This closet we are building in our upstairs loft is starting to really come together. We are very close to being done and it will be great to have all this extra storage space.

Here’s the last installment of this home building project – we are very close to being done.

Basically, all we need are two more brackets and the flooring – finally this job is coming to a close.

Have you read the first and second part of this building project about how to build a closet?

You may want to check those out and then come back to this one.

Building a Closet in the Loft

Installing the Doors in the Loft Closet

 

 

 

The left side of the closet is all done. There is lots of space for all of our hanging clothes. I’ve got the space fairly shared.

I get at least 3/4 and Graham gets slightly under 1/4 of the space. Sounds fair to me.

 

Customizing the loft closet space

We were able to get started on the right side closet. I had to spend some time figuring out what we wanted to store there.

Then we would have to work the closet shelf measurements around that list.

Here is our list of storage needs. We needed a place for all of these things.

• purses
• hats and scarves
• shoe storage
• cowboy boot storage
• luggage storage
• out of season clothing overflow

Take the time to really think about your personal needs when it comes to designing your closet.

Adjustable shelving helps so much when you build a closet, it was a given we would be using it.

Don’t forget to think about the weight of whatever you want to put on the shelves.

Maybe you need an extra shelving track – you can’t go wrong with putting in another one.

 

 

How we customized our closet with shelving

Graham started by screwing a 1 x 4 pine board into the drywall at the studs. This board will help to support the shelf brackets.

Use a stud finder and make sure these boards are secured firmly. They will be holding all the weight.

 

 

 

Now it’s time to figure out where to put the shelving tracks. You may want to put in more tracks than we did.

It would depend on the weight of what you want to store on the shelves.

If you are going to build a closet, make sure you have figured out the variables for what you want to store.

 

 

Three back boards and 3 shelving tracks later, we are ready for brackets and shelving.

 

 

We spray painted white brackets with a pewter coloured spray paint.

The white ones were far cheaper than the pewter ones at the store, so we bought white and sprayed them.

 

 

 

You can see Graham still has his tools in there. That didn’t stop me from arranging some of my shoes.

I’m happy with the way it is all turning out. Underneath the bottom shelf is room for our weekender bags and cowboy boots.

We’ll make shelves for the right side of this closet too – we’re going to customize the height to hold my handbags.

A hanger for belts and scarves will go in the front corners and I think that will be it.

It is so nice to be able to finally organize and put away things. And the glass doors will keep everything dust free.

I would love to have a huge customized walk in closet, but I am very happy with these two closets.

Hopefully this project has spurred you on to build a closet to give you more storage space.

 

Our other Farmhouse Renovations:

 

Here’s how to fix and update that ugly stairwell to the basement

How to paint that ugly old grooved wood paneling and completely change the look of your room

If you’ve got an ugly counter, here’s how to paint your counter to look like granite

 

 

 

We had stopped working on the loft closet for a while. Then, on a road trip, we were at Home Depot looking for some garden sprinklers. 

Graham spotted a sale on glass paned wood doors and we thought they could work well for the closets.

We measured them up and decided they would work! We got them for a great deal ($52 per door).

 

 

So we bought them and were inspired to get going on the second part of the loft closet project.

Hey! Have you read the first part of our Closet in the Loft build? You may want to read that one first then come back to this second part.

 

Mounting the Doors on the Loft Closets

 

 

It turns out the hardest part of the door install was not actually installing the doors.

The hardest part was definitely carrying these heavy doors into the house and then up the stairs.

Four heavy doors. I needed a break after that!

It didn’t take Graham long at all to get these new doors mounted. He had to do just a bit of shimming to get them fitted properly.

The doors were mounted in minutes. This is where accurate measuring and a package of shims works wonders.

 

 

We are really happy with the way they look. The closet is turning out better than I had hoped.

Just wait till that one empty closet is all planned out and installed!

And now we can finally uncover all our hanging clothes. We had old bathrobes draped over them to protect them from the dust.

Now I need to come up with the shelving plan for that one closet. We are going to customize it for what we need (listed below)

• purses
• hats and scarves
• shoe storage
• cowboy boot storage
• luggage storage
• out of season clothing overflow

Trim work

 

 

A few small details – a bit finicky but part of the trim work. Graham trimmed around the light switch and outlets with wood.

