This past week, the hubs (Chris) and I decided to rip down an old cabinet that was hanging in our kitchen and replace it with some open shelving. To say that we are in love is an understatement.

You see, the original cabinet was an oddly placed, huge, weird eyesore. (Much like the rest of our kitchen cabinets and counters, but we are in the process of updating those as well.) It was hard to get into because you kind of had to lean in and turn around over the counter to reach most of the items. Many times, I used a stool or chair to find things I needed.

So, we started out by removing the 4 screws that held it to the wall. That’s right. Only 4 screws and maybe several layers of paint held this puppy up. Although, it looks like someone had a fun time randomly drilling screws into the wall to find the studs.

Next, we sanded down the area where the layers of paint met the plain wall.

Then, spackled, sanded and painted the space. (I didn’t take any of photos of the re-sanding and painting, but I’m sure you can imagine what that looked like.)

After everything was dry, it was time to hang the shelves. We used these brackets from Ikea and purchased the wood, which we painted white, at The Home Depot. Chris and I both measured and re-measured where we wanted the shelves and got to work securing them to the wall with 80 lb. wall anchors.

Here they are hung up, all naked and awaiting some styling.

Pulling together the itmes to display was my favorite part. We combined some sentimental pieces with affordable dishes and freed up a ton of space in our other cabinets. We actually have more space to put things now, since the shelves have been hung. Between the fancy new look and extra storage, I’d say that is a win/win. And even though we are still using the dishes, things still look good even when parts are out taking a swim in the dishwasher.

The best part is that the new shelves are a great focal point, instead of being an unsightly blemish on the wall. What do you think of open shelves in the kitchen?

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Fun title, right?

I’m a hardware nut. I love looking at hardware, whether it be furniture pulls or knobs, and I can always imagine how changing things up with new pieces, or even paint, can make a huge impact. Especially, when it comes to outdated or uber popular pieces that everyone has. Take for example our Ikea Hemnes dresser.

We bought this in 2009 and it has traveled with us around the country through 3 moves. Yeah, it has some dings and nicks, but honestly, it has held up exceptionally, and possibly better than a few of our more expensive pieces. Here is what it looks like straight from the store…

We knew when we bought it that we wanted to add a bit more interest and make it have it’s own look. After a some searching through stores and the internet, we came across some beautiful drop pulls from Van Dykes Restorers and we were sold. (Some of our favorite places to find hardware include Van Dykes Restorers, Anthropologie, Hobby Lobby, Restoration Hardware, and House of Antique Hardware.) We ordered them right away, installed them the day they arrived and haven’t looked back since. Aren’t they lovely?

It’s like a facelift for furniture. I love how such a simple project made a common dresser look a little bit different than what everyone else may have. It just seems to kick things up a notch, a la Emeril Lagasse.

And just to keep things real, I thought I would include a photo of what happens while I’m trying to do blog stuff. All I wanted to do was take a picture. Here, you can see me in the mirror, standing on my bed amidst a pile of junk I pulled off the top of my dresser. Those are my kids in the bottom left hand corner fighting playing with each other like kids typically do. Good times, I tell ya!

In the meantime, who else is obsessed with hardware?

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During a casual family walk through our neighborhood last summer, I stumbled upon this abandoned milking stool laying curbside.

I picked up this solitary discarded gem and brought it home. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it the moment I first laid my eyes on it. Paint it white and add french lettering to the top. Finding time in my busy schedule to give it a makeover, didn’t come as easily.

One year later, this lonely little guy still sat in my basement. He was just craving modification. On Wednesday, of this week, I decided I should address his needs.

Frist, I used wood filler to adhere the seat back together and allowed for it to dry.

Next, it was priming time.

Then, once it had dried, I slapped on two coats of semi-gloss white paint with a brush and allowed plenty of time to cure.

After that, came the hard part. The french lettering. I printed a wonderful typography image from Graphics Fairy and exercised the same technique used by Erin for her chalkboard lettering post.

1. I rubbed chalk on back of image.
2. Using a ball point pen, I traced the letters.
3. Then, I removed the paper and I was left with a chalk copy of the image on the seat.
4. I used black acryillic paint and a flat tipped brush to go over each letter and design.
5. After I finished painting, I went back and evened the edges. (This picture is before I straightened the lines out.)

What can I say, Erin hit the nail on the head with this method. Love the results!

To finish off this project, I applied a couple coats of polycyclic to the stool to add some durability.

It’s exactly how I had pictured it and all I needed was one old stool, one year, one perfect french image from Graphics Fairy, and one sister with a genius approach.

Have you ever tried this technique for transferring an image? How did it work for you?

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Every once in awhile, I come across some extra wood from a project. You know, those random pieces that are left over after everything is cut. And since I’m not really a big fan of just throwing them away, I went in search of something to do with them. After perusing the interwebs, I found a great tutorial from Centsational Girl for DIY Wood Cutting Boards.

This post is by no means some sort of amazingly new way to make a cutting board. I just used Centsational Girl’s guide and thought I would reiterate just how simple and quick this awesome project is. After you find the wood you want to use, there are only 4 steps.

1. Trace a handle onto the wood piece. I made a template by cutting a piece of cardstock to the width of the wood (8 inches) and folding it in half. Next, I free-handed the shape of a handle on it and cut it out. Then, I opened it back up and traced around the edges.

2. Cut out the handle. I grabbed my handy hubs and had him help me cut with a jig saw, so I could take pics and not chop off my hand in the process. Thanks, Honey!

3. Sand everything smooth and wipe clean.

4. Condition the wood with mineral oil.

And that is it. The cutting board is then ready to use.

This project literally took only 10 minutes from start to finish. I think it honestly took longer to gather and style all the food on top.

So, if you find yourself with some extra lumber, this is a great project to tackle that won’t take up a lot of time, but yields quick and fulfilling results.