Master Bedroom Closet and Storage

Darren Wright

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Springfield, Missouri
Now that I've completed the Master Bath Project, it's time to move on to the next project. We don't use this second sink/vanity which is located in a nook in our Master Bedroom. My wife originally wanted me to just pickup two pre-built 24" four drawer kitchen cabinets that we could paint and install them side by side in place of the vanity. This would have allowed us to keep the mirror and just do some simple touch-ups around it (this is an old photo, the wall paper was removed and walls were painted when we moved in). She is a person that likes instant gratification and as long as the area looks nice, it didn't matter if the quality lacked.

masterbath2.jpg

Well nothing is ever that easy in my house, the opening is only 46 1/2" wide, and I'd have to re-construct each of the pre-built units to fit, or move the right wall over. Well after she saw how nicely the Master bath turned out, she was OK with me building some custom cabinets instead that mach out of cherry.

I did some google image searching and came across one that I liked the look of. I still need to do some sketch-ups of it to fit the 46 1/2" width, but she liked the idea of having some jewelry storage in some of the smaller drawers and maybe a section in the top for her to hang some necklaces.

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Next up is sketchups...
 
Love it. Go for it. As to our significant others getting ideas from the forum . . . I already have enough to do to keep me busy for a decade without adding a single thing to my list ;-)
 
So this is the first draft of the built-in, thought it would work well, but something wasn't right.
Dresser2.jpg

So I copied into the master bath sketchup and put the walls around it and seems the lower cabinet is too short (currently 36" tall), so going to try it at 42" tall with 5 sets of drawers on each side. I'll shorten the upper doors and move the jewelry drawers up.
Master Bath1a.jpg

My other option is to leave the existing soffit above where the sink is now and make the cabinet shorter. Will draw both up, but that's the progress so far. It was raining yesterday, so no wood yet anyway.
 
Me likey. I think the sinktop and the new cabinet's ledge should be at the same height but, I've been wrong before. Doing "what if" drawings is a big part of my design phase. Sometimes while I am working an idea between what I am not happy with and where I think I want to go, I find somewhere else along the way that I actually like better. Playing with pixels is quick and easy. Have fun.
 
I assume those are four drawers at the bottom of the upper cabinet. You will have to clear off the little shelf area every time you want to open the bottom drawers for anything. It will make you unhappy.

Even though it appears to be wasting storage space, I recommend you leave at least an inch under those drawers. You will have to move taller things on the "shelf" but at least you will be able to open the drawers over a safety pin or comb or....

My bias is for lower cabinets like this to be either 30 or 36 inches high. But that is a preference item, not a requirement.
 
Even though it appears to be wasting storage space, I recommend you leave at least an inch under those drawers. You will have to move taller things on the "shelf" but at least you will be able to open the drawers over a safety pin or comb or....

My bias is for lower cabinets like this to be either 30 or 36 inches high. But that is a preference item, not a requirement.

That is great advice, I appreciate the feedback and will make for some space above the counter. I'm leaning towards leaving the soffit rather than building all the way to the ceiling, but I also hate to waste the storage space. I may have to work on maybe adding another set of doors above those to break up the space a little.

Like Glenn said, playing with pixels is quick and easy, and it doesn't waste wood.
 
Finally got moving on this project. We've decided to leave the soffit to help even out the height with the bath cabinets. Even more so I've decided to do the project in two phases to "keep momma happy". ;) The first phase will be building out the dresser base unit, then the upper cabinet.

I got the base cabinet cut and framed out today. Just used CCX ply for the base unit since none of it will be visible, but may paint the inside black just to be sure it's not.
2013-08-18 21.26.20.jpg

Also took my time cutting and marking all the drawer and face frame pieces to keep the pieces matched to the piece/area they came from.
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Thanks guys! I got my drawer rails cut to size and tenons on them last night (no pics). I really need to consider getting a surface sander and new planer. Found about 4 of my pieces were about 1/32" thicker than the others, but adjusted for it. and will sand it all down after glue-up.

Rich, I know what you mean about the honey do. The downstairs was on the remodel list next (new flooring and some new openings to the sun room). My winter project was to build new bedroom furniture, but my wife said as we were leaving this morning that she really wants a headboard put on the bed after this dresser base unit is done, even if I replace it with something else later. :doh:
 
Looking forward to seeing an update. I can sympathize with the instant gratification. By the time I finally got my new tub fixture installed I was doing stuff to just get it done. I also don't care that the tub spout elbow has a slow leak when the shower is capped and said elbow is exposed to street pressure.
 
Today was demo day, removed the door trim for the closet and master bath to make room to get it out. Plan to donate it to the restore, so tried not to damage much of it.

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Whoever installed the side splash pieces used about a full tube of caulk on the left side and the remainder on the right side, night and day difference getting them off...only one survived.
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While I had the wall opened up I finished up wiring the hair dryer pull-out. I removed the single gang box and replaced it with a double so I could add a timer switch to control the pull-out plugs.

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Tomorrow I'll finish capping off the plumbing and patch up the walls. My wife wants to leave the mirror until I get the top half built, so I may trim the edges with some cherry to match the base.
 
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