Plants bring so many benefits to our lives: 1) They give us oxygen and clear the carbon dioxide from the air. 2) Like pictures, they bring life and promote creativity to one’s home. 3) They bring the outside in by causing a de-stressing effect, and 4) For the most part, they are simple and low-maintenance.
A few months ago, one of my friends blessed me with two plants. I decided to add them to my bedroom so that I could feel refreshed upon waking up in the morning. I am all about aesthetics, and especially having spaces that are light and airy. I decided to place one in the corner of my bedroom in front of a wall mirror. The second one was placed on top of my storage trunk, along with another faux plant.
Bedroom Corner
My son was given two plants recently for his birthday. One of them is a bamboo plant. He placed them in chairs by the living room window so that they could get proper sunlight. At first, I was questioning the location. Now, I have decided that I like them there. The greenery against the natural colors of the chairs and the curtain makes you feel so relaxed.
What simple, functional, grace-filled plants do you own? What places are you keeping them? Send in some comments and pictures below.
When I moved to the place that I live now, I appreciated the layout of the kitchen. It isn’t large, but a decent size for having company and entertaining. The one thing that was a drawback is the fact that we lacked cabinet space. I had gotten used to the pantry that we were blessed with at the last place. So here, I had to get creative. That’s where the shelves came in. Last week, I featured a post on building a clothing rack with plumbing pipe material here.
Building Plumbing Pipe Shelves
I needed a place to store more dishes. Plus, I needed somewhere to store things like cereal and oatmeal boxes. What I decided is that I would build four shelves using plumbing pipe materials and lumber. I went to one of my favorite hardware stores, Menards, and got to planning. This project didn’t require a lot of materials. It just required planning as far as finding the studs, and then making sure that the flanges are being screwed into the studs in the wall. If they aren’t, well, we don’t want to go there, because it would be a disaster of broken dishes, drywall, and everything else.
Building the Shelves
Instead of stacking boxes, and all that drama on these shelves, I decided to use mason jars. To me, they give more of a clean, organized look. I liked the look so much, that if there was wall space on the other side of my kitchen window, I’m quite sure by now, I would have another set of shelves lined up there. Kitchen shelves are one of my favorite things to view in kitchens when I am glancing through home magazines.
Plumbing Pipe Shelves
I should also specify that I planned everything, and I gave my son and daughter the pleasure of dealing with the hardware. To be honest, I am not comfortable using a drill. I used a drill once at the last place when I got tired of waiting for them to place a shelf on the wall in the laundry room. When they saw that I had put the shelf up, with anchors and all, they kind of gave me the look, “Okay”. Anyways, here are the materials and instructions for having fun. If you are bold enough to try it, send a comment and post pictures below.
Materials
stud finder
drill
2″ screws
(4) 48″ X 12″ lumber boards
(8) 1/2 ” Tees
(8) 1/2 ” pipe flanges
(8) 1/2 ” 12″ pipe nipples
Instructions
Use a stud finder to locate the studs in the wall.
Make sure that you leave enough space in between the shelves.
Using a drill, screw the nails into the pipe flanges, and then the nipples into the flanges.
Screw on the 1/2″ Tee to the pipe nipple.
Place the lumber board on top.
The weight of the jars and dishes will keep the board in place.
If you prefer to attach the pipe nipples to the boards, attach two metal clips on both sides for security.
Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. Psalms 127:1
