Friday, May 3, 2013

82 Studio Progress: Major Cabinet Upgrades!

When we originally installed the cabinets in the studio, they were off the shelf, unfinished oak cabinets from our local home improvement store.  They were as basic as they come, unfinished interior, unfinished shelves, unfinished everything.  So, we installed them, added wainscoting sides, painted them white and added some pretty crown molding.


When I decided to go bold and paint the back wall a deep, saturated gray... I also decided that it would be a good idea to raise the cabinets to the ceiling at the same time.  I wanted the cabinets to feel more grand, more custom, and almost like a giant piece of furniture.


To make the extension happen, the first step was to carefully remove the original crown molding we installed, so that we could attempt to salvage it and reuse it.  Removal was a success, so next my hubby used some 2"x2" boards, which he cut down to size and screwed into the tops of the cabinets.


Using his Kreg jig, he was able to create square frames out of the 2"x2" boards, he did this on top of each cabinet and along the return of the cabinet back to the wall.


Not at all fancy, but the goal was to give him something to nail the front board to.  For the extension piece, we went with 3/4" MDF board, which was the same depth as the lip of the cabinet.  Once cut down to size, he carefully pounded the board into place, and affixed it to his support pieces with his brad nailer.


To hide the seam between the new MDF board and the existing cabinets, we cut down a piece of white molding with our miter box...


The trim piece was then affixed with the brad nailer to the new MDF board.


The crown molding was then re-attached in the same fashion.


Here is a view of the end with the molding returned back to the wall. 


After all of the molding was attached, we filled all of the nail holes with white painter's caulk and gave it all three coats of white paint. 


As you can see the wall to the left was not at all level, so there is a small gap in-between the wall and the cabinets which we still need to address {it was too wide to caulk}.

The raised molding was the first of four upgrades that the cabinets received.  The second was new shelves!

The original cabinets only came with one unpainted shelf each, which originally received a coat of white paint.  Because I was nervous that over time the white paint would chip and scratch, we removed them and decided to replace them with white melamine shelves instead.  The melamine comes pre-finished, and it's almost like the shelves will have a hard candy shell.  The other plus to swapping out the shelves is that I wanted twice as many.  Having a single shelf in the middle of the tall cabinet, didn't utilize the storage space all that well. 

We purchased two 12"x8' white melamine boards from Home Depot.  Since the interior of the cabinets is only 11" deep, my hubby ran each board down his table saw to remove the extra inch.  He then measured each board and cut them the correct cabinet width as well.  The trick with cutting melamine, is to use painters tape before cutting, which will prevent the edges from chipping.


Just installing the white shelves made worlds of difference to the cabinets, and they also did a great job breaking up all that pretty dark gray paint.


We also purchased the shelf pegs from Home Depot, which is how the shelves were installed.


That way I have the option of adjusting the shelves down the road, as I begin to load them up with craft supplies.


The third upgrade was as quick as installing the painted corbels that you see pictured on the counter above.  The corbels were originally unfinished {purchased here}, so they received a few coats of the same white paint as the cabinets.


Ooooh, and not really an upgrade to the cabinets, but to the wall instead, we also installed a couple of cheapy $4 towel bars, which I thought looked so much more chic than $4 towel bars.


I was originally debating whether or not I wanted to have a craft space with supplies out in the open, or concealed.  I ultimately decided that I wanted a little of both!  So, the towel bars will be great for hanging some cups and supplies from hooks, and above, we only added two of the cabinet doors back on, and left the one in the middle off.  All together, it should be a nice balance of both options, to avoid things from getting too cluttered, but to also ensure it doesn't feel too sterile.  It will also ensure that the main items I need and use, are within quick reach.


The final upgrade that the cabinets received, was some jewelry.  And you know what that means!  New hardware!


There is something about gold and deep gray that makes me melt inside.  And the price on the cup pulls was amazing at under $2 each.  I found the pulls and knobs both at homedepot.com.


So when alllll of that was said and done {cabinet extended to ceiling with decorative molding, new melamine shelves, painted corbels, installed bars and new bling hardware}, we were left with our like new, upgraded studio cabinets!


Gah, aren't they just gorg?!  And the best part was rolling my craft cart back into it's home, the pink just makes it all that much better!


Dudes!  I could cry I love it so much!  And this weekend you can bet I will be blasting some tunes and filling those empty shelves with all my goodies {which have been living in boxes and piles for months now}!  Paint, glue sticks and sewing supplies, oh my!

