To begin…

I measured and 3D modeled every inch of the hallway. Including the trim! I needed to make sure whatever I built did not interfere with our ability comfortably move throughout the space or open things like our front load washer/dryer or existing coat closet. 3D modeling is something I have done for years as a part of my full-time job so it’s my go-to route for mapping everything out; walls, door frame, trim, outlets, all of it. I use Autodesk Fusion 360 and I could not recommend it more. And it’s free! Other people also use SketchUp which may be a little more user friendly for those not familiar with 3D modeling. However, you don’t NEED either of these to map out your build. Paper and pencil are always an option. Just remember to double check your measurements before every cut you make!

Once I had the hallway modeled, I began modeling the built-in. Here are some things we took into account as I began to work:

·         Shoes- How long are our shoes? How many pairs of shoes do we have? We wanted enough shelves for all the ones we had, as well as room for more in the future. How tall are my heels? We wanted a dedicated section for taller shoes like heels and boots. We only have a few of these types of shoes so I didn’t want all the shoe shelves to be this tall or it would cut into our upper storage space. Figure out what works best for you and your space!

·         How long is the longest coat we own? This is how we determined how tall to make the coat section.

·         What size containers do we want for upper storage? After knowing the depth of the build, shoe section, and coat section, I knew how much remained at the top for us to use for additional storage. From there, l searched for products that didn’t exceed this, and looked at what our options were. This helped me determine how many shelves we could fit above the coat section

·         Structural support- for a build of this height and length, we needed some additional support throughout. We made sure to map out the location of our wall studs, secure the built-in to these whenever possible, and create additional strength with two vertical pieces in the middle which divided the built-in into three equal sections. Without this, the middle/top section would sag due to a lack of support from below.

·         Grab n’ go items- we wanted some small shelving to hold things like our keys, wallet, sunglasses, etc. that we take right as we walk out the door and the first things we drop on the counter when we get home. I also wanted a place to hide some of our grab n’ go items that are not as aesthetically pleasing… so I designed these triangle drawers/bins, one for each of us.

·         ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS remember to account for the thickness of the material you are using!!!

From there I calculated all the materials I would need and, due to the cost, we decided to take a phased approach; lumber was $$$ when I built this!! We made sure we had all the money, plus 30% to account for any unforeseen costs, for a given phase of the build before we started.

Alex and I use You Need A Budget and they are phenomenal. We create categories and assign budgets to each of them at the beginning to the month. Things like our usual monthly expenses, essential purchases, personal funds to spend on whatever we want, and all our cards are linked to it, so we just categorize the charges as they come in.

I truly could not recommend more that couple build a budget together. we used to be stressed all the time because we lived paycheck to paycheck and didn’t know where all our money was going. At the beginning of 2021 I set out to find us a budgeting system that took out all the complication of budgeting and tracking and found YNAB. Alex and I were happy together before, but this has cut down on virtually all the arguments we used to have. It’s cut out the arguments around money, but it also cut out all the nitpicking we did about completely irrelevant things. Having a budget cut out a TON our stress and it turns out, we are much happier, easy-going partners when we aren’t busy worrying about our bills. 10/10 recommend, you will be SO GLAD YOU DID IT!