DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi,

in my flat I have a fairly large cupboard that has two entrances, one from the hallway and one from the bedroom. I am looking at converting this into two separate cupboards, a small storage cupboard in the hallway and a walk-in wardrobe for the bedroom.

At this stage I have ripped out all the old plasterboard which was previously just papered over and I will be removing the old strapping from the walls in order to remove the plyboard ceiling that was put in only about half way up the height of the room.

My question is, given that this is just a cupboard what is the best thing to do with the walls and ceilings and the partition in the middle? Should I put up plasterboard again and skim over it, or just paper over it and paint? Is there any suitable alternatives to this such as wood panelling or something? Bearing in mind that once the shell of the cupboard is done I will then be fitting shelves, which will be screwed into the walls.

I have never done a project like this before, so if any of what I have said makes no sense feel free to suggest alternatives to what I should be doing.

Having done a similar job in one of my old places, I'd say it really depends on how much money and time you want to spend. Wooden panelling is much better aesthetically but a lot more effort than papering and painting.

Same goes for the plasterboard - can you get away with papering and painting to save some money or are you looking for the most professional finish?

I'm just having some renovation work done at the minute so I'll ask one of the guys if he has any tips for you.