Who is gonna have as much fun as me this weekend?  Anyone else over the moon excited to finally be moving into a space, or finishing a project that has been forever in the works?

82 comments:

  1. Beautiful space! Looks so professional.

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  2. Looks so good! i love the update with it all the way to the ceiling and deffinetly more shelves! you always need more shelves!

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  3. I LOVE the color pallet- our wedding way grey & pink so it makes me think back :) The white cabinets are gorgeous with all of your upgrades!

    We are finally moving into our (hopefully!) forever home after spending a year with my husband in Korea & a year in an apartment! Yay for home projects!

    http://createbakecelebrate.blogspot.com/2013/05/celebrate-house-tour-kitchen-dining-nook.html

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  4. I would die for a craft room - right now my office is also the play room! LOL Great job on this and I love the ombre drawers! www.styleoyster.blogspot.com

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  5. I knew this was going to look awesome! I love the pops of color as well!

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  6. This looks great. I love your home projects so much.

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  7. I am loving the updates to this space. The space is going to be not only organized but functional and pretty. Thank you for sharing and keep up the updates!

    - Jaime
    www.southonbroadway.blogspot.com

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  8. I want to see pictures after you fill it up!! Love it, as always!! :)

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  9. I wish I would of done something like this in my scrap room. Oh how I would love built ins. It looks fabulous, Jen!!! I love it. A good thing to do this weekend too, filling it all back up, being the weather is going to be cruddy.

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  10. looks so awesome Jen!!!! you're inspiring me for what is possible in our new house! i'll have an office space too and i can't wait to tackle it!

    have a great weekend and a lot of fun organizing all of those supplies. :-)
    sam

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  11. You are going to have the most fun...no question about it!!! I am so jealous of all the space for your supplies...and it's gorgeous, too! Bonus!

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  12. This looks great!! Have fun this weekend filling up the space! Can't wait to see how you style the sweet shelves in the middle!

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  13. I'm excited and its not even my house! lol It looks beautiful!

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  14. Jen, I LOVE this, the gold and gray are perfect together. I'm totally swooning over here!

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  15. Sounds more fun than painting bathrooms! :) Looks so lovely and functional!

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  16. WOW!! I wasn't all that sure about the dark gray paint until I saw this post and now I am just as in love as you! That looks so fantastic with the crisp white cabinets. And I was just as unsure about gold hardware until you took a picture from farther away and my jaw just dropped. Cannot wait to see how you work your magic filling it up with goodies!!

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  17. Wow that is absolutely gorgeous and amazing! I'm so jealous and want it for myself!

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  18. I love gray - you're office space looks amazing! :) What color gray is it? If you don't mind me asking. I will have to keep it on my favorite paint colors list!

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    1. Hi Beth!

      It's called Intellectual by Behr. :)

      xo,
      Jen

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  19. Beautiful! So glad you kept the center cabinets open!!! Love it!
    Xoxo
    Emma {from my little pink couch}

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  20. Wow! Looks like a built in!

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  21. Perfect! Love all the custom touches you added... you are so talented! Can't wait to see what it looks like after you work your organizing magic :)

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  22. Absolutely beautiful! I love every project you have done so far. Can't wait to see the finished product! Did you get the paint out of your rug?

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  23. Jen! This turned out simply beautiful! I just love the colors you picked! Can't wait to see the finished product! Gorg!

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  24. I wish I could do a lot of organizing. I'm just renting and the space is not enough (no storage as well) but I will surely get some ideas from all your projects. Nice work on the studio! I love the colours that you used. :)

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  25. I love, love, love it! Great job!

    - Adrijana

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  26. I hope to have this feeling soon! Our bathroom has been gutted since January and we keep having setbacks! Hopefully soon we'll have a beautiful finished bathroom.

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    1. Crossing my fingers for you. I have heard bathrooms can be major renovations. Sending happy vibes!

      xo,
      Jen

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  27. I love that you took the white up to the ceiling, looks great and helps the dark gray not to be too overwhelming. Wondering if you were considering altering that a bit for added storage (if you weren't, I am sure your hubby will be thrilled with this comment.... lol). Even though the space above the cabinets is not a large space, it is still an opportunity for extra storage for some smaller items that you don't use on a regular basis. I think that adding three smaller cabinet doors (centered above each cabinet below) would look really nice and give you the opportunity to utilize that space. Still looks great though!

