Not every DIY project always has to be huge and game changing. I’m not building sheds or redoing a bathroom every week. Usually I’m doing small one day projects like fixing the things that the kids break or routine house maintenance. Lately I’ve been going around my house and finding small projects to do that tie up loose ends or just generally make day to day living better for us.
One thing that has bugged me for years is my desk. About 12 years ago I built my giant desk for my home office. It’s a few 4’x8′ MDF boards glued together and covered with formica and those sit on two small cabinets. I it with the giant desktop surface because back in the early 2000s, I had a monster of a CRT monitor. It was like 25″ or something and it weighed about 70 pounds. People today don’t know how lucky they have it with flat screens. So with this big monitor I needed a big desk.
Now the cabinets are open with no drawers or doors and I put a storage box in each. It looks cool and it was quick and easy to make. I’d just finished the basement and was anxious to start using some of this space for my home office. Quick and easy was the goal with this desk and it worked out. But I never got around to making the kick plates for the cabinets so underneath them was always open. It bothered me because I didn’t paint that spot and I thought it always looked unfinished. Well for 12 years it’s been bugging me so I finally did something about it.
This project only took about an hour or so to finish but gives me great satisfaction because I finally got to check it off my list. I measured and cut and painted and was done. It’s totally something that no one else would notice except me but I’m glad I did it anyway.
Now one thing that was special about this project is that I didn’t secure the kick plates to the cabinet. You see for all of those years I’ve grown used to storing things underneath. So I wanted removable kicks plates. this is done easily because the cabinets rest on carpet. I created an insert that matched the dimensions of the space under the cabinet and with the help of the springy carpet, they lock into place. Well not really lock but they do fit snuggly in there. and even when I pull the storage box out, the kicks plates stay in place.
So you see that not every project has to involve 2x4s or a backhoe or take a lot of time. Sometimes small projects make a big difference.