Well, I know you have all been waiting for this post!!!! Believe me, so have I! I will start at the beginning, here are the befores:

Ewwwww, you can see how awful looking they are! You can see allllll of our stuff. Not.Pretty. This has been a problem for the last year, but we weren’t sure if we should invest a lot, since we’re only renting, But when Hunky J and I renewed the lease for another year, this was the FIRST thing on our “to do” list! Here are is the after!!!

Here is quick half and half below! What do you think?? Love it? Hate it?

It took a little bit longer than we anticipated, but thats because we were so excited, we didn’t have all of our supplies (and we had to buy some better hinges), but here are some during photos!

First, we measured our bookcase. Luckily for us, the openings were 2’x 4′, so the standard sized panels from Home depot were perfect without cutting! Next, we decided on a moulding that “wood” blend in with the rest of the existing trim in the apartment. Hunky J is very quick with numbers, so he speedily figured out the lengths we would need, based on the offset distance we chose (4″ away from the edges, which would allow enough space for our handle and hinges). We used the cutting station on-site to mitre-cut all of the moulding, bought some liquid nails (so we didn’t have to buy a nail gun and nails…not yet anyway), and got some hinges, and headed home.

***Hinges: We spent a loooooong time looking for something that would be appropriate for what we wanted. This was actually the longest step, and the main reason it took us a little longer to complete the project. Home Depot had some decorative hinges that were not going to work, because we needed a hidden hinge that would not be seen when the doors were closed. We ended up leaving the store with some standard ones that we though may be good, but once we got home, realized that they would be too close to the edge, and not offer enough support. What we really needed were hinges that were short on the side that would be attached to the existing 1″ wood border, and a longer piece that would attach to the door and add stability. Our local hardware store had just what we needed, so we got them.

Our wood was so thin and lightweight on purpose so that we didn’t damage the existing wood with added weight, however, this made it obvious that once the screws went in, they were going to stick out of the front and look silly, so we got some cap nuts to cover them up. And we spray painted them black to match the handles, which you can see evidence of in this photo:

Ok, so anyway, we got home and attached the moulding with liquid nails.

Then taped it down and left it overnight to dry…

Don’t worry, there is a paper drop cloth underneath and we had the windows open for ventilation 🙂

So here they are again…