Completing the kitchen renovation

There has been one last thing to do to completely finish the kitchen reno project that I did back in the springtime.  We have been using this corkboard to pin up notes and reminders for years.  It hung above out kitchen table.  Also on the wall is a phone jack box for a wall phone that we have long ago stopped using.  There is also a thermostat for our electric baseboard heat.  Along one side of the cork board...we had a hanger in the wall that we hung a monthly calendar on and from taking the calendar off and on from its mounting, well, it became worn and the hole became a nuisance.  I had built this pen and pencil and bill holder that hung over the old phone jack box, so that was hidden, but everything as a whole just made the wall a challenge.

   So, when we remodeled, I was determined to build something that would alleviate the problems.  This is what I came up with:



Now, the calendar is still on a hook, but the hook is mounted into a backer board and cleat and is all wood, so it is much stronger and can the calendar can be taken off of the hook and replaced back on with no fear of the hook loosening up.  The corkboard is new and is replaceable when and if it is ever worn out.  It would be a simple one day project to make up a replacement board.

  Inside the shallow cabinet on the end opposite the calendar, there are two shelves.  One will hold a bin that will hold pencils and pens.  The other will hold a bin that will contain household bills that need to be paid.  The cabinet serves also to hide the former phone jack box, so it's out of sight.    The cabinet is comprised of all quarter sawn red oak just as the rest of the cabinetry in the kitchen is. 

  Getting the new corkboard spurred me on to go through all of the crap that had found itself cluttering up the corkboard.  Plenty of trash didn't make the grade and now, it is much easier to see what is on there and it is just that much nicer to look at than the confusion that was on there previously.