300+ pounds and should hold up for many years to come.

Attaching Your Bench Faceplate

My bench face plate is about 4 1/4″ wide, which nicely covers the 2×4 bench frame. Once you have the top of your bench in place, fit your faceplate flush with the top of the bench and use 2 clamps to hold the board in place while you attach it with screws from the inside. I used spax’s 1.25″ screws and was extra careful not to drill too far and go through the front of the faceplate.

Final Touches: Corbels and Coat Hooks

To give your closet makeover that final touch, you might consider adding corbels and coat hooks. I picked up both at my local Home Depot.

For the corbels, I used the same stain I used on my bench and needed to cut a small piece of my 1″ shelf support wood to put behind the corbels, so they rested flush against the wall.

In order to know exactly where to put your hanging screws for your corbels ,insert a screw into the corbel bracket, place it flush against your 1″ supports and make an indentation/mark on the bottom of your shelf. This will help you eliminate any guessing as to where to put your screws for hanging the corbel.

Conclusions

There’s quite a bit that goes into this project, but in the end it turned out amazing. We now have a shabby chic shiplap entryway nook that looks amazing and is also functional. It can store towels, winter gloves/hats, coats, bags, shoes and in the morning provides great place for me to put on my shoes before I head to work.

If you loved this article, check out one of our latest posts about the new ShabbyChicHouse & 7 Upcoming Home Improvement Projects.

Below are some great photos of the new house, mirrored backsplash project, Carrara tile fireplace surround project and landscape lighting project that we think will blow you away.

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