IKEA Expedit: Sneaking a Peek Inside

So many wonderful Before and Afters were shared for yesterday's Met Monday!  I haven't made my way through all of them yet, but I the ones I have visited were fabulous!

Yesterday I shared an update in the office...new buffalo check curtains.  Thanks so much for all your wonderful, much appreciated  comments on that post!  You made my day!

IKEA Expedit:

Today I thought I'd take you into the office closet and give you a peek into how I'm using the IKEA Expedit I WILLED into that closet a while back.  I say "willed" because I still can't believe I actually got it in there!  I think Houdini would have been impressed. :)

You may remember the closet looked like this prior to its renovation.  Am I really showing you this picture???  Embarrassing!   Magazines and catalogs were on the floor along with, left over paint and painting equipment from when I painted the office.  Miscellaneous camera boxes, trash bags and printer paper were tossed onto the only shelf in this non-functioning, inefficient closet.  I so badly wanted to use an Expedit unit from IKEA in this space but the Expedit was pretty much the exact same size as the closet with only 3/4 of an inch to spare!

But I pulled a Samantha, wiggled my nose Bewitched style and made it work.
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IKEA PJÄS Closet Additions: Welcome to the 164th Metamorphosis Monday!

Greetings!  Hope you had a fabulous weekend!  Last Friday I met a friend for lunch in Atlanta.  We lunched in a restaurant by the name of Osteria del Figo.  I think most folks just call it, Figo Pasta.

We each had a yummy salad and a dish from the "Figo Favorites" called Zucca.  It was delicious!

Pic from Figo Pasta

After lunch I headed over to IKEA.  You may remember after my last visit to IKEA, the closet went from looking like this...
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The Mystery of the Closet Expedit

Kind of sounds like a Nancy Drew Mystery Book, doesn't it? ;)   A few days ago I pulled a Houdini in the renovation of the office closet.

Here's a view of the "Before" and "After" below.  You can view this closet renovation project, HERE.

The Houdini part was getting an IKEA Expedit shelving unit, which measures 58 5/8 inches wide, into in a closet that is only about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wider than the Expedit itself.  The closet only measures around 59 1/4 inches wide with the baseboard removed.

I didn't buy the Expedit on my first trip down to IKEA but after I realized the side panel of the Expedit fit inside the unit itself once it was assembled giving me a teeny bit of wiggle room with which to work, I was embolden to give it a try.  I considered the worse thing that could happen:  I'd have to take it all apart and haul it back downstairs to either the garage or basement where it would become storage shelving for one of those areas.  Not really what I wanted, but I could live with that if it came down to it.

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IKEA Expedit Closet Makeover: Welcome to the 163rd Metamorphosis Monday!

A while back I wrote about how on a recent visit to the Atlanta IKEA with a friend, I repeatedly decided and un-decided to buy an Expedit shelving unit.  I really wanted to buy one for my office closet but there was one big problem.

The Expedit measures 58 5/8 inches wide and my closet measures 57 1/2 inches wide and 47 1/2 inches deep.  With the baseboard molding removed, the closet measures 59 1/4 inches wide.  So, my office closet was barely wide enough to fit an Expedit across the back wall if I removed the baseboard molding.  But the real problem would be getting it through the closet door and then rotating it to go against the back wall.  The Expedit was just too wide to make the turn once inside the closet.  I knew this because I created/cut a fake foam-board shelf the width of the Expedit and tested pushing it into the closet and turning it.  No go!
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Labeling Photos for Pinterest

Back in December of last year, I stopped by Nesting Place and found a fascinating post Nester had written about Pinterest.  If you aren't familiar with Pinterest, you'll definitely want to check it out.
Pinterest is a virtual "pin board," a place to pin anything you see online that inspires you or that you love and think you'll want to remember for a future project or just for fun.  You can read more about what Pinterest is in this PINTEREST post I created a few months ago.

How do you join Pinterest?  There are 2 ways to join:
1. One way to join is to request an invite from Pinterst. Apparently, they are way behind in sending those out because folks never seem to get their invite after waiting for months.

