It’s been a busy but productive week in the nursery built-in department, so I’m going to cover a lot in this post. Hang on to your hats, crank up your favorite Swedish electropop, and be prepared for some nitty-gritty detail on how we began the transformation from free-standing Ikea dresser to built-in dresser/bookshelf combo (that’s not a finished result on the right, by the way, it’s just photoshop).
As you might recall, we bought two FJELL dressers because they were the size we needed and they were made of solid wood. But they did need a little additional help when it came to giving them a built-in look:
- The indented side profile meant it couldn’t sit flush to the wall, leaving a pretty glaring gap that needed filling
- The nursery’s baseboards on both the side and the back also prevented it from hugging the walls tightly
- The bottom drawer wasn’t built up enough from the floor to accommodate wrap-around baseboards, which we wanted to add to complete the built-in look
None of these issues were insurmountable, but it did take a some extra work to get them taken care of before we could move on to the fun stuff. Let’s start with problem #2: the existing baseboard, since it’s an issue that anyone would run into with any piece of furniture they’re trying to build-in. The solution? Cut it out. I just had to mark where to make my cuts. I marked where it sat originally, but kept in mind that when I removed the side baseboard, the whole piece would shift to the left against the wall. Same goes for marking the side cut (when I remove the back baseboard, it would sit further back).
To cut it out I used my Dremel Multimax. The metal radiator cover (leftover from this project) is just there to help protect the floor. You don’t technically need a metal grate, but I figured this way it would make a pretty distinct noise when my blade got too close, which was a nice warning to keep me from damaging the floor underneath it.
Once I had cut all the way through, I scored the seam between the wall and the baseboard with a utility knife (to make sure no wall paint peeled off with the baseboard). Then I just pried off the quarter-round and the baseboard.
With both the back and side baseboard removed, I excitedly pushed the piece back into the corner… only to realize that the top piece was now the problem. It was bigger than the bottom of the dresser, so the overhang was preventing me from getting the piece completely flush. Bummer.
So Sherry and I had a little “meeting of the minds” and decided to trim the top a smidge to remedy the situation. Luckily, being an IKEA product, it was easy enough to remove the top (after I marked how much would need to come off). I was sure to write my cut measurements on the side that needed a trim so that once I got downstairs to my saw I didn’t accidentally slice the wrong end.
I set the guide on my table saw to the correct measurement and just sliced the two sides accordingly. This is a moment we were particularly thankful that we went with a nice sturdy dresser made of solid wood (and not particle board, which can be tougher to cut cleanly).
With the top cut and reattached, the dresser now sat nice and flush against the wall on the back… but I was still dealing with a gap-on-the-side (problem #1, if you remember).
This was an easy solution because the gap just happened to be 3/4″, which meant I just had to slip a 1 x 2″ piece of scrap wood in there (after I cut it to the right length with my miter saw). It was actually a tight enough fit that it might’ve stayed on its own, but I put a couple of nails through the dresser into it, just to be safe.
The last and final issue (#3) was building up the entire piece so that the bottom drawer wouldn’t be blocked by the new baseboard that we wanted to wrap around the base of each dresser. We decided a simple base/platform for the dresser to sit on would be nice and simple, and would buy us the extra height that we needed. Since it wouldn’t be visible, we just chose some 2 x 4″ framing lumber (since we needed it raised about 3.5″ off the ground). I cut the pieces and then attached them to each other in place, using my Kreg jig and some nice heavy duty screws.
Here you can see how the dresser (sans drawers at the moment, for easier moving) sits right on top of this base. I didn’t actually attach the dresser to the base, which leads me to my next point…
Securing everything in place was really important. We didn’t want this thing to move an inch – especially movement of the tip-over variety (dressers can be especially wobbly if someone pulls all the drawers out at once). So using my stud-finder I found as many places as I could to drill through nice solid wood (i.e. not the thinner backing piece) into studs – along both the side and the back. Not only did that help make things super flush against the wall, but both the base and the dresser became rock solid in their placement. Phew.
