Wow- December already?! Well, there’s been a lot of progress over at Project SB. Here’s just a little rambling status report:
First, I’ve been doing a lot of painting. The place didn’t really need that much paint, but I decided to change some of the existing colors. One of the things that was bothering me was that when I first saw the interiors, I thought many of the wall were white. But after moving in and upon closer inspection, realized many walls were actually a cream color. For some reason it just felt kind of… dingy? I kind of felt they needed to be a real pure white… maybe just to start things “clean and new”? So I gave a few walls a fresh coat. Totally brightened thing up! Also swapped out an existing rust color to a darker gray.
I’ve also been spending the last few weeks figuring out where everything goes or should go. Do you guys pre-plan where your furniture placement should be? or do you just get it all in there and then move around as needed? Since I didn’t have much of anything to bring in, I opted to try to plan a little. I’ve seen how some people will print out little flat diagrams and use paper cut outs or computer programs to space plan. I found it easiest to really visualize by using large sheets of paper cut from a roll. I cut them out and taped them together to form the correct dimensions of the pieces i’m thinking of and then move them around the floor to see how it all fit.
Contrary to what the picture above might suggest, Pepé was no help at all. Every time I rolled out a piece of paper, he seemed to think that was an invitation to step on top and lay down!
Figuring out placement also has extended to the little things. It’s funny how every house has it’s own set of quirks, and obviously this one is no exception. I’m generally a put-your-flatware-in-a-drawer kind of guy. I’ve always put my flatware in one of these type of things, and pulled them out of a drawer as needed. However, the kitchen in the new place has some oddly placed drawers and the one that would seem most logical to me to place flatware in, also happens to be one that gets stuck opening as well as a little too shallow for a tray. This led me to my only option: to figure out a way to store them out. So… where does one go to find utensil storage ideas? Well, Pinterest of course! And thankfully it delivered. Thanks to this pin by Julie Cavanaugh, I found my inspiration. Sadly the one pinned was already sold, but I figured I could do a DIY version. I’ve found myself oddly drawn to lots of more “rustic” things and liked the mix of the canning jars with the wire. So off I went to find similiar pieces…
The following weekend, I found this wire caddy at the local flea market.
A little coat of black spray paint was all it needed. Finding canning jars was a little more challenging. It’s not that canning jars are not readily available, it’s just that I didn’t need a package of 12. I just needed 3! Luckily Michaels sells them individually and after placing in three cans, voila!
I found one of those beautiful blue colored mason jars at an estate sale, so I used that to hold chopsticks. Also added a small glass to hold random serving spoons. Overall I’m quite pleased.
It’s taking a little getting used to reaching for flatware as opposed to opening up a drawer. I’m just a little concerned about dust, but I guess we’ll see what happens. Do any of you keep your flatware out in the open?