2. The other way you can join is by being invited by someone who is already a member.  If you wish to join, drop me an email at betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom with the subject line "Pinterest" and be sure to include your email address.  If you don't get your invite within 24 hours, check your spam file to see if it got caught there.  I'm happy to send one your way so you can become addicted have fun pinning, too.


Labeling a Picture for Pinning:
Okay, back to Nester's post.  I loved one of the suggestions Nester made in her Pinterest post.  She suggested bloggers include a photo in their tutorial posts that's labeled with what that post is about.  That way, when the photo is pinned, the Pinner will have a way to remember later why they saved the pin.  Brilliant!

I loved this idea but never got around to following through until recently when Kate at Centsational Girl gave a brief tutorial on how to add wording to a photo with Pixlr, without totally blocking out the photo.  I followed her great directions and it was super easy to do.  I didn't include a tutorial here below...just click over to the link above to read Kate's tutorial.

So here's how my first try at labeling pics turned out using Pixlr.  (Click any link title below for the tutorial.)  I won't be labeling every photo in a post.  I'll only label one photo in each post just in case someone does prefer pinning a photo with a description of what the post is about.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Getting Organized: Label It!

I've been busy the last few days organizing and cleaning out some of the closets around my home.  I've finally corralled most of my holiday centerpieces into one closet where I can find them when I need them.  I do so love having everything neatly organized.  It's such a great feeling when you can immediately put your hand on something you need, when you need it.

Speaking of closets, Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick is having a Closet Party.  I've linked my "Coat Closet Becomes a China Closet" post.  If you've been wondering where I store some of the dishes I use for tablescaping, check out that  post.  It was a DIY weekend project involving painting and power saws...and some how I still have all my fingers! ;)

Recently, I posted about 20 Things I Can't Live Without.  Thanks so much for all your amazing ideas and suggestions left in the comments!  I've already started trying some of the things you mentioned, including the perfume, Amazing Grace.  Oh my gosh, does it smell wonderful!  I put it on every day whether I'm staying home or going out.  It just puts me in the best mood!

After I created my "20 Things" post, Pam e-mailed to share something she couldn't live without in her home: a Brother Label Maker.  I had a feeling her label maker was just a wee bit more sophisticated than the Dynamo label maker I had back in high school.

Photo from Wikipedia

Do you remember these?  They used the colorful, sticky embossing tape.  I had the best time labeling all kinds of stuff back then.  It's a wonder my cat didn't end up with a label!  I remember kids would even bring them to school.  Did you have a Dynamo label maker?

Photo from Wikipedia

Here's the label maker Pam uses.  Pam said, "The label maker photo shows its two essential features: a drop-in cartridge to easily switch between tape sizes with no wasted tape, and the USB cord that connects to the computer.  Of course, this handy gadget created a label for its own storage box!  Notice the fun font I used for that label. I love being able to use any font on my computer."

I asked Pam how she uses her label maker so she snapped a few pics to share.  Pam also shared some information about how she prints her labels out to avoid wasting any of the label tape.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Clearing Out the Computer Graveyard

What do you do with your old computer when you purchase a new one?  When I began working from home and decided to purchase a workhorse "desktop" computer, my still functioning laptop became the downstairs/kitchen/screened-in porch computer.  It's a handy place to quickly check e-mail, moderate blog comments or pull up the latest movie releases before heading out the door on a Friday night.

Back in the day when a computer was a much larger financial purchase, whenever a new computer entered our home it was because the old one had either died or had become slow and outdated.  We used to joke when our son was a teenager that we were sure the gaming folks were in cahoots with the computer manufacturers because we seemed to always be updating our home computer for the sole purpose of keeping up with the speed and memory requirements of the latest computer games Santa had delivered.

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Dish Storage Welcome to the 54th Metamorphosis Monday!

For this week's Met Monday, I'm sharing a small but fun little metamorphosis in my china closet. You may remember when I posted a while back about the little redo of this space...it was really being poorly utilized. It was being used to store deck cushions that were rarely used.




