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Pots and Pans – DIY Organization Hanger

October 20, 2015 By Laura 1 Comment

We have always made eating dinner all together around the table every night, a high family priority. But quite honestly, making yet another family meal/dinner, is not always Michael or I’s favorite thing to do around here, towards the end of the day. Especially when both or either of us are in the middle of work, or some project, and need to stop what we are doing to go cook in the kitchen. But our disgruntled state can go from bad to worse, by the time we get the pots and pans we need out!  Ugh!

I don’t know where you store your pots and pans. But we have had ours in a cabinet on the floor under the counter, for years. Forever, for as long as we’ve lived in this house, actually. So to start, we’ve had to bend way down there, or just go head and get on the floor, to get what we need out. Or, to put clean pots and pans away, for that matter!  They only pile and nest so well, with some being the same diameter as others, but deeper pots. So there’s always a real tipping-factor going on.  And then there are all of the covers!!  So if all of the clinging and clanging isn’t enough to frazzle the nerves, everything falling out of the cabinet onto the floor, or sometimes onto our toes, will!

It’s about that time I remember THE WINE.
I don’t know what it is about a glass of wine, or something a little alcoholic, that makes cooking so much more bare-able. Sometimes even enjoyable, if you drink enough!  Ha haha!

But I had gotten to the point where I had really had it, dealing with the pots and pans cabinet. And for years Michael and I had randomly mentioned getting one of those grand pots and pans racks, that suspend from the ceiling. But you know, time really gets away, when we both hate spending money.  So on a recent Saturday, as I was headed out shopping with my oldest girl, I eluded to our pile of pallets outside by the wood shed, and said, “Just whip out something, please! It doesn’t have to be beautiful! I love rustic.”  (Because this is most always a point of contention, between us.).

By golly, he did it! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Home Decor, Home Page, Home Projects, Organization, The Homestead Tagged With: diy, do it yourself, hanging-pots-and-pans, kitchen-ideas, kitchen-organization, kitchen-organization-ideas, kitchen-tips, organization, organizing-pots-and-pans, pots-and-pans-hanger

Dream Craft Art Studio: Reveal – Move In Ready! – Part 3

September 16, 2013 By Laura 6 Comments

Good gosh!  Is it me, or has this been a long. time. coming?
I am THRILLED to say, the art studio is DONE!!
Construction and carpentry-wise, anyway.  I’m sure we’ll have a few more organization units to install, but I’ll figure out just what I need  in the process of moving in with all of my stuff!

Before you scroll down and see, you may want to see the previous states of progress, to really appreciate all it is now.  It’s still just a little bit hard to show you because….I’m afraid you all just might be bored by it!  It’s the reason I haven’t shared more of the progress along the way.  I’m the type who has the whole finished version in my head along the way, and so knowing where it’s going….anything prior to that is somehow……less than.  But, I did give you a few couple of progress updates as you know! It’s just that, it’s a whole lot of whiteness right now; as I said was my plan all along. My dream was a bright white canvas to work in and on, and to photograph in, with a whole lot of color accents.  And I must say, I do love it already, even just as all white at this point!  The light being thrown around, is divine!

Here’s a look inside now!

A view from the entry door! 
It’s instant cheer for me, just walking in.
The bright natural light in the mid-day all through the afternoon, is phenomenal!  And if you all know me, I need light.

The creative space/room is 13′ 8″x 12′.
One of the biggest features you may notice here, is that the single window was finally replaced with the larger (relocated) picture window, as planned.  It made the world of difference in the light that it lets in, as I knew it would.  

Those very simple shelves to the left are from Ikea; love them! While the plan was to build cabinetry, I realized we had white cabinets in 2 different rooms of the house that were emptied (of my craft stuff that was packed up), and they needed to get out of the rooms they were in.  After talking with Michael, we realized we could definitely re-purpose them into this art studio, and keep true to our original plans of white storage cabinets, drawers, cubbies, and one single counter space all along that wall. It worked!  The counter-top was custom-ordered through Lowe’s, and delivered. It is 13’4″.
We have a couple of white stools that fit well right under those cubbies, and are the perfect height for sitting and working. But I believe I’ll also be ordering some roll out paper storage, for the loads of paper I have in stock.
Also on the right wall will definitely be some art or a sign, over that control panel, and possibly another shelf or 2.

