So, in a fit of energy the other night, I decided to finally get around to lining some of my cabinet shelves. This is a prime example of my ocd tendencies. You see, I’ve had these four rolls of cork shelf liner for nearly three years, and all of the sudden I just had to fix this cabinet. Now. It couldn’t wait. Never mind that it was 10:45 on a work night.
See, way back when mom and I first finished the cabinets, and they were finally ready to load, I wanted to line them with cork. Only I couldn’t find the stuff anywhere and had to order it. Then it took weeks to arrive, and I gave up. I layed out paper towels- supposedly a temporary measure- and put all my glasses and mugs where I thought they made sense.
Lewis gets confused sometimes because there are some glasses that I like to reserve for guests. About a year ago he requested that I put them on the top shelf, out of the way, so that’s just what I did. Never mind that this task has been in the back of my mind for ages, suddenly it was a top priority.
I got to work emptying the top shelf, wiped everything down with a damp cloth. It had a bit of fine wood-colored dust, although for the life of me, I can’t figure out where that may have come from. I gave it time to dry as I trimmed about an inch off the entire length of the roll of cork liner. Then I loaded all the guest glasses and infrequently used tins on the top shelf.
Rinse, lather, and repeat for the second and bottom shelves. Somehow, there is more room now. I guess I should have had a before picture to compare.
Snazzy, right?
I have one roll of cork liner left, so if I want to do any other shelves, I’ll likely need to get more. Does anyone know where I can get cork to use as liner that does not have the adhesive backing? Because I didn’t peel the paper off. I remember what a pain it was to peel off that old red and black contact paper when mom and I refinished the cabinets, and we went through way too much work to risk damaging the pained surfaces again.
Plus, what would that be like to peel away? Would it peel away? What happens to cork as it dries? I envisioned chiseling it off the shelves with a putty knife, coming off in little kernels. What a hassle. No thanks. I’ll just pick up the whole sheet when this wears out. Much easier. Not that that should happen anytime soon. I figure this cork will hold up for about 5 years.
Green Bungalow Craftworks 