Make it with Kate

DIY Woodworking

Convert a Base Cabinet to a Blind Corner Cabinet: DIY Corner Coffee Bar

Building Projects, DIY Woodworking

This corner coffee bar build has been my favorite DIY woodworking project to date. It has a corner counter and cabinet area with a built in mini fridge and floating shelves. In this post I’ll show you how to convert a base cabinet to a blind corner cabinet.

This simple tutorial will show you how to convert a base cabinet to a blind corner cabinet. An easy way to save space in a small corner. #diybuilds

Convert a Base Cabinet to a Blind Corner Cabinet

Using stock cabinets is one of my favorite DIY hacks. Adding some trim and hardware is really how to make stock cabinets look custom. And, they cut down on the time of building cabinets from scratch.

For this corner of my kitchen, I knew I wanted a blind corner cabinet, because traditional corner cabinets were too bulky for the limited space I had in this corner.

Empty corner and rough drawing of what I wanted to design

I do have a full blog post on where to buy stock cabinets at big box stores, but, before I head there I like to check on Facebook Marketplace and see if I can get them even cheaper. In this case, I found a base cabinet that fit the dimensions I wanted perfectly, and for only $10. SCORE.

Turning this base cabinet into a blind corner was quite simple, I’ll show you how.

Cabinet before

What you need to make a blind corner cabinet

  • scrap plywood
  • screwdriver/drill
  • base trim
  • brad nailer
  • wood glue

How to convert your base cabinet to a blind corner cabinet

What is a blind corner cabinet?

A blind corner cabinet only has one cabinet door, where the other cabinet door would be is open space. The space is created in the corner is accessible through one cabinet door. Where the other cabinet door would exist to reach that space, another cabinet is mounted there to create a corner.

A traditional corner cabinet would have much more usable space where everything is easily accessible. However, blind corners and great for small spaces, and luckily you can purchase or build organization that allows the space to be easily used.

What is a base cabinet?

A base cabinet is one that sits on the floor rather than hang on the wall. They are deeper than wall cabinets, creating a base for the countertop for sit on. Additionally, they typically have a toe kick at the bottom.

Convert the base cabinet to a blind corner

Alright, now that we know the difference between a base cabinet and a blind corner cabinet, I’ll show you how to easily convert one to the other.

Essentially, removing one cabinet door will turn the base cabinet into a blind corner.

It gets tricky when lining everything up so that the dimensions of your space work with that one cabinet door.

For this project, if I were to simply remove the door and butt that up against the cabinetry on the other side of the corner, the cabinet would not extend out far enough on that wall.

Plus less of my cabinet would have been accessible and the opening of the cabinet door would have been crammed.

The steps I took to help the fit were:

  1. Remove the cabinet door closest to the corner.
  2. Place the cabinet where I wanted it on the wall (there was a gap of about 4 inches off the back wall where I used some 2×4 blocks to keep it in place.
  3. Place the other corner cabinet frame where I wanted it to hit the blind corner.
  4. Cut a piece of 3/4″ scrap plywood to fill in any existing space where the cabinet door was missing and wood glue plus screw in place.
  5. Cut a piece of 3/4″ scrap plywood to create a filler between where the two cabinets meet so that the plywood corner was the same on both sides. I attached this with wood glue and screws.
  6. Use 2×4 blocks behind that scrap piece to attach the two cabinets together at the top behind the spacer.
  7. Attach the cabinets to the wall through the back frame into studs with screws.
  8. Fill in the toe kick with base trim.
You can see here that the space where one cabinet met the other didn’t leave the cabinet door too accessible.
Adding a piece of scrap plywood bumps the other corner cabinet out enough to make both sides more accessible
Here I messed with the layout to make all of the spaces as accessible as possible. You can see in the blind corner that space is usable. Also, painting everything the same color hides what we did in the corner.
Added hardware to the door and placed base trim on the toe kick!

Now, I have a blind corner cabinet with a nice plywood corner of about 3″ to help the corner cabinet doors and wine rack feel accessible and not crammed.

More posts in this DIY Coffee Corner Build

DIY Mini Fridge Cabinet

more coming soon!

DIY Neon Sign and Backlit Trim: Week 6 Fall ORC

DIY Home Decor, One Room Challenge

This one room challenge is wrapping up in a couple of weeks, and I’m now in the stretch of finishing touches. This week, I built a DIY neon sign. It’s a tedious but doable process, I promise. It also definitely ‘leveled up’ this game room makeover.

I also created backlit moulding around the faux brick wall with LED light strips, I’ll walk you through that too.

This DIY neon sign is made with neon flex light strip and plexiglass. Check out this tutorial to make your own.

Make a DIY Neon Sign

This was the first time I used a soldering iron and worked with electrical wire. I learned a lot about the process while figuring this out, and it was frustrating at times, but I did it.

I only say that to try to inspire you, if this is a new skill for you, you can do it too!

I’ll try to break the process down but as a disclaimer I’m sure there are more technical terms that I don’t know. So, I’ll do my best to explain in my own terms how I went through the process.

The good news it that’s its a repeatable process that you do over and over to create the sign. So, once you get the process down, it’s smooth sailing.

This DIY neon sign is made with neon flex light strip and plexiglass. Check out this tutorial to make your own.

