This week I finally got to the fun part, building! That’s my favorite part for sure! I only bought one sheet of plywood at a time because I’m such a visual person so I wanted to make one and see how I liked it and how it fit in the space!
So I started by cutting down the depths of the built in shelves to 14 inches because the wall to window was 15 so I wanted it a little shallower but once I dry fitted that… I realized that felt too bulky so I cut it down to 11inches and that felt perfect. So I cut the shelves, sides and tops and used pocket holes to attach them all together.

It’s always a struggle because I always do my DIY on my back porch which is not the most level or easiest place to work but ya gotta work with what ya got! (Back porch refresh coming soon! I have been slowly working on it for like a year and a half!) Keep in mind this is just the frame.




So from here I will be trimming it all out with 1 x 2‘s and then sanding, caulking and painting it white. Then I will add the raw wood shelves that will be around 2 inches thick.
After those are built I will add the shiplap behind the tv and a be doing touch up paint. Here is the one side up in the house and I love it!!! It turned out even better than I imagined and just adds so much depth to the wall! Don’t mind the mess #reallifeofamomanddiyer 😂 If you missed the last ORC post make sure to check out Week 1 here or Week 2 here!








This coming up week is gonna be the best it is really going to start taking shape and be like actual built-ins! After I finish the built-ins I will move on to the rest of my checklist that looks like this:
- DIY Couch – This was not my original plan but I can not find a couch that checks all my boxes for the budget that I am on. I want it to have storage, a pull out sleeper, be comfortable, easy to clean, have two arm rests and fit in my exact space! So before I try to buy a new one I am going to try to rip my current couch down to the studs and make it check all my boxes! Stay tuned for that!
- Add in gallery wall
- Style shelves
- Add two extra chair/seating options
- add new rug
- make two little side/drink tables
- Maybe add a good lamp!