Rain on a Tin Roof

Tag: closet

DIY Makeup Vanity Table
If you’ve been longing for a space to sit and do your makeup that’s functional, pretty, and doesn’t take up too much space, then I’ve got an easy build for you – a DIY makeup vanity table! This vanity table is wall-mounted so it keeps the space light and airy. And did I mention it also has hidden storage?!

My favorite part of our recent closet makeover has nothing to do with clothes. However, the fact that we finally got all the clothing and shoes organized allowed for this little nook to happen…

My favorite part of the closet is my little makeup vanity area. It makes me happy and it’s something I needed in here. I’ve always done my makeup in the closet because it has better lighting than our bathroom. A month ago, you would have found me sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor in front of the mirror attached to the back of the closet door.

Now you’ll find me getting pretty here. 🙂

This DIY vanity table is a pretty simple build. I had it fully built and the paint drying within a few hours time, then hung it on the wall the next day. All you’ll need to know to build a makeup vanity like this for yourself is how to make a few simple cuts and use a drill.

Oh, and did I mention it has storage?!

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Wall-Mount DIY Vanity Table with Storage

My DIY makeup vanity is 36″ long, just a tad over 12″ deep and 5 1/2″ thick. You can alter the length pretty easily if needed. If you want to alter the other dimensions, you’ll have to switch up your wood sizes below and reconfigure accordingly.

Supplies Needed:
- 2 – 1″ x 12″ x 4′ Pine Boards
- 1 – 1″ x 6″ Pine Board, 36″ long if you can find it, but you’re more than likely going to have to buy this in a 4′ or 6′ length.
- 1 – 2″ x 2″ furring strip, again 36″ long if you can find it, but if you can’t, a longer length is fine.
- Wood Glue
- 3 1/2″ Long Construction Screws – you’ll need 5-6 of them depending on how many studs you can hit.
- 1 5/8″ Long Construction Screws – you’ll need about six of these.
- Two – 2″ Corner Braces
- One pair of 90 Degree Surface Mount Hidden Spring Hinges
- Paint – I used a semi-gloss black.
- Cabinet Knob of Your Choice
Tools Needed:
- Saw (Circular, Miter or Chop Saw – I used my miter saw.)
- Brad Nailer or Hammer and Finish Nails (I used my brad nailer.)
- Clamps – I used these.
- Drill and Drill Bits
- Stud Finder
- Level
Step 1

Cut each of your 1″ x 12″ pieces down to 36″ long.

These pieces will be the top and bottom of your vanity table.

Step 2

Take one of the 1″ x 12″ scraps you just cut. Cut two 4″ pieces from the scrap.

These two 4″ pieces will be the sides of your vanity table.

Step 3

Put wood glue along one cut edge of each of the 4″ pieces you just cut.

Attach one 4″ piece to each end of one 36″ long piece using your brad nailer or finish nails and a hammer.

Step 4

Flip over everything you just put together.

Run glue along the remaining cut edges of the 4″ long pieces. Place the remaining 36″ long 1″ x 12″ on top and nail together.

Clamp the ends together while the glue dries.

Step 5

Cut the 1″ x 6″ down to 36″ long. Set aside.

Cut the 2″ x 2″ down to 34 1/2″ long. Set aside.

Step 6

After a few hours, paint both the vanity table and the 1″ x 6″ piece you cut. I used a semi-gloss black color and gave my pieces three coats. You don’t have to paint the 2″ x 2″ piece as it won’t be seen.

Mounting the DIY Vanity Table to the Wall

Step 7

Go to the wall where you are hanging your vanity table. From the floor, measure up 29 1/4″ and mark in several places. Use a stud finder to locate and mark your studs around that 29 1/4″ area.

Attach the 2″ x 2″ to the wall at 29 1/4″ high using your drill with the 3 1/2″ long screws where the studs are. Place a level on top of the 2″ x 2″ to make sure it’s level. Adjust as needed.

This will allow your makeup vanity to sit at 30″ high. If you want it higher or lower, adjust as you wish.

Step 8

Determine which side you want to be the back of your table. Attach the corner braces on the inside of the back of the table where the studs are located on the wall.

To do this, I held my table up on top of the 2″ x 2″ and made a few pencil marks on the table where the studs would meet up. As you can see, these corner braces may not be evenly space on your vanity table. That’s ok. Really, you might not even need these. I just wanted to add a little extra support for the bottom of the table.

Step 9

Lay the 1″ x 6″ face down in front of the vanity table. Attach the hinges as shown below.

