Turn Unused Space into Built In Storage // Woodworking | I Like To Make Stuff

After finishing the closet in my boys' room, I was left with the ugly, old attic entrance you can see from their bathroom. I turned that unused space into some functional bathroom storage.
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This old doorway isn't as deep as a regular shelf, it's about half that depth. But the awkwardness of this space doesn't mean that it needs to be covered up and forgotten. I realized that it was perfect for storing rolled towels vertically, and to store toilet paper and other bathroom trinkets.
When you're trying to build something for a specific space, it is always best to measure the actual opening. Don't be tempted to ballpark or guesstimate the measurements, you want this insert to fit nicely. My particular opening had some really steep angles, so using a digital protractor helps compensate for the math classes I've forgotten over the years.
One thing to remember is to keep track of where you are measuring from. In my case, I wanted the insert to sit behind the tile in the floor, but I measured everything from the top of the tile. I realized this mistake before anything was cut, but a simple error like that could have ruined the whole project early on.
Armed with the dimensions, I cut the two side panels to length on my table saw. I angled the blade to match the opening of the space that I measured earlier with the digital protractor. Once the two side walls were cut to length, I test fit them in the space. Now, this design called for two fixed shelves; one at the bottom, and one near the top. These shelves would sit in two dados cut into the sides. I used my dado blade set to notch these spaces into the wooden walls.
I then measured the span of the opening and cut the two fixed shelves, a toe plate, and one floating shelf to length. With all of the major components cut, I again checked for fit; the insert fit like a glove.
When adding adjustable shelves to casework, you can use a simple jig that evenly spaces out some holes for shelf pegs. If you want to move the shelf, just put the pegs in different holes and the shelf rests on top of them. Some of these holes will hold a shelf and some of them will be used to hold a small fence.
This fence will keep rolled-up towels from falling on the shelf. We chose to adapt some shelf pins to secure this fence because we may change this setup in the future and I didn't want any additional screw holes in the walls. I simply drilled some some small holes in the flat face of the shelf pin. It would then be turned 90 degrees and the fence would be attached to them with some short screws.
In most home construction projects, seems and gaps and ugly materials are covered up by trim, paint, and caulking. When you are making a built in feature, you will inevitably need to cover up some seems and gaps with trim. This can often be the trickiest part of a home project because you are trying to match up the face of a board at some funky angles. This bathroom storage shelf was no exception.
You may find that covering up really sharp corners with trim is super tricky. In our case, I had to make a special (and kinda sketchy) jig to cut some trim parallel with the miter saw blade. I wasn't super comfortable making this cut, so I'm not going to show you how I did it, but know that it ultimately worked (after 2 attempts). I used brad nails to attach the trim to the face and filled in all of the nail holes with wood filler. After sanding the whole unit, I applied some final coats of white paint to finish it off.
I am very happy with how this built in storage unit turned out. And I'm super happy to cover up that ugly hole in the wall. Overall, this insert was pretty easy to build and I'm glad that we could achieve the functionality that we were hoping for. I think it fits the space really nicely and you would never know that it used to be a door to a dingy attic.
I hope this project made you rethink a space in your house that seems unusable. If you liked this project, check out the rest of the work we've done on our house. MUSIC: share.epidemicsound.com/iltms
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About I Like To Make Stuff:
We have lots of projects including woodworking, metalworking, electronics, 3D printing, prop making and more!
These videos are our attempt inspire and empower others to make the stuff that they want to have. Hopefully you'll see something here that will inspire you to make something that you're passionate about!

[@maresalatime]

You HAVE to make a Diy show on Netflix. No ones done it yet. It’s refreshing when you make mistakes and you point them out. That even great woodworkers can make mistakes too. And it’s ok. 😊

[@Vincepelosi]

Would watch every episode 22 times

[@CooldaddyBBQ]

I do not know what up with your videos but I can not stop watching them. I watch so of the others and after a few they get on my nerves but I can watch hours of yours. Keep it up!