The crafting table is long!  From Ikea: it’s actually two (60″) tabletops combined for a total of 10′ of workspace. 
There is space for 6 people to sit and work comfortably, with foot room and all.
I’ve picked out the chairs, but still need to order them.


Also from Ikea, to support our tabletops:  2 work-horses, with cute storage shelving.
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As well as this unit, that offer even more storage shelving.

So yes, the length of the work table is almost as long as the room; just like I wanted. The surface is perfect!  Quite stain and generally scratch resistant. 
But we’ll likely always protect the surface with newsprint or something just in case anyway.
In this photo you’ll also notice the 2 additional windows we have, to welcome more light in the late afternoon light.
Under the windows will likely be more shallow storage units of some kind, or something like that. I’m still unpacking, setting up, and figuring out what else I need.

I’ll be storing the big, ugly and/or cumbersome items for our crafting projects. The drawers are deep and hold lots of little and long stuff.  As I said, there will be more storage worked into underneath the cubbies, but will also offer additional seating, if necessary.  My husband will be doing a lot of his designing and cutting at the end on the far left, and be able to weed material easily on the table. (If I don’t have a project mid-mess, of course.)

Speaking of Michael, I am SO THANKFUL to him for all of the many hours of hard work he put in, making this dream of mine come true for me, and for our family. I am so very blessed for the many ways in which he is a wonderful husband to have.

Did you notice the amazing barn doors?….
Michael completely designed, custom-built and installed those, too!
No small project!  I love them.  Perhaps I will do another post just on those, and give you a closer look with more verbal details.
And then there is yet another reveal behind those barn doors: one of our boy’s awesome bedroom!  He’s all moved in, and loving it.

My art studio reveal is not done though! 

There will be one more, showing you what it looks like all moved in!  Expect lots of COLOR added!  And instant happiness and inspiration. We actually started moving stuff in right after taking these photos for this post.
We are so thrilled with how it’s all coming together. What do you think?  Do you have a dedicated space to get creative? Tell us about it or share your links, please.
And be sure you are following us for our next art studio reveal!
Thanks for coming over, Friends.

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Filed Under: Crafts & Creations, Home Improvement, Home Projects, Organization, Photography, The Homestead Tagged With: art-studio-ideas, art-studios, craft-art-organization, craft-room-ideas, craft-rooms, craft-spaces, craft-studios, craft-tables, crafting-furniture, dream-art-studio, dream-craft-room, home-renovating, Ikea, Improvement, organization

Doors to Storage. (Literally.)

September 28, 2011 By Laura 34 Comments

We are so excited to show you a couple of major storage solutions we came up with for our home, that has made a huge help to us!
Not only do we feel much more organized, but these are unique projects where we re-purposed old doors.

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We’re guessing many of you love to see little home transformations, and creative spaces, as we do, and that’s just what we hope to share with you today.  The photos we share will likely explain what we have done. But if you have just a bit of time, grab a drink of choice, and let us amuse you with a little more about the birth of this project.

We’ve heard some people try to ‘ keep up with the Jones’. But that’s not our style.  I’m sure they’re really nice peeps, and all. But they don’t run in our circles, and even if they did, I doubt we’d want or care what they have, even if we could  afford a thing.  No, our wants and needs are really quite simple. If not a little off-beat sometimes, I suppose.

What we would love to keep up with, is ourselves, and our own plans and ideas.  Michael and I enjoy walking around our home and yard, chat, brainstorm, and hatch a plan, that continues to make the best of our little piece of the world. Our ideas always have a purpose, whether they are to create a sense of decor, efficiency, organization, to save money, or simply to amuse ourselves because we think it’s cool. Many times, it’s all of the above. One thing is for sure; 100’s of plans have been laid out between us, in detail, and never come to fruition, whether it was intended to be done right away or not. Time and/or funds usually hold up the process a bit, until we’ve forgotten we even had the plan!  Sometimes, new plans and ideas have been made over the old ones we forgot, or remember we had.  And we always have more, than we could ever realistically get to, anyway.  It’s craziness, actually. So priority is the key, and some things just need to be dealt with once and for all.

 

001_shoe-storage-problem

Case in point is this hot mess, known as our shoes issue.  First, you should know, “I” am the kind of person, that really prefers one take off their shoes, before walking around the house.  Not because we have any fancy home, or carpet that mustn’t get dirty for appearances sake.  But, because of the things I notice in the world around me, the things I think of, and the things I know dang well those shoes have walked through.

