Between the Studs Storage - A Tutorial

This tutorial will provide you with the steps to build your own Between the Studs Storage Unit.  Exact dimensions are not provided because the purpose of a DIY project is to customize it for your specific needs.  So build the unit to the dimensions that your studs and space will allow. :-)

10 Steps to a Between the Studs Storage Unit:

1. Location:  Find a place in a wall where you would like storage.  For me, it was on the left wall of our bathroom sink/vanity.  The above photo shows the wall with just a a couple shelves on it - I decided I didn't want the shelves to stick out into the room and take up space - hence the Between the Studs Unit.

Drill a hole in the wall and stick your fingers into the hole - feel around for wires or other things in the wall.  If you don't feel anything than start making the hole bigger.  I drilled two holes and then used a drywall knife to cut between the two holes:

I then drilled two more holes and cut a square into the wall.  The square was big enough for me to get my arm into and reach around in the wall to make sure I was not close to any wires.  You won't want to rewire if you don't have to!

2. Find your Studs and Cut your Drywall:  You want the sides of your box to sit against a stud (this is how you will fasten the unit to the wall so that it stays put).  You can cut your hole as large as you want as long as you stay between the studs.  My hole:

 You can see the right side of my built in will sit against the stud below.  That way it will sit firmly against the stud and be supported.  You want it to sit between two studs if possible so if you can cut your hole the width between your two studs then your box will be sturdy.

I ran into a metal electrical box as I as cutting my hole.  The electrical box wasn't coming out without replacing the whole outlet on the other side of the stud so I decided I would work around it and put an outlet inside this built-in for electric toothbrushes or shavers or what not.  This project would be a lot easier without the electrical component!  If you don't understand electrical then hire someone or skip this part.

3. (Optional - Add an Outlet):  Because I had an outlet just on the other side of the stud, I decided to drill a hole through the stud and jump a new outlet off of it.  You can see the hole in the stud above drilled so that I could run a wire from the old outlet into a new outlet (see wire is run through the hole in photo below).

4. Build your Box: I used leftover 3/4" plywood from another project to build my box.  You can use plywood or buy boards at a home improvement store and have them cut to the right lengths for you.  In my experience home improvement stores will cut boards for you, but will not rip boards for you.  This means that if you buy a 1x6" board that is 8' long.  They will cut it to a specific length - they won't change the width.

Use wood glue and glue the joints together.  Then screw the bottom and top boards into the side boards.  I used corner clamps (seen in photo above) to make sure my box stayed square.

5. Add Shelves: I wanted four shelves total so I added three horizontal boards into the square box.  Place the shelves where you want them and then screw them into place or nail them into place.

6. Add a Back: I used 1/4" plywood for the back.  Cut it to the size of your box and nail it onto the back of your box.

View from back before nailing it into place.

Views front the front of the box with the back nailed into place (above and below).

7. Hang the Built-In Box: Insert the box into the hole you made in your drywall.  Nail or screw the box into place by attaching it to the studs in the wall.  I nailed mine and it feels very sturdy.  If you decide to screw it into place I recommend using a countersink drill bit so that the end of your screw sits into the wood.  It will be easier to add wood putty and cover the hole the screw makes by doing this.  I used and talked about a countersink drill bit when building the Chunky Floating Shelves in the bathroom.

Nail from the inside of the box through the sides and into the studs in several locations.  Make sure it is sitting firmly against at least one of the studs.  (I had space between the left stud and the side of my built-in so I placed a spacer block between the two so that I could still attach my box on both sides - you can see one of the spacers in the photo below on the bottom left).

8. Add Trim: To finish your box you need to add trim work.  This will cover the part of the box that is exposed and the drywall where you cut.  Use finish nails to attach your trim to the unit.  I added trim around the outside of the box and then also put 1x2" trim to cover the edge of the shelves (I then changed the trim on the shelves later and you can see them in the final photos).

I also wired in my second outlet after adding the trim around the outside and made a box for it so that it would sit against the inside wall of the built-in.

