I am just putting a few finishing touches on our master bedroom at the Barnhouse, and one project on my list was turning this little space under the stairs into a laundry nook. On the second floor of the house I completely reconfigured the layout, and to fit everything in, including another bathroom, I had to give up a linen closet. Luckily the framers didn’t close up this little space under the stairs, and it became the perfect spot to store extra bedding, towels, and a place to tuck away the hamper!
Adding shelves to the space was SUPER simple, an easy project to take on in an afternoon. The toughest pair is cutting the boards, and if you don’t want to do that yourself, take the measurements into your local hardware store and have them do it for you! You can use this tutorial (or the video steps over on IGTV) for nooks, closets or pantries all over your house! I just love how seamless the finished shelves look in the space!
All the steps for these simple shelves after the jump!
(more…)
My family cut down a tree last summer, and I volunteered to take the stumps because I knew I wanted to try to make gold dipped side tables using spray paint from my amazing longtime sponsor Krylon® Brand! I honestly thought this was going to be a huge undertaking, I’ve seen the high price tags of stump side tables in stores, so thought they had to be impossible to make, right?! Not at all! I was blown away at how quickly we were able to strip the bark and sand with the right tools and some elbow grease. The key is drying out the stump as much as possible, I had mine sitting in the basement all winter, but since we are in Wisconsin, I still saw a little dampness when we took off the bark. I sat the stumps in front of a couple electric heaters overnight once the bark was off, and it was good to spray paint the next day with Krylon ColorMaster®Paint + Primer – 25% More Metallic Gold and Krylon ColorMaster® Paint + Primer – 25% More Matte Greige.
Tips for taking off the bark: We tested a couple different techniques, the chisel and hammer worked great, just be prepared for an arm workout, ha! And the hand guard was a game changer because you can hammer away without smashing your fingers. After we got the big chunk of bark off, I used the putty knife as a chisel to take off a thin layer of wood to really clean it up, and it worked great (note that under the bark was damp, and a putty knife might not work as well on dry wood). Next experiment was using an electronic grinder with a flap disk attachment, which just blasted all the bark off (power tools are cool!) If you have a grinder or want to make a bunch of these, this way was quicker, and made the sanding process faster.
Tips for sanding: I used both an orbital and palm sander, and the orbital with a rough 60 grit worked great for smoothing down all the bumps, and then finished up using a palm sander with a 220 grit to smooth it out before painting. The stripping of the bark and sanding took about an hour and a half total (less when using the grinder), and the spray painting about 15 min. So it is a totally doable project!! I wanted to use this stump in my bathroom to hold my shampoo and conditioner, and thought spraying the bottom part gold would make it look super luxe, and I am SO happy with how it turned out! I love that some of the original stump is peeking out creating a cool contrast between the metallic and wood. The top was not cleaning up a nice as I hoped, so tried out the Matte Greige (Grey/Beige) and LOVE the neutral color! We have a few more stumps and I think we might spray one entirely Greige.
Project Time: 2.5 Hours
What you need:
Stump
Chisel (with hand guard)
Hammer
Putty Knife
Sander
60 Grit sandpaper
Safety glasses and mask
Painters tape
1 can Krylon® ColorMaster® Paint + Primer – 25% More Metallic Gold
1 can Krylon®ColorMaster® Paint + Primer – 25% More Matte Greige
Check out all the steps and supplies after the break! (more…)
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!)
(more…)