I know all of that didn’t seem terribly complicated (or exciting), but there was enough careful measuring, cutting, and screwing together, that it took me a good day-ish to complete… especially since I had to do it twice over.
I was deep into building mode at this point, but logic told me that I should pause construction and Sherry and I should do some of our painting and staining before going further. Taking time for these steps while everything was still apart would mean less edging and taping, so it would hopefully save us time in the long (and result in a really clean look).
First up was staining the top, since we decided we wanted to take advantage of its wood grain texture and make it contrast a bit from the rest of it. We had two stains on hand that we’ve always liked, so it was just a matter of choosing which one worked for this application.
We were having a hard time judging based on the cans, so we decided to just look at real projects that were already sporting those colors. Clara’s dresser was Red Mahogany and my bike frames were Dark Walnut.
It’s hard to tell from that picture above, but in person the Dark Walnut color was closer to the floors (Red Mahogany was darker) and was also the exact tone that we’d used on the bike frames that would go in the room, so that made the decision pretty easy.
I removed the tops, took them out to the garage, and got to staining. They each took two coats of stain followed by two coats of Acrylacq sealer, which Sherry brushed on (it’s non-toxic and awesome for sealing in any off-gasing from non-eco products like the stain). Including drying time, this step stretched over about four days, but each coat went on pretty quickly, so a lot of that was just drying time.
But we didn’t sit idly by, we had two whole dressers to paint. Except one thing we worried about – which some of you explicitly warned us about – was the potential bleed-through. Strong knots like these have a tendency to make stains seep right through a paint job over time, even through layers of primer and paint in some cases.
So thanks to some of your warnings and a little bit of research on Sherry’s part, we decided to take a couple of knot-busting tricks for a spin. The first was to cover them in wood putty, since it’s supposed to seal the knots and keep them from bleeding. I’ll admit I wasn’t crazy about this technique, mostly because it was time consuming (this piece has LOTS of knots) and when it came to sanding down the dried wood putty (which I did with a palm sander) it was a thin line to walk between getting it smooth again and sanding all the putty off completely. In the end I think we got a nice thin glaze of putty over most of the knots though, which did feel like added protection.
Sherry also had another trick up her sleeve (thanks Internet!), which was painting a thin layer of wood glue over each of those puttied knot areas. This technique was considerably faster (glue is surprisingly easy to paint with) and it didn’t result in any sanding dust getting everywhere.
We could’ve avoided the putty and glue by using a shellac-based primer, but since we try to keep things as fume-free as possible (especially in a nursery where a newborn will soon reside), we prefer to use Kilz Premium as our primer (it’s VOC-free). We used that on our kitchen cabinets a month ago, which were darker and had their fair share of knots, and nothing has come through their crisp white finish, so it does seem to do the trick in most cases – and the wood putty and glue that we used on the dresser feels like nice added insurance.
Not to skip ahead or anything, but it has been a few days since priming and painting, and so far not even a hint of bleed has occurred (sometimes things bleed right through the primer before you even get to the painting step, so it has been really comforting). Only time will tell if these techniques really work for the long run, but you know we’ll keep you posted either way.
Speaking of the priming step, we already had some Kilz Premium leftover from when we painted our bedroom dark blue, which is why it’s tinted.
We probably didn’t need tinted primer, but we appreciated the chance to use up this can. Sherry detached and rolled all of the drawer fronts downstairs in the kitchen (it was too cold in the garage) and upstairs I rolled the bases in place, along with a few pieces that I had already cut for the top part of the build.
With the primer dry, we could move on to our first coat of paint (we went with Senora Gray in Advance paint, which is made for furniture and cabinetry, and has some nice self-leveling and low-VOC perks). It’s the same paint we used on our office cabinets in our last house, along with our last two kitchens. Those office cabinets were beat on by Clara with wooden trains when she was younger, so we love how durable it was.
