No Whining Over These Crates

We were able to do a couple of projects this weekend, which makes me happy. I wonder what it is that drives me to undertake these endeavors. Why do I have this need to make my house “perfect.” I was talking to my friend Jenny last night, and she said that she feels perfectly comfortable in her home. As long as it is clean she does not feel the need to do anything to it. I have not been to her current house, but I have visited her homes in the past, and they are all quite lovely. So, why can’t I accept my home as it is?

My house is darling, but it had been neglected before I moved it, and it deserves to fulfill its potential. Plus the work gives me a sense of accomplishment and change. Maybe it is because I grew up moving around the country that I cannot stand things to be the same for too long. This is my sixth year at my current job and my third year in this house. I have never had one job for so long, and I am close to setting a record for an abode as well. If I stay here for one more year, I will have lived here longer than I ever lived anywhere. EVER. In all of my thirty eight years. Even now I feel the urge to flee- to move somewhere- anywhere else. If things were not changing in my house, I would not be able to stand the monotony in my life. These changes somehow give me the peace of mind I need to stay in one place for a while. I cannot move now because I have not accomplished my mission here. When I have achieved my goals, I will be able to move on. That is not to say that I would not go now if I were given the right opportunity. It just means that I am not actively seeking the move. I can stay for a while.

So, as you are probably losing patience with my ramblings, I will show you one of our projects from this weekend. I have had these wine crates for several years. I took three of them from the trash outside a wine store when I was living in Manhattan. They put some out every week, and I wish I could have taken more. At the time, I used them as “drawers” on my bookshelves. Later, I found another and used them in my kitchen cabinets here. Then, I saw this post on offbeathome.com. I have wanted more storage in my kitchen since I moved in, and this seemed the perfect solution. Here is how it turned out.

For once, we found a project that went smoothly and did not take longer than we planned. It was a relief to finish, because this corner of the kitchen has been an eyesore for a while. It seemed to attract clutter from everywhere.

The first task was to remove everything from the area.

This attracted Crème.

While, I was taking all these adorable pictures of my cat, Douglas gathered the tools we would need.

Then, he drilled holes in the four corners of the first crate.

And made them bigger.

He hammered in plastic anchors.

And put in the screws.

The process was the same for the next box, except that I had to hold the box while he drilled the holes so that it stayed level.

I hammered in some of the anchors as well.

One box

Two box

Three box

Shoe box

Douglas was proud of himself.

We staggered the boxes to give some support and more shelf space.

Then, it was time to stage the shelves. Crème was the first adornment. She is too cute for words.

In case you were wondering where Kahlua was this whole time, here she is. You can see the worry in her eyes, can’t you? She hates all home improvement. In fact, she thinks that is not an appropriate term. Kahlua is not like her mother and does not like change.

A vase full of corks and a martini pitcher

Some small tins and my recipe box

A gift from some dear friends after we adopted Kahlua. It is a decanter with a glass on top.

Some tins and a ceramic piece from Canada

There is a prize for anyone that can guess what this is.

More tins and two martini glasses

A plant and the light switch. We were very lucky that two wine crates fit perfectly underneath the switch plate.

Small wine advertisement mirror and another plant

Ball jar glasses our friend made for our wedding. It was one of our favorite gifts. We loved that it was homemade, and Douglas was thrilled with the connection to Ball State since he is an alum. If you are unaware of the connection, the Ball family founded the university with the money they made from the jars.

Three marble pieces. The mortar and pestle were Douglas’ before he moved in. Another friend gave us the little jar and toothpaste holder. The jar now holds garnish spears for drinks and our collection of chopsticks is in the toothpaste holder.

I had hoped to find a fifth wine box to put on top, but I think that it looks great with the metal Yuengling sign there. I found that sign in the trash when I lived on the Upper East Side of New York City.

While we were working in the kitchen, we took the opportunity to hang up some of our aprons.

So, the project is done and all is well on Park Avenue. Here is another before and after shot.

Happy Homemaking!