DIY: Building a decorative shelf || Secretly hiding the TV cords

I had a need to cover up some TV/video game wires, and couldn't find a premade solution.  Here's a peek into the process of building my own shelf, with open insides to hide all those ugly cords!

Back in November, the hubs and I took advantage of some Black Friday sales, and decided to replace our living room TV.  We nick-named it "Bertha," which should give you an idea of why it had to go.  We ended up getting a pretty handsome little Samsung Smart TV from Best Buy, and mounted it above the fireplace on a swivel mount and a sound bar.

We couldn't quite get it centered above the fireplace because of the placement of the studs, but I had a crafty solution up my sleeves.  I got some of those boxy shelves from Target, and filled in the blank space beside the TV.  

One major problem still remained.  I can't stand cords.  I've always been the kind of person to hide them as much as possible, and this was not an easy challenge.  I did some internet research, and found some people who had drilled a hole in the wall and fished the wires behind.  I decided not to take this route for 2 reasons: the TV is mounted on an external wall, and I didn't want to mess up any of the insulation, and running power behind the wall without going into proper electrical wiring could be a major fire hazard.  I wasn't really looking to tear out the drywall and run proper wiring and an electrical outlet.  As a side thought, we also decided that if we want to sell our house anytime in the near future, a prospective buyer may not want an electrical outlet above the fireplace.  

We scoured the local stores for some cord hiding solutions, and nothing really seemed to make them invisible.  We looked at all kinds of options that Lowes and Best Buy suggested, but I wasn't really pleased with any of them.  All I wanted was something to hide the cords, but look like it belonged!  Here's the post that ultimately inspired my design.  This guy did run the cords behind the wall beside the fireplace, but his idea about hiding the cords above the fireplace is exactly what I needed.  

I couldn't find a shelf in the right dimensions, so I got the idea of using crown molding.  I got one decorative piece for the front, and one plain piece (intended for chair rail I think).  I measured the distance I needed to cover, and started cutting!

Here's the cutting device I used.  It's handy when you don't have a wood shop.  The most important part was to be sure that the molding was at the right angle, so the cuts would be right.  

The angles fit just right!

I used the smallest nails I could find, and was very careful to tap the pieces together.  A little wood glue also helped keep the pieces where they belong.

The hardest part of the whole project is waiting for the glue (and later the paint) to dry.

I found these little brackets in the hardware section.  They were the perfect size for what I needed, and would help me make my masterpiece easily detachable from the wall.  I also used a dremel tool to carve out a little crescent on each end of the shelf.  I made them subtle, but still large enough to allow for cords to come out from either side.  

Now for paint!

I used the same color paint that was used on the trim in our house.  This particular hue is called Statuesque and is by Valspar.  It's a really sharp white, and contrasts nicely with the bold colors we used in the floor and walls. 

Voila!  The shelf is very subtle, and looks like it was an original part of the fireplace.  It's large enough to put small knickknacks or candles on, but small enough to be visually pleasing.  

Fin!

Even more painting

With everything that's been going on in the Rhine house, life has been a little crazy!  Remember when we had sewer-mageddeon?  Well, we just had the sequel.

But we're making the best of it.

So now that we've had the floor torn back out, we've got a chance to really make a difference in our house.  I'm actually pretty excited to get some good work done in our house.  

Cody did not approve of the giant fans scattered throughout the house.

Now with the fans gone, its new floor, new paint, new doorknobs, and other new little touches all around!

Good bye wall paper!!  Wait, is that more wallpaper under the wallpaper?  The green is what was in the kitchen, and the white with pink and blue flowers was in the hall and stairs.

Here's what we've done so far:

Notice the awesome painted light switches?  Rather than buying new ones, we just took the old ones out back and sprayed them with hammered bronze spray paint.  Voila! 

Have a great turkey day tomorrow!!

Missing in Action? or Moving Insanity & Awesomeness?

So I've been a bit M.I.A the past few days (weeks really), and this is what I've been up to:

The hubs and I bought a home, and then the next day he left for a temporary deployment.  That weekend, I rented a huge Uhaul (and realized how tiny I am), moved, replaced the deadbolt and door handle, had a friend correct my unfortunate door handle attachment job, installed internet, got new couches, painted the bedroom, half way painted the bathroom, and then went to a weekend long music festival.  Hey, when I get going, I don't slow down!

I'm really pleased with the way the bedroom has turned out so far.  I did 3 walls with Smoked Oyster, and an accent wall in Gypsy Rouge.  

I also spray painted the outlet covers with a hammered bronze color and added lamps.  The paper lamps are probably one of my favorite parts of the room- we plugged them into a wireless light switch, and mounted the switch on the back of the headboard for an easy way to turn off the lights at night.

This past weekend, I got the chance to go to Floydfest 11.  The weekend was filled with good food, great sangria (I'm not really a beer drinker) and fantastic music!

We listened to music way into the night and heard great bands like Matisyahu, SOJA, Punch Brothers, David Wax Museum, and more.

It's been a crazy past few days, but I'm glad to start getting back to normality again.  

Songs of the week: Since it's been a while, I'll call out this past weekend, and the one before it.  For moving weekend, Little Help From My Friends by the Beatles.  For my weekend of music and camaraderie, we have One Day by Matisyahu.

Kitchen palette

So I'm getting really excited about the new house.  Yesterday Jason and I found some dishware we really love from Bed Bath and Beyond.  Here are some other ideas for the kitchen that we're thinking about:

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-Stainless steel appliances- new and already coming with the house!
-How to stain your own cabinets.  I'm thinking about doing a dark color, maybe more of a brown than gray. I think I'll be doing the table in the same color.
-Dishes from Bed Bath and Beyond: Roma Sage
-Idea from Pinterest to turn a thrifted bookshelf into a wine and liquor station!

I can't wait to move in..  I'm so excited.  For now, we pack.

Pad-Thai Inspired Paint

As I was sitting at our local Thai restaurant eating my favorite dish of Pad Thai, (yum!) I noticed the paint around the room.  They have these lovely green walls, the ceiling painted black, and then a center section of the ceiling accented with green.  Now I don't think I would put black ceilings in my own home, but it got me to thinking about painting the ceiling in our soon-to-be house.  I'm in search for fun colors to paint our new home in, and so the ceiling is a possibility I would like to explore!

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Painted ceilings here make the tall room look shorter and wider.

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I could totally see this working for a cozy living room or pottery studio.  I love the light teal with the neutral tan/brown.  It's warm but no overwhelming.

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I love love love this guest room.. The accents to play off of the ceiling are perfect, and not too much.  I like the accent of the white ceiling fan too!

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What about a room painted with a high gloss ceiling?  The reflectivity adds a bit more height to the room, but I wonder how much it would reflect.... how much gloss is too much gloss?  :)

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Or what about a toned down grey- something soothing and neutral?  Maybe with a little more color pumping  up the rest of the room?

There's a lot to think about before we move into our little home.  The hubby is going on a temporary deployment ::conveniently:: two days before we close on the house.  Power of attorney, closing papers, paint colors, moving companies, wall paper peeling, new sofas, placement of all of our stuff..   There's a lot going on! For now, I'll just try to keep cool with my ice pops and beloved air conditioner.  

Song of the Hour: Winter Winds by Mumford and Sons.  I'm so excited to see these guys live in a month or so.  It's going to be fantastic!!