Crown Anyone?

It's DONE!!!  I don't know if I am more happy that my work is done or that I am finally enjoying it!

No this one is not mine!  This one is actually around $3,000 when you factor in shipping and decor!

This is mine!  Total cost for this piece is $300 including decor!

How did I do it?  Well, let me first start off by saying that I am NOT a carpenter and I have never built a piece of furniture from scratch!  I learned as I went with this piece thanks to Ana over at Knock Off Wood!  She has a ton of plans offered on her site, free of charge, so that people like us (practicle DIYers that drool over name brand furniture in the catalogs but would never spend a penny on the over-priced manufactured wood) can build them ourselves to enjoy in our homes!  This was a huge undertaking for me but I accomplished it from beginning to end all with my own two hands!!!!  If I can do this, so can you!  I challenge all of you to check out Ana's site and pick a project!  She has so many to choose from and you can start out with something as small as an end table or a chair! 

The last two weeks, I have focused on decorating and personalizing my storage wall! 

I started out by purchasing these super cute Closet Maid fabric drawers at Target!  They were on sale last week at 2 for $10!  I bought 8 navy, 4 chocolate and 4 dark khaki.  Total for 16 was around $90.

How I personalized!

This is set-up just like the one in the picture.  Ana designed her own plans to add a hutch over the TV so of course I couldn't leave that piece out!

Here she is with the hutch! 

I just couldn't leave well enough alone!  I had to personalize it just a tad more so...

I purchased this foam crown moulding at Lowe's!  The corner pieces allow for no miter installation.  I purchased a 12' piece of crown for $34 and the corner pieces for $6 each.  This foam stuff is soooo cool!  Our grandfather actually installed it in his home and you would NOT even know it is foam!  It has some type of primer on the front so it paints very well!  It is also very dense and feels durable!  Best part is that it is sooo much cheaper than wood moulding.  I would have spent twice as much on wood crown that is identical to this stuff!

 

This stuff is so light weight that I just used several finishing nails to hold it up!

 

It really makes a statement in the room now!

My favorite part about this system is the storage!!!  I am so OCD (no joke) so the storage this wall offers really makes my heart skip!!!  Yes, I am a nerd!  My fellow OCDers, these pics are for you!  Everyone else please bear with me:)

 

Everything organized and in it's place and the best part about it is....

it's HIDDEN!

I owe a big thank you to Ana!  I would not have this beautiful, fully functional piece of furniture that I built with my own 2 hands if she had not created the plans to begin with!  I have always drooled over this piece in the catalogs and online but I knew that I would never purchase it from the retailer.  Even if I could afford it, I could not justify the price tag!  I spent 10% building it myself and I was able to personalize it with Leapfrog by Behr and moulding!  Thanks so much Ana!  I can't wait to move on to my next project!

If you would like the step by steps that I took to build this piece, here are the links in the order I went!  There are links to Ana's plans in each post as well!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

If you take it one step at a time it is VERY managable!  I did one part per week and only needed wood glue and a drill!  The building part was the most fun!  Painting was my least favorite ~ it took an entire gallon of paint but the fruits of my labor make it all worth it!!!  The family loves it and I get such joy looking at it knowing that I actually made it!!!  Thanks so much for following me on this journey!!

~Ashley