The Total Cost Of My Bedroom To Walk-In Closet Conversion
Last night, I sat down and went through all of my receipts to see just how much it cost me to convert the guest bedroom into a walk-in closet with a laundry area. I shared lots of pictures of the finished closet in yesterday’s post, so if you missed that, you can click here to see all of the details of the finished closet/laundry room (and probably more pictures than you could actually want).
But just to recap, I went from this bedroom…
…to this walk-in closet with a laundry area.
This was a pretty extensive project because it started with all of the old flooring and subfloor being removed and new subfloor and flooring being installed. That added quite a bit to the cost of the overall project. And then I stained and sealed the floor…twice. But at the beginning of the year, once the old flooring and subfloor was out, and the new subfloor was in, the room looked like this…
That contractor also did the plumbing and some of the electrical rough-in for me before I fired him. (You can read about that here.) But I did pay him some for the work he did in this room.
Contractor fees: $500.00
Then I hired out the installation of the new hardwood flooring, and then finished the floor myself. I’m so glad that I redid those floors! Can you imagine my closet with these dark floors?
I honestly think those dark floors would have made the whole room so dark and drab. I had them covered while I was building the closet cabinets, but once I decided to redo them, I uncovered them and sanded around the edges. I can’t find any pictures with the solid dark floors with the cabinets, but you can get an idea of what the dark floors would have looked like here…
It was a lot of work, but I’m so glad I went back and sanded down those floors and redid them with the Bona NaturalSeal and Bona Traffic HD. So the flooring cost for this room includes the actual hardwood flooring, the installation, and the finishing and refinishing (including the rental fee for the sanders and the sandpaper for the sanders).
Flooring Cost: $2581.83
I bought most of the plywood and lumber for the room at Lowe’s and had it delivered. But then I had to make several trips to Home Depot throughout the project for plywood, trim pieces, etc. I built everything from scratch, so I did save money that way. You can see a cost comparison of building from scratch vs. using IKEA Pax wardrobes here.
The cost for the plywood and trim that I used for the island was included in this, so this cost covers all of the plywood, trim, molding, etc., for all of the perimeter cabinets plus the island.
Lumber cost: $3141.80
And, of course, there were a lot of little costs that added up along the way — nails, screws, sandpaper, wood filler, etc.
Supplies cost: $290.38
And then there was the cost of the primer, paint, and paint supplies. I probably could have reduced this cost by about $150 had I not purchased 100 paint samples. 😀 But I had such a hard time deciding on a paint color for the cabinets. Remember all of the colors I tested out?
I don’t think I’ve ever tested out this many samples for any other room. But I really struggled with this one.
I am so glad I went with a blue. I can’t even imagine the room being coral. And the color I went with — Sherwin Williams Billowy Breeze — ended up being perfect. I love it so much! But Sherwin Williams paint isn’t cheap. And neither is the primer I used — Zinsser B-I-N shellac-based primer. I was a bit shocked at the total cost of the paint and paint supplies (brushes, rollers, roller trays, etc.). Those pricey primers and paints, plus all of the supplies, added up really quick.
Paint and paint supplies: $1145.91
I put all of the hardware for the room into one category. This includes the brushed gold closet rods…
Plus all of the drawer and door pulls, drawer slides for the island, etc.
This was another category that adds up really fast. Drawer pulls and soft close ball bearing drawer slides aren’t cheap!
Hardware costs: $641.48
And then there’s the main lighting for the room. I went from having one dimly lit ceiling fan in the center of the room to having loads of flush ceiling lights on dimmers.
Good lighting makes all the different in a room, and I especially wanted my closet to be very light and bright. But I also put all of the lights on dimmers. So this cost includes the new lighting (not including the decorative light fixtures), all of the new wiring that the new lights required, dimmer switches, cover plates, etc.
Lighting Costs: $633.46
The next category is all of the pretty stuff. And my closet wouldn’t be my closet with the pretty stuff.
This category includes the wallpaper, sconces, mirror, glass for the jewelry drawer, clothes hamper, step ladder, etc.
The pretty stuff: $1375.48
And finally, I put my chandelier in its own separate category.
Once I added the numbers, I realized that it cost more than I thought it did. But it’s still a fraction of what the inspiration chandelier cost!
Chandelier cost: $388.54
And that’s it! So that brings us to the grand total for turning a bedroom into a walk-in closet and laundry room…
- Contractor fees: $500.00
- Flooring: $2581.83
- Lumber: $3141.80
- Supplies: $290.38
- Paint and paint supplies: $1145.91
- Hardware: $641.48
- Main room lighting: $633.46
- The pretty stuff: $1375.48
- Chandelier: $388.54
GRAND TOTAL: $10,698.88
I have to admit that I didn’t realize it cost that much. Was it worth it? Well, I guess only I can answer that question. And for me, the answer is a resounding YES!
More About My Walk-In Closet/Laundry Room
see all walk-in closet/laundry
room diy projects
read all walk-in closet/laundry
room blog posts
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Wow! $10K for a place to store and clean clothing. I can’t imagine doing that, but we are all different with different wants and desires. The end result is lovely. My only change would be to remove the “K”.
My mistake. I meant the “L”.
Keep the L! That closet is awesome and that is a great personalized touch!
I agree with Donna. I think the gold letter is tacky. Everything looks like it fits except that “L”.
I happen to love my tacky “L”. It’s staying.
Had I built a separate laundry room, which was the original plan, I think that room alone would have cost more than $10K. I would have had quartz countertops, cabinets, etc. I think it was a bargain to put the two rooms together and get both a laundry room and a huge walk-in closet in one efficiently arranged room for $10K.