What you need for make the neon light sign

How to make the DIY neon sign

Design and prep your sign

I use Canva for my design needs. It is great for creating mockups of the spaces I want to renovate or creating digital graphics. In Canva, there is a font called Lovelo Line and it is the block style lettering I like for neon signs.

After creating the design to scale using the size of the plexiglass I was using, I saved it as a PDF, then opened it in Adobe Acrobat and printed it as a poster.

Then, I placed the poster printout under my acrylic sheet (making sure things were level and centered) and traced the design with a paint pen. The paint pen wipes off of the plexiglass easily after the sign is finished.

When making a neon sign, the lit cord stays on top of the plexiglass, while the wires it’s connected to weaves in and out from front to back. Therefore, you need to make holes in the plexiglass where this will occur. With a font like I used, this occurred at every line break in a letter.

Cut and solder the neon light strip

Because the light strip will only sit on top of the plexiglass, you need to cut sections of the flex light for each portion of the letters determining where each end will be soldered.

Make sure you buy cuttable flex light, which will have black lines indicating where the strip can be cut. You have to cut on these lines because that is where the copper terminals will be to solder the electrical wire.

In order to expose the copper terminal, cut on the black line, then cut away the top half of the light strip above the terminal. You should cut enough away to completely expose the terminals in the light strip.

I tried a couple of different methods of cutting this away but found that cutting pliers worked best for me. I cut the sides first then cut the top off.

Solder the electrical wire to the light strip

18/2 lamp wire is what I used for this project. The 18 stands for the gauge of the wire, smaller numbers = larger wire. I would have preferred 20 or 22 to make the wires a bit smaller in hindsight. The 2 stands for the number of strands inside the wire, in this case positive and negative.

The light strip has two copper terminals, positive and negative, so stranded wire with 2 wires is what you need.

On the light strip, the terminal at the bottom where the light strip is white is negative. The terminal at the top where the colored silicone is is positive.

On the lamp wire, the ripped side is negative and the smooth side is positive. Get to know which is positive and negative and make notes if you need to. I had a sheet of paper next to me that said ribbed = negative = bottom terminal and positive = smooth = top terminal. I referred to this a lot until I really got the hang of it.

To attach the wire to the terminals on the light strip, you need to separate the stranded wire a bit, I do this by cutting down the middle a bit then pulling it apart. Then, use the wire strippers to expose the wire at the end, cutting about 1/4″ of the coating off. Then twist the wires to make them nice and neat. Slide an end cap onto the separated wire and leave it down while you work.

Place the negative wire on the negative terminal and melt some solder wire on the tip of the hot soldering iron, then quickly place that melted alloy on the wire and terminal while still hot. This hardens very fast so work quickly.

This should create a small bubble of hard metal over the wire on the terminal. After it hardens, give the wire a small tug to ensure that it is connected. Then repeat this with the positive wire. Slide the end cap up to cover the soldered tip of the light strip.

Attach the soldered wire and flex strip to the board

Push the wire down through the hole at the end of a letter and use super glue to attach the light strip to the plexiglass.

Weave the exposed end of the electrical wire up through the next hole, and repeat the process to solder it to the next strip of light.

If it’s too hard to weave the electrical wire up and then solder it on, you can solder the next strip independently and then attach the electrical wires together at the back of the board. Do this by stripping a section of the wires away, putting positive and negative wires together and twisting them. I did this is a couple of places and used electrical shrink wrap over the twisted sections. You could alternatively use electrical tape to cover them.

Continue soldering and weaving and super gluing the light strips down.

The thing to remember is that you are creating a singular electrical current. So every time you cut the light strip and stop that current, you need to add wire and continue the connection to the next piece.

Troubleshooting

Test every connection by plugging the sign in after each solder you make. If the strip that you connected doesn’t light up, solder it again. If you’ve soldered too much or the terminal comes off, cut that section of the strip off and try again or use a new section of light strip.

If you’ve tested connections but then at some point along the way something stops working, wiggle each connection while the light is plugged in and see if something is loose.

The positive and negative wires can’t touch each other, so also check at each connection and make sure that any exposed wire isn’t touching.

This DIY neon sign is made with neon flex light strip and plexiglass. Check out this tutorial to make your own.

Mount the neon light sign

Once all of the wire is soldered and attached, you can mount this on the wall. I did this by drilling holes in each corner and using a drywall anchor + spacer behind the sign, then a screw through the front into the spacer and wall anchor.

The 1/2″ spacer kept some space between the wall and the sign so that all of the wire in the back wasn’t cramped. Once the sign is lit up, most of the wire will kind of disappear.

PHEW. That was a lot of info. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram. You can look through the stories in my highlight bubble there on this process too.

This DIY neon sign is made with neon flex light strip and plexiglass. Check out this tutorial to make your own.

Backlit Moulding

Onto the easy lighting in the room. I wanted to give this room a fun vibe and make it look less like an office. So, I thought LED light strips would do just that. But, I don’t like the look of exposed LED lights.

This room doesn’t have any crown moulding, but I did want to put some small trim around the faux brick wall. I got a small crown moulding that is only 1″ tall but is angled the same way crown moulding is.

I placed the LED light strips around the perimeter of the wall, then used a brad nailer to place the crown moulding over the light strip. I left a gap at the top of the crown moulding so that it wasn’t flush against the ceiling or the side walls. This allowed the light to show through that gap when turned on, and, when turned off it just looks like regular moulding!

