Issues are coming alongside on the house fitness center, and that implies that I’m inching nearer and nearer to the beginning of the studio venture. The most important (and most overwhelming) a part of ending my studio shall be constructing the cupboards. That room is big, 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 possibility that I actually like. I’ve checked out the whole lot from IKEA to numerous RTA (able to assemble) firms. Nothing I’ve discovered up to now appears fairly proper.
Then the opposite day, somebody talked about Shelf Assist in a remark, and I made a decision to check out that. Shelf Assist isn’t fairly an RTA service. It’s simply merely an organization that can reduce your plywood on your venture 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 reduce to your specs.
I do know from expertise that absolutely the worst a part of any cupboard constructing venture goes to Residence Depot, selecting out plywood, loading up plywood, bringing it house and unloading it, attempting to wrangle it into place, and slicing 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 normally goes together with any cupboard constructing venture.
So I made a decision to make use of their design software to design my cupboards simply as I wished them, and see how a lot this selection would value. 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 can go on the left wall as you enter the room from the breakfast room. The cupboard shall be nearly 16 inches deep, 96 inches excessive, and 72 inches huge. Right here’s the mock up I earlier did with IKEA Pax cupboards…
The Shelf Assist customizer software means that you can 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, nevertheless it’s shut.
After which the subsequent step means that you can visualize how it will look with crown molding, face frames, paint, and many others.
You possibly can even add door fronts. However needless to say they don’t present any of this. That is simply with the intention to visualize how the completed venture 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 laborious for me to contemplate paying that a lot once 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 prime 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 concerning the IKEA possibility is that I actually do need the decrease cupboards to be deeper than the higher cupboards. I couldn’t discover an IKEA possibility that gave me the look I wished.
With Shelf Assist, I configured the decrease cupboards flanking the window to be 45 inches huge, 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 prime 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 unsuitable depth, so I’m certain that will convey the associated fee down.)
This in all probability isn’t how these doorways will look. They’re method 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 have to 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 possibility 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 are going to look one thing like this…
Similar to within the “workplace” zone, these higher cupboards can even sit proper on prime 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 both 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 might 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 reduce to specification and delivered to my entrance door, the worth for the entire studio involves $4269.75. Along with that value, I’d must 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 truthfully, 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 tougher than it was.) So I’d estimate that I might get all of these cupboards completed for a complete value of $6000-$7000.
After I have a look at it that method, 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 method lower than what I’d spend if I paid another person to construct the entire thing for me.
Nevertheless it’s so laborious for me to half with that a lot cash once I know I might do it myself for method 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 venture as a result of it appears so overwhelming. Plus, it’s simply again breaking work coping with that a lot plywood once I’m working on my own. If I had a helper (as in, a husband who might do the heavy lifting for me or at the 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 this planet, however he struggles to make use of a TV distant, so he has no bodily assist to supply me.
What do you suppose? Would you do it?
EDIT: As I used to be simply trying over these plans once more, it dawns on me that I might save much more cash by not separating the drawer bays into sections. When including drawers, there’s no have to 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 area. I’m unsure if that is smart to everybody, nevertheless it is smart 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 possibly can be taught extra about me right here.
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