Open Kitchen Shelving (!!!) — Domestic Imperfection

So one night I got home from dinner, shopping, and a movie with a friend. I said hello to Adam and the boys and moseyed into the kitchen for a delicious glass of water. That s when I saw them, sitting on the countertops the kitchen shelves that I had been  nagging politely asking Adam to build for nearly a year.

My eyes got big and I stared at them excitedly. Then I heard something .it was the shelves, they were speaking to me. They said Ashley! Look how much your husband loves you! He listens when you talk. He would do anything for you. He thinks you look great in baggy old pajamas and drool soaked t-shirts. In fact, he thinks your hotter than Kate Beckensale and Heidi Klum combined. And he s sorry about leaving dirty diapers all over the house and feeding the kids frozen pizza for dinner.

Man, those shelves really know how to talk to women.

But the awesomeness didn t stop there. The next day Adam put on his sexiest socks and sandals combo and got to painting.

Then he installed the rear supports

and made skins to cover the ugly cabinet undersides.

And then he even put another coat on the cabinets, since they were looking a little yellow.

Next came a ton of sanding, caulking, and touch up paint, and then shelves! YAY! I love them!

They are attached with eye bolts, hooks, 1/8 inch cable, and aluminum ferrules. To squish the aluminum ferrules you will need a swaging tool. (I prefer to call it a squisher tool )  to see what the heck that is, go HERE  (This is the same method we used on our living room shelves ). Oh, and I forgot to mention that the shelves are just made if two pieces of 3/4 inch MDF held together by wood glue and brad nails.

Do you love them? I love them. I can t wait to start decorating and make it a fun, colorful, functional  kitchen. And you know what else? I don t have to climb on top of my counters to get my dishes anymore. Whoop! Unfortunately this means I may have to actually start exercising.

Here is a quick before and after(ish) pic to refresh everyone s memory about what we started with

and now!

If your new around here and want to catch up on all the kitchen posts, here are links to the highlights