DIY Teepee

This is easier than building a fort.  I pinky swear.  The most time consuming is getting four poles.  I think these are approximately seven feet tall, but don't quote me on that.  Last Saturday, Doug wanted to trim his tree stand so I had the perfect plan..  

"Oh honey why you're out there can you cut me four poles please? ;-)

And so he did.  

But if you don't have access to woods, I have heard of people using 2x4s cut in half. Probably cleaner, but not as authentic looking.

  

Next, I tied them together at the top with string I found in the barn. 

I had purchased a drop cloth with someday making a teepee in mind.  These can be found almost anywhere. Any hardware store, Lowes, Menards, you name it.  I found this one at the Lowell Meijer of course. And again, I wonder why my "grocery" bill is so high?!  

The size I purchased is 9x12.  Which is perfect.  I cut it in half so it became 9 x 6.  

I then draped it around the Teepee and cut two holes in the top for pull the string through and keep it from falling down.

And well that's it!  Literally. I did nothing more! :-)

The Bathroom Remodel

As I try to think of what next to blog about, I decided to clean "Doug's bathroom." Why not take photos after something is nice and clean!  And being that this is Doug's bathroom, no it is never this clean ;-). 

I would love to show you a true before photo, but that I just can't find!  I was probably too embarrassed about it to take a photo at the time..

 

This photo the bathroom ceiling is gone. And it was March. And I think I had icicles in my hair it was sooo cold taking a shower!! (We also had no heat at the time because the furnace was out and all the insulation was gone too! Brr.. )

 

After months of working on the rest of the home the bathroom was one of the last projects. We had it framed in and that was it!

 

This is another demo photo.  The bathroom is the room to the left of the staircase. 

Now for the good stuff. We had purchased a new bathroom vanity and once we got it home, I knew it wouldn't work.  Doug wanted so badly to just install a normal vanity and be done with the project.  But the hardest part of a remodel is you have to work within the walls created.  With a staircase to one side and now the laundry on the other we had to work with the few feet given to us.  He had to build something long and skinny to fit along the back wall and tie it into the stand up shower.  

Then came so many choices.  Doug didn't want to hire someone to lay a counter.  Yes quarts or granite would have been beautiful, but oh so hard on the budget.  You have to consider not only the price of material, but labor.  We were able to do so much because we never had to pay for labor throughout the entire remodel.  As long as Doug could do it himself :)

Here is the progress.. then here is the finish!

So we used what Doug knows best.  Wood :-)

I went to Meijer and bought baskets.  Then he built cubbyholes to fit. The counter is left over oak floors from the kitchen.  I know oak isn't the most hip these days, but we wanted to match the original oak floors that were existing and continued it throughout the house.

This next photo is another reason why Doug calls it his bathroom.  Instead of dry walling the space above the shower to the ceiling he used old wood he saved from the house.  I had suggested subway tile, but Doug was sick of dry wall and tile and wanted to use wood.  Lets hope after layers and layers of polyurethane it will last!!

Then there it is. My beloved hexagon tile.  My dream come true.  I begged and begged Doug for this.  At first he was like no way am I ever doing that.  But then he was probably sick of me begging. So I won this battle. (And now I actually think he likes it!)

These are the shelves he built along the shower to utilize every last bit of space left.  And of course his reasoning is he has access to the plumbing if ever needed right here.

And lastly, I love this bad boy.  It is an outdoor light I bought from Lowe's and is much cheaper than any indoor light of its kind!  He also put these on the exterior of the home.  I love these lights!

Trays trays trays

The paint has dried! 

This tray was another Meijer find in the clearance section of their craft department.  A whopping four dollars!  As much as I loved the look of the raw wood, our house has too much of that already.  I chose to paint it white with paint I had on hand.  I know.. not much color in this house.

I wish I could say I grew those pumpkins in the first photo, but that would be a lie.  I planted white pumpkins but failed to weed them.. oops.  It's the thought that counts right??

Next, I love picked hydrangeas.  When they dry on the stem it is the perfect time to pick and have them keep.  I stole that vase from my mother of course.  But all together a few dollars and there you have it!  A fun fall centerpiece.

Lastly, I call this the "Rachel".  She is my co-designer and bff for life ;). She found a similar idea on Pinterest. I love it next to my stove as a catch all for my salt and pepper and cutting boards.

I hope this inspires you to find a tray and decorate today!  Tray and today... ohh my.. I'll stop.

Just a little fall inspiration

After last week with the cold weather and now that we have finally reached September, I am SOO ready to decorate for my favorite season of the year!  After not having a home to decorate in for a year during the remodel I am so excited for the blank slate and a finished home.  

First I have to get in the mood..

A Meijer splurge. 8.99$ well spent. Smells soo good!!

Now onto the decorating.

 Here are a few items I wanted to play with.  The frame I found in our barn when we moved in, but I see old frames everywhere. So many things you can do with them.  The Thankful pumpkin was another Meijer find.  Most of my house is from Meijer because in Lowell, the options are limited.. and I am easily distracted when "grocery" shopping ;)

 

I hung the wreath I had on our front door from the frame with a piece of burlap. I also stained the pumpkin with what we had lying around.  The rest of the items are not fall decor, but they are things I love and that are important to me.  The photos are of my grandfather and my husbands grandfather.  Both great men we named our son after.  The sign I bought from target this spring and reads "Do what makes you oh so happy."  Great words to live by :)

As soon as the paint dries I will show you the dinning room table centerpiece. But while I wait for paint to dry I get to play with this kid.