[@rawlsawh2804]

Most underrated diy channel ever

[@embeaston]

omega3 reality most underrated? He almost 2 million subs

[@rawlsawh2804]

embeaston he deserves well over 65 million

[@rawlsawh2804]

The hidden bookshelf video has 10M views alone. I'm starting a protest. Get Bob to 10Mil

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

The word underrated is overused, or people simply don't know what it means.

[@rawlsawh2804]

OMGWTFLOL humor me

[@samanthagilleland1101]

Watching this video late night while having an anxiety attack and its helped calm me tremendously.

[@craigslaunwhite579]

Building Stuff, Calming Anxiety all in one vid

[@EvanAndKatelyn]

Never knew Bob was such a rebel, using illegal dado stacks and all :P Great build!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

"breaking the law, breaking the law"!

[@WuschelofDespair]

I Like To Make Stuff I like your taste in music 😁

[@solahifuefos9301]

people cutting their hands off because you need to remove the blade guard to install them

[@britishbandit2409]

wha?????

[@root1657]

Don't they also have to remove the same guard to change the single blades? Maybe some people just shouldn't be using power tools without proper supervision...

[@lexylily]

My family had an odd place like that near the front door. It kind of worked, but also didn't. A little bit of Ikea shelves and the bench I made from a coffee table later, now it's a nice welcoming spot to take off or put on your shoes!

[@caleb-vincent]

I turned a doorway into shelving once. Our (very small) bathroom had a main door, a second door, and no shelving. I removed the second doorway's door and trim from the bathroom side. I added some boards around the insides of the doorway, with a 1/2" space on the other room side, and flush to the bathroom wall. I took two pieces of 1/4" sheetrock to give me a 1/2" double-faced piece, and put it in the doorway on the other room side. On the bathroom side, I then re-cut the trim down to the new opening size, put it up, and added some shelves and towel hooks. A more skilled plasterer than me might have made the whole doorway disappear in the other room side, but I just installed track-mounted shelving within the door trim. The bathroom shelving looks pretty good with the ~1900 trimwork around it. I just hope no one ever tries to put a door back and finds out the openings are now two different sizes... Found a single picture of it in progress: imgur.com/Fpsmj4v

[@vincenzoguglielmo230]

My father-in-law and I took out a space under the stairs in my grandmother's condo. We took down a small wall, cleaned up the space, laid down some floating hardwood, and plastered up the spots that led into the new storage space(opposed to using trim). It was a fun and quick project that gave her room for storing stuff that she didn't want in the back of a storage unit. It's amazing that completely useful space was just covered up and left (most likely during the construction of the building).

[@pincircle7566]

What incredible timing! My wife and I bought a house recently. And this is exactly what we need in both of our bathrooms. Thank you.

[@gaiasguardian205]

Congrats

[@bankerman211]

Hey Bob... I used the unused space under our staircase to make a place to store my keys, chapstick, pen and daily accessories. I even had enough space to store my winter gloves, scarfs and stuff. I just built a box 36x12x12, put trim around it , painted it white, and cut out the space in the drywall. Voila... instant finished space. It has been one of my favorite projects to date.

[@josepherwin8709]

Simple, straightforward build that serves two purposes. Cool way to cover an unsightly hole in the wall and a storage nook. Nice work.

[@starsonarms]

We used to have a closet that was long but very narrow, you walked into it from either ends.One end in the living room, the other in the bedroom. I opened up a hole in the middle and built wide double doors. On the living room side I just removed the trim and made it into a wall. In the bedroom I kept the door trim and made like a nisch shelf. My wife was very happy with it. Love your videos and your personality, I've learned a lot and gotten quite a few ideas!

[@royjumonville7026]

Have I told you I love your videos lately??? Because of you, my wife basically wants me to redo our entire house!!! Lol. But I got a Bits video idea for you. Do you think you could make one about how to get good, precise angle cuts for trim? I'm ok at doing it for 45° cuts, but anything else, I'm lacking in and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Thanks again for everything you do on this channel.

