The Walk-In Closet Island Is Finished!
Y’all, I was beginning to think that I would never get this project finished, but the walk-in closet island is finally done. This was a pretty big build, which is one reason it took so long. It has a cabinet section with two doors, and then a total of ten drawers. But most of that building process went fairly well, with little to no surprises or setbacks along the way. What didn’t go so well was the painting.
I chose to use Behr paint instead of Sherwin Williams, and that caused a huge problem because the finish, even after several days, was still slightly tacky. And with the paint color being so dark, any time I touched it or brushed up against it, it left light smudges that couldn’t be wiped away. So I tried to clear coat it, but the weather didn’t cooperate, and the clear coat was streaky and clouded.
But yesterday, we finally had a good day for spraying outside. So I sanded down the door fronts and doors and basically started over. Everything dried well, and while the humidity was still pretty high and the finish isn’t as perfect as I’d like it to be, I’m calling this finished.
Oh, and one more surprise — I repainted the top. Now the whole thing is solid blue. Here’s how it turned out…
I read so many of your suggestions for things to put on the end of the island. I looked at lots of baskets, but I don’t really need any more basket storage. I looked at bars for hanging things like scarves, but I don’t wear scarves. (Although, after looking at so many pretty ones lately, I think I need to start! 😀 ) But then someone mentioned a gold cursive letter “K”. I loved that idea, but I didn’t like the idea of gold leaf or anything like that being applied directly to the island. So instead, I looked at wood cutout letters that I could gold leaf.
I didn’t find a cursive letter “K” that I liked, but I did find an “L” that I really liked. I actually made the purchase on Amazon, and then I realized I already had an “L” that I could use. It’s been in our pantry since I finished it.
So I grabbed that one from the pantry, gold leafed it, and hung it on the end of the island. I love it!
And I also think it’s a little humorous. It reminds me of the television show “Laverne & Shirley” because Laverne always wore shirts monogrammed with the letter “L”. So while my clothes aren’t monogrammed with an “L”, my whole closet is now monogrammed with a very similar “L”.
After repainting and clear coating the drawers and doors, I had to go back and redo the gold leaf pen detail on the one section that I had already done, and then add the gold detail on the other three sections. I used a Krylon 18kt. Gold Leaf pen for that, and each section took about five minutes.
The side facing the hanging clothes side of the room has two sections of drawers.
I haven’t had time to vacuum out the dust from drilling the holes for the drawer pulls yet, but the top drawer is a little bit shallower than the other two. The top drawers on this side are about six inches deep.
And the other four are about nine inches deep.
The other side has a cabinet, and I literally just remembered that I still need to add a shelf inside, so I guess it’s not completely finished. Ugh.
And then the other section on this side has four drawers.
The first three drawers are about five inches deep, and the bottom drawer is nine inches deep.
In hindsight, I wish I would have painted all parts of the drawer boxes white. I thought that pink color would be a fun surprise, but I think white would have looked much better. Oh well. I’m not redoing it now. At least I’m the only one who will see it.
I’m so relieved to finally have this big project done!! That leaves me with two more big projects in the room — framing out the doorway and making the chandelier. Once the doorway is framed out and the chandelier is done, I’ll have a few small projects to finish up, and then the room will finally be FINISHED!
You can find all of the posts about this closet island build here, from beginning to end.
More About My Walk-In Closet/Laundry Room
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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.
Kristi, you’re a wonder!!! It looks beautiful as we all knew it would. Enjoy!!!
Hello Kristi! That was me who suggested the cursive letter to go on the end of the island! I’m honored you liked the idea and implemented it. It’s EXACTLY what I envisioned in my mind. I was also thinking it should be dimensional. How awesome you had that “L” already. It looks great. The whole closest is amazing. It’s every woman’s dream. Great job—can’t wait to see the next thing you do!
It looks great! I think the top in blue was a fantastic idea. It looks like a piece of fine furniture now, instead of the white top.
