Upgrade Small Linen Closet in Bathroom to Include Hamper

The purpose of this project was to take a miniscule linen closet, and utilize the space above it, which was wasted. It also gave us a home for a hamper, away from our clean clothes in the closet.

The project used basic tools and took only two days to complete.

- 3/4 inch birch plywood

-1/2 inch birch plywood

- 1x2 poplar

- crown molding

- 3 sets of hinges

- cabinet door hardware

Step 1: Demo

To begin we removed the old closet door, then demoed the door trim. Next I demoed the existing fixed shelving. I cut the top of the closet higher into the unused space. I went up to a height of 96 inches from the floor.

Step 2: Build a Box

Next I built a plywood box out of 3/4 birch plywood. I built this 24 x 24 x 96. I built a floor for the box about 4 inches up from the floor and then a divider shelf about 40 inches from the floor, to separate the linen closet from the hamper space.

Step 3: Trim the Box and Build Doors

I trimmed the box after sliding into place. The trim was 1x2 poplar strips which I used pocket holes to secure to the box. I added a bar below the divider shefl as seen in the pic, so that a pull open hamper door could be built.

I did use a router to build rail and style doors, but these could also be built using flat panels and trimmed with panel trim. I mounted the three doors with hinges.

Step 4: Paint and Finish

Next I added the upper trim, which was made of a thin crown molding. The trim turned back on itself and terminated against the wall. I then filled any voids where the face frame met the drywall with mud and sanded smooth. We then filled any cracks with caulk and painted.

Step 5: The Final Touches

The final steps were to add hardware. This gave the new linen closet a very high end look compared to what we had before, and it was a much better use of the space.