Creative Shelves

Well, I have been on an extended leave from blogging….but I am back and have been working on an exciting project.

We have decided to turn our dining room into a craft/play room for me and the little guy.  We seldom used the dining room and with such an open floor plan we had two large tables divided by a wall between the kitchen and dining room.  This is such a great space and I have decided to begin posting about the transformation of the space in a series of posts beginning today with the shelving.

*My Playful Creative Space*

Prior to this decision, I have spent many a hours drooling over all the spaces out in blogland.  So why re-invent the wheel?  Shamelessly steal the best ideas around, right?

Well needless to say there is not an endless amount of money to do this, so one space that really stood out for me was Karen’s sewing room at Sew Many Ways.  I loved her shelving and had an inset area in my room that was about 12 inches deep that I always wanted shelves for.

So I set out to try and replicate this unit above and here is my journey…

I found 3 laminate board shelves on craigslist.  Two of the shelves were the same while the third shelf was same height but wider.

 

I pulled the back off and used my handy new little nail puller to clean and remove all nails and staples.

(I love when I get new tools!)

Then I began painting the shelves.

I used primed bead board for the backing.  Deciding to run the beads horizontal instead of vertical allowed me to use one less sheet of bead board and save $20.

Once in place, I began to work on the trim.  I placed a 1x3 around the top of the entire unit.

My plan was to use crown molding around the bottom of the unit to tie it together as there was some variability with one shelf being different.  Instead of the traditional crown installation at an angle, I chose to attach it flat as seen above.

Crown molding was much easier to complete once I understood inside and outside corners as well as how to place the molding in the miter saw upside down and backwards.

Well, those are my great new shelves!

I can’t wait to show you other projects as the room unfolds into a great creative space. Don’t even expect the walls to stay the same color!

 

I partied here:

House of Hepworths

The Speckled Dog

Domestically-Speaking

Sew Many Ways