Showing posts with label Storage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Storage. Show all posts

DIY Corner Block Moulding Caddy

We've had 4 pieces of corner block moulding in our scrap wood stash for quite some time and today I gave them a purpose.  



If you're not familiar with these decorative little blocks of wood, they're available in many styles for framing mirrors or door frames. 

We bought them months ago at Lowe's to frame a mirror for our bathroom, but in the process found a ready-made mirror that we used instead.  These cute carved blocks of wood sat unused and unloved until today.

Materials:



4 corner block moulding (4.5" x 4.5" each)
1 5-gallon paint stir stick
Wood glue
Small tack nails and hammer, or brad nailer
Saw
Paint and paint brush
Clamps
Sanding sponge or fine sandpaper
To begin, I lightly sanded the blocks - they were presanded but a few areas needed to be touched up.

 Next, I arranged the blocks to form a square.



Then applied wood glue where edges met, and clamped in place to dry.



 After the glue dried, I (actually, my gracious assistant) cut 3 equal lengths of the stir stick to form the bottom of the caddy.

 I placed the stir stick lengths side-by-side on the under side of the caddy and attached with a brad nailer.



 Next was the fun part - painting!  I used leftover ceiling paint that we had on hand - a flat creamy white.



 After letting the paint dry, the caddy was ready to be filled.



For now, it's holding silverware on our island.  But, its forever home will be on my craft table, containing a collection of scissors.


I'm repeating myself, but it's so rewarding to make something useful from items you have on hand that aren't being used.

And wouldn't this little caddy also be great as a planter?  Or, crayon caddy?  So many uses!

Your comments are greatly appreciated and I look forward to your thoughts and ideas!  I try to respond to comments via email as soon as I can. If your email address isn't available, I will comment here. Thanks so much for visiting!

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Travel Trailer Tour

I promised a tour of our travel trailer and ... here we go!

Before we made our purchase, we browsed the photos of many other bloggers' travel trailers, and now it's a pleasure to return the favor and provide this quick tour of ours.  

Our travel trailer is a Rockwood Mini Lite model 2109s and is approximately 21 feet long.  It's basically a one room (plus bathroom) tiny house on double axles!  For a more detailed list of features, check out my previous post HERE.  








To begin this tour, as you walk through the entry, to the right mounted to the side of an upper cabinet is the monitor panel/command center.  Here you control the water pump/heater, tank heaters, and monitor the tanks.  This is also where you find the controls for the power awning and slide-out, and all exterior lighting, along with the interior light nearest the entry.


To your left is a floor to ceiling pantry.  It has removable, adjustable wood shelves.  There's also a clothing rod, making the closet easily converted to a wardrobe if needed. 



Next to the pantry are the refrigerator and freezer.  Below the fridge is a carbon monoxide and gas detector, and the converter for switching the fridge/freezer from AC to propane power.  





Immediately in front of you is the bathroom door - how's that for convenience?  :) 

Turning to the right you arrive at the kitchen area and basically the remainder of the entire space ... sitting area and bedroom area.

The kitchen is actually quite spacious for a trailer this size.  There's a built-in microwave, exhaust fan/light, built in oven/3-burner stove and double sink.  


The little "This is our happy place" printable with camper graphic was fun to make.  Links to graphics can be found HERE.



 

It offers plenty of storage - upper cabinets, two large drawers (for pots/pans and larger items), a tray drawer under the sink, two cutlery drawers to the left of the oven, and a large drawer below the oven.



We replaced the drawer pulls on the two largest kitchen drawers with larger and sturdier cup pulls.  

Satin Nickle Arched Cup Pull


Under the cutlery drawers is the furnace.  To the left of the kitchen counter is extra counter space in the form of a hinged shelf that pops up. 

Next to the kitchen is the entertainment center with full digital stereo system, including outside speakers and remote.  The flat screen TV swivels for viewing in the bedroom or sitting area.   

The stereo can also be used as an MP3/DVD/CD player and any other external devices hook up to the stereo as well.  Under the stereo is a charging station with outlets for phone charging.  Nearest the floor is another storage cabinet.  In spite of its small footprint, this space really isn't lacking storage options.



 
The TV can also be moved to the exterior of the trailer for outside viewing.  The speakers on the exterior are under the awning right above the window (the two round objects on either side of the orange porch light).  

Source


 Back inside, the bedroom area has drapes on either side of the queen size bed, enabling you to separate the sleeping area from the remainder of the space.  




We really enjoy having the large window at the head of the bed - it provides awesome lighting during the day and the window shade and exterior window cover can be closed for room darkening.  We were told that some manufacturers are discontinuing this window option.

On either side of the bed are built-in night stands - one side has a drawer and the other has a handy electrical outlet.

There are "closets" on both sides of the bed and storage above.  Adding these hanging organizers helps to keep folded clothing sorted and organized.




There's under bed storage at the foot of the mattress - you lift the end of the mattress to access a trunk size storage space, in addition to three built-in drawers.  



The mattress (which comes with a built-in heater) wasn't the most comfortable we'd experienced, so we added a 4" memory foam topper and now it's super comfy.  A great modification!
 



There was a single under cabinet light fixture mounted above the head of the bed, and we added puck lights for nighttime reading and to light the bedside tables.  

