I don’t know about you, but I like to wear jewelry. So did my great aunt, which means I inherited many of her things. I also like to support local artists and festivals, which means I tend to buy many pieces. All of this means – I have a LOT of jewelry.
I have one of those freestanding jewelry armoires. Very similar to this:
It’s nice, but it has flaws:
- Doesn’t hold all of my items
- Takes up floor space
- You can’t put the earrings in easily
- There’s no mirror visible when you are selecting pieces, which means constantly opening and closing the door
- The door opens at an angle, which means all the necklaces move around more than they should
While I was rebuilding my primary bathroom and closet, I decided to solve my jewelry storage problem. I did a lot of thinking and searching around online for ideas. I landed on doing something built into the wall. Since I was basically rebuilding both rooms from scratch, I had the ability to do so during the framing stage.
Blank canvas:
I went to Ikea and got some parts from their PAX organizer collection. This is what I purchased:
- KOMPLEMENT Drawer, gray-beige, 39 3/8 x 22 7/8″ (505.090.72)
- KOMPLEMENT Pull-out tray, gray-beige, 39 3/8 x 22 7/8″ (405.090.96)
- KOMPLEMENT Shelf, gray-beige, 39 3/8 x 22 7/8″ (405.090.39)
- KOMPLEMENT Insert with compartments, light gray, 15 3/4 x 20 7/8×2″ (504.040.27)
- KOMPLEMENT Storage with 4 compartments, light gray, 9 7/8 x 20 7/8 x 2″ (504.040.32)
- KOMPLEMENT Insert for jewelry, light gray, 9 7/8 x 20 7/8 x 2″ (304.040.28)
- KOMPLEMENT Drawer liner, light gray, 35 x 20 7/8″ (304.055.65)
- KOMPLEMENT Box, light gray, 6 x 10 ½ x 4 ¾ ” (005.617.36)
I build the drawer mostly following the manufacturer’s instructions. Once this was built, I had the template for the built-in part. Then I used the exact box to frame around it when putting the wall together. I built the wall on the floor and framed around the box itself. That ensures a very accurate and snug fit, which is what I wanted. Fortunately, I was using 2″x 6″ framing for the walls, so the depth of the box was equal to the wall frame plus drywall. Perfect!
Once I got the wall in place, I did a test fit to make sure it still worked. Success!
Now I had to actually build the jewelry box. I used the flat shelf and shallow drawer to make the doors for the box. I used piano hinges to connect both on one side so it would open like a book with two pages.
Note: the piano hinges I used were not strong enough and it does sag a tiny bit. I was constrained by the depth of the sides so I don’t think I could have used stronger ones. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I made sure the hinges were attached to the box before it was placed in the wall. I didn’t think I would be able to reach them once it was in its final resting hole, and I was right!
I installed the drywall before screwing the frame into place.
For the inside, I knew I wanted to have as much storage as I could get. I also wanted it to hold thick necklaces, thin necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. Fortunately, the Ikea pieces were designed to hold jewelry, just on a different axis than what I was building! The Ikea parts also included felt liners. I glued these down first with wood glue (and I got some on top in a few places – oops!). Then I glued and screwed in all the other inserts I wanted. I put in a lot of cup hooks! There’s actually room for more, if I need it. I didn’t count all of my jewelry first. Because if I have extra room, that means I can get more jewelry! If I don’t have enough room, it may be time to prune.
The final touch was adding magnets to each door and the base, to keep it together tighter. Since there is a bit of sag, it didn’t stay closed otherwise.
I still have to figure out how to attached the clear plastic earring holders. I have an idea to put both of them, one on top of the other, on the right side. They fit against the box. Then I need to figure out how to make them swing outward. I want to be able to access both sides so I can put in earrings that have short posts with backs.
Here’s the in-progress and current state photos:
