Tag: interior design

Some Thoughts on DVD Storage

Months and months ago, Libby asked me for some tips on inexpensive and attractive ways to store DVDs and I came up with exactly zero ideas.

At first thought, it would seem that with Netflix and Redbox the age of buying DVDs is over. Shout it from the rooftops! Movies on your computer! …That is, until you get the very strong hankering to watch a particular movie that can’t be found anywhere (I’m looking at you, “The Parent Trap”). Yes, there is still benefit to owning DVDs. I appreciate that unlike books, the cases are all a uniform size, but on the other hand,the spines are not particularly attractive as decor items. They’re rigid, shiny, and often garish.

Right after we got married, Doug and I took our duplicates (of which there were many–hurrah for similar taste in entertainment) to Hastings and sold them for store credit. Then, last year before moving we took a critical look at our collection and weeded out even more DVDs. We sold them, and got enough store credit to buy four brand new vinyl albums!  I say this to emphasize the fact that while our collection isn’t particularly small, it has been weeded through–twice! So, here we are. With a DVD collection that spans almost nine feet.

Completed Pine Shelving

The DVDs take up 2/3 of the second shelf and a good 1/3 of the bottom shelf. 

The nice thing about our newly installed shelves is that the DVDs line up in an orderly fashion and don’t look particularly heinous. When we get a media unit with closed doors, I know I will move a large chunk of them into concealed storage, though. Books just look so much nicer on display, don’t you think?

Protip: One good way to distract from the DVD overload is to prop small picture frames up in front of them every so often. It helps add a layered look.

Other DVD storage options are using totes, using under-bed storage boxes (if your couch is high enough off the floor), making a custom drawer movie storage system: Check out this Making it Lovely post for an A+ example… or, if you feel comfortable ditching the plastic cases, using binders, which is a good way to consolidate a very large collection.

If you have any tips, I would love to hear them!! I feel that this is a problem that plagues lots of people who, like me, appreciate a good looking space but also love their movies. Let’s get a conversation going… ’cause I could use all the ideas you have. 

Pine Shelves: Installation

Hi, I’m Staci’s husband, Doug. She has asked me to write a guest post on the blog about the details of our new pine shelves.

Just like nearly all of the projects that we have undertaken in our three domiciles since we have been together, Staci was once again the lead engineer of this endeavor. Her creativity never ceases to flow! I was happy to help, and after a bunch of careful measurements (which ended up not being so careful after all– more on that later) we began by buying the needed materials. I’m decidedly a “list” guy, so instead of intricately weaving each material into a well written example of how it was implemented like I’m some sort of writer, I’ll simply list what we bought and from whence it was got;

  • The hanging structure, and shelf supports —IKEA’s ALGOT (link to similar configuration)
  • Drywall screws –Local hardware store, such as Ace, Home Depot, Lowe’s
  • Untreated pine boards 1″ X 10″ X 12′ –Home Depot
  • Laser level –Lowe’s
  • Power Drill –Home Depot

Putting up the brackets and shelf supports was the easy part. We simply bought enough length of the top horizontal piece, which came in several sizes and slapped it on by pressing the pieces against the underside of the counter and screwing them into place. We then placed each of the vertical supports evenly throughout the 9 feet, with the laser level as our trusty companion. Once we popped in the super-easy shelf supports, we decided to call it a night. The only thing left to do was to put the carefully measured and tenderly cut shelves into place!

pine shelf how to 1

Since the spot we wanted to shelve measured exactly 9 feet (or 108″) I proceeded to buy enough pine to make 3 shelves that spanned the entire space. This was the second day of the project. I bought three 12-foot boards and had them each cut into 4.5-foot pieces. This obviously gave us extra, but it seemed to be the cheapest way to buy 27 feet. In other news, Mosey appears to be taking a yoga break after some diligent work.

pine shelf how to 2

Wait, the space was 108 inches, right? Wrong; we must have rounded up from 107 and 3/4 of an inch-ish. Oops.

pine shelf how to 3

Commence the troubleshooting! While Staci was at work, I started using a small sanding block to carve down the end of one of the shelves to see if I could make them fit. After about 20 minutes of this nonsense (and the onset of a rapidly over-exerted arm), I remembered that we owned an electric sander. The sander bailed me out, not unlike San Diego’s Philip Rivers bailed out my beloved Kansas City Chiefs a few years back during a Monday night game… by fumbling a crucial snap and resulting in a Chiefs victory!

So, after some fluid electric sanding and the aid of a make-shift saw horse out of a cheap folding lawn chair, I adapted the shelves to fit in the space! And…. voila, when Staci got home from work, she was greeted with this:  (!!!)

pine shelf how to 4

Staci here– A huge thanks to Doug for not only saving the day by finishing the shelf installation, but also for filling in by writing this post on an evening when my brain couldn’t put coherent thoughts into sentences. We have really enjoyed filling up the shelves and are both truly enamored with them… We’ve spent many hours patting ourselves on the back and gazing at the finished product. ;) 

Our Pine Shelves are Installed!

This post’s alternate title: “It’s Been A LONG Time Coming.”

Ever complete a project, step back and it seems like you can hear the angels singing?

Completed Pine Shelving

Ever since the day we moved in and realized our faux-tolix barstools wouldn’t work with the kitchen counter overhang (overhang is too short/ stools are too tall), I wanted built-ins here under the overhang. However, given that we’re simply in an apartment and not in an owned home, I thought that we wouldn’t be able to install anything permanent or semi-permanent like shelves. So we got a few IKEA units (on sale in the as-is section) to act as a stopgap solution…

bookcase_after

This looked OK– better in photos than it did in person, though. Since they were on carpet and hadn’t all been assembled identically, they kind of leaned back or forward from each other and didn’t look as neat and clean as what I had in my vision. So little by little the area underneath here was altered…

Living and Dining Area

One unit was removed to make way for our turntable… then all three units were relocated to the west wall when we got our green couch and reoriented the whole apartment.

After hanging art

Now… Ahhhh. This is so much better!! They are only ten inches deep which actually gives us five more inches of floor space in that area when compared to the EXPEDITs. Five inches may not seem like much, but it’s almost half a foot, and the space is so much more streamlined, as the photo below makes clear. The pine warms up the space in a very honest way. Somehow, yeah, “honest” seems like the word for this simple solution. Here’s a few more shots:

Pine Shelving

Pine Shelving

Completed Pine Shelving

I feel like purposefully leaving the area underneath the bottom shelf empty makes it seem light and creates the illusion of more floor space. The best part is that the project was affordable, there aren’t many screws in the wall, and the whole thing can be taken with us to our next place next fall! I will have a how-to and budget breakdown here for you Wednesday!