Take for example, (just to make the most of my point), those teenage/adolescent boys you see walking through parking lots from point A to B, when you suddenly see and hear them do a big collecting sniff of sorts, hack it up, and just let it fly out onto the parking lot ground.  It turns-my-stomach. I’ve seen/heard it hundreds of times, and I have told my boys every time, “Don’t you EVAH, in your life time, do that.  I don’t care if you are 36. That is absolutely dis-gust-ting, rude and UNacceptable.” To which they reply, “We know Mama. You tell us that every time.”  So along with 100 other examples I could give (I’ll spare you), I simply know it’s a small sample of what is on the bottom of anyone’s shoes, and I really do not want to know such disgust is all over the floors of my home.

I’ll take earth-dirty-feet over that kind of what-nots, any day of the week.

So that helps explain all of the shoes, along the walls of our sun room, right inside our front door.  Keep in mind, this is also the room with our wood stove, and one of our family tables where we often eat and school, half the time. We originally imagined it as a cozier room for reading and such, possibly with a chaise lounge chair or 2, and an area rug under the table. Not the feel we had going here. Using the table for eating and schooling the other half of the time, it is the room we enter when we come home, and through which guests come as well. With only our shoes for that season out, with 6 of us, it’s too many. Any, is too many, for me.  It’s actually worse then you see. At the time of this photo, some had just been put away, and 5 other pairs were busy walking around in the world of what-not.  The bottom line is this:  the sight of these shoes always puts me in a bad mood. It looks terrible, and we are always tripping over them.  So, for a couple of years now, our plan was to build a storage bench along the wall you see. We had designed it right down to the details, and frankly, the shoes could never let us forget that plan.  It’s just been on a list of many things we’re been trying to get to.  But we finally did, with a whole new spin, and we’re about to show you.

But completely related, you need to see this…..

002_antique-typewriter This is in (in part) our school room. If I ever took photos of these floor cabinets Michael built for our school room 4-5 years ago, I cannot find them.  So this photo and the one below, will have to give you an idea.  There are 3 of them along the 1/2 wall adjoining the kitchen.

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If you can possibly look past one of our adorable boy when he was starting 1st grade, you will better see the size of these cabinets.  Michael did an great job, and they served us well in this room for 5 years.  But as of late I decided they are really (way) more specious inside, than we actually need, for our school books and materials. Very roomy.  And we probably did not need so much table-top space either.  As a whole, they take up a lot of space in this room, where there is also another long table and chairs, and where we also tend to gather to eat and school.

Since the sun room was meant to be cozier and lounge-ier than it is, we thought a good first step, is to not let it be the door we come inside the house through, for one.  The back door would probably be better for that.  More like a mud room. But there was still the countless shoes issue! We still needed somewhere to sit down and take our shoes off, and somewhere to store all of those shoes. What we did not need, was quite so much storage space, for all of our schooling materials.   I forget now exactly when, but the 2 matters collided at some point in my head, and ideas started rapidly coming together.  It was likely in the shower, which tends to be my most productive think-tank, but if that is TMI for you, disregard.

The gist of it all was….get rid of the big spacious cabinets in the school room, build some kind of more shallow shelving instead, and move this whole storage bench idea to the school room, where we should really enter the house from now on. A-hA!!  Then we can do better with the sun room! But that would be getting ahead of ourselves here.

004_old-doors

I also had an idea of how/where else we could use the big cabinets, but that too is for another time. In a nutshell, they were moved elsewhere, and it occurred to me that it would probably come out pretty cool, and save us big-time in material costs, to build our storage bench and shelves, out of old doors.

In a matter of days, we had found 4 doors on ebay offered for dirt cheap, just a hop, skip, and maybe 2 jumps, from us. Michael arranged to meet the guy to take a look, and he brought them home. (2 of them from this photo were already moved to the school room.) The doors were dirty, and somewhat mismatched, but that was all workable.

Show and tell will go fast from here I think.All 4 doors were re-purposed in this project(s).

005_old-door I loved the features on these old doors, and I knew I’d probably rough things up some more, from here.

006 First Michael relocated the huge cabinets to other locations. The floor space we gained just doing that, was unreal. Then, put up some leftover bead-board we had, as the back wall.

Then a bit of measuring and taking a moment to think things through, and we started to build.

