Here’s where we started:
We brought our own stacked LG laundry center with us when we moved in, so immediately, we ripped out everything and installed those. We’ve been using this as a catch-all for anything we could since we also have no linen closet that these houses traditionally had near the main hall bathroom. We believe it was demoed out to create a second entryway to the kitchen…. Not our favorite space because that particular entry way is blocked by the stairs that go up to the second story.
This story takes a bit of a turn, you see… Will and I picked up two 4 drawer tall steel filing cabinets from the Habitat for Humanity – Restore. They’re usually around 20 bucks there and I saw a neat Pinterest post where someone turned one into a raised planter on wheels with a little flex seal, spray paint and casters, so I was going to do that.
Well – after we ripped down the hall wall in a spur of the moment project (see that post!) – our laundry closet which has been lookin’ rough for an entire year when we ripped everything out…. suddenly became a focal point of our living room. I was staring at it the day after, and it hit me that the two, filing cabinets that I had grabbed would probably fit perfectly next to the washer/dryer and would you believe it when I tell you… they fit PERFECTLY.
These old filing cabinets fit SO MUCH STUFF – and are so spacious for organizing tools and things.
The first thing I knew needed to be done in order to use the cabinets was the hardware removed and the units themselves painted. We recently did a small shiplap wall as an entry way wall – and discovered how much we love Glidden’s Napoleon paint color. its deep enough to be black, but just subtly blue enough that you can tell it’s blue. Since we’ve basically decided this is going to be the unofficial color of our house that we’ll use a bit of in each room – It was an AWESOME opportunity for me to use it all up in the laundry room.
Now – I regret a few things about this project. I should have scrubbed these cabinets better with TSP – I didnt. Also, I tried to use the glidden maxflex spray paint that comes in Napoleon first – and it did a really bad job coating the cabinet without primer. If you decide to do this…
- SCRUB YOUR CABINETS WITH TSP
- Prime them – if you can.
- Paint them in layers and wait for each layer to dry completely.
- Spray paint should work best, but I inevitably rolled them with latex interior paint because I couldn’t get the spray paint to stick.
Removing the hardware took a few minutes to figure out, but we got it and I spray painted those gold let them dry and reattached after my painting was done.
Once they were painted (I stuck peel and stick on the sides because I was DONE painting them)- we pulled them out, and finished the closet up (except floor, when we redo the whole house floor we’ll go into this room) painted the ceiling tiles/grids and the side wall and then we wallpapered the back wall with the same peel and stick that I put on the sides of the cabinets.
Added a wood top to keep anything from rolling behind or down, which I stained with dark walnut stain. Also felt like since the paint wasn’t adhering as much as I thought it would – it will preserve the look of the cabinets by not peeling it off every time a jar moves.
When we moved in there were some ugly accordion bifold contraptions on this closet. We elected to finish the closet in the same style door that we’re installing on all the doors on the main and upper levels of the house. Masonite Single Panel doors with pismo handles. Fortunately, since this is a magnetic closure closet – we only needed “dummy knobs” for the handles.
We’re planning on painting ALL of the doors in the house Napoleon blue, but for now – our primed white goodness will be just fine.
Eventually, we have to bump out the master door so that it’s flush with the laundry closet doors. and we’ll install the last door down here!
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