The color nearly gave us heart palpitations when it first went on. It was so light and so, I dunno, beige. We actually triple checked the swatch and can to make sure they had mixed it right. Fortunately it dried considerably darker and much closer to what we were envisioning. Phew.
Although I’ll admit we did second-guess the color a bit. It’s not nearly as dark as our photoshopped rendering, but that was on purpose. After doing that mock up, Sherry found this inspiration picture (it’s originally from Ballard Designs) and that’s how we picked Senora Gray for the built-ins and Going To The Chapel for the walls (more on that process in this post).
Still, I think Senora Gray turned out a bit lighter than we expected – namely in that it doesn’t contrast with the walls as much as we thought it would (even though it’s four squares below the wall color on the swatch card). We considering picking a new color before applying our second coat, but we decided it was a blessing in disguise, because it makes the stained wood top and the hardware pop really nicely thanks to more contrast, and as much as Sherry and I might chose moodier built-ins for ourselves, we keep trying to remind ourselves that this is a room for a little boy (and it only has one window) – so keeping things lighter isn’t a bad thing.
We finished both coats and put everything back together – including the stained top, the hardware (which came with the FJELL originally), and even started attaching some of the molding on the floor. That baseboard and shoe molding will be painted Senora Gray too – we just have some caulking to do first.
Update #1: People are wondering how we decided to paint the baseboard (and the crown we’ll be adding) to match the built-ins instead of keeping them white. We think it could look good either way, but we just prefer the look of an entire piece from floor to ceiling being the same tone (as opposed to accenting something like baseboard or crown by choosing to make it a contrasting color – especially since we already have the stained wood top as an accent). Here’s an example of a painted built-in with the baseboard and the crown in the same color, which we really like.
We’re super psyched with how they’re turning out. I know they’re a bit anticlimactic without having their bookcase tops on yet, but after all the time it took to get this far we relished in them at least looking partially complete.
Update #2: A few others have asked if we’ve thought about filling that indentation on the inside edge of each dresser for more balance. In person we actually really love that added detail (we feel like it gives them some special architecture, and once the crib is between them it’ll be a nice little accent). Of course we could always change our minds and add something to fill that down the road, so we’ll keep you posted!
Assuming things stay on course the next couple of days, we should have these completely finished – built to the ceiling and primed/painted – by Wednesday or Thursday. Which is a huge relief because when I first started planning these guys I felt like I’d be lucky to have them done before baby boy arrives. Guess I kinda overestimated the task!
We’re definitely looking forward to crossing off the biggest project on our to-do list with ten weeks left for the fun stuff (Sherry can’t wait to tackle things like bedding, mobile-making, art, curtains, a bold green closet door, adding sconces and a light fixture, and doing something exciting to the wall between the built-ins where the crib will go).
More Built-In Storage Projects
We’ve done similar cabinet built-in projects in several spaces, so if you’d get more ideas and inspiration, be sure to check out some of the posts below:
Rachel says
Looking good guys! I love the stain on the top particularly, and the storage is going to come in so handy.
A question: we’re looking at putting in bookcases and I want to try to make them look more built in by bringing the baseboard and trim round the edge. My husband isn’t convinced it’s easy enough for a pair of novices. Do you have a post anywhere in the archives where you talk about removing existing baseboard and replacing? Do you use new stuff to go round the outside of the built in or can you reuse what you removed? How easy is it without making a huge mess of the wall? Are there tools that you absolutely wouldn’t try it without? Sorry, that’s more than one question… but I really hope you guys can help! Thanks in advance!
YoungHouseLove says
We bought new baseboard at Home Depot (ours is just very standard stuff) and mitered the corners and wrapped it around the baseboard. I think we’ve touched on that in the past, although I can’t think of a post offhand to link to. Maybe check out our posts about adding crown since it’s a similar concept? You can easily cut out the trim with a dremel without hurting the walls or the floor if you’re careful like we did here. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Rachel says
Thanks Sherry, that does help – I’ll have a scan through the archives for something on crown… see if I can persuade him it’ll be okay! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!!
xo
s
Lisa E says
Rachel, check out Centsational Girl, she’s done what you are asking about.