Trim work always pulls a renovation together. I want everything trimmed out – it looks so finished!

 

 

He will put the trim up around the door edges. And I will sit down and figure out the custom shelves for the right hand closet.

We have to get flooring eventually, although I am not in a big hurry for the floor to be installed. I’m just happy we have doors.

We’re really happy with the way these closets are turning out. At least now we can keep the dust off the clothes.

 

 

 

Read the last part of this building project. Part 3 of Loft Closet can be found here.

 

Want to read about some of our other home renovations?

We fixed this UGLY stairwell and totally changed the look. And…now I’m not afraid to go down to the basement.

See how we totally updated our basement stairwell.

 

We got rid of that awful 70’s grooved wood paneling….without taking it down. Check out what we did.

 

If you’ve got an ugly counter top, check out what we did with ours! We painted the counter top to look like granite.

 

 

When the weather turns colder, it’s time to stay indoors more and get working again on home projects. One project was to build a closet with a sloped ceiling in our upstairs loft.

Here’s how we did that – and now we have lots of storage room for clothes, shoes and pretty much everything else we wear. If you’re looking for attic closet ideas, take a look at what we did to gain extra storage! If you have kids, this could also make a great storage for toys and games.

Here’s one of our projects. He built a closet for a sloped roof line in our loft. When we moved in here, there weren’t many closets at all in this house. So we have had to add them where we can.

 

Why a Sloped Ceiling Closet Build?

This is a great way to take advantage of empty space in your home and instantly increase your storage! An angled ceiling closet is fairly easy to install, and if you have any room with sloped ceilings and open floor space, this is a great way to utilize that for storage space.

With lots of options, this is a fantastic way to customize your own storage area. Once the closet is installed, there are lots of ways you can use the storage space inside.

• Screw hooks into the walls to hold jackets or shirts.
• Install shelves to hold shoes or other accessories.
• Purchase some large plastic bins to keep things contained but still visible.
• You could also stock your new walk-in closet with a chest of drawers or other useful furniture!

If you need more inspiration, Pinterest is a great place to see how people make the most use of even the tightest spaces. Search for sloped attic closet ideas and poke around to see what strikes your fancy!

Now, let’s get on to how to actually construct your built in closet.

 

How to Build a Sloped Ceiling Closet

Above our dining room is a loft. It’s roughly 8 feet by 14 feet in size. It’s right off our master bedroom so we have a door from the bedroom into this area.

That’s not a very good photo, but I wanted to show the layout. Dining room below and loft above.

It’s really the perfect place for a couple of nice big closets, which we sorely needed. An excellent location for our slanted ceiling closet build!

The black pipe is the stovepipe from the woodstove. I am standing at the top of the stairs. Earlier, I had painted the walls of the loft before Graham started the construction.

Once the closets are in and all the work is done, he will use his sawmill to cut a nice wide piece of pine. We will nail that on the wall from the ledge to the ceiling. Then I will finish painting that bit of wall there and the whole project will be complete.

Sloped Ceiling Closet Build – Design the Closet

Basically, what we want to end up with are two closets along this wall. Each will have doors; inside the closet will be room for hanging clothes and also shelving for folded clothes, shoes etc.

Take your time to design your closet! Figure out what kind of storage you need and want and think about how you can achieve everything you want.

Take into account the depth of the closet. Is it possible to make it another 8 inches deeper, so you can utilize the space under your hanging clothes for larger, bulkier items?

For instance, we are able to store our luggage and extra blankets on the floor space under our clothes.

Draw up the Closet Plan

Draw up the plan on graph paper, so you can take the measurements and figure out the wood you will need. Tip: be sure to have one of your closet studs in the correct vertical position to later use this stud for attaching the closet rods.

Take your lumber list to the building supply and grab what is needed.

Closet Doors

Closet doors come in standard sizes, so check to be sure you know what those sizes are. This is so you can draw up your closet plan correctly, knowing the total measurements for the closet door openings. 

Since we had already bought the doors, we had to build the openings around the door measurements.

Note: Be sure that your closet doors are going to fit within your door openings. If you are out an inch, you can use shims. But plan ahead!

 

The first thing he did to build a closet with a sloped ceiling (a bit of a pain!) is to install the exterior walls of the closet, up against the existing wall. Graham built the exterior wall out of 2 x 4 lumber, cutting them to fit the slope of the ceiling. 

