My Hallelujah Shelves

This is our first home. There are so many things I love about our house and a few I just can't stand. This hole in the wall is one of them. While house hunting two years ago we looked at this house three times before actually making an offer. They layout is fantastic with all the bedrooms upstairs and plenty of room to grow so we took the plunge.

This is the site you see as soon as you walk in the front door. Bare, ugly. No mantel and a useless nook. We live in a cookie cutter neighborhood of builder grade homes. The neighbors have all the same features- same lighting fixtures, only a dozen or so different layouts to choose from, same low quality kitchen cabinets, etc. It's what we could afford and I am grateful for my home. I know with some cash, a few easy fixes, and a lot of elbow grease ours will stand out from the crowd.
I hired a carpenter (a first for me) to install crown molding (I've always wanted it and didn't have the time to do it myself since it was a surprise for my husband while he was away on a business trip) and shelves. I then caulked and painted them. I've been slowly collecting knickknacks to adorn my shelves but that will have to wait until a later post.

The shelves are low but they are there. No more nook driving me crazy. I love the baskets as well and once we replace the tile and install a mantel that focal wall will no longer be an eye sore. I say Hallelujah ever time I pass those shelves.

When we first moved into our house we were house poor. That is no longer the case and we have big plans. In the next couple of months we are doing a mini overhaul. New cabinets, wood floors, actually decorating the bedrooms, etc... I'm going to have a ton to share and since we live out in the boonies where our neighbors are just about our only guests, I can't wait to share my improvements with you!