I did use caulk on the underside of the moulding to give it that finished look when the lights are turned off, and so that the light only shone out of the top of the trim.

WOW. This was a week of learning new skills, and turning this boring build into a place where my kids will love to hang with their friends.

This DIY neon sign is made with neon flex light strip and plexiglass. Check out this tutorial to make your own.

More Fall One Room Challenge Posts for this Game Room Makeover

See all the posts leading up to this week below: 

This DIY neon sign is made with neon flex light strip and plexiglass. Check out this tutorial to make your own.

Gift Guide for DIY Beginners

DIY Woodworking, Seasonal

Having an arsenal of power tools definitely helps DIY projects move along smoothly. As much as I preach having the right tools for the job, you don’t NEED a ton of fancy tools to do some basic DIY around your home.

This gift guide for DIY beginners highlights some of the tools I collected over my first year of doing DIY projects that I use often and that are helpful.

*This post contains affiliate links.

From power tools to safety gear, here is a gift guide for DIY beginners that lists the essential tools and the 'nice to have' tools.

Power Tools for DIY Beginners

I bought my first set of power tools when I wanted to build some functional closet shelving for my daughter. I searched around for weeks looking for the perfect closet shelving for her that wouldn’t break the bank.

What I wanted didn’t exist. So I thought…I could build it? How hard could it be right?

Purchasing a beginner set of power tools gave me what I needed to build her shelves, and it was also the spark for the beginning of my DIY journey.

I use (and love) the Ryobi One+ system from Home Depot. It’s one battery that can be used in a number of different tools. I love the cordless functionality and how easy it is to use the entire collection.

I would suggest starting with a set. This will include the battery and the charger, and then you can add on to the set from there given your specific needs.

From power tools to safety gear, here is a gift guide for DIY beginners that lists the essential tools and the 'nice to have' tools.

Power tools to start with:

Essential:

  • circular saw
  • miter box and hand saw
  • brad nailer
  • drill and drill bits
  • orbital sander
  • tape measurer
  • level
  • stud finder
  • caulk gun

Nice to have:

  • jigsaw
  • miter saw
  • table saw
  • impact driver
  • pocket hole tool
  • router
  • laser level

Here are some tools that can be found on Amazon in this Ryobi One+ tool set.

 RYOBI P884 18-Volt ONE+ Lithium-Ion Combo Kit (6-Tools)RYOBI P884 18-Volt ONE+ Lithium-Ion Combo Kit (6-Tools) RYOBI One+ P5231 18V Lithium Ion Cordless Orbital T-Shaped 3,000 SPM Jigsaw (Battery Not Included, Power Tool and T-Shaped Wood Cutting Blade Only)RYOBI One+ P5231 18V Lithium Ion Cordless Orbital T-Shaped 3,000 SPM Jigsaw (Battery Not Included, Power Tool and T-Shaped Wood Cutting Blade Only) Ryobi 3 Piece 18V One+ Airstrike Brad Nailer Kit (Includes: 1 x P320 Brad Nailer, 1 x P190 18-Volt ONE+ 2.0 Ah lithium-ion compact battery P118 dual chemistry charger and an operator’s manualRyobi 3 Piece 18V One+ Airstrike Brad Nailer Kit (Includes: 1 x P320 Brad Nailer, 1 x P190 18-Volt ONE+ 2.0 Ah lithium-ion compact battery P118 dual chemistry charger and an operator’s manual RYOBI 18-Volt ONE+ Cordless 7-1/4 in. Compound Miter Saw (Tool Only) with BladeRYOBI 18-Volt ONE+ Cordless 7-1/4 in. Compound Miter Saw (Tool Only) with Blade Ryobi ZRP411 ONE Plus 18V Cordless 5 in. Random Orbit Sander (Bare Tool) (Renewed)Ryobi ZRP411 ONE Plus 18V Cordless 5 in. Random Orbit Sander (Bare Tool) (Renewed)

 

Safety Gear for DIY Beginners

When working with power tools, it’s important to have the correct safety gear. Plus, these are great for adding on to power tool gifts.

From power tools to safety gear, here is a gift guide for DIY beginners that lists the essential tools and the 'nice to have' tools.

Safety Gear:

  • eye protection
  • gloves
  • ear protection
  • face masks/respirator
  • closed toe shoes or steel toed boots
  • hair ties

AmazonCommercial Safety Glasses (Clear), Anti-Fog, 12-packAmazonCommercial Safety Glasses (Clear), Anti-Fog, 12-packAmazonCommercial Safety Glasses (Clear), Anti-Fog, 12-packFWPP 120-Pairs Latex Coated Work Gloves, Firm Grip for Construction, Gardening Gloves for Men and Women (Size L Orange GL008005)FWPP 120-Pairs Latex Coated Work Gloves, Firm Grip for Construction, Gardening Gloves for Men and Women (Size L Orange GL008005)FWPP 120-Pairs Latex Coated Work Gloves, Firm Grip for Construction, Gardening Gloves for Men and Women (Size L Orange GL008005)WorkTunes Connect + Gel Ear Cushions Hearing Protector with Bluetooth Technology, Ear protection for mowing, snowblowing, construction, work shopsWorkTunes Connect + Gel Ear Cushions Hearing Protector with Bluetooth Technology, Ear protection for mowing, snowblowing, construction, work shopsWorkTunes Connect + Gel Ear Cushions Hearing Protector with Bluetooth Technology, Ear protection for mowing, snowblowing, construction, work shopsCarhartt mens 6 Inch Waterproof Wedge Steel Toe Work Boot, Tan, 10.5 USCarhartt mens 6 Inch Waterproof Wedge Steel Toe Work Boot, Tan, 10.5 USCarhartt mens 6 Inch Waterproof Wedge Steel Toe Work Boot, Tan, 10.5 US

 

Having a good start to a set of power tools will give your gift recipient the boost they need to begin their DIY journey!

