small things big impact – the kitchen shelves. finally.

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Day 10 – kitchen shelves at last

Do you remember when we finished the kitchen makeover?

In fact, do you remember what it looked like originally?

You’ve come a long way baby!

Anyway, despite how great the kitchen looked after the makeover, it wasn’t really finished cause I wanted open shelves. The plan had always been for open shelves. I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to open kitchen shelves.

We finally have shelves!

Whoo-hoo!

Why the delay you may ask?

Well… I had to figure out what brackets I wanted. I knew what I wanted… the IKEA plain timber triangular brackets. But of course IKEA never has them in stock. Not that we even have IKEA in Tasmania…

Then I started to think I could make my own brackets. After all, I own two jigsaws and am not afraid to use them! But I couldn’t get past the technicality of how to fix them to the wall and my general fear of stuffing up*.

In the end I got the fancier country style IKEA brackets. They work. Though I’m not sure how strong they’ll be. They’re made of MDF (the website said ‘timber’… I guess MDF is a type of timber, but its not very strong). I managed to break one while putting the shelves up – once you pull a screw out of MDF its pretty stuffed. I’m not overly happy with that.

That’s why there are three brackets on the lower shelves – to be sure they’ll hold the weight of dishes. The top shelf doesn’t need three brackets as it won’t be holding any real weight.

Wayne jumps every time there’s a loud noise in the kitchen… he’s sure they’ll come down cause I’ll put too much weight on them!

The timber I used is laminated pine – a big slab of joined pine pieces, 30mm thick for things like table tops or counters. I bought the whole slab and had a nice buy at the hardware store cut 3 shelves at the right size for me.

Problem was pine is nowhere near the same colour as the benchtops, which is tasmanian oak, so I had to stain it. I experimented a bit and ended up using maple stain and three coats of polyurethane. I think the colour is pretty close.

I had a friend help me put them up. No way could I have done these without help, the lifting alone would have undone me. But its the maths I’m not good at. I measure, check, measure again and still stuff up.

*eg. The top shelf… It was meant to be at the same height as the top of the window frame. I calculated that the shelves were 35cm apart. I thought I was so clever when I subtracted 3cm from that for the thickness of the shelf and marked where the shelf should sit before I marked where to pre-drill for the brackets. I measured, marked, checked.. Then I got up lined the shelf up below the marks, not above, so I ended up putting the top shelf in 3cm lower than planned.

Well, I still love my shelves.

As you can imagine, I was eager to start using the shelves. I couldn’t wait to get out my kitchen scales collection! That end one on the right is one I bought a year ago and have had under the bed, just waiting for the shelves to display it.

The darker green baking dish is one I got at an op shop yesterday for the princely sum of $3.

And my crazed and chipped bird plate is on display again!

There’ll be changes to the shelf contents over the next few days for sure, but I’m loving it. And Romeo is loving it!

The idea is to keep everything we use on a daily basis (dinner plates, bowls) on the shelves within easy reach. Also, the my pretty bowls which are both useful and decorative.
Time to begin getting rid of all the not so pretty things we own…

This is the before and after of that corner of the kitchen. Pretty big difference, wouldn’t you say? We moved the window, sink and stove, got new appliances, timber lined the walls, removed the lino, refinished the timber floor and put in all new cabinets with a solid timber benchtop.

A big job but totally worth it!

z

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small things big impact – home sweet home

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Day 9 – Home sweet home

Of course, while doing making small changes which make a big difference, I couldn’t resist the new outdoor elves.

Firstly, I repainted the small shelf outside the house the same colour as the house and distressed it a bit to show the dark grey beneath.

Then I relocated the concrete HOME sign which I’d bought at Kmart a while ago from.

It looks really nice against the rusty tin cans, and its nice to see as you walk up to the steps.

Next I couldn’t resist adding some ‘junk’ to large shelf under the kitchen window.

You know the definition of junk, right?

Anyway…. I added some junk to the shelf. Cause I love having interesting things to look at. And there were a ton of holes in the shelf back anyway… it was asking for it!

