Cabinet Shelving

Stained Shelf

Last weekend I decided to finally do something about the lack of storage space in our smaller cabinets where we keep the spices, tea and other randomness. I purchased a Swivel Store about a year ago, it was one of those As Seen on TV products, that was a bad idea that I don't recommend anyone trying. I had removed a shelf to put it in and never got around to replacing it because the shelf holders were more like clips and I never found a time that I wanted to voluntarily to piss myself off trying to finagle the shelf back into place.

I grabbed the loose shelf and took it to Lowe's with me so I had the exact thickness and dimensions. I wasn't able to match the material, but I really don't care about that since I would like to paint the insides of the cabinets one day. I had to buy a large piece of wood to get two shelves cut out of, but it was $13 and they don't charge to chop it up for you. I set everything up in my small work area on the balcony and sanded all of the edges and corners so there were no splinters or rough edges to catch on anything. I then stained the shelves, this is what takes the longest since you have to wait between coats, I believe I did three coats of natural stain, just to bring out the color.

I got to work unloading the contents of the cabinets and removing the shelves. There was some cussing and pinched fingers, but I found that a flat head screwdriver worked best to pry them out of the shelf clamps. I purchased all new shelf holders so they all matched. TIP: don't buy the prepackaged ones that are hanging, dig through the bins you can get twice as many for half the price!

Now the part you are most interested in, the before and after pics. The new shelves are at the top of each cabinet so they aren't as noticeable.

Spice Cabinet - Before & After

Tea, pill, cat & miscellaneous Cabinet - Before & After

Hanging Hooks

The boyfriend and I have a rather small kitchen which can be a pain when he's cooking delicious food, so I do what I can to organize the space better and give us more storage as well as counter space. The latest project involved hanging measuring spoons and cups on the inside of the cabinet. I came across the inspiration on Pinterest.

I bought a cheap piece of wood from Lowes and cut it in half with a hand saw and then I sanded it down. I painted two coats on all sides to keep it even. I used leftover latex paint we had from the bedroom. The Pinterest version that I saw used cup hooks to hang the spoons and cups from. I didn't like these because they were too curved and it looked like it would be annoying to get them on and off. Many moons ago in shop class we used hooks that were L shaped for key holders that we made, so I went on the hunt. These were not the easiest of things to find, but I eventually tracked them down.

To put the hooks in I measured an equal distance from the edges and spaced the holes evenly for the measuring spoons. Then I drilled holes and screwed in the hooks using needle nose pliers so my fingers wouldn't get sore. The screw ends for the hooks were a little longer than the wood was so they stuck out slightly, but no one will see that. For the measuring cups I laid them out after marking the edges and I spaced them so they wouldn't hit each other. I drilled those holes as well and screwed in the hooks.

To hang the hooks I first held them in place with the measuring cups on them to make sure they wouldn't get in the way of the door closing. Then I used a level to insure they were straight and I attached them using Gorilla Super Glue. Originally I had planned on screwing them into the cabinets, but I didn't have screws short enough for our thin doors.

Side Table Makeover

A few weeks ago I stopped at a yard sale and scored a side table for $1! Unfortunately it had various obscenities carved into the top of it, but I saw potential in this table and I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by.

I knew I could get them out with some sanding, I just didn't realize how much sanding it would take because they were deep. Fortunately my amazing boyfriend heard my laments and bought me an orbital sander!

The sander made those offensive carvings disappear in no time. This side table was begging to be painted white, so that's just what I did! I used Rustoleum Universal Paint and Primer in a satin finish so it's easy to wipe clean. The table looked amazing, but it needed a little something more. I found scrapbook paper that had pre punched designs and I used that as a stencil on the top. I had some green spray paint left over from some plant stands I had recently brought new life to and I knew it would be perfect for this project.

I didn't want to stencil the entire top and I didn't want to center the stencil because that's too typical. So I positioned it to go off of one corner. The spray paint got under the stencil and it wasn't as crisp as I had intended it to be. I had some leftover satin finish paint from the ceilings and some small paint brushes that I used to clean up the white areas. This gave it more of a hand painted look, which added some character. Next time I'm using a foam roller and paint.

I had originally planned to use this side table on the patio, but once I was finished I thought it looked too good to be outside. It's new home is in the guest bedroom and I'm still on the hunt for a small patio table if you find one.

Shelving

Gardening is something that I enjoy but living in a condo there can be some obstacles when trying to grow plants. There was a good amount of light in the dining area, but there was no space for plants besides the dining room table. So I decided a shelf would be the perfect solution.

I chose a crisp, white modern shelf to match the curtains and light in the kitchen. The shelf is almost as wide as the wall for maximum storage space and I hung it so the items placed on it would be at eye level.

Once the shelf was up, the wall looked plain so I hung a couple pieces of art staggered above it to create some interest and make the wall look finished.

Kitchen Lighting

Coming up on three years in September, I bought a condo. Since then I've discovered that I have a passion for fixing the place up. I always have things I am working on or want to improve and this is where I will showcase them.

Before moving in, I painted the entire condo in a light grey satin finish paint. This had to be done because I just could not live with orangey-pink walls, old lady wall paper and a randomly brown room.

The second update to the condo came unexpectedly when the "sky light" fell down in the kitchen. I had a lot of options to replace it with, but I was unsure about what style I wanted. I chose an energy effecient modern drum light with an artistic giclee canvas shade from Lamps Plus. This set the tone for the updates to come.

Before - Sky Light

After