My husband is a British, jazz-playing academic (translation: not handy, not even a little bit). So imagine my surprise – shock really-- when he announced he was going to build shelves for our living room. I quickly ran through a gamut of emotions. At first I was ecstatic – built-in shelves would be perfect for our living room nooks. Then I was skeptical– would he really build them? Then, I confess, fearful – what if he destroys our house?!
I’m pleased to say, the house is intact and the shelves look amazing! (Don’t be fooled by the quality of the photos.) My hubby, bless him, realized his limited handy skills and wisely asked a friend – a friend who happens to build props for the University of Toronto’s music department – to help him out.
I want to take a moment to give my hubby props because if you have a husband, you know how much they hate asking for help. (Insert moment here.)
The whole project took about a week (planning and painting) and just under $300 – waaaay cheaper than getting them custom built. Custom-built anything costs an arm and a leg which I know from my closet experience.
Here's the breakdown of the costs not including time and labour which are priceless:
- Wood: $180.91 (would have been less if we hadn't tried to do floor to ceiling)
- Paint: $70.62 (We used Benjamin Moore's Natura Paint which, as advertised, was virtually odourless. It's definitely worth the extra.)
- Moving wood around: $47.50 (U-Haul rental to move the wood)
I’m very pleased with the results. They look so much better than the sad IKEA shelves we had before. There was only one small glitch. He had planned on building the shelves to meet the top of the ceiling as you can see in pic 2 in the photo gallery below, but when he tried to fit in the shelves, he discovered the top of the nooks were narrower than the bottom (where he took the measurements).
So they ended up chopping off the top shelf, but to be honest, I think they look better that way. There’s a bit of breathing room. I can’t wait for the next thing he builds. I will never doubt my hubby again – at least when it comes to handy things.
Photo Gallery
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Is your husband handy? Want to give him some props? Send in photos to stylesheet@hgtvDOTca and they could be featured on the blog!
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