We Built A Shelf!
I have lived with Jacob for about four years now, and I never noticed – or was bothered by – the gap between the stove and the wall. Recently, I received a starter set of Le Creuset cookware as my Quarantine Present (trust me – it’s a thing) and I tried to put the 6-piece utensil set next to the stove. That’s when I realized that there’s a gaping hole on the side of the stove – about 4 inches! – that might cause me to lose a precious Le Creuset utensil! I can’t (afford to) have that happen!!! So, we started to look for ways to block that gap and Jacob put his oatmeal container there which, I must say, fit perfectly. But I don’t want oatmeal on the counter – that’s the space where my cooking utensils go!!! So, off to Google we went to see if something exists that could cover that gap.
From searching “how do I cover the hole between my stove and the wall” to “3-inch gap from stove to wall,” I came across some images that showed a shelf exists that can cover that gap! I was thrilled!!! I immediately started thinking of ways to get that shelf in my house and, I figured, three pieces of wood put together?! That’s easy! And, hey – I have a friend who loves DIY! Who might that be? “It’s Jess!” (If you don’t know that’s from New Girl, I don’t know what to tell you…) So, I texted her and she – with the help of Pinterest – came up with the best way to make it happen! Next thing you know, I’m at Lowe’s buying a 2x8 (which, FYI, it’s not 2x8. It’s more like 1.5x7.5, but I guess everyone ignores that fact) and having it cut to the measurements to fit around my stove!
When Jess said it would be a simple thing to put together, I figured she was going to do it herself, but turns out, she was giving me all the information so that I could do it – WHAT?! I guess I was getting this shelf done myself – whoa! Okay, so the first step (before I went to Lowe’s actually) was to measure the area around the stove. Jacob took care of that and he even made sure to account for the backsplash that goes up on the side of the stove. We wrote everything down and were ready to get this DIY business started!
Let me say here that one of the things that Jess sent me when we were still brainstorming was a link to an Etsy shop who sells the shelf already made to fit around your stove - you just send them your measurements and pay $29 (plus shipping) and you get your shelf. TA DAH! No need to buy wood, cut it, get sawdust on you, stain the wood, get a sunburn (ahem, ahem, Jacob), put a clear coat on the shelf, and waste lots of wait time in between. But did we go with that option? Of course not! We’re masochists in this household, I guess – insert eye roll emoji here – so we had to make it ourselves. I don’t believe the Etsy option accounted for the little lip of the backsplash that Jacob measured for our shelf to fit perfectly, so I’m actually rather happy we didn’t go with that option after all.
Once we got the wood and had it cut in the three sizes we needed, the next step was to actually get the shelf done. Did we have all the tools required? No, we didn’t. But Jess did! And she was kind enough to let us use her tools to build our shelf. We were able to cut the little lip for the backsplash with her circular saw and finish it off with her jigsaw. We sanded the wood with her orbital sander (I did most of that, #ThankYouVeryMuch) and we stained the wood with a nice gray finish. The last thing we did was put a Polycrylic finish and waited “24 hours before normal use” and then it was done and set in its final resting place – around the stove to cover the gap!
Was it better than paying $29 and having someone on Etsy mail us one already made? Eh… I don’t know about that. It was a lot of work for me since I don’t do a lot of DIY (hello, where’s Gor or Ron to do all my DIY anyway?!) And besides, would the people at Etsy have done the little lip for the backsplash to make it fit perfect like ours does?! I don’t know about that either! But does it feel amazing to look at it and say, “Hey, we fucking built that shit our damn selves?!” YOU’RE FUCKING RIGHT IT DOES!
Today I am very happy to announce that the gap between the stove and the wall is blocked by our beautiful DIY shelf that WE made and not only does it fit amazingly, but it looks great and matches the counters perfectly! And now, my Le Creuset utensil set can be next to the stove and I’m not worried it’s going to fall into the unknown behind the stove never to be seen again. All is well in my world!
Oh, and the only thing that’s allowed to go on top of it is the salt and pepper. That is it.