I love it when I visit someone’s home and they have things to look at – little surprises in the garden, clever things on walls, interesting things in the house. Its like an adventure exploring homes like that.
I want that here, not just for visiting explorers, but for myself. It gives me joy to look at stuff I love, and having it out on walls or under shelves means its visible to enjoy, and not stored in boxes taking up space in the shed.
z

small things big impact – the bathroom gets cleaned out

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Day 8 – breathing space in the bathroom
Nothing much to show for today… but I did clean the bathroom. Its been months. Seriously. I’d clean the sink and shower but things just piled up on all the surfaces… today I went in there and gave it a good clean and tidy. I even went through the medicine cabinet and my makeup and tossed out anything that was old and not used.
Except for my perfume. I don’t use it often but I do love it when I do.
Since our bathroom is a disgrace, I’m only sharing tiny bits of it at once cause its like the funniest joke in the world (according to Monty Pythons Flying circus). You can only be shown one bit at a time for your own safety.
Above are my wire ducks. Love those things. They hold soap bars on the middle shelf I put up a couple of years ago.

The bottom shelf holds two wire baskets I got from… you guessed it! A tip shop! They hold hand towels and bathmats.

Or they do when I do the washing…

The top shelf holds my collection of bottles. Most of them are old bottles I dug up from a corner of my yard in Fentonbury.

Below the shelves, in the corner the bathtub used to be in, is a big square basket I’m using as our laundry basket. I lined it (badly) with some grain sacks. One day I’ll get some ticking and do a better job.

A little air plant lives in a tiny galvanised planter given to my by a friend. The fat pig is a Chinese good luck symbol.

At least that’s what I was told.

I have quite a few old tins in the bathroom, and a few enamel mugs. The tins are purely decorative but I use the mugs. I also use the old wooden caddy to keep stuff looking tidy. (It only works till we use the bathroom next).

Wayne keeps his stuff in the old timber medicine cabinet I refinished years ago.

The rest of the little tin collection sits on top of the medicine cabinet. This cabinet was in the office (which was a bedroom back then) when we bought the house. How odd.

All in all, I feel better about our ugly bathroom. I threw out a bag of stuff and its much less cluttered.
z

what is a tip shop? and who shops there?

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So, what is a tip shop?

Sometimes I forget that not everyone knows that a tip shop it, and in fact, neither did I till I moved to Tasmania.

I’m not sure they even have them on the mainland…

A tip shop is a recycle shop (more or less) which sells stuff which people have thrown away, to other people who:

1. love junk
2. have no money to spend on ‘good’ stuff
3. love old stuff
4. don’t like spending tons of money on ‘good’ stuff
5. prefer to make over stuff they find someone didn’t appreciate, to make something wonderful.

Basically, the ‘tip’ is the rubbish dump. Thus a tip shop, is the rubbish dump shop.

Doesn’t sound so nice when you put it that way, does it?

But I love tip shops, and I’ve gotten a lot of great stuff from tip shops. Even greater once I finish with them.

Let me explain –

First a trip through a tip shop to illustrate what they’re like. Sort of.

Then a few projects made using tip shop finds:

pallet top bench
kitchen table
rubbish bin lid photo display
kitchen chairs
industrial desk lamp

There’s more. Way more. But that explains what tip shops are and how great they are!

z

PS The only reason the armchair in the photo is not already in my shed is cause I have no time!

small things big impact – updating the boring bedroom light

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Day 7 – bin chandelier for the bedroom

In yesterday’s post I said take note of the upcycled bin light… cause here it is again! Only a bit fancier now.

This was our light since we moved in. I’ve been dreaming of a better light for our bedroom for a few years now. I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted, but I definitely wanted something with crystals and sparkle. I’d look at it every weekend, while laying in bed with a cup of coffee, and cringe.

These were the light fittings we had in all the bedrooms. I’m slowly replacing them with more interesting ones.

So how’s this for more interesting?

I had some chandelier crystals, I had the bin with a hole in it, just waiting to be reused… I actually found bayonet to E27 screw in globe converters on ebay so I was able to put in an edison bulb.

A quick and easy job that only took me 4 years and 20 minutes.

A friend of mine said she didn’t like it so much cause… “it looks like a rubbish bin”.

