Issues are coming alongside on the house gymnasium, and that signifies that I’m inching nearer and nearer to the beginning of the studio mission. The most important (and most overwhelming) a part of ending my studio shall be constructing the cupboards. That room is big, and would require a great deal of storage to be a helpful, organized, and environment friendly room for me.
I’ve checked out so many cupboard choices over the past yr, and I haven’t discovered an choice that I actually like. I’ve checked out all the things from IKEA to varied RTA (able to assemble) corporations. Nothing I’ve discovered thus far appears fairly proper.
Then the opposite day, somebody talked about Shelf Help in a remark, and I made a decision to check out that. Shelf Assist isn’t fairly an RTA service. It’s simply merely an organization that can reduce your plywood to your mission and ship it to you. That’s it. They don’t present face frames, crown molding, baseboards, every other trim, backing boards, doorways, or drawer fronts. They solely present the plywood for the carcasses reduce to your specs.
I do know from expertise that absolutely the worst a part of any cupboard constructing mission goes to Residence Depot, selecting out plywood, loading up plywood, bringing it house and unloading it, making an attempt to wrangle it into place, and slicing every particular person piece to express specs. It’s so unbelievably time-consuming and again breaking. So this firm’s service takes away all of that preliminary hurdle that often goes together with any cupboard constructing mission.
So I made a decision to make use of their design instrument to design my cupboards simply as I needed them, and see how a lot this selection would value. I’ve three separate zones of cupboards that I need to construct, so let’s begin with…
The Cupboard At The Room Entrance
That is the cupboard that can go on the left wall as you enter the room from the breakfast room. The cupboard shall be virtually 16 inches deep, 96 inches excessive, and 72 inches vast. Right here’s the mock up I earlier did with IKEA Pax cupboards…
The Shelf Assist customizer instrument permits you to select what number of bays (I selected three), and what number of sections shall be in every bay. I don’t know that that is precisely how I’d need it, nevertheless it’s shut.
After which the following step permits you to visualize how it might look with crown molding, face frames, paint, and so forth.
You’ll be able to even add door fronts. However remember the fact that they don’t present any of this. That is simply so as to visualize how the completed mission might look. They’re simply offering the plywood for the carcasses, although.
That’s a reasonably large cupboard, and the plywood for the carcasses alone involves $775.00.
I’ve to confess that it’s laborious for me to contemplate paying that a lot after I know that if I do it myself, it might be lower than half that worth. However let’s transfer on…
The “Workplace” Space Cupboards
These are the cupboards that go on the wall behind my desk space. These cupboards will flank a window, and I would like deeper cupboards on the underside, and shallower cupboards sitting on high of these.
Once more, simply so that you perceive the place these would go, right here’s the earlier mock up I did utilizing the IKEA cupboards…
One factor I didn’t like in any respect in regards to the IKEA choice is that I actually do need the decrease cupboards to be deeper than the higher cupboards. I couldn’t discover an IKEA choice that gave me the look I needed.
With Shelf Assist, I configured the decrease cupboards flanking the window to be 45 inches vast, 32 inches excessive, and 20.25 inches deep.
And as soon as the drawer fronts are on, it might look one thing like this…
The higher cupboards sitting proper on high of the decrease cupboards would be the identical width, however shall be 64 inches excessive, and solely 15 inches deep. (I see I entered the flawed depth, so I’m certain that will convey the fee down.)
This most likely isn’t how these doorways will look. They’re means too tall and thin. However there shall be doorways on the higher cupboards.
Once more, as a result of these would flank the window, I’d want two of the decrease cupboards and two higher cupboards. I’d must reconfigure for the shallower depth on the higher cupboards, however it might be round $1682.50 for that wall.
The Entrance Wall Cupboards
And that brings us to the final zone of cupboards, which is the entrance wall (i.e., the wallpapered wall) of the studio. On that lengthy wall (about 19.5 ft), I would like one financial institution of cupboards at every finish, after which a decrease cupboard proper within the center.
Right here’s the mockup utilizing IKEA cupboards for this wall…
However I had the identical drawback with these cupboards as I did those for the “workplace” space of the room. I would like the decrease cupboards to be deeper than the higher cupboards, and I didn’t see any IKEA choice that would supply the look I would like.
With Shelf Assist, the decrease cupboards on every finish of the wall will look one thing like this…
And with drawer fronts, they may look one thing like this…
Similar to within the “workplace” zone, these higher cupboards will even sit proper on high of the decrease cupboards, and they are going to be a bit shallower, at 15.25 inches deep.
On this one, the visualizer allowed me to place only one door on both sides. This has a cleaner look, however that’s most likely not the ultimate look I’d go for.
After which for the middle cupboard, this is able to be the association.
And with drawer fronts, it might look one thing like this…
So the plywood for the carcasses for that wall of cupboards would come to $1812.25.
So all collectively, for the plywood and having the entire items reduce to specification and delivered to my entrance door, the value for the entire studio involves $4269.75. Along with that worth, I’d should buy the entire crown molding, baseboards, lumber for face frames, doorways and drawer fronts (or the provides to make them myself), primer and paint.
Fairly truthfully, I can’t resolve if that’s a very good deal or not. I do know it’s a ton of cupboards, and if I had them customized constructed, I’d be taking a look at most likely $15,000, if no more. So with me doing it myself, and if I constructed my very own doorways and drawer fronts, I’d most likely be taking a look at a further $1500. (Possibly. I actually don’t know. With lumber costs as they’re, I discover estimating a lot tougher than it was once.) So I’d estimate that I may get all of these cupboards completed for a complete worth of $6000-$7000.
After I have a look at it that means, for that a lot cupboard space and that a lot cabinetry customized constructed to specs, that worth doesn’t appear outrageous. And it’s means lower than what I’d spend if I paid another person to construct the entire thing for me.
However it’s so laborious for me to half with that a lot cash after I know I may do it myself for means lower than half of that. On the identical time, they might be doing the very issues for me which are an obstacle to me beginning the mission as a result of it appears so overwhelming. Plus, it’s simply again breaking work coping with that a lot plywood after I’m working on my own. If I had a helper (as in, a husband who may do the heavy lifting for me or at the least assist me unload, carry, put issues into place, and so forth.), it might not appear as daunting. However I don’t have that. I’ve a husband who’s the most important supporter and cheerleader on this planet, however he struggles to make use of a TV distant, so he has no bodily assist to supply me.
What do you assume? Would you do it?
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and enhance the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
I hope you’ll be a part of me on my DIY and adorning journey! If you wish to observe my initiatives and progress, you’ll be able to subscribe beneath and have every new submit delivered to your electronic mail inbox. That means you’ll by no means miss a factor!