Finishing the Closet Interior

After the framing, he started to add the inside pine paneling on the walls. Then he worked on the electrical wiring. We wanted to have one light fixture in each closet. We also needed a light in the loft walkway.

Next was installing the closet rod, which is pretty easy to do – just be sure to mount the bracket hardware in a stud of the new closet framing.

The one closet has just the closet rod in it and there is enough room in there to hang all our hanging clothes. Since there’s also a small closet in the master bedroom, we now have enough room for the clothes we need on hangers.

Eventually, he will add the closet doors. Until that time, we just hung hooks and ran string along. I found two bed sheets with a wide top hem, opened up the sides of the casing and ran the rope through them. That will help to keep the clothes clean until we get the doors on.

And we will put down laminate flooring to match what is on the main floor – oak. Laminate flooring is such an easy floor to maintain.

 

Storage Solutions for Purses, Hats, Shoes

For the other closet, I am going to try to design it so we have space to put things like boots, purses, scarves, etc. I will take my time with planning it so we will have room for all of our accessories.

The closet looks really nice with all that pine board. It’s going to look fantastic when we have this finished.

We also have a LOT of “other season” clothes. You know what I mean, we have basically whole wardrobes for summer and winter.

We do a lot of layering up here when it starts getting cold. As a result, we have lots and lots of clothes. So those clothes need a place to live in off season.

I’m thinking it would be great to have two or three shelves to run along the back of this closet. That way we could keep the off season clothing on the shelves there. We could even run a shelf higher up, so we would have more sloped ceiling storage.

We could also run the shelves around the corner, so that two-thirds of the closet would be in shelves. And it’s a nice deep closet, so there should be plenty of room. This should take care of all the clothes.

Then, if we leave the other side more open, maybe we could customize some closet shelves there to hold the purses, belts, scarves etc. with all the shoes and  boots down below.

 

Keep reading for the second part of how to build a closet with a sloped ceiling where the doors get hung.

 

Part 2 of Sloped Ceiling Closet Build 

 

 

 

More Home Renovation Articles

 

• Got a really UGLY staircase that needs fixing? Read about our Stairwell Transformation – you won’t believe the “Before” picture!
• Here’s how we changed old ugly lime green (!) counters to look like Granite for under $150 – How to Paint your Counters to look like Granite.
• Is your house stuck in the ’70’s with ugly wood paneling. Here’s how to Paint Grooved Wood Paneling to completely change the look of your home.

 

This post was originally published back in 2009, updated in July 2024.

What can you do when you buy a house that has really ugly formica kitchen countertops? You could remove the counter tops and put brand new ones in their place. That can become expensive, but…if you’ve ever wondered “can Formica be painted?” Yes it can!

Painting over formica is a pretty cheap way to change up the look of your kitchen. We did it for under $100 with a great product found on Amazon.

Here’s how to paint a counter top and completely change the look of the kitchen.

 

 

Why we needed a DIY Painted Counter

We made our counter top look like Granite. But first let me show you just WHY we felt so strongly about changing out the colour of the kitchen counter. It won’t take long for you to understand our reasoning.

 

 

Yup, seriously. Welcome to the ’70’s! This kitchen was in our small place in California. It was built in the early 1970’s – you think the counter top is crazy?

This was a popular color for formica countertops back then. Check out the wallpaper in those bottom cabinets! Double Crazy!

I wasn’t living in a place with a lime green counter top. No way, sorry. I woke up to this screaming at me for a few weeks. We looked into replacing the counter top. There was only one problem…

 

 

The counter is curved, here’s a closeup. That ruled out heading to the home improvement store and getting a stock counter, right?

We would have to order a custom counter top and that would be pretty expensive. A custom counter would also take weeks to get delivered. We had to find another way.

 

Painting Formica Countertops to Look Like Granite

And that’s when I read about this Giani Countertop Paint Kit – it includes both the primer and paint you need.

We had to go searching high and low for it, but later I found that you can buy the kit on Amazon.

Giani Countertop Paint Kits

The Giani countertop paint kit is perfect for updating your Formica counters in the kitchen or bathroom. Whether you’re painting bathroom countertop or painting Formica kitchen cabinets, this process will work.

