Closets Like Books, Not Just Clothes.

When I get an idea in my head, it's really hard to let go. I want to do it right there, in that moment... Which really isn't the way to confront household projects. Bryan gets irritated with me because before we have even finished one project I want to be on to the next. So, I'm trying to rein that in and do things the right way.

The first project that Bryan and I started on were the closets. Below is a very fancy, well lit photo of Bryan painting the closets. I know, I'm a photography genius.

Well, I measured and went to Lowe's to get what we needed and whilst installing, we realized that the 1x4's holding the shelf were messing up the bar holders that attach to the wall to hold each end of the bar. They were half on the 1x4's and half floating in the air. Does that make sense? Hope so.

Anyways, so being the genius that Bryan is, he cut another 1x4 and attached that so the bar holder would have something to screw into.

But then we realized that the bar is really, really high and its hard (for us short people, which is everyone in the house) to reach. Sigh. We suck. But we wanted it high enough to be able to add another shelf and/or bar in the middle of the closet. We just went a tad too high.

We also have an issue with the particle board shelf because its kind of... curved? So it doesn't sit flat. Even though it is super heavy and thick. Annoying.

Anyway, since we haven't figured out what we want to do, we've done nothing... Which is productive! And now I want to just start a new project. But I won't. I'll just plan. :)

Speaking of plans, if you look on our floor plan, we have a hallway closet that faces the living room. Right now, it's a door with a fake nob and those slanted slates that shutters have. It's ugly. And since I want to do this to the entryway and incorporate the hat rack I purchased from Ikea:

Image: Centsational Girl

(How absolutely gorgeous is that? Sometimes, Kate just rocks my world.)

Image: Ikea USA

I will have ample space for coats when we have guests. What I don't have space for, is the hundreds of books that I own. I already have four bookcases in my house and I really don't want to add anymore. I follow this great blog, Shopping Candy and quite a while ago, she posted about finding an article on a library closet.

Here is the image that gave her the inspiration:

Image: NYTimes.com

Here is what she did:

Images: Shopping Candy

Isn't that amazing? You should really click the link and check out the before and after. Do it. It's worth it.

Anyways, I'm thinking of making my hall closet into a closet library. Instead of having a completely see-through door, I want to try to keep the existing door, but remove the slates and add glass. Who knows if I can do it, but why not try? I have a lot of paper-back books that are not very sightly and I'd like to store them in the closet library but still keep them hidden.

After I get all the closets worked out, I'm going to start on the entry-way. I'm really excited for that project!