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I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a tidy person. Not even close. It’s why you’ll never see me post about cleaning routines or organisation. Normally my brain is so full and the day is so busy, that I just dump things as I go and clean up at the end of the week. My garage sees the worst of this because that’s my first port of call when I arrive home.
Exhibit A: My Garage Before
But a friend recently told me that if we simplify and give everything a home our brain doesn’t have to work so hard to a) put things away when we’re in a hurry and b) find things in a hurry. So with that in mind, I started the design for a Mudroom/ Catch All in our garage.
I wanted it to store EVERYTHING. School bags, hats, swimwear, beach things, surfboard accessories. And there needed to be a drawer for our high use tools. I also wanted the build to be easy. Because the garage is a high use area, I really didn’t want it to be out of action for very long while we constructed the mudroom. I opted to use units from Flexi Storage for a couple of reasons: they were super easy to find in store; fast to put together; they had a combination of drawers and shelves; and the cube units would be perfect for shoe baskets. I’ve had a few of their units for years and knew they would hold up well to the amount of wear and tear they would see in the garage.
In the end the project only took 3 days from start to finish and the best part is, it looks amazing.
Here it is, completed, in REAL LIFE.
You Will Need
Materials
2 x Flexistorage Walk-In Wardrobe 6 Shelf Units
2 x Flexistorage Walk-In Wardrobe 4 Drawer 3 Shelf Units
2 x Clever Cube 1×4 Unit
2 lengths of Structural Pine (we used 90mm x 45mm x 2m)
Hanging Screws (We used batten timber)
18 Adjustable Legs (available in packs of 4)
Screws for legs
Plywood
Moulded Skirting
Primed Cornice
Scrap Pine to attach Cornice to.
VJ Panelling
Nails
No More Gaps Interior Gap Filler
Spakfilla Rapid
Sandpaper – 200 grit
Paint – Dulux Aquanamel in Casper White Quarter
Handles
Coat Hooks
Equipment
Drop saw or Hand Saw and Mitrebox for angled cuts.
Circular saw if you have one
Hammer and Nailpunch (or Brad Nailer Gun).
Caulking gun.
Paintbrush, roller and tray.
Steps to Build a Mudroom
Step One: Measure your space. Make sure this combination will fit where you want it to, in particular under your garage door roller as this height can vary. The dimensions of this completed unit are: 400cm wide. 220cm high. 54cm deep. Remember you can omit some of the shelving if your space is smaller.
Step Two: Assemble your Flexistorage units and Clever Cubes. Once done they should look something like this (minus the top cube unit which isn't hung yet).
Step Three: Make plywood bases for the tall cabinets. I made one piece for each end (so two cabinets stood on each plywood plinth). Use a circular saw if you have one (or old school hand saw if not) to cut the ply to size. The dimensions we made them were 122cm x 48cm.
Step Four: Screw adjustable legs to the bottom cube unit and the plywood bases. Then stand cabinets onto bases.
Step Five: Anchor Cabinets to the wall using provided wall anchors.
Step Six: Attach two pieces of structural pine to the top cube unit, leaving a long overhang on each side. Then lift up into place and attach by screwing it into the tall cabinets. We also added some sideways screws for stability.
Step 8: Begin cutting your skirting trim. Remember to mitre the corners (cut on a 45-degree angle) to create a seamless look. Work slowly and remember the old saying “measure twice, cut once.” Nail the trim into place into the ply bases. Be sure to use a nail punch to hide those nail heads and make filling easier later.
Step 9: To attach the top cornice we first nailed some scrap pine to the top of the units so that we could easily attach the cornice to the pine with nails.
Step 10: Cut your VJ panelling to size and nail or screw it to the wall. I added a piece of pine to this section, to hang the hooks off. This is purely visual and if you don’t like it you can omit it.
Step 11: Fill, fill, fill! Round holes like those created from nails or screws can be filled with Rapid Filla. Straight seams like the join between trim and cabinet should be filled with No More Gaps in a caulking gun. I also filled the adjustable shelf holes that run down the cabinets too. Once dry, sand any excess filler until smooth.
Step 12: Paint the trim using Aquanamel in the colour Casper White Quarter. If you want to paint the whole unit a different colour remember you will need to prime the melamine shelving first or the paint will not stick.
Step 13: Attach handles and hooks and you’re done!
After completing this unit I stood back and realised this would make a great TV Unit, just wall mount a TV where the bench seat is. Or even a home office, simply delete the bottom cube unit and add a desk. The options are endless.
Hello @HousevsSarah
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your garage mudroom makeover.
This has to be the best use of Flexi Storage Wardrobes I've ever seen. I love those little details you've added to give it such a finished look. The moulded skirting board and the primed cornice really give it class. Despite being in the garage this assembly would look right at home inside the house. It is a wonderful transformation and everything looks very organized.
Again, thank you for sharing your beautiful garage mudroom makeover.
Eric
Hello @keokayne,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about the Flexistorage drawers.
Let me tag @HousevsSarah to make them aware of your kind words and question. The Flexistorage system only offers the drawers in that particular configuration. There are other drawers available, but I'm afraid they are stand-alone systems and do not fit in the space of the Flexistorage cabinet. Manually changing the front of the drawers is possible, but only if you have the right tools and are familiar with cabinet assembly. The other option is to cover the gaps with timber painted in white.
Here is a link to the Flexovit Brochure: Wardrobe System.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
