SPS: Adding trim to the kitchen desk

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Leah Poarch

That’s right another installment of the Small Project Series! The SPS are all those small things that still need to be done after a big project but you just lack the motivation to finish . . . in my case because I’m already dreaming about the next big project!

Up today is the built-in desk in my kitchen. At first glance I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘That’s looks awesome!’

But when you take a closer look you’ll see that we never added the trim and you can now view this huge gaping hole where the right side meets the wall. Yikes.

So last weekend I finally busted out the tape measure and cut three pieces of quarter round, 1 for the right side and 2 for where the back meets the wall.

(This was the first time I’d ever used a miter saw!)

As per usual, Phillip was gracious enough to do the hard part: nailing the trim into place! Since it is such a small space it was really hard to get in there with the nail gun much less get a decent picture of the process.

When he was done I filled the holes and painted everything, here’s the finished product!

I know it may seem like much to you but every time I walk by and see trim instead of gaping hole, it makes my heart happy.

Any small projects on the line-up for this weekend?

SPS: I finally fixed that hole next to the entryway bar

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Remember that time we installed our custom counter top for the entryway bar?

Yeah. . . it’s a distant memory for me too. . .because it was in FEBRUARY!!

(March, April, May. . .)

7 months ago to be exact. (And really more than that since it actually went in before Christmas, I just blogged about it in February.)

TFP Kitchen Bar 9 So hang on to your seats ladies and gentlemen [insert drumroll here] because I have finally patched that awkward rectangle on the kitchen wall!!

(Please ignore the blue dolly in the back ground, that’s another story for another day. . .)

Back to the awkward wall patch, the original counter stuck about 2″ further from the stone wall which made it really uncomfortable to sit at our new built-in benches. To fix the rectangle, I took the counter top off (we haven’t glued it down yet since I haven’t fixed the wall yet AND because it’s really hard to move refrigerators in and out of your kitchen with it in place. . . .again, a story for another day.)

Where was I??

I took the counter top off and sanded down the area so it would be as smooth as possible. Since the original counter was installed before the house was painted, the exposed area went all the way down to the sheet rock.

After sanding it got a good coat of primer and paint. . . .

. . . and there you have it! Quick. Simple. And took so little time I regret 100% not just doing this when we installed the counter top.

I also took the opportunity to add a little touch up paint to some areas of the kitchen that are already showing wear and tear. We really love our high texture walls, but they do get nicked ALL the time. Behind the trash can is the worst, in less than a year it’s rubbed off an entire strip texture and the lid has left the wall grimy and generally dirty looking.

Oh well, a new coat will do for now. Who knows, maybe I need a trash can guard. Anybody else had similar trouble?

SPS: Can you KEEP something organized??

Posted on September 3, 2013 by ppoarch

How do you keep a bookcase organized?

Or any other high traffic area.

I mean really, day after day, week after week, how do you keep something organized?

I’m not talking about initially getting everything tidied up or staging something for a great photo either. That’s the thrill of the hunt, removing everything from a shelf, organizing, getting rid of and staging the best stuff. The work to keep it that way? Bor-ing.

One day you wake up and walk by your bookshelf and it looks like this:Leaning books of Pisa anyone??

How did this even happen? We’re tidy people, how did all of these book get jumbled up and why hasn’t anyone straightened this monstrosity?

Stacks? Really??

So I’m proposing an experiment. As a part of the Small Project Series, every Friday for the next 6 week I’m going to post a pic of this bookshelf on my Instagram and Facebook page, the good, the bad and the ugly with the hopes that some accountability will help keep it on the looking-presentable train. After all, it one of the most highly trafficked areas of my home, I should be able to keep a little bookshelf organized. Shouldn’t I? I guess we’ll have to see about it.

Here’s the bookshelf as it stands today, not edited, not organized, just exactly as it is with a few minor issues but still looking presentable.

Here we go, we’ll see what happens!

PS – I came home from work last week and found this.

I guess it’s back to the drawing board. . . here’s the 1st | 2nd | & 3rd attempt I made at hanging this painting. I’ll keep you posted on the 4th.

The Small Project Series

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Do you ever start a project but never finish it because it’s so small? I do. All. The. Time. I can tackle big projects like there’s no tomorrow. Paint a dresser? Colorblock my dining room? Done and done, but cut and stain a piece of trim for my kitchen desk? Not done. Not done at all.

So today I’m starting a new series call the Small Project Series and first up is my front door. . . . the back of my front door to be exact. If you’ll remember I painted my front door and then it sat in the garage for a few months waiting to be fitted and hung. In the meantime we painted the living room and well, the colors were too blue – too close for my taste.

We also replaced the locks so the old holes needed to be filled and sanded.So this week, nearly 2 months later, I busted out the paint and got this small project done.

Ahhhh.. . . . . .much better.
Have you tackled any small projects lately? I’d love to hear about them and feature them here on the Small Project Series! To make a submission, email a link to your blog or photos with explanation to thefrontpoarch@gmail.com. Be sure to put SMS in the subject line.