007_old-door-repurposing-bench
The doors were sawed into half the long ways, as well as proper sized-pieces, for various parts, and we were able to start putting it together.   We wanted it a good height to sit on, and have as much room on the inside, to store/hide the abundance of shoes.

 

008_shoes-storage-bench As you can see, the bench unit, using the doors, was built 3 sided, simply using the back wall as the back of the unit.   And all of our shoes fit in there perfectly.

009_storage-bench Without all of the shoes inside yet, here is what the bottom looks like.  These removable racks are a feature we came up with, even when the plans was to build traditional storage benches in the front sun room:   The shoes we take off when we come indoors are not only dirty/sandy, but often times wet too.  I know what a mess the elements from the shoes made on the floor, so I had thought of that in terms of the inside of the bench, and what a pain it would be again, to move each pair of shoes, to vacuum up the sand and dirt.

010_storage-bench So we built these shoe racks out out of strapping and chicken wire, so that a whole rack with shoes on it, could be lifted out, and we could vacuum underneath.  They would also keep the shoe off the floor of the bench, so they could dry easier.

011_old-doors-repurposing
At the same time, we were not only building the storage bench with our old doors, but wall shelves beside it, for all of our school books and materials.

 

012_old-door-shelves
I know it’s quirky, but I really love this part of the door-shelves.  I knew the doorknob would serve purpose, aside from looking cool. The sharpener simply needed to be relocated from elsewhere, as it ended up being located in such a way they we could no longer use it, without moving it, and this was the best place for it.

As you can see, a lot of the doors were beat-up, and the dark wood of the original door showed through. I liked that.  But a few parts of the structures were also necessarily built with new wood.

013
Such as the shelving itself, built with new wood.  So there was still some distressing and aging to do anyway, on new wood and not, which I did with course sand paper, and dark wax, to properly stain and age the new wood, with the old.

 

016_doorknob-hangers Here is the lid to the storage unit open, pre-distressed. Obviously a door, but this side was painted by the original owner more recently, it appeared.  To add interest, and of course organization and function, we added a collection of old and mismatched doorknobs along the wall above it.

017_storage-doors-bench Here’s a better look as you step back and look at it as a whole. Again, we obviously used doors, and we intended for it to remain obvious, keeping every lock , doorknob and door feature we could.

Coming into the house using the back door, we come in and sit down on the bench to take off our shoes, and put them inside.  I should add, we will be putting down a mud runner, from the backdoor to along the front of this bench.  The little kids can hang their jackets and hats on the doorknobs, which is much easier for them as they cannot reach well in the coat closet that is in the room.  Yes, some coats will be too long to hang completely, leaving the bottom of the coats to sit on the bench, but that’s fine.  Scarves, bags and all kinds of accessories can be hung on the knobs too.

018_old-doorknob-repurposing

019_old-door-shelves The top shelves are for what you can see, as well as some of our music books.  I have many more of my teacher and resource school books that I plan to move from other shelves in the house to these upper ones, for my own use. But the depth we made the door shelves was just right for our needs.

020_old-door-storage The lower shelves are for the kid’s school books, and more of my every day teacher books.  As you can see, we found immediate use for this original doorknob, as well.

020_old-door-storage The kids hang their recorder instruments there. Perfect!

022_old-doors-bench I forgot to take photos of the bench with the lid closed, before we embellished it just a little bit.  But in closing this post, I wanted to give you a better look at the finished bench and shelves.

023_old-doors-bench

In an upcoming post, we will share with you the embellishments details you see, and how exactly we did it, with a surprise inside as well! But that’s pretty much the finished project as a whole.

We have found the entire project to serve us much better. It’s all so much more convenient, functional, and we think, has a cool factor.  I would think it’s the kind of thing that one would either love, or hate.  And I wonder, would features such as these, have a negative 0r positive impact on the ability to sell a house, should the time arise?  What do you think? We personally love the uniqueness and interesting features of people’s homes, and this fits right in with why we love ours. Everyone’s tastes vary, and so our feelings could never be hurt. But we’re curious to know what you think of this idea?  Is it cool, creative, or downright crazy?

