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This bathroom was gutted and remodeled in 2012 and at that time I decided not to install cabinets on the back wall. It seemed like a good space to add a personal touch with a fun piece of furniture. 

Early on I found the perfect mid-century modern cabinet for the space. It was the right length, fairly narrow, and the right height. Unfortunately, it was a MCM piece that looked nice, but was not made of solid wood. 

I used it many years, but over time, one of the legs quit holding making it unusable. I moved an old cedar chest into the space for a while, but is was really too large for the space.

I was ready for something new that would better fit the space. Taking inspiration from a post from DIY Huntress, I decided a wall-hung cabinet would be perfect for the space.

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For the past three years, the view out Steph's living room windows has been of a two-ladder plant stand we build and installed in the space. We've gotten used to the view and couldn't imagine not having the ladder plant stand out there.

But a few months ago we noticed there was a lot of deterioration in the wood. In fact, so much so that it was in danger of falling over. We decided to take it down and replace it with, wait for it...another two-ladder plant stand!

This time, we are making our own ladders out of pressure treated wood which should stand up better to our Florida weather. 

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There is an awkward space above the bar at Steph's house. We've addressed the weird openings above it, but not the awkward wall space itself. We are taking care of that in this post.

The awkward space will now be a focal point in the room with the addition of a Nanoleaf panels. Don't know that those are, read on!

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Many homeowners are not aware, but smoke detectors have an expiration date. Smoke detector companies state that they are good for ten years starting with the manufacturing date, NOT the install date.

With that fact in mind, you can see that Steph was loooooooong overdue to replace the smoke detectors at her house. She's been in her house nine years, but who knows when the detectors were changed out before that.

Because of the difficulty and frustration I've had with the wired detectors at my house, she wanted something a little more high tech and more frustration free. Those at my house beep when the backup batteries need changing, but it's trial and error to find out when one is problematic. Uggg!

After much research, she settled on the smart smoke detector Google Nest Protect. Here's how the install went. 

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After nine years of use, the handle on Steph's front door was starting to show wear on the finish. It wasn't looking so good and Steph was ready to replace it!