Office Closet Makeover – Shelving Edition

After suffering through the Office Closet Makeover – Wallpaper Edition, I was beyond ready to move on to the next stage of the project. And, I was quite excited to continue my Office Closet Makeover finally tackling shelving.

Original Plan

My office closet already had its top shelf that was staying. I just wanted simple shelves that went from wall to wall spanning the whole back wall. To anchor them, I got the simplest L-shaped brackets I could find. However, after installing a few, I just could not stand that studs on the back wall, and therefore the brackets, were NOT centered. This drove me up that same wall, so I scrapped that plan even before wallpapering.

New Plan

Naturally, I opted for a more complicated but prettier option. I still wanted the wall-to-wall shelves. But I decided to mimic the built-in shelf. I figured I could screw in thin boards around the perimeter of the closet as a base and have the shelves sit on them. Usually, you would need at least one bracket in the middle supporting the shelf. But I knew I wouldn’t be overloading this structure too much and decided to forego additional support for now.

Supplies/Tools used:

• 3 melamine multipurpose shelves 3/4 in thick and 16 In deep, cut to 92 inches to fit the whole width of the closet
• 5 8-foot primed MDF boards dimensions 3/4x3in
• level and stud finder
• a box of 2-inch drywall screws
• Multitool
• Drill with Phillips screw bit
• white paint of any kind to cover the screws

Measure thrice, cut once!

Melamine shelves come already finished and cut to size, so I didn’t have to do anything with them. Except try not to trip over them in my crammed office. MDF Boards were primed, but looked good enough that I decided not to paint them. I did, however, need to cut them. I needed 3 92-inch boards for the back wall of each shelf, and a total of 6 planks to go on the side walls inside the closet.

At first, I wanted to cut the side boards to 15 inches, just enough to support the melamine shelf. However, because studs are 16 inches apart, I had to extend that length to about 23″. and cover the whole width of the wall. This ensured I could hit 2 studs for maximum stability and run all the way to the back board.

Multitool for wood cutting in a pinch

I don’t have a saw of any kind, which would’ve made things easier. What I do have is a very loud multitool with a wood cutting attachment. It took a bit longer, but I got it done. Also, due to a snow storm in Kansas City, I ended up doing this in my dining room. I covered the floor with trash bags and made cuts over a spare piece of wood. The good thing is that this method didn’t make too much mess and cleanup was a breeze.

On to the shelving installation in the office closet

Then, using a level, I drew three parallel lines on all three walls and marked where the studs were.

Once the math part was done, I moved on to installing the support boards. However, I couldn’t do it alone, because these boards are so long. And I really wanted the understructure to be as straight as possible. Mom to the rescue! I had her hold one side of the board firmly against the wall and my drawn lines. On the opposite end I did the same, while putting in the first screw. Once the screw was in, I moved to my mother’s side and installed another one. We did this for all three long planks to anchor them.

Then I could go on and add in more screws by myself. As it is in my nature to overdo things, I ended up putting two screws per stud equaling 10 per board! And this is where I will stop counting, but you get the gist.

Boards going on side walls were much easier to handle, but I only put two screws per board on the wall that backed into the guest bathroom. Even though I measured and was sure I’d miss the pipes, I did not want to risk it.

My Office Closet Shelving turned out amazing!

Once I was done putting a pound of metal into my walls, I called for my Mom again to help fit the shelves. And it all worked out so well with minimum finagling. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about this last step. My home was built in 1974. And after years of intense weather shifts and soil settling in Kansas, walls are not super straight. Or so I thought! Because everything fit pretty nicely and well aligned.

Once I wedged in all shelves, I went around and put in more screws. This time I installed them on the edges of the shelving boards. They went in straight down through the shelves and anchored into the support boards.

Finally, I used some white paint to cover the screws. And then, I stepped back and admired my handy work.