Umm… That’s kinda the point. Its an upcycled bin, not a light fitting. Its a bin with aspirations…

Isn’t the point of upcycling and repurposing to use something for a purpose it wasn’t originally intended for? Well, tick that box.
Anyway, it probably won’t be our forever bedroom light fitting (I have visions of randomly twisted wire…), but for now Wayne thinks its ‘cute’. That’s high praise from him!

What next? No idea.

Stay tuned.

z

small things big impact – the office light

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Day 6… The office light

Since we’re on the subject of lights… this is the new office light!

Do you remember the office makeover (part 1, part 2 and then the clean up after it became a mess again)?

Anyway, this is the light fitting I had in there at the time… it was a work in progress which was barely started. A rubbish bin which I’d hung a few crystals on to see how it would look.

Hm. Not quite right. But remember that rubbish bin. You’ll be seeing it again soon.

Meanwhile, the new light is gorgeous. I found it at a tip shop about 2 years ago. Its made up of parts: the rim and the glass dome aren’t connected, they come apart. I mean, the rim is just balanced on the edge there, its not attached. Its a really interesting light and when I saw it at the tip shop I had to have it.

The glass dome allows light to shine all over the room, not just below (as is the case with the hallway light I shared). Perfect for the office where I need to light the entire room.

Of course, it didn’t look quite like this when I found it. Firstly it was grimey. Secondly it was peach.

Sigh.

What is it with me and peach? I’m haunted by that colour!

No before pics. I don’t think I actually took any photos of it at all before the makeover. I just wanted that peach gone!

I sprayed it Rust-Oleum Almond same as the hallway light. I know it looks lighter, but its just the photos.

This light had been living in the pantry (in all its peach glory) since I got it, but it was time to bring it out to be admired. The pantry will get another light eventually, when I make one. Cause as I said, I won’t spend $$$ on light fittings when I can find beauties like this in tip shops.

Another small job finished – the right light in the office.

Meanwhile, got home after work tonight and found the dogs had done some remodelling in the casita. Again.

Another thing to add to my list of things to do: clean up the mess.

z

small things big impact – lighting the hallway

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Day 5 – New pendant light

Like my new hallway light?

This is what it looked like when I bought it at the tip shop a few weeks ago:

Plain silver (aluminium I think, soft, cheap) inside and out. Complete with dints.

I straightened out most of the dints and spray painted the outside Rust-Oleum Almond. Yes, we finally have Rust-Oleum products here. But they’re not cheap.

Seriously, paint isn’t cheap in Australia.

Anyway, I love Rust-Oleum spray paint. It goes on so smooth. Not like some of the cheaper brands which was all I ever tried before.

I sprayed the inside gloss white for that two tone look, but taped up the rim so there’s still a silver rim. It looks amazing.

Of course I couldn’t use the pendant kit I had in mind (nothing ever goes as planned) so I had to use another… this one has a brass cap, the top ceiling bit is silver, making it all a mishmash. Kind of like a lot of things I do…

Eh. Who cares. I’m in love with my new light.

In case you’re wondering why the pictures are so close to the ceiling, this is a tiny hallway. So tiny you can stand in the middle of it and touch all four walls and five doors. I decided to hang some of my frames above the doorways. See below:

On the bottom left almost off the frame is the guest room, behind that is the office door, straight ahead is the bathroom door, to the right is the kitchen door. And the living room door is behind me as I take the photo.

I recently painted the hallway (and office) 3/4 strength Dulux China White to match the kitchen and I love the brightness of it. Yeah, the kitchen walls look yellow but that’s just the light in there.
The hallway is where I’ve put my framed fruit labels (I have a collection of them), and I’ve moved the ladder back in there. That was above our bed for a time.

See the difference in colours? Above is with flash, below is without.

But back to what I was bragging about: my beautiful new pendant light which cost me $1 at the tip shop.

I love it when something I got for next to nothing can look so good. And I have a serious problem with spending a ton of money on light fittings when I can do something like this.

z

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small things big impact – a bench in the mudroom

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Day 4 – A bench in the mudroom

Do you remember when I made this little cabinet for my shoes? I always intended it to live in the mud room as a bench as well as storage. But up till recently we’ve always had a dog bed in that spot, somewhere for the dogs to get out of the weather.