The Kitchen Cabinet Remodel

When we purchased the home it was last remodeled in the 1980's and it showed.  The worst being the yellow oak cabinets.  But of course it being real wood my husband absolutely would NOT let me paint them.  What it is it with men and not being able to paint wood??!  Well I had to figure something out.  I was never going to get my dream white kitchen. But as I learned with this house remodel, sometimes you just have to pick your battles.  And this was one of them. This leads me to my next DIY.  How to turn your yellow oak cabinets into something beautiful!

Here is just before we started.  (Sorry for the mess, I am terrible about doing good before photos- I just wanted it done!)

Where to begin..  Lucky for me my dad is very handy and knowledgeable about wood working and led the way.  I was nervous how they would turn out, but I learned you have lots of control with staining.  First off, the old finish needs to be removed.  Not stripped, just scuffed up enough for the new stain to penetrate the wood.  

To do this, the first step is to take 220 sand paper and lightly sand the cabinets.  Remember with sandpaper also to go WITH the grain.  Next we took a Scotch Brite scouring pad to further scuff up the old finish.  These come in packs and are less than 5$ at the store.  I used a Heavy Duty Scotch Brite.  After a few hours of scrubbing each door and cabinet, a rag was used to clean off leftover dust and dirt.  With a clean and dry surface, we were ready to stain!! 

Now here can be the tricky part.  I did not strip the cabinets so whatever stain picked the cabinets will not be that exact color.   Also to note, depending on the stain and how long you let the stain sit will ultimately affect the finish look.  I recommend practicing on a place that won't be easily seen as a test area. I ended up choosing a Dark Walnut Minwax stain.  As I said earlier, the longer you let it sit the darker the finish. After applying the stain with either a rag or a sponge brush, use a clean rag to rub off the stain.

 

I added this last picture to show what the cabinets looked like after just applying the stain before wiping.  Don't let this dark look scare you if this is your first time staining.  Most of it wipes off and the grain in the wood turns darker.

Well, I am not the best picture taker.  But hopefully you can see the difference!  Oil based Polyurethane as it ages tends to turn wood a yellowish color.  Because of this most choose to go with a water base poly, BUT I will say from my experience water base polyurethane does not hold up as well, and in time and requires more maintenance. For this reason, and being that the kitchen cabinets take a great deal of abuse, I chose again to apply the finish coat with an oil based polyurethane satin finish.  I believe the oil base polyurethane brings out the grains of the wood.  Yes, there is much debate on what to use and which one is better, but ultimately it is a personal preference. For why I chose a satin finish, mostly I didn't want shiny 1980's cabinets. Yuck.

How it all Began

When we purchased the home, I knew it had some flaws.  I knew we needed to remodel.  But when and where to begin was the hardest.

I have to start by saying, poor Doug.  I will admit, I was one of those nagging housewives, begging him to start on a few house projects.  I didn't like anything.  From the vinyl floors to the cheap wood paneling and wallpaper.  It was a constant battle trying to make your new home "your own," all while fighting the ugly blue wallpaper that made decorating for Christmas a nightmare.  Well, after a little too much DIY telvesion and Nichole Curtis on Rehab Addict, I think he had enough.  If you have ever watch Rehab Addict you would know at the beginning of each show, they show her uncovering brick behind a wall saying, "I just want brick!"  Doug had always known we had brick hidden behind our cupboards, yet I was oblivious of this the entire time.  He had watched a few of her shows unwillingly to say the least and after he spilled the beans to me that we ourselves had brick hidden, I wouldn't let it go!  Every day I would chant, "I just want brick!!!"  Then finally he had it.  While eating steak dinner I made for us in our simple old farmhouse he got up and at that moment decided he would show me.  With the cupboards full of baking supplies he unloaded the shelves on the floor and said, "Well here you go!! There is no turning back now!" 

Sadly to my disappointment, the brick was nothing like what I had seen on Rehad Addict or any Pinterest photo I had seen.  The brick had pink plaster stuck to it and the mortar was corroded.  Even the bricks themselves weren't the pretty red I had imagined.  They were orange and brown and stacked crooked.   Doug named it, "The Leaning Tower of Pisa," and he too wanted to remove it.  

This photo is a few days later after much more mess and demolition.

Now that you have seen the before photos and a long and probably boring story, here is my first

How To:

We used wire brushes and muriatic acid to clean the brick.  I think I've heard the saying, "a little bit of elbow grease goes a long ways."  Well that may be true.  But with this mess it was most like A LOT of elbow grease.  After hours of using scrapers, flat blade screw drives and wire brushes it finally was starting to look better.  Next, it had to be re-grouted.  To do this Doug had to purchase a tool called a "Tuck Pointer."  He then spent hours removing the old grout and then re-grouting.  He told me he lost his finger prints with this job and was now somehow "unidentifiable." (My husband thinks he's funny.)  After the new grout and another good cleaning, the brick was finally looking better. Lastly, he used an oil base cement sealer and it was finally finished!