A DIY Project: Nursery Closet Reno for $300

The size of our baby nursery is smaller than average, so I knew updating the closet was going to be really important to improve the functionality of the nursery. Despite a major renovation done on our house last year, the closets were gravely neglected. Shame on us!

When it came time to get this one ready for the arrival of the baby, we didn’t feel like paying a company to do a complete over hall and spend a ton of money. We also didn’t want it to so terribly outshadow the rest of our closets either so, we went the DIY “cheaper” route. For under $300! It may have taken us a few weeks to get everything finished, but overall I am super pleased with the result and here to tell you all the details!

For starters,

Pull everything out of the closet and start with a clean slate. We even pulled off the closet doors. I wish I had taken a real before picture, I always forget so below is the best comparison I have. 

Brainstorm what you want this space to look like and find pinterest inspo! For example, I have seen some closets where the changing table is inside of the closet to save even more space. Greg would knock his head on the closet frame if we went that route lol, but it is a good space saving idea to consider.

This was the look that provided the most inspiration for our closet – I just knew it wasn’t going to be quite this nice!

Next Up,

Take thorough measurements to know what you can do with the space and buy a basic closet tower (this one comes in 3 sizes), we went with the smallest option.

Install the tower as the foundation for the rest, choose the location and heights of the closet bars provided, then add in basic shelving where needed and cut to size. I love the shelf at the way way  top for hidden storage for things that will be used less frequently.

Of course, don’t forget to touch up paint and patch any dings on the walls. We did however quickly learn that part of this being a DIY project mean’t it wasn’t going to be perfect. You can see screw marks in the close tower where we messed up. There is also some leftover wood bars and hooks from how the closet originally was, and we just decided to leave it in there. It blends in, right?

Now that the installation part is done, you can add additional things in to your likely. Such as these Ikea shelving units for additional floor drawers (keep in mind how small these drawers are before buying, thank goodness baby stuff is going in here)! We bought both sizes and only ended up using the wider one for additional drawers.

Decide on baskets for storage to complete the look. I bought these from The Container Store because they fit this space nicely, but love these from World Market or these white ones too! The others shown here were good finds at Home Goods, where tons of my decor also comes from.

Finally,

The FUN part, stocking the closet! Make sure to purchase velvet baby hangers and size dividers to help with closet organization. I also snagged this laundry basket to slide into the left area, I wanted it to have a top for a few reasons. Lastly, fill this beauty up! Insert adorable baby clothes (not included in the closet cost, lol)… extra diapers and all the other baby goods and bam, you’ve got yourself a cute little closet worthy of no doors!

A tip for what to hang…

I personally hung up more than I probably needed to, but I prefer looking into a nicely plump closet verse one that is bare! Plus, keeping things in tubs in the basement, while an option, makes it easy to forget what you already have as the baby grows. I hung up the more specialty outfits that I had up to 18 mo’s. Which, at this point wasn’t a ton, I still have plenty of room in the closet. Most of what you see is 12 mo and smaller. The really basic onesies got put into drawers, but the “fancier” ones and outfits were hung. I am sure as we find a groove with things, this set up with change – but I feel pretty good about how it’s organized at the moment!

The baskets are filled with things from swaddle blankets, to extra sheets, to hooded towels. I know that I will get lazy with nicely folding some of that stuff, so sloppy folding hidden behind a basket sounds like a good plan! Some baskets still remain empty – knowing that things will gradually find a home there.

Breakdown of costs:

Basic Closet Tower = $53.28
Shelving $12.98 * 2 = $25.96
Ikea Drawer Unit = $129.00
Storage Cubes $12.99 * 3 = $38.97
Other Storage Containers ~ $ 15.00+
50 CT Baby Hangers = $20.99
Baby Closet Dividers = $15.99
TOTAL : $299.19