Rachel says
Thanks Lisa!
Elaine - visual meringue says
amazing! Awesome work John (and Sherry and Clara of course). These are REALLY coming together and even though not done, one can tell they are going to look fantastic!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks Elaine!
xo
s
Claudie says
I like that they are a lighter color since you said the room is small and the built-ins being dark might make that side of the room too heavy.
I’m not sure about adding the quarter-round to it though. It might look more seamless if you were going to leave it white, but the final two pictures look great without it and since you’re going to be painting it the same color as the dresser, it might look weird jutting out a bit on the floor, if you that makes sense. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the thought, Claudie! Didn’t even think about that, so we’ll have to look at it both ways.
xo
s
suzanne says
LOVE it! and can’t wait to see more!!!!!
Chris says
Great work.
I am completely jealous of all you guys have done in a very short time.
Kim R says
Hey, you did a great job! Have fun being creative and working on the room before the kid shows up! (I spent the whole Super Bowl cuddling with my friend’s baby boy. I bet you won’t want to be painting anything once the little barnacle shows up!)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweet! I am totally saving up my baby-cuddling energy – although I have been doing so much Clara cuddling lately. Wanna make sure she gets all I can give her and then some ;)
xo
s
Megan says
Looks AWESOME!!! Great job on all the detail work, that is noooo small job. Very impressed. Despite the color being not exactly what you thought – I love it. I bet it will look great with pops of green and added ‘boy’ interests!
Two questions/comments – 1. Do you ever use a wood conditioner on raw wood? I’ve heard it makes all the difference in how the stain ‘takes.’ Since we didn’t get a close-up of the finished top, wondering if you’re happy with the penetration? 2. I was mixed about the baseboards at first, but I totally get your vision and think it’s the right way to go. I would however, paint the walls LIGHTER – which is normally opposite of my color tendancies, but I think this will be such a unique piece in the end… it’s a shame to have it so close to the surrounding color. Then again, perhaps the pictures don’t do the contrast justice???
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I have heard wood conditioner is awesome, but just went with what we had (the minwax, which we have used alone on wood before, without conditioner). It took two coats to get a nice even look that we were happy with, but it looks great. Will have to include a detail shot of that for you in the next post! And as for going lighter on the walls, it’s definitely not out of the question if they bug us down the line – we just hope once we load in the room with stuff it’ll all make sense (we like that the white crib and molding will pop with this wall color, but something lighter might just make those things blend in).
xo
s
a different Megan says
Hey Sherry,
I’m glad to hear that you had good results staining the top. I have heard that pine doesn’t take well to stain, so I had been stalling staining a solid pine ikea dresser. I really don’t like to do things twice, so if I’m going to stain it I want that to be it. Did you let the stain sit, or did you wipe it off right away? I’m looking forward to seeing a detail shot.
Also, we are going to build built ins in our family room using base cabinets on the bottom, be we have 6 in baseboards (yours look higher too). I’m not worried about building the base, but I was afraid the cabinets would look funny up so high, but I like the look of yours. Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
The first coat we let it sit about 15 minutes before wiping it off, and maybe did 20 mins the second time? We really wanted it to settle in for some nice rich color. We also think the sealer helped make it all polished and finished looking, so I would be sure to include some sort of sealer on yours. Good luck!
xo
s
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
These built-ins are going to look so good once you guys are done! I’ve always really loved the giant desk you had in your old house’s office, and now seeing your plans for these built-ins I really want to combine the two. We could use some shelving in our office, but I don’t really like the book shelves we use now. Thanks for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck Ashley!
xo
s
Sheryl says
Oh I just LOVE the way they look – clean,crisp, modern and traditional at the same time. The effort and love you guys put into everything is so inspiring! I have 5 kids and you can never have enough dresser space, especially when you have 4 daughters!
