Tuesday, August 30, 2011

25 Boy's Bedroom Closet Update: Don't Leave Us Hangin'

Back in May, I posted the updates we made to our boy's bedroom shared closet space.  Here is a visual of the somewhat completed project, to spark your memory:


So far, it's working wonderfully to keep all of their clothes looking nice and organized.  As a reminder, we had taken out the kid's dressers and installed closet rods and shelving into their closet to now house all of their clothing.  The one struggle is that it's not as easy/quick for them to put their clothes away as before when they had their labeled drawers, which in turn has caused some resistance of wanting to help on their end. 

I had also mentioned in the last post that we weren't completely finished, which is why I am finally back with an update post today!  Some of you recommend I paint the dowels white, and I mentioned my plans to add additional shelving.  I can finally say, "Done and done!"

First, the closet rods.  I didn't love the original wood tone, however, I really struggled with the decision to paint.  I feared that all of the hangers rubbing on it repeatedly, would cause wearing and scratches and maintenance to the dowels.  So, I opted against it and let my wheels spin for a bit....

Then, one day I spotted these at the home improvement store.


What is it?  It's a PVC shower curtain rod cover!  It's amazing the things we get excited about right?  Who knew something like this would have me singing, "B.I.N.G.O" throughout the store with the kids?  Ahhh, life's sweet moments.

The PVC comes in the size of a shower curtain rod itself, so I just needed to cut it down to fit my dowels.  Which was super easy peasy to do with a pair of regular ol' scissors.


Then, I just wrapped it around the wooden dowel and popped it back into the closet:


Instant white closet rod!  Score!

I should have snapped a pic, but I will say that the closure of the PVC around the wooden dowel isn't 100%, meaning there is a small strip of wooden dowel showing through on the very back side of the rod itself, since the dowel was slightly larger than a shower curtain rod would be.  But I was absolutely OK with that, since it's not seen and is still enhancing not only the look of the closet, but the easy of sliding the hangers along the rod.  I still say that it's a huge WIN.


As you can see in the photo above, the second thing that we my husband did, is cut down a piece of melamine shelving for the very top of the closet.  By adding the one additional shelf, we have a ton of extra closet storage, for toys, completed art projects and linens!




Now with those two additions, we can finally mark off "Boy's Bedroom Closet" from the home to do checklist!

It's amazing how two simple inexpensive updates really change the entire closet both aesthetically and functionally!

Side by side before and after:


Anyone else adding shelving anywhere to gain a little extra storage?

25 comments:

  1. I'm with you...love the white more than the natural wood! What a great replacement! :)

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  2. Great transformation! Very clever using the shower curtain cover!! I like the white rods better than the wood tone. The shelf added so much more storage space too. Great job!

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  3. wow! I have wooden dowels too, and part of the problem with them is that the hangers don't slide at all.. this would be a perfect solution! Even though I do like wood tones, I also like ease, and the wooden ones do nothing to make it easy! Thanks for the idea!!

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  4. When I first read this, I thought you said "spank your memory" at the top above the first picture. I laughed out lout. Don't worry, it totaly says spark... I just have trouble reading apparently! :)

    It looks great! I pinned your previous post for inspiration for my sons's room! I do love the extra shelf on top just to get a little extra stuff in there!

    ~Kristi

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  5. I'm currently redoing my laundry room and added shelving in there. You can check out my blog to see more if you're interested. We are still in process mode and have quite a bit of work left to do but adding the shelving has made a world of difference! http://chaostoquiet.blogspot.com/2011/08/making-progressslowly-but-surely.html

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  6. Those two little details pay off big!

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  7. So much better! The little things that get us excited is funny. What if you added a thin shelf over the lower closet rods? Just for a little more storage? Or won't something fit? Either way, it's much improved! We add storage everywhere possible! I'm most excited/anxious for our laundry room shelving: http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/how-to-make-laminate-countertops/ We didn't have any storage in there before. Now if we can just trim it out, prime and paint! Then I could check that off my list.

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  8. Isn't it great to get a project completely finished? High five! The covers are such a great, but simple idea. Much better than painting!

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  9. WOW! What a difference the PVC Pipe made! It looks fab. And I love the extra storage space you created!!

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  10. Awesome! I have to stop reading...you are sparking too much creativity..LOL...and my husband is starting to complain!

    Seriously, you are inspiring...thanks for all the wonderful ideas!

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  11. that looks totally awesome! LOVE the PVC idea too... going to have to check that out because I am NOT a fan of the wooden poles!

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  12. It looks great! It's the little things that we appreciate.

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  13. I actually use those covers in all my closets whether they are wood or metal rods because they quiet the noise our wood hangers make early in the morning when my husband is getting ready for work. So much quicker than painting. :)

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  14. I LOVE finding pieces that work for something totally NOT related to its original "design".

    I re-organized my master closet yesterday. Adding a small 8"w x 12"d x 60"h bookcase in to store tee shirts, camis etc. The closet looks a bit smaller but less things are on the ground and cluttering the place up! One of these days I want to ORGANIZE it like you did with the boys closet :)

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  15. Your boys closet looks amazing! I especially love the sock and pj bins! So cute!!

    I am adding shelving in my coat closet. It is double wide inside but only has 1 door (hate all the wasted space!). So we are widening the opening to double doors and making one half floor to ceiling shelving and the other half coat closet. Now I will have space to house my bulk food items (since my kitchen has no pantry). I'm so excited!

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  16. Looks like you changed the hangers (at least on one side) too? What was the reason for that?

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  17. It goes without saying, I love it! BUT, I'm very curious ... where do you get those rim-making things from (in your old post)??? They're absolutely fabbo!

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  18. Love it! It looks great!

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  19. luv luv luv thx so much ... did u have to drill holes for the poles

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  20. It also works for the following:
    Converting a regular old curtain rod into a rod that will hold grommet curtains.
    Put the white plastic covering shown above over the old tin extension curtain rod and Viola! a new rod that will hold grommet curtains! gbw

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  21. Replies
    1. Hello - We did a combination of screwing the board down into the top of the tower unit, and adding a couple L-Brackets into the board and a wall stud on the top side of the shelf.

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