Be Careful What You Wish For..

Be careful what you wish for...

That's a saying I heard around my house often, growing up.

My beautiful mother was the eternal optimist, but she also had a very practical side.

And a great sense of humor.


So...when she wanted us to really consider the scope of what we were wishing for, that phrase was uttered in a serious tone.

When she thought our wants were a little nuts, she said it with a touch a sarcasm.

But more often than not, that idiom was followed by another phrase.

What if it's better than what you thought it would be? 

Ah...how I miss that glass is half full attitude of hers.

I wasn't really born with it.

Except when it comes to decor.

Now that's more like it...

Somehow, someway, I always have faith that things will work out. And perhaps be even better than my original design vision.

Like that new farmhouse sink and the addition of that trim piece I shared last week.

I didn't even flinch when my contractor told me that there was a hole that needed to be filled.

Neither the installation instructions, nor any of the videos I watched mentioned that might be a possibility.

However, our sink base cabinet is old. Maybe they're made differently today, but back in the early 2000s, above the cabinet doors, there was a panel that just popped out...for what reason, I don't know.

All I did know, was that he needed to fill the gap with a small piece of wood.

Just paint it, he said...but as soon as I saw it, I knew that wasn't going to work. Instead, I pictured an ornate piece of trim dressing up the space.


Of course, I'm not a power tool girl. I leave that to my husband...and you may remember, when I asked him when he could install the sink that was sitting on our kitchen floor. In a box. He said, October.

That's when I called the contractor.

But. The contractor wasn't going to do what I wanted with that trim piece. It would be too involved.

You see, I'm not a cookie cutter kind of decorator.

My ideas are often a little out of the box, occasionally complicated and very specific. And, so far, the only person who will actually work with me, to achieve exactly what I want, is my husband.

So while I knew I had a few months of waiting, I figured I could at least find the proper moulding.

You know. In case he had some free time...or it rained.

I mean, it was April.

And good thing I was prepared, because one weekend, it poured!

I'd brought several choices home with me from Home Depot...where, by the way, I was actually accused of trying to steal one of them on the self checkout line.

Yup. I was standing at the register, swiping my credit card, after scanning 3 pieces of 8 foot long wooden trim, when the associate came over and said I had 4 pieces and I only scanned 3. When I told her that I only had 3 she said - very loudly - NO. MA'AM. YOU HAVE 4...and then proceeded to count them - one by one - as if I were a kindergartener, again very loudly, in a very crowded checkout area.

ONE. TWO. THREE...oh. You only have three. That part she said in a much softer tone. Go figure. Then she just walked away. I wanted to say something, but my kids have warned me about making a scene in public. So rather then being humiliated twice - once in the store and once on someone's TikTok - I took my wood and left.

Anyway, after that fun experience, I chose this one.


I thought it fit my cottage style vibe.

Adding Wood Trim By Fastening It From Behind

Ok, here's where the tricky part comes in. The moulding wasn't thick, so the trim piece wasn't going to be flush with the sink or the skirted cabinet doors below and that didn't sit well with me.

It required my husband to first find and then cut a second piece of wood that would help fatten it up, to fill that gap.

Back to Home Depot we went and thankfully this time we paid and left without any humiliation or accusations whatsoever.


When we got back home, he cut both pieces of trim and glued them together.

To help the glue set properly, he taped them up and left them overnight to dry.


The next morning, he filled the tiny gaps on each end that remained.


To do that, he added two small pieces of wood cut to size. 


Once that was done, he used a very fine brush to paint the entire piece with two coats of high gloss white enamel paint and primer combination so it would mimic the finish on the sink.


Since the trim was very ornate and we didn't want to ruin the pretty pattern with finishing nails, or glue it into place...that's messy and not really strong enough in a high use area.

Instead, my husband devised a way to attach it from the back.

He's so smart.

First, he flipped the trim piece over and drilled three holes in the back to add threaded inserts.


Then he drilled three holes in the face of the cabinet so he could screw the trim piece under the sink from behind.


Leaving nothing on display but a lovely pattern that looks as if it was part of the original sink design.


Without any interruption in that charming addition from finishing nails. 

Just a simple fix that actually made the sink look even better.


And since we didn't glue it on, we have the ability to remove it easily if I ever wish to...

But I don't really see that happening.

Do you? 

😉

Happy DIYing, Friends!