9. Stain/Finish:  This is the part that I struggled with and spoke about in an earlier post.  I couldn't decide if I wanted the built-in stained, painted white like trim or painted the same color as the wall so that it would blend in...  I still don't know what I want and am not sure if I am in love with the finished product.  I love the built-in, I am just still playing with ways to change the trim work on it.  Don't forget to seal all of your joints with caulk so that they look "seamless" - this makes a huge difference!

Caulk added at the seams and will soon be painted over so that it look as though the transition from trim to wall is seamless.

10. Admire your Work:  As always, admire your handiwork!  And remember "perfect" is sometimes perfectly imperfect.

To see the finished piece, inspirations found on Pinterest and Houzz and how I struggled to pick the right trim work check out these posts:

Using Stair Tread Nosing as Finishing Trim on Built-in Shelves

and

Between The Studs Storage - Adding More Storage to the Master Bathroom

Using Stair Tread Nosing as Finishing Trim on Built-in Shelves

I was so excited about the "DIY - Between the Studs Storage" until it was finished and I didn't love the end product... there was something missing in the trimwork.  I couldn't decide on wood trim, wood accents, white trim or painted trim to match the room...

While perusing through the trim isle at Lowe's for inspiration, I came across stair treads.  I decided to give them a try.  The wood boards from the above photo came off and the stair treads were stained and put on as seen in the photos below.

BEFORE STAIR TREAD NOSING ADDED:

AFTER STAIR TREAD NOSING ATTACHED:

It coordinates well with the sink base cabinet below without becoming an overpowering brown hole in the wall.  I like it now... I still don't LOVE it...

The stair treads were purchased at Lowe's for about $6/piece:

I finished them the same I way I finished our Chunky Floating Shelves:

I stained them with Red Mahogany Rust-Oleum stain in satin first.  And then I put a layer of PolyShades over them to darken them a bit more and tone down the wood grain a bit while also polyurethaning them.

While waiting for the stain and Polyshades to dry I took down the light hanging above the sink and spray painted it "Chrome" to attempt to match the other metals in the bathroom.  I will post before and after photos of the light fixture soon, but you can see parts of the finished light fixture in the photos above.

For a tutorial on how to make this wall unit yourself check out: Between the Studs Storage - A Tutorial

Between The Studs Storage - Adding More Storage to the Master Bathroom

Our vanity sits between two walls.  It is not a large vanity for a master bath, but we really don't need more than what we have.  I wanted some extra storage on the wall, but didn't want it to take up too much space or stick out too far.  So a between the studs storage unit seemed exactly what we needed.

This is what we had: two glass shelves mounted on the wall.  They worked well, but they impeded on space by sticking out into the room.

I have been looking at "between the studs" storage for awhile and think it is a great use of space.  I still haven't decided if I love it, but I think that is more a matter of me tweaking the trim work I put on it rather than the storage unit itself....at least I hope so because I don't want to regret it all together and put the drywall and shelves back up!

Here it is now finished and in use: It looks like there are two built-ins because of the mirror.

And here it is again:

What do you think?  I haven't fallen in love with it yet.  I am hoping it is a matter of tweaking the trim work that is surrounding it and not the unit itself...

What do you think it needs?  I have already played with the trim work and can't figure out how I want it.

Example #1: I first stained the entire unit - big mistake - it looked like a big brown blob in the room. In this picture it it doesn't look half bad, but when you walked in the bathroom it was the first place yours eyes (maybe just  my eyes) went - I felt like it stuck out like a sore thumb.  Maybe because in the mirror (which is straight ahead when you walk in) makes it look twice as big.

Example #2: I painted it white (the whole thing).  And then quickly realized I didn't like that either and started stripping it before I took a real photo of it all white.  I probably made my decision too quickly here.  I wish I would have left the outside trim white and painted the inside the color of the walls before I started stripping, just to see what it would have looked like.   Because now I am wondering...

Example #3: I realized I liked other built-ins when they blended in more with the surrounding with a little pop of color in the trim (white or stain).  So I painted the entire inside the same color as the walls and decided to do something else with the trim.  So I ripped off most of the trim and started over...

Current: I replaced the side trim with smaller pieces and painted them the color of the walls so that the unit would almost disappear into the wall.

I still don't know if I love it...   :-(

#4: An option I haven't tried yet:  Paint the trim work white and leave the inside painted the wall color.  or stain the trim around the sides the same color as the shelves and leave only the inside painted the wall color.

