I Built My Daughter’s Closet System

One year ago I never thought I’d accomplish all that I did, for the very first time, in 2025. Our subfloors were failing and the nails were popping out the top of the wood. Many socks got trashed and a few skinned knees. So in Spring, 2025, work underwent to have all of our hardwood floors replaced. Lucky for me this went into the pantries and closets.

Let’s be clear, I never had the intention of making this closet system myself. I never thought I could. So I immediately called California Closets to come out and give me a quote before demo even started. No walls were getting moved or replaced, so the dimensions were staying the same.

But, between getting the quote and our construction being completed, something shifted inside my brain. Sitting in a meeting with my husband and our contractor, we got to the line item: Bathroom vanity. Oh, the plumbing in this bathroom was failing, and many valves were actually shut off, so we tied in the work of the floors and the bathroom together. Our contract asked if we wanted to buy something pre-built or get it custom made. I took a second, looked around and said, “Me. I’m going to build it”. I was immediately met with two comments, “I do no recommend that” and “I don’t think that’s such a good idea”.

I raised up two middle fingers and said, “Watch me”.

Immediately I jumped into YouTube videos and called my neighbor who’d been building some plywood box construction. I spent the next few months building that…and then built it a second time.

What does this have to do with a closet? Well, everything. It gave me the knowledge and confidence to build it myself.

So I finished the bathroom vanity and did a bunch of cabinets and floating shelves in the pantry. After a few months, I finally got started on her closet. It took a while to finalize the design and then about 3 weeks to build. That amount of time seems crazy, but that’s just what it took. The process was very detailed and had to be because it got screwed to the studs, so I couldn’t mess around.

The finishing process also took a while to apply, dry and cure. And my daughter watched me the whole way. She had no idea what it was going to look like. I never asked her opinion or shared my design. I just build it, installed it and the stuck a camera inside the closet to catch her reaction on the reveal.

Man was it worth that reaction, “What in the Whole Wide World?!?!?!”

You can watch my struggles and her reaction here: https://youtu.be/15ypUReQA9A

Be Brave,
Esterina