Hey buddies! Long time no talkie! I wasn’t planning on taking a full-on blogging vacay, but it turned out that way when I was stricken with bronchitis and strep just in time for Christmas. Miraculously, Nick and the girls didn’t get sick at all, and they did a great job of taking care of me. The girls love to play Dr, so they were covering me in a million blankets, taking my temperature, and bringing me cough drops.
Speaking of cough drops, have you ever tried to cough when you’re pregnant? It’s unpleasant. And there’s always a little pee involved.
While I was sick, Nick did countless loads of dishes (our dishwasher has been broken for months), and made many delicious home-cooked meals for our family… potato soup, hand-breaded chicken fingers, banana bread, burrito filling, homemade pizza, etc… all while building cabinets for the laundry room. I’m crazy spoiled. And lucky that I happened to be sick when he was off work for a couple weeks anyway.
We also celebrated our 6 year Anniversary yesterday… time flies! I wish I could have those collar bones again:
So now that the holidays, festivities, and anniversaries are over, I’m healthy, and we’re back to the daily grind… I’m going to finally share a little something I built for our mudroom. I actually threw this thing together before Christmas, but am just now sharing for all the above reasons.
CUBBIES!
The inspiration for this came from these two pics that I had pinned awhile back. I don’t have the source for the first one, so if you know who’s pic this is, please tell me!
Pic 1 source unknown / Pic 2 That’s My Letter
We already have a good storage solution for our shoes, but I did love this design and knew I could customize it to be smaller and perfect for hats and mittens in our little mudroom area that I’ve been building.
After measuring my space, I cut two 1×12 poplar boards to 52”, then drew out a zig-zag with right angles using a carpenters square.
Then I cut along the lines with my RYOBI jigsaw.
So, once I had the zig-zags cut on one board, I traced it onto the other board and repeated!
My next step is to cut the shelves… 7 total. I used the miter saw to cut a 1” board into 5.5” x 8.25”. (Note! Yours may not need to be such specific measurements for the space you’re needing your cubbies). I I glued these into place and secured them with a couple nails using my AirStrike gun.
For the fronts of my cubbies, I didn’t want such a chunky feel. So instead of using 1” wood like I had been, I just grabbed some 1/2” plywood we had laying around and cut it to size (6” x 10”)… 6 total.
Then the whole thing got primed and painted white! (this stuff).
This thing is pretty sturdy, but I decided to put a backing on it just for added durability. And I liked the idea of being able to remove it and use it somewhere else in the home if I so desired. I just measured and cut an old piece of plywood to size and glued/nailed it on. You cant tell in the pic below, but I painted the front side of the backing board to match my kitchen walls before affixing it to the unit. I knew how much harder it would be to paint in there after it was all installed!
And finally, it’s ready to install in my little mudroom area! I worked on these cubbies off and on for an entire day, and had it finished before I went to bed. Not bad, eh?
Those labels on the fronts of each cubby are actually chalkboard vinyl. Crazy awesome, right?! I ordered them friend Dana (my vinyl dealer and BFF), and just love the custom touch it adds. (you can get yours here!). Each family member has a cubby for our hats/mittens/etc, and we have two leftover for ‘returns’ and ‘things that belong in the garage’.
You might remember from my sketch that there will be shelving extending across the top of this whole area. NEXT ON THE LIST! Although, I’ll admit I’m starting to feel myself slowing down being in my 8th month of pregnancy. This might need to wait!
We affixed this thing to the wall by screwing straight through the backing with drywall screws… making sure we hit studs. It’s solid! And the girls are excited to put their hats and mittens away after coming in from the cold.
UPDATE! We’ve finished the kitchen mudroom, and it turned out AMAZING!
If you think about it, these cubbies could be used for soooooo many things. I think I could use one in each room of my house! Can you imagine… toy room? pantry? craft storage? closets? HELLO!
Be sure to check out all the other little projects I’ve done to make this space feel more custom and built-in. Not to mention my island-turned breakfast bar! Things are slowly coming together, and I’m having such a blast!
Thanks for pinning!
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Looks really nice! Do you know the name of the original tile backsplash from the green/teal kitchen and where to buy it? Thanks for the good ideas
Nice! Can i get the blueprint of it?
Great cubby plan. Do you know the original blue-greenish wall color? How about the white? I like the combo and want to use it for a project. Thanks!
The dark teal color is by Pittsburgh Paints and the color is Deep Emerald! I believe the white is just Rustoleum white spray paint.
Thank you!
What color was the original blue-green wall? The white? I like the new and old colors, but would like to use the old color for a project. Thank you!
Pure genius I love it! Thanks for the tutorial!!
Where did you find the door knobs?? I love them!
We found them in the basement of the house!
Love this idea and totally going to put at my back entrance. Can I ask how you came up with the measurements for the zig zag? For example are both sides of the zig zag the same measurement, or is one larger than the other?
I did mine with a completely right angle with the measurements being the same on both sides of the zigzag. But you can modify yours for your own needs! You could tweak it to make your cubbies deeper or more shallow. 🙂
I absolutely love this space! Where are the small upper cabinets from and did they come with mirror in them?
Jodie, we built those upper cabinets above the existing cabinets, and added the mirrors and decorative trim too. It was a lot of work, but the results are so pretty and custom!
These are fantastic! You could even use a precut stair stringer as a shortcut!
SO TRUE! I hadn’t thought of that. Genius!
When I saw the picture on FB I thought that you had used stair treads. I love the use of the old door knobs. If you had shown the color pick for the cabinets I would have said no way but I love them.
You’re so sweet Patrice! Thank you! <3
Really awesome! Respect girl! 🙂
we use a hanging shoe rack in our coat closet for hats and mittens and two for our shoes in the back entryway. as you know there is no room coming in from the garage so when we come in the boys take off their shoes and put them in a cubby 🙂 then when they take off their hat and mittens they walk to the closet and put them in a cubby/ opening in our hanging shoe racks 🙂 saves TONS of space
Wonderful! Great job you did there! Thanks for sharing! I am incredibly happy to find your post! Cheers!
web site
I love the cubbies. They really do organize your stuff. Need something like that. We currently stuff our hats and gloves etc in two drawers which are very hard to open. Oh well.
Seriously wishing we were neighbors so I could babysit your kids while you build and repair stuff in my house. Y’all let me know when you’re sick of the frozen tundra and want to move down here to Alabama. 😉
I love it!
Cubbies for all the things! Also, I totally feel ya on the pee front. I got the stomach flu this weekend. I puked so hard over at my parents’ house yesterday while we were there for dinner, that I peed my pants. Like, a lot. It’s a always a fun time peeing your pants at your parents’ house and having to wear your dad’s sweats. #noitsnotfun
I’ve always wanted something like this for potatos, onions, apples, oranges, garlic…. An awesome kitchen addition. BTW, your looking awesome!
You’re amazing! When I first saw the pic, I figured it looked way too complicated. Good tutorial and it really doesn’t look hard at all. Seemed pretty simple, really! Thanks for sharing! So glad you’re feeling better again! Let the nesting begin!
So cool. Nice job!