I’ve been thinking about updating our dress-up corner ever since the girls had a vintage style photo session at their school at the beginning of the year. (Vintage preschool photos are all the range around here, two of the three preschools we’ve gone to have done them.) I loved the idea of hanging one of their photos in the dress-up corner, which had turned into a pile of clothes since the coat hanger really isn’t enough storage space any more.

For the makeshift dresser I used a cheap, two tiered bookshelf. Cheap was an important criteria as I knew I’d be destroying it in the process of converting it into a dresser and I hate to destroy anything I spend money on.

I lowered the shelves and converted them into a two tiered shoe rack, attached hooks to the side of the bookshelf for accessories and strung a tension rode strung across to hold the clothes. Easy Peasy.

I had intended to use the pre-drilled holes the bookshelf came with, but they were two high for the shoe rack. The second shelf (obscured partially by the clothes) was at the lowest set of pre-drilled holes. Even as it is, that shelf is a bit high for four year old clothes, really. Many of the capes especially hang over the edge of that shelf. To create the holders for the second, lower, shelf I screwed four wood screws into the wood, leaving them to protrude about a quarter inch for the shelf to rest on. I picked screws with heads about the same width as the pegs, so the shelf grooves would fit over them. I didn’t bother doing a very thorough job of the placement of the shelf. I lined it up where I wanted it to go, and used one of Nick’s crayons to mark the shelf grooves before screwing in the screws.

To hold the superhero masks (because every child needs a super hero mask or 10!) I used wall hooks. The screws that came with the wall hooks were far too long for thin bookshelf wood, so I just glued ’em on (E6100, my trusty standby). I used masking tape to help hold the hooks steady while the glue was drying. Not the most elegant solution, but it works well enough.

The picture that started it all. Aside: If you want to take a photo of a picture frame, but your reflection keeps getting in the way, get a longer lens and stand further back. From a distance you can stand slightly to the side of the frame rather than directly in front and have minimal distortions.

I’m very happy with the way this project turned out. It got the dressup clothes off the floor is a nice, organized manner and looks nice. Now if only I could find a simple solution for the rest of my house…

Dresser Material Costs:
2 Foot Wide Black Bookshelf – $17.99
2 Sets of Wall Hooks – $3.99 (x2)
Tension Rode – $2.97
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Total: $28.94

Oval Picture Frame ($18)

Painting the playroom is still on my todo list.

Posted in For the Home