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Remember our post on Decorating with baskets? We mentioned an armoire and promised to show you how we have converted it to a wardrobe. We bought an entertainment armoire (originally designed for TV and media) and it's now an elegant wardrobe in our hallway. Traditionally, European homes have wardrobes, not built in closets, so we wanted that familiar look in our new home. Wardrobes used to be very common many years ago before closets became popular. Some older homes don't even have closets. Armoires are now mostly decorative but you can also use them for storage. Using armoire to hang your jackets and coats is an aesthetic option and a great solution if you are short on storage space, plus when you move, you take it with you. It's also a nice piece of furniture to have.
This armoire was designed for a TV/media and it was ready to plug it in. We saw another purpose.
How to convert an armoire to a wardrobe:
We bought two Alexandria Molding baseboards from Home Depot ($5.53 each), one wooden bar and Minwax wood finish for $6.55 to stain them.
* Hint: staining must be done in a well ventilated area, make sure to wear gloves.
We drilled a hole in each baseboard to install the hanging bar and attached baseboards to armoire using screws.
We use wooden hangers in our armoire. Their colors match the armoire and they hold heavy jackets better than plastic hangers. We also keep the longest jackets and coats on one side of the armoire and have a basket on the other side for small accessories.
If you consider converting an armoire to a wardrobe, we strongly recommend it. It's fairly simple and inexpensive and it will look elegant in your hallway. It's a great center piece just like a fireplace in a family room. If we ever move, we will take the armoire with us, and we can always use it for TV/media in the future, so it's an investment.
If you have converted an armoire to a wardrobe and would like to share your pics, just email us. We will be glad to post them. Good luck with your projects!
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Our bar is only 40'' long and it's hanging 2'' from the ceiling of the armoire. We hang winter jackets during winter and light jackets and rain coates during spring time. Our armoire was brand new when we bought it, so it may be stronger than an antique one. I think you should be ok as long as you don't hand too many heavy coats. And it will be much cheaper than hiring a carpenter. Technically, you don't even need to stain the bar if you don't want to do that. Good luck with your project and send us pics when you are done. We could post it on our blog.
Cheers!