Step 10

Place the makeup vanity on top of the 2″ x 2″. Secure the table to the 2″ x 2″ by first drilling pilot holes along the back of the table and then fastening the table to the 2″ x 2″ with the 1 5/8″ long construction screws.

Do this also on each side of the vanity table in the top back corner where the 2″ x 2″ would meet the table.

Step 11

Open up the front panel and fasten the corner brackets in the back to the wall using the 3 1/2″ long construction screws.

Attach your hardware knob to the front panel as well.

Fill any screw holes with putty and touch up paint as needed.

Mirror / Sconces

This DIY vanity table is just the right size for me. Its small profile that attaches to the wall keeps things open and airy in the closet.

Zebra Art Print / Leopard Print Rug / Brass Brackets for Hats / Single Clip Hangers for Hats

Plus the drop down front provides plenty of storage for all my makeup.

Brass Stool / Mirror / Plug-In Wall Sconces

The baskets easily slide in and out as needed.

Of course, the mirror and sconces do their fair share of upping the “wow” factor in this space. 😉

See more of the closet makeover HERE!

Looking for more easy build projects?

DIY Bathtub Tray with Book Holder – minimal cuts and easy assembly!

DIY Chippendale Desk – one of my most favorite projects ever! A beautiful desk that doesn’t come with an expensive price tag!

DIY Modern Rustic Bookshelf – a great bookshelf with good storage and a simple build.

Join the Freak Show On….

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March 6, 2019
DIY Master Closet Makeover

It’s been a very busy two weeks, y’all! When I was trying to decide what space to do for the Choose Your Own Adventure Room Refresh hosted by Jeweled Interiors, one of the reasons I opted to go with my closet (besides the fact that it desperately needed a makeover) was because I thought it might be a little easier time-wise and project wise than taking on a larger room. This space still ended up being demanding on both fronts. Of course, part of that was due to me critiquing every little thing.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Thanks to Hudson Valley Lighting, Minted and SEI for providing products for this makeover!

I’m so glad we gave this closet a makeover though, y’all. It has given us a load more of functional space and it’s a true testament to how readymade plain Jane store bought products and DIY projects can come together to create a beautiful, organized and super functional space.

The Master Closet Before

After: DIY Walk-In Master Closet Makeover

The Closet Exterior

DIY Green Carpet Wall / Closet Door Medallions

I was already pretty pleased with the closet exterior, so I didn’t do too much here. I did a bit of sprucing up though by editing, adding art and styling.

I’m still a big fan of the color and texture the carpet wall adds to the space and how this table and details like the closet door medallions, the lamp, rattan basket and other items give it a “traveled and collected” feel.

Toro Art / Rome or Bust Art / Fonte Mourisca Art

I wanted to add in more of that traveled feel and color with some art though. I went with Toro, Fonte Mourisca and Rome or Bust from Minted. Minted offers custom framing with all their art prints and you can choose from a wide variety of frame styles and sizes. I wanted the art to stand out and needed to keep the frames neutral since they were going on a very bold wall, so I opted for thin black metal frames. This way, they will also work with just about any other decor style if we ever change it up.

Toro Art

I got Toro in a larger size since he was a good neutral and he also adds some masculinity to the rest of our bedroom, which sports pink walls. He was also approved by Grunt, so brownie points there.

The bookshelf on the other side of the closet doors desperately needed some styling help. I had scored the bookshelf for $10 at a thrift store a while back, but had never really worked to make it “pretty”. I kept the travel vibe going here as well.

These shelves hold lots of mementos from our trips – a seashell Grunt found on the beach the day we got married, a nod to my favorite city, pictures from our trips, a vase we made during our Booze No Baby trip 😉 and more.

I found this guy at a thrift store and he fit perfectly in here too – guess we also have a bull theme going. ?

Curaco Art

I added in another art piece from Minted here as well called Curaco. It pulls in a lot of colors from the space and of course continues the traveled feel.

The Closet Interior

Here’s where we really put in some work…

And yes, one closet door edge is black and one is white. Of course, it’s by design. 😉

Leopard Print Rug / Closet System / Black and White Bins / Black Bins / Velvet Coat Hangers

This is just your basic closet system we bought at Home Depot when we moved in about three years ago. It’s nothing fancy, but I feel like we were able to make it fancy (and functional at the same time!) by partnering it with pretty storage bins.

That leopard print rug helps out a little too, doesn’t it? Can you believe that bad boy was only $15?!

