Current House – Page 87

Box Tops {Lidded Storage Boxes}

Published on March 7, 2013March 12, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

But not the box tops for education. Instead, building tops for these $3 boxes from Target’s dollar spot. These plain wood boxes are the perfect size for Handy Sammy’s bookshelf/nightstand storage. But I wanted lids to hide everything inside. So I looked in the garage and found a scrap of 1/4 inch MDF that was slightly larger than my box. In a word, perfect.

I measured the outside of the box and the inside.

And cut four pieces. One piece the same size as the outside, and another 1/4 inch smaller than the inside, for both boxes. Plenty of wood glue to attach the two pieces and wait for it to dry.

Then I started painting. I’m a rebel and skipped primer, but it would help. And sand the boxes quickly. I wanted something similar to these lacquer boxes, so I covered the edges with gold craft paint.

After the gold dried, I marked off 1/4 inch on all sides, then taped off the corners.

Mysterious blue paint and primer left over from the mini dresser covered nicely.

I still want to spray the boxes for a smoother, glossy finish, but I love how they look.

To make it easier on myself, I painted the inside of the boxes blue and the covers all gold.

As we tackle projects for the guest room, I’m getting more antsy to finish it. Because I want to see everything together. If you’ve got a tray you’d like to cover, this was as easy as two cuts. What do you think? Are you willing to give it a try? Or have you done something similar?

How Low Do You Stow?

Published on March 6, 2013March 6, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Storage. Everyone needs it, but not everyone has enough. As is the case in our little guest bedroom that Handy Sammy now lives in. Well, not this week because he’s on spring break, but usually. Actually, his break is the reason we’re working in this barely touched since we moved in room.

By far the smallest bedroom we’ve ever had, coming in at a whopping 9 feet 9 inches wide by almost 11 feet long (including the bookshelf depth). The closet is proportionate to the room, just about three feet wide.

And it has to work for a young college kid with clothes, books, backpacks, and other necessities. The current storage system is lacking, to say the least. Left over mismatched bins on the top shelves hold socks, t-shirts, and more.

A small shoe rack holds extra shoes, but there’s little room to store backpacks and other large items.

Once Handy Sammy returns, he can fill the mini dresser I refinished, hopefully giving more room at the top of the closet to stow bags and such.

But we did take out the nightstand, so it’s a trade. Gain some floor space, making the room feel larger, but lose a drawer of small storage space.

I do have a loose plan. Instead we’ll make more space on the bookshelves. One shelf of magazine files for notebooks/paper and another for books. The shelf at bed height will function now as a nightstand. I’m working on a few boxes for that shelf to store small items, too.

Under bed storage bins (for 8 bucks a piece) can hold anything shorter than 8 inches. Out of season clothes, school supplies, or other oddities. That should help until we get a chance to build a bed frame with drawers below.

Clearly we have some work to do here, like get/make a bed skirt (in addition to other things). And, if you look carefully, you can see one change we started over the weekend.

Handy Sammy isn’t picky, but I’d like to make this room functional, clutter free, and pretty. We’ve never had to think about the needs of a teenager, so if you have any small storage ideas, please share.

You Can Hang Your Hat On It

Published on March 4, 2013March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode26 Comments

Hello and happy Monday! Well, as happy as a Monday can be. How was your weekend? Saturday brought beautiful weather with temps in the low sixties. A touch of spring that I’m desperately clinging to. Yesterday started out nice, but ended with a snow storm complete with thunder and lightning. Never have I witnessed a snow/thunder storm combo. We took advantage of the nice weather and ran errands and grabbed lunch on Saturday. Which is always a treat. And we made a little tweak to the entertainment center. But let me back up, several weeks ago, Ben put in all the drawers. Then I primed and painted the inside and outsides.

Last weekend he attached the drawer fronts using this technique.

After some debate and opinion gathering, we chose handle option number 1, the simple (cheapest) square ended one.

My favorite and so pretty. After all, hardware is jewelry for a room.

As usual, our projects are never in the quick one week and done style. Oh no, we like to drag it out, because what else would we want to do? Pshh, that’s totally it. That means we still have a few things to do. Number one, cut pieces for the toe kick, prime, and paint. The only wood accent I want is the pretty top, not unfinished pine.

Annnnd I still want doors on the upper cabinets. We don’t have a lot of clutter there, but the bounty of speakers and electronics doesn’t look pretty. Doors would also help cut down the amount of dust.

