Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

One of my favorite things about the mid-century era of design is the mixture of brass and wood. I know that characteristic isn’t specific or exclusive to 1950s/’60s design, but it’s just done so well during this particular period. So, when I saw the brass and wood box pictured below at a local antique mall, I couldn’t pass it up. It wasn’t marked as having any one purpose, but I knew I could come with a cool way to use it in our home. After thinking about it for a day or two, I ended up deciding to turn it into a spice rack.

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

Luckily, the box size was perfect to fit these inexpensive glass spice jars from Target. I picked them up for $20 from our local store, gave them a quick wash, and then impatiently waited for them to dry so I could fill them up with our most-used spices. I couldn’t fit all 12 jars in my vintage wood box, but I knew I could save the extras for other purposes, so into our cabinet they went! As I waited for the six jars I could use to dry, I got started making labels.

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

I’ve explained many times before that I’m actually not a big fan of label makers. Yes, they can be handy, but I don’t love the idea of having to store yet another only-occasionally-used electronic item in our house, and always having to keep extra ink cartridges on hand, too. So, instead I always make my own labels using the one everyday printer we do keep operable, plus a few other household supplies.

I start by typing up my labels on the computer, size them to fit whatever container I’m working with, and then I print them on regular old computer paper. I then cut the labels out, trim a piece of clear packing tape to fit over top of the label with a little extra room on each of the four sides, and then I press it in place. Easy as can be, and this method means I can avoid a clunky label maker entirely!

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

Once I had my clean, dry jars all labeled with our most-used spices, I could get to filling. As I said, I wasn’t able to fit all of our spices in this rack, so I just picked the ones we use every day, like onion and garlic powder, dill weed, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and an Italian spice mix.

One thing I had to deal with unexpectedly was the fact that the little frosted shaker tops (the part with holes in it) that came with the spice jars wouldn’t stay in place. As in, the minute I went to tip the jar over, the cap fell off and all the spice came out. Luckily I tested this over my hand first and not on food.

To fix that issue, I went through our spice drawer (pictured above) and stole six matching white screw-on covers to put over the shaker tops of my new spice jars. This kept the tops in place and left me with a matching set in the end. Just beware of that if you purchase the Target spice jars. It may take a little finagling to get them in good functioning order.

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

It has been so nice having this little collection of spices out on the counter for everyday use, and I love how they look all nestled into their vintage wood and brass box. Do you happen to know the real purpose of this mid-century item? If so, please tell us in the comments! I’d also love to know if you would have done something totally different with the box. Maybe turn it into a planter? Maybe to store jewelry or bathroom products? As a perfume bottle caddy? Let me know what you would have done.

Secondhand Score: Retro Box Spice Rack

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Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

**This post is sponsored by Beautifully Responsible® Resilient Flooring. All opinions are entirely my own.

It might surprise you to know that I don’t actually consider myself a perfectionist. Yes, I have certain standards when it comes to how I arrange and decorate a room, but my drawers aren’t perfectly organized, I’ve got lots of random things stuffed haphazardly into the back of our closet, and all over our house you’ll find abandoned old nail holes from art I’ve moved around. I also hate to dust, so don’t ever run your finger over our tabletops if you come visit!

My point is that when it comes to living in our home, I’m more interested in loving and enjoying the space rather than spending hours perfecting or overthinking every single surface. I want fabrics that hide pet hair, and bathroom tile that doesn’t show water spots. I want linen fabrics on our beds that are made to look good when wrinkled, and I also want to prioritize flooring that can stand up to whatever we throw at it without having to worry about water damage or getting it refinished down the line. I’d like to take a deeper dive into that last concept with a little help from my friends at Beautifully Responsible® Resilient Floors, who are the sponsors of today’s post.

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

You may remember that we had eco-friendly flooring installed in our family room back in 2016. The original old berber carpet we had inherited from the previous homeowners was completely shot by the time we moved in, so we ripped that up with the intention of putting down responsible resilient laminate flooring that was easier to maintain and better for the environment, too. When we ripped up the old carpet, we actually found an under layer of asbestos tile, which is about as “bad for you” as a person can get. We carefully removed all traces of that toxic tile, and finally had our eco-friendly laminate wood-look floors installed. We could officially breathe so much easier once this update was done—literally!

In case you’re new to the concept of resilient flooring, let me explain. You can actually learn a whole lot more about this product over on the Beautifully Responsible® website here, but generally this flooring category includes products that are made to last and that offer you and your family a safe environment to live in and physically walk around on. After our experience with the unexpected asbestos tile in our family room, we were so relieved to know that we (and our pets) could sit right down on our new laminate floors safely without worrying about coming into contact with harmful chemicals.

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

Of course, it wasn’t just about the “unseen” things when we chose our new responsible floors. We also wanted to make sure that we could avoid the obvious drawbacks of other more delicate flooring types—think: scratches from moving furniture around (a near-weekly occurrence at our house), pet stains, water marks, etc. We ultimately wanted to avoid having to deal with disruptive maintenance, like refinishing, down the line. Our 12 mm laminate flooring needs no water protection, and we didn’t have to worry about involving chemical sealers. We’ve been living well with these floors since the day they were installed, and haven’t had to do a thing to maintain them since.

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

It’s worth mentioning that the Beautifully Responsible® brand doesn’t actually make or sell resilient flooring. Their mission is to educate homeowners on the topic of responsible, sustainable floors, including laminate flooring, luxury vinyl tile, rubber, linoleum, and cork floors. In addition to education, they also serve as a resource for those of you looking to start a new flooring project. Click here to access the list of manufacturers who can help bring your project to life.

Visit BeautifullyResponsible.com to learn more, and shop resilient flooring made by Beautifully Responsible® manufacturers at your local flooring store or using this linked list of trusted partners. Now, I want to hear about your next flooring project! We’re actually about to take on some pretty major renovations ourselves (more on that coming soon), so I’m excited to start dreaming about our next responsible flooring upgrade. I’m thinking we’ll start in the bathroom…Which room could you stand to upgrade?

Prioritizing Beautifully Responsible® Flooring | dreamgreendiy.com + @ResponsibleFloors #ad #responsiblefloors #beautifullyresponsible

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