While we are most known for our kitchen fronts, we actually offer products ideal for a variety of spaces. Whether you are ready to upgrade your media center, closet, bar space, or even add some DIY storage to your home, it’s time to think outside-the-box. Don’t know where to begin? Get inspired by some of our favorite unique projects below.
Zoe Kim’s Closet Makeover
Zoe Kim of Raising Simple is a zero waste advocate, mother, author and lover of minimalist design. When she began building her farmhouse-style home, she had many ideas, including a built-in bedroom closet. “I’ve had walk-in closets in the past, and it always felt like there was so much wasted space,” she says. “I wanted a built-in closet that was simple, beautiful, functional, and most important, affordable. Living a minimalist lifestyle, I let go of our dressers years ago.”
While custom cabinetry would’ve been the most simple route, it was not in her budget. After searching for built-in closets, she came across a “beautiful (and genius!) custom closet” from designer Kim Cornelison. “That is when I realized I could create a functional yet beautiful closet within my budget! The icing on the cake was realizing it was also from a company I could feel good about supporting,” she says.
Kim ordered the pro sample box, which includes 24 samples of all Semihandmade front collections, and then utilized the “We Create Your Cart” service, which includes a 30-minute phone conversation to walk through plans, something which she found extremely helpful. “Working with Semihandmade made this project attainable. They took out the overwhelm and unaffordability, and they helped me achieve my minimalist closet vision,” she says.
Erin Guthrie’s Moody Wine Cellar
Erin Guthrie of Guthrie Design created a unique wine cellar for a client using Semihandmde’s CLJ Cove fronts. “This wine room was part of a client design-build project that involved finishing a 750-square-foot basement.” Guthrie was also tasked with adding a full bathroom, wetbar, living space, and combination office and guest bedroom. “The clients also really wanted to have a special space that felt cohesive with the rest of the areas, but was also uniquely different. Since a wine display was a request from the start, we decided to make this space into a wine room for both display and storage,” she adds.
The designer was able to take what otherwise would’ve been a storage closet and turn it into a moody wine room. “We were lucky to have 10-foot finished ceilings in the space, which allowed us to continue the dark wall paint onto the ceiling without making the space feel small, even though it’s less than 50 square feet,” she says.
When it came to cabinetry, the designers only had a 15-inch depth. “We knew we could make IKEA 15-inch base cabinets work here, and we also wanted to carry the primary color palette of white oak, black, and white into the space. We had a white oak-looking LVP flooring picked out, which we were able to match alongside the Semihandmade pro sample pack. CLJ Cove was almost a perfect match to the floor’s grain and color tone,” she says. Since Shaker fronts were already used in the rest of the home, the CLJ Cove were the perfect find.
“We were really impressed with the construction quality and solid feel of the different components, especially the toe kick. Installation was just the same, if not easier, than standard IKEA so it was a no-brainer. The doors definitely added a level of luxe to the space that we could not have achieved with stock cabinet fronts,” she concludes.
Jenna LeBlanc’s Clever Playspace
Jenna LeBlanc of Jenna Sue Design loves a good DIY (who could blame her?). Recently, she revamped her Tampa attic playroom over the course of six months using IKEA Sektion cabinets paired with Semihandmade DIY Shaker fronts and $25 fluted trim.
“The fluting detail really makes them feel custom and high-end,” she says.
While it was quite the project to tackle, the designer and her husband, Lucas, estimate they saved a few thousand dollars by doing it themselves. “It was definitely one of our more involved projects, but I think it’s my favorite IKEA hack yet,” she shares.The fluted trim storage stands beside a built-in desk, DIY feather chandelier, and cozy sectional, which make it a great flex space. Get the full step-by-step here.
Jaye Nibbs Interiors’ Sophisticated Bar
For Atlanta-based designer Jaye Nibbs, a sleek black bar is the star of her dining room. She wanted to create a “decidedly grown-up moment that parents could enjoy,” she says. And while she looked high and low for pre-made black Shaker cabinetry that would fit her budget, she didn’t have luck. “One vendor finally admitted that black cabinets are some of the must expensive pre-made cabinets out there, and the best option would be to go custom,” she adds.
But, as she is in the process a customizing a builder-grade home with many projects on the horizon, Semihandmade made it possible to get the look she wanted for less. For the bar area, black Supermatte Shaker cabinets provide storage, while there is wine storage, and floating shelves that can be styled seasonally. “The rest of the dining room furniture is still on back order but the bar unit already serves as a fabulous focal point,” she adds.
Celine Ord’s Low-Profile Media Center
Renovator extraordinaire and oncologist, Dr. Celine Ord, used Semihandmade in not just one room of her home, but six! Ord and her husband, Justin, have been fixing and flipping homes since 2012, and purchased their Nevada home right before the pandemic.
For this renovation, they embraced eclecticism with a two-toned kitchen, a 1970s Italian modernism-inspired living room, and chic storage filled with personal items and a record collection that has grown over the last decade. The cabinetry, clad in Semihandmade’s Impression Sonoma fronts, gives the couple extra storage without taking away from the minimalist look.