The Shelves

Well, it seems I have already gone awry in keeping this blog updated; my apologies!  I had no idea it was something people were actually seriously reading until I received multiple messages from followers, wondering why I hadn't been posting!

Since my previous post, my grandmother has passed away, and I have also moved on to a new full-time job, so things have not been...well...normal...whatever that is!  Here's to getting back to my own kind of normal.  Hmmm..."My Own Kind of Normal."  That sounds like a good post for another day!

However, in this particular post, I'd like to blog about shelves.  You know...shelves.  You can build them or buy them ready-made.  You hang them on the wall or set them in the corner to show off your displayables.  Maybe you even install them in your closet for more organization.  Good ol' shelves.

Ever since we moved to our new place, my husband and I have been agonizing over what to do with the large, blank wall above the TV in our living room.  Well...maybe not agonzing.  But it has been the topic of quite a few conversations.

Here's the deal:  we have a lovely espresso-finish TV stand with burnished silver hardware, and a TV that sits atop said stand.  (Notice the detail on the TV is a bit more lacking than the detail on the stand.  I don't know what brand the TV is...it's black.  I don't know what size the TV is...it's big...and it's flat.  I certainly don't know if it's high def, LCD, 3D or whatever else is out there now.  It's a TV.  And this is a blog called "The Road to Domestication."  No one reading this really cares about the TV.)

What we care about is the wall above the TV.  The enormous white space that looms above the appliance, so that at every commercial of whatever show I'm viewing, my mind repeatedly asks, "What it in the world am I gonna do on that wall?"

Perhaps a mirror.  No, that would be far too reflective.  I don't want to catch a glimpse of myself getting up from the couch every single day.

A very nice painting.  No, it would be far too difficult to find a painting that wasn't too busy and looked appropriate for the space.  I've searched for the perfect painting before, and I don't care to repeat the experience.

A collage of metal hardware.  (You know, you've seen them, you may even have some.  The black swirly metal ring with the tealight candle holders...)  Visions of setting something on fire enter my mind at this point...no, that won't do, either.

As we explored through Bed, Bath & Beyond last weekend (a fabulous store, by the way) my husband discovered a shelf that seemed to be several shadow boxes connected together - a symmetrical art piece of sorts.  Same espresso finish as the TV stand.

"Here!" he exclaimed.  "This is for above the TV!"

I studied it.

"I think it's too small for that wall, baby..." I eased, trying not to deny the idea...but it really WAS too small for the wall.

"Then let's get two!" he enthused.

Well, that right there just might work.  I eyed, and studied, and stacked the shelves in various formats so I could get a general idea.

"Okay, I like it!  Let's do it!"

The RedBox rental that was planned for the evening was quickly discarded, as my husband's main thought became, "Let's get these shelves put up!"

Back at home, he puts the shelves together in no time, grabs a measuring tape, a pencil, the hardware that came with the shelves, and prepares to hang the long-awaited wall decor.

Only...well...neither my husband nor myself are the handiest folks in the world.  We love the idea of home projects, we really enjoy the television shows about said projects, and we pray for the day when our ideas and plans will actually make sense.

Well, it hasn't happened yet!

The shelves were not hung that evening.  Several pencil marks were left on the wall.  A very long discussion over how a plastic wall anchor should be installed languished well into the evening.  A very frustrated hubby stormed out the door to "take a walk" and "cool off" and "get away from these stupid shelves!!!"  Project = on hold.

The next afternoon, since my admonishing and instructing had gotten me absolutely NOWHERE the night before, I ended up with my Kindle in the bedroom, while listening to various drilling, hammering and muttering/huffing noises coming from the living room.  Again, the shelves were not hung.  Again, an angry storm out the door to "get away from these stupid shelves!!!"  Project = pending.

To be fair, this was not at all an easy project.  If not hung exactly right, the shelves would clearly appear crooked, not to mention having to line them up symmetrically with each other, and the fact that the brackets on the back of the shelves weren't even visible from the front side.  Quite difficult it was indeed.

Before I knew it, my in-laws were on their way to save the day!  I myself went to WalMart for some desperately-needed Garden Center therapy.  By the time I arrived home, the shelves were up!  Fantastic!!!

Today, the shelves look quite nice.  They give quite the flair to the wall, and to the room as a whole.  I'm quite glad we purchased them and hung...er...asked someone else to come hang them.

And do you know what my husband is now asking?  "Hey, what are we going to do with the far corner of the living room?  It needs something..."

Oh dear Lord...