I SPY AIRBNB | Backyard Refresh!

DIY PROJECT, Home DIY

The backyard at my Airbnb is refreshed and ready to use!! You might remember two Summers ago when I was living at the house, my sister and bro-in-law and I, tackled this backyard (read more about it here). I moved out of the house since, but use it as an Airbnb, so like to keep the backyard looking great for visitors. I did a little refresh with new Article furniture, a new door color, and changed up the accessories a bit, and I just love how it came together!

I asked Instagram readers to send in questions about the backyard, and I’ll a bunch below:

Is the furniture ok in rain? How about the coffee table? I was have some rust issues with the previous furniture, and it would stain the deck after it rained so we would have to re-stain it every year which was a HUGE bummer. So when Article reached out and asked me to try thier outdoor furniture I said “YES PLEASE!” And I am happy to report, we have had no rust issues (and it’s been a super rainy Spring). I am obsessed with The Kezia sectional couch, Aeri Slate Gray Lounge chair and Toba Vintage Brown Coffee Table outdoor pieces, they look SO chic and have been holding up great in all weather. One super nice thing about the couch is that it comes in pieces so you can arrange it however you want, I have the secional plus an extra seat so I could fill the corner-space. I am super impressed with the coffee table! It looks nice enough to be an indoor piece, but is meant for outdoor. I might even use it as a coffee table inside this winter!

Do you have storage for the cushions and pillows or do you keep them out? The pillows are all outdoor pillows, I got these striped lumbar ones, these staccato ones, and these tan pillows, but if guests are not using them, I store them in the garage. Eventually, I want to get an outdoor storage box so they can be easily accessed. Article suggests taking in the cushions or covering them if you have extreme weather, but since I am not at the house all the time, they are left out. I have been really impressed with how quickly they dry, and how easily they can be wiped down. The better you take care of them, the longer they will last!

How will you keep all those potted plants alive on the wall? And where are the pot hangers from? I had real plants in the living-wall for the last two Summers, but it became a lot harder to keep them alive once I was not living there full time. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone, this year I used faux succulents! I got them from Ikea for $4 each, and they are meant for indoor/outdoor, so I am hoping I can keep them looking good for a few years. The pot hangers can be found in the garden section at Lowe’s!

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DIY Laundry Nook + Super Simple Shelving Tutorial

DIY PROJECT, Home DIY

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!
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MY DIY | Gold-Dipped Side Table Stump

DIY PROJECT, Home DIY

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…)