After a little renovation, (you may read about HERE) it looked like this...cushions stored in the top, birdseed and birding items in large containers on the floor, and china on the shelves in between.




Later, I decided to move the birdseed and birding containers back to the laundry room and I ended up storing my tall candlesticks on the floor, instead.




This closet has now gone through yet, another little change. The deck cushions were moved to an upstairs linen closet, since they are so rarely used. Most of my outdoor time is spent on the screened-in porch (not the decks) due to the mean ole mosquitoes we have here in the south.




Do you see the "After" there on the top shelf? I totally stole Bonnie's idea from her amazing dish room...remember that post HERE? I was shopping in The Home Depot and they had plastic "shoebox size" containers for only .99 cents each. I remembered Bonnie's dish room and bought 20 of them.




Next, I took pics of the items I planned to store in the boxes. I found the photos turned out better if the items were photographed on a white surface or white piece of paper, as opposed to a dark table. I took black and white photos, sized them down to what Microsoft Picture Manager calls "E-mail Large," and printed them out. It took a little experimenting around to find the best size pic for the box. I could have taken them in color...and printed them in color, but I just decided to go with black and white.

I used double-sided tape to stick them onto the containers. I saved the pics on my computer just in case one gets ripped off or damaged. Of course, you could take wide clear tape and place it across the top of each photo/label to ensure they stay secure and undamaged...I may eventually do that. The boxes are large enough to store 2-3 sets of napkin rings in one box, depending, of course, on the size of the napkin ring.


Much better use of this space now, I think. There's not much I love more than organizing. Okay, blogging...I love blogging more than organizing...but organizing may be a close second. :-)

Update: Bonnie just e-mailed and gave me some additional information that you may find helpful: "Another way to do the pictures on the bins is to use a label printing software, add the picture to the design and print on large labels. Or, you can also use a "Xyron" to add adhesive to the back of your printed pictures." Thanks, Bonnie, for those suggestions!

Looking forward to seeing all your "Before and Afters."



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Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

Fabulous "Before and Afters" await your visit:

The Ultimate Christmas Ornament Storage

Looking for the ultimate Christmas ornament storage? Over ten years ago, I purchased these two, fabric-covered, ornament storage boxes.


I was impressed with their good looks, their sturdy construction and that they come with acid-free archival paper.


Here's a view of the inside...


I really like how the interior panels adjust to fit the size of the ornament.


Their website states: "The ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT STORAGE box is the only Acid Free archival quality decorative box on the market, making it suitable for archival storage of family heirlooms and collectibles." I was impressed when I "googled" their name tonight, to find they are still in business all these years later. I think that says a lot about the product and the company itself.


My boxes have held up beautifully...they still look virtually brand new. But the best part...the ornaments I've stored inside are perfect. So, if you have some very special ornaments for which you'd like very special storage, the Ultimate Christmas Storage just might be your answer. For more information, you may visit their website by clicking HERE.
(Above photo from Ultimate Christmas Storage website)

Dish Heaven!

If you are a regular follower of BNOTP, you've seen some beautiful tablescapes I've posted recently that were created by Bonnie, a very talented and creative reader of BNOTP. Bonnie and I have become fast friends as we've shared our love for tablescaping and all things, dishes. But tonight...well tonight is extra special because we are going on a field trip! Bonnie has generously agreed to let us into the inner sanctum. But first, you must take the official Dishaholic Oath.

OK, hold up your right hand, and say after me: I promise I will not attempt to sneak anything from the shelves of Bonnie's dishroom, no matter how tempted I may be. :-) I will also, try to not drool or slobber on her beautiful glassware...much. :-) And finally, I will not grab hold to the shelves with a death grip, refusing to leave, making it necessary for Bonnie to call the Dish Police! :-)


Ok, now that you are all sworn in...hold onto your tablescaping hats and step right through that door...you will not soon forget this space!




Here we are! :-) Ready to explore and take all this dish-licious scenery in? Bonnie's dishroom measures 9' x 14' and was added by her wonderful husband.

Ummm, wonder what those boxes are over there against that wall...let's go see.




