Boho Attic Closet Update

I love converted attics so much. They feel like magical treehouses to me. When we were house hunting I oohed and ahhed whenever we went up into any top floor that had angled ceilings and little dormer windows. A lot of the time converted attics are a bonus space but since our house is about 900sqft, a significant portion of our usable space is in the attic. Jack’s bedroom is up here as well as our closet (because our bedroom “closet” is the size of a small coat closet and also houses our water heater).

This space has always had tons of potential in my mind but has tended to be a dumping ground for clothes and junk because it’s upstairs and I don’t spend much time up there. But I wanted to finally fix it up and give it some life and organization. My shoes have always been an annoying thing to store and took up way too much floor space so I built a quick and easy shelf to store them in a cute way!

I totally forgot to take a photo of our clothes rack on the opposite side of the attic, but it’s just a simple DIY pipe garment rack (I used Rachel Denbow’s Tutorial).

Find the DIY for the shoe shelf here!

Dresser + Rugs: Craigslist
Shoe Shelf: DIY
B+W Plant Baskets: Iris + Poppy and Joann Fabric
Peace sign print: c/o Vol 25

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DIY Triangle Shoe Storage Shelf

I knew I needed a better solution for my shoe storage and I wanted something cuter than just a bunch of cubbies, when I found a large version of this shelf on Pinterest (it was like a 6ft high version) I knew I wanted to make a small one that would fit beneath the angled ceilings of our attic closet. The wood for this was super affordable, and it only took about an hour and a half from start to finish to complete it!

What you’ll need:
2 8ft 2x2s
1 8ft 1x2
8 1.5 in screws
2 2 inch mending plates with screws
4 corner braces with screws
1 4ft 1x8 plank
1 6ft 1x8 plank
Drill
Skillsaw

1/ Using a skillsaw (or a handsaw) cut your 2x2s into four 41 inch long pieces for the ladder sides, and your 1x2 into four 11 inch pieces for the ladder rungs.

2/ Make a ladder by laying two 2x2s next to each other, marking a line 13 inches and 29 inches on each one. Separate the two sides and place the top of the 1x2 rungs at each line, screwing them to the 2x2s. The ends of the 1x2s should be flush with the sides of the 2x2s so the total depth of the ladder is 11 inches. Repeat for the second ladder. I pre-drilled the screw holes on the 1x2s because otherwise the screws would split the wood, so I recommend doing that.

3/ Use your flat brackets to attach the tops of the ladders to each other. Using a speed square, make sure the angle of the two ladders is 60º at the top where they meet. In order to keep them together while I got the angle right, I used clamps to hold the tops together and then used a piece of scrap wood and screwed it into the sides to keep the angle correct. If you have a friend helping, though, you can probably just use them to help hold the ladders together while you screw the brackets at the top.

4/ Place the planks on each shelf, the shorter one on the top shelf. Make sure they’re centered so that each side has the same overhang length. Use the L bracket and screw the vertical side to the inside of the 2x2, just below the shelf, then screw the horizontal side up into the bottom of the shelf, securing the shelf to the ladder. Do this on both sides for each shelf. I only put one L bracket on for each shelf, but you could put one on each side of the ladder for both sides of the the shelves if you want a little more security.

If you’ve screwed on a scrap piece of wood to the ladders to keep them at the right angle, you can unscrew that now. You’re all done!

I made sure that all the brackets were behind the wood so you don’t see them from the front, but that’s just me being nitpicky because #aesthetics.

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Curran Apple Orchard

There are a lot of really hard things about having a toddler, but in the past few months I’ve found a group of fellow moms with kids about the same age as Jack and it’s been super fun watching him forge friendships with other kids, and it’s been a godsend for me to have other women around me who GET it and are in the trenches too.

Fall has been extra fun this year as we get to do fall activities together! One mama put together an apple orchard field trip for us all, so we all trekked out to Curran Apple Orchard in University Place and learned about apples! It was super fun, even though Jack lost interest halfway through and charged off to explore the orchard on his own. And thankfully the weather was sunny, if brisk, until it started to drizzle right before we left.

Watching this kid discover the world is so fascinating and special. Next week we head to a farm field trip, and sometime this month we’ll hit up a pumpkin patch because duh. I can’t wait!

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