DIY Bookcase to Wardrobe for Charming Nursery Decor
Hey there! If you’re new to Rejoice About my name is Amanda and I love finding joy in the details of my home-centered life! I also love creating a beautiful home for my family in an affordable way. This post is all about how I turned a free bookcase into this charming custom wardrobe for my daughter’s room! Keep reading and I’ll tell you how I transformed this DIY bookcase into a wardrobe for charming nursery decororation.
I love a good furniture makeover as you can see from this paint-wash dining table makeover and my facelift of this farmhouse-style coffee table!
This time around I actually had a vision before I had the furniture piece. I wanted an open wardrobe for my daughter’s nursery to hang all her super cute and special outfits and wanted shelves to display little trinkets, books, and personal items.
Somehow my husband came across a post for a FREE bookcase in our neighborhood, he sent me a picture asking if I was interested. Little did he know the image I had swirling in my brain, and that this bookshelf was perfect!
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The bookshelf was an older style, a faux wood in a brownish-gray tone, and was missing its shelves on the top part. Nothing deterred me as I knew I had a vision and planned to transform it anyway.
After my husband brought the bookshelf home, I had him lay it down face up on some blocks in our backyard. This bookshelf is about 7 feet tall, so it was easier to work on it while it was lying down.
I first had to make sure this could function as a wardrobe, I tested the width with a children’s hanger to make sure it fit, and it did!
Prep and paint
I got to cleaning it with soap and water, thankfully it was in pretty good shape.
For this project, I took a different approach and tried spray paint primer instead of my typical Zinsser primer to cut down on project time.
It went on easily enough and doesn’t leave brush strokes which is a plus!
Once dried I sanded lightly to create a smooth surface for my paint.
I then began painting with my favorite black paint color, Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams.
For a quick finish time and to seal and protect the piece I used a spray top coat!
Once fully painted the real fun began, well fun to me that is 😉
Wallpaper
My vision was to use a pretty floral wallpaper on the inside wall of the wardrobe. Since we installed a half wall of floral wallpaper in the nursery, I chose the same design for a coordinated look.
Using spray adhesive I sprayed the back wall of the wardrobe to ensure my wallpaper would stick, then applied the wallpaper to it.
Shelves
Next up was the shelves themselves. Since they were missing, we had to make our own!
I measured the inside of the wardrobe from wall to wall and front to back. My husband then used some scrap plywood to cut out two shelf pieces.
Once the pieces were cut I needed to stain and seal them. I used Miniwax in Special Walnut to stain the shelf which matched the shelf we made along the wall in my daughter’s room, this created a nice cohesive look.
Since the original shelves were missing I also needed little pegs for the shelves to rest on, I measured the existing holes and ordered ones that fit.
If you need to create holes for this, find pegs that will work then drill the holes into your piece accordingly to match the sizes.
You could also use brackets instead of pegs but I used what made most sense for this project as there were pre-existing peg holes!
Rod for clothes
I was able to fit two shelves due to the height of the piece. I then had to figure out how to create a wardrobe system to hang clothes from my original vision.
After measuring the space inside to get my shelf specs, I went on the hunt for a rod system that could work for hanging clothes.
I decided on this wrap-around curtain rod which was the perfect length. I planned to attach it to the underside of the bottom wood shelf to create a curtain rod style.
This allowed space to hang the clothes with room from the bottom of the inside wardrobe.
Finishing touches on the DIY bookcase to charming Wardrobe
Once the rod was attached to the center of the bottom shelf, and the pegs were in place, we placed the shelves in the wardrobe for a complete look!
This bookshelf (now wardrobe) also had a drawer on the bottom which is a perfect place for storing extra blankets/shoes etc. I lined the inside drawer bottom with the matching wallpaper to bring it all together.
To match my theme I also decided to spray-paint the existing knobs on the drawer gold
Hanging baby girls’ sweet newborn clothes on the rod and adding all the trinkets and baby books to the shelves felt so special!
Steps to DIY a bookshelf into a charming wardrobe for nursery decor
- Find a piece of furniture that works for your space. Check thrift stores, Facebook marketplace, etc. The cheaper and in good condition the better!
- Prep/clean your piece
- Decide on the colors/theme you want to use
- Begin priming and painting, don’t forget a topcoat for lasting results
- Measure for shelves if needed and measure for the length of the curtain rod (order the curtain rod or create your own system)
- Install wallpaper or other designs if desired
- Attach the chosen rod system to the underside of the shelf or to the sides of the inner wall
- Put shelves in place
- Add finishing touches!
Working on this super sweet DIY nursery decor project for my baby girl’s room was so fun. We have since moved homes and the wardrobe is by far my favorite furniture piece in her new room. I Rejoice About it every time I rock her while looking at her now bigger clothes and toddler toys.
Did you find this DIY project helpful or inspiring? I would love to hear about your version in the comments below!
For more DIY inspiration visit these posts on our other home updates:
90’s Staircase transformation from particle board to chic, Affordable DIY open shelves, Affordable DIY wooden house number sign
Happy DIY’ing!
