Storage

Tray Chic

Published on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

I’m sure you’re getting sick of posts about the guest room, but I’m so excited to have a room to decorate. And tweak and perfect. New green accents are a great burst of color, but I wanted more. For handy storage, I made another storage box, this time green with navy accents and an octagon tray.

For $2.49 from Hobby Lobby, I think this little two-tone tray is down right cheerful. Navy diagonal stripes on the box lid are youthful (perfect for a 19-year-old boy) and tie into the other navy elements.

Even more greenery in the form of a fake succulent (perfect for a room with little natural light) nestled in a spray painted glass jar. Here’s a tip, get a glossy outside by painting the inside of glass vessels.

Fingers crossed we’ll install trim in here this weekend. After painting it, we can finally paint the walls. I’m almost positive we’ve settled on Safari by Benjamin Moore (the top, light sample).

It is more pale than I originally planned for, but I think it should work well. There’s enough orange to keep it from turning lime green under the bluish CFL lighting, but still looks yellow. Although I should admit I’m still yearning for a darker warm gold like Honeymoon. A chip close to the light switch nearly blends in with the color I originally wanted. I’m apprehensive to go with the darker color because I’ve struck out my last four attempts.

Which would you choose? The lighter, safer option or the darker that is close to the original vision?

File it Away

Published on October 3, 2012October 8, 2012 by Our Humble Abode16 Comments

This past weekend, we didn’t work much on our to do list. That’s not to say we didn’t work. We just didn’t work on noticeable, blog worthy projects. Instead, we loaded up some of the dirt pile Craigslist responders wanted. Ben worked a little more on digging out areas and leveling out the back yard. We cleaned, organized, Ben baked, and I spray painted a few things. Yesterday you saw one of those things, faux billy buttons. While organizing my office, I pulled out an empty, ugly brown file drawer just like this one.

I bought at the thrift store, oh, two years ago and never used. It was five bucks and I figured I could use it for something. Well, I figured out that something. For the last few months, I’ve been storing the boys’ wet bath toys in a cheap metal bucket on the vanity shelf. I didn’t like that the ugly toys were left in the open. So I checked to see if the toys would fit in the drawer. They did, so I dug around my stash of spray paint in the laundry room, coming out with a can of primer and another can of metallic silver paint. A quick scrub with a rag, a light coat of primer, two coats of silver, and a few hours to cure in the sunlight, I brought it inside.

To prevent rusting of the inside, I popped in a cheapie plastic bin before loading the toys in.

That creepy eye belongs to Woody from Toy Story. You’re welcome. Toys are still easy to get at sitting on the bottom shelf (next to a basket for toilet paper and soap), but out of sight.

As you can see, the vanity isn’t finished.

We still have to build the false fronts, then repaint the whole vanity. I should probably dust it sometime, too.

Please tell me you buy things from thrift stores and don’t use them for months or years. Where/how do you store bath toys?

P.S. You’ve gotta love Montana weather. This summer has been hotter and drier than most, with no measurable precipitation in September. We’re ready for a change. Yesterday was clear, sunny skies with near 80 degree temps. Last night, Montana treated us to a beautiful sunset.

This morning started with rain and quickly turned to snow.

Big, slow falling flakes, too. I feel like a kid again. Our first snow day. Welcome.

Vincent told Everett, “Look at the snow on the deck. It’s not watching where it’s falling.” That’s right, snow does not discriminate.

I had plans for today, but maybe I’ll sit back, relax, watch a movie with the boys, and drink hot chocolate. Yes, that sounds perfect.

Coral Crush

Published on July 10, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

Our main bathroom remodel still isn’t done, so most people aren’t using it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t work on storage. Being drawerless in the bathroom, wait, that came out wrong. Without drawers in the vanity, I have to get creative with hidden storage. So, I took to Pinterest to see what fun I could come up with. I saw neat tutorials to make soft sided fabric bins, creative hard sided boxes, and even considered a rope covered box. Ultimately, I decided to combine a few ideas to make something perfectly suited for our bathroom. So, I started by cutting a large box to fit inside our small linen closet because I couldn’t find a pre-made box to fit the same.

Of course, cardboard boxes are ugly. Luckily, I’ve been hoarding fabric lately, so I pulled out a yard of light gray duck cloth. I didn’t have a long enough piece to completely wrap around the box, so I cut one strip 12 inches wide along the long end of the fabric. To cover the back, I cut another small 15 inch wide by 12 inch tall strip to piece together. With my long strip taped in place, I marked the corners.

Using those small marks, I sewed the smaller piece to make a box slip cover.

Because I was feeling lazy, I used Gorilla tape to hold the fabric in place along the underside and around the top edges.

It seemed too boring, so I dug through my paint stash until I found a bottle of coral acrylic paint. How ’bout some stripes? After measuring and marking two-inch wide strips, I taped off my edges.

And used a sponge brush and pouncing motion to paint near the edges and filled in the middle.

Pulling off the tape is such a fun part of painting. Especially when the lines are crisp. I had some rope on hand, so I marked two holes to create a handle. Using a screw, I rotated through the fabric and cardboard to make the pilot holes. Stuffing a pen through widened the holes enough to get the rope through. Simple knots on each end hold the rope in place.

Now I’ll have to find a white or gray vinyl to line the inside. Right now, it holds bath toys and we’ve got room for other ugly junk.

I’m really surprised at how sturdy it seems, but we’ll see how it holds up over time. I think I’ll add fabric to the bottom so the shelf doesn’t get scuffed up when it’s pulled in and out. Gotta hunt down a good-looking clothes hamper and maybe a few wire baskets. Or maybe I’ll get all DIY on the hampers arse and make something myself. Who knows. Until then, tell me about your bathroom storage situation. Do you prefer drawers, cabinets, boxes, open shelves?