[@jkxcreations1937]

Roy Jumonville use a good protractor to set up your saw accurately and take time to sneak up on the exact length you want. Nothing's more frustrating than cutting your trim 1mm too short

[@royjumonville7026]

@@jkxcreations1937 that's my biggest problem. Not sneaking up on the cuts. I was out of town this past week and my wife though she would lay the flooring (which shes done before and does a good job of doing) and the trim. Let's just say I have to start over on the trim...

[@biomcanx1]

1/4 inch of paint will hide most imperfections...well that and caulk :D

[@derrickluker8013]

Lol “caulk and paint make it what it ain’t!”

[@andrewmakestuff]

Really like the towel holder portion. I have a very similar scenario at my house with an attic space next to my bathroom. This REALLY makes me want to make use of that space!

[@BruceAUlrich]

Great job recouping some space! We did this under our staircase. Instead of just filling in the spot, we added a couple of shelves and a light under there. Turned it into a reading nook.

[@datadev1]

I have built custom home for many years and I include built in nooks like this in every one. In fact I have four spaces in our personal house which are sheetrocked over just waiting to be opened and for me to build the shelving. Thanks for reminding me that I'm getting lax. We've only been in the house for a year.

[@MrEd-fu3dq]

I really appreciate the attention to detail that Bob provides. He does a complete job including the final trim. Bob's videos are addictive!

[@hassanejazkhan1590]

The bathroom for your kids looks like a luxury expensive kind you have done some hard work to make your feel comfy and modify the spaces left which was awesome nice job👍😊

[@JohntheSchreiner]

I did something similar with my basement renovation a couple years ago. I had about foot wide piece of floor space of space between the wall and the shower, so I turned half of it into built in shelving for the bathroom and the other half for built in for the adjacent bedroom. Worked very well for something that was limited to a towel rack before.

[@thatmaker4727]

I was able to replace our medicine cabinet with one deep enough to have a drawer. Using attic space for drawers can add functionality to a bedroom too. Thanks for all the great videos, especially the one where you decided to go full-time as a Maker.

[@silbosch9927]

Your kids are blessed with such a smart father!! Keep up the good work!

[@SmoofDizzle]

This is such a cute lil' bathroom cubby spot. I LOVE IT :D Great work as always Bob!

[@aimusoorii4484]

After everything was nailed together, YOU NAILED IT

[@CheckTechNow]

Τhis video came the moment that I was thinking to use a small square space next to my door and create a vertical shoe holder. Your videos are inspiring me to create stuff! Thanks in advance

[@TheShavingWoodWorkshop]

That is a great use of the space Bob, very nice.

[@lecobra418]

The famous "Space Bob" and its use.

[@jeremyp4427]

We had a pointless main-floor hallway we weren't using so I walled off the ends and made a BIG walk-in pantry right off the kitchen. 1 weekend and about $400 in supplies added I don't know how much to the resale value! It's amazing how small these little useless spaces seem until you find a use for them. Then they become major features of the room that everybody notices.

[@LivefreeanddiyTv]

Came out great... I like how you did the fence, nicely done. 🤓👍

[@markpatton7431]

Making use of weird spaces is my favorite!

[@jamesowen8446]

I love how even now, this far I your KZbin journey, you’re still humble enough to admit you’re leaning! Great job Bob

[@BigJonHose]

Awesome use of space. We did something similar in our bathroom by utilizing the space behind the shower wall where the plumbing goes and made some roughly 6" wide x 6"tall x 20" deep cubbies that will fit our rolled towels. Love space saving ideas like this. Great video! Love your stuff! Keep it up!

[@i_shoot_stuff]

It's in the bathroom, that gap in your dado is fine, the boards may swell a tad.

[@motzemog]

Came out great. What a cool use of space that is otherwise wasted wall space and behind the door.

[@BronkBuilt]

Great idea. I hate wasted space so I love seeing ideas like this.

[@ygross6576]

Almost at 2 million subs!!! I remember when you had just started making videos.

[@kaleabmamo4205]

I can see that he is not just making a video, he is educating too!! I found that very helpful thank you, keep it up!!

