The cabinet under the sink.
Mine was looking pretty scary. Some pipes were incorrectly installed when we moved in and we had a lot of water leaking under there, so there was damage. And it was ugly.
It’s also the place I tend to shove things that I should probably just throw away.
It’s been bugging me for months now, but I’ve just been squinting my eyes as I grab the dishwasher soap and pretending the mess doesn’t exist.
To prevent water damage to our new wood floors, I caulked around the edges of the cabinet, then painted two layers of latex paint on the cabinet floor and about six inches up onto the wall.
Hopefully this will keep any future water leaks from running in the cracks and onto our floors.
Can I just point out the awful condition of our cabinets? These close-ups make it really obvious why we are going to be refinishing them.
I added shelf liner for the cute factor and because it’s easy to wipe up if anything spills in there. You think shelf paper is easy, but it can turn into a stuck-to-itself mess in a hot minute. So here are my tips for applying shelf paper: cut it to size with the backing still on. Peel away a small section and stick it down along one edge. Then slowly pull the paper off of the back while you rub the top with a towel to stick it down. This is the best method I’ve found to keep you from getting bubbles or creases.
I also installed a DIY garbage bag dispenser. To make it, I screwed two curtain brackets into the wall of the cabinet. I stuck a wooden dowel through the center of the garbage bag roll, then set it in the curtain brackets. Talk about easy! I am just kicking myself for not doing this sooner. It is so much nicer than digging around to find the roll, then having to fumble with it to get a bag off.
I considered adding a pull-out tray on the left-hand side, but in the end, I figured a basket would be less expensive and serve the same purpose. Who knows. Maybe I will end up buying a pull-out tray down the road. I do know that having my cleaners all corralled in a basket has been SO much nicer.
Here’s a little side-by-side comparison:
Okay, it’s nothing earth shattering. But the change FEELS amazing. The ick factor is gone and this storage space functions so much better now!
Now, who wants to come over and help me paint the cabinets?!?
Comments & Reviews
Great idea on the rubbish bag roll!
Thank you, Vallisa! It is very handy!
Holy cow! I thought you'd found a picture of my sink cabinet! 🙂 You've inspired me to do something with my ugly mess! Thank you 🙂
Haha, Tonya. You made me laugh! Glad I'm not the only one… get it done. It feels great!
Love the idea for the trash bags. Our sink gets crazy messed up quickly too, I think it needs some organization.
What a great idea!! Being able to have your items in a place where you can find them is a great thing!! I love how it's extra storage space, as well!
I'm tempted to paint the whole inside of the cabinet white. It might hide the pipes, and there is so much white in there, it might kind of blend everything together? Or maybe it would just make the garbage disposal *very* obvious, haha.
Yes, I thought about painting the entire cabinet, but it was kind of hard to reach around the pipes and into the corners, so laziness won out for me. 😉
Looks great!! I love using shelf liner! Our cabinets and drawers in the whole house were pretty sad when we moved in so we lined all of them. And it almost made them feel new!