The top of our closet system wasn’t really all that functional before. You couldn’t tell, but the shelves didn’t go all the way to the back of the wall. There was a pretty good sized gap between the back wall and the shelf’s back edge. And they also bowed in the middle. We were just so tired of renovating when we finally moved in, we just used a lot of what we had and called it a day. Grunt switched all those out this time around though and they are much more functional now. The green bins hold handbags, seasonal items, work clothes, etc. – things that you don’t need on an everyday basis. That cute little step stool makes it easy for us folks with short girl problems to get to the top shelf. 😉

Isn’t it darling? It was a super fun and really easy little makeover I did with a stool I found on clearance at Home Goods – tutorial for it is here!

Black and White Bins / Tassel Trim on Bins / Black Bins / Black Velvet Coathangers

I did do the one thing I had said I wouldn’t do – switch out my coat hangers. I am so glad I did though, y’all. These take up less space and they truly do keep those slippy sliding tops on the hangers. Switching out the coat hangers also made me realize how many pieces of clothing I had! I did some serious editing!

Putting the bins in were a game changer for this space. Doing this allowed us to move all the things that were in the chest of drawers in the closet and move that big piece of furniture out that was taking up one corner of the closet.

I dressed up the black and white striped bins with this colorful tassel trim. I just used fabric tape to apply it – easy peasy. The black bins got a simple white tassel. Tassels for everything up in here!

The right side of the closet is my most favorite part about this whole space…

Sconces / Zebra Art / Mirror / Stool

This is one of the times when what I envisioned in my head actually turned out better in reality.

Sconces / Mirror / Stool

If you read my first post about the plans for this space, I told you that I actually do my makeup in here because surprisingly it has the best lighting in our house for that. Previously though, I would be sitting in the floor in front of the mirror on the back of the closet door putting my makeup on. Not anymore though! Now I’m sitting getting pretty at this dressing table.

This wall mounted table was a really easy build (tutorial for it is HERE!) and the front even drops down to reveal storage inside. The Circus had a ball organizing all my makeup into the containers, although she was upset I wasn’t ready to let go of more and give it to her.

Both the gorgeous stool and mirror are from Southern Enterprises. You can find the stool at Home Depot and the mirror at Overstock.

Sconce / Mirror

I was going for a bit of a Studio 54 vibe in this area of the closet. Y’all know I’m enthralled with all that. The stool, mirror and sconces all help to create that and when I’m getting gussied up now, I can easily channel my inner Jerry Hall or Divine – depending on what the day calls for of course.

When the sconces are lit up, I can really feel the disco vibe coming on. 🙂 They are from the Mitzi collection at Hudson Valley lighting and I love everything about them. They are plug-in, so no hard wiring required. I didn’t want the cords just flopping along the wall though so I customized some cord channels to keep them in place while adding a little color at the same time.

Zebra Art / Brass Brackets / Single Clip Hangers / Stool

My jewelry and hats had previously been on top of the chest of drawers. Since we moved that out, I had to come up with new storage solutions for both.

For the bracelet and necklace storage, I used acrylic rods anchored on brass posts that were leftovers from my curtain rods and stair rail.

For my hats, I took these brass brackets, installed them upside down, then hung the hats from these single clip hangers onto the brackets.

I love both the jewelry and hat storage solutions because now I can see everything that I have right in front of me – no digging for what I’m looking for! To top it off, I added in this Zebra art above it all. I’ve been eyeing that art for years and finally decided this was the space to put it.

Stackable Shoe Shelves / Brass Hooks

Opposite “my” side of the closet is our area for shoe storage and Grunt’s nook. He gets a nook, I get a side. Seems fair, right?

As I told you in the progress post, I had a grand idea for elaborate shoe shelves in this area and as it turns out, DIY wasn’t the way to go there. We ended up buying readymade shoe shelves and stacking them on top of one another. They actually ended up giving us more shoe storage than we would have had with my not so brilliant idea and it was much easier as well. Sometimes, it is just easier and more effective to not DIY!

Not Just a Number Art / Brass Wall Hooks

Halfway through this makeover Grunt asked for a bench or stool of his own to sit down and put on his shoes. I told him sure, but don’t count on it before this whole thing is done. Mama had a list a mile long to get through! On Sunday, he mentioned the stool again. I went and got this one I had bought at a thrift store a couple years back and handed it to him. I told him I thought I had some leftover cowhide print fabric in my closet. He took it upon himself to find the fabric and reupholster the seat himself. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of him in my life. haha! He had already picked out the Not Just a Number art from Minted, so it fit perfectly over the stool. I bought quite a few of the brass wall hooks to add in throughout the closet as needed. These work perfectly in his space to hang his clothes for the next day and other odds and ends.

