Hanging Food Safe (Part 2)

Remember how I wasn't happy with the look of our solar inverter on the side of my shed and how I made a hanging food safe to cover it. And then I wasn't happy with how transparent the fly screen was. It just didn't disguise the inverter enough. Well, over Easter, I actually got around to replacing the mesh in the sides and door and am very pleased with the result.

This is what it looked like at first with just the fly screen.


Doesn't hide the solar inverter much at all.

And this is how it looks now. So much better! You can see just enough of the inverter through the mesh to know what is inside without it staring you right in the face.

I managed to source some perforated steel mesh from a company called "Goods and Chattels". They have been around for many years but no longer work from a shop. The business is now conducted mainly as an online store but you can pick your order up from the owner's home if you wish. Have a look at their website. They have a comprehensive range of products aimed at the furniture restorer.
The mesh wasn't dirt cheap but not too expensive either. And I had it cut exactly to the sizes that I needed for no extra charge. Very happy with the service and product.

I think the inverter cover project has turned out rather well and even looks so much better with the new mesh in place. Let me know what you think.

Food Safe Style Solar Inverter Cover

I haven't been happy with the look of the solar inverter on the wall of my shed ever since we had solar electricity installed about a year ago. It didn't fit in with the look that I was trying to achieve. And to make things worse, it's right next to my office door so it was right in my face every day. Something had to be done about it.

I am trying to decorate the side of my shed (where the inverter is) with grocery store and domestic collectables. The inverter is non of these. It needed a cover so a hanging food safe seemed an appropriate solution. My reasoning for this choice was that a food safe of some sort would often be seen hanging on a verandah just outside the kitchen door of an old house, keeping food fresh and cool. I even imagine that they would have been seen outside some early grocery stores. The mesh sides would also allow for ample ventilation around the inverter. The photos below show the result.

The side verandah of my shed showing some of my grocery store advertising signs
 (and our inappropriate looking solar inverter)

The food safe cover in place on the side verandah of my shed.

I built the food safe out of some Western red cedar that I have had lying around for years.
 The top and bottom are cut out of an old piece of  plywood.
This resulted in a very light construction which was simply screwed to the wall.

The mesh sides are old aluminium fly screen cut out of one of our old window screens.
 I was hoping for something darker to disguise the inverter but couldn't find anything suitable.
 Maybe I will someday replace the fly screen with something like perforated zinc sheet similar to that found on many old original food safes.

This teal green colour is one of my favourite colours. Bright colours such as this are often found on old food safes.
 I used a navy blue (looks a bit purplish here) as the  interior colour and overall base coat.
 This was then finished with a top coat of spearmint, sanded back a little to allow some of the navy and natural wood to show through to give the food safe a lightly distressed and aged appearance.

The simple swivel toggle catch works well and is in keeping with the style of original food safes.
 The spearmint, navy blue and natural wood can be seen clearly here.
 

Overall, I am very pleased with the way the food safe came up. It certainly softens the look of the inverter and adds a splash of bright colour to what is, after all, a rather drab colour wall.