As you may recall from a few weeks back, I shared a little teaser about the most epic cat climber coming soon to a dining room near you....well, near me. Since it's my dining room. Contracted and built by my daddy- master of the shelf. I am certain that if you can describe it, he can build it.
I am happy to report that the 'Kitty Korner' is Komplete (see what I did there) and it is indeed as EPIC as I could ever have dreamed. Oh, and Mosie loves it too 😻.
This project was more than a year in the making starting with a vision in my dreams. Originally, I was going to put it in my living room - just 4 shelves for climbing.
Over time, the plan evolved and I focused on a lovely corner space in the dining room. It was perfect...out of view as you first enter the house so as to not overpower guests with the fact that I LOVE MY KITTY. Like a lot. Then as you get a little closer, BOOM. Cat Tower. But in a chic and stylish way that perfectly compliments the decor of my abode, so it's ok.
Upon further reflection, I realized that having a long runner over my archway in addition to the corner shelves was suddenly an absolute necessity. Contractors don't like when you mess with the agreed upon plan and add new, crazy ideas so he requested that I submit a drawing for such changes. Thanks to Mr. Peterson and my high school architecture classes, I was able to articulate my ideas enough to be granted approval:
Daddio then gave me a list of supplies to purchase before the build date:I felt both empowered and terrified to accomplish this mission all by myself at the old Home Depot. I had many feelings and internal questions upon entering the store...where exactly do I find all of these boards? Who will cut them? Does that cost money? Can I use a regular shopping cart? If I just start crying in the aisle, will someone help me?
I walked around for a good 10 minutes accomplishing nothing but trying to find a worker that looked 'dad-ish'. Finally at the end of a lumber aisle, a dad type employee asked me if I needed help.
Why yes, I do. I explained to him that my father had sent me to the store with a list to collect the items - for my kitty tower- and that I didn't know how to have success with this task. He then declared that he definately could NOT help me with such a project because it was for a cat. And cats are bad. I pretended to laugh and secretly thought to myself,'What, is he really not going to help me? Is there a rule about wood not being safe for pets or something?'. As he looked upon me with friendly (yet slightly judging because of the whole cat thing) eyes, I realized that he was making a joke and we got to work.
He was very patient with me as I looked thru a stack of plywood for the 'best' one....at one point, he called me honey and explained that all plywood has imperfections...but still allowed me to choose my favorite.
He cut all the pieces to my dad's specifications and helped me load them onto a dolly. And he wished me luck with my tower. Thanks again, dad-ish Home Depot worker man!
The week to follow was for sanding and painting in the garage:
I wanted to get everything prepped and painted before the installation so only touch ups would be needed in the end.
Finally, the big day arrived! We discussed some last minute details, took some final measurements and he got started:
Are you ready??
Sawing took place in the garage and carpet stapling in the living room...and shelf by shelf, it was complete!
A close up of the holes:
And the runner above the archway:
And Mosby delighting in it all (after a few minutes of training/guidance through the holes to show him the path...safety first):
It's pretty much his favorite thing. It gives him some healthy exercise, an activity to enrich his life while I'm away at work and a high place to diligently watch over his kitty kingdom. Thanks daddy for making all of our Kitty Korner dreams come true:)