This wasn’t a hard project, but it does take several days. You have to do a lot of prep work (which makes sense, right?)

Graham removed the stove top and the sink. He removed the caulk at the top of the backsplash. Then we scrubbed the counter down with TSP, a rag and SOS pads. Using TSP really helps to clean up any grease that may be on the counters.

Right before we started the painting, we again were sure to wipe the counters again, to be sure they were free of any dirt or dust.

We used Painter’s Tape to mask all the edges. There were some deep scratches or nicks in the counter, so we had to patch them with wood patch. We let it dry and then sanded it down nice and smooth.

 

Primer – Painting Formica Countertops

OK, ready for painting. The first coat was just black primer for the background.

 

 

Absolutely everything you need (aside from prep work) is included in the Giani Kit. Using the foam roller included (which works better than a paint roller), Graham rolled it on in 3 foot sections. Use even strokes and ensure there is always be a wet edge.

You only need to put one one coat of primer! Don’t put on multiple coats of paint, and you shouldn’t have to; the coverage is really excellent. The one coat covered that old lime green counter top really well.

Take a really good look at the entire counter when you have finished painting the primer. You need to make sure the old counter top doesn’t show underneath at all.

Let the paint dry for 8 hours. It is really important to let the primer dry completely. We took a lot of time with this kitchen project. We really wanted to be sure to give the paint lots of time to dry.

 

Sponge Painting Formica Countertops

Now here comes the fun part. I admit I was a bit nervous to get started on this part – the sponging! But really it was easy to do it and once you get in the groove, just keep on going until you are done.

 

 

Ready for Sponging

I used a paper plate to hold small amounts of paint and cut the included sponge into several smaller pieces.

Working in small sections, I sponged one color of paint at a time. There are 3 colors included in the kit and you can work with them at the same time or sponge them on one at a time.

I practiced a bit on the paper plate before starting on the actual counter. The only tricky part is to keep it even as you go along. As in if you’re going to dab that much over here, you also need to dab that much over there.

Know what I mean? That’s how you get it looking like granite. Don’t push with the sponge, just lightly dab the paint on. Once you are done and satisfied with the way it looks, let it dry for 4 hours. (We left it alone overnight.)

 

 

At this point, it was time to pull out the sander and sand the counter top. It has to be sanded smooth because the sponging leaves raised bumps all over the counter. Graham used 600 grit sandpaper. After he finished, I wiped down the surface and we got ready for the final step.

 

Ready for the Sealer Coat

Included in the kit is the topcoat. Using the roller included in the kit, we applied the sealer coat. We made sure to keep a wet edge. After letting it dry for 4 hours, we put one final topcoat on.

 

(A close up of our finished counter – ignore that bright spot, that is just a reflection)

 

There is no need to sand the counter again before the second coat. Then we removed the Painters Tape and walked away. We left the counter alone for a few days, but Giani says you can use the counters in 24 hours.

Still, we waited several days before putting the coffee maker and toaster back on the counter.

 

 

What do you think? One of the great things about using this product is that every counter top will look different. Yours will look different than mine, because two different people are doing the sponging.

Giani has several different kits with a variety of colors. We wanted ours to have the dark background but you can choose the kit with a light background if that is what you would like.

And here is the finished kitchen….

 

The Finished Kitchen

 

 

We were really happy with the way it turned out.

The best part? Under $100. Believe it!

We managed to completely change the look of the kitchen for under $100. And it really does look like granite.

We were so glad to get this countertop coating project done; it didn’t take long and it completely transformed the kitchen. And I even like the curved counter top now!

So if you have a house that needs a little updating when it comes to the counter top, think about trying this instead of going to the expense of installing new counter tops.

If you are going to paint formica countertops, I really recommend this Giani Kit. It is durable, looks great and is easy to clean with soap and regular cleaners.

We even had enough left from the kit that we could do the bathroom vanity. Bonus!

Painting Formica Countertops FAQ’s:

What is the difference between painting formica countertops and painting laminate countertops?

Nothing. The only difference is the terms that are being used. Formica is a brand name, whereas laminate is the name of the actual material. 

What if I want to have a marble countertop instead of granite countertop?