[@EveryDadDIY]

Great use for the space , blends in nicely too, Thanks for sharing

[@JoshMakesStuff]

*adds to resume* Proficient at shooting video while sitting on the toilet. FIRST!

[@masterofnone]

As long as your resume is not more than 2 pages. As I remember from a podcasts called "Making Geeks"

[@Imlividjr]

My parents bought a house with a window separating two rooms (2 points of exit for fire code). The window was broken so we removed it and built shelves on one side and covered up the hole on the other side making a large closet. So satisfying building shelves into a wall. Looks great.

[@VoiDShotzZ]

The additions you added to your house are amazing

[@tee-too]

I love these builds! Your kids are so lucky!! I also love the bloopers at the end!

[@gixerman01]

Great video! Very nice use of otherwise wasted space! Love the channel Bob!

[@DonTXPgr]

Love it. Very useful to make that spot not being wasted and can use for bathroom needs!!

[@cuttingedgewoods]

Looks awesome Bob! Love how you took advantage of the space.

[@Keya3596]

This was the first video of yours that I watched, and I love that you give little tips that I frankly see lacking in some other peoples videos (like how dado stacks are illegal in some places and how you can work around not having one), and I love the bloopers at the end, I like the reminder that everyone makes mistakes and we can see that you enjoy what you do.

[@kowalski7633]

Looks good Bob! Should notch the bottom of the moveable shelf, where the pegs sit, so it both hides them and lessens the chance the shelf is bumped out of place.

[@iDeviceChgr]

Awesome Bob! Turned out perfect! 👍🏼 great use of that space

[@JonMadsen70]

In our bathroom (house built in 1952) the wet wall is an interior wall that is 10" from the back of the sheetrock to the back of the lathe on the other side. So above the vanity that originally had an old framed mirror above it. I cut open the wall and built in a medicine cabinet and made the door from the old framed mirror. It turned out pretty good and goes with a built in set of drawers and cabinets (that think are original to the house) that are in the hallway. :)

[@stepheng2131]

Bonus points for Tron shirt!

[@jonclarke5568]

His shirts are almost as cool as Sheldon's. 😉

[@gb8014]

I really love the editing on this one guys. No filler all thriller.

[@forby_]

💖

[@tompiena961]

the quality of the videos just keeps getting better, great stuff B ob.

[@raymondmcgee4491]

We're have an odd space with that exact orientation of the walls/ ceiling..... except it's a staircase that cuts through the top of the downstairs bathroom. A build- in line this will be the perfect solution for adding storage without adding to the headache hazard. 👍🏾

[@kamakazi567]

Hey man, I've watched a bunch of your videos and I finally need to speak up...your skills with woodworking and such are great, but your skills with t-shirt selection are unparalleled. Don't ever stop making stuff and wearing awesome nerd shirts while making said stuff.

[@kathleenchan1897]

Awesome job.... I like the way you made use of that space...exactly what that bathroom needed....looks real nice!

[@Markomyt1]

LOVE LOVE LOVE that shower curtain!

[@philwebb8049]

Awesome as ever! Lovely project Bob 👍

[@DumpsterMarcus]

Came out really nice!!

[@TheWoodLab]

Great use of the space! - Jim

[@WildKatVixon]

Our chimney is cracked so we have never been able to use the fire place. When we bought the house it had an insert. We pulled that out, insulated and blocked it off & created a book shelf similar to what you did here. Otherwise dead space is now a book and toy self. We also build a shoe storage area by our closet with again, otherwise dead space under our stairs and beside the coat closet by the front door

[@topscience1]

The channel name should be "I like to make AMAZING stuff as ALWAYS"

[@MrDarkStewie]

Awesome and creative use of space. I'm planning a remodel of the master bathroom and am thinking of adding an in-wall shelf. Thanks for more great ideas!

[@BankruptMonkey]

I always love ideas for easy built ins!

[@FranksDIY]

I like it. Looks amazing. I have done that all over my house and I think I may just take some pics and post them. Great idea

[@dudewecanfixit]

amazing build! yet again you come with greatness while making it look simple . hats off haha

[@yannisquemere6168]

I really like all of your videos. They are always very pedagogic, and got sweet stoner rock soundtracks!

