Shoesplosion

They’re everywhere! They’re everywhere!

I think we have a shoe problem. Between the two of us we own:

• 6 pairs sandals
• 6 pairs dress shoes (including heels)
• 2 pairs boots
• 4 pairs tennis shoes
• 3 pairs house shoes

That’s 20 pairs of shoes for two people and the fact that we do not wear shoes indoors with exception of house shoes means they get piled by the door causing a tripping hazard for both the two-legged and four-legged members of the family.

I have been enviously eyeing some simple small mudroom solutions for our space which could corral the shoes and the dog items and bags and other items we take with us as we leave the house. Here are a few of my must haves:

• Must have a seat. The Mister takes my work chair away from me every time he needs to pull his shoes on or take them off which means by the end of the week his shoes usually start to encroach my work area!
• Must contain shoes. A basket or a cubby (or several!) would be nice to contain the shoes.
• Must store dog items. We need a way to be able grab the dog items or grocery bags on our way out while still maintaining some order near the door.
• Must fit behind the door. Our space is approximately 15” deep and 42” wide and is in close proximity to a space heater so flammability needs to be taken into consideration.

Something similar to these photos from Houzz would be nice:

Beach Style Entry

Traditional Entry by Saratoga Springs Design-Build Firms Witt Construction

Or this Pottery Barn Entryway Bench and Shelf

Giving new life to a buffet

Our in-laws were working on reorganizing their house. In the process, they decided to discard a piece of furniture- an old buffet they had picked up years ago, added legs and painted. When we heard they were getting rid of the piece, we jumped on the chance to make it ours. We brought it home where it sat in the middle of the office for one month.  

Buffet when we brought it home

On a warm day, we took the buffet outside to dismantle it. The legs were already removed and the back was badly damaged. We removed the back and the drawers, took out nails, added nails, and sanded the piece. Having lived in an area with salty air, the hardware on the buffet also needed to be removed and were too rusty to reuse.

Buffet sanded and ready for priming

After taking a dry cloth to wipe the dust away, we moved the buffet to our painting room – aka our living room. In our painting room, the buffet was primed and painted a custom shade of blue.

Buffet after priming

The Mister did not like the previous legs which were attached with a few screws and plates since they were quite skinny and unsturdy. It seems at one time in the buffet’s life that it had legs fully attached from top to bottom, but when The Mister’s parents received it, the original legs were gone. When we brought it home, The Mister’s parents had already removed the legs they had installed many years prior. It made it easier to transport in the car. The Mister and I went back and forth discussing table legs and finally agreed upon the Country Pine legs.

We worked late evenings to trim the bottom of the buffet so that it was flat. (It was dark so there are no photos of this process.) Since we surmised that there were legs on the original buffet based on the rounded edges of each corner, The Mister trimmed these rounded edges with a circular saw creating a flat surface for the new legs. Using the Kreg jig, The Mister drilled three holes in each leg and attached them to the buffet using 2inch screws. Once the legs were attached, I puttied and sanded, puttied and sanded some more to create a smooth surface. It isn’t perfect, but after a coat of primer and three coats of paint it looks pretty good.

Painted buffet

We ordered 6 Satin Nickel Hickory Hardware Camarilla ring pulls and ninety-eight days after bringing the buffet home, it was done. (For all of those blogs that talk about keeping it real, it seems that all of our projects, even the "quick" ones, drag out for an extended period of time. :) )  

Buffet, A work in progress

We gave a used buffet second life (or is it third now?) and it will be great storage in the office.  Does it take you over three months to complete what was supposed to have been a simple furniture project? Or are we the only ones who have projects that drag out? 

Peggy Sue

When we lived in our former house, we had a pile of tools that we had to sort through in the toolbox. While having them collected within the toolbox was nice, we soon began to outgrow the toolbox and needed to find another storage solution. Hence, the installation of a pegboard wall. Ya’ll this was the first time I had ever owned a pegboard wall and I loved it. I even used pegboard remnants to create an organization system for storing rolls of ribbon in a hutch. Sadly, when we moved, we had to leave both the pegboard wall and the hutch behind.

So I was extremely excited, giddy even, when the pegboard from our former house became available and The Mister returned to our new home with the sheet of pegboard strapped to the roof of the car. (I'm sure we looked something like the television commercials of the people carrying a mattress and the mattress is flying precariously above the car.)  I was bunny jumping, hands clapping, and squealing all at once. I can have a pegboard wall once again! I can’t wait to cut it to fit the new space and begin accessorizing this new addition to our household.

I would like to create a frame around the pegboard similar to this inspiration photo from Houzz.

Contemporary Home Office by Richmond Media and Bloggers Bright Bold and Beautiful

To Paint or Not to Paint: Bookcases

When The Mister and I married, we brought into our marriage quite a collection of books. In order to help wrangle some of those books, we purchased two 36 inch wide by 80 inch tall bookcases from a local wood furniture store. For nearly six years after we purchased the bookcases, we discussed staining or painting them, but in those six years, the bookcases remained untouched by stain or paint.


The Dining and Living room after we moved in. The unfinished bookcase is on the left. 

After nearly six months of living in our new house, we took advantage of an unfurnished living room, to turn the living room into a painting room and thus the painting of the bookcases began. With so many dark surfaces (floor and walls) and only one window in the living room, we wanted to have lighter colored furniture and thus decided to paint the bookcases white.

The unfinished bookcases

Two very thin coats of primer and three very thin coats of Behr Ultra Pure White  to match the trim were rolled on the shelves with a four inch foam roller. The exterior of the book case received two thin coats of primer, two coats of Behr Ultra Pure White and one coat of Martha Stewart Semi-Gloss in white for shine and wipeability.

One primed bookcase

Nearly six months later and the finish has held up nicely. There are a couple spots that have dark streaks due to frequent pulling of books on and off the shelf. I haven't tried rubbing it out with a towel or eraser yet.

The painted bookcases

Oh, and do you see the striped curtains hanging in the living room? My mother-in-law made them for our previous house's guest bedroom. They were the perfect addition to the living room.