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Filed Under: Budget, Furniture Refinishing, Home Decor, Home Improvement, Home Projects, Organization, Re-Purposing, The Big Picture, The Homestead Tagged With: antique-door-knobs, bench-seats, best-repurposing-ideas, custom-built-storage-benches, home, Home Improvement, home-organization-ideas, old-door-shelfs-shelving, organization, repurposing-old-doorknobs, repurposing-old-doors, shelving, shoes-storage-solutions, storage-benches, unique-shelving

Old Doorknobs to Jewelry Holder | DIY

May 9, 2011 By Laura 29 Comments

old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-12
My youngest daughter {O}, age 8, is all about her accessories. She loves fashion design, and gets great joy out of planning her outfits, head to toe, every day. Her hair accessories have been taking over my side of the bathroom cabinet, and she has been keeping a lot of her jewelry in a box, which as you can imagine, tends to get things a little tangled.  Something had to be done, and I had a great idea for an accessory holder!

old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder There’s an antique place in E. Wareham nearby, called Clam Shack Antiques, that we’ve frequented often in the past couple of years.  I knew it was just the place to hit first, for some of the supplies I needed for my project, as I recalled there was a load of old antique door knobs there.   I rummaged through them all, chose some I really liked, and bought them for a deal.
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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-1 At home, I already had the perfect piece of wood.  My father comes down to visit us a lot, and when he comes, he usually brings a load of stuff we may, or may not, want.  He knows how we love to make something, out of nothing.  Or take a piece of junk, and turn it into something nice or useful.   This nice solid piece of wood, was among the last load he showed up with.  It’s not truly perfect actually.  Someone had routered it, but the piece was not cut exactly even, to begin with.  But that’s alright.  We embrace imperfections. (Starting with ourselves.  Do we have a choice?  ; ).

I had all I needed, to get to work on my vision.
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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-2 This is what I made.  I painted the wood, and then distressed it a little.  Then I had Michael install 3 of the door knobs I chose for this project, in my particular specified order. (So important, you know.)   I did not want any two knobs alike for this project, so we are saving the rest for another upcoming house project.

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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-3 Here, is {O}’s accessory holder in use, just as I had envisioned it. Well, it’s not actually quite done, as you see.  I’ll tell you more about that in a minute.  But the knobs are just perfect, to hang her accessories on.  She has some nice pieces, too!

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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-4 {O} is such a fun kid to have around.  She has such a feminine style, and gets so excited about anything I want to do with her, or her room. She appreciates my creative side, has one of her own, and is as enthusiastic as I am, about any project I brainstorm about, or work on.  She loves to work with me, too.

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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-5 Hunting for door knobs, has been so fun.  I have discovered how unique door knobs can really be.
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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-6 The glass ones can be especially fascinating, and beautiful.

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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-7 But even this dinged up one has such character.  I think it’s brass, underneath that paint. This one, and it’s match, were pretty yellowed, when I brought them home.  We just washed them with hot water and soap, and they whitened quite a bit.  They still look old and discolored of course, which is why I love them.  But…not yellow.

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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-8 I really still cannot believe, that I grew up in a house that is close to 100 years old, and I never appreciated it’s history, while I lived there.

I want a second chance!

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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-9 Which reminds me.  Were you wondering what the 4th hole was for?  I’m going to get a door knob from my parent’s house, that I just mentioned, and add it to this piece of art, that I created for {O}’s room.  It is like art – don’t you think? My father will be selling the house soon, now that my mother has been gone for 6 years.  It’s just taken him a long time, to be ready to let go.  I think he’s still working on that, actually.  (So am I. ) Anyway, that house is loaded with all of the details that a house of that age does, including more doors and doorways than you can shake a stick at. And thus, door knobs.

That 4th hole will be filled, very soon.  I could easily find another door knob in my antique hunting, and I will be getting lots more, anyway.  But it’s important to me, that the last one be from my old home, and {O}’s grandparents, for this.
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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-10 {O} confiscated the ceramic bunny, that was put aside to go back up in the attic, from our Easter house decorating pile.  It looks quite fitting and perfect, in her room.  And she found it’s ears, are just the right size for her bracelets.
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old-doorknobs-jewelry-organizer-holder-11 And in these photos, have been peeks for you, of another project I have already mentioned I’ll be sharing.  That post will be up by Thursday, in The Homestead (Home & Gardens) section of this blog.

So, what did you think of this project?  Did you like my idea? Please share your thoughts, in the comments. : )  I love it so much, I get giddy.

Like this project? Than ‘Like’ our Facebook Page! There’s some more clever ideas coming up!!

