DIY Closet Makeover for Baby Girl's Nursery

DIY nursery closet for baby girl, nursery closet organization — before

Ahhh it’s reveal time for my DIY built in nursery closet!! I have been so excited to complete this closet, decorate it, and share it with you. This entire project was an experiment. It started with a Target 8 cube cubby and ended with plywood, a little experimenting, and a few (errr many) custom cuts. If you have been wanting to create a built in closet storage system of your own, keep reading, because I’m going to teach you exactly how I built this!!

Materials:

1/2″ thick 4×8 sheet of plywood
8 cube organizer **I scrapped the top and bottom pieces of mine and just used plywood for the those. You could just use plywood for the entire cube system (it would be cheaper).
1 in. x 6 in. x 8 ft. Radiata Pine Finger Joint Primed Board (baseboard)
1 in. x 2 in. x 8 ft Trim Board Primed Finger-Joint (shelf trim)
2 in. x 6 in. x 8ft (cut at 5″ segments to support the platform)
11 3/4″ melamine shelf
shelf brackets
oak closet rod
1″ thick scrap wood
liquid nails
wood filler, caulk, and caulk gun
Bin Primer by Zinsser and paint (I used Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore)

Tools:

circular saw & jig (here’s an easy way to make a homemade jig to get long straight cuts!)
miter saw
drill
orbital sander with 220 grit sandpaper
level
laser level (not required, just makes things easier!)
2″ short brush and high density foam rollers

Step 1: Measure the closet + cut your wood to size

I started by drawing a plan view of the closet, determining my shelf sizes, and cutting my plywood to size. I thought that I would easily be able to retrofit the entire cube system, but after deciding that I wanted the top and bottom shelves of the cube to extend seamlessly past the end of the cube, I made the decision to just use plywood instead.

Note: if I were to do this again, I would just build the cubes out of plywood. It would save $$$ and make painting easier.

You’ll need to make long straight cuts in the plywood. This is something that would have scared me just a month ago. BUT I made a jig for my circular saw that makes it really easy to makes these long cuts! Of course, if you have a table saw, you can use that as well!

Here’s a look at my plan view and how I determined my cut lengths:

Step 2: Build the platform & install the cubes

Ryan (my husband) requested that I leave the baseboards put and just build the platform above them. I wanted the entire system to be raised off the ground and trimmed out with baseboard anyways, so it worked out! I simply built up the platform with 5″ tall 2×6’s and glued them to the bottom plywood shelf.

This is a good time to break out your level and make sure everything is sitting flush. 😉

Secure the cubes onto the platform (I used the hardware that was included with the Target cube system + wood glue), and use a level to make sure your verticals are plumb.

As I mentioned above, you could just use plywood and trim to build the cubes and it would be cheaper. At the same time, I personally liked working with the cube system because it gave me dimensions to go by, and it’s a more streamlined install process.

Step 3: Install top shelf and add cleats at overhangs

To build up the top shelf and make it appear thicker than the 1/2″ thick plywood that it actually is, I added 1″ thick scrap wood around the perimeter of the cube and glued & clamped it down. I then glued and clamped the plywood itself to the scrap wood.

To support any overhangs, nail a cleat to the wall studs and glue the shelf to the cleats.

Step 4: Add trim, caulk, wood fill, and paint!

This is where the “built in” effect really kicks in!

Paint the baseboard before installing it to avoid getting paint on your carpet!

Fasten your 1×6 baseboard to the 2×6 supports, and then fasten your 1×2 trim to the 1″ scrap wood. I used my nail gun to secure both. The trim makes all the difference!!!

Finally, you’re ready to caulk and wood fill. My walls were janky and I made one of my cuts a bit too short, so I ended up using foam backer rod aka “caulk saver” to fill the larger gaps.

**WARNING ABOUT PAINTING THE TARGET CUBES** Make sure you sand them first and use Bin Primer by Zinsser. I did NOT sand them first, and the primer and paint scratched right off. Lesson learned!

I painted the corners with a 2″ angled short brush and immediately followed with a high density foam roller to eliminate any brush strokes.

Step 5: Install shelf brackets, shelf, and wooden rod

I used my stud finder to locate the wall studs, and I predrilled my holes to make install easier. I got lucky, and a wall stud was directly in the middle of the closet! That really made my OCD self happy ha! Having a laser level on hand made this step easier; it gave me peace of mind that all my shelf brackets were installed at the same height.