 

Puck lights were also installed above the monitor panel/command center near the entry door, and under the bathroom medicine cabinet to better illuminate the sink. 

These puck lights are LED remote control battery operated with dimmer and they are working really well.  They're from Costco and a set of 6 with remote was around $20.  

The sitting area is in the slide-out and contains a sofa bed with storage above and there are reading lights mounted under the upper cabinets.  Other models featured a dinette in the slide-out.



We added the storage ottoman and it's convenient for safely stashing away horizontal surface items (coffee maker, toaster, framed photos and breakable items) while on the road.  

A folding table was included with the trailer and was tucked away behind the sofa.  For us, it was a little too bulky and tall (and heavy for me), and took up too much floor space - especially when the pups are traveling with us.  It's a well made table - we'll use it outdoors for added prep or serving space when grilling.

Here it is .. to give you an idea of size:


That brings us back to the bathroom.  It's a 3 piece bathroom with sink, toilet and circular shower with shower doors.  There's a mirrored medicine cabinet above the sink, storage below the sink, and a skylight above the shower. 









That completes the tour of the interior!  Hope this helps if you're in the market for a similar size travel trailer and are comparing options and features.  If we can answer any questions about this model, please leave a comment or email and we'll be happy to help.  

And just so we don't end this tour with a photo of the toilet (!!) ... here's a lovely pic from our recent West Coast road trip - a view of the Picacho Mountains near Eloy, Arizona.  You can read all about our adventure HERE. 








Your comments are greatly appreciated and I look forward to your thoughts and ideas!  I try to respond to comments via email as soon as I can. If your email address isn't available, I will comment here. Thanks so much for visiting!

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Idea Organizing ... Before Pinterest

Before Pinterest, many of us had been collecting and organizing creative ideas for years ... in binders, photo albums and ... for me, on index cards!





 My simple system was devoted mainly to home decor ideas gleaned online and in magazines (remember those?).  

My index cards were equivalent to Pinterest Pins ... it was easy to attach or jot down an idea (photo, sketch) on an index card, and add specific details ... paint color, materials used, etc. 





(If anyone knows the source of any of the decor ideas above, 
please let me know and I will link back.)

 The index card topic dividers were the equivalent of Pinterest Boards. 




Pinterest has thankfully made this entire process so much easier, quicker and less cumbersome, but it's still fun to browse through these cards occasionally.  It brings back the excitement and joy of finding a neat new decor idea to try, or seeing an old idea in a totally different way and having it trigger another creative thought.

 But who knows, perhaps I'll return to my index card system some day ... surely Pinterest won't be around forever, right?  My cards will!  

And, unlike Pinterest, my cards are stored in a cute little lidded box!  :)





 Did you have a paper idea organizing method pre-Pinterest?  Do you still?  


Your comments are greatly appreciated and I look forward to your thoughts and ideas!  I try to respond to comments via email as soon as I can. If your email address isn't available, I will comment here. Thanks so much for visiting! 




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Adding Craft Space Storage

Our combination guest room/craft space is a definite work in progress, but we're truly pleased with the changes we've made to date.

One handy addition is this white shelving unit:



It's the Kallax shelving unit from Ikea and it fits really well into this space.




Kallax from Ikea

It replaces this Leksvik bookcase (also from Ikea but no longer available) that was a little too wide.




Through the years, we've found Ikea pieces to be super sturdy and long lasting.  In fact, the Leksvik bookcase above is many years old and is still in perfect condition. 

Another positive is that Ikea items are easy to assemble - this came in very handy as I tackled this on a day hubby was out of town.

To my benefit, there was a nice booklet with illustrations for each step of the assembly, along with a bag of all hardware, wall anchoring brackets, and even an assembly tool - everything you need in one box.

 
Speaking of boxes, here's where I have to confess that the box was VERY HEAVY - it weighed 67#!  And, as fate would have it, it was still in the back of my SUV and hubby wasn't home when I decided to assemble it.

Being stubborn ... uh, rather ... being determined, I left it in the back of my vehicle, opened the box and brought the contents inside in manageable trips.  :)

That was honestly the most difficult step of the assembly - putting it together was a breeze.


Another impressive feature of the Kallax series is that the base, top and sides of the shelving unit are each approx. 1-1/2" thick.  


Before investing time in putting it together, I placed the base on the floor to ensure the size worked well and it did.


Above is a sneak peek at another new addition to the room - a DIY wood plank headboard - more on that soon!

A handy tip for using a rubber mallet is to cover the mallet head with a soft cloth (or in this case, an old sock!) to prevent damage or black marks on furniture pieces.  And you guessed  it - I learned this the hard way ... fortunately, marks were easily removed.


Following the instruction booklet, the shelving unit went together easily in about an hour.  



 We really do like the crisp clean lines and it provides great options for craft storage and organizing.

Standard fabric storage cubes fit perfectly and are available at most home decor stores.  Or, Ikea offers drawer inserts and door options as well.  


Do you have any Ikea pieces in your home?  Are you as pleased with them as we are?  Have you been brave enough to attempt assembling any yourself?  :)


Your comments are greatly appreciated and I look forward to your thoughts and ideas!  I try to respond to comments via email as soon as I can. If your email address isn't available, I will comment here. Thanks so much for visiting!  
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