A Use-What-You-Have Makeover

February 13, 2012 By 20 Comments
The entire point of shopping in your closet is to create updated looks you’ll love out of the pieces you already have. Success in taking a tired, not-so-exciting piece and turning it into a home-run outfit hinges on your inventory. Until that inventory starts to look like ours did.So this weekend, Gwyneth and I set out on a mission to give our closet a makeover. While we couldn’t add the square footage our inspiration photos had, we were able to add a little of their style. And best of all, we applied our closet shopping method of using what we have to this project.

Our first step was to get everything out and take inventory. We knew our closet was over capacity, but we never anticipated that we’d have to move furniture just to find a place for everything. This exercise (and we do mean exercise), made it clear that we’d have to part with a few of our treasures. Gwyneth got to work, making a few cuts in her area of expertise.

Once we agreed on what could stay, we began the beautification process. We had some leftover paint from our Dumpster Dive Headboard, so the back wall got a few coats of Sherwin Williams’ Grenadine. As you can see, we ran out of paint before we could get to the shelves on the left. Since our mission was to use the things we had, we touched those up with the Benjamin Moore White Dove that we had on hand.

If there’s ever a project where you want to be completely sure that your paint has totally dried, this would be it. So we used the time to work on the accessories for our improved space. While we lacked the room, budget and electrical wiring to install a chandelier in our closet, we did have a votive holder hanging in the window and instructions from a very helpful Home Depot employee. This Make-A-Lamp-Kit, ladies and gentlemen, was our only purchase. And we used a coupon. Grand total = $8.67.
We threaded the socket cord through the votive and a few hooks we installed to the ceiling of our closet. There’s a socket right outside the closet (perfectly hidden by the curtain), so with a spare extension cord and in under 20 minutes we had a DIY mini chandelier!
Then we pulled an extra frame out of the closet, shopped our bookshelf and framed an illustration from Nina Garcia’s Look Book. If you don’t have this at home, it’s a good one to have in your library!
Because it’s hard to predict when Little G is going to ask for an extra walk in the morning or when she’s going to want to play at an inconvenient time, (It’s a fact: making a toy squeak with your foot while curling your eyelashes is neither speedy nor safe) I try to set out my clothes the night before. We repurposed knobs, leftover from dumpster dive finds that got upgraded with Anthropologie hardware.
After a coat of gold spray paint, we nailed our knobs into the shelving. Now, outfits have somewhere to hang overnight without getting wrinkled.
When we painted our bookshelf white, it made a big difference in our home office. So we thought we’d try the same approach with our brown shoe racks. Here’s the before:
And the after – Same Benjamin Moore White Dove on the wood, and a quick hit of gold spray paint to the (plastic) hardware on the sides.
Lastly, we thought our curtain looked a little wimpy, so we added two more panels that we had on hand. Honestly, it still looks wimpy. The real issue there is not the size of the panels, but the weight of the fabric. Since we wanted to do this project using things we already had, a heavier-weight panel is a purchase that we’ll make down the road. For now, we’re enjoying the improvements we made this weekend and having even more fun shopping in our closet!
xoxo,
mk & Gwyneth
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Filed Under: Accessorizing, Bedroom, Dumpster Diving, Home Improvement, Shopping in my closet

Comments

  1. Andi says:
    February 13, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    The closet makeover looks great! This project is on my to do list too!

    Reply
  2. Meredith Krull says:
    February 13, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    Thank you, Andi! Let us know once you’ve done yours – I’m sure there will be some great ideas that we’ll want to borrow!

    xoxo,
    mk & Gwynnie

    Reply
  3. amy free says:
    February 13, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    This is awesome Mere! I have to say that it’s gorgeous and I’m lusting after all the goodies I see IN your closet too :)

    Reply
  4. Nancie Bucher says:
    February 14, 2012 at 9:07 pm

    I like this closet suggestion by Marilu Henner (the actress with superior memory). She displays each pair of shoes with one toe out, one heel out. Here’s the link: http://www.organizingla.com/organizingla_blog/2011/07/marilu-henner-can-remember-the-date-she-bought-every-item-in-her-organized-closet.html?cid=6a00d83451b1af69e2016300065c3f970d

    Reply
  5. Meredith Krull says:
    February 14, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    Nancie, thanks for sending this! Such a good idea!!
    xoxo,
    mk & Gwyneth

    Reply
  6. A Lived in Home says:
    February 16, 2012 at 4:00 am

    Wow, so cute and colorful now! Great transformation! I actually like the separation in color. Good thing you ran out of paint!

    Reply
  7. Linda @ it all started with paint says:
    February 19, 2012 at 12:00 am

    Not sure which I love the most, the little chandelier or the pic of Gwyneth with the shoes …? Such a wonderful makeover! And I like the price tag.

    :)

    Linda
    itallstartedwithpaint@gmail.com

    Reply
  8. Chatty Chics says:
    February 19, 2012 at 8:36 pm

    Meredith, I LOVE the DIY light! It’s adorable! You did such a great job! I could feature you EVERY week girl!
    Melody
    ChattyChics.com

    Reply
  9. gracefulvintage says:
    May 2, 2012 at 12:32 am

    Meredith,
    I’m a little late to your blog…I saw your expedit on the ikea share site.
    Your blog really great and your baby Gwyneth is adorable. I can appreciate your making what you have work, especially living in NYC!
    About your panels on your closet…If your handy with a needle, you can sew a a nickle at each bottom corner, then again at the 1/4, 1/2 & 3/4 point. This is an old trick with curtains or drapes that need more weight without spending anymore money (except of course what you sew into the hem!)!
    Hope it helps!
    Grace

    Reply
    • Meredith and the New Yorkie says:
      May 7, 2012 at 8:58 pm

      Hi Grace! So glad you found us! We actually found some amazing heavier weight panels on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond, so we used our 20% off coupon and scooped them up. But your suggestion is really smart, so we know what to do should we run into a situation like this again! Thanks so much for reaching out and for the kind words – we’re so glad to have you following along on our adventures!

      xoxo,
      mk & Gwynnie

      Reply
  10. Ayumi Lafser says:
    May 24, 2012 at 4:05 am

    I seriously need closet make over! It’s a disaster in there. lol I think I first need to sell my clothes that I barely wear.. nice post!

    ayumi

    http://www.chibi-chic.com

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says:
    June 3, 2012 at 11:11 am

    Really hoping that’s a faux fur garment in the closet!

    Reply
  12. Jess says:
    June 8, 2012 at 2:50 pm

    That lamp is amazing! My closet is really dark and I could definitely use a light there…

    Reply
    • Meredith and the New Yorkie says:
      June 8, 2012 at 2:52 pm

      Thanks, Jess! That is exactly what we were up against! Promise, DIY-ing this little chandy could not be easier! If you are inspired to make one, we hope you’ll email it to us, so we can share on our FB page!

      xoxo,
      mk & Gwynnie

      Reply

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