If they are anything like me, it will be the beginning of finding projects all over the house to keep them busy constructing the home of their dreams 🙂

DIY Home Building Projects

cropped-DIY-Mudroom-Build-pin.png
DIY game room Build pin

DIY Picture Frame Shelf: Fall ORC Week 5

DIY Woodworking, One Room Challenge

Making shelving doesn’t have to be complicated. A DIY picture frame shelf is a narrow ledge that you can place on the wall to display picture frames or canvases. Grab some basic supplies from the hardware store or your scrap wood pile and whip these up quickly.

What a fun and easy DIY woodworking project this is and its perfect for this game room makeover.

Make a DIY picture frame shelf from common boards bought at the hardware store. This is a great beginner woodworking project to try.

Make a DIY Picture Frame Shelf

This is a great beginner DIY project if you want to dip your toes into woodworking. This project will teach you how to measure and cut wood, use a nail gun, and sand and stain, but it’s so easy it’s the perfect intro project for learning all of these.

What you need to make a DIY Photo Ledge

  • 1×4 common board
  • 1×3 common board
  • 1×2 common board
  • miter saw (or hand saw/circular saw/jigsaw)
  • brad nailer
  • 120 grit and 220 grit sandpaper
  • stain or paint

How to make a picture frame shelf

Decide how long you want your shelf to be and cut your common boards to length.

I like to stack them on on top of another and make one solid cut with a miter saw through the three boards to ensure that they are the same length. This avoids small variation in length when measuring and cutting each one individually (and it saves time).

If you don’t have a miter saw you have a few options:

  • use a jig saw to make the cuts
  • use a circular saw to make the cuts
  • use a hand saw to cut
  • ask Home Depot or Lowe’s to cut your boards to length when you purchase the common board

You don’t need a miter saw to do this project! If you have one, it’s a great tool to add to your arsenal but definitely not necessary.

Once your boards are cut to length, you are going to assemble them with the 1×4 vertically, the 1×3 laying at the bottom of the 1×4 jutting out, and the 1×2 as a face frame vertically on the front of the 1×3.

That sounds complicated, but look at the photos for reference and it will make sense.

Once you have these in place, simply use a brad nailer to attach the pieces together. I like to use a brad nailer because they make projects so easy and quick. However, you can alternatively use wood glue to join the boards and clamp them while the glue dries.

Sand all of the boards and cut edges with coarse sandpaper, either 80 or 120 grit. Then sand again with a finer grit like 220.

Once the piece is sanded, either paint or stain to match your decor. I typically stain my shelving, but for this game room makeover I specifically wanted black shelves.

That’s it! It’s such an easy build, and it’s actually something my 10 year old likes to make so it’s a great project for kids wanting to learn woodworking as well. Just don’t forget the safety gear like glasses 🙂

Attach them to the wall by drilling a screw through the face of the 1×4 up against the wall into a stud.

More DIY Shelves to try

  1. Board and Batten Wall with Peg Rail and Shelf
  2. Easy DIY Closet Shelves

Fall One Room Challenge

These DIY picture frame shelves were part of my game room makeover for the Fall One Room Challenge. So far I have taken a blank wall and turned it into this!

Make a DIY picture frame shelf from common boards bought at the hardware store. This is a great beginner woodworking project to try.

See all the posts leading up to this week below:

DIY Neon Sign
DIY Neon Sign
DIY Mudroom Build
Faux Marble Countertop with Epoxy
View all stories

Faux Marble Countertop with MDF and Epoxy: Fall ORC Week 4

DIY Home Decor, One Room Challenge

This faux marble countertop is made out of MDF and epoxy, and looks like the real deal. Check out the straightforward and easy process.

It’s Week 4 of the Fall One Room Challenge and we are halfway there! This game room makeover is moving right along, and this week I finished the faux marble countertop made with MDF and epoxy.

I can’t wait for you to see how simple this tutorial is, and how beautiful this countertop turned out. I promise it’s a DIY home decor project that is perfect for beginners.

This faux marble countertop is made out of MDF and epoxy, and looks like the real deal. Check out the straightforward and easy process.

Make a Faux Marble Countertop

This faux marble countertop looks real. I can’t get over it. It’s a simple process that I’ll walk you through, and I’ll also show you the mistakes I made and what I would do differently.

What you need for the faux marble countertop:

How to make the marble countertop

If you missed the post about building a gaming console out of stock cabinets, go read that to see how we got to the point of having a countertop to makeover.

For the quick version, I built a countertop out of MDF boards to fit the top of my built ins. The exact dimensions will depend on your space.

But, you don’t need to build a countertop to use this epoxy kit and method. It will work over existing countertops! If you are going to build your own, use a non-porous material like MDF instead of plywood.