If you want a marble look rather than granite, Giani has a Marble Countertop Kit – you use a very fine paintbrush to paint veins in various shades on the counter.

What kind of paint can I use to paint a laminate countertop?

Since laminate and Formica are essentially the same thing, using this Giani kit is the perfect way to go!

 

Painting Formica countertops is one of the cheapest and easiest ways

to completely update your kitchen and bathroom.

 

Interested in our other home renovation projects for homeowners?

 

How to Fix Up That Ugly Stairwell – You HAVE to see this “before” picture; that stairwell was scary and super ugly!

Building Closets in the Loft – we needed more closet space and so we turn the loft off of our master bedroom into a spacious closet area.

How to Paint Over Ugly 1970’s Wood Paneling – we had to. We just had to.

We brightened up the entire house with this very simple project!

 

 

 

originally published 2018; latest update December 2022

 
It’s easy to paint wood paneling and it can totally brighten an older home!

See how we updated an older dark home that has veneer paneled walls – the whole house became a lot lighter and brighter! This is one of our least expensive home renovations. So, if you are on a tight budget and need to brighten up old wood walls, keep reading!

 

Can You Paint Wood Paneling?

Yes you sure can paint wood paneling! And in our case, it would have almost been a crime to not paint our wood paneled walls. Because they were ugly and darkened our old house so much, we had to have interior lights on all day long.

A lot of older houses still have that crappy 1970’s wood paneling covering some (or all) of the walls. This stuff was all the rage at that time – it was going up in living room and basement rec rooms across the country. This stuff….

 

 

 

But now? It looks so ugly; it made the house so dark and frankly, depressing. And it’s not solid wood; it’s a veneer. It’s ugly and low budget.

How to Paint Wood Paneling

So I had to figure out how to paint paneling. And you know, it wasn’t that hard to do. And we love the way it turned out.

I cannot stand that wood paneling,  even though it does bring back good memories. Those parties we had in the basement when we were teenagers – those were the days! But now, we found ourselves in a house covered in that grooved wood paneling and it just HAD to be dealt with. It had to go.

 

Sure, it would have been easy to rip the paneling off the wall. I could have done it by myself. That stuff is as light as can be.

But, then what are you going to do? Because once it’s been pulled down there is only one way to go. Cover the studs again with something, right? That is expensive – using drywall would end up be fairly costly. There goes many thousands of dollars.

 

Here is the easiest solution to completely change the look of your house that has this type of paneling. Just paint it. Seriously, save yourself tons of money. Just paint it – it will brighten and clean up the whole interior. Here’s how to get started!

Preparing wood paneling for painting:

A huge part of any painting job is the prep work. The actual painting doesn’t take that long but you end up with a much better job because you took the time to prep properly. It’s up to you, but I think prep is pretty important.

Completely empty the room of furniture and everything else. Grab some old bed sheets or buy some drop cloths and spread them over the entire floor.

Find the Painter’s Tape. If you have to buy some, don’t buy the narrow stuff – go for at least the medium width one. I prefer Painter’s Tape over masking tape, as it comes off cleaner without any damage to the paneling.

I get the wide tape. Also, buy some Spackle wood filler and a putty knife.

 

 

 

Start by filling any holes with the Spackle. I always find little tiny nail holes in these walls; you want to find them all! Nail holes will show up really well (too well!) once the wall is painted, so cover them all.

Let the Spackle dry completely and sand lightly. Run your hand over the sanded area; if it feels like a smooth surface, you’re done. If not, more sanding is needed.

I liked to fold my sandpaper and get the fold right in the groove. It makes the sanding go much easier and faster too. Be sure to use a fine grit sandpaper.

Grab your vacuum cleaner. I never wash wood paneled walls before painting. But they do get vacuumed off, every inch of every single wall. You can wipe your walls, trim and mouldings down with an all purpose cleaner if you would rather do that than vacuum.

This gets all those little spider webs in the corner or dust and dirt that has collected on the wall (which especially happens with rough paneling). If you have grease or grime on the paneling, you will have to wash the area. Use trisodium phosphate (TSP) and a damp cloth or sponge and dry the wall really well after washing.

 

Taping edges of ceiling

Tape every single edge that you don’t want painted. Every. Single. Edge. Yes, total pain but if you do it, it will pay off in the long term. You won’t be scraping off bits of paint that ended up on the ceiling edge or bottom baseboards.

