ORC Week 3: Starting Built-in Storage for my Loft Studio

It's Week 3 of the One Room Challenge and so far I've laid new flooring and hung wallpaper and new lighting. We spent last week on a road trip to visit my two eldest nieces at their colleges and enjoy some fall leaves so I didn't make a lot of progress on my Loft Studio for this week's update. I did start working on my built-in storage, however. I already owned two 8 drawer Hemnes dressers so my plan is to modify them to look built-in.

Since I'm planning to use 3-1/4" tall baseboard in the room I started by cutting down the dresser legs so that I'd have a 3/4" reveal under the bottom row of drawers. To avoid any tear out I taped up the legs with some painter's tape before cutting them with my circular saw. This would have been much easier to do with the dressers unassembled, but I didn't feel like taking them apart.

I wanted the dresser to sit flush against the wall so next I trimmed down the right side of the top, scribing it to the wall.

Since nothing in my 140+ year house is plumb or square, it turns out that I had a gap between the sloped ceiling and the back of the dresser on the right side so I cut a filler piece and tacked it on the back. Once it is caulked and painted it should look seamless.

My plan is to add a bookcase with paper storage on the end of the dresser so I needed to add some filler pieces to make everything work. To extend the top I ripped down a portion of the top that I previously cut off from the right side. For the filler piece along the side I used a 1x3 and attached it with pocket holes from the back.

While I was sliding the drawers into the frame I swapped out the knobs that came with the dresser for some fun brass ring pulls. I think they really elevate the dresser.

Even though I am far from done, I couldn't resist setting out a few of my storage items including a vintage ceramic toast holder that I'm using to store quilting templates and a blue glass jar from Belgium that stores my Sharpies.

Next up I need to replicate the same process for the second dresser on the opposite side. I also plan to build the bookcases to go at the end of the dressers and then I can install the baseboard. Hopefully I'll make good progress this weekend!

Comments

[Concrete Company Goodyear]

Thanks for sharing your progress! We love seeing creative ways to make built-in storage look seamless. It’s inspiring how small adjustments can make such a big difference. In our work as a concrete company Goodyear, we also focus on details that make projects both strong and beautiful, just like your loft.

[Lawrenceville Concrete]

Thanks for sharing this update! We enjoyed seeing how you’re building storage in your studio. Your clear steps make it easy to understand. Our Lawrenceville concrete team loves learning from creative DIY projects like yours. We appreciate you showing your process and progress—it’s really inspiring!

[Cedar City Concrete Contractor]

Thanks for sharing your progress! We really enjoyed reading about your clever storage ideas and how you’re customizing the dressers. As a Cedar City concrete contractor, we love seeing creative home projects like this—it inspires us to think about how our concrete work can also help make spaces functional and beautiful.

[​Athens Concrete Contractor]

Thanks for sharing your progress, Lisa! We really appreciate how you explain each step so clearly. As an Athens concrete contractor, we enjoy seeing creative home projects like yours and love getting ideas to inspire our own work. Your loft studio update is very motivating for our team!

[Surprise Concrete Contractor]

Thank you for sharing your progress! We love seeing how you transform your space step by step. As a Surprise concrete contractor, we also know how important planning and careful work are. Your tips on modifying furniture are inspiring for anyone tackling a home project like this!

[Surprise Concrete Contractor]

Thank you for sharing your progress! We love seeing how you transform your space step by step. As a Surprise concrete contractor, we also know how important planning and careful work are. Your tips on modifying furniture are inspiring for anyone tackling a home project like this!