Cat says
Thanks for the knot tips! I made a media console from Ana White’s website and I had some bleed through in one area. Now I am going to try your tips to see if I can fix those areas.
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck Cat!
xo
s
Heather says
These are shaping up great!! And you’re giving me some inspiration for other built in projects like our currently empty spare room ;-)
Dawn says
Looks great! I loved the stained top in contrast with the Senora Gray, very pretty. Wish you could give my husband some lessons :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Dawn!
-John
Melissa says
These look SO AMAZING!!!! I cannot even contain myself. I cannot wait to see the full reveal!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Melissa!
xo
s
Emily says
Even better than I expected!
Ann Merry says
Another way to deal with knots in wood is to use a tannin sealer. I did folk art and decorative painting for many years and really loved a product by Chroma Acrylics called JoSonja’s Tannin Blocking Sealer. Never had any issues with knots bleeding thru. It does have to cure for a week before painting over it, but there is no need for wood putty & sanding, or glue. (If you want to stain the wood, you stain it first, and then apply the tannin sealer over the knots). I looked up the MSDS on this product and it sounds very safe…can even be ingested with no adverse effect..!!!
Your project looks great. I love the color.
YoungHouseLove says
So smart! Never heard of that but I LOVE the tip! Thanks for sharing Ann Merry!
xo
s
Vanessa says
I love how baby boy Petersik’s room is coming along. I love the color and the stain on those cabinets. I cannot wait to see the final look.
Jen says
I love how this room is shaping up! I bet you can’t wait to put your little guys tiny little clothes in those drawers!
YoungHouseLove says
AHHHHH! I can’t wait!!!
xo
s
Mary | Lemon Grove Blog says
Absolutely gorgeous!! I love the color – especially with that dark ORB hardware! :D
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Mary!
xo
s
Camilla @ Something Is Done says
Wow it looks amazing! Great job guys! Question: Where do you buy the Acrylacq? I’ve been looking on Amazon but am not sure what the most cost-effective place to buy it is (it’s quite a bit more expensive than the solvent based polys!). I’d like to use it on my toddler’s solid wood bedroom door that we’re planning to stain.
Also, can you use the Acrylacq on both wood and hard surfaces (like sealing a couple lamps that I spray-painted)?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We used to find it locally from an eco store here but they closed (boo hoo!) so now we order it online, although one container goes a long way (I think in 4 years we’re only on our second one!). I don’t remember if we did amazon.com or something else, but it really does last through so many projects (and doesn’t yellow like some other sealers) so it’s worth it if you have to spend a little more.
xo
s
Ameera says
Sherry and John!
Second time posting on your website!
Love, love love the builtins!I love the colour, i love the way you left one side without the scrap piece of wood! I love that you stained the top! I cant wait to see the finished product!
We are hoping to buildin a set of cabinets into our basement media room once we get back home in april! Right now we are staying in ontario canada for the short term while my husband completes his training. Will definitely use your instructions and will send you pics when we are all done the basement!
Take lots of care and looking forward to seeing your new little one!
Ameera
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Ameera! Good luck with everything!
xo
s
Debbie says
Awesome! Where did you get the hardware. Looking for new hardware for existing dresser that won’t blow the bank!!
YoungHouseLove says
That came with the Fjell from Ikea! We love it so much!
xo
s
Rachel says
I loooooooove the tapered sides of the dressers. As much as I love ikea dressers for their roomy drawers, their legs are usually insubstantial. I really like that it comes unstained and unsealed as well!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Rachel!
xo
s
Brittney Saffell says
Looks awesome so far!!! Can’t wait to see the end result.
Teri says
Love this project and your blog! I am a new follower and have worked my way through all your past posts. I am super impressed with you both- in the way you balance your work and your family and in the way your home renovations come about. Keep up the amazing work!
