Floating Shelf FAIL!

Have you ever been so happy to finish a project and proud that you were actually able to do it all yourself? Well, that was me after I finished up the board and batten in our master bathroom. I love how it came out and was quite impressed I was able to measure and cut everything so that it looks good. I took all the exciting after shots and shared them here on the blog. And then this happened...

Notice that shelf that is no longer floating above the toilet, kind of more like hanging precariously and all that stuff and broken glass on the floor? Yeah, not supposed to be like that. Come on people, I am messy at times, but not that messy!

You see before I embarked on redoing this bathroom, I used to have two floating shelves from Ikea above the toilet. For whatever reason, and I won't name names, the lower shelf never was quite stable and everything would slide right off of it. For a few years, I had it propped up using a solid box top perched on top of a cologne bottle to make it functional at least. Needless to say, as soon as I started redoing this space, that shelf got the boot.

However, its cousin up top was always very sturdy, so I figured it could stay because I needed the storage space. I even designed the board and batten to work around the shelf. Once I was done with the board and batten, the shelf went back up and was put to work holding baskets with all of my hair stuff and extra toiletries and some pretty decorative glass candle holders. I thought it looked lovely.

But I think through the process of me removing the shelf to add the board and batten, the anchors in the studs in the wall were weakened and it just could not handle the weight of the baskets anymore. I was heartbroken that my glass candle holders were smashed to bits. I was angry I had to clean up all the glass (which I am still finding, by the way) and I was really frustrated that I had to figure out a new solution for storage and a way to fix the missing paint and wood pieces that the shelf covered up.

In the end, the solution was actually quite simple. I would not forgo a shelf up there, instead, I would reinforce it to make sure this never happens again. So, I pulled the shelf back off the wall and took out the old anchors. Redrilling new holes was not an option as the shelf needed to sit exactly where it had been because of the way the board and batten and paint job was done. I put in new anchors and put the shelf back up. Already it seemed more secure but I still didn't trust it to bear weight. So, I went out and bought shelf brackets at Lowe's for about $5 each. It would no longer be a floating shelf, but I would have piece of mind knowing it had the extra support. Once I anchored those to the wall and secured them to the shelf, I was left with a much sturdier base for my baskets.

One of two brackets to support the once-floating shelf

Well, what do you think?

The bathroom is done!

The brackets don't detract too much from the overall look, do they? I am quite happy I was able to come to a reasonable solution that didn't require too much additional work. Hurry for that! I also went out and bought two little ivy plants to sit on top of the tall cabinets. The little orange pots pick up the orange from the shower curtain. I've also added more "beachy" pictures from a few of the places my honey and I have been.I love the way the bathroom has finally come together!

Another dresser project

Man, it's been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that! Did I really not blog at all in the month of March? Been busy, busy!

Anyhoo, I am back today to talk about my latest project, which just so happens to be another dresser project. Many moons ago, like in January, I talked about trying to find a dresser for our bedroom that would replace the shelving unit I have now under the TV. You can read about that here.

I scoured Craigslist for months and stopped in weekly at my favorite local thrift stores. I never knew it'd be so difficult to find a dresser that would fit in the space. You see, I needed the dresser to not be too wide since it sits between the doors to our master bathroom and my closet. I also needed it to not be too tall so that it could fit under the TV. Well, after feeling like Goldilocks, I finally found one that will work. Except it needs a lot of work. Good thing I am up for the challenge!

Here's the dresser that I scored for $40 on Craigslist. It's real wood with dovetail joints and everything! But you can also see it has some nasty, black, tar-like substance on the top back right corner. The veneer around the feet is also peeling off. Oh and it's missing a pull. Yikes!

The new master bedroom dresser - BEFORE

A close up of the nasty, black, tar-like substance on the top of the dresser

Here's that nasty, black, tar-like substance in relief view You can see how thick it is on there! Gross!

Veneer all cracked and coming off the feet. Don't mind the dog hair!

Another foot showing the cracking and peeling veneer.

Now that I've found my dresser that is juuuust right, I have big plans to make it our own. My first bout of pinspiration has come from all of the beautiful ombre dressers that I've been seeing lately.  Like this, this and this.

However, this dresser will have a twist.

Not my actual bedroom, but I do own the bedspread! Bedspread from here.

 You see, that is our bedspread, but its not our actual bedroom. Don't worry, I will do a full master bedroom reveal once this dresser is done! I plan to paint the dresser and the drawers in the shades of blue that in the comforter. So, it won't be exactly ombre since the stripes are different blues and not just different tones of the same blue, but it'll have the same effect, I hope.

I have already purchased the paint by bringing in the pillowcase to Lowe's and having them match the colors. Since there isn't a lot to paint, I just had them make me the those little Valspar samples for about $3 each. Awesome! But because I am an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint freak and love working with that paint, I have decided to turn these samples into homemade chalk paint using this technique. I'll let you know if I like it better than the real thing.

I also plan to stain the top of the dresser a dark brown to match the rest of our bedroom furniture to tie it all together. I also plan to use Annie Sloan's dark wax just like this. This will be my first time trying out the dark wax. Very excited!

Pinspiration via Shades of Amber

I hope to have this done in the next week or so and be able to share it with everybody. But mostly I can't wait to finally have the extra storage in our bedroom!