Before we bought the farm, we had to remodel and sell our previous home. During the remodel, the house was uninhabitable. So, as a family, we made a pretty extreme decision. Liam, Jonah (16), Sam (12), Grace (11), Diarmuid and Grainne (120 lb dogs), Killian (a fat bossy tabby cat), and I all moved into a medium-sized RV or caravan.
Our RV had a small bedroom with sliding doors for Liam and I. The kids slept in three bunks on the opposite end. A fourth bunk held totes with all their clothes. The dogs mimicked wall-to-wall carpeting, while the cat slept…wherever he wanted. There was one shoebox bathroom, and our campsite had private showers.
RV living with teens, preteens, and a menagerie is not for everyone. The fact that I’m a day-sleeper made it tougher. However, since we all wanted to save up for a farm, we were determined to make it work. It ended up working very well. We chose to stay in the RV for just over 16 months! Take-home point: You have to REALLLLLY like the people you live with when you share an “itty-bitty living space!”
By the time we moved to the farm, we were ready for a little more space and a lot more privacy. Grace had shared a 6’x8′ sleeping area with two teenage boys. I know it was challenging for all of them, but Jonah was old enough to go to the site’s bunkhouse for a respite. Sam, on the other hand, was newly withdrawn from a bad and bully-filled public school. He used the time to decompress. However, Grace loves tidiness, privacy, and pretty things. So, sharing a space with perpetually present brothers was frustrating.
The kids were thrilled that our farmhouse has bedrooms for all. Two of them even got private baths. Grace was brimming over with ideas about organizing and decorating her space! I’ll show pictures of her bedroom later, but now, I want to talk about her closet. Yes, the closet.
Grace’s closet was huge and weird. There’s a window…in the closet. Seriously, who puts a window in a closet? Also, Grace didn’t need that much space to store clothes. Her things fit neatly into a dresser and wardrobe. So, we decided to design our privacy loving, habitually nesting, artistic girl a sanctum sanctorum.
Note: Please excuse the bad and blurry photos. They’re several years old and were taken before we had plans to create a blog. Here are a few shots of the closet before we moved in:
This is where we built the desk. 
The random weird window. 
The wall opposite the desk.
The first step from closet to “artist’s retreat” was to create a built-in desk. One side of the room was perfect for a large desk. We measured my desk and determined the hight we wanted. We subtracted 1″ from our desired height and ran a support rail of 1×6″ lumber around the area. The top of the rail was at the ‘desired desk height minus 1-inch’ mark. We were careful to make the rail level, and we secured it to the studs with 3″ screws. Where there was no stud, we used 3/16″ toggle bolts.
We used project boards for the desktop. They didn’t come wide enough for the desk size we wanted. So we used one 1×12″ at the back and a 1×18″ for the front. This gave Grace an 18″ writing/drawing surface with no seams and a 12″ area for supplies. We dry-fitted the pieces to ensure proper fit. Then, I stained and polyurethaned them.
Back project board dry-fitted. 
Wide front section dry-fitted
I wanted to create an ‘under-the-desk’ shelf for Grace’s piano keyboard. This way, it’s out of sight, but can be pulled out and placed on the desk for practice. So we used more 1×6″ to create non-weight-bearing supports on each side and in front. I don’t have a great picture showing these, but you can ‘sort of’ see the supports in the picture below.
I painted the side pieces and a 1X6″ piece to make the center. Liam cut two other 1×6″ pieces and a piece of 1×2″. The 1×2″ fit between the non-weight-bearing side supports, and the 1×6″s ran from wall to wall under the rails. The 1×2″ was screwed onto the back edge of a 1×6″ to form a backstop. Then both 1×6″ planks were screwed under the desk and into the side rails at the wall. (Liam did this part while I was outside staining, so I have no pictures.)
Note: The weight of the shelves is supported by the rails secured to the wall. The center supports are not connected to the shelf. However, the supports rest on the shelf and are supported by it.
Finally, we used piano hinge to connect the last 1×6″ to the front of the shelf. This gives the illusion of a solid front with drawers on each side. We ran trim around the desktop’s edges for a more finished look. Later, we added an upper backstop and hardware for the center compartment flap.
This was an easy build. In fact, the project was completed in a day. The project boards cost about $50. The rest of the lumber was stock pieces. The total build was under $100. (However, we already had the hardware.) We could have used stock 1×6″ lumber for the top, to make the project less expensive. However, it’s important that Grace has an uninterrupted surface for art and school. I’m not a handy(wo)man, but I designed the project. Liam and I built it together. If you aren’t particularly handy but want to be, this might be a good straight-cuts and simple screws learning project.
Grace loves the results! It’s been almost five years since we built the desk. She uses it daily, and it has held up beautifully! This post is the first of a few I’m planning about Grace and her refusal to come out of her closet. I’ll be back soon with the rest of the conversion from boy’s space to girly haven. Please join me!
Do you have any easy woodworking projects that you love? Have you made unorthodox use of any spaces in your home? Does your kid refuse to come out of her closet? I’d love to hear your stories!
This post has been shared at some of our favorite blog hops! Please take a moment and click the links below to check out some of the great things folks are sharing there!
The Simple Homestead Blog Hop #262
Encouraging Hearts and Home Blog Hop
To Grandma’s House We Go Blog Hop
Over the Moon Linky Party #228