I’ve seen a few different methods of making a faux marble countertop, many involving painting the countertop to look like marble and then covering with a clear coat of epoxy.

This method works well and has a beautiful look, however, I wanted the black and white marbling to look more incorporated rather than painted separately.

This faux marble countertop is made out of MDF and epoxy, and looks like the real deal. Check out the straightforward and easy process.

I found this black marble epoxy kit from Stonecoat Countertops and it was PERFECT. You can tint the epoxy black and then add the white epoxy veins to that while wet so that the two become incorporated and marbled giving this a very realistic look.

Stonecoat Countertops has many YouTube videos that I watched to learn how to best apply this, and if you buy the kit you can simply follow their directions. But the general steps are to:

  1. Prep the space by covering and taping everything surrounding the countertop with plastic sheeting and tape. I made holes in the countertop for cords, so placed a disposable cup underneath these to catch falling epoxy.
  2. Paint a base of epoxy undercoat, I used a foam roller for this.
  3. Mix the epoxy according to the package directions tinting most of it black, and tinting some of it white.
  4. Pour an even line of epoxy down the center of the counter.
  5. Spread it with a 1/8″ notched trowel.
  6. Chop the epoxy with a brush.
  7. Use a propane torch or heat gun to even out the epoxy and remove air bubbles.
  8. Pour the white veining in lines through the black epoxy and spread with a plastic spreading knife and a heat gun.
  9. Let cure overnight.
  10. Pour a clear topcoat following the same steps.

Here is a sequence of photos for reference.

Mistakes I made with this faux marble countertop

Overall, I love the way this turned out. But, as is the case with most DIY projects, I learned a bit about what I will do differently next time.

Ideally, I would have poured and created this outside then transferred it into the game room. But, because of the length I was nervous to move this throughout my home.

There was a section of the epoxy that didn’t seem to be settling right and was pooling at the edge, I tried to remedy this after it had already slightly cured and I ended up making it lumpy and bubbly.

This was a low point in the project for me, but I got some wet sandpaper and sanded the area (which dulled the sheen) and then repoured another top coat. This mostly fixed the area! It’s still there if you look closely but it doesn’t take away from the whole project.

The edge of my countertop doesn’t look great. When I attached the two MDF boards together I didn’t wood fill or caulk the seam on the edge. If I had, this would have made for a much smoother edge.

Cost Breakdown for the Faux Black Marble Countertop

This is such a cost effective way to get the look of marble in your home at a fraction of the cost.

  • Epoxy Kit = $90
  • MDF = $45
  • Prep materials and tools = $50

The black marble countertop of my dreams

In planning this game room makeover, I couldn’t help but keep coming back to black marble for this countertop. Buying actual black marble was out of the budget but this epoxy version was just right.

I am so happy with how it turned out, and how the whole room is taking shape! I’m halfway through this project and can’t wait to see how it turns out.

This faux marble countertop is made out of MDF and epoxy, and looks like the real deal. Check out the straightforward and easy process.

Below are the posts leading up to this point, and be sure to check back to see how it all comes together!

Fall One Room Challenge Game Room Makeover

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the posts in this series! 

DIY Neon Sign
DIY Neon Sign
DIY Mudroom Build
Faux Marble Countertop with Epoxy
View all stories

Built-in Gaming Console with Stock Cabinets – Fall ORC Week 3

Building Projects, DIY Woodworking, One Room Challenge

This built in gaming console from stock cabinets is a simple and straightforward build, great for beginners with an advanced look.

It’s week 3 of the Fall One Room Challenge! I made a bit more progress this week by making a built-in gaming console with stock cabinets. One of my very favorite DIY projects to do in my home is using stock cabinets for built ins.

This built in gaming console from stock cabinets is a simple and straightforward build, great for beginners with an advanced look.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Built-in Gaming Console from Stock Cabinets

Stock cabinets are unfinished kitchen cabinets that you can buy at bog box stores like Home Depot and Lowes. With the current prices of lumber, they can be cheaper than building the cabinet yourself and save a TON of time. Plus, this makes for a super beginner-friendly DIY home project

To read more about using stock cabinets, read this article >> Stock Cabinets for Built ins: What they are and where to get them

For this gaming console I used wall cabinets which are only 12″ deep vs 25″ or so. I wanted this shallow profile to make the room seem bigger, and also so that my kids didn’t throw things into the back of the cabinets where they will never be found.

This game room makeover is moving right along!

This built in gaming console from stock cabinets is a simple and straightforward build, great for beginners with an advanced look.

What you need for the built in gaming console

  • Stock cabinets (the amount and size will depend on your wall – I used 4 of them – (1) 36″, (2) 30″, (1) 15″ for a total length of 111″
  • 2″x4″ studs – enough to make a rectangle base with braces for your length
  • 2.5″ Construction screws
  • MDF in the length of the countertop
  • wood glue
  • drill
  • cabinet hardware
  • baseboards
  • jigsaw
  • 2″ hole dozer

How to make the built in gaming console

Build a base for the cabinets

Because these built ins with stock cabinets use wall cabinets, you first need to build a base for them to sit on. This is built out of 2x4s and is a simple rectangular frame.

Measure the length of all of the cabinets together and cut two 2x4s to that length. If your total length is longer than the studs you have, use pocket holes to attach the 2x4s together to make the correct length.

