If you’ve been following me for a while, you may remember my post back in January or February about my DIY Hidden Pantry. This pantry was very helpful, and very convenient, however over time, the screws began to pull from the wall since we didn’t use drywall anchors. Also, the pantry was too small for all the snack foods I had and needed to store. We eventually began to store bags of chips on the fridge just because they wouldn’t fit in the space anymore.
Josh and I want to eventually put in built in cabinets around the fridge, however, we want to see how we can use our space in the meantime. So, we decided to get a shelf from target, and if it’s very useful, we’ll eventually add doors, or install all built ins. With built ins, we hope to also re-arrange our washer & dryer, but one step at a time.
The shelf we got is the 5 shelf bookcase from target, and we picked the color black. It was easy assembly, and gave us so much more space. Each shelf holds 30 pounds, and the shelf is shallow enough to not interfere with the dryer door.
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!
This weekend, Josh and I went to a new liquidation store a few towns over. While we were there, we were looking at their light section, and we had talked many times about how bad our lighting was and how our fixtures didn’t match what our styling was. On top of this, this store had a good selection, and we were able to get the ceiling light for $23 and we bought their last one, and the wall sconce was only $8.
After that, we finished our Christmas shopping, and crashed for the night. On Sunday, we had to run out to Home Depot to get the 13 watt bulbs needed for the kitchen, and boy was it worth it! Josh spent to rest of the afternoon putting up the lights. It was kind of weird since the ceiling light needed the ground attached to the bracket before it attaches, so I had to hold the light near the ceiling while Josh attached the bracket. Also, it was nice to find light boxes in the ceiling and wall, since we didn’t have one behind our medicine cabinet. The light box in the ceiling isn’t attached to the ceiling at all, but the wires attached through a smaller hole, so there is no risk of that falling. The original kitchen light also had insulation underneath the plate. Though that was the case, we installed the new light without insulation, with the thought that we can always add some later if we so desire or need.
The wall sconce however was a complete disaster trying to install. Originally, Josh thought that would be the easy one, and the ceiling light would be hard, but it was quite the opposite. First, we had to paint it, because it had an oiled brass finish, and we decided it would look better in nickle. But, the problems began shortly after. There was a light box behind the wall sconce, however it sticks out of the wall by about an eighth of an inch. So, the whole fixture is away from the wall a bit, but everything is weird about the design of the fixture. The bulb screws in toward the bottom left edge of the glass, and to not see the bulb, the bulb has to be twisted toward the right. So, the light is uneven, which can be seen a bit in the lit photo below. Also, nothing aligned with the new sconce. A bolt on the back hit the edge of the box making it stick out more, and the ground screw on the mounting bracket also prevented the light from laying flat. So, Josh had to switch brackets, and grind down the light box, making it so the light was nearly even with the wall.
Overall, things didn’t go as we had expected them to, however, they both turned out well nevertheless. The lights take a second to turn on in the kitchen and though we will probably change the wall sconce again in the future, it turned out well in the end. What do you think of the new fixtures? I’m excited to make a new recipe in the kitchen to show off my new lighting soon!
If you enjoyed this article, Please feel free to follow me or subscribe for more updates!
Hello everyone! I hope you are having a good day today.
To start this blog, I’ve decided to give you a little update into where we were, and where we hope to head in the future with this house.
So far, we’ve been working on the house since we bought it in June. We started with outdoor work. We’ve trimmed the magnolia in the front yard cutting it significantly back, removed cedars that were along the rear edge of the garage, removed two yews along the side of the garage, and done basic maintenance including washing the siding, and cleaning gutters and fixing the broken ones along the front of the house.
When we moved in there was quite a bit of neglect to the house. The back screen-door handle was broken, leaving only the push button to open the door. We found out after we moved in that the refrigerator leaked and the freezer formed excessive amounts of ice, the dryer hose was busted so the lint was being thrown everywhere behind the dryer and the pipe it vented to had completely rusted away leaving just ducting tape. The doorknobs didn’t work because the mechanisms inside were plastic and ruined with the bathroom being particularly bad. The drain for the kitchen sink was almost completely blocked, and though they vacuumed, the house needed some serious cleaning.
Thanks to my husband, all of these problems got solved over the first few months. Josh changed the handle on the screen-door, got a new dryer hose and the piping to replace the ducting tape. He tightened the bolts of the refrigerator and freezer and used petrolatum jelly to create a better seal on the doors. He changed out the doorknobs in the house with the old front and backdoor knobs. And the kitchen drain, after trying Liquid Plumber many times, we ended up buying a pipe bladder that created enough pressure to force the gunk out of there! We then scrubber the walls, windows, doors frames, and tiling with diluted distilled white vinegar, which worked well on grease, dirt, and significantly reduced the lingering smell of dog.
We also bought new hardware for the kitchen cabinets and replaced the old. We took out the old medicine cabinet in the bathroom and replaced it with a new light fixture and re-purposed the mirror from the front of the cabinet to be our new mirror temporarily. We also installed a new double towel rod in place of the old single towel rod. We bought curtains for all of the rooms, 84″ blackout curtains that reach the floor, and sheer curtains for underneath. We’ve installed a projector screen, because we decided to buy a cheap projector rather then a TV. And, we removed some of the carpet in the guest bedroom/cat room/home office/storage-room.
Our upcoming projects Right now, we are working on removing wallpaper that goes from the dining room through the living room and into the hallway. We plan to remove the wallpaper sections at a time, plaster the areas that have previous damage, sand it all flat, then paint it with satin white latex paint since we received a free gallon from a local hardware store. Also above the cabinets in the kitchen, you will see there is a hole. We discovered that a couple months ago. It is a spot where someone just wallpapered over the old vent hole, so we plan to cut a piece of wood that will fit, attach it in there and seal the hole, then paint it.
There are still many things we hope to do, from painting cabinets and walls, to removing carpeting and adding new flooring. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you soon!
Our Lustron Home 