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Closet Office Makeover - Panel Process

Although we are trying to spend as much time at the beach with the boys for the final days of summer break, we are also trying to finish up a last minute closet office refresh for our oldest son.

Last winter I decided it was time to do something with Preston's bedroom.  And we started with oodles of love and goals and excitement.  And we got a lot done, such as painting his dresser and nightstand, stripes on his curtains, updating his light fixture and DIY'ing a chalkboard calendar.  And then the holidays came, spring came and went, and we had a great summer.  But Preston's room felt no more attention or love throughout that entire time.  I think I needed to step away and really think about what direction we want to take it {"we" as in him and I}.

But one thing is for certain.  Preston's closet desk space has become victim to a pre-teen boy with zero excitement for organizing.  It is his dumping ground, his puzzle building spot, and a place to draw a picture from time to time.  Last year, he did use it for homework, and expressed that the desk was the perfect place for him since he loves his quiet time.  It just needs that extra attention to make it more functional, and more pleasing to not only work within, but for his room as a whole.

It has become my goal to continue to share our messy spaces.  Sometimes our systems fail, sometimes we get lazy and sometimes we haven't ever given those spaces the attention they need to be successful.  Whatever the case, it all happens around here, and we still have a list of endless organizing to do {wahoooo for me!}.

I give you, a 12 year old boy's closet office.


Although I may break out in nervous sweats and hives when I see his desk space, I will admit, the giant puzzle on the desk makes it look much worse than it is.  It also shows that we have a problem with our puzzle building and storage process {this kid does puzzles non-stop in his spare time, and enjoys doing them in his room where his little brothers won't get at them}.

Not only do I want to help him organize this space, I want to make it feel a bit more mature and "grown up".  So it is our quest to combine super simple storage solutions {meaning, simple to maintain for a boy with other things on his brain}, and something a bit more sophisticated as well.

So first, the sophistication.  We started by emptying out the entire closet, including the built in shelves and desktop.  When we initially installed the cloffice, we didn't select a thick enough piece of MDF for the desktop.  Ultimately, it began to warp over time, so something a bit more sturdy is also on the agenda.

Once the closet was completely empty {sorry for forgetting to snap that photo}, the next step was to plan a paneled wall install.  I have seen a few paneled walls in magazines and even in beautiful blogger homes, so I was excited to give it a try in a smaller space.


No matter which way you dice and slice it, there really is no super simple math solution {that we could come up with}, for creating an absolutely perfect grid wall {especially when multiple sized walls are involved}.

But we did come up with a solution that worked for us, which was something like this:

• We drew a diagram of what we envisioned the interior of the closet to look like when it was all said and done.  {shown above}
• Mathematically, we knew each wall would be framed out by the boards {meaning each wall would have trim running along the floor, the ceiling and each edge of the wall}.  Knowing that, we subtracted those boards from the remaining wall area, to determine the placement of the interior grid.
• We added a complicating step by knowing where the first vertical board would need to run, so the desk would sit tightly against it on the back wall {and things wouldn't fall behind the desk because of the panels}.  If you are just paneling a wall, that step may be avoided.
• Next we determined approximately how many vertical panels we wanted.  Once we were set on one for the small left wall, three for the back wall and two for the slanted side wall, we could subtract the width of the boards and divide the remainder of space into equal parts.
• Once we had our vertical boards in, trying to keep the grid visually pleasing and somewhat even, we then used the width of the vertical panels to determine the height of the horizontal panels.

Basically, make a drawing and scribble on it and scribble on it some more until you find all of the right measurements.  Once you have your grid planned, it's all about following it and installing it, which probably took us less time than trying to figuring it out in the first place.

To install:

Because our walls are covered in an oh-so-fabulous orange peel texture {please sense sarcasm here}, we needed to smooth it out.  We figured we had two options, either skimming it smooth with taping mud, or by adding smooth wall panels.  We chose the latter, because we didn't want the walls to be easy to chip and dent.  The panels we purchased were 4' x 8' smooth panel board.

