How we fixed our odd cabinet layout with DIY open shelving

I recently realized I've never really shown you our kitchen.

I had a couple of the "Before" pictures on our house tour page, but none since we personalized it a little.

When we moved in, there were standard appliances and an odd cabinet layout.  But, the big pretty sink and fake granite (my favorite kind--yes, I'm a terrible design enthusiast--I LOVE laminate counter tops, I'll probably explain one day) were fairly new and pretty livable.

The upper cabinets however, are very oddly placed on the wall.  I suppose it's easy to understand: the previous owners didn't know what to do in the corners by the big window, so they just ended the cabinets mid-way down the wall.

So we added open shelving to the two corners.  The design felt much more intentional, and we had a more functional space.

I don't have any photos of the work since it was a pre-blog project, but they are super simple:

1. We measured and cut out the shape we wanted for the shelves from high-quality plywood.
2. I wrapped each shelf in white contact paper.  (We chose that over paint because it's more washable, easily changeable and most importantly, we could put the shelves up immediately.  Because we're patient like that.)  In case you're wondering, the contact paper has held up perfectly for over 3 years.
3. We screwed 1" x 2" boards to the walls for the shelves to sit on top of.
4. We screwed each shelf to the supports. 

I debated whether to add moulding to the front of the shelves to hide the supports.  Mostly because the mitering would be a lot of work and we didn't know how long it would be until we did an official remodel of the kitchen.

In the mean time, I could have at least puttied and painted over the screw heads, I suppose.  You don't really notice things like that after 3 1/2 years.  Much like the hole in the bathroom ceiling.  Oh well.  

Anyway the open shelves were another cheap and easy fix that made a huge impact for us.

So what do you think, should I go ahead and add moulding to the front of the shelves or just fill the screw holes?

Christina

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Design, Basically: flooring

Last week, we talked about how our rooms have backgrounds.  Walls and ceilings make up a large part of that background, but floors make up the rest. 

Flooring has too much of an impact on a room to be ignored.  Every element we put into the room could be perfectly unified and balanced, but if the floor doesn't fit into that design, the whole space will still be off.

We don't want that. 

We're talking about everything from hardwood to carpet and rugs today...anything that covers your floor.  The important part, like always, is to first remember your goal for the space, and then look at different options in light of the basic elements:

• Line: Does it have the straight lines of hardwood planks, or tile laid in a curved pattern? 

• Form: Is it a rectangular or circular rug, or the organic, curved form of a cowhide?

• Color: Color is self-explanatory here, just make sure you compare paint and fabric samples to your flooring and rug options.

• Texture: Hardwood can be smooth or rough, matte, glossy, etc...  Brick and mortar is a rough texture, while marble tiles are smooth. 
 

Traditional Entry by Clawson Architects

Traditional Dining Room by Cardel Designs

Is the hardwood finely grained, smooth and shiny, and therefore more formal, or is it raw and rough textured, which would be more casual and masculine?

Compare the two rooms below, which are not too dissimilar in style.  See the 4 elements of design in those rugs and how much of an impact it makes in each room?  The one is soft, feminine and luxurious, while the layered natural fiber and cowhide give a completely different feel to the room. 

Vanessa Bruno via Style Files

Samantha Sacks via Style at Home

Now you can see the impact different flooring has and can see it from a design angle, right?

So how do we apply that in our own spaces?  If we happen to be putting in new flooring, just apply the basic elements, and make a design plan for the room, flooring included.

But, most of us are not in a position to change our actual flooring (except maybe rugs).  Whether or not we're changing out our floors, they still need to be included in the design of the room.  Even if we really don't like our current floor, we still have to use the principles of unity and variety to harmonize it with the mood we fill the space with. 

What are your options?  Well, you'll have to tune in next week.  I planned on writing all of it up in one post, but I just had way too much to say.  Next Friday, we'll talk about how to make your current floor work in your design plan or some possible ways to alter your current floor.

For this week, think about your current floors (and rugs!) and look at how they display each of the basic elements and what mood they give off.  

I'm curious, do you like your current floors?  Would you change them if you could?

Christina

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A change is coming, and I'd love your help

I'm making the big switch to WordPress from Blogger.  Right now, I have no idea what I'm doing.  But now that the Undersized Urbanite contest is over for now, I'll be putting all that extra time into building the new site from scratch. 

The address will still be www.littlevictorian.com.  I will try to keep the RSS feed the same so my lovely subscribers don't have to do any work.  And, after the switch, I plan on having many more subscription options, like weekly or monthly summaries, or to specific categories like the Design, Basically column. 

I will let you know again before the switch happens (it will be a Friday).  The blog and my email will be down for 36 hours. But if everything goes well, you can come over Monday morning to fresh new site.  

I want to make sure that the newly designed blog will be something you enjoy even more and that it is just what you would like to experience when coming over for a visit.  Because of that, it would really help me out if you would take a short, 10 question survey about the blog before I begin the actual re-design process.  You can take the survey here. 

And why don't you also take a second and follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.  That way, if one (or both!) of us gets lost in the move, we can stay in touch and get it fixed.  As we have seen many times with a switch to WordPress, unexpected things can happen.  Hoping for the best, planning for the worst.

See you Friday with another design post and then next week, we'll finally have some updates of our house to show you!

Christina

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The winners of the 1st annual Undersized Urbanite dollhouse contest are...

The votes are in!  And I'm so excited to share them with you!

The competition was heated and someone managed to pull ahead at the very end.  It was fun watching all the numbers come in and it was hard not to share them with you as it was happening. 

Each winner will receive a gift card, be featured in and receive a one-year subscription to Miniaturas magazine. 

So here we go, the 3 winners of the 2013 Undersized Urbanite contest are:


3rd Place: Audra's Chantilly

Audra did an amazing job with her pretty little 1/2 scale house.

She remodeled her little home, changing out the windows and doors, adding that large wrap around porch and balcony, and adding the gorgeous roof and more.

You can see more of Audra's house here (including the before photos!).  Congratulations, Audra! 



2nd Place: Lyssa of Can't Have it Big? Make it Mini!

Lyssa's personalization of her house was so impressive.  Everything looks so cozy and lived-in.  This house was a complete remodel as well.

Lyssa loves miniatures for the same reason I do: it's a chance to design and decorate your dream house.  And I love that one of her priorities in her dream house is a library with a gorgeous and cozy book nook. 

And the attic just kills me.

Go here to see more photos of Lyssa's lovely house. 


Aaaaannnd...

1st Place: Brae of Otterine

Brae is amazingly talented.  She modified a basic house kit for her structure and built that deck (among many, many other things) from scratch.

Even the beautiful rug is cross stitched. 

Yes, the wood stove was also made from scratch:

 

Go take a more detailed tour of Brae's artist studio if you haven't yet.  And grab some coffee first because you'll want to stay a while. 

Congratulations again to Brae, Lyssa and Audra!!!  And thank you to all the participants and finalists, it really was an honor to have you all. 


All of the participants and winners will remain listed here on the blog and on the Undersized Urbanite website. 

Planning for the second annual will be underway soon, if you'd like to be added to the list to be the first to hear when the details are out, please add your email to the box below.  I am hoping to make next year even more exciting with mini challenges and mini prizes along the way, and possibly a new winner category for newbies?  Sign up to find out!

Be the first to hear about the 2014 Undersized Urbanite contest!

Christina

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