How To Build A Custom Walk-In Closet For Cheap
Use these plans, tips, & tricks to build the walk-in closet of your dreams for a budget friendly price
Have you ever wanted to start a project so desperately but were also kinda intimated by it?
That was this project for me y’all!
If you have been following along with this little blog for anytime at all you know this is not my first built-in rodeo.
We DIY-ed our way through built-in bookcases, Eli’s nursery closet, & an entire walk-in pantry, but this felt bigger!
Probably because this room was originally an office before we bought it & not actually a master bedroom closet 😉
Here is what it looked like when we did our initial walk-thru
Before we could even begin to do the built-in portion of this closet we needed to scrape the popcorn ceilings & remove the carpet.
Then we decided to make the existing closet wall a half wall.
This little space will be the perfect spot for our new laundry room!
We then sealed the original entrance & opened up a new one through our bathroom!
It already looks so much better right?!
Now that everything is where it’s supposed to be it’s time to start the built-ins!
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DIY Walk-in Closet Built-ins
If you saw this closets design board, you know that I plan on doing built-ins on all 4 walls.
The first step is to build the “shell” of each unit.
I decided to start with the longest wall:
Materials:
- 4x8x3/4″ MDF Sheets
- 2″ Brad Nails
- Level
- Nail Gun
- Square
- Circular Saw or Table Saw
Procedure:
- Start by ripping the MDF for the sides long side pieces. This will be the height of your ceiling minus 4″. The width should be about 24″ for clothes to hang freely.
We used a circular saw & a guide to make sure each cut was straight.
2. Once the side pieces were ripped we moved onto the shelves. These should be cut the width of your side pieces & whatever length you want the unit to be. We went with 24″ by 42″.
3. To attach the shelves to the side we used 2″ nails, nailed in from the outside of the long sides.
4. Make sure the shelves are square & level as you attach them.
TIP: Cut spacers & clamp the sides of the units to accurately measure repeat distances for each shelf
This wall has 3 built-in units total:
The two ends will house top & bottom hanging sections.
The middle unit will have hanging on the top & drawers below.
We also finished the shoe shelves, building them up the same way we built these units.
The bottom will be for tall boots & the rest will be for regular shoe storage.
This shelving unit is 14″ deep
This unit will be for long hanging items & two regular size hanging units.
All of these units will be secured to the wall from the top piece running horizontally in the back. We will screw them into studs to keep the units stable.
The last wall is this half wall we made.
Behind it will be the laundry room!
This unit isn’t finished yet but it will have cubby shelves on one side & drawers on the other.
The glass cabinet I bought off of Facebook marketplace along with some other units!
It will be painted to match the rest of the shelving & will look built-in with the unit below it… hopefully 😅
I envision storing perfume, purses, & other pretty things in the glass cabinet when its done!
It doesn’t look like much now but soon this space will be trimmed, painted, & pretty!
This space has already come along way but we still have a ways to go…
Cost So Far:
- (8) 4x8x3/4 MDF Boards
- (2) 12″x8X3/4 MDF Boards
Total= $450
Here’s whats left on the to-do list:
- Trim Units
- Build Drawers
- Paint
- Add Crown Molding
- Add Baseboards
- Install Flooring
- Hang New Light
- Trim Out Doorways
That’s not even including the laundry room!
One day at a time & eventually this will be our dream closet!