Wowzer! Imagine, having all this great flatware available for your tablescaping! BJ, put that plate down. No, Kathleen...the candlestick has to stay. Errh, Sue, let me have that big purse you brought along; and may I ask...why is it so heavy?




Love how it's all labeled beautifully, so you can find just the one you want. Just grab the box you need and head for the table...fantastic!



Gasp! Someone catch me, I'm think I'm going to faint! Did I mention that Bonnie and her husband, Leon, entertain often? This dish room isn't just for looks...no siree, it gets a regular workout! No "saving the good stuff for later" going on here.



Did anyone bring a defibrillator? Seriously?! Beat heart, beat!



A few close-ups...love those green, pineapple plates!



Oooh, I believe we may have found the Christmas section! I have visions of Christmas tablescapes dancing through my head. Do you suppose we could talk Bonnie into a Christmas tablescape? :-)

Watermelon bowls for summer and pretty fall dishes right below!




Lots of beautiful, springtime china here!



Aren't these gorgeous?! Bet these dragonfly plates look fantastic in Bonnie's breakfast room...remember her dragonfly chairs from Met Monday.




One look into Bonnie's dish room and you just know she enjoys a bit of whimsy in her tablescapes...so many fun, delightful dishes!



Ok, would someone please, get Gloria, Sue and Laurie some cold water...they're all three hyperventilating over there! I see some more pink for Pink Saturday. And blue...lots of pretty blue. Hey, this could be a Blue Monday post over at Smiling Sally, too! Isn't this a dream...stemware in all the colors you could ever possibly need.



Here's a great way to store all those napkin rings.



Yep, I've died and gone to tablescape heaven!



Bonnie, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful dish room! The idea of having a dish room is just brilliant...kind of a Butler's Pantry...but oh, so much better! :-)

A Few Changes to My China Closet! Welcome to the 35th Metamorphosis Monday

Where in the world do you store allll that china?

That question is perhaps the question I am most frequently asked.  Since several folks have left comments or e-mailed recently asking about china storage, I'm pulling out an oldie but goodie post for this Met Monday. I'm also including a few more recent photos showing some of the changes I've made. And, I'm including a link to a post from December 2008 (HERE) showing more of the places I store allll that china.


Originally posted on April 6, 2009
(New photos have been added at the end of the original post)

Welcome to Metamorphosis Monday...where it's all about "Before and Afters." I decided this weekend to tackle a project I've been putting off...the redo of a 35" x 24" coat closet in my kitchen/breakfast room. The previous owner of my home had a shell niche installed in the foyer/entry, where others houses in my neighborhood frequently have a coat closet. Then they took a corner in the kitchen and installed the closet there. I've never used it for coats; instead it had become a storage area for all the cushions for my deck furniture. Here's a before pic...note the scuffed up walls from 25 years of wear and tear. This closet was just not working well for my needs.

Yesterday I cleared everything out, drove over to Lowe's and purchased these huge wooden shelves that they cut down to the size I requested. I also purchased some lumber that they cut to the size we mutually decided I would need for the supports. I'm not sure how most closet shelving is done these days, but I just decided to copy the way the supports had been done in my other closets. I didn't want to use the wire shelving that is so readily available at Home Depot and Lowe's, because I wanted to take advantage of the full depth of the closet. The wire shelves at Lowe's and HD weren't very deep.

Here's the closet all cleaned out and ready for it's redo. Note the stained trim...at one time, all the doors and molding/trim in my kitchen was stained. I long ago had it all painted for a lighter, brighter look...all except for the closet...time to fix that.

In this pic, I had just finished priming the existing wooden shelf and baseboard with a primer that covers stain and had finished "cutting in" with the yellow wall paint.

I considered using the hanging rod for tablecloths, a la Bunny William's pantry in An Affair with a House...but ultimately decided I didn't want to use the space that way.


Next, I painted the walls the same yellow as the kitchen walls...Duron Sugar Cookie. I painted the existing shelf and baseboard, white...to match the trim in the kitchen.


