Kitchen Shelves!

Along with the new shelves in the bedroom and living room, we installed shelves in the kitchen. I really needed extra space for thing, specially since I had recently received new wine glasses and coffee cups and bowls from my Guy.

 
He also had the idea of hanging my pots and pans on the wall over the stove. It really makes a difference. Everything is in easy reach, plus I just like the way it looks.

These shelves have a different style then the shelves in the bedroom and living room. First off, there are three layers of shelves instead of just one. Instead of each shelf being individually attached to the wall, we attached two long runners that the shelves supports attach too. This makes it easier to get symmetry and allows the shelves to be adjusted. 

Second, the shelves have different depths. The top shelf is the deepest, just under 12 inches. It is the highest shelf and too high for anyone to run into. The middle and bottom shelf are both just under 10 inches. The shelves are centered over the kitchen table and buffered in a sense from getting knocked into. 

The supports for the shelves are made to be attached to the boards, however we did not pay much attention to them and did not buy the right kind of screws. They seem to require quite long ones. So as of now, I have to make sure not to place to much weight on one end. That said, I know one day I am going to forget to be careful and will knock a shelf off.

I hung this piece o' art my brother made last time he visited me. He had been inspired by the Berlin Jazz Fest. It fills the blank wall space between the shelves nicely.

Along with the shelves we also added a bar to hang up the pots and pans. This is actually a security handle for a shower. It works just great in the kitchen.

In keeping with the bathroom theme in the kitchen, this was placed up over the sink to hold the soap and some times a hand towel. It is just perfect to hold the hand soap and dish soap.

I think these improvements will do for now. They are still very satisfying and I don't feel the itch to improve. Maybe in a month or two when I get some free time, I will start on my next project.

Shelves!

I have been living in this Apartment now for two years. As I said before I am finally starting to make this space feel like a home. One simple thing I have done, that has made a big difference here is adding shelves. 

Here is the new shelf in the bedroom. Very Simple, Big Improvement.

The wall was so bare I never wanted to linger here. Though this is where I keep my jewelry, I usually make a few changes to my selection before I leave. This is where I should take my time instead of rushing out of here. 

Besides a drill, all that I needed was the L shaped support thingies, screws and the board.

Tada!! I really love having this shelf here. It creates a nice little space for me to get my Girly-ness on. Right now I just have my double sided mirror here at the moment. I am keeping an eye out for a mirror to place here. But this works for now. Before when I wanted to use a mirror I had to go to the hallway mirror. Here I can at least decide on my Bling without having to constantly go out to the hall. 

This shelf really makes my bedroom feel more complete and welcoming. I still get excited about it even a few weeks after it's been put up.

Here is the shelf in the living room. It is over the TV and gives a place for the clutter that I had on top of the TV. The shelf looks warped here, I don't know why, It is completely strait and level. This photo scared me when I finally saw it on the computer. But after checking the shelf out it is fine. Optical illusion I guess.

I have to clear something up. I keep saying 'I', but really my Guy took care of these shelves. I just had to mark the boreholes with a pencil while he held it in place.

The effect of the shelf on the wall behind the TV really helps fill the space. I live in an Altbau, an older apartment building that was originally built in 1910 or so. These apartments are very common in Berlin and high ceilings are a common feature. I love the high ceilings, but sometimes they can overwhelm the space. This simple shelf has really made a difference. Step by step my Berlin apartment is coming to life!

Cereal Backdrop

I don't have any kids of my own, (yet) but I babysit a toddler here in Berlin a couple times a week. He is a load of fun!
I got this idea from Kate @ mini-eco. She has created a castle backdrop made from a cereal box. It is very nice, it looks store bought! She even has links to the patterns if you don't feel like freestyling!

I Free-styled! Mostly for two reasons. One, I made mine last minute, like half an hour before I had to leave to pick up the little man and two because he is a boy! He has tons of cars and trucks and Fire Engines. (What is it with boys and fire engines anyway?)  Well that said, I tried to make a Fire Station and an Auto Shop instead of a castle as you see on Mini-Eco.

You start with an empty Cereal box. One with out any damage.

Carefully open it along the seam. I used a knife so as not to rip it.

Then trace or draw a design and careful cut it out. I used a box cutter blade. Here I find it easier to use then scissors.

 I made the doors big enough that all his Fire trucks could fit through the doors.

Since this project was car themed I added a Auto Shop with garage door, mail slot and front door. (Jojo is the kids nickname.) On the second floor I added a balcony. We put some little men on it later and he rescued them with the fire truck ladders. I also added a bendable straw to the back drop as a Fire Pole. 

Here is a blurry action shot ( low camera Battery, my bad), the little man's hands actually fit perfectly around the fire pole and when his feet were up against the wall he could stay there!! I loved it!! And of course Jojo did too!

The scene after the daring rescue!

Taped to the book shelf.

This was a great Idea!! Jojo and I both had a blast. It is so simple and so much fun. On a functional note: the cereal box was a little flimsy and it easily would fall over. That problem was quickly solved with TAPE!! Thank the heavens for tape.  I fastened one side to the bookcase and on the other end I taped the base to the carpet and it work just fine.
It survived the first encounter with a toddler! Who knows how long it will last, but that doesn't matter, if he destroys it we can always make another. Now that he understands what it is and what it is made out of, next time we can make it together and he can choose the design and color it even!

Have fun making one yourself for the kid in your life.

Don't forget to check out Mini-Eco for more cool ideas!

Futon Coat Rack

I have no closets in my place. It is for sure a German thing, if not a European thing. So I have no place to stash my coats and guest's coats. Up until now, I have been throwing them on the bookshelf in the hall. Which is already cluttered with other thing and adding the coats just makes it look cumbersome and unstable.

So to solve this problem with out spending much money I figured how to reuse some things I had laying around.

This is actually a section of a three paneled futon from Ikea that did not last long in it intended function.

'L' shaped attachment

My Guy hung the futon piece on the wall using some metal 'L' shaped thingies (they come with wardrobes so that you can fasten them to the wall, so that they do not fall over).

Box O' hooks

Then I screwed in some hook for hanging coats and things, where ever I liked.























Ta da the finished product!! My Futon Coat Rack.