This was a small project that was pretty easy. We had to measure the depth of the face and then just follow the installation instructions on the back of the package. This is a very special clock though to me, because my husband made it about a year after we started dating in high school and he stained the whole clock a dark color, because I love the richness of dark wood. He also stained the 12, 3, 6, and 9 a red color because red is my favorite color. It meant a lot to me at the time, and I’m glad to have it hanging in our house and working.
I’ve wanted a new light fixture in the dining room since we first moved in. The exposed bulb wasn’t the style I wanted in the house, but also the bulb had to be so dull that you won’t be blinded, or the bulb isn’t really functioning as a light. Josh & I looked at shades at several stores, but either the style wasn’t right, or it was way more expensive than it should have been.
Making our own lamp shade
First, the black cubes were hand made by Josh and I two years ago as part of our wedding centerpieces. They are 3/4″ x 3/4″ pieces of pine cut to 11.5″ and 5″. We used the 11.5″ pieces as the sides, and we used the 5″ pieces for the top and bottom pieces that were sandwiched between the 11.5″ pieces. This makes the over all dimensions of the cubes 6.5″ x 6.5″ x 11.5″. We used a nail gun to attach them together, wood putty to patch the holes, used Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Gray primer, then spray painted them with Rust-Oleum Universal Spray Paint in Black Hammered.
As you can see in the photos, we originally planned to attach the cubes to the fixture with wood, but we decided to use 4 screw eyes at the top interior center of each piece. The panels are corrugated plastic. We cut the panels slightly big, then Josh shaved them down using the table saw so that they were slightly tight putting them in. Finally, we used small dowels to make sure the panels are evenly spaced from the front, then we used a hot glue gun to place hot glue onto each of the corners, attaching them. Then we hung it up with thin wire and switched the light bulb for a 100 Watt LED bulb.
Josh has put a lot of time and energy thinking about how to do this project. He had leftover wheels from a long board he had, and we have some space between the fridge and an existing wall, so he thought this would be a nice thing he could build that would look nice and provide us with additional kitchen storage. We have an 8 1/2 inch gap that is 18 inches deep, and 63 inches until the back would hit an existing bracket on the wall, but 66 inches in the front to be level with the fridge.
The Space and Materials
For this project, we needed 3 1″x8″x8′, 12 3/8″ dowels that were 48″ long, and a set of 18″ Full extension drawer slides. We picked up the materials as home depot paying just under $14 per board, under $1 per dowel, and under $15 for the drawer slides. We then cut the one board to 63″ for the back board, 65″ for the face board, and we cut 6 shelves at 16″ each. Josh also created a jig to help us pre-drill holes in the end of each shelf, so that when we add screws we didn’t split the wood. We also had to cut our dowels, which we cut to 18″, and drill holes for the wheels to mount. After drilling all of that, we also pre-drilled holes in the face and back, and drilled holes for the dowels to fit. Then we were on to assembly.
The Assembly
We assembled the shelves by making the slightly longest be on the bottom, and getting smaller as they go to the top. After drilling all the holes, we added wood glue to each end of the shelf and began screwing it together. When you make it, glue and screw into the face board, and once it’s dried, then attach the back. Though we predrilled holes, we still split a shelf, and we attached the back before the front, so the back is square while the front is sloped (oh well).
We attache the wheels by centering them and using screws to mount them to the board, and not the nuts and bolts that come with boards. And, for the dowels, we slipped them through the holes. The holes we were using were tight, so we didn’t, but you can also add glue here if they are loose.
Finalizing
To finish the project, I used wood putty to cover the screw heads and dowel ends, and let it dry for 4 hours as directed by the package. I then sanded the surface flat by hand. Finally, I painted the face of the cabinet with semi-gloss white paint. I had to use 2 coats, and finally, we drilled 2 holes at our desired height and attached a handle we got at Ollie’s.
Josh and I have been working on multiple big projects since Christmas. We’ve been working to get a bit more DIY content on the blog, but we’ve found it’s just a little too hard to do some of these projects in winter.
We’ve pulled out our old dishwasher, since it stopped working mid-November, and though we would like another one eventually, we just don’t have the money or the options at this point to get another one, even used. So, we’re trying to come up with a plan for the now hole under our cabinets. We’ve also been working on a hidden roll out pantry. We started this project on the First, but we’ve been delayed a bit and it’s been taking a few days to finish it up, but hopefully, it will be up by Friday, fingers crossed! Finally, our big mistake.
We’ve been working on removing wallpaper for a few weeks now. But, there is a spot where they plastered over wallpaper, so we decided sanding would be the best option. So, last night we decided to sand down the wall, and though it looks great now, I think I’m going to go crazy with how much plaster dust is covering EVERYTHING! I’ve seen some forums talking about this problem and they encourage washing all fabrics and wet wiping down all surfaces, but man! It’s so much! So, if you ever attack a project like this, please, wear face masks (we did that atleast), make sure the room is well ventilated and sealed off from other rooms if possible, and try not to get frustrated with the mess you just made!
The faucet has always been on the top of my project list. The existing faucet leaked where the handle attached causing nutrient build up on the sink. The faucet also caused uneven water flow (hence the head attachment), and as you can see, it’s a very low faucet. I could barely fit a sheet pan or casserole dish in to clean it, and it was incredibly hard to fill up my larger stock pot. Along with that, the water fountain to the left of the sink wasn’t working when we moved in, leaking everywhere, and looking at it’s condition coming off, it probably never did work! It was an “add a line” fixture that was meant to attach to your existing lines without having to run new piping, but it’s more gimmicky than practical.
Removing the old faucet was one of the biggest challenges that came with this project. It must have been a very long time since it had last been changed because all of the bolts were rusted and seized. Also everything was very cramped with how tight our pipes are under our sink. Besides that, Josh was also trying to be very careful removing everything in case the new faucet leaked and we would have to put the old faucet back on.
The faucet we found was only $60 on amazon, and though it’s not a name brand, it was our style, and at least half the price of any similar name brand products we were seeing (all ranging from $120-$240). If you are interested, you can find it here.
This new faucet also has buttons on the head but the buttons face the other direction. Just another quirk of non-name brand. There is a button you have to press and hold that stops the water flow. There is also a rocker switch that changes the flow from standard stream to a shower/sprayer stream. The finish is also not perfect on the new faucet, but that doesn’t really matter to us all that much. We tend to care more that it functions and will hold up for a while, and this appears to do both.
Before and After comparison
What do you think? Josh and I are doing things to hopefully improve the overall house value, do you thing this may have done that even a little? Thanks again for your time and hope to see you again soon!
Our Lustron Home 