Pondered Primed Perfected: shelves

1/9/12

Storage Under the Stairs

Awhile ago I showed you the mess under our stairs. There is a large amount of space under there, but it just hasn't been utilized in a smart way.

Click this photo if you would like to see the previous post about this space.

I asked Scotty if he would add some shelves for me. He had some scrap lumber that would do the trick, so he went to work adding shelving for me...well for him too since it will store both of our stuff. ;)

So now I have some extra space to put all of our stuff:

They turned out pretty darn nice for a bunch of scrap wood. Even the trim around the edges is leftover fence boards that he ripped down on his table saw. I love that we are finding ways to use up this old scrap wood (besides as fuel for our chiminea).

It didn't take long to fill them up with our stuff. I haven't had a chance to get them all dolled up for a party yet. Grin. We have a huge purging and organizing project that includes this closet, the laundry room/pantry, and the storage area in the garage. It needs to get done soon. Until then, we don't want to do too much more with this area ~ because we aren't sure what will end up here.

This works for now.

I was able to fit my painted wooden chest in here ~ to the right of the shelves. (I have retro~fitted this chest with hanging files and folders for my records ~ it's pretty handy). My black travelling scrapbook bag is down in the angle of the closet and I have a rolling craft cart that I pull out daily for the preschoolers arts and crafts.

The chest makes a nice surface for our tote bags...the flowery one for Sadie and her pooch stuff, and the wicker bag with beach towels...for when we go into the hot tub.

This beauty is a shoe organizer filled with tennis ball jars ~ the jars hold knobs, pulls, screws and many other goodies for our ongoing craft projects. It is a lifesaver to have this here.

Expect great things from this closet space. We are working on several projects ~ not to mention the Great Organization Project of 2012 to include: the laundry room, pantry, stairwell closet and garage storage area! I want it all to be pretty and practical when we are done. I think it's about time for a good purge!

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I think it's time for the hot tub. :)
Sherry

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12/3/11

Our Entryway Is Coming Together!!!

A couple years back I noticed an amazing shelf in my Mom's sewing room where she stored all her fabrics. It was a tall vertical shelf only about 12 inches wide, with a pull out bin at the bottom to store all those little scrap pieces of fabric. I commented on how wonderful that shelf would be to hold all my craft supplies, namely my scrapbooking tools and papers. It turns out my uncle Roy made that shelf for my mom and she in turn had him make one for me as a gift. She's such a sweetheart! I loved the shelf so much that I asked Uncle Roy to make another just like the first ~ so I would have a matching pair. It just felt like it needed a partner. These shelves are wonderful! Amazing craftsmanship. They are built to last. You can see them in our Thanksgiving photo from 2010 below.

This was the first time we hosted Thanksgiving for my family and it was a big event! A total of 19 were present so we removed all the furniture from the room and brought in three dining tables so everyone could sit together in one room. You can see the shelves in their natural oak finish in the background.

Even with both of these shelves I had a shortage of space for all of my art and crafting supplies. When we finished our new craft cabinets the room became too crowded and we were left with no choice but to purge some items. These beauties needed a new home! About this same time I had a bright idea and asked my Power Tool Guy to cut down the legs on our console/entry table and turn it into a bench for the dining room. This meant we had an empty entry wall. Gasp. An empty wall, you say?

(Did I mention that I am a chronic re-arranger? Yes, it's true. No denial here. I honestly cannot recall going more than a month or two without completely changing the furniture around in at least one room of my house. I used to be a chronic painter too...but I've kicked that habit!)

The shelves were painted a creamy white and moved around the corner ~ where they have been sitting ever since! No procrastination there. ;) I was just waiting patiently for my Tool Guy to whip out that table saw of his and cut me a board. Sometimes he gets busy with life and my projects aren't the first thing on his list. Wha??? ;) He had some time on his hands recently so I finally got my board ~ and he even attached it! That left me with a big 'ole fire lit under my hiney to finish off this entry project. I rushed myself down to Lowe's on Black Friday and found some beadboard wallpaper. Yes, I said beadboard wallpaper. Pretty cool stuff.

Let me introduce you to Allen + Roth Paintable Beadboard Wallcovering!!!

Pre-Pasted, Washable, Paintable, Strippable. Gah! (I received no payment or reward of any kind from Allen + Roth for this post. Although it would be nice :)

The wallpaper is a snap to install. You cut it to size with scissors. Leave a little extra just for good measure as you can easily trim it off with a razor blade once it's in place. You just soak it in water for 30 seconds, let it sit for 5 minutes and then apply it to your wall. I measured and marked the wall where I wanted the beadboard to be and used a level to make sure it was straight.

It really was a cinch to put up...see...

Once the paper was up I added the two pieces of trim board across the top to create a little ledge and added some hooks for hanging hats, scarves, keys and whatnot. Once I've added the beadboard wallpaper to the back of the shelves I will add larger hooks inside each shelf for coats.

Here are a few shots of the new entry area brought to you by Mr. Tool Guy himself: