Lately I’ve been doing all the in-betweens and need-to-dos to prep for our big kitchen renovation. You know, that kitchen renovation that I’ve been foreshadowing for the last year. Well, that kitchen renovation won’t probably happen until next summer, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get all the other stuff done in the meantime. I showed you the new drop-zone for our entryway a few weeks ago, which I’ve quickly fallen in love with. Now, I just need to get my husband to hang his bag on it, rather than on the floor. Grrrrrr!

Today I’m showing off our new floating shelves in the dead zone between our dining room and living room. The current layout is a little silly, but once we knock down a few walls, the whole first floor will be open, flow together, and be one nice open concept kitchen/dining/living room. Yes!!

These shelves are made using a very simple floating shelf design system with a frame screwed directly into the studs. They are similar to the floating shelves in the drop-zone, only much, much larger and they are built in place, rather that with a shelf that slides over the bracket frame. Because they are screwed into the studs, they are very, very sturdy. These bad boys aren’t going anywhere.

I ripped 2x4s in half for the frame and made pocket holes for all the legs on the frame. The legs distribute the weight of the shelf and the contents on it and help to make it super sturdy. The top of the shelf is a made using a 1×12, the sides of the shelf are 1x6s that have been ripped in half and the bottom is 1/4″ plywood (I had Lowes rip them for me before leaving the store).

I finished building the unit the day before Thanksgiving, so it was raw for the holiday. A few days later, I stained it in place, which is kind of awful. I don’t recommend staining in the house, but since they were built in place, I had to putty and sand in place, which meant the only option for staining was, well…in place. We actually stayed at my moms house for 24 hours after I stained them, just to be safe.

The ‘backsplash’ is a series of original album artwork from the record subscription service Vinyl Me, Please that I framed using Gladsax LP Album Frames from Ikea. There’s an “original” from us as well, which I’ll get to in another post 😉

I LOVE it! It’s great for showing off our barware, glassware and alcohol.

You’ll notice that I put away some of our alcohol from the raw photo to the finished photo. My husband is a beverage director, so we have a LOT of booze in the house. We both decided that an entire shelf of alcohol was a little over-the-top, even for us – but it also adds extra storage for large platters, pitchers and vases, which I’m super happy about.

The sideboard will be getting a facelift in the next few weeks. As much as I’ve loved this sunny yellow restoration I did in 2012, it no longer works in the space. We’re planning to paint it a deep navy color, which will coordinate with our plan for the kitchen. I’ll also be replacing the hardware. Those owl knobs will see new life in a project for the girls room.