Molding Makes Everything Better..

Even Furniture!

I know that everyone has seen this little beauty (or something very similar) at their local big-box store. I've passed by it many, many times while looking for storage solutions. It looks practical.... but sometimes practical isn't pretty.

So I've left it alone, looking at other places for something a little nicer. But nicer comes with a price tag. A BIG one. And since I'm just looking to store my family's shoes and backpacks on it, I can't think of a single reason why I'd shell out $200+. But that's just me.

So we continued using a basket for our shoes... until one day, the basket just had a meltdown. It couldn't take it anymore, so it just decided to fall apart. Seriously. In one day. So then we had nothing. And no one could find their shoes.

That's when I decided to take another look at this lovely. And it was on sale! $35. Sweet! But what could I do to it to make it look just a little nicer? I took a page out of The Thrifty Decor Chick's book, and went with the motto that Molding Makes Everything Better. So I decided to chunk it up with a little MDF and trim. And guess what? It looks awesome!

What do you think?

Want to make one yourself?

Well then, you're in luck. Cause I'm feeling happy to have a computer to blog from, you get the lowdown on the construction of this $50 beauty.

Here's what you're going to need:

One assembled Closetmaid 6 Unit shelf, One 1/2" MDF board cut into two pieces (my measurements were the exact same as the top for one and the added an inch to the width for the bottom piece to have a lip), Two pieces of trim cut to the length of the shelf (I used quarter round for the bottom and door trim for the top), a Nail Gun (or hammer & nails), Liquid Glue, Wood Filler, sanding block, paint roller and tray, Kilz primer, and quart of interior paint

Now that you've gathered your supplies (or, let's be honest, raided you're hubby's stash like me), you get to put everything together.

First thing is to put the Liquid Nails on the top. This is what will actually keep the top MDF board on for the long haul. The nails just hold it in place to dry.

Then you'll line up your cut MDF board to be flush with all sides. This will be your top piece. Nail on the four corners and on the divider boards to hold in place.

Turn that puppy over, and repeat on the bottom, only making it flush on three sides, leaving the hangover on the front. Double check it's on the front side. Then check again. Because you'd hate to nail it into place only to realize that you did it wrong. Not that I speak from experience or anything...

Now that it has been beefed up a little on the top and bottom, let's make it look pretty. Give it some curves. Something to look at. To do that, you're going to lay it flat on it's back, with the front facing up. To do the top, put down some Liquid Nails and place the door trim on top. The Liquid nails are very forgiving. You'll be able to move it around to get it perfectly flush.

Once it's flush on the top and sides, you'll nail it into place.

Then you are going to place the quarter round between the overlap and shelving unit.

And once you put the trim on and stand it up, you'll have something that looks similar to this:

Doesn't it look soooo much better already!?

Then you'll prime with kilz, and paint with your selected color. I'm going to tell you though... this is the hardest part. The priming takes FOREVER. And because of the laminated boards, the paint doesn't stick very well, so it's really, really important you put on a good layer of primer before you paint. Or you'll end up with paint that will peel right off. Once again, not that I tried to cut corners or anything...

And when you're done with the priming and painting a few coats, it will look like this:

And once it's in it's special place, like this:

So for at $35 base, $5 in molding, $7 for MDF board, and paint and supplies left over from the trim in my bathroom, I got something that I'm not embarrassed to look at every time I come in from the garage.

Hope you like my Doctored Cubby! What do you think?