DIY – Page 2

06
Dec
2013

DIY Fall Wreath

FALLING IN LOVE WITH FALL…………

………Another wreath I love

I fall in love with Fall every year. It’s my favorite time of the year. I thought I would share a fall wreath that I have put on my front door for years. I just keep adding to it, or removing some of the old faded stuff. I think my favorite thing about this particular wreath is that it doesn’t look so contrived. Unlike some of the others I have done. I like them but they have that too round and engineered look

I actually made this with two grapevine garlands tied together. That’s how I got the oval shape (which I love), then just started adding stuff. I have some fall colored hydrangea type flowers I’m going to add this year plus I think I’ll add a little more raffia. I’ll attach a before and after pic.

I always get several compliments on this wreath when people come to visit. I think it’s the oval shape that makes it a stand-out, don’t you?

23
Nov
2013

Tricky Corner Beading

categories: Uncategorized

Tricky Corner Beading

………where to tape for what kind of look

Are you ever stumped when you want to tape off a wall to paint and you have rounded corner beading?

I think my husband excels here. He is the best taper-offer I know. And it’s surprising the different effect you can get depending on where you decide to tape. We have a wall in our family room area that we have accented in green. He taped just inside the round corner bead so we have a strip of the main wall color outlining this edge of the green wall. This placement of the tape tends to give the wall a more contemporary look. We didn’t know that going into the project but we discovered it is true. In the evening when the accent lights are on that wall, the green almost disappears into a void and gives the illusion of an open space where the green wall actually is. It’s really interesting. We’ve even had a few people go up to it to look really close to see if it’s a wall or an open space.

On another accented wall he taped right down the middle of the corner bead because I didn’t want a different color showing on either edge of the two different walls. It completely takes away the rounded look and gives each wall a straight edge.

So be brave, paint that wall you don’t know what to do with a bold wonderful color and don’t let rounded corner bead scare you away from creating a fabulous, fresh look in whatever room you like!

I didn’t know some people are scared to paint a wall, but come to find out, they ARE!

30
Sep
2013

DIY Potting Bench Project

categories: DIY Projects, Home Decor, Yard & Garden

My Very Own Potting Bench… I would have never thought... planting, potting, seeding, starting, and even a little cooking

This wonderfully fun project was a gift from my cutie-pie husband. I just told him I would really like a potting bench in the garage and he went to work.

I wish I had some “work-along-the-way” pictures, but I don’t. I’ll break down the components for you though.

Let’s start with the back of the bench. The “barnwood” is 1 X 6 cedar fencing stained with a gray stain. Ken dog-earred it with his trusty miter saw and we applied the stain. So easy, and I was shocked at how much it looks like authentic barnwood. He screwed it to the walls and it goes all the way to the floor. That way it forms the back of the bench.

The two countertops are (1) a remnant piece of laminate from a cabinet shop and (2) a remnant piece of granite from a slap yard. I didn’t care if they were the same, in fact I preferred they were a little different.

The sink is, well…a utility sink from Lowes. Not much else to say about that. Unless of course that I am grateful we had the builder stub out a hot and cold water line to the garage. WOW! Is it ever nice to wash dirty hands in the garage with warm water.

As you can see, the cupboard doors are made from corrugated tin. Such a cute look for this project I think. He still has to put on a rubber protector on the edge of the door. It’s sharp!

The shelf above the bench is one he made a long time ago and stuck up there and the other organizers and hooks are from the all-time best organizers store ever…IKEA.

Backing up a bit, first we painted the wall an apple green. I love it. It’s always bright and cheery and reminds me of summer.

I have loved this, my very own, work space. I’ll let you in on a secret. Whenever I cook bacon I cook it on the griddle on my potting bench. That way my house doesn’t smell like bacon for 3 days. Also, sometimes when I cook a slow-cooker meal I get really tired of the smell of the food after 12 hours! I take my crockpot out on the bench and we have the most delicious smelling garage on the block!

30
Sep
2013

DIY Vintage Coke Machine

categories: DIY Projects, Home Decor

Nostalgia Brought Back to Life

…..our vintage Coke machine

I’ve been excited to share this one with you.

Many years ago we were given this old Coke machine. It was in our backyard for years and years and we just used it as an ice chest. The past 10 years, since we moved to a new home, we have just kind of hung onto it. It collected dirt, leaves, old shingles and whatever else my sweet hubby decided to dump on it. I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. I’m sooo glad.

This chest style coke machine is circa 1953. When we got it the sliding mechanism was still inside but we removed it in order to use it as an ice chest. That turned out to be okay because in renovating it we decided it was not worth the money to completely restore it to working condition because you can’t buy bottled coke anymore, at least not for a price that would be practical to refill; especially for all the Coke lovers in our family.

Well, as we were (are…..still) finishing our basement I decided I really wanted to incorporate this vintage contraption into our décor. When I mentioned this to a friend she told me her other friend had taken a metal door that she wanted repainted to an auto body shop and they painted it for her. We thought it was worth a try. The guy at Tip Top Auto Body was great. He painted this just the way we wanted.

The next thing to do was find the decals. I found a fun website http://www.fun-tronicsllc.com/ that has all the vintage Coke parts, decals, memorabilia, and other vintage machines you can think of. We were able to order the original looking “fishtail” Coke decal and a couple other parts we needed.

Although, not the cheapest reno we have ever done, it turned out just exactly the way we wanted. And we use it to store our vintage 1970’s vinyls! You know, Doobie Brothers, Elton John, Bread, The Guess Who……….we have had so much fun! Sooo glad we didn’t get rid of those either! I guess there are SOME perks to my pack-ratting darlin’!

This has been one of our favorite projects.

P.S. The cute little “made-to-look-vintage” record player sitting on top was a gift to my sweetheart for his birthday last year.

BEFORE:

08
Jul
2013

Fun Vintage Decor Ideas

categories: DIY Projects, Home Decor

VINTAGE……the new cool word in decor. Well, not so new, it’s been around for a few years actually, but gaining more and more popularity. What about “modern vintage?” Isn’t that like “jumbo shrimp? Maybe, but “vintage” is much cooler. Really, vintage can refer to a time-period or simply classic design.

Tag: DIY