Ugly IKEA Microwave Cabinet...Hide it w/ Extra Edgebanding!

If you are super careful and very lucky, you won't need to use much of the edgebanding that came with your IKEA toekicks. I managed to keep all but one cut edge up against the wall or perpendicular to a piece with an already finished edge. So now I have lots of lots of edgebanding.

And being a big believer in the use what you have concept, I started looking around for where can I iron this stuff onto.

The IKEA microwave cabinet is fine and functional but you're left with an exposed rim of the cabinet...either beige or white. It never really bothered me, but aesthetically it is kind of an eye sore.

But now that ironed on some of my extra edgebanding, I have to say it blends into the cabinets much better. (Sorry, I didn't think to take a before shot.)

Got Extra Laminate Countertop Pieces Left Over?

I hate to waste anything. So when I wound up with two extra pieces of my post form laminate counter I racked my brain for ideas.

The light switches next to the pantry had to be placed much further into the wall then I planned for because of some over zealous beam placement. That unfortunately made it necessary to switch the sizes of some of the cabinets, leaving me with a sixteen inch space between the pantry and the door.

I had initially thought I'd put my dog's bowls there, but it turned out placing them at the opposite end of the kitchen worked better. That's when I realized cutting a few inches off of one of the pieces of laminate would make great extra counter space.

I screwed a brace into the pantry and onto the wall. It seemed sturdy enough, but I was worried that my daughter would inherit my weird habit of sitting on counters, and added a Stilig bracket which I found in the IKEA as-is room for $3. Then I ironed on the end cap over the bracket so it wasn't so prominent looking.

Now my daughter's stool has a place to be while not in use and a counter to stick empty bottles on when I forget to leave my recycling bins by the side door.

Ignore all that crap on the opposite counter. I'll get the kitchen cleaned up one of these days.

I Finally Bought a Couch!

I have been looking for a couch for the family room for quite some time now. Originally I wanted a sofabed, then realized that I didn't really want to encourage people to stay here for extended periods of time.

Everything I saw was, eh, but nothing really caught my eye until I found this on Craigslist for $40! I probably could've offered them a little less, but whatever.

It's a little smelly (what do you expect, it was in a place w/ two bachelors that had laundry piled up on it) but super comfy.

The only real problem (which I didn't notice until I brought it home) is that it's missing two small cushions that go next to the armrests. In the picture above you can see the mangled case for one of them. The picture below is how it looks with bottom cushions pushed all the way over. I think two 2" foam pieces covered in a simple linen colored...or perhaps red or orange...material will be an easy fix.

I am so loving this couch. The lesson: don't buy something just for the sake of buying something, wait until you find something you love.