Upcycle closet doors

So, I had these closet doors in my bedroom. The doors were very plain. One of them was slightly warped. The right-side door had completely come off the track and wouldn't stay on, despite my best efforts. I had seen a ton of these doors in the garbage area of my building. I was determined to divert mine from the waste stream. 

Meanwhile, back in the dinning area, I had a new window from the kitchen renovation, begging to be used in conjunction with a breakfast bar. Now, being a busy Brooklynite, I don't have much time to sit and have breakfast every morning. But I do usually have time to pour myself a drink when I get home at night (usually single malt Scotch). So I scrapped the breakfast part and decided to upcycle the doors into a bar. A bar that would just happen to sit where a breakfast bar would be. 


The design was very simple, since I have zero furniture design experience. Just a basic frame with some shelves for booze, and enough space for some bar stools. Plus a rack system for hanging glasses. Here's the frame.

Once the frame was done, I added some shelves. The shelves are supported by dividers, which had to be equal height. Otherwise the shelves wouldn't be level. I needed a table saw to make the cuts. Thankfully, my friend Pat has his own contracting business and let me show up and use the saw at one of his renovation sites. Thanks Pat! 

All I had to do now was add some trim, and a rack system to hang stemware. I used excess trim to make the rack system, which holds about 15 glasses. I got some great looking bar stools from Craigslist and a small wine fridge, free, from a friend who had a spare (he's really into wine). Oh, and as you can see, I also painted the apartment. But let's get to the point: look at all that booze! 

Building Clothing Drive

Back in September, I organized a clothing drive for my building. Setting it up was no small feat! First, I had to find an organization that would pick up the clothes once collected. After consulting some neighbors, I narrowed it down to either Wearable Collections, or Re-fashioNYC, which is NYC's official clothing reuse program, in partnership with Housing Works.

After hearing back from each of them, the choice of which to partner with was clear. Wearable Collections got back to me within a few days, and we began discussing the pickup options Wearable Collections offers. When I heard back from Re-fashioNYC, I got a form email, saying that I could confirm my interest in the program by sending an email to a specific address. Then, I would receive another form email in four to six months, with details of how to participate in the program. That was a bit longer than I was willing to wait. So Wearable Collections it was!

Next, I had to get approval from my building's co-op board. I didn't think getting approval would be too difficult, as most boards are primarily concerned with building costs. Since the program is free, it was an easy sell. But there were definitely logistical issues to consider like, when will the drive begin and end, where will all the clothing be collected, how will the clothing be moved out of the building, how our building staff would be affected, how will it be promoted, etc. All of these things could impact quality of life for building residents. Luckily, I work closely with a board member on our building website committee. She was my contact and advocate with the board. All of the details were worked out pretty smoothly.

I made a flyer to promote the clothing drive. I relied heavily on Wearable Collections own verbiage and branding. The last hurdle was to make a bin in which to collect the clothing. The building staff were nice enough to give me some large cardboard boxes collected from our regular recycling efforts. But I had to construct a makeshift bin out of them. Over the course of a week, the building donated over 1,000 pounds of clothes! The rep from Wearable Collections noted that it was a good haul for a 280 unit building. It felt great to be part of a communal effort that diverted a bunch of stuff that otherwise may have ended up in a landfill. At the same time, it created more space in my neighbor's closets. A true Square Foot Crunch double win!

The Flyer:




The Bin, filled to capacity:

Repurposing, in a way.

As you can see, it has been a long, long time (practically a lifetime in blog years) since the last Square Foot Crunch post. Why has so much time passed since the last post? Oh you know-- the usual New York excuses- distractions, work, laziness, new girlfriend, etc. But starting now, January 1, 2012, Square Foot Crunch is going to be resuscitated, revitalized, and in a way, repurposed. I mean, repurposing is taking something old and giving it new life right? Well, that's what is happening here. Square Foot Crunch is back in business! Expect regular posts every 2 -5 weeks, depending on the size and scope of the project. And now, on to the first project post of the newly repurposed Square Foot Crunch!

Bathroom makeover

Like the kitchen, the bathroom in the apartment hadn't been touched since the day it was built in 1968. Unlike the kitchen, which desperately needed a complete overhaul, the bathroom was at least functional, but aesthetically challenged. So this project was a bathroom makeover, not a renovation, because only the sink, vanity, and light fixture were replaced.

Here's how the bathroom looked originally:



The light fixture was hideous. A cracked chrome base, with two exposed bulbs and a third "roaming" bulb which had the base of an old bulb rusted inside of it. Its one redeeming quality was it had an outlet, which was the only one in the bathroom. The mirror was chipped, its doors didn't slide properly, and it had mismatching handles. The sink was in ok shape, but the fixtures were old, and the bottom of the sink was at about knee level for me which was ergonomically awkward (did I mention I'm 6' 6" tall?).

With the help from a handyman, recommended by a friend, they were all ripped out and replaced. With a little inspiration from an Ikea hacker, I used a Bekvam kitchen cart, that was a handy piece in my old apartment, but had no room for in my current place, as the new vanity/base for the sink. It added a lot of height to the sink, making it easier for me to use. The light fixture was purchased down in Chinatown's light district here in NYC. The vessel sink was the floor model, the last in stock (at a discount), from Lowes, along with the faucet (which was a splurge). The cabinet is West Elm (which I don't buy anything from anymore. their stuff is not that well made, especially for the price). The handyman also added a proper outlet. Oh, and a nice new coat of icy blue paint was slapped on to brighten the space up a bit. Here is how it all looks now:

Kitchen Renovation

The majority of the kitchen renovation was done about 2 and a half years ago. I did the demolition myself, which was a thrilling, frightening, fun, and most of all, loud experience. I had no idea if neighbors might blow my cover. Lucky I have uber-cool, tolerant neighbors. Here are some shots of the demo in progress:

The only tools I used to demo the kitchen. Crazy, eh?

This is the vent and where the upper corner cabinets used to be. All the black stuff on the ceiling and around the vent is dirt and grime built up over the years. It was disgusting.

Original sink and counter.

Original wall oven and counter top stove. With oil build-up on the wall behind the stove. Gross.

Floor and original lower cabinet footprint. A typical tiny NYC kitchen.

And the after shots. Cabinetry is from Ikea. Very budget friendly. Design concept, to use high gloss red cabinets, and slate floor tile, was suggested by a friend. The overall design was by me. I went with black granite counter tops for their durability and resale value. Ikea has preferred kitchen installers. I hired Basic Builders and they were terrific. Their contractor, Peter, answered all of my questions, reviewed my design ideas, made suggestions, advised on electrical wiring options, etc. He also had no problem busting a hole in the wall to create a pass-through window between the kitchen and dining area.

Slate floor tile, purchased from Craigslist. Doing this myself saved me about $2,000.

Pass-through from the dining area into the kitchen.

Pass-through from kitchen into the dining area. Where the wall oven, stove top and nasty oil wall used to be.


New sink, counter tops and horizontal cabinets. Also, new vent cover, unpainted, in the upper right corner.


New cabinet footprint. Still a tiny NYC kitchen. But much nicer.