Backdoor Shelves Up In Here, Up In Here

Operation Get-Ready-For-Boston's-Birthday-Party: kitchen nook/living room shelves.

See this bare slash empty space that Boston is walking by that has all of those picture frames?  Well it's been shouting at me that it needed something more.  It needed to be spruced up a bit.  It needed....shelves.  I had seen Mandi do this to her friends house and I loved it.  It's exactly what I waned and to get to see a picture of what it could actually looked like was just the thing I needed before starting this project.  I showed Jer and he liked it.  But he usually heeds my advice anyway.  :)  He calls it, "another place to put your little nic-nac's on."  And he's right, we have tons of picture frames that could go there.  It could be a home for other little trinkets/ceramics, too.  The possibilities are endless.  And will change over time.

The best part: it took him maybe 1.5 hours to start and complete.  The longest part was my part: staining the bare wood.  We had to wait for them to dry and for the stain to soak in.

Jer's a perfectionist so he takes his time measuring and then cutting.  You know that saying, "measure twice, cut once."  That's his motto.  Wasting good wood is not an option for Mr. Cook.

How high?  Good question, Jer.

My trusty ol' stain.  This is my go-to stain for any wood I want to stain.  I love the color.  It's more on the black side than the brown side.  So it's not too burgundy.

Here's how I stain my wood.  1) get a plastic bag (it'll save your fingers from getting stain all over them) and wrap it around your hand and hold it in place with your thumb, 2) take an old t-shirt and wrap that the same way making sure to hold it too with your thumb, and 3) dip your t-shirt and start staining.  

I usually go back and forth (instead of going with the grain) and then immediately wiping a smidgen off with a clean part of the shirt so that there aren't dark and light spots.  It gives it a more even look.

Our bare space is ready for some shelves.  

Jer added 1x2's under the shelves to give them a little extra support.

Before adding the vertical boards we dotted some liquid glue.  

Half way there.

It was now my job to decide where I wanted the vertical boards to be placed.  

While I was trying to make up my mind.....B was inspecting the leveler.  Future handy man?  Hope so.

We also got a "birthday" package in that day so we tried on his new pilot hat for the birthday party.  He's gonna be the pilot of Boston Airways don't ya know.  

He was cracking us up that day.  Everytime we would point the camera at him, he would bend down and smile (if you want to call that mouth action a smile).  Ha.  That's his "pose" I guess.  

Then it was time for a movie.  

This is what I ended up choosing.  A vertical board on top and two on the bottom.  It just looked more pyramid-ish to us.  

I grabbed a few things around the house and did a little decorating.  It'll work for now.  Jer's not a huge fan of the decor so it'll be changing again very soon. 

But for now, this is what it looks like.  

Those glass jars are old sparkling water jars that I kept after drank the water.  And those pink flower were 5 bones from Wally World.

On the left: the white ceramic pot is from Home Goods and the blue bowl is from Target on clearance.  On the right: the white ceramic cup is from Goodwill.

We love our new babies and hope to fill them with some cute holiday decor in the coming months.