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Teri! Thanks so much!
xo
s
ErinY says
These look so great, I can’t wait to see them all done! For the sake of options down the line are you able to fit a twin bed lengthwise between the two? It looks pretty spacious in pictures.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we intentionally went with the Fjell dressers since a twin bed can fit lengthwise in the middle and a full or queen can even fit width-wise, so we hope the room has some really nice flexibility for a growing kiddo.
xo
s
Tina says
Once again, you have surpassed all expectations! You are adding so much charm and character to this home, and of course inspiring me to do the same! Love this!
YoungHouseLove says
Thank you so much, Tina.
-John
Sus. B. says
Not sure if I am your only swedish reader – probably not – but it always warms my scandinavian heart when you do all the fantastic IKEA hacking! Such creativity! Ingvar Kamprad would be proud of you I think!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sus!
xo
s
Laurie says
Were you able to reuse the baseboard that you removed for the built-in or were the measurements slightly different?
These look awesome. I think they are really going to add a lot of architectural interest to the room!
YoungHouseLove says
We needed new stuff, but thankfully they stock it at Home Depot so it’s easy enough to grab (at least for now).
xo
s
Tammy Terrio Wallace says
What a great idea! This looks totally do-able for un-handy nubes like me and the hubby. Love it!
YoungHouseLove says
You can do it Tammy!
xo
s
bella says
This looks really really great. I am excited to see it completed and styled. And, I definitely agree with painting the trim and crown to match the base. It would visually shorten the entire built-ins if the trim and Crown were white.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Bella! That’s where we were going too. We thought it would dwarf things and sort of make it look floating instead of grounded and unified, if that makes sense :)
xo
s
Jen says
Wow! That looks amazing! I would love to do built in in our house…. but I guess DH and I need to find jobs first…
Crystal says
Here’s one vote for painting the baseboards to match the built-ins!!!
We built a built-in pantry a couple months back and it is painted black (matches the kitchen cabinets) floor to ceiling. The baseboards are white up to where they meet the pantry.
To each his own but I think painting the baseboard white would creat too much contrast and would make the built-ins shorter (instead of giving some full visual height to the room).
:)
YoungHouseLove says
Love that Crystal! Sounds really pretty!
xo
s
ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com says
i’m actually quite in love with these and i’m oooooohhing and ahhhhing over those tops! not sure on the color – maybe there’s a better difference in-person … but seems to clash a little bit. but overall, in love. can’t wait to see the room continue to come together!
Kim says
Love those gorgeous handles.
Love handles lol
Little things make the biggest difference.
leatitia says
It looks amazing!!!! Wow!
Vanessa says
These look great! Do you mind sharing the source for the hardware? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
That came with the Fjell dressers from ikea!
xo
s
Rachel Kill says
Wow, this is so impressive!! You guys make it look so easy. I love how the room is shaping up, can’t wait to see more! :)
Dora says
Hello, just wondering how you cut the angle of the baseboard trim that was added to the dresser so that it would be flush with the existing baseboard on the side wall?Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
We cut the baseboard straight and butted them against each other and caulked to make it look seamless. Then we used a coping saw on the shoe to really get that fitted look.
xo
s
Sandy says
I’m surprised you picked colors based solely on a picture on the internet. Maybe you’re just braver than I am. I have gotten color ideas from sources on the internet before but I have had enough of them fail in my own rooms to know I need to test them first. It’s amazing how much different lighting from room to room can change the look of a color. Thankfully yours turned out just fine! I love the look of the built-ins. Can’t wait to see it with the sconce lighting added! It’s going to be amazing!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no we picked the color in the room, on a swatch card (holding them up).We just were inspired by that tone in the Ballard pic, so we kept that in mind while shuffling through swatches.
xo
s
Sandy says
Ahh, of course. I must have misinterpreted what I read. Sorry!
