Floating shelves in the kitchen!

When we first moved into our house in 2012, the kitchen unexpectedly became one of our first big projects. We had intended to update it "at some point" but after living in it for a few weeks, it quickly moved to the top of the list! (terrible layout was causing so much frustration, this was kind of like a quality of life upgrade!)

We opted for Ikea cabinets and decided to do the main part of the kitchen and leave the refrigerator wall alone for the time being until we were really sure what we wanted to do over there (and until we had more money!)

This cabinet over the "peninsula" was designated the home for wine glasses and tea. It worked out pretty well, but wasn't overly easy for me to access much above the bottom shelf since I was reaching over the counter and around the door... so this fall, I had an idea. What if I take down the cabinet and replace it with floating shelves? Of course, I didn't want to lose a cabinet, but there was room for it on the half of the kitchen we didn't renovate, so I could reinstall it there!

Brad was not completely on board, mostly afraid that we'd end up screwing up a cabinet in the process, and since Ikea has discontinued our cabinets, his point was valid. Buuuuut, I did it anyway, I just waited until he wasn't home. ;) That's kind of my routine...  but it's ok because it worked! And as usual, Brad was happy with the result and pretty relieved to not have to be here when things were possibly falling apart. ;) Everybody wins!

But of course, we need some progress pictures! Here's the before. 

I started by emptying it, of course, and then took it off the wall. Ikea makes this process pretty easy. I just had to unscrew it from the rail and muscle it down. It was ok to skip the gym today!

Here's a picture of the wall where the cabinet is headed. It's pretty sad "before".

I slid the refrigerator over a few inches, rehung the rail, and got the cabinet up. This part would have been easier with help, but I'm not patient. It took a couple of adjustments to get things right, but it worked!

Now it was time to attack the shelves. I patched, sanded, and painted the wall and then got to work. I used plans from Shanty-2-Chic for these shelves. 

I stained it in place.

Then polyed with the Triple Thick Poly. Hard to be patient why that dried...

I added hooks under the bottom shelf for coffee cups to leave room for my wine glasses in another cabinet. Now it's useful for coffee and the storage and pretty with some decorative items. 

Since this is the view we have right as we walk into the house, we love the openness that the open shelves provide. 

 I love when my plans work out! :)

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Wine Wednesday - Wine Rack and Glass Hanger

It's Wine Wednesday!

I made this wine rack in stages - we've had a LOT of snow days lately here in NOVA, some of which were frigidly cold, so my garage time has been limited! (Also, I kind of tore the carpet off our stairs and am working on refinishing them, but that's a story for another time. ;) )

I first saw this design on a brag post on Ana White's site and loved the idea, but wanted something less rustic-looking. I decided to make it with clean, smooth boards instead of pallet wood to achieve the more crisp look I had in mind. I based my design off of the picture and just sort of messed around with it until I got it put together. Sometimes trial and error is the best way to go. ;)

Because I was anxious to get it done and see if my design would work, I put it all together without painting it - not the best plan, but live and learn!

The cuts for the wine glasses didn't work as well as I had hoped, but I let it go. Surprising, right? Well, that didn't last too long - my obsessiveness eventually got the best of me and I fixed it later, surprising no one.

At this stage, I painted it the dark blue/gray that I'm in love with right now (just like the Christmas Card Frame) and left it alone for a bit. (The lighting here really doesn't show the color well! Much more blue and less gray in person!)

I decided that this would be a perfect birthday gift for my sweet mother-in-law (she loves making wine with Janet and loves handmade gifts!) and so tore off the glass rack piece to try again - can't gift something I'm not proud of!

Redoing the rack was more trial and error to be sure the glasses wouldn't hit each other. My measuring was wrong the 2nd time and the cuts were such that the glasses would hang off-center... can't have that! Blargh. So I started a THIRD time and finally got it the way I wanted it (trial and error sometimes wastes wood and that made me mad!). The cuts are still not as smooth and perfect as I'd like, but I'm still working on the technique - decided to stop being so critical of myself and let it go. Shocking, I know!

She loved her gift! Here is a picture of it in action, though not drilled into the wall since this is my house! My wonderful assistants held it up for the picture - hand-modeling agents can contact me for their info! ;)

Since the whole piece really needed a second coat of paint, I suggested Chris choose something from my collection that would suit her best... she picked my fav green! (The same as I used on the table saw stand!) Preeeeetttty!

All done! Can't wait to see a picture of it installed and full!

I learned a lot through this project. Hopefully I can make it more easily next time! I'm planning to list it in my Etsy shop when I get it up and running. Yes, I'm working on opening up an Etsy shop! So scary fun!

Tools used - all my favs! : Ryobi Circular Saw, Ryobi Air Nailer, Kreg Jig, and Ryobi Drill

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