A money-savvy dad who wanted to make use of a small pocket of space in his house created a walk-in wardrobe for just £120.
Bromsgrove’s Kenroy Malcolm (33), decided to make a useful storage area in an old room of his home that was previously a mess for small knick-knacks and turn it into a wardrobe.
The father-of-two was shocked to discover it would cost him £470 in materials if he used a professional joiner for the job.
Not wanting to spend a small fortune on something he could do himself, the teaching assistant and Youtuber looked at sourcing what he needed from eBay and Wayfair after finding a sliding door at Argos for £32.
Kenroy Malcolm (pictured), 33, from Bromsgrove, wondered what the family could do with a small pocket of space in his house and decided to build a walk-in wardrobe
Youtuber and dad (pictured) made their own custom walk-in wardrobes instead of hiring a professional.
‘We have a small area in between two bedrooms that we wanted to use for storage but we were unsure how to make the best use of the area,’ said Kenroy, speaking to LatestDeals.co.uk. ‘The original idea was to knock one of the walls down and make it a walk-in closet but I’m not looking to do that right now so I was looking for a plan B.’
‘Then I stumbled upon a sliding door on Argos which would save us space compared with a traditional door. This was my best choice as it meant we didn’t have to swing the door open or close, but could simply slide one into the available space.
‘I wanted to do this myself rather than pay someone to come in and do it for me. A friend who is in the trade estimated that a joiner would charge approximately £170 per day for labour.’
‘As this project would likely take a full day, and materials if bought would cost around £300, this means I would be paying roughly £470. This space could be transformed into a spacious walk-in wardrobe without the need for professional help.
According to him, saving money was his main goal when he took on this project. Installing the sliding doors himself is a great way for his family to reduce the cost of hiring professionals.
Kenroy began to build shelves out of old scaffolding boards from his previous projects after finding the ‘naked wardrobe.
Kenroy wanted an open feel in the wardrobe. The space has been properly utilised and it is neater than ever (pictured, after).
The only items he bought for the whole endeavor was the folding door from Argos for £32, shelf brackets from eBay which were £22 for 4; and the naked wardrobe from Wayfair for £55.
‘I got free recycled wood to make the door frame. This particular piece of wood impressed me greatly, as it was actually salvaged from a neighbor.
“He was renovating his loft, and was tossing these old pieces of timber around. I believe they were part of his rafters up in his attic.
I didn’t want to throw it away. Instead, I used this chunk of solid wood as a part of my project. I also picked up some timber from my local hardware store for no more than £10.’
‘I also made some savings on my purchases by using a site called Top Cashback. Because my ultimate goal is to be able to afford my first property, I always try to cut down on expenses.
‘The site is great for saving money in cashback as between February and May alone this year I have generated over £100 in cashback.’
Kenroy bought a sliding door at Argos for extra space and to make sure that it did not take up too much of the available space.
So that all clothing could be seen, he bought a “naked wardrobe”.
‘The first thing I did was clear the space. There was a lot of junk in the space that needed to be thrown out. I originally bought the bookshelf which was in there second hand for £15. The bookshelf was sold for PS15 to another buyer, which gave me the opportunity to have an empty area to work from.
Kenroy described that he first measured the door. Then he added the timber, which would fill the space between the wall and the door. Finally, he trimmed it to fit the measurements.
The staples were then removed from the piece of wood that his neighbor had given him. He sanded the wood to make it look rustic.
The downside to sliding doors is that they are only available in one size. But, it was perfect for his project and he used leftover wood to fill the gap.
‘Next I set up the naked wardrobe,’ he explained. “The quality overall was great for the money, and it was easy to assemble.
“The final step was to attach shelves which I had built earlier in the year using scaffolding boards. My brother helped me drill the brackets, and I attached the shelves.
‘Overall I’m super happy with this project. I was quite busy at the time so it took me a few days to complete, but I reckon if I’d set aside one full day I could have had it all done and dusted in that timeframe.
‘I’m glad I was able to come up with a cost-effective solution to make the best use of this small space in the house.’