Notes from the Underground, part 2

We left off with a painted basement but with the furniture still in disarray. But this revamp was designed to help us organize our things in a way that looked deliberate and clean instead of thrown together in a mismatch on top of inherited furniture. We had a plan. We had been inspired by a blog that J read about a new Ikea piece (yes, Ikea again...) - the Fjalkinge (it doesn't really have the same ring to it as Expedit, but oh well).

And so we bought a couple - one in each size, to make sure we liked them.

And we built.

And built.

And built some more.

We did have a little help:

In the end we installed two of the 23'' ones on the ends and two 46'' ones in the middle. Each has a set of drawers, meaning that we built 8 drawers. And, because we are now baby-proofing as we go, D installed the brackets that attach the shelves with the wall. It actually took almost as much time as building them, because of having to use the stud finder to figure out what kind of screw to use and to get the angle right. It didn't help when one of the holes on one of the shelves wasn't really hollowed out correctly and D stripped the screw trying to install it.

But all is well now and our shelves are filled! Toiletries, cleaning supplies, drinks, and food of all sorts, as well as some generally unloved kitchen equipment. It all fits! And these are so narrow that we still have plenty of floor space. Again in keeping with the "baby-proof as we go" theme, the hazardous or dangerous things are out of reach and the (theoretically) safer things are below. We still wouldn't leave her in the room alone but at least a quick glance in the other direction wouldn't mean she has access to the Draino, for example.

The basement is far from done, but it certainly is getting more pleasant. We are going to install the gate originally intended to block off the stairs on our top floor in the doorway to the unfinished basement, which is pretty much a fantasy play land deathtrap for babies (small bike parts, grease, kitty litter, unstable shelving). It has a pet door so we can at least leave that open so the cats don't have to jump the gate to do their business.

And the other half of the basement is still a mess. We can't seem to part with our first Expedit, but it really serves no purpose now. And the irregular cubbies that are so endearing also seem like a silly luxury when we have so much that we need to store. So we think it has to go, but I haven't given up yet. Let me know if you have any creative idea (we tried behind the futon as a sort of sofa table - it doesn't fit).

Happy New Year!