Floating Shelves (or Building Stuff Without Thinking it Through)

There was this nice empty wall in the kitchen, nothing on it but a traditional plate rail and a calendar, and there was a kitchen drawer in which all the spices were jammed and one bag had spilled all over. It seemed like an easy task: build a couple of floating shelves, mount them on the wall and line up the spices in jars.

So I built 4 shelves, 2 with a depth of 3”, 2 with a depth of 6”, both with a lip along the front. They got stained a nice deep tone and we headed off to get mounting brackets, those fun little keyhole shaped metal pieces that are sold with every floating shelf out there. Apparently they are not sold separately. Anywhere. So off to Lee Valley we went to get another style of bracket…that was discontinued. Finally found some brackets, got the shelves up and they look pretty good.

At the same time I built a simple box with mitre corners to be installed above the toilet in the new bathroom. There was a lot of empty space and the room needed a place that wasn’t the sink for small items. The stain matches the vanity and it gives some warmth to the room.

And now we know: ensure the hardware you are planning to use is available before you build the item

Building an End Table

My goal is to build us a dining table. To achieve this practice is required, so after starting with the floating shelves, I thought an end table would be a good next step.

The design I came up with is simple and does not require a lot of wood to be purchased. Because it is solid wood I can practice my sanding, staining and using the table saw. The table is assembled and sanded but waiting to be stained.

And now we know: It’s a lot of fun bringing your own designs to life

Got rid of a couch!

3 couches for 2 rooms was 1 too many. We decided the blue and pick floral sleeper was the worst of the bunch, and attempted to sell it online. After a couple of months with no luck, we started trying to give it way. Luckily Kristin’s sister was moving out and was happy to acquire a couch.

We went from an ugly couch that was not so comfy and didn’t match, to a comfy sofa, whose fabric goes with the rest of the finishes. Overall it makes the room look much better. The cat has not missed a beat, she sits in the exact same spot on the new couch as she did on the old one.

And now we know: you can have too many couches, especially if one is too heavy to even move into the next room on the same level.