Then cut the connecting pieces to length, minus the width of the other two 2x4s.

Ok that sounds really confusing, so here is a diagram to refer to and hopefully that will make more sense. This is an example but as it will depend on the length of your piece, but will work for the depth of standard (12″) wall cabinets.

*Note – as is the case with most lumber, a 2×4 isn’t actually 2″x4″, it’s really 1.5″ x 3.5″. I know…what the heck!?

Attach these boards with construction screws and a drill. Don’t worry about seeing the screw head on the front of the base as this will be covered with baseboards. However, you do want the screw to be flush or slightly countersunk so that the baseboards attach flush.

Make the cut outs for electrical wiring

If you’re going to be using wiring through these cabinets, make these cuts before installing the cabinetry to the wall.

I needed access to the cords and the outlet coming through the wall behind one of my cabinets. Cut that portion out with a jigsaw (use a drill to make a hole in the wood to start the jigsaw).

Additionally, if you are going to want cords to hook into anything on top of the counter, make a hole with a 2″ hole dozer on the top of the cabinets. This will allow cords to come up through the top of the cabinetry and hook up to video game systems, phone chargers etc.

By making these cutouts, your cabinetry and countertop can sit flush against the walls.

Attach the cabinets to the base and the wall

Place the stock wall cabinets on top of the base and attach to one another with a screw through the face frame on the inside. Once all of the cabinets are attached to each other by the face frame, screw the base into the wall studs through the back of the cabinets.

Additionally, screw the base of the cabinet to the platform that you’ve built. These should be super sturdy after this.

At this point, you will have a built-in gaming console!

Stain the cabinets

For these cabinets I chose to use a mix of Varathane Antique White and Varathane Sunbleached stain. I used this method:

Apply Antique White stain with a rag and wipe off -> sand with 120 grit sandpaper -> second coat of antique white -> sand with 220 grit sandpaper -> apply Sunbleached stain -> sand with 220 again

You could paint these as an alternative!

Make the countertop

I’m using MDF board for the countertop because I’ll be doing a marbled epoxy top over it.

You can use MDF and paint it, or use plywood and paint or stain that for a countertop too.

The important thing to keep in mind with creating the countertop is that most boards are 3/4″ thick, and a typical countertop is thicker than then. So, by stacking two 3/4″ thick boards together you can get a nice sturdy and great looking countertop.

My MDF boards were only 8′ long and I needed a countertop almost 12′ long. So, I attach two MDF boards together with pocket holes to create the desired length for my space.

*I did stagger where the seams were on the top and the bottom board to keep it structurally sound.

Two create the thick boards, simple spread wood glue all over the bottom board, lay the top board on the glue and clamp the boards together to let dry for 24 hours.

Attach baseboards to the console

I haven’t done this step yet because I’m waiting for later in the One Room Challenge where I do trim around the room. Stay tuned for that update.

However, as a note for now, if you want to hide your platform, use baseboard around the bottom of the unit, or simply quarter round trim to make a nice transition to your floor.

If you are choosing to paint the unit instead of stain, caulk the seam between the platform and the cabinets then paint the entire thing and the platform will be seamless with the rest of the unit!

Add cabinet hardware

I used these cabinet pulls from Amazon, they are a really affordable option and easy to install.

Use painters tape to make a template of where the holes on your pull are located, then place the tape where you want the pull on the cabinet.

Drill the appropriate holes and attach the pulls. Hardware is a great way to make these really custom.

This built in gaming console from stock cabinets is a simple and straightforward build, great for beginners with an advanced look.

That’s it! It’s a straightforward process that really isn’t difficult!

Fall One Room Challenge Game Room Makeover

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the posts in this series!

DIY Faux Brick Wall from Wall Paneling: Fall One Room Challenge Week 2

Building Projects, DIY Woodworking, One Room Challenge, Wall Decor

This faux brick wall is made with joint compound and wall paneling, and when you’re done with it, it looks like real german schmear.

If you missed my plan for the One Room Challenge Game Room Makeover, head there to see what this wall is becoming a part of! I’m thrilled with how this faux brick wall turned out, plus, it’s a cost effective stone wall.

This faux brick wall is made with joint compound and wall paneling, and when you're done with it, it looks like real german schmear.

Faux Brick Wall Made from Paneling

When we think of wall paneling, the old dark wood panel walls from the 80’s come to mind. But, wall paneling done right can become beautiful feature walls! Don’t believe me? Check it out.

If you read the post linked above, you know that I’m participating in the Fall One Room Challenge hosted by Better Homes and Gardens. I’m working on building a wall to wall console for video game storage and use, this faux brick wall, and some DIY shelving to make an awesome game room for my kids.

I can’t wait to see it all come together, and this feature wall was the first step! Let me break it down for you so that you can see how a blank white wall can become a white ‘brick’ wall.

This faux brick wall is made with joint compound and wall paneling, and when you're done with it, it looks like real german schmear.

What you need to make the faux brick wall:

  • brick wall panels (they come in 4’x8′ sheets, so get what you need to fit your space)
  • liquid nails or other construction adhesive
  • brad nailer (optional – you could use a hammer and nails but a pneumatic nails sinks the nails in and they become invisible)
  • circular saw or jigsaw to cut the paneling to size or cut out outlet holes etc.
  • joint compound
  • plastic taping knife
  • 120 grit sanding block
  • white paint
  • water
  • foam paint roller

How to make the faux brick wall

A brick wall panel is a chipboard panel with an acrylic coating that looks like real brick. To me, it has the shape of brick but is missing the texture and imperfection of real brick.

