Ok, fine, a blog post.
We've been a little busy, just like everyone else. Yes, I know it's been since July that I've posted something on here, as I'm constantly reminded by someone special. Only, life gets in the way. I'd rather be living life than posting about it.
Still, when I have something cool I'll post it. And here's something cool.
We have this Front Hall Closet...like everyone else. And I have the darnedest time keeping it clean. It's where everyone throws their junk, and I end up cleaning it out every few months only to have it filled up again quicker than I'd like. There's a picture of it here: it's behind the kids.
The doors weren't big enough to give you good access to the closet, and they always seemed to be falling down anyway. Even after we got new hardware and tracks, we had a hard time keeping the doors on them. You can see a little shoe peeking out of the side of the closet, even though I'm sure we straightened up for the picture.
That being said...Pinterest is a dangerous thing. It makes you think you can tackle complicated recipes, that you should own ALL THE BOOTS, and that home improvement projects are a snap!
I found this great tutorial of a woman who gutted her front hall closet and made it a great little alcove that maximized her entrance area. Here's an idea of what she did:
With step-by-step instructions, how could I resist? I made a few changes to the design to customize it to our closet space and took a trip to Home Depot. After roaming the aisles and earning a few weird looks from the contractors loading up huge pallets of wood, I finally happened upon the "scrap pile". The wood on the shelves was way too expensive for my project. After all, I could buy a pre-made bench for $100 or so, and spending that on wood didn't seem very frugal. The scrap pile, however, offered up a huge and heavy piece of wood. I flagged down a HD worker who'd been sent to find out what the little housewife was doing in Lumber.
He quoted me $20 for this huge 8'x54" piece of wood and offered to cut it down for me. SOLD! I helped him measure out each cut perfectly and had no cutting to do on my own! I brought it down and assembled it on the fly. Abby helped a bunch. My screw holder and drill plug-er-in-er. We carefully assembled the bench.
After taking the closet doors off and removing the tracks and the hanger bars, Abby and I painted the inside of the closet with some green paint we had leftover from the den. I then wrestled the HEAVY bench into the closet. We hung coat hooks and the mirror. I bought foam and fabric and created a cushion for the bench to make it easier for the kids to sit there and get their shoes on.
Then Abby and I assembled the shoe crates, custom fit for the space, and Shay and I stained them dark to match the scheme. We made them out of leftover wood from Shay's bunk bed that was a Christmas present that he and Dylan made.
A few decorative throw pillows and baskets later, and we were cooking. I was still concerned about how little light gets in there, though, but Costco solved that with small LED lights that are battery powered, adhesive mounted and run on a remote.
The result is pleasing to me! The most pleasing thing is that I built it all myself, with help from the kids. All told, we used mostly things we had lying around and probably spent $100 on the closet, including the lights.
The kids really enjoy it, if you couldn't tell, and Abby regularly "takes naps" on the cushion. Each kid has their own shoe crate and knows just where to find their shoes in the morning. I love the openness and accessibility of the space. Hooray for DIY!!
The other project I tackled this week was our living room. The pictures and setup had been the same for years and just didn't work. Different sized frames, different sized bookshelves and a lack of coherence doomed the living room before we even started. See the background of Shay's 6th birthday party 2 years ago? It hasn't changed much since then. The right side isn't much better.
So, we totally revamped that side of the room, deciding to incorporate a picture wall and to make things a lot simpler looking. Personally, I love it! I chose black frames with white mats. I printed one family photo in color with the rest in black and white. The letters spelling our last name are prints of different object around the SLC Temple that look like letters.
We've been a little busy, just like everyone else. Yes, I know it's been since July that I've posted something on here, as I'm constantly reminded by someone special. Only, life gets in the way. I'd rather be living life than posting about it.
Still, when I have something cool I'll post it. And here's something cool.
We have this Front Hall Closet...like everyone else. And I have the darnedest time keeping it clean. It's where everyone throws their junk, and I end up cleaning it out every few months only to have it filled up again quicker than I'd like. There's a picture of it here: it's behind the kids.
The doors weren't big enough to give you good access to the closet, and they always seemed to be falling down anyway. Even after we got new hardware and tracks, we had a hard time keeping the doors on them. You can see a little shoe peeking out of the side of the closet, even though I'm sure we straightened up for the picture.
That being said...Pinterest is a dangerous thing. It makes you think you can tackle complicated recipes, that you should own ALL THE BOOTS, and that home improvement projects are a snap!
I found this great tutorial of a woman who gutted her front hall closet and made it a great little alcove that maximized her entrance area. Here's an idea of what she did:
With step-by-step instructions, how could I resist? I made a few changes to the design to customize it to our closet space and took a trip to Home Depot. After roaming the aisles and earning a few weird looks from the contractors loading up huge pallets of wood, I finally happened upon the "scrap pile". The wood on the shelves was way too expensive for my project. After all, I could buy a pre-made bench for $100 or so, and spending that on wood didn't seem very frugal. The scrap pile, however, offered up a huge and heavy piece of wood. I flagged down a HD worker who'd been sent to find out what the little housewife was doing in Lumber.
He quoted me $20 for this huge 8'x54" piece of wood and offered to cut it down for me. SOLD! I helped him measure out each cut perfectly and had no cutting to do on my own! I brought it down and assembled it on the fly. Abby helped a bunch. My screw holder and drill plug-er-in-er. We carefully assembled the bench.
After taking the closet doors off and removing the tracks and the hanger bars, Abby and I painted the inside of the closet with some green paint we had leftover from the den. I then wrestled the HEAVY bench into the closet. We hung coat hooks and the mirror. I bought foam and fabric and created a cushion for the bench to make it easier for the kids to sit there and get their shoes on.
Then Abby and I assembled the shoe crates, custom fit for the space, and Shay and I stained them dark to match the scheme. We made them out of leftover wood from Shay's bunk bed that was a Christmas present that he and Dylan made.
A few decorative throw pillows and baskets later, and we were cooking. I was still concerned about how little light gets in there, though, but Costco solved that with small LED lights that are battery powered, adhesive mounted and run on a remote.
The result is pleasing to me! The most pleasing thing is that I built it all myself, with help from the kids. All told, we used mostly things we had lying around and probably spent $100 on the closet, including the lights.
The kids really enjoy it, if you couldn't tell, and Abby regularly "takes naps" on the cushion. Each kid has their own shoe crate and knows just where to find their shoes in the morning. I love the openness and accessibility of the space. Hooray for DIY!!
So, we totally revamped that side of the room, deciding to incorporate a picture wall and to make things a lot simpler looking. Personally, I love it! I chose black frames with white mats. I printed one family photo in color with the rest in black and white. The letters spelling our last name are prints of different object around the SLC Temple that look like letters.
So, that's what I've been doing in the last 7 days, Beckerino. Hope you all enjoy it. It's even better in person, so come by and see it anytime! But call first. I can't guarantee it'll stay this clean forever. In fact, I can pretty much bank on the fact that it won't. But that's the joy of living with kids.
Stay warm!