That’s it for me! What do you think of the new space?

A big thank you to Hudson Valley who supplied the lighting for the Choose Your Own Adventure Refresh and Minted who supplied the art.

A special thanks also to SEI who provided me with the mirror and stool for this space.

Be sure to see what everyone else did during the Choose Your Own Adventure Refresh…

Jeweled Interiors | Haneen’s Haven | Dimples and Tangles | PMQ for Two | House Homemade | Pencil Shavings | Our Fifth House | Kaleidoscope Living | The Pink Clutch | At Charlotte’s House | Effortless Style Blog

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February 28, 2019
Master Closet Refresh Progress

It’s midway point in the Choose Your Own Adventure Refresh hosted by Jeweled Interiors. I’m refreshing my closet (see the plan HERE!). Time to check in and see how far I have (or haven’t) come….

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Thanks to Hudson Valley Lighting, Minted and SEI for providing products for this refresh!

With every space I decorate, it becomes more clear that I am one hell of an overthinker.

This master closet makeover has been no exception.

It’s like I’m wired to automatically come up with some complicated plan (that truly didn’t seem that complicated in my head), when in reality, the solution to the problem is actually a pretty simple fix.

Overthinking Exhibit #1: The Shoe Shelves

If you remember from the “before” photos I shared with you last week, we had a serious shoe storage problem. We had some basic shoe shelves, but it wasn’t near enough to hold all our shoes and some of my heels didn’t even come close to fitting in the shelves without laying on their sides.

Now, when I first started plotting this makeover, I envisioned “L” shaped corner shoe shelves in a corner of the closet. Brass brackets would support the shelves and we could vary the height between the shelves as needed to accommodate all heights of shoes.

That was the seemingly un-complicated plan in my head that really turned into a pain in the you know what one Saturday afternoon. As it turns out, the brackets weren’t big enough to keep the shelves from bowing and the shelves themselves were just too heavy to be supported by brackets alone.

After overthinking it some more, throwing my hands in the air, drowning my overthinking in booze and then finally doing an Amazon search for shoe storage, I came up with a truly simple and better idea for shoe storage.

Buy readymade shoe shelves and stack them on top of one another.

Sometimes its better to buy than DIY. We bought six sets of these Closetmaid shoe shelves to create our shoe storage.

On some of the units, we left shelves out here and there to accommodate for taller shoes. And by we, I mean Grunt. All I did was find the shelves and suggest we stack them on top of one another. He assembled them all, played around with the shelf spacing countless times, anchored them to the wall – everything. He gets the gold medal on this one.

I have some upholstery material ordered to use to cover that left side of the shelves. I’m not crazy about all the little bumps there on it from the screw covers. I was going to do it with the wallpaper I had included in my original closet plans, but as it turns out that won’t be here in time.

Overthinking Exhibit #2: The Dressing Table

In the corner opposite the shoe shelves, is where I planned to create a built-in dressing table coming out from the corner. Remember, it was going to look something like this…

Sconces / Zebra Art / Mirror / Stool

Well that space currently looks like this…

Yep, the original plan didn’t work out. No worries though, I have come up with another solution and yes, it is a bit more simple than my original plan. Imagine that. The sconces are due to arrive tomorrow – so excited to get my hands on those! As you can see, the mirror and stool are already here and they are fabulous! I’m terrified of messing up the mirror before it goes on the wall, so the plastic is staying on it until then!

Other Progress…

Closet System / Black and White Storage Bins / Black Storage Bins

Grunt switched out our old hanging rods that were bowing for heavy duty ones. Why didn’t we do that before?! He replaced the also bowing shelving on top for new shelves – so much better! I’ve gotten all of the things that were in the chest of drawers in here into bins. I’ve even edited down quite a bit of my clothes and really probably need to give it one more round of editing.

And did you notice those fun little tassels??

Tassel Trim / Black and White Storage Bins

I wanted to pull more color in here so I added this tassel trim to the black and white bins. I can’t decide if I like how the tassel trim looks on the solid black bins, so I’m still playing around with those.

