Proof That I DO Have EVERYTHING

Recently I became enamored with a thought.  All those small kitchen appliances that clutter my cabinets and counters and that keep my kitchen from looking like a magazine spread could be put in one place in neat, tidy cubbies with easy access.  This very much appealed to my OCD.  And to my magazine fantasies.    

At first I wanted to build something like THIS which inspired the idea:

Love the Scrabble tiles for labels!

Then I thought a couple of those laminate tower shelves would work perfectly.  But you can't just go to Walmart and buy those anymore because, apparently, they are a creature of the 80's or 90's.  But I DO love them so -- seven square feet of storage (if you count the top surface) in one square foot of floor space!  I have one in my garage that is the perfect thing to hold many sets of plates.

Not the photo from my garage that I had planned
but isn't this great use of a laminate storage tower (black tower on right)?

During last Saturday's cleaning spree, I would sit down periodically with a magazine (or several) for an inspiration break.  The cubby fantasy was triggered again when I saw THIS:

The homespun nature of this cabinet made me think: maybe I have something around here that I can make work for this use.  So I took a couple of measurements and started walking around first in the garage and then in the house looking for suitable pieces.  Being the hoarder that I am, there was plenty to peruse and, as it turns out, I DID have just the piece for the job!  Which just goes to prove that I should never go shopping again because I have EVERYTHING already!

(A little imperfect use-what-you-have photography!)

I don't know what the original purpose for this piece was but I think of it as a pie cabinet.  I LOVE the thought of having a whole cabinet for pies (and a whole cabinet full of pies)!  So just let me have my fantasy.  

I got this cabinet for free from a dear friend of a dear friend who moved from one state to another to be with a new love and left most of her belongings in the process of her fresh start.  If she ever changes her mind and wants it back, I wouldn't hesitate to return it to her because it is too wonderful to just give away (I really mean that Candyce!).  Though I'm happy that it was given away to ME!

We all love the old-fashioned latch and the girls are always volunteering to close it for me to get to use the latch!  This is a plus.  

The pie cabinet had been in the front hall for just the last few weeks (where it replaced the tower that is now in the garage).  It held hats, gloves, scarves, sunglasses, etc.  But it was put to better use in the kitchen so I again went looking for something to fill the spot in the front hall.  

What I found was this pale blue cabinet that was doing no particular good at the top of the back stairs.  It was my mother's shoe and lingerie cabinet in her closet when I was born (and for the first 11 years of my life).  I will NEVER paint it because the color is so much a part of what it is to me. 

I figured out that the cabinet is blue and the front hall is blue toile so I thought it was close enough.  Often I just let colors decide what goes in what rooms because I have a room of almost every color so, for example, anything green goes in the dining room because it has all the green stuff and anything red goes in the library because it has all the red stuff.  Etc.  Etc.  Makes things a bit simpler I think.  

Though I would LOVE to have one, I have no idea how some people get all their small appliances into one of those roll-top/tamblor-front counter top appliance garages.  

Here is my new multi-story "appliance garage" complex.

The small appliances are now all neatly tucked away -- no stooping or digging required!  I may even dig out some Scrabble letters to label them will (because, I DO, of course, have those around too).

Now I don't have to fight/fix that darned spinning cabinet where I should NOT have been keeping all this heavy stuff all these years!  

Though the periodic fishing expeditions for the stuff that fell off the shelves into the abyss at the back of the cabinet were interesting.  Though not fun.  

Kitchen bliss!  I needed that!