The Cupboard Under the Stairs
Last Christmas, as part of their gift, we promised the kids a reading nook in our basement. It would be a Harry Potter-inspired space that would be perfect to curl up and get cozy with a good book. I'm ashamed it took us until the kids were all away at camp in July to finally make some progress on it, but at long last it's finished!
Here is the space beforehand: a nice little open area under the stairs, but it was mostly used to collect clutter (I forgot to snap a picture before we started putting up the 2x4s).
We started by framing the space in. The crazy angles and odd corners made it a bit of a challenge, but we had the framework in place by about lunchtime.
We found a gorgeous, tall and narrow door at the Habitat for Humanity Restore that even came with hardware! It was much taller than we needed, but we took several inches off the top and bottom and it was a perfect find for the cupboard.
Next we covered the space with plywood to close it in.
The studs were the perfect place to add some shelves without tying up any of the limited space inside the cupboard. We mounted some 5-inch boards to the studs and the construction phase was finished! Next it was time to paint. And paint. And paint. And paint... We picked a Hogwarts-worthy grey we had left over from another project (the 4th book is missing in this picture because I'm currently reading it. Currently meaning for the past 6 months. I'm the only one who hasn't read them all!).
The finishing touches were the best part. We painted the ceiling a deep blue (leftover from our corner cabinets in the dining room!) and added glittery gold stars to look like a magical sky. A Gryffindor-colored garland was added to the wall facing the door. I painted a quote from the books on the sloped angle of the ceiling (probably the hardest part of the whole project--phew!). We hung a painting Henry had made at school of Daniel Radcliffe on the wall; it has eyes that actually follow you when you move! A little scrap carpet and some fuzzy body pillows and the inside was finished!
Today I finally got the outside painted so this project is officially FINISHED!
That's a wrap! Turns out it's a pretty comfy place to curl up with a book...
Here is the space beforehand: a nice little open area under the stairs, but it was mostly used to collect clutter (I forgot to snap a picture before we started putting up the 2x4s).
We started by framing the space in. The crazy angles and odd corners made it a bit of a challenge, but we had the framework in place by about lunchtime.
We found a gorgeous, tall and narrow door at the Habitat for Humanity Restore that even came with hardware! It was much taller than we needed, but we took several inches off the top and bottom and it was a perfect find for the cupboard.
Next we covered the space with plywood to close it in.
The studs were the perfect place to add some shelves without tying up any of the limited space inside the cupboard. We mounted some 5-inch boards to the studs and the construction phase was finished! Next it was time to paint. And paint. And paint. And paint... We picked a Hogwarts-worthy grey we had left over from another project (the 4th book is missing in this picture because I'm currently reading it. Currently meaning for the past 6 months. I'm the only one who hasn't read them all!).
The finishing touches were the best part. We painted the ceiling a deep blue (leftover from our corner cabinets in the dining room!) and added glittery gold stars to look like a magical sky. A Gryffindor-colored garland was added to the wall facing the door. I painted a quote from the books on the sloped angle of the ceiling (probably the hardest part of the whole project--phew!). We hung a painting Henry had made at school of Daniel Radcliffe on the wall; it has eyes that actually follow you when you move! A little scrap carpet and some fuzzy body pillows and the inside was finished!
Today I finally got the outside painted so this project is officially FINISHED!
That's a wrap! Turns out it's a pretty comfy place to curl up with a book...
