An American in Provence

This past weekend we bought some supplies from Leroi Merlin to build our own shelves in our kitchen. We couldn't find anything from stores, like Ikea, that we really liked. So we bought two wooden planks that match our table (and will match our countertop once we actually get around to installing more plugs, changing the plumbing, buying a dishwasher, installing the sink, and cutting the countertop- that is Alain's August project). We also bought 4 wooden shelf supports, some "Ni clou ni vise" glue that is supposed to be able to hold up to 100 kg/cm2- Alain didn't want to put holes in the wall. Also bought some white paint for wood. So for our super economique custom shelves we spent:

Each shelf: 12€ (times two)

Each wooden support: 5€ (times four)

White paint: 50€ (though we will be using the rest of this for our doors)

Varnish to protect the shelves: 15€ (this required a second trip to Bricorama Saturday night)

Glue: 10€

Wow: 120€ for two measly shelves. They had better stay up.

Anyway, Saturday night I painted the wooden supports white (3 coats) and varnished the shelves (2 coats each).

Sunday morning we measured where we wanted them exactly, then had to sand the area for better adhesion. We glued the first two, let them dry, then the other two in the evening. We had to wait 48 hours before putting anything on the supports.

I think it looks pretty good.

Still not finished yet though.

Alain also put up a towel rack I had bought and finished the decorative border at the top of the cabinets.

Here is my first post about our kitchen

And after we painted and put up the cabinets

We have come a long way!