My Inspirations (+ many more on Pinterest):

Inspiration A: diyhomepin.com

I liked how these shelves float and are not too bulky looking

Inspiration B: bhg.com

I liked how the shelves coordinate with the other wood elements in the room

Inspiration C: manditremayne.blogspot.com

I liked the trim on this and how it is bright white along with the spacing of the shelves

 Inspiration D: awesomehomepins.com

I like how the wall units coordinated with the cabinet below (I also have a wood cabinet below)

I have several more "Bathroom" inspirations pinned on Pinterest:  Check them out here - I like all the images for different reasons.

So what should I do?  Help and suggestions are appreciated!  How can I make myself love this unit?  What does it need?

I would HATE realizing that it was a mistake and taking it out and replacing it with drywall/shelves again.  Mostly because of the work it would take - I despise repairing drywall - it is so hard to make it look perfect again...

Learn to Build a Storage Unit like this:  Here is the Tutorial!

Chunky Floating Shelves - A Tutorial

To start building the shelves you need to measure your space and first figure out how long you would like the finished shelves.  That is what makes DIY projects the best - they can be built to suit your exact needs!  The shelves in our bathroom are 38" long.  I will provide the measurements I used to build these shelves that are a finished size of 38" long by 4" chunky (wide) by ~10" deep.

Materials for 1 shelf:

• 1 - 4' 1x6
• 1 - 8' 1x10
• 1 - 6' 1x3
• Countersink Drill Bit
• 2" Flat Head Screws
• Finish Nails

Tools:

• Drill 
• Table Saw (or have the store cut the 1x6 for you)
• Mitre Saw (or have the store cut the boards for you)
• Stud Finder
• Hammer
• Level

Building the Brace:

The brace is built from the 1x3 board.  First cut the 1x3 to your desired shelf length - this will be your brace body (38" for this tutorial).  Next cut your "legs".  There are 5 legs for our brace (see photo above) each 6 1/2" long.  Screw each of your legs into the 1x3 board you cut to 38" (your body) using a countersink drill bit.

The countersink drill bit will drill a pilot hole into the wood and create a larger hole near the entrance so that the screw head sits inside the board.  If you look at the photo above, you can see the top hole has been drilled and the bottom hole has been drilled and the screw has been attached.  The screw head is sitting into the wood.  This is an important step because this brace needs to sit flat against the wall.  If the screw head is sitting away from the board then the brace will not be stable.

Hint: When attaching the legs to the back brace it is helpful to use 90 degree braces.  It is not necessary, but helpful.

Building the Shell and Attaching to the Wall:

Cut your 1x10 board into two 38" sections.  These will be your top and bottom shell.  Attach one of your cut 1x10 boards to the bottom of your brace with finish nails.  You will nail from the bottom through the 1x10 and into the legs and body of your brace.

Find the studs in the wall where you would like the shelf to hang.  Screw the brace into the studs.  It is helpful to first screw into one stud.  Then level the shelf with a level and screw the shelf into the other studs.

I was able to find three studs behind where the shelf would hang.  I first screwed the shelf into the most center stud and then leveled the shelf and screwed into the two outer studs.  You want to screw straight through the body of the brace and into the wall studs (see below photo).

Attach the top 1x10 board.  Use finish nails to nail the top board in place just as you did the bottom board.

If you have a helper like I usually do, then sit back and watch them for a bit.  It is fun to see what they pick up on from watching you! :-)

The total "chunk" or width of the shelves was almost exactly 4".  Measure your shelves and rip the 1x6 board to that width (or kindly ask the store where you bought the boards to do it for you).  Cut the ripped 1x6 board (now it is exactly 4" wide) to 38" long.  Attach this board to the front of your shelves using finish nails.

If you look closely in the photo above there are finish nail holes in the board that are minute.  They almost go away once you stain and finish the piece.

Below are my two shelves ready to be finished (after of course removing the items on them).  :-)  

To see how the shelves were stained, finished and decorated check out these two posts:

Chunky Floating Shelves and Adding Storage to a Small Bath

and

DIY Chunky Floating Shelves - Final Photos with Shelf Vignettes