Mammoth Picture Post: Pantry & Cats

[neadods]

In which Nea finally, belatedly, starts taking pictures off the camera.

THE PANTRY:
I got this finished last night, a day ahead of schedule (and with a considerable amount of help with M.) Remember when I said I wanted to spend no more than $300? Hollow. Bitter. Laughter. On the other hand, I now know how to patch drywall, remove linoleum adhesive, lay sheet linoleum, use a combination sander, and a power roller.

The next deadline is externally imposed: July 10 is the last day to drop off donations for the Team Wench yard sale. So I have 4 weeks to comb through the clutter in the library and the kitchen cabinets.

Before: a 6 x 4 space with a set of doors blocking off 2-foot deep shelves in the back:


Gytha supervises in the middle of the project:


The original 1930s linoleum. Like Cthulu, the horror continues to slumber beneath the surface:


The pantry triumphant! We've made it a bit intimate in there with such wide shelves, but the storage space is beyond our dreams:






This kitten...


... has grown into this cat:


Ever since he ran away, he's been forced to wear not just a collar and tag, but a leash and harness when he goes outside. Well... that's the theory, anyway. He has a definite opinion on the subject.


Gytha has turned from the seal point kitten to a motley mutt, markings-wise. But she keeps doing insane (and photogenic) things, like dance along the rafters in the basement.


Or be the picture of martyred suffering when getting her claws clipped.


The reading chair at the crazy cat lady house:

Comments

Congratulations!

[signeh.livejournal.com]

Job well done - the pantry looks great.

Re: Congratulations!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I must say, I'm pleased beyond words with the result.

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

You inspired me to finally do something about the pantry in my house, which is a project that has gone without progress for seven years now. Congrats!

I'm looking forward to the yard sale. Because I need more projects. Really.

Also, re: Mulder's leash training- I recommend the flikr pool world's heaviest harness. The one time I tried to harness train a cat, it ended up being used as a punishment and restraint device without requiring modification first.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Good luck - I hope yours doesn't end up costing as much in time and effort as mine did! But oh, I think the results are worth it.

That link made me LOL. I'll have to show it to M, who was at the other end of Mulder's leash when I took the shot.

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

just out of curiosity - what shelving system did you go with and what did it run you (if you don't mind me asking)? I'm looking and pricing some out now, and curious as to your experience.

eta- reply by email is fine (gmail with same username as lj account) if you don't want to discuss it here.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Nah, don't mind talking about it in public. I went with the Container Store version, which ended up costing around $700. I'm not at all happy about the price, but it was the most versatile and sturdy of the options - Lowes' shelves were very flimsy and Ikea's weren't as versatile or as good looking.

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I had decided to go with, and around the same price range. Unfortunately, my car has decided to show signs of a Major Problem, so the proper shelving aspect of this remodel is going to have to wait until my funds recover from what is likely to be an unhappy day at the mechanic's tomorrow. Oh well. The paint and the new tile will make a big difference, at least.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Uh oh! Good luck to your car.

Oh - when you buy the stuff from the Container Store, either buy it a la carte or go line by line over the order before they pull the materials. They upsold me some stuff that's automatically added by the system that I don't need and can't use.

Paint and new tile make a gigantic difference!

[nycdeb.livejournal.com]

the pantry looks FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brava!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Y'know? It was hell, but I think it was worth it.

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

Nice one!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[raqs.livejournal.com]

I love the pantry! What's the weight rating on the shelves?

I love the kitties too. They don't have to be weight-bearing. :-)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

The cats tend to yowl when they're asked to bear weight.

To tell the truth, I don't know the official rating on the shelves. They're from the Container Store because those were the strongest; at the display room here they have a Kitchen Aide standing mixer on one and I hefted it - it's real (and real heavy.) Strong enough to handle everything we've put on it, but not strong enough to handle one of us putting our weight on it to help lever ourselves up. (ahem. Fortunately, we had extra brackets.)

[bewarethespork.livejournal.com]

Wow, the pantry looks really good! I think there are people who have fantasies about having that much storage space. XD It's an amazing improvement over the original.

And as for your cats? So adorable. :D

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I certainly had fantasies about having a useful pantry. I hated doing the work, that was obvious - but SO worth it!

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the pantry! It looks great!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I adore it already. There's so much storage space!

[padawanpooh.livejournal.com]

Getting the pantry sorted must give a huge sense of accomplishment. Enjoy all that lovely stroage space!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I've been so tired I wondered if I'd have any reaction - but it was such a huge weight off my shoulders. And to see all the stuff going in and still having room - it's wonderful!

[fyrdrakken]

Sounds like our reaction a few months back when Mom used her tax refund money to replace our fridge. After years of having a fridge that wasn't cold enough to keep milk from going bad in a couple of days and a freezer that ice cream melted in, to say nothing of not having enough room, it was bliss to have ample space for a week's worth of food for the both of us.

And such lovely kitties! (I've never tried harness training any of our cats, but there were a few experiments along that line with the bunnies that didn't go so well. Trixie actually started squealing when she couldn't leap out of it the first time I tried one on her.)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

We had the kittens in ferret harnesses at first - probably should have kept them on, because now they're appalled at the concept! I doubt either will ever be happy on a leash, but they're stuck in it for a few years until we're sure they won't run off.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Congrats on getting the pantry finished!

Bags I has the reading chair (with cats!)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Alas, they all run away if I move 'em over. Except Gytha, who will climb back into my lap.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

LOL I wasn't planning on sitting in it! I just wanted a chair full of cats! :D

[benbenberi.livejournal.com]

Most excellent pantryness!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It is a thing of beauty, isn't it?

[bentleywg.livejournal.com]

Pantry renovation: very impressive! I love all the extra, useable space.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

So do we! What *was* that guy thinking, to only use 1/3 of the space?

[jennetj.livejournal.com]

Looks great! Love the little "bottle shelves". That's a great idea.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I didn't want to put big shelves right by the door and cut off half the doorway. They're the perfect thing! Container store's door/wall hanger, with the "short narrow" shelves. They're fabulous - and they're going to keep the little spices from crawling to the back and disappearing.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Pretty kitties!

That's a fabulous remodeling job. One question: can you actually make use of the entire bottom shelf, the one that's partially blocked by the cabinet? I guess you just don't put tall stuff in the front.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

What I've put in the back corner of that shelf is stuff I need to have, but don't need to get often. I buy chai powder by the case, so a couple of boxes are back there, as is the big salt container. I think it's rice in front of it. (The actual food layout is going to shift around for a couple of weeks while we break in the concept.)

[chibiaingeal.livejournal.com]

The pantry is awesome! Congrats on such a well done job.

(And the kitties are adorable!)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was hell - but it was worth it!

[tchwrtr.livejournal.com]

KITTY!

Oh, and the pantry looks FABOO. Well done.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Lots and lots of kitties!

I'm so proud of the pantry! Gives me hope I can do a decent job elsewhere too.

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

Teh cute!!!
and you dont have nearly enough cats to be a crazy cat lady.. although it helps that one is a ginger...

the pantry looks really great, btw..

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Ah, but there are only pictures of four of the five total... we have quite the herd of 'em!

Thanks. I'm so proud of that pantry!

[fandance.livejournal.com]

Ooooo, how pretty! Nice job Nea. Lots of sweat equity on this one!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm so proud of that pantry. And by the time we're done, the house is going to be stunning, it really is!