On the exterior of the closet…

DIY Green Carpet Wall / Toro Art / Rome or Bust Art / Fonte Mourisca Art

I got a few new pieces of art up from Minted – Toro, Rome or Bust and Fonte Mourisca. I love the extra touches of color and interest they add to this wall – I think it was definitely needed here! I’m also planning to update some of these picture frames as well.

Still on the To-Do List:

• Cut, install and paint baseboard in missing spots.

• Paint backs of closet doors and trim.

• Install Dressing Table

• Hang Mirror and Sconces

• Switch out coat hangers for these (I said I wasn’t going to do this when I started this project, but the more I thought about it, I decided to just do it all now and be really happy with it instead of wishing I’d done this)

• Hang hooks, brackets and other small storage hardware in closet.

• Upholster side of shoe shelves with this fabric and maybe use elsewhere in closet too?

• Tassels or some kind of decor for black bins – they look so sad with the fun tassels on the black and white striped bins. 🙁

Still quite a few things to do, but the big projects are done – the paint is drying on the dressing table as I type! Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, I’ll have the full reveal for you next week!

Literally on that creek not rising – we have loads of rain coming down in our neck of the woods and have been under a flood watch for a couple of days now!

A big thank you to Hudson Valley who is supplying lighting for the Choose Your Own Adventure Refresh and Minted who is supplying art.

A special thanks also to SEI who has provided me with the mirror and stool for this space.

Be sure to see how it’s going with the rest of the Choose Your Own Adventure Participants…

Jeweled Interiors | Haneen’s Haven | Dimples and Tangles | PMQ for Two | House Homemade |Pencil Shavings | Our Fifth House | Kaleidoscope Living | The Pink Clutch | At Charlotte’s House | Effortless Style Blog

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February 21, 2019
DIY Green Carpet Covered Wall
This wall has been in the making for over a year now. I had the idea to cover a wall with AstroTurf quite a while back, but just couldn’t find the perfect wall to do it to.

When I started dreaming up the design plan for the master bedroom makeover at the 70’s Landing Pad, I realized that an astroturf wall might just work perfectly in the space. I then looked around and realized that our closet wall would also be the perfect candidate for a little carpet treatment.

The carpet isn’t actually true AstroTurf. The real astroturf was just too shiny for the space, but this green outdoor rug was the perfect shade. It helps to create that vintage Palm Beach vibe along with the pink and black.

I used two rugs for the wall and also bought moldings for the ceiling and around the door. The total for the whole project is roughly $50. And it was so easy.

DIY Carpet Covered Wall

Affiliate links may be contained in this post.
- Green Outdoor Rugs (I used two of these for a wall that was about 10′ feet wide x 8′ high. I’m not including the double closet doors in that measurement.)
- Staple Gun (a battery powered one will make the job so much easier.)
- Green Sharpie Paint Pen
- Scissors
- Moldings for around the door trim and ceiling (these are optional, but really give the project a finished look. Mine came from Home Depot.)
Step 1.

Choose one edge of your wall to start on. Unroll the carpet and first staple it to the wall at the top where it meets the ceiling. Align the edges of the carpet with the top of the wall and one of the side edges of the wall.

You want all of the staples to be flush in the wall. If you have any that stick out, hammer them in. This was one reason why I used my battery powered stapler because it gets them all the way in the wall without hammering.

Step 2.

Pull tightly on the carpet at the bottom and staple it down right along the top of baseboard in a couple of places. Trim the carpet as needed and continue to staple it down along the edge. Don’t go staple crazy. I found that one staple about every 9 or 10 inches was sufficient.

Step 3.

Staple the carpet down along one side edge of the wall. Once more – don’t go staple crazy.

Step 4.

Pull the carpet tightly against the one remaining edge that needs to be stapled down. Staple it in a few places then trim with scissors, pull tightly and staple.

Step 5.

When one rug is up, continue covering the wall with another one if needed.

Step 6.

Use a green Sharpie paint pen to cover the staples along the edges of the carpet. You can also use trim as I did to cover them and give the wall a polished look.

Closet Door Medallions / Chair / Leopard Print Pillow / Elephant Table (similar ones)

I had one small place above the closet that I had to cover with a scrap of rug. I just stapled it up and covered the staples with the paint pen.

Closet Door Medallions / Door Knobs / Bamboo Lamp (similar)

I love the extra texture and element this wall brings to the space.

Bamboo Lamp (similar) / Sunday Morning Print (similar) / Jewelry Box (similar)

Ok, what do you think? Am I crazy for covering a wall with carpet?

You can see the rest of the master bedroom makeover here.

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June 22, 2016