So, in this tutorial you will see how to layer joint compound over the brick paneling to get the texture of real brick, and the result is beautiful!

process photo of brick wall paneling installation

Step 1. Cut the brick panels to size with a circular saw or table saw.

Step 2. Measure and cut out any outlets, wall vents or other holes that you need to access on the wall behind the paneling. Do this by marking the cutout, beginning a jigsaw hole with a drill, and using a jigsaw to cut out the shape needed.

brick wall paneling

Step 3. Attach the brick wall panels to the wall with liquid nails and then secured with nails (a brad nailer makes this super easy).

joint compound and scraper
joint compound on brick wall paneling

Step 4. Use joint compound and a plastic taping knife to spread joint compound over the brick wall panel.

This is where you get the faux brick look, there isn’t a ‘right’ or ‘perfect’ way to do this, basically just keep spreading until you get the look and texture that you like.

white brick wall

Step 5. Let dry for 24 hours, then sand with a 120 sanding block to take off any rough spots or large bumps.

sanding block over brick wall

Step 6. Whitewash the brick by making a wash of 1 part white paint and 1 part water and apply with a foam roller.

white wash paint roller over brick wall

That’s it!

Tape a step back and enjoy your faux brick wall! It has the beautiful texture and color of real brick with german schmear, for much cheaper.

How much did this joint compound brick wall cost?

Alright so here is the budget breakdown for this ‘brick wall’.

Before I get to the budget, I’ll give you the dimensions so you can get an idea of how much space this budget covered.

My wall was 138″ wide and 104″ tall. This is roughly 12′ x 8′. Because I’m doing built ins on the bottom half of the wall I didn’t need to add more brick to go all the way to the floor, the 8′ was enough.

Budget breakdown:

  • (3) 4’x 8′ brick wall panels – $120
  • liquid nails – $7
  • joint compound – $16

I had the rest of the materials such as tools and paint on hand so didn’t need to purchase any of that.

Which brings the total for my faux brick wall to $143.

Just for reference, there are some amazing interior brick resources that you can use such as Brick Webb, which are thin pieces of real brick. They run around $11.50 per square foot (not including grout etc.), so for my wall that would have been $1,104 in brick alone (vs. $120).

Now, if I had the budget I would go with the Brick Webb, I’m not at all saying that it isn’t worth it, but for this project and a room that my kids use that I found old pizza crust from who knows when in, the faux brick wall is just fine 🙂

I hope this gives you the courage to try and make a faux brick wall in your home!

This faux brick wall is made with joint compound and wall paneling, and when you're done with it, it looks like real german schmear.

Check out the other posts in this One Room Challenge game room makeover

Follow me on IG for the behind the scenes in stories!

Game Room Makeover: Fall One Room Challenge 2021 (Week 1)

DIY Home Decor, DIY Woodworking, One Room Challenge

I’m so excited to participate in the Fall One Room Challenge for 2021! I’ll be doing a game room makeover (and it will be ready just in time for Christmas). Included will be some much needed storage and organization and a handful of fun DIY projects.

This game room makeover is part of the One Room Challenge. It will include DIY building projects, wall treatment, and more! #oneroomchallenge #BHGORC #gameroommakeover #diyprojects

What’s the One Room Challenge?

The One Room Challenge happens twice a year in the Spring and the Fall, and is an online event where design influencers makeover entire rooms and document their progress on their blogs or on Instagram.

I’ll be participating here on my blog with weekly updates and projects throughout the 8 weeks, as well as in posting on my Instagram account. (If you aren’t following me on IG, head over and follow because I post almost daily on stories with tutorial and walk throughs of various projects).

I encourage you to check out the One Room Challenge site and browse the blog there as well, you will find so much inspiration from fellow designers and DIYers!

Game Room Makeover Plan and Budget

I know you’re probably ready to know what the space currently looks like and what my plan is! I can’t wait to add some functionality to this space.

This room was actually the location of my very first DIY project in this house, I made DIY Built-in Shelving for board games and baskets of kids toys.

However, the other side of the room is the video game and art display area, and it’s a disaster. I’m ready to tackle it and make the whole room complete!

Game Room Before

I feel like I need a disclaimer for this picture, I didn’t clean up the space because I wanted to show you how it looks on a ‘normal’ day. This will give you a sense of why I’m building the space that I am planning.

When planning out a project I make a bulleted list of what the space is used for, exactly what is currently being stored there, etc. This way, in my planning I can incorporate all of these into the build.

I know, it’s bad.

In taking inventory of this space, I need:

  • sufficient counter space for easy charging of consoles and controllers for video games
  • bins for video games
  • seating
  • art storage
  • artwork display
  • desk seating

And here is the wall opposite this one where I did the built in shelving.

Let’s make these two walls match a bit better!

New Game Room Makeover Design

I’m so excited about this new game room makeover design, it will add storage and functionality and will be really streamlined (and cool).

My kids are currently 6, 8 and 10 and my hope is that the design will carry them through the next handful of years of entertaining friends and hanging out together.