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    1. Hi,
      Bravo to your husband too. Such a great outcome and such a blessing to have someone by one's side listening to our wishies. Just like everyone else I wish I had those skills. @Christine: That is exactly how I felt, why not use this extra space to store paper rolls of things like that. I suppose it would not be a problem to have the side whether left open or closed with a blind or a door. Or better yet, a swinging door in front. And what do you thing of a large mirror on the wall for extra brightness, isn't a basement room?

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    2. Thanks gals!

      Yes, I absolutely considered using it for storage, however, ultimately I decided that for now, it wasn't worth the added trouble and potential clutter to the eye. What you can't see {tucked to the left of our other workstation}, is a door to a large storage area under the stairs, in which I can store overflow items. So, knowing that, and that the storage high above the cabinets wouldn't be the easiest to access, I skipped it this time. But what I love is that we can always add it in the future if my craft hoarding continues and we have a need for it! :D

      xo,
      Jen

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  28. It amazes me that your husband doesn't mind when you want to change something that he installed already. My husband is not at all good like that and has zero patience for me when I change my mind after the fact. I usually have to tread lightly dropping subtle hints and then he does it with such resistance and a huge attitude. You are a very lucky lady my dear. Besides all of that I am in lurve with the room. Like major major lurve. FANTASTIC!!!!!

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    1. Hi Beth!

      I agree with you, so so lucky! He isn't always all smiles, but usually really understanding with me. I am known for needing to continue to tweak things until I get them just right {if at first you don't succeed, try try again}. And I think he has found that in doing that, it has really paid off around the house in many ways. So, he has grown more accepting, as long as it's nothing too over the top or major. :)

      xo,
      Jen

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  29. It's really coming together! I'm currently trying to plan out my ultimate craft space! I'll take inspiration from this.
    Where did you find those $4 towel bars?

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  30. I hear you on the weekend projecting! I've been working on my kitchen reorg for a week now, pantry done and about half cabinets/drawers. Dividers and undershelf organizer should arrive from Amazon and I too will be blasting tunes finishing it out this weekend! Thanks for all the inspiration!

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    1. Yay Sarah! I bet it feels so great, and I love that you are excited to finish it up! :D

      xo,
      Jen

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  31. Wow!!! I can't believe how gorgeous this looks! You (and your hubby) are so clever. Discovered your blog a couple of months ago and am officially obsessed! Just wish we had access to all the amazing supplies you do over here in the UK, I don't think our suppliers have got completely on board with the organising trend yet! Loving your work! :-)

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  32. Great space. Love the contrast with the white and the grey.

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  33. I love! I've never found such a great price on those pulls. They don't look like much on the home depot website, but you clearly have vision because they look gorgeous in your space! Looking forward to seeing the finished product (and which room you plan to tackle this month!)
    {lamourcheznous.wordpress.com}

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  34. The gold & grey is a great combo. Can't wait to see more as it progresses!
    - Lora

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  35. Beautiful job! I just spent an afternoon looking for those $4 towel bars, can you tell us where you found them? Thanks!

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    1. I found them at a local, small town hardware place which doesn't have an online store, however, it was a "Decko" towel bar, you can find a lot of options online here: http://bit.ly/ZvD2yf

      xoxo,
      Jen

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  36. Good job on the cabinets! What a pretty room this is.

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  37. It turned out so nice. I'm glad you chose a bold color.

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  38. Your project is so inspiring! I'm getting ready to redo my home office/craft space and I love your ideas! Where did you find the towel bars? And if I may ask...what kind of cups are you going to use on the towel bars?

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    1. Hi Amy!

      I still have some Ikea ASKER cups {white}, that I will be using, but depending on storage needs, may need to come up with an additional option as well. Stay tuned!

      xo,
      Jen

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  39. I really like how you walk us through the steps when you do posts like these. I learn so much about home improvement from your blog! I can't wait to see all the "iheart" details that you will add...I know they will be amazing (like everything else you do)!

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  40. This looks so amazing! I want an identical space in my house!!!

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  41. I LOVE IT!! My wheels are spinning as I sit here at my credenza typing this. I could get SO much more space if I traded the credenza out for a set-up like this! It's modern. It's functional. It's beautiful!

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  42. What great upgrades!!! I love the grey and white together. I also am crazy about your ombré. I'm going to paint it on a dresser soon. Come check me out at www.IllJustPaintIt.com. I keep borrowing your organization tips! Can't wait to see how your room finishes up!

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  43. I love that so much! Functional and absolutely gorgeous!

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  44. I love living vicariously through you! Your house is just gorgeous! How do you get your sons and hubby to help keep things organized?

    P.s. gray is my go to color when looking at paint choices, love it!