[@wildbio2000]

Love the simple but innovative way you made the fence. Great channel! I've bing watched most of your Woodworking and How-to videos. Keep 'em coming! Instructions are clear and concise and camera work/editing is great!

[@lmb5374]

Love your woodworking videos, my favorite part of your channel

[@MikloV99]

I remember seeing your "How to make an iPad cash register" video a couple years ago. I went on a binge after and all the videos got my creativity flowing! I'm a bit jealous that what you do isn't my full-time job. Keep up the great work! Almost to 2 million!

[@redriverworks3997]

Love the Flynn Lives t-shirt man. That thing is awesome!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thanks!

[@russianfirepower5338]

Great! I love the constant uploading, you are one of the few out there with good content and constant uploading, like as always.

[@PaVinPom]

Great idea for shelf space.

[@georgel5308]

Wow that’s cool use of space. Great job

[@PaiviProject]

Hello. Nice job with the storage ! Really like the towel holder idea. Thanks 👍😀

[@JMartin2006]

A handy idea and a well done job. That's really a smart use for a "lost' space. Thank you for sharing :)

[@theburris]

I do this kind of stuff for a living so it’s always good to see videos like this for inspiration. Excellent creative build 👍

[@projekt6_official]

Cool project and nice shirt :) Thanks for sharing!

[@TheMacabreGamer]

Always making DIY look easy.

[@kevinyoungblut]

I made a spice rack in my kitchen using the space between the studs on an interior wall. Turned out great and plenty of depth for spices.

[@bin_patel]

I don't understand why 115 of them have disliked the video? It is so neatly done. Good job!

[@MFunkibut]

We ended up with about 8 inches of space floor-to-ceiling in in a bathroom redo when switching from standard tub to walk-in tub. Had the contractor do something similar and just fill the space with shelves. Turned out nice.

[@odiesclips7621]

Very nice, Bob!!

[@masterofnone]

Great job making the video about a bathroom shelved not boring Bob.

[@smc4lcc]

Great build, useful and looks nice. Well done.

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

I love your videos - that shelf looks awesome!!

[@AngieWilliamsDesigns]

Great use of the space

[@enelgaragedemartincho]

Great project

[@FredMcIntyre]

Nice work Bob! 👍👊

[@rawlsawh2804]

Been waiting for this forever. Hi Bob

[@morris8413]

Always the best Keeo going ❤️

[@MCsCreations]

Awesome work, man! Great idea! 😊

[@mckenziebrothersdesigns3173]

Always fun to watch!

[@Sonal_Mobile]

Bob, I've been thinking about doing this and this video gave a lot of tips! Great job!

[@collegewoman2345]

I watched some of your videos and I'm a new subscriber. The custom shelves you made were great.👏👏❤❤❤

[@Hppyzmbie]

I really enjoyed this build. It's super practical and turned out looking amazing. I have a similar space in my kitchen and you have given me some good ideas here. Thanks for another awesome video!

[@danieljulian4426]

I had to fix a plumbing leak from the bedroom that shares a wall with our bath. i had some water damage on the drywall and ended up having to remove a fair bit, but found that wall to be a 6" wall because it house a large sewer vent, so similar to your situation, instead of just covering it all back up, i used the space between the studs behind where the bedroom door opened up and made some built in shelves for books. completely hidden behind the door when it's open, but still useful for a very small bedroom that also had a very small closet. I love finding little places like that to make more storage for our small house!

[@garaz_9368]

Great idea! Perfect work :) Love this dado slots 👍

[@jayweber8333]

i learn so much from your videos. Better every time

[@sillysausage72]

That's came out pretty cool! 👍

[@project_idea]

I imagine that all the running you and Josh have been doing lately helped out on this video! As always, great video!

[@JoshMakesStuff]

A lot of trips up and down stairs.

[@MATT22RIO]

Anything is easy for you Bob!

[@MikaDR]

That looks so good!!!

[@craigpereira6381]

Great use of space.