Fall Creek Eclectic

I have succeeded......well, half-way there. I've re-wired the wall and the cabinet is up.

Because of the way the exposed studs were I had to do some leveling. I bought 3 boards, 2.5 x 0.75, cut to the height of the cabinet and attached to studs along the wall. This leveled the wall making it possible to (1) attach the cabinet and (2) attach it in such a way that it's level.

See a theme?

Level. Key word.......level.

Another thought kept creeping into my head. "Measure twice, cut once." It turned out to be, "Measure a multitude of times, second-guess yourself, measure again, mark the wood, remeasure and just when you don't think you can take it anymore, cut."

A hard lesson learned at this point. Stud finders do not work with plaster AND lathe board walls. Stud sensors are supposed to sense wood. Lathe board just happens to be wood. Can you see where this is heading? I was quick to assume that my stud sensor was defect, however, after reading online reviews of various sensors, it was then that I put the two together.

So, what's a guy to do? How about find the first stud, start measuring every two inches, drill and discover whether or not there is a stud. I found them, they are in fact 18 inches apart. Just in case you were curious.

After killing two drill bits, placing and replacing the cabinet several times and using my wife to steady the cabinet on the wall.......it's up.



Hopefully, this coming week I will find myself dry-walling and mudding the wall, then painting. Hopefully. After all of that, the next cabinet can go up on the adjacent wall.

Here's to DIY.

Since we’ve purchased and moved into our home, Rachel has had only one major complaint. The kitchen cabinets. I’ll be the first to agree with her that they are ugly. So ugly, in fact, that I agreed to this next project.

At some point, we blame the owners in the 70s, someone thought it would look good to paint all of the cabinets a hideous, hunter green. See below:


Back in the fall of 2009, Rachel took it upon herself to search and search and search Craigslist.com for kitchen cabinets. After looking long and hard, she discovered someone selling three cabinets, made of wood with a lovely dark honey stain and full glass doors for an amazing price. We talked. We decided to get them, and forgetting all that we’ve learned, we did not measure to space planned for these new cabinets.

It wasn’t until after we got them in our home that we measured them, then measured the space. For one cabinet all I needed was approximately 4 more inches, that’s it. Conveniently, there was a partial wall between the end of the counter-top and the built-in pantry. This wall just happened to be about 4 inches wide. We thought “this will be easy,” just take out the wall, put up the cabinet, trim it all out with nice, finished wood.

Yeah, right.

Fast forward to yesterday, Tuesday, February 9, 2010, I’ve had several days off to work on this little project. Upon removal of said wall, I found some awesome wiring, of course it was knob and tube wiring, right where the cabinet needs to go. See:
















[Picture on Left shows where the wall was removed with the wiring and the hinge of the built-in pantry. Picture on the Right shows the wall that was removed and the wall in which the cabinet will hopefully be hung.]

After seeing this, my thoughts turned to, “I never wanted this,” “I was okay with ugly, green cabinets until we’re ready for a full kitchen redo.”

So now I’m waiting to consult with my personal electrician…..Uncle Bill. Hopefully we can work out some “easy” solution to the problem and I can get these cabinets installed for my lovely wife.

We'll keep you posted.

Today (Monday, February 8) we took a dear friend to one of our favorite salvage shops in town. Angela and her hubby, Steven, just purchased their first home; a dreamy, 1940-1950s English Tudor Revival house with old-school lighting and charming built-ins.

What seemed like hours upon hours of looking up, down and all around, in nooks and crannies, trying to take everything in, Rachel then looked up. That’s when we found this newest light fixture:










Sure, our house was built in the 20s but who says we can’t add a little 50’s flare?

Doc, from Whiteriver Salvage, was great! Angela was interested in at least one of these kinds of lights, but there were two in the store. He offered a great deal, actually a steal, for the two of them. The three of us decided to split the cost and each get a lamp for our homes. As Angela would put it, "now we'll have sister homes!!"

Rachel and I have already chosen the perfect spot for the new light. We’re planning to hang it in the breakfast nook. Our plans are to do some quirky, whimsical colors in there…….think Alice in Wonderland, and thought this little beauty would be a great addition to that plan. Fact is, we had been eyeing different kinds of lights and going through many different plans for the room and until we discovered the light we hadn’t made any true plans.

Thanks, Doc!