Game Room Design Mockup

This game room makeover is part of the One Room Challenge. It will include DIY building projects, wall treatment, and more!

The new plan will include a wall to wall built in for desk space and storage, along with artwork display and a ‘brick’ wall.

There will be a handful of DIY projects to tackle here to make this space pretty on a budget. Included will be:

  • DIY built in media console and desk
  • faux brick wall
  • DIY picture frame shelving
  • DIY faux marble countertop
  • (possibly an interior french door makeover)

I hope you join along the next 8 weeks to see the transformation of this room!

Game Room Makeover Budget

I’ll be honest I don’t love talking about money, but, I do know that part of hoping to inspire you to try DIY projects in your own home is giving you an idea of what things cost (and showing you how you can make a big impact on a budget).

So, here is the rough breakdown, and yes, I almost always go over budget so I know budget for extras that I don’t know about yet, ha!

  • unfinished wall cabinets = $310
  • faux brick panels = $115
  • joint compound/liquid nails/etc = $30
  • hardware = $20
  • plywood = $60
  • paint/epoxy/supplies = $50

Total = $585 (rounding up to $600 for small extras)

I’ll be doing this project over 8 weeks as part of the one room challenge, so this helps me break down the budget to spread to out over time as well!

Considering that if I had to have a 12′ console built for this space it would cost much more than that alone, this will be a budget friendly way to renovate this space!

This game room makeover is part of the One Room Challenge. It will include DIY building projects, wall treatment, and more!

Check out all of the posts in this series for progress

Bedroom Light Wall with LED Wall Lights

DIY Woodworking

This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone.

This bedroom light wall was such a fun accent wall for my son’s bedroom. It’s a fun take on a DIY slat wall, but it’s backlit with LED light strips! Check out how simple this DIY woodworking project is, you could put it anywhere in your home.

Related: DIY Built-in Shelving

This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover

Bedroom Light Wall DIY

LED light strips are all the rage. They are a fun wall to add accent lighting to a room, or behind a TV. My kids love that they are remote control and the options for lighting color and blinking options seem to be endless.

Plus, the strips are adhesive making they a really simple addition to a room.

For this project, I wanted to add an accent wall behind my son’s bed that could act as a light wall as well as a fun non-lit accent wall. I can’t wait to show you how this turned out below.

This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover

What you need for the bedroom light wall:

How to make the LED accent wall

Before I walk you through the entire process, just a couple of quick notes. I won’t add super specific measurements because this is a custom project, and will depend on the size of your wall and the space you want to fill when replicating this process.

For more custom projects, check out the DIY mudroom build with lockers on this site too.

Additionally, I chose to cut on cost by using furring strips instead of common board. This cut down on my total cost significantly (only 1/3 of the cost for furring strips vs. common board), however the boards can be very crooked and warped so choose carefully if going this route!

Step 1.

Plan the space. I like to map out my wall projects with painters tape to better visualize what the design will look like.

To cut on cost, I chose not to put any wood or lights behind the headboard and instead kind of wrapped the headboard with the backlit slats.

This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover

Step 2.

Attach 1×2 furring strips to the wall with a nail gun. Space them evenly by using a spacer cut out of spare wood.

To use the spacer, place a board on the wall ensuring it is perfectly level. I like to work from the middle outward but that is personal preference. Then, decide how far apart you want the boards spaced and cut a scrap piece of wood in that length.

Then, instead of measuring and leveling each slat that will be attached to the wall, you can simply place a spacer next to the already attached board and place your new board on the other side of the spacer.

This is a huge time saver.

Continue adding the 1x2s to the wall until the entirety of the accent wall is full with 1x2s.

For this project, the 1x2s won’t be seen, these will be where the lights are wrapped behind the 1x3s. But, when measuring the spacing of these keep in mind that they will have a 1×3 on top of them and you will need to account for that when considering the gap between boards that will be visible on the finished accent wall.

Step 3.

Wrap the 1x2s the LED lights. These are adhesive light strips so you can simply weave them up and down the edges of the 1×2 pressing them onto the sides.

When adding the lights, be sure to consider where they will be plugged in and where the remote sensor will be so that isn’t hidden behind furniture.

This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover

Step 4.

Time to add the visible facade that will appear to be backlit!

Paint the 1x3s with black paint (or whatever color you want for your accent wall). I used Behr limosouine black.

Attach the 1x3s to the front of the 1x2s with a nail gun. I used the same spacer method as I did with the 1x2s. Attach the first 1×3 ensuring that it is level and attached with the 1×2 directly in the middle behind the 1×3, then use the spacer to attach all of the 1x3s to the 1x2s.

This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover

Voila! You have a DIY bedroom light wall sure to please anyone! This method can be used in so many different ways. Imagine how fun this would be in a home theater…

This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover
This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover
This bedroom light wall uses an accent slat wall wrapped with led lights to create a fun accent wall sure to please anyone. #accentwall #lightwall #ledlightwall #teenbedroom #bedroommakeover

Enjoy making your own bedroom light wall

If you make a DIY light wall in your home, tag me on instagram, I would love to see it! (additionally, you can find a highlight bubble on this whole process over there)

DIY Neon Sign DIY Mudroom Build Faux Marble Countertop with Epoxy
DIY Neon Sign DIY Mudroom Build Faux Marble Countertop with Epoxy