Bookcase Makeover with Photowall Wallpaper

As you may or may not know, we moved about a year ago. It was only about a mile move within the same community, but the new house is definitely in need of some love and paint to bring it out of the 1990's. There are so many things I love about this house but the paint colors and the 4-5 different woods tones throughout are not on that list. 

These gorgeous bookshelves in our family room had an orange tone that didn't sit well with me and didn't match any of the other woods around the house. So I knew I was going to paint it. I was super excited with Photowall reached out to me to see if I'd like to try their wallpaper. I knew I wanted to incorporate some into our house and I felt like these bookshelves (there is a matching one on the other side of the fireplace) were just the place to start for a first time wallpapering project!

Here is the before of the bookcase 

Photowall is a company based in Sweden that started in 2006. It was the ides of two brothers who realized the selection of personalized wall art of rather limited. So they decided to print their own! What's even better about Photowall is that they care about the environment! Each wallpaper or wall mural is printed to order so there isn't unsold inventory sitting around or discarded unnecessarily! They also use environmentally friendly ink and they work with other organizations to plant thousands of trees each year! 

I was so impressed with Photowall's product, but even before that I was blown away at the amount of choices!

Click over to their site to check out more of their wall murals and wallpaper prints! They also have canvas prints and posters.

It was tough to narrow it down, but ultimately went with a print called 'Feathers - blue'.  So once I ordered I figured it would take a while since it was coming from Sweden and all, but it was fast! I think in total it only took a week for them to print the wallpaper and for it to arrive at my house!

The great thing about Photowall is that you measure your space or wall or whatever you're wallpapering and they print the paper to your dimensions. They recommend you add a few inches on each side to be safe but otherwise it's all exact. It comes in one big roll and you cut the strips apart and apply them in order - they're numbered to help with that!

For my first experience wallpapering, I would say it was pretty easy! I did like having my husband as a second pair of hands to hold the paper at the bottom, while I aligned and smoothed the paper starting at the top. I would definitely do this again, in fact, I'm thinking of all the other cool wallpapers I loved and where I can put them next!

 I love how it all turned out! I love the white that just totally transformed the bookcase, but the wall paper is that extra wow!

Now to paint the wall, and the trim, and the mantel...etc etc etc. Never ending. haha. #HomeTakesTime

Hop on over to Photowall's site and tell me some of your favorite prints! I'd love to hear what they are and where you would use them!

DIY Dining Table

 
This has been a super fun project! I have been wanting to build my own table for quite some time, for a couple reasons;
#1 The biggest reason is we needed a bigger table. Our family was barely fitting around our current one and having other people over was getting close to impossible.
#2 To save some money because it seems like furniture is either grossly over priced or not sturdy enough to last more than a couple years.
#3 I wasn't loving anything I had seen in stores.

So I started down this journey of building my own table. It was my biggest build yet and I was very intimidated and hesitant to start. I waited until the weather was finally nice enough outside and in the garage that I wouldn't freeze or fry.

I started by searching plans. There are lots out there, but ultimately settled on THIS PLAN. I loved the style and the estimated cost to build! :D So I started there but I did make some modifications along the way and I have a couple suggestions if you decide to build a table of your own.

To start, I decided not to use 2x6s for the tabletop like the plans called for. I don't have a table saw to square the edges of the lumber like she suggested and I didn't want the table to be so heavy that I couldn't move/scoot it around if I needed to clean or whatever.Instead of 2x6s I got a sheet of 4'x8' plywood and had Home Depot rip it down into 6" strips. The first guy we asked said they couldn't do it that small, but my dad was with me and asked another guy and he did it no problem. Then I just connected the strips with pocket hole screws.

The second modification I made was that I couldn't build the X under the table. My saw wouldn't do the angle that was required and I couldn't understand the alternative that she explained. So instead I cut 2x4's at a 45 degree angle to attach to the middle stretcher bar and also to the legs.

Since I used the plywood for the table top. I got 1x2s to create a border around the edge and cover the exposed edge of plywood. It adds a lot to the table, I think.

 There was one thing I didn't modify, but wished I had. The plans called for 2x4s for the legs and to shave off a 1/4" on each side with a table saw. Well, again, I don't have a table saw so I went ahead with the 2x4s and I didn't love the gap the rounded corners created. I tried to fill the gaps with wood filler but it is still quite obvious once stained. What I wish I had done was just gone ahead and gotten 4x4 posts for the legs. It would have created a much more seamless and squared off look. 

I love love love how it turned out. I went with a Dark Walnut stain. It took a loooong time to decide what color to do. I tried very hard to get a dark grey color but non of them turned out right.

In the end, I did two coats of stain and then 3 coats of poly. Just to be safe. Kids will be eating at this table after all. lol

  A couple more tips...






When I trimmed all the planks, I needed a way to keep me straight. I grabbed an extra piece of wood and squared it up crosswise to the planks and clamped it on. This helped me trim the ends straight across.

Lastly, spend the extra $10 and use pre-stain wood conditioner! It made such a difference in how the stain turned out. In most of my test patches, I didn't use the conditioner, but since I was getting frustrated I grabbed some to see if it made a difference and it really did!

Now just more pretty pictures :)

Laundry Room to 'Mudroom' Makeover

I have died and gone to heaven!

Laundry room organization heaven that is!

I am so excited to be sharing our most recent project with you! This was a labor of love. I knew I was going to love the end result or I seriously might not have finished it. lol.