Cleanup will be a breeze, because you just need to fold up your drop sheets and carefully remove the tape from the edges. Boom. Done.

 

 

Can Paneling be Painted without Sanding?

WHY would anyone bother sanding wood paneling? Yes, it can be painted bare. It should be. I can think of no good reason why anyone would go to all that work? It would take hours, cause huge dust storms in the house and in the end what would you have?

You would have crappy wood paneling, just like you had in the beginning. So, yes you can paint paneling without sanding it first! If you really feel you need to sand the panelling, go for it. Be sure to wear a mask and eye goggles to keep the dust out of your mouth and eyes.

Now you are ready for your first coat of paint. You want to go with thin coats, resulting in a smooth finish.

You are going to need a lot of latex paint. I am not kidding. Wood paneling is so porous it will suck up every little drop of paint it can get.

You’re looking at several coats of paint to get the job done. I put on three coats; it’s a lot but the walls needed it. Use a latex primer paint with a stain blocker. We used a satin finish, as a gloss would be too shiny. That paneling has been there for decades and will definitely benefit from a stain-blocking primer.

Here’s a really good tip I always use when using primer:

Priming the walls is important. Primer is not quite the same as paint, but here is a tip: Get the paint people to “half tint” your primer. What I mean is take the paint color for your finished walls, and get your primer tinted by half.

Your primer will be half as dark as the topcoat paint. This hides a lot of imperfections on the wall itself. Another bonus is sometimes you can get away with fewer top coats!

Grab some paintbrushes – get the nice angled ones as they work great for the grooves.

 

How to Paint Paneling with Grooves

With the room taped off and the floor covered, it’s time to crack open the tinted primer. Use your brush to paint the grooves themselves. Try to keep the paint inside the groove. It’s not that easy but make sure you’re not leaving gobs of paint on the smooth part of the panels.

Feather out with your brush to spread any paint that ends up on the smooth panel. Be sure to smooth any excess drips, using the paintbrush. There is so much ladder work for this job, you probably won’t have to do squats for a week!

Once you get the wall done, grab your paint roller and paint that entire wall with the primer paint. Of course, try and get even coverage over the whole wall. One thing about paneling, it dries really fast – there’s even a chance the beginning will be dry by the time you get to the end of the wall.

Here’s another thing – that wood wall is sucking in all that paint, right? Two coats of primer helps.

At this point, it’s up to you whether to put the second coat of primer on. I did, but really, it depends on the coverage on your wall and how dark the wood was underneath. Make your decision and get the rest of the walls painted.

 

 

After your coat(s) of primer, it’s time to break open your top coat. Remember at this point, the wall will probably look awful. Primed paint covering over old wood is just not a good look. But wait, because here comes the real change.

Painting the Top Coat

Start your top coat with using the brush to paint those grooves again. It should be a pretty fast job now, with two coats already on there. Then paint the wall with the top coat.

Let it dry really well and then take a good look. Is the coverage great or does it perhaps need one more coat?

 

When the painting is finished, wait a few hours and then carefully pull all the tape down. Here’s the after photo from above. The job is done! Just move some furniture back and start decorating. Look at the difference it makes!

Painting Wood Paneling in the Living Room

 

 

How depressing this looked when we first moved our stuff in there! This was the family room, right off the entry. The enclosed porch you saw earlier is right outside that living room window.

The paneling made the whole house so dark and dreary. Take a look at the difference after painting the paneling!

Painting the wood paneling made quite the difference didn’t it? Look how much brighter it is in the living room. We removed the drape as well and we really liked the room so much better.

This project cost us about $700 – we did almost the entire house.

About $650 was spent on paint – the rest on paint brushes, foam roller and tape. Every square inch there was paneling was painted over. We were so happy with the way it turned out. Give it a try!

Paint wood paneling and brighten up your entire room!

Other home renovations we’ve written about:

 

Fix Up That Stairwell Landing – want to see something really scary? Take a look at THIS before photo!

Building Loft Closets – We desperately needed more closet space. Here’s what we did to change our loft into a large closet space.

How to Paint a Counter to Look like Granite – This job takes a few days (mostly to allow paint to dry) but the difference this will make in your kitchen or bathroom is unbelievable!