Thank you for all the support, here and on Facebook and Instagram, regarding Nico’s allergy appointment. Related: remember when the only way to replyto someone online was to leave a comment on the blog post?
I have walked past this entry table and shuddered every day of the last week. Yesterday, I gave in and set aside a couple of hours to tackle it. It took me 10 minutes and I texted with a friend while I did it. My projected completion timewas off by about 110 minutes.
Small projectsnever, ever, ever take as long as youthink theywill. I bet telling ourselveswe don’t have time to clean something up is a mind trick weplay to excuse procrastination. Well, I shouldn’t speak for everyone. It’s a mind trick I play with myself and, let’s be honest, will most likely keep playing.
Two days of mail, two bags from my mom (shoes and office supplies, don’t ask), the Benadryl I bought for Nico, a gift from a student, two thermometers, my Weight Watcher’s pouch, and Nico’s case for his retainer. I spent as much time on the flowers as I did clearing off the table.
I wish ten minutes was all it took for me to figure out what to do with these glass front corner cabinets. I had to have those two glass frontcabinets when we remodeled the kitchen 11years ago, back whenMikey was a baby and Nico was way off in the horizon. For display, I said! We’ll turnthe lights on at night, and they’ll be all glow-y and sparkle-y and pretty, I said!
LIES! Only an amateur would take away useable cabinet space from a small kitchen and use it for display. They are caverns of grease and dust and, oddly enough, sports bottles on the right. Oh, and I think one of the lights burned out years ago, which is fine because we never turnthe lights on.
Sometimes, when I’m not in the mood to gaze at my navel, I’ll walk into the kitchen and contemplate my two glass front corner cabinets. I imagine how I can rework them to make them useable. What does one put in cabinets that are too large to hold navet, but too small to fithubris? Here are some options I’ve considered. Suggestions welcome.
- Cookbooks on the bottom, no idea what on top (glass shelves may not hold heavy cookbooks)
- Glasses
- Baskets filled with seasonal items
- Tea and coffee canisters
- must start makingtea and coffee at home for maximum effectiveness
- Medicine and vitamins, but in cute containers and stuff
- because decanting zinc is a fantastic use of time
- Some sort of kitchen-y collection
- must start collection for maximum effectiveness
Honest? I would probably wash the glass and then line the inside with rice paper or fabric. Then store what ever was most convenient to have there.
I was thinking the same thing! Some pretty paper and boom – problem solved. Well at least one problem solved.
Maybe display plates and bowls? And/Or pretty cups or mugs? Or, they have glass etching kits at craft stores, so you could make it a frosted glass that didn’t show anything.
chutzpah?
Why don’t you just cover the back side of the glass with translucent contact paper? Something that won’t be completely opaque, but will make everything behind it fuzzy. Then you don’t need to care about what you have in the cupboard…
Like others have suggested…they sell adhesive window film at lowes and Home Depot. It’s not permanent–I think water and watever the plastic is made of create the adhesive so you can remove it fairly easily when and if you want. They come in a variety of patterns and are pretty inexpensive. We used it on the narrow windows beside our front door, replacing a ratty last curtain we inherited when we bought the house. I love it.
I’m glad I’m not the only one whose first thought was, cover up the glass! Here’s an example I thought was pretty using fabric (http://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/5d11ec17022b8e4c_6195-w500-h666-b0-p0–shabby-chic-style.jpg). You could replace the inner glass shelf with something more sturdy and boom, functional storage. Looking forward to seeing what you decide.
Note: Leaving a blog comment instead of emailing you directly. Is that better or worse? Ahem. My first though was the adhesive film. We did that in a bathroom once. But, then I remembered that my husband was a general contractor once upon a time, and that it’s really easy to order two replacement doors. You can match the finish and never look back.
Yes, it will be more expensive than adhesive, but I kinda wonder if you would look at that adhesive and still be reminded of your previous choice. New doors basically erases the past and lets you move on. For a price. ;)
I have a cabinet with glass doors in my bathroom. I store the extra toilet paper and other bathroom supplies in it, which obviously I don’t want to see. I tacked some beautiful white kitchen towels on the inside of the doors. They hide the contents and it looks much prettier than solid doors. And you could change out the towels with the seasons if you want to.
I agree with everyone else! Cover the glass and go to town!
Decanting zinc. *snort*
When I moved in December, I purged so much kitchen stuff. When I moved in May and revisited my beloved things that I had to have that were in storage, I took one look at most of it and promptly donated it.
To follow up my extremely unhelpful comment above, I vote leave the cabinet door clear and showcase your Corelle and maybe your glassware.
I like the glasses and cookbooks idea… As long as whoever needs to reach the top shelf to get to the glasses still could. I, too, am in favor of you leaving the cupboard as a glass front!
Love your blog- I don’t comment often but I read every post!
My mom has one cabinet like that, but it is above the sink, so it is shorter. She has flowery coffee mugs in it. And I think a decorative teapot or cookie jar on the top shelf. We do use the mugs for holidays, so it’s not entirely decorative.
You can also cover them as suggested above; I have seen that on China cabinets & the like.
plain white everyday dishes?
other everyday stuff that matches?
or film.
really, anything that is one colour or a collection.
it can be useful AND pretty!
good luck, i’d love to see what you decide to do!
I just pulled up Pinterest, put in glass front cabinets, and checked out how they’re usually styled. Wine glasses are key, it seems, to enjoying your glass front cabinets. Since the corner cabinets are wedge shaped, why not put in glasses that you don’t use regularly, like wine glasses.
Unless you use wine glasses a lot. Do we need to have a talk, Jules? How many wine glasses do you use a week?
Back to the mission: you could get a woven basket that fits through the door and put your bottles of vitamins in the basket so that the basket is visible but the vitamin bottles are. Decanting is for STYLISTS. We are not stylists.
Do you have a flower vase collection? I would store flower vases here. Next to the sink: smart move. Probably glass: suits a glass cupboard.
The other option is to line the glass with a somewhat opaque window film that will make the glass appear textured, so you don’t actually see anything inside the cabinet but you still have the glass effect.
Seems like a pro-tip is to NOT put anything super colourful in a glass cabinet – it draws the eye too much.
Woven basket! Yes. Also white dishes, cookbooks, and/or juice glasses. Simple and clean, especially right next to your window like that.
If you like the look, maybe consider mirror-ing them? http://littlegreennotebook.com/2014/03/diy-antiqued-mirror-20-version.html/
Alcohol? I have no idea what to put in those cabinets, but that cleared off table and that apron sink are simply swoony.