I’ve got patchwork walls right now testing out various colors for my living room. I’m kinda getting frustrated because the lighting in there is so weird it makes all the colors look so different from what I think they are going to.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that’s frustrating! Hope you find something perfect soon!
xo
s
Leigh Anne says
How do you all get such a smooth caulk line? I tried my hands at it for the first time recently, and it was a big ‘ol mess!
YoungHouseLove says
Our secret is to dip your finger in warm water and then smooth. It seems to help it not get all gummed up.
xo
s
John @ Rather Square says
I love this idea of making the dressers built-in. It looks amazing! The little step-up adds a detail that keeps them from looking too plain and gives them character.
In retrospect, would you have not cut the baseboard since you raised the dresser up above it?
We may use this idea in our office that is still in planning phase (http://www.rathersquare.com/2014/02/designing-our-home-office/), but we will leave the baseboards alone, as they may contain lead.
YoungHouseLove says
It was easier for us to cut it so we could build the base against the wall on those two edges (instead of against the molding) so it was nice and secure, and we could screw directly into studs.
xo
s
LifeInYellow says
Curious if your floors are “floating”? We did bookcases similar to your built-ins but everyone told us we had to cut into our brand new floors so the bases could sit directly on the subfloor. They look great!!
(Post is here: http://www.lifeinyellow.com/2012/06/bookcase-bliss-the-final-reveal/)
YoungHouseLove says
Ours are hardwood laid with elastilon, so they’re comparable to nailed in hardwoods (our subfloor just didn’t allow for that).
xo
s
erica says
These look amazing! I’m always so impressed by what you guys do. I know you said your decision was already made, but I must say – I’m kinda loving the baseboards white!
Sheila F says
What a lovely and informative post. The built-ins look amazing. I am in the group that likes the white moulding. However, I usually find that when I see the finished product I tend to agree with the vision of the creator. So I will hold my opinion until you guys finish.LOL. Again just an amazing job. What a blessing to your little bun and Clara to have parents like you. Keep up the good work! And Sherry, do not do too much! Take care of you! You are working hard at incubating your little chick! God Bless and keep you,John,Clara and Burger!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sheila!
xo
s
Steph Nelson says
Looks really, really nice. Johns woodworking skillzzz are getting better all the time!
I recently painted my living/dining/office (all one open room) in a color similar to your boys room and I just love it. It really lightens things up without being stark.
Christine says
The biult-ins will surely be lovely….but a bit excessive for a baby…or even in a few years, like you mentioned in an earlier comment, it seems a bit ridiculous to have so much storage for a kid…especially you guys who prone a minimilistic approach to wardrobes.
YoungHouseLove says
Really? Clara has a six drawer dresser, and has since she was a newborn (it’s stuffed!) and this kid gets eight drawers. Doesn’t seem that crazy to us, but I guess we’ll just have to see! I’m not sure we’ll ever complain about having too much storage, but anything’s possible…
xo
s
Lindsay Butler says
Looks great! I cannot wait to see the finished product.
Any chance you will be doing more in depth on how to add the base molding? How did you join the molding up against the molding already on the wall? Is it just a straight cut, that once caulked will look like they are both 45 degrees?
YoungHouseLove says
We just butted those up against each other and caulked to make them look seamless. We used a coping saw on the quarter round, which makes it all fit together. If you google “coping saw baseboard” hopefully a tutorial will come up for you!
xo
s
Ms Prim says
Um … do you actually know what “bu&&er” means in many countries and many cultures? Not family friendly, thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry! Wasn’t aware it wasn’t family friendly (here it’s like saying “bummer” or “darn”). Will update the post to remove that word. We never intend to offend!
-John
Jessica @ Dear Emmeline says
They look amazing so far!
Jennifer I says
WOW! John, you talk about thinking you wouldn’t get it down, and I am so impressed about the amount of work that was and can’t believe the progress. I like them, I like the light color, too.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much, Jennifer!
-John