DIY- Built in Dresser from a Secretary – One Room Challenge Week 4

Hi guys!  I am back today to share how we made a built in dresser from an old store dresser.  Ryan’s room is a little more than 8 feet wide with doorways on both ends so we knew early on that we had to be creative with how we planned his furniture.  We realized quickly that built ins were a must.  Last week I shared his built in bed and today I am sharing his built in dresser, desk and bookshelves.

I found this secretary at our local thrift store and I think I paid $35 for it.  At first we had it in our foyer but soon realized a built in entryway table would be better there.  The secretary then moved to Ryan’s room as a temporary dresser for him since the previous one he had was way too big for the space.

At first Jason wanted to built him a dresser from scratch but when we put this secretary against the wall to give us an idea of what the space would look like as built in we realized it was already the perfect size.  It would also save us a ton of money and time.  Win, win :).  Please ignore the huge pile of clothes on the floor.  We hadn’t yet figured out where to put his clothes when we were remodeling his dresser :).

We drew out a plan on paper of exactly how we wanted it to look.  Although, the plan changed a little it was a great starting point.

The first thing we did was take the secretary out to the garage.

Jason took off the top of the secretary and the baseboard trim first.  We had not done much to it since bringing it home and it definitely needed to be sanded down before painting it white.  We also took off the window trim in preparation for the bookcases we would be adding around the window.

Next up we cut and added the shelves around the window.

Then we painted the backs of the shelves and the rest of the dresser white.

The clothes are back in his dresser now and there is plenty of room few some school supplies too.

We cut a hole in the side of the dresser for cords to go through so Ryan can charge his laptop while working at his desk.

We are still debating adding a seat under the window that he could move around the room but for now we have a free curbside Ikea chair that Ryan uses when he sits at his desk.

We kept the inside of his desk wood because we thought it would hold up longer and we liked the contrast of the wood.

We also added new wood shelves to this wall nook that was already in the room.  For a kid that is constantly reading you can never have enough storage for his books :).

Although, we have made a ton of progress we still haven’t finished his room yet.

Here’s what we have done so far & what’s next:

• add bead board ceiling
• demo
• paint walls navy
• add wide pine floors
• add baseboard trim
• build a built in bed
• add new closet
• build bookcase, built in dresser and desk
• add a new doorway and door
• add a roman shade
• decorate and reveal

I am sharing our built in dresser from a secretary as a guest participant with the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda from Calling It Home.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see our progress for the ORC and the secretary turned build in dresser & desk,

Also sharing our secretary to built in dresser with Between Naps on the Porch & these other amazing blogs

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ORC Week 3 – Built In Bed

Built in Desk

DIY – Built in Entryway Table

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