Issues are coming alongside on the house health club, and that implies 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 large, 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 during the last 12 months, and I haven’t discovered an choice that I actually like. I’ve checked out every little thing from IKEA to numerous RTA (able to assemble) firms. Nothing I’ve discovered to this point appears fairly proper.
Then the opposite day, somebody talked about Shelf Help in a remark, and I made a decision to try that. Shelf Assist isn’t fairly an RTA service. It’s simply merely an organization that may minimize your plywood in your mission and ship it to you. That’s it. They don’t present face frames, crown molding, baseboards, another trim, backing boards, doorways, or drawer fronts. They solely present the plywood for the carcasses minimize to your specs.
I do know from expertise that absolutely the worst a part of any cupboard constructing mission goes to Dwelling Depot, choosing out plywood, loading up plywood, bringing it residence and unloading it, making an attempt to wrangle it into place, and chopping every particular person piece to specific 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 wished them, and see how a lot this feature would price. 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 may 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 lets you 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, however it’s shut.
After which the subsequent step lets you visualize how it will look with crown molding, face frames, paint, and many others.
You may even add door fronts. However remember the fact that they don’t present any of this. That is simply as a way to visualize how the completed mission could look. They’re simply offering the plywood for the carcasses, although.
That’s a fairly large cupboard, and the plywood for the carcasses alone involves $775.00.
I’ve to confess that it’s arduous for me to contemplate paying that a lot after I know that if I do it myself, it will be lower than half that value. 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 need 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 wished.
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 will look one thing like this…
The higher cupboards sitting proper on high of the decrease cupboards would be the similar width, however shall be 64 inches excessive, and solely 15 inches deep. (I see I entered the fallacious depth, so I’m positive that will carry the associated fee down.)
This in all probability isn’t how these doorways will look. They’re approach 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 will 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 toes), I need 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 downside with these cupboards as I did those for the “workplace” space of the room. I need the decrease cupboards to be deeper than the higher cupboards, and I didn’t see any IKEA choice that would supply the look I need.
With Shelf Assist, the decrease cupboards on every finish of the wall will look one thing like this…
And with drawer fronts, they’ll 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 all sides. This has a cleaner look, however that’s in all probability 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 will 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 all the items minimize to specification and delivered to my entrance door, the worth for the entire studio involves $4269.75. Along with that value, I’d should buy all the crown molding, baseboards, lumber for face frames, doorways and drawer fronts (or the provides to make them myself), primer and paint.
Fairly actually, I can’t determine if that’s deal or not. I do know it’s a ton of cupboards, and if I had them customized constructed, I’d be in all probability $15,000, if no more. So with me doing it myself, and if I constructed my very own doorways and drawer fronts, I’d in all probability be an extra $1500. (Possibly. I actually don’t know. With lumber costs as they’re, I discover estimating a lot more durable than it was.) So I’d estimate that I may get all of these cupboards completed for a complete value of $6000-$7000.
Once I have a look at it that approach, for that a lot space for storing and that a lot cabinetry customized constructed to specs, that value doesn’t appear outrageous. And it’s approach lower than what I’d spend if I paid another person to construct the entire thing for me.
But it surely’s so arduous for me to half with that a lot cash after I know I may do it myself for approach lower than half of that. On the similar time, they might be doing the very issues for me which might be 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 very least assist me unload, carry, put issues into place, and many others.), it could not appear as daunting. However I don’t have that. I’ve a husband who’s the largest supporter and cheerleader on the earth, 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?
EDIT: As I used to be simply wanting over these plans once more, it dawns on me that I may save much more cash by not separating the drawer bays into sections. When including drawers, there’s no must have plywood bases separating out the drawer sections. It may be one large, open bay for drawers. If face frames are used, that’s the place the dividers are added for every drawer house. I’m undecided if that is sensible to everybody, however it is sensible in my thoughts. 😀
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish 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 the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
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