Welcome to the 830th Metamorphosis Monday! Eager to get this partially assembled cabinet out of my living room, I spent most of the day on Friday finishing it up. Once assembled, it ended up being two large, heavy pieces. The top half was incredibly heavy! As soon as I reached the part where the top section had to be placed atop the bottom half, I knew I was going to need help getting that done.
I still need to share my U-haul adventure with you because if I can drive a U-haul truck all the way from Georgia to Ohio, anyone can. I do need to write a post about that trip because I gained some helpful knowledge/tips through that experience, one being that you can easily hire movers online at 10:00 at night who will show up at your front door first thing the next day. Ordering movers via U-haul is easier than ordering take-0ut via DoorDash! I promise to share more on that very soon, it’s one of my most favorite and best finds of the year!
So how does the cabinet look and work here on the porch?
I placed the cabinet against the wall that’s on the right as you walk out onto the porch from the living room. I was happy to see there was still plenty of room to pass in front of it when entering onto the porch.
Here’s how it looks on the porch. When this photo was taken, the only things inside the cabinet were goodies for making hot chocolate, a hot chocolate pot with its frother, and 6 mugs. Currently, my DIY Hot Cocoa sign is leaning against the wall in the corner, patiently waiting to be hung.
My plans are to hang it on the wall there just above the table.
You’ll find a DIY tutorial for making a Hot Cocoa sign here: Make a Hot Cocoa Sign.
I discovered two large screws in the brick wall where the cabinet is now and removed them before the cabinet was placed against that wall.
I saved them in case they can be used to hang the Hot Cocoa sign. I think I’ll need a hammer drill for that. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth purchasing one just to hang this one sign, or if I should hire a handyman to help me with that. That will probably end up being a project for January.
Not sure what I’ll store in this cabinet, maybe dinnerware that feels suited for a sunporch. I may end up storing my small collection of cookbooks out here, too. I have a shelf full back home in Georgia. I tend to do more cooking here than I do there, so I need to bring the cookbooks up on my next trip this way.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, dear Friends! Oh, if you’re looking for a fun, easy-to-make breakfast for your children/grandchildren on Christmas morning, check out this post: Reindeer Pancakes for Christmas morning. Pssst: The adults love it, too. 🙂 Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters linked for this week’s Met Monday!
Pssst: Did you know Between Naps On The Porch is on Instagram? You’ll find me on Instagram here: Between Naps On The Porch. Like to know when a new blog post is up? Subscribe for email updates (it’s free) and your e-mail will never be shared. Subscribe for free post updates here: Subscribe.
Metamorphosis Monday: Metamorphosis Monday is a party that’s all about Before and Afters. Please link up your Before and After projects like DIY projects, room makeovers, craft projects even recipes. Please do not link up Table Settings, save those for our Tablescape Thursday party on Thursday. If you are participating in Met Monday, you’ll need to link your post to the party using the “permalink” to your MM post and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on the name of your post, then copy and paste the address that shows in the address bar at the top of your blog, into the “url” box for InLinkz when prompted.
It’s a pretty cabinet, Susan. I’m glad it worked in that spot. I can’t even see any damaged areas, so they must be minor. Can’t wait to see what you do with it. That top is crying out for something pretty, it seems to me. 😀 So many fun possibilities.
In an earlier post, you mentioned not being happy with the painted walls. Have you thought about what you might do about that? Maybe just a different color? Or maybe sand some spots off so it looks like your outside brick? Having a whole other house to play with is so much fun! Of course, it’s a lot of decision making and work, as well. I know you’ll come up with some great ideas for the cabinet and the room as a whole. Now I’m going to go look up what a hammer drill is. :p Hmm ….
Merry Christmas, Susan.
Funny story, every time I go out onto the porch, I smell a weird smell that I finally decided smells like fresh paint. Last night, when my grandsons were here, we walked out on the sunporch and my oldest grandson who is 10 going on 25 and never misses a thing, said, “It smells like paint out here.” I can see places where the paint is peeling off in pretty large sheets, or trying to. I think they must have painted it right before putting the house on the market, probably because it was looking so bad. I really, really wonder how the brick looks underneath.
I’ll have to hire a painter to see about stripping all that paint, no telling how many layers are under there, but I think it’s a lot. I’d also like to get rid of the tile floor which feels so bland and out of place out there. I’d love a brick floor, but if the walls are brick, maybe it would be good to strip all of the paint and then apply a white wash or German schmear. I have a feeling all of that will be very expensive, and the entire interior of the home needs to be painted, so it’s way, way, way at the bottom of the priority list. My heart yearns for plantation shutters first. Oh, and the exterior needs to be pressure washed and painted and the roof needs to be soft washed like I did with the roof in Georgia. A lot of maintenance is ahead for this house.
You never cease to amaze & inspire me, Susan. Great save on the cabinet—looks perfect there!! You probably won’t need a hammer drill, but rather just a masonry bit for you Dewalt drill. That has worked for me in brick & even concrete basement walls!
Merry Christmas! Enjoy your family!
