Girl Meets Drill

Knock! Knock! Not “Who’s there?”, but “What’s in there?” - That’s how it all started.

I had always wondered if that column between my dining room and my living room served any purpose other than provide an occasional moment of entertainment when a distracted someone ran right into it. I decided that some exploratory drywall surgery was in order. I found that between a healthy set of doubled up 2×4’s and some electrical wiring, there was quite a bit of what I consider usable space. Unthinkable! Perfectly usable space that isn’t used for storage or display? Not in MY house.
Out came the drawing board, shopping list and wallet. After a week of home improvement therapy in my spare time (aka working with saws, drywall, and electrical wiring, switches and fixtures) we are looking at the start of a much more usable space. One that still holds up the master bedroom on the second floor AND provides some storage space coupled with display space for art or pictures.

The idea was this: Open up the center of the column to insert glass shelves at the top and wooden shelves for the lower area with a closed cabinet in the bottom that would hold non-display items. The items on the glass shelves would be illuminated by a spotlight. I would also install a wall lamp on the outside wall toward the living room to make reading on the chair next to the column a little easier on the eyes.

I attached some pictures below of where my adventure has taken me so far: (forgot to take the “before” picture!)
1. First I created a series of scale drawings of what I was envisioning. It’s amazing how many times I scrapped a project because what I wanted the space to look like just didn’t pan out in scale. In this case, everything passed muster.
2. Then I went shopping :-). I bought a sheet of drywall, drywall screws, a recessed spotlight, a wall lamp, dimmer switches (I love mood lighting), some joint compound, corner bead, primer, and texture spray. I still had some electrical wire and drywall/painting related stuff laying around from another project.
3. I removed the “excess” drywall between the corner 2×4 structures - taking care not to cut the electrical wires - in effect “hollowing” out the column for the most part, leaving some space closed on the bottom of one side for a cabinet that can hide some stuff that shouldn’t necessarily be seen. I thought that the top of the closed space should coincide with the top of a ledge I am envisioning at armrest height for the chair just under the wall lamp.
4. Then it was time to reposition an electrical switch and “borrow” some of its power for the spotlight and the reading light on the other side of column.
5. I took some of the removed drywall and used it for the “ceiling” into which I installed a recessed spotlight. Why not recycle, right?
6. I then installed new drywall for the inside walls and glued corner beads onto all corners for a nice finished look. Why can’t they build houses so corners and walls are square and straight? I had quite a bit of fun getting everything aligned - sort of.
After the spackling dried, I applied primer and texture - the ever-fun “knockdown” texture (why does that stuff have to smell so weird?)
7. I then cut the pieces for the bottom of the opening and the top of the cabinet out of MDF and finished the edges with some hardwood scraps. The idea is to paint it in the same trim color as other wood trim in the room.

What’s next?

1. Order some glass shelves for the “opening”
2. Make the wood shelf and the door for the cabinet - note to self: get some door hinges.
3. Paint the wall areas
4. Install the wall light - it’s on order and should be here in about a week or so.
5. Install the glass shelves - gotta think of a creative way to install shelf supports for that minimalistic look.

Stay tuned for part 2 …