Current House – Page 81

Light Switches

Published on May 22, 2013May 22, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

Completely out of Montana norms, it rained all weekend. Rain outside meant little time for work outdoors. Instead, we had a lunch date, relaxed, and hung up two light fixtures. The first, the PVC icosahedron pendant I made to replace the too low, never used ceiling fan.

I looked for a cheap pendant and canopy at home improvement and thrift stores, but didn’t find anything. Soooooo, I decided to steal the $6 thrift store pendant from the dining room. Ditched the shade, using only the guts. We had a few metal down rods from other pendants, so I covered the cord with a small piece.

While it may not stay forever, I’m super happy with the open, modern, geometric shape.

I still might replace the top and bottom points, just to make the peaks a little more obvious.

While Ben had the supplies out, I asked him to install a new light in the boys’ room, too. Snagged this one at ReStore for eight bucks. A quick scrub and ready to go. Wish I would have thought about this before and painted the gold canopy. Ahh well. Still better than the boob light that was there.

Bonus, we could raise chickens in here with a light like that. Not that it’ll happen, but we could. And I just might be able to start (and hopefully finish!) scraping the popcorn off the ceiling. Handy Sammy will be out-of-town for a month, so we can shift the boys to his room, giving me a month of time to get it done. Without disturbing him. Woo to the hoo, I’m ready for this. At least I am in my head, my arm might hate me by the end of it.

MCM, Modernized

Published on May 20, 2013May 20, 2013 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

Hello and happy Monday, if there is such a thing. On Friday I shared the blow-by-blow of my five dollar chair refinishing and upholstering process. Starting with these 70’s dark stained orange vinyl covered wood beauties.

And here they are now, after an overall sanding, clear coat, thick neutral fabric, and satin nickel nail head detail.

Once I started sanding the wood down, I saw how blonde the wood was. And liked it. A lot, for a few reasons. Lighter felt more updated, less reminiscent of the Brady Bunch kitchen color palette. The pale wood also contrasted with the dark slate fireplace, instead of blending in. After going through the trouble to sand to the unfinished wood, I didn’t want a dark stain that wouldn’t be an obvious change. Also, I’m leaning toward natural finished wood, for a little variety.

Even though the chairs are neutral, I’m super happy with the go anywhere colors and subtle patterned fabric.

To bump up the comfort and color, I plan to find or sew lumbar pillows.

That little footstool will get an update and jolt of color sometime soon, too. Because paint is easier and cheaper to change than upholstery and stain. These chairs work great in the family room. Comfy, but light weight and open. Can’t forget the price, either. Only $32 spent on the chairs and materials ($18 for the fabric and four more for the nail head – we had the rest already).

I might fix the back of the seat because you can see the puckered fabric. Not perfect, but not terrible for my first rounded corner cushions.

How’s that for a Cinderella story? What do you think? Have any plans for the upcoming long weekend?

Bubbling Up

Published on May 15, 2013May 15, 2013 by Our Humble Abode15 Comments

Here’s another quickie project to help you get organized. Or at least more organized, can’t fix every problem with a few hooks now can ya? It started when I saw these cute metal cloud hooks.

Then I looked at the pile of Everett’s costumes and set out to make cute hooks. A stop to Michael’s and Home Depot gave me everything I needed:

1 inch wood dowel

Pre-cut wooden shapes (I chose conversation bubbles, but there are so many fun shapes, including clouds)

Dowel screws

Sharpie paint pen

Not pictured, you’ll need craft paint, clear coat, wood glue (or your favorite strong glue), a drill, saw, and pliers. Cut the dowel to length, mine are 2 inches and sand any rough ends. Then glue the wooden shapes the front, pressing firmly. Once dry, paint all sides of the hooks. Drill a pilot hole the size of your screw shaft in the end of the dowel. Screw the in, making it tight.

I chose to write on the bubbles, to look like a comic books. Gotta love a little onomatopoeia, right? Seemed fitting since the hooks hold super hero costumes. So I wrote words like Boom, Kapow, Zap, and Thud with the Sharpie pen and gave the hooks two coats of clear finish. I screwed them to the wall (find a stud or use anchors, just to be safe) and showed Everett.

He thought they were “so nice.” Mission accomplished.

I’ve got two more that I might add, but we’ll see.

Something similar could be fun and functional in an entry, too. Maybe with names on them? Maybe not, to look like little floating art…

Rock On, Dude

Published on May 13, 2013May 13, 2013 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

For a while, the landscape of our house has been neglected. First by the previous owner and then us. Some attempts at landscaping were made, but not maintained. So when we bought this house, the front yard looked like a mess of dead, overgrown grass and weeds.

Because it was dead, overgrown grass and weeds.

All over.

Then we took a weed whacker to it and tamed the beast.

Crazy to actually see the plants tucked behind that.

But it grows back, looking a little, nay, a lot like Donald Trump’s hair; long, thin, side swept, and unmanageable. Because the hills are so steep and many large rocks punctuate the hillside, it would be impossible to maintain nice grass. Factor in minimal rainfall and it’s hard to keep anything alive without an outrageously expensive water bill. So we’re going with more rock. Doesn’t need water or maintenance, and cuts down on the dust storms.

The past few weekends we’ve cut out the weeds, laid weed mat, and schlepped rocks. Even yesterday when temps reached the mid 90’s. Yes, crazy for this time of year. Lots of water and lemonade.

Ahh, clean, blank canvas. Maybe this fall we’ll be able to plant drought resistant plants, to green things up.

If I’m lucky, some flowers for color.

Most of the front side has been rocked, but we’ve got the other side to deal with.

Which included cutting back part of the railing-less, unsafe deck to the front door to get the Bobcat across. Once the rock has been distributed, we’ll make a new walking path and steps up.

All that to say this: digging out weeds and hauling rocks is not fun, but we’re eager to get it finished and start on some fun projects. Like a deck in the backyard. Ben found a great deal on reclaimed wood, so we’ve nixed the concrete patio. Instead we’ll have a low deck. And we’re crazy excited about it.

Thank You, Spring Cleaning

Published on May 8, 2013May 8, 2013 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

I swear I can thank spring cleaning for my most recent thrifty finds. First a Drexel dresser for the boys’ room and now two chairs and a foot stool.

I found the chairs at Habitat for Humanity ReStore for five bucks each. Sold! They’re solid wood and should be easy to refinish and upholster. Because one has a giant tear in the seat.

Oh, and the orange vinyl isn’t my fav.

For now, the chairs will live in the family room, replacing the Target slipper chairs, which are in the living room now. I’ve been looking for arm chairs with a smallish frame. Ideally I’d stumble upon something like this for a fraction of the price. But I’m not holding my breath.

Until that magical day happens, these are okay. You know, with a little lovin’.

Surprisingly comfortable, the small footprint of the chairs fits nicely in the walk path perimeter room. A little more depth would be great to feel more lounge-y. Eventually (when our kids stop wiping grimy hands on everything) we’ll man up and buy adult furniture.

How ’bout that footstool/ottoman/side table for $8? After a quick search, I saw many similar stools for sale, some as high as $300.

The cane top has damage, but the wood is in good shape. I’m considering cutting a larger piece of plywood to set on top, making this footstool a round coffee table.

What would you do to these pieces? Sand and stain? What type and color fabric for the chairs? We’ve got cream leather in the basement that I think could look nice. Thoughts?