Unexpected Kitchen Project Kicks Off 2015!

Hello!  Happy 2015!  Let's start the year with a little quiz.... On New Year's Eve,  and all of a sudden I heard....

A.  Fireworks to celebrate the arrival of a new year

B.   Party horns and the sound of a fab party

C.  The collapsing of dishes in a kitchen cabinet!

If you answered C you are absolutely correct!  All of a sudden two of the shelves gave way in the main dish cabinet in my kitchen.  The little plastic things which hold the shelves in place all seemed to give way at the same time.  Very interesting!  And frustrating.

I have always had trouble with this cabinet pulling away from the wall, etc.  It is a large cabinet which holds a lot of stuff.  Thankfully, nothing broke!  I have no idea how that happened but I am extremely grateful!   Most of the items in that cabinet have sentimental meaning such as Disney mugs which are no longer available and family heirloom serving plates.  But now, I am face with the dilemma of what to do.

It definitely needs to be attended to and I don't want to risk just fixing the shelves and losing all the dishes the next time it decides to misbehave!  But out of adversity comes creativity!  My head is spinning with ideas!

The area where the cabinet is supported on each side by a microwave and glass cabinet on one side and the pantry wall on the other.  So I really don't have to put the cabinet back if I don't want.  I have always been intrigued by the concept of open shelving and this would be the ideal situation to give it a try.

Since the area above the cabinets houses electricity for over the cabinet lighting, the top of the cabinet cannot be removed.  So as an option, I found this adorable cubby hole system on Pinterest which would work out perfectly!  The instructions and blog post on Shanty 2 Chic can be found HERE.

I would make it a bit wider and only one level but it would also free up space in my pantry.  WIN WIN!

Then still exploring ideas and options on Pinterest, I found these rustic and cost effective open shelves which I LOVE!  These would be perfect!  I think I also have a few pieces of stone left from the backsplash to fill in if I made the shelf level with the microwave.  The tutorial and blog post from The Woodgrain Cottage can be found HERE.

So I am kind of being forced into jump starting projects for 2015 which isn't such a bad thing I guess.  I am going to think about it for a few days before I decide to simply reinforce the existing cabinet or throw caution to the wind and try something new!   This is starting off to be an interesting year already! Happy 2015  - I hope your DIY dreams come true!