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Filed Under: Crafts & Creations, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Project, Organization Tagged With: antique-doorknobs, do-it-yourself-DIY-projects, jewelry-organization, necklace-bracelet-holder, organization, projects-for-old-doorknobs, what-to-do-with-old-doorknobs

Let’s Talk Trash | A Solution to Hide Your Kitchen Trash

March 25, 2010 By Laura 12 Comments

In this post I’m going to do a little personal venting, and then I’m going to show you the solution to our kitchen trash problem!

kitchen-trash-solutions-7

Ask anyone who lives with me. I’m a sheer-compulsive-pet-peeved- maniac about certain aspects of our home.  The sudden sight of clutter is one. It sends me over the edge.  Like a sunny 30 mph Sunday drive, to a buck-60 in a clap of thunder.

I’ve analyzed my seemingly over-reactions enough, to figure some of myself out.  The sight of clutter, instantly clutters my mind.  An organized mind of thoughts and agendas is something I work very hard at. So I don’t need some tall and disheveled pile of paper to come along, and mess with me.  See what I’m sayin’?

Another personal demon I’ve been determined to beat, is the trash.  I know where this issue started for me too.  I was living at someone else’s house at the time. I was in the kitchen one day, went to throw something away, and the sight of that cover of that plastic rectangle trash can stopped me in my tracks, and grossed me right out.  Nasty as all get out.  Thank goodness it had one of those levers you could step on to open it, but I found myself holding my breathe even as I did that.  Yuckity-doo-da.

I never forgot that. The haunting of it has followed me right into my own home.  You may understand the thought process for example, that your own bathroom, for instance, as in need of a cleaning as it may be, never seems quite as dirty as say, a public bathroom. Right?  One might apply the same perspective to their trash can covers.  In your own home, it may be like, “Oh, that should be wiped down.”  In someone else’s home, or worse on the sidewalk in front of the storefronts, it’s more like, “OH. GROSS.  I am NOT touching that if I can help it!”  Am I right?  (O.K….if it’s just me, don’t tell me. Sometimes I like to make believe I am one with the world.)

At any rate (….my mother used to say that phrase ALL Of the time.  I don’t get it. But I still say it now.)  At any rate, I see the clutter in my home, and the yuckity-doo-da on the trash covers, through the eyes of make-believe unexpected visitors. I really do not want someone to come into my home, and be repulsed.  Know what I’m saying?  Yes…I COULD go the therapy route.   But why not just fix the problem instead, so we ALL can be comfortable?

 

kitchen-trash-solutions

So…that brings us to our own kitchen trash container.  I’m going about my happy day.  I go to throw something away, and I see that cover.  So here we have already gone from sunny, leisure Sunday drive, to a buck-60 in a clap of thunder.  Then I try to put something IN, and the trash-a-plenty keeps it from opening properly. Ggrrrr.  Once I do finally get said-trash in, then the cover is stuck open, on some trash.  Now I have to touch it a SECOND time.
I’m ready to throw the whole thing off a cliff at this point.
–

2_stairs

As IF I’m not self-conscious enough, this inevitably also becomes part of that ‘fun and relaxing experience’ I try to give my clients, that I photograph in my studio.   We come up from a good time, after an exciting and fun photo shoot in my studio, and we begin to climb the stairs when we are done, with me leading…..and the sun sneaks behind a cloud….

kitchen-trash-solutions-5

……there it ISSSSSS.  The trash.  Practically in our faces as we come up the stairs.  I notice the sticky spot.  I think I might smell something.  I keep the conversation going with a little more enthusiasm, as my distraction tactic.

kitchen-trash-solutions-6
But really.  WHO is going to miss that thing?
–
Oh.  And then there is my ‘participating ingredients’ shots I do when I am planning a recipe post for the blog . . . .

5

I get it all set up. I set my camera.  I look through the lens.  And it’s not the ingredients I see first.  All I see is the FREAKIN’ TRASH IN THE BACKGROUND!  Oh my gosh!  Somebody move that thing!!  The light seems to have disappeared, and I up my ISO.

So I was heck-bent on a solution, for this trash-matter. (Yes, there is such word as heck-bent.)   I have spent many a moment, just standing in this room or the other, brainstorming on a solution.   And I’ve had a successful brainstorm or two, as a result of my desperation.

