I had anticipated Wayne would be home and we could tackle the list. He was home for four days and then our business really picked up and we haven’t had a lot of downtime at home together (I am not complaining!)
With the business going strong, I tackled a few things on the list myself.
First up was to fix the mess I created under the stairs in our hall closet.
At one time when we moved in it was a storage closet. I think the idea for it was for it to be a coat closet because it had a hanging rod and a small shelf. But, the closet was so far away from the main entry and garage entry that it didn’t make sense to use it as a coat closet. Plus we had to walk to the back of it to hang anything up.
So, about 14 years ago I announced I was switching it around for just storage. An idea Wayne wasn’t too fond of. His theory is if it isn’t broken, no need to fix it. I thought it was broken! 😉
How It All Started
Hannah and I took down the rod and small wire shelf and painted the closet room a sage green color. We then added wire shelves in the back of the closet and on one side. It made a fabulous pantry and worked really well.
About five years ago, we had a major leak in the laundry room and the dishwasher broke and leaked everywhere all in the same week. (good times). This meant all of the flooring needed replaced throughout the kitchen, powder room, laundry room and closet pantry room.
We replaced the laminate flooring and installed wood look ceramic tile. As with some other things around here, we stopped short of finishing the closet and laundry room. You know, we will finish it next weekend……
So, next weekend came and went and life happened. I lost part of my eyesight, I got cancer, you know REAL life things. Flooring got pushed to the back burner (as it should) and we left it be for a couple of years.
Fast forward to the Pandemic To Do List and flooring was first item to get done. I decided to tackle making the closet into a dish room to store my dishes and use my pantry area as a pantry (fascinating idea).
The Before Picture
Is it not atrocious? I mean look at the concrete floor. uuuggghhh!
A place for everything!
Here’s how we did it:
Step1
We took out all the “stuff” and removed the shelves. It served it’s purpose, but I wanted sturdier shelves for the dishes.
Wayne stepped in to help me and we installed the baseboards. I am the painter and clean up. He’s the details guy. He makes the cuts and installs.
Tip: paint all your baseboards and crown molding and let dry before cutting installing. Once boards are installed, touch up is so much easier than painting everything after it’s installed.
I wanted a chunky trim with a lip on the edge so no slippage on the shelves for the dishes to fall. So, we installed 1 x 2 trim centered on the edge.
Next I added a textured shelf liner to pretty it up! I found Pioneer Woman shelf liner at Walmart that fit the look I was going for perfectly. It has a bubbly texture I thought would help with the non-slip.
Isn’t it adorable?!
I was especially happy to have room for my totes of Christmas dishes instead of in a closet in an upstairs bedroom.
I added a few fun accessories like the chair hooks from IKEA to hang my aprons. A cute, farmhouse light and a sweet picture makes this space a cute closet room to walk into don’t you think?
A fun weekend project that makes me smile. It is not perfect, but it’s perfect for me. I hope it inspires you to try something new in your home!
