Make it with Kate

Featured: DIY Home Decor

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

Featured: Woodworking

How to Paint a Brass Fireplace: Quick and Easy

DIY Home Decor

When we first moved into this house, one of the first DIY home projects that I knew would be quick and easy, but give me a big bang for my buck was painting the outdated, brass fireplace.

Check out how to paint a brass fireplace below, I promise you, it’s super easy. My number one recommendation with this project is to get the right spray paint. You are definitely going to want a high heat tolerant paint if painting a functional fireplace.

This quick and easy DIY tutorial will show you how to paint a brass fireplace. This will update your home immediately! #paintedfireplace #diyhomeprojects #DIYpaintprojects

How to Paint a Brass Fireplace

There are only a few materials for this easy project that you will need, again, pay attention to the type of spray paint you use!

Materials needed:

Grab what you need from Amazon!

What to do:

This quick and easy DIY tutorial will show you how to paint a brass fireplace. This will update your home immediately! #paintedfireplace #diyhomeprojects #DIYpaintprojects

Step 1. Prep the fireplace. I know this seems time consuming but trust me, you are not going to want to get spray paint on your surrounding materials, especially if they are porous like stone or brick. The glass will be more forgiving (see why below).

Thoroughly wash the brass with soap and water to cleanse of any residue and let dry completely.

Prep the space by cutting brown craft paper to size of the glass panels and then large sections to cover the material on the outside of the fireplace.

Tape the paper in place keeping the edge of the tape along the edges of the brass fireplace.

This quick and easy DIY tutorial will show you how to paint a brass fireplace. This will update your home immediately! #paintedfireplace #diyhomeprojects #DIYpaintprojects

Step 2. Use your high heat spray paint to completely cover the brass fireplace.

*Tip: when using spray paint, make short light ‘strokes’ with the sprayer across the surface. This will keep the paint from pooling, resulting in drip marks down your fireplace.

Repeat this process resulting in two coats of the high heat spray paint.

Step 3. Once dry (it will dry quickly) remove all of the tape and the paper from the area. If any spray paint gets on the glass panes, simply take a razor blade and scrape the paint off, it’s like magic!

This quick and easy DIY tutorial will show you how to paint a brass fireplace. This will update your home immediately! #paintedfireplace #diyhomeprojects #DIYpaintprojects

Enjoy your newly painted brass fireplace

You will be amazed at just how much this simple DIY can really modernize and transform your space!

This quick and easy DIY tutorial will show you how to paint a brass fireplace. This will update your home immediately! #paintedfireplace #diyhomeprojects #DIYpaintprojects

Don’t get me wrong, I love a well-placed gold accent in most of my projects, like when I painted this DIY Wall Sconce from a Table Lamp gold, but the brass fireplace is not one of my favorite looks. A classic matte black however looks really updated and sleek. Enjoy your painted fireplace!

More Simple DIYs for your Home:

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 Mudroom: Final Reveal, Styling and FAQ’s

Building Projects, DIY Woodworking

This was such a labor of love, and I’m so happy with how the entire project turned out! Creating my own DIY mudroom allowed me to really bring my design to life, and customize all of the nooks and crannies to fit our lifestyle.

This is a recap posts of all of the pieces that brought this mudroom together. Included are a corner bench, cabinets, a locker unit, and a peg rail board and batten wall with wallpaper.

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Mud Room Part 4: DIY Board and Batten with Peg Rail Top

Building Projects, DIY Woodworking

<< DIY Mud Room Part 1: DIY Mudroom Bench

<<DIY Mud Room Part 2: Adding Mudroom Locker Cabinets

<<DIY Mud Room Part 3: DIY Mudroom Lockers

The bench is built, the cabinets are installed, the lockers are done. It’s time to finish the other mudroom wall off with a DIY board and batten with a peg rail top!

This is the perfect detail wall that will really finish off the corner mud room unit, and the addition of the peg rail will add extra space to hang coats, towels and decor.

…
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DIY Mud Room Part 3: DIY Mudroom Lockers

Building Projects, DIY Woodworking

<< DIY Mud Room Part 1: DIY Mudroom Bench

<< DIY Mud Room Part 2: Adding Mudroom Locker Cabinets

Now that the bench is built and the cabinets are in, it’s time to build the DIY mudroom lockers! This is my favorite part of this space. When the kids come home from school, they can hang their backpacks, jackets and face masks (yep, writing this during the pandemic) and everything stays organized and easy to find.

Not walking through a pile of jackets and backpacks on the floor make me so happy. Plus, this is a fun building project that is pretty easy and straightforward.

…
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