Home Improvement

Window Seat Planning: Step 1

Published on November 5, 2015February 5, 2016 by Our Humble Abode11 Comments

Most recently, our living room received an update in the form of a camel leather sofa. Total game changer for the space, per usual, that doesn’t make the room complete. Nope, it seems there’s always something. Since we’ve moved in, I’ve imagined a beautiful window seat with shelving on either side of the large front window.

With more pressing projects and complete rooms to finish, it has never been on the priority list, but now it’s nearing the top. To get a better idea of the space it would require and how the furniture arrangement would change, I did a little switcheroo. Pulling the sofa a foot away from the window left ample space behind for a two foot deep seat, plus two and a half feet of walking space.

Masking tape currently marks where the built ins would go.

But, pulling the couch forward left no room for the longer linen sofa. Instead, the club chair with a stump side table fill that side, while still defining the living from dining room.

Opposite the club chair, I pulled the metal and leather chairs (that were temporarily in our bedroom) to round out the seating group without adding bulk.

Living with the closer furniture arrangement hasn’t felt confined or tight 99% of the time. Our only sort of problem is the entertainment center to coffee table spacing, but only when drawers are open. Closed, the walk area is over three feet wide. Even with the drawer completely extended, there’s still a foot and a half of room to maneuver. I’m not sure it’s cause for a slimmer coffee table, but I’m not opposed to it.

A fringe benefit is the tighter grouping makes the 8 by 11 rug more appropriately sized for the space. Turns out, finding a plush enough wool rug, in the right colors and style in sizes over 8 by 10 aren’t easy to come by.

Knowing the rest of the room works well, I need to finalize my bookcase and seat plan before pulling the trigger on building. I’ve got the main idea, just tweaking elements until I have a plan I love. Oddly enough, much of the plan is hinging on a suitable curtain/window covering situation. I love that the green curtains match the dining sets, but a top down system might make better sense. Stay tuned for more info on that front.

Stock the Shelves

Published on October 30, 2015October 30, 2015 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

Now that we’ve lived in this house for a few years, we’ve not only made our way through the house room by room, we’ve gotten a better feel for how we use and actually live in the spaces. Our only tv stays in the living room, but we had considered putting a second in the nook to the left of the family room fireplace.

After discussing the impending basement remodel, we’ve since agreed on creating a designated ‘theater’ room in the darker basement instead. With that settled, and a new cabinet in the kitchen for a bar area, the single shelf seemed tall and awkward.

In a matter of minutes, Ben installed a second shelf, centered in the area. The second matching shelf has created a display space for family photos. Rather than touching up the old paint color around the new shelf, I worked myself up to repaint the room to match the adjacent living room and kitchen. Painting around 8 doors, two windows, and the fireplace isn’t my favorite pastime, but the heart wants what it wants.

Naturally, I couldn’t just paint the walls gray, I should freshen up the white on everything first, no? So that’s what I did, creating a nice flow through the open rooms.

With all the extra stuff on the shelves, I kept the mantle simple to balance.

I’m still undecided whether it’s too full or just enough, but I love having a spot to display and rotate old photos.

Having all my favorites out in the open makes my heart happy, remembering how small my babies were.

Everything’s a mixture: old frames, black and white photos mixed with color, open photo holders.

One holder is a tiny wooden easel, a second a vintage floral frog, and a stump on the bottom.

Funny how a shelf that took a few minutes to build sets about so much change. Any projects like that pop up for you recently?

Kitchen Update

Published on October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Months ago, when we installed the island bar top, we chose maple for its durable, stand up to abuse nature.

To finish it, I applied a coat of teak oil, but didn’t like the way it yellowed the wood. So, I sanded it smooth and put on four layers of polyurethane. After a month or two of use, the poly started flaking off-bummer. Knowing I didn’t like just oil, I settled on staining the wood dark, then applying an oil finish for easy touch ups. Of course this sounds so much easier than it was to sand everything a third time, getting into every corner, but it was 100% worth trapping myself inside a Dexter-esque plastic bubble.

It’s still a hard to scratch or dent surface, unlike the softer walnut, but even better, the dark finish makes the island more cohesive.

In other island news, we have new stools! We brought the old World Market trio with us from the old house, which was better than nothing. Though the extra two feet of counter space made three stools spaced too far apart.

Not knowing exactly what I wanted, I waited, and waited. And waited some more, until a stroke of pure luck. As I wandered around World Market, I spotted a notice about the Twist stools, they had been recalled due to the weld at the seat base breaking. At home, I checked the code on the bottom of the stools, and sure enough, the numbers matched. Next time I had a chance, I popped in the store to get more details and ask how to go about the recall. The nice manager told me to bring the stools in for a store credit or cash refund. At that same time, I checked out their stool selection, but didn’t see any I loved and fit my needs. I knew I wanted something durable and wipeable, so fabric was out. Light weight was also a plus, to make it easier for the boys and their friends to pull out. Finally, something with plastic feet, to protect the slate floors from scratches. After getting the cash refund, I turned to the internet to score a set of four stools.

