04 July 2010

One shouldn't be this excited over shelves

Emily Sue, prepare to be amazed.

A few years ago, I saw on people's blogs the "Mud Rooms" they were making in their new homes and home renovations.  On a few different blogs, I saw some great vertical doorless locker-like storage units, one for each person in the family, with places to store everything that usually gets discarded in the afternoon trudge from car to kitchen table after school, work or sports practice: shoes, hats, bags, etc.

I'd picked out the ideal place for a Mud Room in our old house, but when we moved I was glad I hadn't gone to the bother and expense.  In our new house, I tossed the idea around in my mind for a full 12 months before I got to work.  The end result is AMAZING!

Remember "before"?  Shoe shelves with two boxes of hats on top.  This is also before the shoes, bags and hats started overflowing and also before the grass and dirt and leaves made the whole deal look pretty ordinary.

And now, things look more like this:

That's what's got me all excited this week.

Each person has one vertical "locker".  My basic requirement for the width was that they had to fit two pairs of men's shoes side-by-side.  Only five 45cm-wide lockers fit in the space so we don't have a spare one for general family stuff, but that stuff seems to fit into spots that otherwise wouldn't be used.
The things I particularly like are the places for everything (even my shopping bags and the umbrellas), the top four adjustable shelves so that each person can arrange it how they want (including a skinny shelf for Buzz's homework folder and library bag), the way that everyone now has their own hat box and space for shoes, and the space at the top for more storage - we're using it for picnic things at the moment.

I asked a cabinetmaker to make this for me.  He was able to make all the dimensions perfect for the space available (avoiding the roller door), and when at the eleventh hour I discovered that the garage floor slopes down towards outside, the man installing it said "No problem!" and cut the base so the shelves were perfectly level (taller at the left and shorter at the right.)  It wasn't cheap, but my Friday afternoons at work since Easter covered the total cost.

Aah, sigh.  My Mud Room.  Less mud, a whole lot more room!

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Interesting fact: during the measuring, quoting, check-measuring and installation, I worked with three cabinetmakers, and I noticed that only one of them had his full compliment of fingers and thumbs.  Is the loss of the left Peter Pointer finger a common hazard among cabinetmakers?  I will have to ask Alison.

11 comments:

Emily Sue said...

Sigh. Shelf envy!

Why did you turn all the shoes around the other way?

CraftyMummy said...

Oh! I want one at my place! Fabulous!

Tracy P. said...

Wow!!! We have no place for such a thing. It would be so amazing. Yea for you!

Anonymous said...

Men can be clever, but the woman who designed this is brilliant!
PMN

The Accidental Housewife said...

Those shelves are totally inspired - I am seriously impressed. I'll need look into something like this at the next house, where coats and scarves and gumboots will be added to the normal thongs and sunhats.

Hippomanic Jen said...

I LOVE your shelves. Good on you for ordering exactly what you wanted.

For the record, I don't think you're crazy for getting excited about the new shelves. They are entirely excitement-worthy. And I want some too.

Allegro ma non troppo said...

May they stay that tidy forever!

Alison said...

It looks wonderful! Justin makes lots of locker-type cabinets and we will definitely have them in our next house (no room here!)

Justin does have all of his fingers and thumbs, but his partner did very nearly sever his thumb. So yes, I guess it is a job hazard!

Alison said...

They look wonderful!

Justin does have all of his fingers and thumbs, but his partner almost cut his own finger off--apparently it can happen even to good carpenters! (And now you know why I pray for my husband!)

Swift Jan said...

Oh wow! Now that's organised! Well done!

Long dark hair, blue eyes said...

That looks great! Very organised. I am impressed