Kitchen Shelves Revealed

Hi everybody!

The kitchen shelves are done.

We love it. I never thought we could get away with having shelves for our dish storage. 

I never thought they could replicate the storage we had in our old behemoth of a cabinet. 
Read my opinions about shelves here.
Read more about this project here.

The old cabinet was 48 inches wide. It had no soffit above or cabinets next to it in order to help support the weight. In my opinion it was too big and too heavy to be floating in the middle of a wall.

Once the cabinet was removed, I was able to see exactly what caused this. It looked like the cabinet sides and front were pulling away from the back. If the side and doors had given way there would have been nothing supporting the shelves and they would have crashed to the floor. 

At first I was sad this happened to the cabinet we just painted less than two years ago but Bill immediately commented that he loved how open the kitchen looks.

He loves feeling like he is not going to get bonked in the head with a cabinet door that someone (me) has left open. 
Ouch!

The Behemoth provided tons of storage but I was able to relocate all of the old and antique glassware to the dining room. 

We needed storage for the remaining glasses, bowls and several sizes of plates. Random jars got recycled or moved to the laundry room. 
How many empty Prego jars does one person need? 

The shelves looked oddly unfinished so a trip back to Pinterest revealed that a board in between the brackets helped make everything look balanced and complete.

Every crack and crevice got a bead of caulk and a coat of Dover White Semigloss Enamel from Sherwin Williams. I had enough leftover from painting the cabinets.

I love this color. It reads white but isn't stark. 

These took two days to dry completely. 

They look a little too glossy but the shine will diminish over time as the enamel dries and cures.

The top shelf is for stuff we never use. 
I can't reach it so therefore it isn't practical for every day but the room looked odd without it. 

I thought maybe the shelves would bother me as the dish supply became depleted 
in-between the cycles of the dish washer. 

No. 

I love it full and in various stages of depletion.

We ordered a few more white plates and bowls from Replacements Ltd.  

Bill did say that he wasn't sure this would be a viable option if we still had kids at home. 
I don't know, but so far this is working for the two of us. 
Everything has a place and nothing extra is getting set on the shelves.
This wasn't a very expensive fix.
The total cost for the brackets and the boards was less than $80.00.

I love it!
Have a great day.
Katie   
Linking with,
French Country Cottage   
The Scoop 
Savvy Southern Style
A Stroll Thru Life   
From My Front Porch to Yours

Friends In Low Places

I was so frustrated with our lower cabinets.

There was a flaw in the roll out shelf system and a few years after we bought the house, the supports started to break. 

One by one they broke and one by one I wired them back together.

It was not a perfect solution by any means but I didn't know what else to do.
The wheels have recently begun to stick so there is drag and squeaking every time I try to get something out. 

One of the most frustrating areas was the cabinet with the pots and pans. 

No matter how I tried to stack them, nest them, with lids, without lids, it was always a jumble.
It was dark in there.
I could never see what was in the back corner. 

This cabinet was not my friend. 

The other family members who help with dishwasher unloading were also frustrated with our situation.

I picked up a little shelf like thing while I was out one day and utilized it in my platter cabinet. 

I loved it so much that I thought the same type of thing could work for the pots and pans.
I realized there was freedom in getting rid of the pull out shelves. 

I bravely took them out, unscrewed the supports and put them in the trash pile. 

We are never, ever going back to that system.

I had no intention of getting out today so I started looking around the house for a solution to this cabinet's organization. 

I saw a shoe rack that I used for lunch boxes and drinks in the pantry. 

Perfect. 

It is white like the outside of the cabinets so it will brighten up the inside and it will provide two levels of storage.

The pots fit perfectly on the shelves.

 I am thrilled.

So is my son. 

He said, "It's about time."

Almost all of the same things are back in the cabinet as in the before picture. 
The only thing I got rid of were stray storage container lids.
 Amazing!

 I love how organized it all is.

It's so much brighter in there.

I'm so glad this cabinet and I are finally friends. 

Next up? The mixing bowls and bakeware…

Katie   

Linking with,
City Farmhouse   
A Bowl Full of Lemons