Use Your Leftovers!

Sometimes, the leftover scraps from a project make the best ideas.

When we initially measured the mirrors for the glass display, they needed to be cut. We needed them to be 43″ to fit in the spot, and since they were so big, we took them to a glass store to be sure they didn’t break. Somehow, the 43″ was transcribed to be 48″, and we had to have them cut a second time. Math. I never even thought about the cut-offs – I was just thinking about the glass I needed.

The glass cutter gave me the four long cut-off strips that were 5-6 inches in width and said, “Here. You might be able to use these for something.”

Challenge accepted, Mr. Glass Cutting Mastermind. Challenge accepted.

It actually didn’t take to long to know what their purpose was meant to be. Let’s make a backsplash on the other side of the Butler’s Pantry!

Doug was on board, and we measured and spaced everything out, and it was perfect. Since these pieces of mirror were smaller, we could handle the cutting ourselves. Doug was a bit worried, because there really wasn’t extra glass – the cuts had to work the first time, or we would have to scrap the…. well…. scraps.

Doug did some test cuts, and used cutting oil and glass-cutting tools to make it easier. He’s cut glass before, but since we didn’t have room for error, practicing was a good idea. You can see that he was 3 of 4 with the test cuts. 100% with the real cuts, though!!!

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We laid out the pieces to figure out the cuts, and how they would work with the outlet. I wanted a long, subway-like pattern, so we had to make multiple cuts. LUCKILY, the measurements vertically worked out perfectly, and we didn’t need to make U-shaped cuts around the outlet.

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Doug snapped the cuts, and up went the first piece!

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Mirror mastic did the job perfectly.

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And, I mean, if I’m going to have a mirrored backsplash, I couldn’t have a plastic electrical cover. Do not over-tighten the screws!

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Two rows of backsplash. What a happy, un-planned design.

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To cover the top edge, Doug used the router to make a channel in a piece of egg-and-dart.

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Done!

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Again, so sparkly!

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I. Love.

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This is both my favorite mirrored self portrait, and the creepiest. And the soapstone veining is so much fun here.

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Also of note – this week, the app Timehop told me that two years ago this week, this is what the Butler’s Pantry looked like. I thought this might be a fun moment to take a look back!

January 2013 and January 2015 : The Front Wall

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January 2013 and January 2015 : The Back Wall

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There’s a whole house to go. But this is a really motivating space. We’ve made progress.

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4 comments

  1. As much fun as it is admiring all your fine work, one can only truly appreciate the wonder of what you have accomplished by being reminded of the BEFORE images! Wow!!!! Congrats!!!!

    I would like to clone you both and bring “you” to Kansas!

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