To get the panels cut to width, the hubby propped them on our outdoor table, added a straight edge guide that ran the length of the sheet of paneling, and used his skill saw to cut the edges.  {Yes, we work at night while our children sleep, it's the only way to get things done around here.}


Once the smooth boards were cut to size, we used a heavy duty construction adhesive to place them on the wall.


Bryan only nailed the edges since the perimeter of each panel board was going to be covered by a piece of trim.

Once the paneling was up, next was installing the grid.  This is the first of about a bajillion times throughout the process when I scratched my head.  The hubs and I prove to be opposites on many things construction related {good thing opposites attract, right Paula?}.  He often works on the heavy building stuff while I work on the typing stuff.  That means he works ahead of me, and does things as he would do them, not how I would.  In the end, it always works out, but you can imagine the hysterical conversations we have each time I check in on his progress....

Like when I walked in, and saw all the verticals installed without the trim and ceiling molding in first....


Yep, he installed all the vertical boards first, because they were already the perfect 8 ft height that the wall was, and that meant, he wouldn't have to cut any of the boards down.  My brain, wanted to see the trim on the floor and ceiling done first, but in the end, he said it would all be pieced in nicely and caulked and you would never even notice {fast forward, he was right}.

To install the boards {we used a 3/4" thick x 3" wide x 8' long primed pine boards}, Bryan used his level and brad nailer, and placed them per our pre-planned diagram.

Next came the horizontal boards.  This took a bit longer as he measured and cut each and every board for the width.


He did this because although the vertical board was straight, it could have slight warps throughout, and wanted it to be as seamless as possible.  Every piece was also measured into place by measuring down from the same point at the top.


Cut and repeat.  Again, and again, and again.....

After all of the horizontal boards were installed {again, with the brad nailer}, an hour of caulking each and every board and nail hole came next.  For this, we always select a white, paintable caulk.


This is where my hubby says, "Goodnight my love" and heads to bed.  And I grab the paint brush.

Although in my gut, I thought I probably should prime the walls, I knew I had the paint with the primer built in, and figured it just may take three to four nice thin coats.  I went that route, and was pleasantly surprised that it was almost all covered after the first coat went up!  I used Behr's Burnished Metal {which is the same gray on the upper portion of his walls around the perimeter of his bedroom}.


Backing up a minute, to get that far, I started by using my brush and brushing each vertical and horizontal board, and the inside of each square to ensure I didn't miss any board edges.


Then I followed behind with my mini microfiber roller.


This room has carpet, so I used a paint guide at the bottom and it worked really really well.


And here is the fabulous closet after the second coat.


Yes, I was scratching my head again, just as you are right now.  I couldn't figure out why my hubby went to bed without installing the final panel on the bottom.

He later admit he was trying to take a short-cut, because he thought the base of the desk going in, would supplement the look of the final wall panel.  Oh my, he should know much better than that.  My OCD could never let that happen, you can bet that final wall panel will be going in this weekend.


A few more things worth mentioning.  That incredible desk is actually the DIY console desk we initially built for my studio {don't even get me started on my studio, I am back to wanting to blow it up and start over for the third time}.  Once I realized how awesome the desk would work in Preston's space, I knew it was meant to be.  The beautiful wood with white works so perfectly with the darker walnut shelves above.  Love that we were able to use something we already had.  So knowing we were going to use this desk, we were able to plan the placement of the horizontal grid to line up with the back of the desk.  This ensures nothing can roll off behind the desk due to the recessed grid.

My hubby installed the shelf brackets for me before he went to bed {since he was just getting up to go to work the next day and I wanted to snap pictures in daylight}.  When he installed them, this was the third time I scratched my head {it's amazing I have hair left}.  I probably would have put them flush against the left wall.  He centered them on the grid.  He says, she says.  In the end, I still love how it all turned out.


So, next up:

• Install, caulk and paint the final grid at the bottom of the closet
• DIY wall storage options
• Install lighting
• Organize, organize, organize
• Give him a place other than his desk to do and store his puzzles

Anyone else loving the paneled wall look?  Or get into a battle of the sexes situation while working on home projects?