    -Megan

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  45. It's looking so great! I can't wait to see it all filled up and finished!

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  46. Full height looks so much more $$. Love it!

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  47. IT. LOOKS. SO. AWESOME.

    I'm not rearranging this weekend, or finishing anything major, but I AM cleaning up my studio, and it IS taking me ALL THE TIME EVER. But it makes it so much easier to find everything! (This cleaning spurt wasn't caused by me not being able to find my box of leather scraps or anything, NOOOOOO, not at all!)

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  48. I love the bold color choice. The only problem is I now have to reconsider my color choice for our hallway. Green or Grey? Decisions...decisions.

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  49. Gah! This looks so great!! I am practically counting the days until we have a house that has room for a studio for me. In the meantime, I can stop by here and swoon over yours ;-)

    Regarding the gap-- have you considered trying backer rod? It is intended to fill gaps in shower corners before caulk, but I think, depending on how big your gap is, it might work!

    Oh, and I KNOW you've said it before, but if it's not too much trouble, would you mind sharing again the color of your floors?

    Thanks so much! Have a wonderful week!

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    1. Thank you so much for the suggestion! That is not something we had considered up until this point, and we will definitely look into it!

      xo,
      Jen

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  50. Jen, I'm telling you and your hubby are A MA ZING! The space looks gorgeous, I love your colors and that deep gray will look beautiful with anything, but this little one here would use yellow everywhere! Congrats on your studio and I'm sure you'll write even more amazing posts from there. Cheers! Helena.

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  51. I just got the Martha Stewart craft cabinet and have been having a blast filling it up. Sounds like my idea of a great time with all those awesome cabinets.

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  52. Love the make over, It's awesome, It made want to redesign my whole kitchen.. :)

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  53. Yay! I am glad you left the middle cabinet open. Everything looks so great!

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  54. The room is coming along!I love the new molding. It is weird how molding changes how the room looks.

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  55. What a great inspiring project! :) You have a great eye for details, {so this may be something that you've already thought about}... but I was wondering if you had given any thought to adding furniture feet to your base cabinets? It would really compliment your corbels.

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  56. It's looking lovely... Beautiful job!

    Vera

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  57. Absolutely lovely! I can't get over your shelves: the red to pink is perfect with the grey. Great job!

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  58. Hi Jen! You and your hubby are professionals! I love how you choose the colors and it really looks amazingly done. After reading your post, I am inspired to do some renovations in my house.

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  59. Nice job, Jen! I love the gray -- I think I missed that post earlier. You could almost leave the cabinet doors off for uncovered storage -- I'll have to remember that idea later.

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  60. ohhh my gosh! I love those upgrades, they beautiful and makes the room more pleasant and calm. I wanna have those soon.

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  61. Well it sure looks like this activity took a lot of hard work, time and money investment, but as I can see it turned out very well and it looks very beautiful. I am glad you managed to finish it with success. Congratulations, and I hope you will enjoy it.

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  62. THAT'S IT! I'm flying you to my house for a month to redo my studio. Your husband will just have to manage with the boys on his own. :) :) :)

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  63. Hi, are you aware that your post was (illicitly, I guess!) copied here?
    http://scalealluminio.altervista.org/studio-progress-major-cabinet-upgrades/

    You may want to take action with google or such...

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  64. Hi Jen! This is gorgeous! I know this is an old post, but I am curious if you remember what style/type of crown molding and extra trim pieces you used ? We are hoping to do something similar but I am having trouble choosing a style. Also, what color is the cabinet paint?

    Thanks!
    Audrey

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    1. Hi Audrey!

      We used a traditional crown moulding found at Home Depot, I believe around the 3" size. We also found the trim moulding pieces there as well. The cabinet color is Behr's Ultra Pure White, we didn't have it tinted at all. I will say, we have since had a small amount of yellowing, so be sure to use a good oil base primer before painting, especially if painting white. I hope your project goes well! <3

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  65. Hi there. My husband feels we need to cover the add on piece that covers the open space and the actual cabinets with a thin sheet of wood because he says when we paint the look, texture and color will be obviously different between the original cabinet and the material used to cover the open space. I don't see that yours or any other similar projects require this. Please advise and thank you.

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    1. I think that is completely a preference thing. I haven't seen it done that way before, and I think it's ok for moldings to be grain/texture free because the extension is more of the finish of the cabinet frames, not the faces. Once the entire thing is primed, paint should cover evenly and similarly. Best of luck with your project, we still love the look of ours.

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