You and your closet are both simply amazing. It is a beautiful closet and laundry area. Congratulations. I know that was a really long and difficult project, but you stuck it out and now look at the results! Woohoo!!
What you’re forgetting is that these projects are what make her income too so she can work and stay home to care for Matt. If she had to hire that out so she could work out of the home that care would eat up all the expenses for these projects and much more. If doing this is your living you might as well do it in a way that the end product brings you joy and keep the readers interested too.
$$ well spent..but..you didn’t include your design, labor costs (which would have doubled the cost!)
Wow! That’s a lot! Even with supplying all your labor. But for your use, laundry and closet. That’s actually two rooms- worth it.
I can’t even imagine what that gorgeous closet would have cost if you had paid a contractor to do it. You did a fantastic job and you deserve some “pretty”. I know you will enjoy that closet for a very long time. God bless you.
First, let me say I am impressed that you know where every penny was spent. So many times when doing a project we only pay attention to the big ticket items and just ballpark what we spent which is always actually less than we did.
If people look online at what a true room size custom closet costs they may be shocked that many are twice what you spent. Of course you did all of the labor and worry etc etc etc.
I dare say you could have gone with coral and lived with it a year and then found yourself wanting to repaint. The fact that you tested out so many colors impressed me ( said the woman who painted 8 samples of blue on her living room walls). You want to get it right so you don’t end up doing it all over again later. There are very few people who have such a colorful closet that brings joy when they walk into it
and spent less than what a laundry room makeover and a full room closet makeover would cost. I don’t know if the new bedroom can top it…..but I know it will come close. Great work!!
I can’t guarantee that I accounted for every penny 😀 , but all of my receipts from Home Depot and Lowe’s are automatically sent to me via email, and then they go into a specific folder in my email account. It makes it pretty easy to go back and add up the numbers.
Wow! That is way less than I thought it would be! Good job!
Worth every red cent, and from my perspective, your labor was more than $10.7k. Don’t know how to estimate that.
Question: In some pictures the chandelier base is plain, the spokes radiating out and up; this is the first picture (one of them, not all of them, above) in which there are petals covering the base. This elevates it to a new level! I missed where you added this detail, and to me, this one detail is the essence of what makes your decorating skills / talents / passions so unique and special and wonderful.
Are you talking about the flowers on the chandelier? It took me a while longer to make those flowers, so I was finally able to add them on the last day of my break.
Yes, it was worth it! To have a beautiful highly Kristi customized closet like that, that will be used and loved for a long long time, there is no comparison! You exceeded all expectations, yours and ours. Kudos on a job well and beautifully completed!
I think that’s an excellent price. The cabinetry could have cost way more than that alone. Bravo!
Absolutely worth it!!!
If you had contracted out the closet it would have costs you $35K. Money well spent, money well saved. It’s a beautiful functional space you will enjoy for a long time. And that is priceless 😀
It makes me smile to realize how happy and wonderful you are with all of the hard work, frustration, money spent and eventually satisfaction of a beautiful, organized laundry room and closet! What I am always surprised by the effort and time you give to planning out and trying to decide so much detail of what you want the finished product to be before you even begin, and then order finishing products such as rugs, furniture, window coverings, etc. I usually do the project and then decide colors, furnishing etc. A lot of the steps you do prior I always leave until the end when I am finished with a project. I usually only know from the beginning what color I want the walls…because I only really like 1 color for walls for the last 40 years. Yes, I said 40 years. The color is perfect for my artwork and always goes with all. Aways a light creamy taupe. I agree with you regarding Sherwin Williams paint and Zinsser, they are the best. I have used Home Depot’s brand, but Sherwin is still better! I leave outside paint to the professionals.
Bravo, it’s absolutely STUNNING!!!! Job well done!
Considering that you combined a laundry room with a beautiful closet, and that the total cost includes the refinishing of ALL the bedroom floors, I’d say it was money well spent. I’ve never seen a closet so lovely, and I hope you enjoy it for many years to come!
Your custom closet/laundry room is stunning: well thought out, assembled with absolute care, and worth every single penny !!
And if all of your readers estimated what it was worth to them to see and learn from your design and process, you would have the money back in spades.
Thank you, for taking me along on your journey and giving me so much optimism and hope for tackling projects of my own !!
I think it is unfair to add in the cost of repairing the subfloor and then replacing the flooring. Wouldn’t you have needed to do that even if you kept it a bedroom? Maybe my memory is flawed, but I thought you had no choice but to rip out the flooring.
Regardless, it is shocking how much the prices for construction materials have skyrocketed in the last few years. That also partially explains why home prices and home improvement costs are so ridiculous when you hire it out. By doing the labor yourself, by and large, you saved yourself 2/3 of the cost.
Yes that is quite a bit for a closet but Kristi you deserve it! You don’t spend money on vacations, you don’t go out a lot so if that’s what you want to spend your money on, you go girl. I also have a spouse who has become disabled and we no longer travel or go out so we have our splurges like satellite TV and streaming services. All added up they’re still cheaper than one or two nice vacations a year which is what we used to do. Your closet will bring you joy for many years to come.
I think you could charge people to do a walk-through of your closet; it is that unique and beautiful. That way some of the cost is off-set.
That’s not bad considering you basically have 2 rooms in one. A laundry broom alone could have cost that much.
The flooring should definitely be a side note. So for $7500 I think it’s an amazing space. Cost out a separate laundry room and built-ins for a closet and I think you have an amazing space for the money spent. (I love your “L”–it truly reminds me of Laverne and Shirley.)
Thanks for sharing all of this information. The closet is absolutely astonishing. It is definitely your personal rainbow fantasy that came right out of your mind into reality. Kudos Kristi!!