Category: Home Reno & DIY

Closet Update: An Ikea Komplement Add-On

Back when I finished my walk-in closet in 2022, I truly thought I was done and had the closet of my dreams. You can read all about it, including how much it cost, here. Well, after living with it for about 4 years AND after moving to a mostly remote job… I started to realize it could use a little tweaking.

Here is the section that I was looking at for some edits:

I had it organized with summer dresses on the far left, skirts in the middle (summer at the top, winter at the bottom), and then winter and formal dresses on the right. Also, that basket at the bottom of the left cubby is my “stuff that needs to be donated to the thrift store” pile.

Over the years, my work wardrobe has become much more athleisure heavy. I was using a dresser in my bedroom to store my t-shirts, bottoms and sweatshirts. However, between the gigantic oversized drawers that made it hard to organize and the fact that it’s over 20 years old and one drawer keeps falling apart… I was looking for a better alternative.

I decided to combine my dresses into one area and utilize the now empty space in a different way.

I purchased the following from Ikea to add to my closet for the update:

Building the drawers was pretty straight forward, however they are quite fussy and you need to have everything EXACTLY lined up or they won’t fit onto the contraption for the final step. There was a lot of cursing and a smashed finger which resulted in quite an impressive blood blister, but I got it done.

Tips for if you do it on your own: have an electric screwdriver handy, as well as a flathead and a hammer. Also, don’t be like me and put each drawer together while sitting on the ground and contorting yourself like a gremlin. It would be much smarter to build them on top of a soft bed/comforter so that you can stand while doing it.

Here is the finished project:

I left the hanging bar at the top for my nicer camera-appropriate athleisure toppers. Then, I utilized the four drawers to better meet my needs.

  • Drawer 1: t-shirts
  • Drawer 2: long sleeve t-shirts
  • Drawer 3: hoodies/sweatshirts
  • Drawer 4: joggers/sweatpants

I love the new set up and it seems to work much better for my current life and needs.

And yes, I do feel like my dress and skirts sections are packed a little too tight for my comfort. So, I am working on yet another purge to narrow it down to just the items that I fully love.

Disclaimer: This post contains no affiliate links.

DIY Bathroom Refresh with Wallpaper + Light + Mirror

Our downstairs bathroom is the teeny-tiniest room in our house. In addition to being doll-sized, it’s the only bathroom on the first floor. So, it gets lots of use and is pretty much the only bathroom any guests see when visiting.

Over the years, it’s been painted various colors… partially because it is so small that you get a big dopamine hit by a quick change of a couple coats of paint. Back in January 2020, we switched out the silly pedestal sink that took up a ton of space with no storage for an 18” vanity. At that time, I also threw some white paint on the existing wood medicine cabinet/light combo to match the new vanity. It was ugly, but I didn’t feel like getting into a big mess with electrical wires.

Then, in September 2021, I added a wall of wallpaper because it accidentally jumped in my cart on a Target run. And this is how it’s mostly looked since then.

I started getting a little squirrely about it in the fall and decided it was time for yet another refresh. This time, I wanted something that felt more like the vibe in the rest of our house, and I wanted to finally rip the ugly medicine cabinet off the wall and replace it with a light and mirror. I also had the idea to get a GIANT mirror that took up a lot more horizonal space so that (1) my extra tall husband could actually see his face in it, and (2) it would help make the room feel bigger.

Here’s what I purchased for this project:

I also used from my stash – a paint brush, a paint roller, ceiling paint, trim paint and my wallpaper application tools (this $6 wallpaper kit has come in so, so, so handy for hanging wallpaper in 5 rooms over the past 5 years).

I started by tearing the old wallpaper off the wall and removing the towel bar and electrical plates. My husband helped me also rip the old medicine cabinet off the wall and it was surprisingly heavy.

Once it was off the wall, I taped out the size of the new mirror and we measured where the light would go. We made a hole in the wall with a hammer and then just fished the wires through the drywall to bring them out the new hole.

At this point, I had a mostly clean slate so I grabbed my can of white semi-gloss paint and gave the door and trim a fresh coat. Next, I used some ceiling paint I had on hand and freshened up the ceiling and the tops of the walls (I wanted to be sure to cover the blue). I also used the ceiling paint to paint over any of the drywall where the paper ripped off when removing the old wallpaper and medicine cabinet.

I let it all dry for about 24 hours and came in the next day with wallpaper.

A note on wallpaper… at this point I’ve used different brands of peel and stick wallpaper to do 5 different rooms (between my house and my sisters’ houses). I’ve used good wallpaper and crappy wallpaper. This wallpaper is actually really darn good – it’s a great weight and the right amount of sticky. Also, when it went up there were barely any air bubbles that needed to be smoothed out. However, this pattern WAS a bit difficult to line up. Part of the problem is that I’m a perfectionist and knew if something was misaligned it would bother me every time I used that bathroom.

So, I went slow and steady, reapplied a few sections, and after a few hours with lots of trash talk and creative cursing, it turned out amazing.

Once I was done with the wallpaper, Travis did 90% of the work to get the new light hung. Then, we added the mirror clips and had to wait a few days for the mirror to come in since the first one they sent arrived broken.

Honestly, the photos don’t do it justice. It’s like stepping into a fancy little jewel box and I love it so much. For less than $300 and about 1 weekend of work, it was a fun little DIY that made a great, big impact.

Internet Hacks I’ve Tried and Loved

The internet is full of “life hacks” – some brilliant and some… questionable. I’ve tried a bunch of them over the years, but recently added these two to my arsenal of things that actually make my life easier.

Simple & Effective Hack #1: Cutting a Mango with a Cup

Mangoes are delicious, but can be a hassle to cut. Before I would struggle with peeling and slicing and end up with wasted mango bits or slices that still had the skin on them. I saw the cup trick a few months ago and it’s a GAME CHANGER!

Here’s how it works:

  • Cut the mango along the sides of the pit like normal, creating 2 halves.
  • Then, take one mango half and press the edge against the rim of a cup, sliding it down so the skin stays on the outside and the fresh fruit falls into the cup. I’ve found that a metal cup works best, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally breaking a glass with your vigorous squishing.
  • Repeat with the other half and BOOM that’s it!

Simple & Effective Hack #2: Cut Your Dish Sponge in Half

I feel silly even sharing this, but it’s kind of genius and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. If you use sponge to wash dishes you know how quickly they wear out. Instead of tossing them too soon or using them past their prime, just cut them in half when you open a new sponge.

Rather than being too small, it’s actually the perfect size for scrubbing without being too bulky. You get double the use out of each sponge, which leads to less waste and more savings!

Have you tried these or any other ‘viral’ internet hacks that actually work?