We're Going to be Bankrupt Soon

I mean, it's not as if we have far to go, and since I now understand why people spend too much money on power tools, it won't be much longer until I buy myself a workshop-full.

Not really.

But I did enjoy working on this little project, about which EVERYONE who's come into even minimal contact with me this summer is thoroughly sick of hearing.

I only let these two help at the very end because I felt guilty for hogging all the fun. Plus, they'd been begging for a couple of hours.

It looked pretty good when it was done,

better yet when the natural wood was painted to match the free painted wood,

and then suddenly didn't look so great as soon as I piled 8 children's-worth of fancy clothes, sweatshirts, jackets, and miscellany thereon.

There. That's better. (And it hasn't looked that good since.)

For those who asked in person, here are the basic plans I adapted to fit our space and needs. I think the designer is like a baker who writes recipes assuming everyone who reads them will know how to bake, but if I, as an amateur, can muddle through, you can, too!

Notes:

I pre-drilled the holes and dipped the screws in wood glue before I used them, hoping for additional stability, and as much as I love the look of the metal industrial piping Ana White used, it's far too expensive. I just used wood dowels and standard pole hardware attached to 2x4 stabilizers flipped on end, which cut the cost significantly. The whole shebang cost me just over $80, and it was worth every penny. (I used a gift card to buy the baskets on top, the baskets on the inside were hand-me-downs, and the white baskets underneath aren't baskets at all. They're re-purposed drawers from a dresser we bought when we only had two children.)