I wasn't able to use the supports Lowes had cut for me because once I started tapping along the walls, I realized there were no studs anywhere except at the far corners. So all the supports were about an inch too short. :-(

It was time to face the big, heavy, power saw that lives in my basement. Yikes! It is unbelievably loud and a little bit scary. Think of Kevin in the movie, Home Alone, when he goes downstairs to the basement and has to face their furnace...that's how I feel when I use that saw! (LOL)



I cut all new supports using a piece of lumber left over from the screened-in porch addition. Here they are, all ready to be installed.



I had originally planned on using my drill to install the supports, with these long screws the Lowe's guy recommended. But, because of the studs being just in the corners of the closet, I didn't think I could get the fat drill close enough up against the wall to use it. I probably could have angled them in, but I decided to just use good old nails....sure wish I had a nail gun! :-) After LOTS of measuring, mathematics, agonizing and more measuring...here are the supports which were installed and freshly painted just this morning. Update: A few weeks later, when my handyman was by to give me an estimate for some work, I asked him to check for studs. He was able to find them and added some additional screws, although he kept telling me he thought the shelves were just fine without them. I felt better knowing there was some additional support. :-)

I had primed and painted the shelving yesterday, so today I just did a little light sanding along the rough edges and placed them onto the supports.


After pressing down hard on the shelves to sort of test them out...it was with great fear and trepidation, I began putting china onto the shelves. I didn't hear any creaking or groaning, all went well.



Here's where the 8 cushions and 2 pillows ended up...stacked on the top shelf, all the way up to the ceiling.



And here are the 3 shelves I added...all loaded down with goodies. These china sets and serving pieces had been stored in hard to reach cabinets and in my food pantry...much better having it all together here and easily accessible.



I started the bottom shelf up high enough to fit two storage containers in...one holds birdseed and the other holds miscellaneous bird stuff like hummingbird feeders, suet holders and meal worm trays.



So, we went from this...



To this...ahhh, much better! :-)



And this? Well, that's the big glass of Merlot I poured my aching self once the last dish had been placed inside the new china closet. :-)


(End of previous post.)


Updates to closet:

Now for a few current pics to show how the closet looks today. The main thing I've changed is I've decided to keep some of my candle holders in the bottom of the closet. I put a little nail in the door so I could store one my summer wreaths inside this closet, too.



You'll find 8 place settings of Syracuse, Orchard china, a St. Patrick's Day tea set, 6 Bordallo Pinheiro plates, 6 Wedgwood floral salad plates, and lots of pitchers, etc...stored on the top shelf. Do you see the Thanksgiving platter standing up in back?



Next shelf down holds 12 place settings of Lenox, Butler's Pantry, Gourmet, 8 chargers and salad plates of Spode, Emma's Garland, designed by Kim Parker, a sweet pink, and a bluebird mug from my friend, Charlene (Heart's Ease). The long handle you see is my Colonial Candle candle snuffer. The large, green platter standing up in back is more Bordallo Pinheiro .



And the final shelf holds 12 place settings of cream ware I found at HomeGoods (no name on the back) along with 6 place settings of colorful (fall) china I found at Pier 1 last summer at 60% off. Most of the Pier 1 china (and some of the Lenox, Butler's Pantry) is out on the porch where I've been playing with a possible fall tablescape. You'll also find pink, heart shaped custard dishes, a bunny tureen, hob nail candle holders, crystal candle holders that you can barely see on the right side and a small, silver plate vase. Another platter from the Pier 1 collection is standing up in back.


And finally...now located on the very bottom, are some of the pillar candle holders you frequently see used in tablescapes. Shell holders are from Home Goods, red ceramic and iron holders are from Hobby Lobby. One set of cream ones in back are from A Classy Flea while the white set is from Colonial Candle.



Hope you had fun taking a peek into my china closet for this Met Monday.

If you would like to see a jaw dropping dream dish closet, check out Bonnie's dish room, HERE.  It's amazing!

Let's go see what everyone else has been working on...lots of wonderful "Before and Afters" await!





If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the Metamorphosis Monday logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Don't forget to copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Met Monday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Metamorphosis Monday.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs are participating in this Metamorphosis Monday: