I was SO excited when I saw this little alcove in the Barnhouse because I knew it would be PERFECT for a master walk-in closet! Once the door was closed up and all the drywall was done, I was not quite sure how to design the space to work for the joining of mine and my hub’s clothes in our first closet together. I was wandering around The Container Store and LOVED how the Elfa closet system looked and functioned, so I reached out, and they offered to help me design and install the space, and I am OBSESSED with how it turned out! Then, taking some tips from Marie Kondo, I moved in all my clothes (and a few of my hubs) in a super organized way, which is making life so much easier. Let me take you along the process!
Closet design: The process was so simple, I measured the closet space, then set up a meeting with a designer at my local The Container Store. We walked through all the sample closets and I told her about our needs and budget. She sent me off to walk around the store for 20 min, and I came back to a completely designed the closet rendering. The designer talked me through what she did, and then we adjusted it until it was perfect! I loved how they could totally customize it, I got to pick the wood tone, bracket color, the pulls, and they even factored in my height so I could hang long dresses without touching the floor.
Install: The Container Store was nice enough to send over someone to install, but I watched the whole process and it’s totally DIYable if you are looking to save the install cost. They screwed a rail into the studs, then all the vertical tracks hang on the rails. Then you add and adjust your shelves. My favorite finishing touch was the plugs that snapped into the tracks to cover up the holes and make them fade into the background. The Shoe Rack is a gamechanger! It can be mounted on wall or hang on a door, and it is AMAZING for seeing all the shoes I am wearing in one, visible place. It claims it can hold 36 pairs! I don’t think I will push it to the max, and instead keep the off season pairs up top in the canvas baskets, and display the one I am currently wearing (plus my prettiest heels!)
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I did some major antiquing a few weekends ago, and high on my list was dining room chairs for a Barnhouse project with my amazing longtime sponsor, Krylon® Brand.
I did not know exactly the shape I was looking for, but knew that I wanted to paint them with this SUPER pretty Krylon® Italian Olive color. I stopped at 5 different thrift stores, picking up different chairs along the way (each were only $6), thinking that I would use 4 mismatched chair and just spray-paint them all the same color. Then, on my last stop, I found 4 matching ones for $30, score!! They were that awful orange wood, and I didn’t love all the detail, but thought they might look more modern painted the beautiful deep green. They honestly turned out even better than I thought they would!!!
I started by sanding the topcoat with my mouse sander to rough up the topcoat, then sprayed on about 5 light coats of Krylon® ColorMaster™ Paint + Primer – 25% More in Satin Italian Olive, letting them dry in between each coat. Don’t worry about it being patchy the first couple coats, the key is light layers to build up the color and keep it from dripping. The color looked SO rich when it was done. The satin finish has some sheen, and I really wanted a matte finish that almost looked like chalk paint, so I tried the Krylon® Matte Finish Clear. I was super impressed with how flat the color looked after it dried! What do you all think?! All I have left to do is find a larger oval table to replace the game table I painted with chalkboard paint, and I’ll be ready to host a dinner party!
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Happy New Year All! I am back after the holiday break and so excited for all the home projects I have planned in 2019. But first, I have to revist one the MOST FUN events I went to in 2018, Man vs. Glue. I’ve use Krazy Glue for years creating DIY projects, so when they asked me to come out to NYC to watch The World Strongest Man, Hafthor Björnsson (aka The Mountian on Game of Thrones) lift all sort of things held together with just a couple drops of Krazy Glue, I said “Heck ya!!”. The event did not disapoint, Hafthor is hilarious, and ridiculously strong, he lifted a bench holding three people (check out the photo of us after the break!) When I got back home I decided to create a couple trays to do some heavy lifting at my new house. First up, I used the left over tile that I LOVE from the master bathroom to make a little tray for my toiletries by gluing on handles with just a couple drops of Krazy Glue. Then I attached a set of handles to a marble cheeseboard to make a little serving tray. I was so impressed I can actually pick it up becuase the board is super heavy! (more…)
