Readers’ letters: Send us a cool email. Include pics. Win a prize (maybe).

I grew up with a handy and self-sufficient mother, so I am no stranger to tackling everyday household issues. Nonetheless, when my husband and I bought our first house – a 100-year-old charmer in Melville – just six months ago, with a newborn in our arms, the amount of work and challenges seemed overwhelming at times.

We learned some expensive lessons – do not switch on the dishwasher and washing machine at the same time, because old pipes are not forgiving! This came after paying for emergency plumbing services twice when the drain completely blocked and overflowed back into the machines and we were on our knees trying to catch the water with buckets and old towels.

Although the house was alright to move into as is – a must with a new baby

– we wanted to make it our own. We painted the walls with the help of a contractor, put up statement wallpaper, and stripped and varnished the beautiful wooden floors. The old British-styled house has a sort of entrance hall or ‘drawing room’, which, after years of odd add-ons, appeared as some kind of appendix. The previous owners had used this space as an unloved and rather sad playroom. I had a vision

– I wanted to turn it into a walk-in closet.

My husband was all for the idea but told me he would concentrate on our daughter’s room; I was on my own. With the help of a hand-drawn plan, a family friend, and an Irishman on YouTube,

I got started.

I promptly got to work and dismantled the old built-in cupboards and I reused the wood for our closet. The only things we bought were the shoe rack and two additional shelves where we felt the cheap pressed wood wouldn’t hold the required weight. I couldn’t find brackets suited to our purpose (to hold the rod) so I went to a garden centre and bought ornamental ones for outdoor flowerpots. They work remarkably well and are designed to hold a substantial amount of weight.

While my mom watched our daughter, I got stuck into the task at hand. Over the course of three weekends, countless visits to hardware stores, and enduring a lot of frustration and anger, my walk-in closet was finally finished. To crown the whole experience, I bought a velvet ottoman befitting the room, which arrived just before we went on Christmas holiday.

Now, every visitor to our house is shown ‘my’ closet, and my chest swells with pride. Most people that see it are somewhere between a bit jealous at us having such a luxurious space, and incredulous that I built it from scratch. My mom is particularly proud of me, and I hope my daughter will also become a handywoman herself one day.

NORA HANKE

Congratulations on a job very well done, Nora. I know the proud feeling of tackling a homeimprovement task yourself from beginning to end, especially when it turns out better than you’d hoped. Be sure to keep us updated on other DIY tasks you do on your 100-year-old house. Hopefully the BPM Toolcraft prize that your letter submission has won you will help with future projects. I think it’s time you got stuck into some more woodworking.

– Mark, Editor