Well, winter is coming, and I decided it was time to move the dog beds off the porch and out of the mud room and into the grooming room. Two birds: warmer dogs and we reclaim our porch and mudroom.

So the cabinet moved into the mud room. Its still not finished in there. I had planned to paint all the walls white, but I decided to leave that wall natural, showing the old weathered timber we lined the walls with. It really shows off the drawer front coat hangers I made.
This is another of the small changes and updates which I’m finally catching up on and which make so much of a difference.
The photos make the mudroom look ok, but its not really. Its filthy, the white squares on the vinyl are so grimey and so hard to clean. Possibly not the best choice for a mud room…
Oh well. Choices are made, things are done, decisions are proved to be wrong. Such is life. 
I still love my floor, but maybe not in this house, in this yard, with these dogs and with this man.
🙂
z

small things big impact – a bit of a toilet roll holder

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Day 3 – a rustic toilet roll holder

When we first moved into this house, the toilet was almost an outhouse. It was on the porch, outside the house. It was, literally a “room with a view”. You could sit there, doing your business, and look out over the valley.

We really haven’t done anything with the toilet since then, other than bring it into the house by enclosing the small porch to make a mud room. Its still ‘outside’ the house and you still freeze your butt off going out there in winter, but its no longer “exposed”.

I’ve been wanting to improve the toilet since we moved in, but its never been a  priority.

I mean, really… its not top of the list of places you want to show off, right?

I do have plans. I bought paintable wallpaper to do the walls, I plan to fix the weather damaged door,  put in a shelf… all kinds of exciting things. Among which was a different toilet roll holder.

I’ve seen toilet roll holders made of non-toilet roll holder items and, being as we’re horse lovers, I always thought a bit would make a good one.

Among all of Wayne’s horsey things was this huge bit for a horse in harness. Its old and the colour is just gorgeous. You can’t really tell in the photos, but it has a green patina to it.

I did consider trying to cut the bit somehow to make it into a roll holder, but I didn’t want to ruin it… so I decided to use it as it is. That way I can recycle it at any time in the future.

Basically all I did was search my stash of junk for a bit of timber which was the right size to hold it. I found this hand sander thingy (I never know what to call these things yet I’ve done stuff with them before). I sanded it (ironic) and gave it a couple of coats of polyurethane, then added hooks underneath to hold the bit.

I had two options for the actual roll holding bit. One was this rusty metal spike (my favourite) or a piece of copper pipe I cut to size and flattened the ends so it would fit through the gaps.

I prefer the rusty spike, obviously.

I really dislike the brackets I have on it now, but it’ll have to do for now. They’re all I could find. I’ll be fixing this up when I finally ‘do’ the toilet.

Oh, I also put on a new toilet seat, but no need for photos of that. We all know what a toilet seat looks like.

These surely were two small changes that had big impact.

z

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small things big impact – a new dog bed

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Day 2 – less dog hair on the couch

There’s one thing I just can’t stand. Dog hair. (Or cat hair but I don’t have a cat, mainly cause of the hair.)
That’s why I have poodles. They don’t shed. Or smell. They’re the best that way.
So, after making the catastrophic decision to wash the couch cover and living room throws in our washing machine a few weeks ago, I decided it was time Barney had his own bed.
Let me explain: for ages I’ve been washing all our couch covers and throws at the laundromat cause our washing machine doesn’t handle scunge well. You know what scunge is? Its the hair and lint that collects in washing machines only to be deposited on the next load of washing you do, especially the dark items. 
Last time I had to wash the covers I chucked them into the washing machine thinking “how bad can it be?”
Bad.
Took me 4 wash the washing machine cycles to clean that sucker out. Turns out vinegar and bi-carb in together works, I finally got it as clean as it’ll get.
So, having this new Barney bed is great. Barney has his own spot, he doesn’t have to jump up on his arthritic little legs, and the couch no longer smells of stinky dog while covered in dog hair.
One small step towards a cleaner home.

Meanwhile the poodles continue to enjoy the couch. All they give the couch is dirt and the occasional stick from the garden. No doggy smells, no hair.
Don’t they look cute? Like bookends. Montana on the left, Romeo on the right.

Here are two puppies from one of my litters. Astra on the left and Zeus on the right. They own that couch!

z