Grab a Glass

It's time for some wine!

We've had a severe lack of wine in this house lately, because we haven't had space for a wine rack.  Hubby's been challenging me to make a custom wall-mounted one for months, so with the kitchen reno (hopefully) nearing an end, I realized this was the perfect time.  (and who am I to say no when Hubby request a DIY)

It all started with a quick sketch when I was watching tv one night last week.

The dimensions got modified a bit as the project progressed, but this was a great place to start.  I enlisted Handy Dad's help for another set of hands (and maybe for his tools as well... maybe).

The materials:

• 8' length of 1x6 poplar
• Kreg jig screws
• Wood glue
• Toggle screws (for mounting to the wall)

The tools we used:

• Chop saw
• Drill press (a regular drill could work too, but it would be a bit more work)
• 3 1/4" hole saw drill bit
• Clamps
• Kreg jig

The first step was to cut the boards to the desired length and mark out where my holes will go (this is where the dimensions got modified a bit).

Actually cutting the holes was the most difficult part.  We clamped the 2 side boards together so that the holes would line up perfectly.  To prevent as much splintering as possible, we drilled most of the way through one side, then completed the hole by drilling from the other side.  Slow and steady...

This was my attempt to take a photo of all the pieces on a white background.  #whitebalancefail

As you can see on the back pieces, I used my Kreg jig to drill pocket holes.  My friend Kreg is awesome- it's a very simple drill guide and special bit that makes it super easy to strongly join 2 pieces of wood.  I first read about it on Young House Love, and I quickly jumped on the Kreg bandwagon.

Next came assembly.  Every joint got wood glued and clamped, and the back supports were screwed together with Kreg screws for extra support.

After assembly, I sanded the bejesus out of it, painted it with 2 coats of paint, and mounted it to my kitchen wall with toggle bolts (when all filled, the rack can weigh almost 30 pounds!)

So, what do you think?  I think it fits perfectly in it's new home!

I originally had staggered the direction of the bottles, but Hubby and I both liked it a bit better this way.

I can't wait to reveal the whole kitchen to you- it's really becoming my favorite designed room in the house!

Planting in Air

As I'm awaiting the final leg of kitchen install (supposedly Saturday- YAY!!), I've been trying to work out the details in the space.  The kitchen now has a few new living additions that I'm hoping (keep your fingers crossed for me) that I can keep alive.  Air plants!

Indoor plants and I don't generally have the best relationship.  The only plants I've manage to keep alive for any amount of time are 2 spider plants that you'd really have to make an effort to kill.  Even my well planned out pretty succulent terrarium met a grim ending.

I've never had air plants before, but with directions to put them in water once a week and spritz them once a week, they sound very manageable (and tough to kill).

Once I adopted my new little friends, I knew I wanted the 3 larger ones suspended.  This may have been the easiest and quickest kitchen project yet: twine and knots.

Using 3 lengths of twine, I made sure to knot a loop at the top for hanging, and tied an additional knot for each plant to sit.  Then all you have to do is place your plants and move the leaves until they sit the way you want.  If only all kitchen decor projects were this easy!

Once the final installation is complete, I still need to grout the naked tile and style my little heart out.  If all goes well Saturday (it better), you can expect to see long anticipated kitchen "After" pics hopefully next week!

I'd love to hear your experiences with air plants- good, bad?  Can I manage to keep them alive?

Kitchen Headaches

This week hasn't been the walk in the park that I was hoping for.  If you follow me on facebook, you may have gotten an inkling about my frustrations with the Home Depot kitchen installers.  We asked them to leave before the completion of the project at the end of the 3rd day.  The whole situation just makes me sick to my stomach- I hate being that person and it takes a LOT to push me over the edge, but they found my breaking point. I apologize ahead of time- this post is largely a rant (and I won't blame you if you'd rather skip it and come back Monday for a more positive post), so I'll start with a kitchen progress picture to ease the pain.

After being rescheduled several times, the installers arrived Monday knowing only half of the scope of work (I hire them for installing cabinets AND running vent duct through it).  Understandably, what they though was an easy one day project turned into 2.  However, when we were nearing the end of day 3, 25 hours of them being in my house, and the end wasn't even in sight.... I was getting fed up.  There were a LOT of little issues going through the project starting from day one that I won't get into, but the recurring excuse/complaint why the project wasn't going well was my unlevel floor.  This is a 100 year old house- it's not unexpected, that's why I thought I was hiring the pros & explained as such when they came to measure and quote the project.

On day 3 when they were working on the base board/toe kick and they told me that I should have ripped up my floors and leveled them before installing the kitchen, I started to lose it.  Insulting my floors or my house is like telling a woman her baby's ugly.  Although these aren't the original floors, the lack of perfectly level floors is part of the charm of an old house and this wasn't an extreme case.  Essentially he was telling me I should remove charm from my house so his job would have been easier.

One cabinet couldn't be installed because we need to wait for a larger filler piece to be ordered (which I discovered on day 1)- not the installers fault and I should have caught that problem when I approved the design- BUT when they proceeded to tell me that I needed to sign off on the completion of the project so that they could get paid sooner- that was the straw that broke me.  After all the little issues they kept bringing up, my patience was wearing thin.  I'm not signing off that it's done, until, ya know it's done!  They kept pushing and an argument ensued which concluded with them being asked to leave.

In the moment, I knew it was 100% the right thing to do, but I keep second guessing myself after the fact... because that's what I do.  I really do feel terrible- I never want to be the reason someone doesn't get paid or gets reprimanded, but from the get go there was a lack of professionalism.

So now I have to wait a few weeks for the filler piece and a few other replacement pieces arrive, THEN I'll hire my own installers to finish the job.  At least we have a functional kitchen until then & I can finally start putting the kitchen and dining room back together (AND work on installing my tile!)

I had decided to go through Home Depot to hopefully streamline the process with them ordering, measuring, and installing, but I missed the mark a bit.  At least Home Depot was SO helpful yesterday when I arrived to tell them of the complete situation- they were apologetic and are doing all they can to make it right.  I'm sure there are those with amazing experiences with their installers, but I was not one of them. C'est la vie.

The kitchen will be amazing when done- I'm just ready to move past this whole thing.  I know I'm not the only who has had contractor issues.  Feel free to share your stories in the comments to help me feel better.

Monday's post will be up-beat, I promise!  Have a great weekend!