Embracing the unkowns

There were quite a few unknowns when we closed on the house last month- like the painted shut cupboard wedged behind the refrigerator that we couldn't move without damaging the plumbing.

This is why we couldn't move the refrigerator.  Who thought this was a good idea?

We ultimately decided that there probably wasn't anything in the cupboard bad enough to deter us from buying the house.  But what was in there?  Dead mice? War bonds? A 100 year old fruit cake?

Door to Narnia

It took us a little while after move-in to get around to it, but finally, with the help of a screwdriver, a butter knife, and a little violence, we were able to pry the cabinet open.

And...

Surprise!

 ...a solid wood ironing board fell out.  Neat!

Unfortunately, as much as Jan enjoys ironing and Lisa appreciates the space saving aesthetic, it didn't take long to decide it had to go.  A couple more weeks of getting around to it, a power drill + more low-level violence, and here is what we have now:

All the things that usually get lost in the back of the cabinets.

We bought a variety of plastic shelf pins to hold the shelves in place because we didn't know which ones would be best.  They all ended up being about the same.  We drilled the holes one drill bit size smaller than the pin size to get a snug fit.


The best part is that Lisa can reach all of the shelves! Every house should have an in-wall cabinet like this. The upper cabinet shelves in the rest of the kitchen have been officially relegated to Jan's personal storage.  He will use them solely to cache old bread and open jars of jam.  Lisa doesn't care.  As far as she knows the top shelf is where dragons live.

Jan likes this.

As for the refrigerator, we capped off and removed the line to the icemaker, so the fridge sits flush in the corner now.  Its still spray foam city underneath, but that's a project for another day. 

Now, who wants a wooden ironing board?

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Actual conversation:

J: Hey, you got a lot done in here!

L: Well, I was cleaning and had the drill out...

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http://www.pinkwhen.com/diy-sunday-showcase-131-favs/
http://www.niftythriftythings.com/nifty-thrifty-sunday-188/
http://www.ablossominglife.com/2015/02/frugal-crafty-home-blog-hop-113.html
http://diyshowoff.com/2013/07/21/that-diy-party-26/