It wasn't overly complicated or hard or anything. It was just a lot of trips to the hardware store and trying to find a time to work on it between naptime/bedtime (loud saws and hammering) and keeping the kids out of the way.

So technically, I don't know if I should call this a mudroom. I mean it is still my laundry room, but when someone says 'mudroom' this is the image it invokes.

Our laundry room is a small room that you pass through when coming into the house from the garage. The washer and dryer are awkwardly situated behind the door to the garage and there is a large utility sink that, as much as I love using it, sticks out too far into the room and is too close to the washer. The door actually bumps the sink most times I open/close it. We had a 'nine cube' for our shoes and other miscillaneous things. There was already a rack for hanging coats but it goes over the sink and as useful as it is, the coats hang down into the way of the washer/sink.

So my desire for some kind of mudroom shelf/bench/built in was born. I knew we needed space for shoes, coats, backpacks, and somewhere to put gloves/hats/scarves in the winter to be easily accessible but also not on the floor.

After telling my husband about my idea, he hit Pinterest (I know, right?!) and started finding ideas and inspiration that would work for our space. We combined the look of a couple different projects, but ultimately we used Ana White's Smiling Mudroom as a basic guide for the bench and shelves because it was really the only site that had actual plans. Then modified it to the length we wanted it and added shelves to the shoe part for even more storage.

First I removed the baseboard and quarter round in the are we were going to be working in. We started with the beadboard, our area needed two sheets. We got plywood from Home Depot and had them do the long cuts for us and I did the rest with circular saw and miter saw. I painted everything (for the shelves and bench) before assembling. I painted in my 1st graders room while he was at school so I could lock the door to make sure no one made a mess.

 We didn't have a pocket hole jig so we just made due with either seeing the screws or got creative about hiding them. Here's one of the dividers for the shoe shelves. We used a 1x2" to make a brace for the shelves.

Here you can see we also cut the corner of the bench to allow space to pass through when coming in the door. 

Like I said above, we didn't have a pocket hole jig so we had to figure out how to cover the screws, especially on the top of the bench where we attached each of the dividers. We got a sheet of super thin plywood, 7/32" thick. I had Home Depot cut this down again to the strip we needed for the top of the bench. I took it home and stained it, then glued it down to the top of the bench, and added 1x2" around the edge to finish it.

Next we built the upper shelves and focused on securing those to the walls.

As you can see I had a bit of trouble finding studs lol. I even bought a new stud finder but it just wasn't jiving with the beadboard so I resorted to more 'manual' options. I poked the holes in a place that was going to be covered by the shelf so it wasn't too big of a deal.

 So to attach the shelves to the wall, I first put a 1x4" on the wall, attached to studs, for the shelves to 'rest' on. while I held it, my husband drove screws through the back of the shelves (also 1x4"s) and into the studs. This was actually really hard, beadboard is a beast to get through. I highly recommend pre-drilling with a bit slightly smaller than the screws you are using.

Don't forget to test that it's secure....😉

From there, we finished the look with 3 more horizontal 1x4"s; one flush against the bench, 1 for the large coat hooks, and one for the smaller coat hooks.

Then we ran the 1x3"s vertically (6 of them) to line up with the shelves above and below. These were just punched on with a nailgun. Then came the hooks. And lastly a whole lot of caulk/woodfiller and then painting or touching up any last bits.

Now there is a place to sit and put on/take off shoes, hang coats and bags, and a place to put shoes so we're not tripping over them. I absolutely love how it turned out and I love that it actually makes the space feel more open than what we had in there before. I put some bins up in the cubbies that we already had to store hats and gloves in for now. In the summer, I'll put their sunglasses, sun hats, sunscreen, and any of the other summer essentials for quick access on the way out the door.

Top 10 Posts of 2014

(So apparently I never hit publish on this post....oops)
I don’t know about you, but 2014 was interesting. There were some up’s and some down’s and lots of uncertainty and waiting around.

As for as the blog goes, I had some very consistent periods and then well I kinda unintentionally took the last month or so off. It has been very busy and stressful the last couple months at church with my calling.
Here are my top 10 articles posted in 2014…

Reupholstered Glider – I still smile when I walk in my little girl’s room and see this!

 

DIY Baby Gate – Now that our little girl is walking around the house, this is essential for our sanity and her safety!

DIY Bath Tub Tray - My dad still loves and uses the tray. Now to make one for me :)

Natural Remedies for Children’s Eczema – my kid’s skin still gets a little dry from time to time, but the eczema patches have never come back!

How to Clean Baby Poop Stains Naturally – no baby stains here!

Clean and Disinfect Kid’s Toys (without toxic bleach) – No one has been sick yet this winter because we’ve been keeping on top of the germs and boosting their immune systems with high quality supplements.

DIY Composting Bins - I've since had to move into larger bins, but these worked great while I had a small amount.

Baby Food in the Crockpot - I love making homemade baby food. My youngest doesn't eat the purees anymore, but this really was such an easy method, I would highly recommend it!



Best Ever Chocolate Banana Bread – yumyumyum is all I have to say!



Little Girl Flower Headband - this is one of my favorite styles of headbands I have made for my little girl. She won't keep a headband on to save her life now, but hopefully I can put these on some cute hair clips soon and she'll leave them. 




There you go, the top 10 posts from 2014. I hope your 2015 is everything you want it to be! I know I’ve got goal and plans and dreams for what I want our New Year to be, I will be working hard to get there and am so grateful for each and everyone of you – my readers for supporting this lil blog of mine!