For now, I grin like a fool when I see finished drawer fronts with functional storage behind. The boys now have a place to keep toys.

The top drawer closest to the stairs is super handy to store hats and gloves (and other randoms like plastic pea pods) that normally get lost in the closet.

And that brings us to this weekend’s little tweak.

We hung the tv to the back wall, making it easier to clean under.

In addition to showing off more of the dark wood top. What do you think of the nearly finished entertainment center? Tall, dark, and handsome, right? Of course that’s about the only thing that is done in the living room. Now I want to repaint the walls with a little color (notice the blue swatches?) in a flat paint. Satin is entirely too glossy on the knock down texture.

Gimme a Giveaway: Lamps Plus

Published on March 1, 2013April 4, 2013 by Our Humble Abode285 Comments

This giveaway is closed. Thanks for entering! See who won here.

First day of March (yay spring!). And Friday. Wow, today is goo-ood. But wait, it gets better. Not only did Lamps Plus send us two beautiful sconces, they’ve graciously offered up a giveaway. Lamps Plus is offering one very lucky winner 250 bucks to spend on anything(s) in their store.

Chandeliers, pendants, table lamps, sconces, even furniture. Whatever your heart doth desire.

Maybe a dark bronze Murray Feiss pendant (or two!) for a hallway or over an island:

A dual shade semi-flush light for bedrooms:

Robert Abbey’s Delta lamp is a fun splurge:

I’d be totally jealous if you added Kenroy Floren Accordion swing arm sconces to a reading nook or as bedside lamps:

Splurge on a favorite fancy item or two or get your money’s worth. It’s up to you.

The Goods: A personal shopper and 250 dollars to spend at Lamps Plus.

To Enter: Leave a comment, which can (but doesn’t have to) include our Just for Fun question.

Just for Fun: Tell us who or what lights up your life. Your spouse? Kids?

For additional entries:

1. Like Lamps Plus on Facebook. Be sure to leave another comment to increase your chances of winning.

2. Like Our Humble Abode on Facebook.

Contest Closes: Thursday, March 28th, 2013.

Number of Winners: There can be only one.

Ships: United States residents only.

Other Info: We will select the winners using random.org and announce on Friday, March 29th. Good luck!

Sandstone Cove

Published on February 28, 2013March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode25 Comments

Do you remember my itch to paint? I’ve finally scratched it. Monday included priming and painting our newly installed crown. Tuesday I edged the ceiling – Ben will roll it after we finish patching a few hairline cracks. Yesterday I put two coats of Behr’s Sandstone Cove (color matched to Glidden) on the family room and hall walls. Good news! We love the color.

Rember the peach-y walls of yore? Here’s a refresher.

It changes from beige to gray depending on the lighting. And makes the white trim stand out. With nail holes patched, we’re assessing our art. Ben says I hang cluttered groups and would like to see simpler, larger pieces. I’m thinking the 2 foot by 3 foot frame could look nice hanging on this wall. Perhaps I’ll change out the art, but the boys like to find places on the map, so it might stay for them.

The hall gallery is gone, at least until I can figure out a way to simplify it. For now, the Montana and Minnesota watercolors will hang just above the thermostat.

Yesterday wasn’t all smiles at the new paint though. After three days of painting, I had a problem and a frustration meltdown happened. I completely blame this:

(Yes, I realize this is a first world problem and I’m a major brat) Unfortunately, in at least 20 spots, my Frog tape peeled off the trim paint. Wop wop. Worst of all, I don’t know why that happened. The tape wasn’t stuck on forever, the paint was dry, I peeled it off when the paint was still wet at an angle. It doesn’t make sense. I’ll have to sand the areas, touch up the semi gloss trim paint, then the satin wall paint. Inevitably the touch up will be obvious thanks to a sheen difference. Unless you have suggestions. After my meltdown, Ben cheered me up by installing our new sconces from Lamps Plus.

Ahh, so pretty and simple.

Love a touch of satin nickel.

Even better, the low profile means fewer bumps and bruises for the adults in this house.

Overall, I’m thrilled with the brighter, sleek look. And a warm, diffused light. I give these sconces two enthusiastic thumbs up. Check back tomorrow for a light-ning giveaway!

P.S. Lamps Plus kindly sent us two sconces after we featured them. We’re psyched to Lamps Plus wanted to team up with us.