6_corner-shelves-repurposed

As you enter our kitchen from the front of the house, we have these corner shelves.  When we first saw this house and bought it, I thought these shelves were as cute as the dickens.   Another little unique feature to our first home, to display cute little things.   Most recently, I have had these storage baskets on the shelves, because I really needed somewhere to put ‘stuff’.  Like extra phone books we might need sometime.  I did get past that one, and just throw them out. But then….the cover would get stuck open. :  (  Or, the umpteen photo lab invoices I get.  Those piles of paper I mentioned before, or questionalbe mail. Etc.  It was a great idea for awhile for another place to stick things, until I saw the clutter in the baskets!  So I got creative and bought matching table place mats to throw on top.  ; )    I was feeling super-clever until one day, my Dad was here, and as he walked by for the 100th time that day he said, “What are these things anyway”.   I told him-storage baskets.  He said, “OK, but why are those things on top?”  So I told him; to cover the clutter of course.   But by his, “Oh. O.k.”, and the moment he took to take that in,  I got the feeling he thought that was tacky.

Now, I am quite sure my father doesn’t really know ‘tacky‘ when he sees it.  So I was concerned.  About my basket covers. Not him.  Hmmm.  We have a problem, Houston.

7_corner-shelves-repurposed

Once upon a time, I kept a few cook books on these triangle shelves.  They were awkward items to keep there.  I had a few decorative kitchen items too.  All of it could have been cute.   If no one (like me) looked closely enough at the dust that collected on the shelves and the things I kept there.

I had better use for that space.   I told Michael I had a good idea for the kitchen.  He’s all ears now-a-days.  He’s come to realize the genius that I am with my ideas.   I knew he’d see the light, in time.     ; )

–

1. So Michael ripped out those shelves and supporters, and took some measurements.

2. Then he built a custom-fitting container.  That was, of course, after he accepted the fact that he would have to buy larger trash bags from now on, and that would mean fewer in a box also.  That took a bit for him to live with in his mind, but he came around again.

3. To finish it, he built a nice door for the cubby.  (And now, what I see is that counter-cabinet above it, that I despise. It’s next on my hit-list. But we won’t go there today.)

kitchen-trash-solutions-1-2-3-8

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It’s really nice though.  I could look at it all day.You know how you do that, with new things in your home?  I might tomorrow, too.

–

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It opens perfectly quietly.  And when you throw trash in, you can’t miss, or not be able to close the door again.

–

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The container itself,  pulls right out, for easy trash bag changing.  There is felt buttons on the bottom, so it just slides in and out softly.   The door closes completely silently.   There is a spring hinge on it.
–

kitchen-trash-solutions-4

The door is built with a wainscot paneling face, framed out, and a brushed nickle knob.   The wainscot bead-boarding flows the lower walls of our home in the sun room, flowing right into the main living space under the breakfast bar, and wraps around right into the wall of the kitchen.

YOU can do this too, in any floor level kitchen cabinet, to hide your own trash container!  You can build a custom fit trash bin, to maximize your trash cabinet size! Just be sure a trash bag will fit your new container.  Or, just stick your current trash container in a cleared out cabinet.

–

15_school-room-cabinets

The trash door now also now matches out school room cabinets Michael did.  They still need kick-board faces on the bottom.

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17_kitchen_cupboards_lower

 In time, we’ll be replacing these kitchen cabinet faces with the same  doors.  They aren’t TOO bad looking.  And thank goodness, because who knows if it could be years before they get done.   But, they don’t really say ‘farm house’ to me.  And remember…I’m pretending I am living on a farm.   Minus anything gross.
–

18_notrash

The best part?   No UNSIGHTLY trash can to look at anymore!  I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. I ride these joys for weeks on end.  And some days, when I need a little pick-me-up to think about how far we have come, I say out loud to no one in particular……”Remember when we had that ugly, nasty-covered trash can in the kitchen, right by the stairs?  Man, WHAT were we thinking all of those years.  HOW did we even let people come over?“

19_openfloor

There is no longer panic coming up those stairs with my clients. My kitchen floor plan is wide-open, and the eye does not stop in some black sticky-topped container.  It’s a sunny, leisure Sunday drive.  Not a cloud in the sky looking east-ish.

See?  I am my own therapist.  And all it costs me is a little fluttering of the eye-lashes, and asking Honey, nicely, if he”ll make my new little dream come-true.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Who wants to come over and throw somethin’ out with me?!

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Filed Under: Home Improvement, Home Projects, Organization, Re-Purposing, The Homestead Tagged With: hiding-your-kitchen-trash, home improvements, kitchen improvement, organization, trash-can-ideas, trash-solutions

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