Perfect! I actually like the pop of pink on the drawer sides – it’s a nice surprise when the drawer is opened, lol.
Congratulations on a job well done!
Maybe a gilded “K” could go on the laundry end of the island?
It made me smile when I saw it! (The pink)
So happy you got this finished! The island looks amazing! Great final decisions! 👏
I love the blue on the top of the island but I’m curious–what made you change from the white marble to blue?
My mom. 🤣 And I think she was right. If I were willing to spring for real marble, I think I’d prefer the white. But I wasn’t really excited about the way the painted top turned out, so it wasn’t difficult for her to convince me to paint it blue.
The “L” is such a fun surprise! It’s PERFECT!
Looking fabulous, Kristy. Way to go.
You did it!!!! Aren’t Mother’s great…so happy for you to see all of your hard work become so beautiful. Great job! I appreciate that you stick to your style and not be afraid to stand out in what you do. I know not everyone appreciates my style, which I understand, however, I just keep trucking along and am so happy in my home. Just think by Monday morning all of your clothing and anything else you want to put in the room could be there and you just have to walk in and get dressed without running thorough your home. AMAZING!!!
Beautiful! Love the blue top, love everything about it. It must feel so amazing to have the talent to carry out your ideas. Another major job well done! Walking into such a special room to do laundry will make it a pleasant chore. Blessings to Matt, you, and your loved furry family.
Congratulations! We’re all so proud of you for what you’ve accomplished here! Your closet looks incredible and now you should take a deep breath and enjoy it! Spend some ‘me time’ trying things on, weeding out clothes you don’t love anymore and playing with new outfit combinations. Load in, rearrange and fine-tune to your heart’s desire! It is your reward for a job well done.
Oh, and take pics from the foyer and lots of different angles, please! We’re jonesing!
It looks amazing and I’m thrilled for you, also jealous that I don’t have such a fabulous closet.
What a beautiful room and we are so envious. So much hard work and love went into this creation. You should becso proud. Have a relaxing weekend.
Way to go Kristi! And as an aside, I love the little bit of pink that peeks out at you when the drawer is open, it’s a nice way to say I see you pink, but you’re not the star of this show. I love how it all looks. I totally get the “Laverne & Shirley” thing. My first name starts with an “L”, and I have some pins and a few monograms on jackets and pray that nobody is old enough to know of that show. I think it looks amazing. This is a closet that I would spend time in just because it is there, not because I had to change clothes or do the laundry.
Cheers to you, Matt and “The Gang”!
Very pretty – well done!! 🙂 🙂
A simple suggestion; adding a small Boucle ottoman in your closet would give you a little seat to sit on while putting shoes/boots or even pants on 🙂 I added one to our closet and it was a game changer. Purchased at Target and it’s held up 🙂
Shes putting a bench and full length mirror in the foyer.
I second that! My walk in closet isn’t very big but I have an ottoman with a hinged top so it doubles as storage to sit on to put on my socks and shoes. I also put an oriental rug in my closet to stand on as my closet is in my master bath and has a tile floor. It makes it nice to have the rug to stand on while dressing.
Oh my gracious! That is beautiful! Congrats on a long hard project well done!
It looks so expensive and very beautiful. Great job!!
I like the top painted the same color as the base. It looks good. I even like the tiny gold part showing on the door and drawers. I didn’t think I would like that, but I do. the colorful end on the drawer showing when open it a sweet treat. White would have looked like anyone else’s drawers. Yours are different.
Next the bedroom. I’m hoping you have changed your mind about the front door out of the bedroom. I can’t get it through my head that you need it. What does your mom think about that? What does Matt think?
Have a good weekend.
Absolutely stunning! You do amazing work, and it has been a true pleasure watching this unfold from the beginning to now. I love this so much. I might be a little green with envy. (I love the island all blue.)
Absolutely beautiful!