Thanks for that tip, Merri Jo! That would be a lot less expensive, I bet.
Merry Christmas!
XXX
Susan, I always like your choices! That piece looks great on your sunporch. I am in cabinet assembly envy-lol! Merry Christmas to you and yours. Enjoy your 1st Christmas in the Dollhouse.
Susan,
The cabinet looks great! We are in Smyrna at our son’s home for the holidays and would love to meet you for coffee but you are in Ohio! Is the French bakery still open in Marietta? One of these days
Have a wonderful holiday with your family. Merry Christmas
Cheering you on from Texas!
It’s like a Christmas gift to yourself.
Merry Christmas and a damage-free delivery 2025
Wow – it DOES look great there! It reminds me of your porch in GA – that one has a lovely cabinet too. I can’t wait to see how you finish decorating it! Hope you’re having a great holiday with family. Thanks so much for hosting the party, and Merry Christmas!
Your sunporch is looking great. What a great extra space. Those cabinets will be so handy. Have a wonderful Christmas, Susan.
What great luck that the cabinet fit in the porch! You need to go buy a lottery ticket now 😉 German schmear is sooo pretty. Do you think a brick clip would work to temporarily hang your sign or is there too many layers of paint on the bricks for it to grab on. We’re getting ready to update a bathroom after Christmas and we’re going to use LVT floating floor so that we don’t have to break up the ugly tile that’s already there. That might be a possibility for the porch floor? Anyway, have a very Merry Christmas!
Command Hooks might work for the sign on the brick. They make some heavy duty ones now. Your sun porch looks amazing … as usual!
Merry Christmas!
Hi Susan, the cabinet looks nice on the sun porch. Merry Christmas to you and your son and daughter in law and your sweet grandsons.
Your hot chocolate bar looks delicious! If you have a coffee maker that uses pods you can buy hot chocolate pods, or tea. We have one set up in our nook and the grandkids love to use it along with the stand-up popcorn maker.
The hutch is perfect for the spot! Once styled the room will be a great place to hang out. I think keeping your porch painted a bright color will make it more inviting. Someone probably painted latex over oil and that’s why it’s peeling. Temperature and humidity can exacerbate the problem. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I just signed a contract to have my kitchen cabinets refaced and two pantry closets built in an empty corner. I actually like your cabinet better than what I just hired a contractor to do. I am in awe of all that you do. I’d never be able to put that cabinet together. I’d have to hire someone, and it probably would end up costing as much as what the contractor is charging for two new pantry cabinets. But I do like yours better. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a happy 2025.
Wow. So did you get movers to lift that top onto the bottom? Were the dings visible?. Looks like you moved the mercury glass lamp out there.
Putting together furniture is not my favorite thing and I don’t know if I could put the hinges together. I have my own U Haul “adventures in moving” over the years. Ugh.
Merry Christmas to all of you.
The dings ended up at the bottom so they aren’t very noticable. The biggest issue I had was one of the handles didn’t have the holes in back drilled out deep enough, so the screw that you use to hold it on wouldn’t go into the handle far enough. They didn’t include any extras so I thought I was going to have to buy all new handles. I finally, using the fattest screw in the bunch, was able to get it to just go in far enough to hold the handle on.
Yes, I hired movers to place the top on the bottom. I need to share how I hired them in a future post.
I have a dollhouse back home, I should bring it here. lol 🙂 You can see it in this post: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/a-christmas-table-a-green-woody-wagon-bringing-home-the-tree/
You do know you’re quite amazing…just LOOK at what you have, especially just recently, accomplished!! Are you ready for that “Winter’s nap??” Here’s to the NEW YEAR!! franki
Susan, I wanted to update you on the “Nearly Naked Popcorn.” I used to find huge bags at Costco for around $7.00. I fell in love with it. They quit carrying it, so I looked for it in stores (grocery, TJX, Ross, etc.). It was hit-and-miss. I contacted the manufacturer in Flordia and got it directly from them until they sold it to a company from Carson, California. The price then went astronomical. On Amazon it is now over $6.00 for one ounce. I can, but I will not pay it. I guess it is time to do some taste tests and research on popcorn. I’m sorry I mislead you.
You didn’t mislead me, don’t worry about that. It is really good! I like the smaller bags that I bought since they will be great when my grandsons are over. If you do find it for a better price, let me know. If the company charges so much, they will eventually go out of business if people are not buying it. So strange that they raised the price that much.
Susan,
It looks fantastic there…
Merry Christmas!!!
Thanks so much for hosting!! I really appreciate the time and effort that goes into it along with visiting all the links!! I hope you are enjoying your week and you are doing well…
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-Dabble Blog
Those reindeer pancakes! I am putting in my order right now (to my personal chef )
Merry–and warm, cozy–Christmas to you and yours!
Wishing you and family A MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I love the cabinet there. You will find so many ways to stage it. Great idea to use it on the Porch. I love your idea for sanding off some of the paint from the brick, that would look amazing and your Plantation Shutters will definitely make this Porch so warm and cozy.
Looking forward to all the things you do here and all over your Dollhouse.