I've got DIY ADD again. Bad blogger! I'm actively working on 5 not so little projects and haven't finished a single one yet. The biggest one of that is, of course, the kitchen. A week from today, the countertops are getting uninstalled (to be reinstalled later), and a week from Wednesday, the cabinets get delivered! Unfortunately the cabinets will have to sit around for a few days to a week before getting installed (by the pros), but I'm hoping that'll give me the time to paint the empty room and ceiling.
This week is for the prep work. Prep includes removing the uppers and soffit, removing the venting from the stove hood (which will be replaced with new smaller ducts), sanding and prepping the walls, and making the "zombie closet" smaller.
Why yes, I did say "zombie closet." It's a cabinet with 3 doors that open up to a cavity above the basement stairs.
I think Hubby named this space when we first saw the house with our realtor. He commented that he felt like a zombie was going to grab him if he reached it. Although a bit melodramatic, the name stuck. The previous owner used it as a pantry, but it was more important for us to have a dishwasher and tuck the fridge into this corner. For the past almost 3 years, the zombie closet has sat unused behind fridge. The reason I'm revisiting it now is that the top door and trim is in the way of my new cabinets. Not cool, zombie closet.
With the new cabinets, there will be a cabinet above the fridge as well as a pantry cabinet next to it (meaning that this whole mess will soon be hidden!). My original thought was just to drywall over the in-the-way zombie closet, but there's a hardwired light in there, and I also can't justify closing off storage space in this tiny house. Instead my solution is to make the upper door smaller so that it hides completely behind the fridge.
I started by removing the doors and trim pieces so I could devise my plan and start reframing the door.
Since I don't move the fridge very often, I had totally forgotten how large this storage space was. With our lack of an attic and our basement slowly filling up, I think this would be the perfect spot to store Christmas decorations that I only need to get at once a year. Once I decided that, it helped me determine the new size for the door. I'm keeping the door as large as possible that will still hide behind the fridge, meaning the new door will be approximately 24" x 24".
I only got as far as the planning and framing yesterday, though (and thankfully didn't get attacked by any undead monsters). The new size is all framed out where the finish molding will be hidden behind the fridge and won't be in the way of the new cabinets.
Today's agenda includes patchworking drywall onto my new frame and cutting down and replacing the finish trim around where the new door will be.
Did I mention how excited I am for these new cabinets? Do you have any cubbies in your house that you've given weird names? It can't just be us.
