Necessity ...The Mother of Invention

Last weekend's project was installing medicine cabinets in the Master bathroom. I got so tired of the ever-growing mess on the counter tops that I ran to Home Depot and was back in less than an hour with two wall-mount wooden cabinets and an insane assortment of washers and mollie screws. The job would have been easy if I had five hands!

After rolling his eyes when he saw the size of the boxes I had dragged up to the bathroom, DH agreed to help. (Football game? What football game?)) After almost completely destroying the bathroom, arguing over placement, and losing one of the screws, we stood back to admire our work as the first cabinet was firmly mounted to the wall. Perfect! Now all we had to do was  close the door on that part of the bathroom to contain the sawdust and get to work on the second cabinet for my dressing area just beyond. Nothing to it!

It was only as I tried to pull the door closed and it refused to budge that I realized that the place I had convinced DH was perfect for cabinet #1 was not so perfect...we had screwed the cabinet through the sheetrock and into the pocket door! Now not only was the cabinet not going anywhere...the door wasn't either. We had screwed it permanently open.

After a few of those dreaded "test of our marriage" moments, and another hour of sweat and mess, the job was finally done. Both cabinets were firmly mounted to their respective walls and my fingers tingled with anticipation of the fun part...organizing them (those of you who share my OCD-like love of arranging household objects will understand).

Once the cabinet on my side was up, I realized that the wall-mounted jewelry rack that had previously filled the wall by my sink would not fit anywhere else in the bathroom.  And the space I had left was awkward and tiny. What to do with all those earrings? Since my latest mantra is "Don't buy more...Use what you have", here's what I came up with...

This little project took only five minutes and cost nothing...right up my alley! I found an old mother of pearl belt buckle in my sewing stash, attached a length of vintage lace by its prongs, and had myself the perfect earring hanger. It fits the space and does the job perfectly.

Maybe necessity really is the Mother of Invention. Now all that's left is to spackle and paint those huge tiny little screw holes in the pocket door!

This post is linked to:

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Show & tell Friday at My Romantic Home