As I discussed on Monday, I’ve been engaged on getting my home cleaned and arranged earlier than the start of the brand new 12 months. Alongside the way in which, I’m additionally doing any little upkeep tasks that homes typically require, and ending up these little particulars which were missed so far.
I’ve spent fairly a little bit of time on the pantry within the final couple of days. Not solely did it want a very good top-to-bottom cleansing, however there have been a couple of particular areas that wanted some consideration. I completed this pantry in January 2019, so it’s been virtually three years. In that point, the countertop that I made out of pink oak hardwood flooring had developed a couple of hairline cracks between among the boards.
So I obtained a tiny can of Plastic Wooden skilled wooden filler to repair these hairline cracks.
It is available in numerous colours, so I obtained the white (which is absolutely extra of an off-white) for my bleached pink oak countertop.
That isn’t the conventional kind of wooden filler. The place the common sort is water-soluble, this one smells like some type of solvent, and it must be saved the wrong way up with the can opening on the underside. That is the wooden filler that I exploit after I have to fill holes on an out of doors mission. So I simply dabbed that into the hairline cracks, let it dry, after which gave it a light-weight sanding. That’s all these little cracks wanted.
I additionally wanted to do some caulking the place the tile backsplash meets the countertop. I don’t know why I did this (I do know higher!), however on the primary go ’spherical, I crammed this with grout as a substitute of caulk. And what occurs if you fill this space with grout? It cracks, and a few of it even comes out fully, leaving you with these voids.
In order that was one other upkeep mission that wanted consideration, and one other fast and straightforward 10-minute mission to get the entire thing caulked throughout the countertop.
A barely greater mission was repairing the scratched paint on the doorways and backside drawer on the principle financial institution of cupboards. Throughout that 12 months that Matt and I have been with out a bed room (throughout 2020, when our present bed room was nonetheless below development), our canine Cooper wanted a spot to sleep as nicely. So I introduced his canine mattress into the pantry, and he would sleep in right here each night time, and hand around in right here typically throughout the day.
The doorways obtained scratched when he would frequently push his mattress up towards the cupboards, lean on the doorways, after which when he would scratch an itch, his claws would at all times scratch towards the doorways. It wasn’t sufficient to truly scratch the paint off of the floor (i.e., to interrupt via the paint on the doorways) or harm the wooden on the doorways, but it surely was sufficient to go away slight scratch marks on the painted floor, which regarded extra like a distinct sheen than the remaining.
Within the meantime, I had been noticing that the cupboard colour within the pantry simply wasn’t as vibrant as I had remembered it being at first. I don’t imply that I wished it gentle and brilliant. But it surely appeared to lack a depth and a readability that I wished it to have.
One of the best ways I can describe what I imply is to check it to the buffet within the breakfast room (now, sitting room) that I just lately repainted. It’s been a darkish purple for a very long time, however this was the unique darkish purple…
It appeared a little bit washed out, so I repainted it a deeper purple. However even with the brand new purple being a deeper colour, it nonetheless has a vibrancy and readability that the lighter purple lacked.
I used to be feeling that very same approach concerning the pantry cupboards, so I went to House Depot to see if I might discover a deeper teal that had extra vibrancy to it. I figured if I needed to repaint 4 doorways and a drawer, it wouldn’t actually be that a lot tougher to repaint all the cupboards. In order that’s why you see completely different coloured paint on these doorways…
Ultimately, I spotted that I had by no means modified the lighting on this room. Bear in mind a couple of months again after I modified all of my lights from 2700K (heat white) to 5000K (daylight) as a result of the nice and cozy white was distorting all of my colours? When you missed that put up with the befores and afters (they’re fairly outstanding!), you may learn all about that right here.
Fortuitously, this pantry has the kind of recessed lights with a number of colour temperature choices, so I simply needed to pull every one down, flip a swap, and so they have been the correct colour. Then I added a few new gentle bulbs to the little chandelier, and the colours regarded a complete lot higher! I did nonetheless must repaint the 4 doorways and one drawer, however that took me all of about quarter-hour, so it wasn’t an enormous deal in any respect.
The largest change I made to the pantry was eradicating the French doorways. As a lot as I like French doorways, and thought that they have been so fairly on my little pantry, the very fact of the matter is that I by no means closed them until I used to be taking photos. The remainder of the time, they stayed open. And after they’re open, they’re up towards the benches that flank this doorway, which made issues really feel a little bit cluttered, and made the benches really feel closed in and boxed off.
I assumed this might be a fast and straightforward mission, but it surely turned out to be essentially the most time-consuming of any of them. I had imagined eradicating the doorways, filling a couple of nail holes, after which touching up with paint and being completed. Effectively, not fairly so quick! Going from a doorway with precise doorways to a cased opening additionally requires eradicating this cease molding, which is simply ever current when a doorway truly has a door that must be…nicely…stopped. ?
When you take away doorways from a doorway, and go away the cease molding, it’s fairly apparent that it wasn’t supposed to be a cased opening, and it simply seems midway completed. In order that needed to come off, too. And that was a bit extra work that I had anticipated with all the required wooden filling and sanding and priming and portray.
However I’m glad I did it. I like having the pantry extra seen and never hidden behind doorways, or having these doorways continuously open and resting up towards the benches. Right here’s the way it seems now with a doorless cased opening.
I do suppose it’ll take a little bit getting used to, as a result of I’m so accustomed to seeing these French doorways on this room. However actually do just like the openness of this space now.
And truthfully, I’m glad I stored the cupboard colour. It’s the identical colour that I used on the bookshelves and doorways within the music room, and each of those areas are seen from the entrance door of the home. So a change of colour in right here might have set off a sequence response of modifications, and that’s not likely what I want in my life proper now.
So the pantry is sweet and clear, all the repairs and upkeep are completed, and it’s extra open to the remainder of the home now. And three years later, I nonetheless love my little pantry.
Only a be aware, the deal with on the freezer is on the right aspect for the way in which I exploit this. ? If this have been a kitchen, the deal with would should be on the opposite aspect. However the way in which I exploit it (are available from the kitchen, open the freezer and seize one thing, and the top again to the kitchen), this manner works completely.
And yet one more replace: I get questions fairly frequently about how my DIY alcohol ink and resin tile is holding up within the pantry. As you may see, it’s holding up completely! I don’t discover any colour change (i.e., yellowing) within the resin in any respect. The colours nonetheless appear as vibrant right now as they have been day day I put in them. So whereas I’m nonetheless undecided if I’d suggest them for a kitchen backsplash, I’ve no drawback recommending this mission for an space that doesn’t get fairly as a lot site visitors and every day use as a kitchen does. When you missed my DIY resin/alcohol ink backsplash tile mission, you could find that right here.
For the reason that breakfast room (now, sitting room) is essentially the most recently-finished room in the home, it shouldn’t want something however a fast cleansing, after which I’ve some upkeep tasks that I need to handle within the kitchen. I’m completely having fun with this course of, and I’m very enthusiastic about beginning off the brand new 12 months with a clear home, and with out a bunch of little nagging upkeep tasks hanging over my head.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You possibly can study extra about me right here.
I hope you’ll be part of me on my DIY and adorning journey! If you wish to comply with my tasks and progress, you may subscribe under and have every new put up delivered to your e mail inbox. That approach you’ll by no means miss a factor!
