At Christmas, last year, we had a blizzard that dropped a record snowfall. They called it Goliath and I shared several posts about it back then. After 20 days, we were still fighting the snow, but DH fought his way to the pavement and brought home a new hot water heater.
And before long we were back in business:
I'm very thankful that DH is so handy and I'm very thankful that the hot water heater didn't go out when I had a house full of company!
While DH was in town, I moved the fridge and cleaned. It wasn't too bad, but it sure felt good to get that floor really good and clean. Our hot water heater sits in the corner of our kitchen which is already tiny. I haven't a clue as to why it was ever even installed there in the first place, but I'm thankful I have one so I won't fuss about it. This is an old ranch house and I'm sure that back in the day, a hot water heater was quite the deal. Maybe they wanted it in the kitchen so that everyone could marvel at it. I've been without hot water enough to not take it for granted. However, I don't particularly like looking at it all the time. It's squished into a corner and I've been on the lookout for a way to camouflage it for years. DH said we could build a box around it, but it would be kind of a pain if we needed quick access to it. I had a screen in mind, but the space is narrow and a regular sized screen wouldn't fit. I've got a huge fridge on one side and a cabinet a local woodworker built for me on the other.
Fast forward 10 months. As fast as this year has zipped by, that's not much of an exaggeration. But the other day, when I was in town I stopped by the antique-junk-treasure store that I like to pop into every now and then and spotted some shutters that I was pretty sure would fit that space nicely. They are actually 2 sets. one shorter than the other, but stacked on top of each other, they are just the right height. I didn't want anything taller because that would only make my already tiny kitchen feel even smaller. There are 3 panels and each panel is just 9" wide and that makes for a perfect fit.
I still need to paw through a box of odds and ends and come up with a couple of braces in order to stabilize the top and bottom together, but I'm happy with the end result. I just started pulling out Christmas decorations 2 days after I brought home the screen:
My kitchen may be little, but I like it and I've managed to cook a lot of meals in it. Sure a 6-burner stove and double ovens would be nice, but this tiny space has kept my family well fed and happy for many years. I did have my eye on one of those wrought iron pot racks that hangs from the ceiling at one point since cabinet space is at a premium here and I love...and use...my cast iron all the time, but I'm fairly certain the entire ceiling would come crashing down if I did that and as handy as DH is, I'm betting that replacing the ceiling isn't something he'd be too keen on tackling. :)
I'm a simple girl and hiding the hot water heater this way keeps me from singing the hot water heater blues and it only took 11 years to find a solution. :)
12 comments:
Looks like a great solution to me Karin! Your snowmen look happy there too, although maybe it will get too warm for them ;) LOL
WaHoo! You were in the right place at the right time to find a perfect solution. Well done.
A very clever solution--and I like your attitude. Things may not be perfect, but we should still be grateful for what we have!
Very clever and pretty and useful to hold things!
I love it!!
What a perfect solution. Your little snowmen are happy with it too!! It's their little bit of snow inside the warm house.
You're a very clever gal! I remember my grandfathers water heater, also in his kitchen,(right by his potbellied wood stove) notice I say "his" because my grandmother was an artist, musician and church goes who couldn't even make jello. Papa was a physician who loved to get up early and fix breakfast. The water heater was also in the kitchen, a gas model and he had to light it every morning. No thermostat so everyone in the household had to frequently "rub" their hands along the outside to see how high in the tank the heated water was and turn the gas down or off when the top of the tank was hot. My how water heaters have evolved and changed for the better! When I married Ken, a bachelor of 23 years, the home he had built for himself had (has) a 12 gallon heater, controlled by a light switch in the kitchen. When he needed hot water to shower or wash dishes, he turned it on. Turned off when not needed. Made sense to me since a water heater requires more power than any other appliance in the house. I thought then and still think it's a smart idea. I'm too long winded this morning, sorry.
Very cute idea. You can change the decorations with the seasons and have an instant makeover. Clever girl! just shows all things come to those who wait!
I too think this is a clever idea. Most of us have to do this type of things.
What a clever solution! It looks like all your commenters agree on that.
My very first house in 1960 --the house was ollld in 1960-- had a water heater sitting right beside the cook stove. There was a doorway on the other side of the stove. I've always wondered about the women who cooked in that little kitchen over the years. Were they happy with it? But, you know what? I loved that little kitchen. I'm glad you have a working heater and the clever solution to decorate it.
Blessings!
How perfect!!! and yay for handy husbands!!! Mine just fixed the pilot light on my heater - which is handy to have during winter - ha ha!! I LOVE the way you decorated it!!!
Those hot water heaters can be an eye sore, can't they? I've never come up with anything as creative your snowmen idea, but I'm going to need to because my hot water heater's location has been bugging me for a long time! I have earthy wood walls, so I was thinking of going with something a bit more rustic. Reindeer maybe?
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