An open closet can be used to decorate as well as for storage.
An open closet adds storage space to any room. You can use an open closet as a pantry or in an office if you want easy access to your supplies. Choosing a functional shelving system prevents this style of closet from looking messy. Because there is no door to worry about, construction is streamlined. The primary considerations in planning your open closet are its depth and the size of open front. Once you have determined its best size and placement, construction is straightforward. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure the area where you want your closet to go with a measuring tape. If you are building a wall-to-wall closet, then you need to build one wall frame for the front wall. Most closets are at least 2 feet deep. If you are building a closet in one corner, you need to frame two walls. Use the stud finder to find and mark the studs, since each wall frame needs to be attached to an existing stud. Measure from the floor to the ceiling and subtract to find the height of the studs for your frame. Determine how high you want the opening or doorway you want your closet to be, and subtract that from your height pieces to find out how big you need to cut the pieces from the frame above the doorway. Determine how wide you want your doorway for your closet to be.
2. Cut the wood for your frame with a circular saw. For each wall you need two pieces that are the length of the wall for the top and bottom of the wall frame you are building. You need enough studs to space them 18 inches apart along the length of the wall. You need one piece that is the length of the open door way you want to create, and enough pieces to go above the doorway every 18 inches.
3. Lay out the frames with a top piece and bottom piece and nail an upright stud between these at each end to create a square or rectangular frame. The 4-inch side is flush to the ceiling and the floor. Then nail in a stud every 18 inches. Do not nail in studs across where you want the doorway to be. Instead nail two upright studs on either side of the opening space. Place an additional stud, the height of the planned opening next to each full-height stud on either side of the opening. Lay the closet-opening-length 2-by-4 you cut in Step 2 across the opening so its ends rest on top of the closet-opening-height studs. Nail the length piece into place. Put in the shorter pieces every 18 inches between the top edge of the frame and the top of the doorway.
4. Install the frame by nailing it into the floor between each stud. Nail it into the ceiling joists and into the studs in the already-existing wall, every 12 inches along its length. Cut out the bottom of the frame where the open doorway will be with a handsaw, once you have installed the frame.
5. Hang the drywall on the inside and outside of the closet walls. Use screws and put one in each stud along the top and bottom and the middle of each piece of drywall. Cut the drywall to size by scoring the paper on one side with a utility knife, folding the panel back along the line to snap it, then cutting through the paper on the other side of the panel.
6. Use the drywall tape to cover the seams and then drywall cement to seal the seams and cover the screws. Allow it to dry then sand it smooth before painting it. Tack baseboard into place along the floor of the closet walls. If you have molding up in the room, add it to the top of the closet walls as well.
7. Put in a shelving system. Cut as many 1-by-12 boards as you want shelves to the length of your closet. Cut 2-by-4s so they are the depth of the closet walls. You need two for each shelf. Sand and paint them. Mark the sides of the closet walls at the same height on each side for the installation of the shelf supports -- each pair needs to be at the same height and level. Nail the 2-by-4s into the closet walls, directly into the studs. Lay the 1-by-12 shelves across the 2-by-4 supports. Their weight should keep them in, but you can nail them into the 2-by-4 supports if you wish.
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