Thursday, January 16, 2014

Baby steps

Actually, that's unfair. These shelves are the first thing we got done in our new apartment and they were a HUGE step. Our kitchen is adorable but not terribly functional due to a severe lack of cabinet and counter space. The area right next to the kitchen is meant to be a dining room but it's too small for our table so we're going to use it for extra storage and work space instead (we haven't figured out how we'll have people over for dinner yet, but we're working on it).

We already had the adjustable shelving system so we repurposed it. We painted it a dark gray (still a little torn on whether we picked the right color) because the glossy white wasn't going to blend into the wall anyways and we decided we'd rather have something that obviously stands out instead of a failed camouflage situation. We just used six foot boards as the shelves. I thought I'd be able to put out all my glassware, dishes, servingware and vases and then use one shelf for my cookbooks. Clearly, I'm terrible at estimating how much space things will take up and I have a lot of dishes. The cookbooks remain an issue.

shelves up
{shelves up}

new shelves
{new shelves}

glass display
{glass display}

Our plan is to eventually paint the shelves white to match the wall and put in nicer brackets so they're just floating and don't have the rails. But for now, this is a game changer. I'm using the limited cabinet space the kitchen came with to store our actual food and our mixing bowls, salad spinner, etc.

I was worried about open shelving when we live in an earthquake zone but after many, many internet searches for not-too-ugly solutions I decided we'd just take the risk. The main thing everyone points out is that in a major earthquake your cabinet doors are basically pointless anyways, unless you have those terribly annoying earthquake locks installed. But you'll notice I didn't put our wedding china up there.

I'll probably get a few more of the stacking shelves I'm using for the glasses. They aren't the most beautiful solution but it doubles the storage space and I like the multi-layer look.

We're also putting in a small shelf to stack our large pots on and we'll hang our pans right under it. That will go in the tiny kitchen area, right next to the stove.

We have a plan for the other wall of our "dining room" space and I'm hoping we get it put together in the next few weeks. I am SO DONE with the stacks of appliances and that consarned jug of molasses that doesn't fit anywhere else in the entire kitchen.

19 comments:

  1. They look great! I bet they make a huge difference in feeling settled. I have a question, though: as a renter I am always worried about mounting things on the walls. Like, I get nervous just about picture nails & hooks, much less plastic anchors and large screws. Do you guys spackle and paint over the damage? Do you ever lose your security deposit? In this case, I'm sure even I'd get over my anxiety for the sake of the storage, but I ask because I'm wondering whether I shouldn't be anxious in the first place.

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    1. I think technically we aren't supposed to mount anything on the walls and it was the same thing at our last place. We decided not to worry about it. We do a really nice spackle patch job + primer coat for the walls before we leave and we've never lost our security deposit. I was a little nervous about doing it in this new place, because it's so much cuter than our previous apartments I thought the landlord might care more. But then we noticed that there were several patches in various places on the walls so it was obvious the last person had put stuff up as well. And, as you say, we would have had to get over it because there just isn't any way we could live in this place with the storage situation as it existed!

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    2. That makes total sense. Before we moved into our current place we unfortunately saw the landlords wrangling with the past tenant about damage, which just gave me pause. But we're going to be here a long time, and we also cover up holes when we leave. I'm just going to get over it.

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  2. Woops, my comment disappeared, I think. I so understand what you are going through! I had to move from Seoul to Germany, which meant shiny, moder and spacious apartments to ancient, tiny apartments, and I went through so much of those mismatching/misestimating. Sigh. Your shelves look great though. Very chic and Nordic, if that makes sense. Hang in there :)

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    1. Comments have been super buggy lately! Mine keep jumping around and sometimes disappearing! That is a really serious move, lady! And thank you for the shelf compliments.

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  3. "consarned jug of molasses" is such an epic phrase; it could refer to any number of things, but it amuses me that yours is literally a consarned jug of molasses. (mine is either a tiny crock pot or 11 bottles of red wine.) the dishes look wonderful on the open shelves, though i don't blame you for keeping the wedding dishes out of the arrangement. onward! upward! (shall you fauxdenza in your new place?)

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    1. We will! The fauxdenza is currently sitting on the floor in the living room, but it will be mounted eventually, which I think will greatly improve our living room. (I didn't mention the 6 bottles of red wine and the 12 of sparkling (holiday sale!) but oh, they are there, right in my walking zone)

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  4. You mean you found a downside to owning a gallon of molasses?

    :P

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  5. Before I even reading the entry, the photos of those shelves gave me earthquake anxiety. Then again, it's been 20 years since a serious shaker. Looks great!

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    1. I'm still half toying with the idea of putting in some kind of safety rail. It's just such a pain. I'd be very, very sad if our Heath was broken but luckily all our other every day stuff is very cheap. But if all of it broke at once? Ouch. I'll update if I find a decent looking rail system!

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  6. Haha I enjoyed your commentary on these shelves. Personally, I think the natural wood looks quite beautiful! Though I know what you mean about wanting to disguise the brackets. After moving from a studio apartment with literally 1 foot of counter space to a 1-bedroom apartment with 2.5 feet of counter space, I feel spoiled. You will get used to it eventually!

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  7. i'm thinking about this. most of your furniture seems to have a midcentury modern vibe (which i love)--that means lots of oblong, rounded edges and a uniform stain (i want to call it oak, but have no real idea). if you rounded the edges of the shelves slightly, so that they looked sort of like skateboards stacked on the wall, then stained them to match your furniture, that might bring some thematic unity to the space. You'd need some serious woodworking equipment for that, though. (real skateboards would actually be kind of cool!) If you needed more space, something along the industrial lines of these shelves could be placed below for storing table linens, candles, placecards, your wedding china, etc: phttp://materialicious.com/2012/03/rockwell-metal-chest-of-drawers.html then a bar cart in a similar theme would then compliment it nicely ;) looks amazing so far.... love the sun coming in your windows! congrats on your move and on life with the adorable Circe!

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    1. So interesting, Elle! I wonder how darker wood would look in our kitchen. And I would love, love, love a bar cart but I think we're going to have to use the space below for our work table and computer stuff. We are cramming a lot of activity in this one space!

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  8. I love the living room "space." I completely take for granted that we just bought a 2400 sq/ft home in the south for probably less than what you have to rent for. I can't imagine! I love that even though you seem to entertain ALL the time you totally rented a place that you say you are still trying to figure out how you will host people for dinner. I admire that kind of creativity and the fact that you obviously just knew that you wanted the new place! I have a great home and plenty of space but still don't feel confident having a large crowd even though I know I could easily manage it if I had your ideas and awesomeness! Ha! Love all that you have done and it makes me want to visit all my west coast friends!

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    1. I can't even imagine 2400sf! You can entertain! Just start small and don't put too much pressure on yourself and I'm sure you'll be great. We are really hoping we figure out our entertaining situation because having people over, even just for small dinners, is so important to us. Also, so much cheaper than going out all the time!

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  9. live in a tiny nyc apartment and feel your pain. sometimes with my kitchen and frustrations, and some days my joys and ease of using it, i just think just keep swimming...

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    1. I'm not sure how NYCers survive, honestly! This apartment is small by LA standards but enormous by NYC standards (at least, compared to the studio apartments my various friends have lived in). I'm so impressed at anyone who manages to cook regularly in those tiny kitchens and I remind myself of them anytime I'm tempted to complain about our place.

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  10. i love the look! you have some really pretty dishes! earthquake! was indeed the first thing i thought of when i saw them though :)

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