Filling the Nook but Not the Cranny

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Get it?  Nooks and crannies?  Yeah, I know, I am horrible at blog titles!  After finally getting around to purchasing and hanging the sunset canvas wrap it was time to finish up the nook in our dining/living room area.  When the 10% coupon from Crate & Barrel arrived in the mail I could barely wait for the husband to get home from work and to give sign off on purchasing the sideboard.  The sideboard (aka a china cabinet or buffet) completes our dining set, which previously included a dining room table (with leaf, which come in handy!) as well as a wine rack.  The sideboard not only completes our set, but also gives us extra storage for all our serving platters/bowls/dishes/etc.

BEFORE:

Doesn’t the nook look sad with just that little end table?

AFTER:

Now the space looks appropriately filled.

And a vertical shot of the space ….

This sideboard totally makes our condo look like real adults live here.  AND we had the perfect number of picture frames to place on the sideboard so no additional purchases were necessary.

Happy Decorating!!

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below.  Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Share

Laundry Closet Upgrade

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

It was just a few short weeks after moving into our new condo that I fell in love with efla storage.  If you remember we expanded the pantry by installing some baskets on the back of the door.  We had been toying with the idea of doing something similar on the back of the laundry closet door, but just haven’t gotten around to it.  The dryer sheets, Shout and detergent just sit on the floor in front of the washer/dryer units or the AC unit, which share a closet.  I’m in no way saying bending over to pick up the items needed is beyond my physical capability, but honestly it’s just annoying to have them down there.

On Sunday we made a trip to the Container Store and LUCKY for us there is a sale on elfa products going on!  It was all the justification we needed to purchase storage for the laundry closet.  One of the sales reps was kind enough to walk around with us and make a number of suggestions.  Unfortunately many of the products just wouldn’t work for us … our laundry area isn’t big enough.  We are fortunate to live in the city and have a w/d in the unit!

In the end we ended up with the same product as we had purchased for our pantry.  The one exception being the sale rep suggested we get a media rack to hold our detergent.  This was an excellent call!  The media rack is just wide enough to actually fit the Costco size detergent I always insist on purchasing. =)

What we purchased:

First we held the mounting bar up and marked where the holes were.  Then we double checked it was level.

Next the husband drilled starter holes for the top and bottom of the bar, attached the screws and then ensured it was level again.  Then we made “starter” holes for the rest of the screws.

With the bar installed all we had to do was slip on the baskets and the project was complete!

Now we have a one-stop-shop for all thing laundry related.  There is even a bit of space on the bottom two racks for storing additional things.  I’m sure it won’t take me long to find something to put there LOL.  Maybe the cleaning supplies we use the most … actually that would probably be perfect.

I’m loving the change and decided to do a load of laundry just to take advantage of the new storage — yes I know I am a dork.

Happy Home Improvements!!

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below.  Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Share

Impulse Buying – Updating the Living Room

by ⋅ 2 Comments

I’ve been on a bit of a buying binge.  For the most part they been pretty “small” thing, but they make SUCH a difference around the house.  The new tidbits are great additions to the condo decor and only make me want to buy more details for the house.  The husband has been joking that he might have to take the credit card away if I keep this up LOL.  All joking aside he has completely agreed with all my most recent purchases.

The library table (as the husband calls it) from his bachelor days is definitely on its last leg.  This side table has held up well and successfully made it through three or four moves.  The table has a number of sharpie pen “paint touch ups” and kind of rocks if you even slightly touch it.

Around Christmas time I was browsing Overstock.com and came upon a black table I thought would be the perfect replacement.  With my 10% off coupon in hand I convinced the husband we “needed” the table.  Like so many other pieces of furniture we own it came dissembled and the husband was responsible for putting together our new table.  It didn’t take him too long despite assembling the legs backwards on his first attempt. :)

The next day I went ahead and took some after pictures.  I really like the curves and character of the new table.  The fact that it doesn’t shake when I pick up the photo album is a bonus hahaha!

The new table also has an extra level of storage at the bottom.  The only problem with that shelf is it seems to collect dust and dog hair. Maybe that means I need to vacuum more … hmmmm ;)

Have you done any impulsing buying lately for your place?

Happy Decorating!

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below.  Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Share

Expanding the Pantry

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

While doing “married things” {phrase coined by the husband} we ended up at The Container Store.  Clearly this is one of those places like Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, where I find things I never knew I needed but while we are there I think I really do NEED them.  I mean there is no reason we should have spent 1+ hours at The Container Store when it was sunny and 80 plus degrees outside.  But anyways, while walking up and down each aisle we ended up with quite the large cart of stuff we “needed”.

One of the many items in our cart was elfa kitchen storage.  Our condo is the first place I’ve lived where I haven’t had to use cabinets to store food.  The pantry is great and has really come in handy for storing items not eatable as well like batteries, lunch boxes, cook books and dish towels.  As a result our pantry has been pretty much over full since moving in.  We were hoping the elfa storage would expand the pantry a little bit.

Installation was very easy.  Hold the long rod up to the back of the door and mark the places where the screws go.  We went ahead and drilled the holes a little to get it started and make the screw go in easier.

We held up the rod and put two screws into the door to hold the rod in place.  Before fulling anchoring it to the door we ensured it was level.  It was so we put all the screws securely into the door, clipped on the baskets and we were done.  The great part about the baskets are they come in standard and narrow.  We purchased the narrow baskets to ensure they wouldn’t hit the shelving in the pantry.

Initially we purchased 4 baskets.  We were pleased to see there was plenty of room for 2-3 more baskets.  Back to the container store we went and purchased two additional baskets.  We are loving the new storage and the way the baskets help with organization!!

What do you think of our new expanded pantry?

Happy home improvements!

Don’t forget to leave your tidbit by commenting and/or add Life’s Tidbits to your RSS Reader :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Share