Sleuthing brought up a 29 inch Better Homes and Gardens café stool with excellent reviews. It ticked all the boxes, durable metal, wipeable, light weight, with black rubber feet, and only $40 each. After a debate between silver and white, I decided on white to keep the focus on the actual island and all that beautiful walnut.

With all the work we’ve put in over the summer to rebuild the deck, replace windows and siding, it’s nice to make a little more progress in the kitchen. Though it’s been fully functional for about ten months, we still have minor things to finish up.

Like making a set of glass cabinet doors for the dish cabinet.

Side note, thanks for the help about the Command picture hanging strips. They’re working great to hang the wood sign on the marble wall, without drilling.

Opposite, the base cabinet is done with the bar set up, but an upper cabinet will still go above, with glass doors.

In our usual fashion, these finishes will probably be finished in a year, since it’s not a pressing issue. So, that’s the current status of the kitchen-100% functional, mostly finished, with a few details left to get to.

Another Goes to the Dark Side

Published on October 13, 2015October 13, 2015 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

Our master bath is still one of my most favorite full room makeovers we’ve ever tackled. Maybe it’s because I still have nightmares about the starting point and appreciate how far it’s come. Or perhaps I simply love the contrast of dark and light, warm and sleek, natural and industrial.

I think for most people, the nearly black walls are a big part of the equation, as it’s not a color ordinarily found in bathrooms. But, when paired with white lower sections and a large window letting in plenty of natural light, the dark color doesn’t feel cold or cave like. Rather, it’s a warm, but bold neutral that packs a punch.

When the lovely lady that bought our old house asked me if I thought the same color (Wrought Iron in flat finish from Benjamin Moore) would work in that master bathroom, I said yes. Like our current master bath, this room also has a window and plenty of white wall trim to balance out the dark, pulling color from the tile up to the walls. In a moment of insanity, I offered to paint it for her, as a fun reveal of sorts. Fortunately, she didn’t find it crazy and agreed, to painting as well as a post about the changes. Here’s the bathroom, in all its pink glory while we still lived there.

Eek, that last photo looks really bubblegum, though in person it looked softer and deeper. I figured the only room I’d ever paint pink was a bathroom and went for it. Three plus years later, the current owner was ready for a change.

After only a few hours of painting, and a handful of new accessories, here’s it is after:

While the pink was light, airy, and borderline cottage-y, the dark is masculine, enveloping, and modern. Along with ample natural light, wood tones keep the dark walls from feeling sterile and lifeless. In the case of our bathroom, the walnut vanity adds that natural warmth. With a white vanity here, a couple of dark wooden accessories and art peppered around the room do the trick. I sanded and stained a bamboo tissue cover and created a custom wooden sign.

For a dash of fun and humor, we agreed on the ‘get naked’ design, as it hangs across from the shower.

Over by the sink, we added a circular trio to fill out the wall space. Using a kit and 10 inch wooden disk, I painted and hung a distressed clock, small wood slice art, and the owner’s antique hand mirror passed down from her grandmother.

The other side is simple with a hand towel and wooden bowl for hair ties. Going so dark on the walls really emphasizes the white trim, too.

It was fun to be back in a familiar space, working on a project and the happy couple love the changes as well. So, it goes to show that an unconventional, unexpected color can work in different spaces. Worst case scenario, if the changes aren’t great, it’s only paint.

King Bed Build Plan

Published on October 1, 2015October 2, 2015 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

When you’re on a budget and have something specific in mind, DIY is such a good option, allowing customization and a lower price point than most store options. That’s how our king sized bed came to be, and cost less than $200 for every last supply.

Fortunately, this wasn’t our first bed building experience-we made a captains bed for our smaller bedroom at our last house and a bed for each of the boys about two years ago.

In fact, the process for creating our bed was very similar to the steps we used to make a set of twin beds. First, we cut a 4 by 4 post into 16 inch lengths, then running the sides through the table saw to create a 3 1/4 inch square, just to take the rounded edges off, looking less like dimensional lumber. With a sander, I angled the tops of each post an eighth of an inch, just to ease the seam. Here’s a normal post next to a finished one for comparison.

To securely fasten the side rails into the posts, we measured 1 1/2 inches and 6 1/2 inches down from the top of the post. For the head and foot rails, we measured 2 inches and 6 inches down. Staggering the screws is a very important step because the screws are going in perpendicular and you don’t want them to hit. It’s easiest to place the post in the corner and mark 3/4 of an inch in from the edge where the rail will go in. Pre drill holes through the post, keeping the drill as plumb as possible to avoid the screws going in wonky.

For a beefier, well proportioned bed we used 2 by 10 boards for the rails, with a half strip of 2 by 4 nailed along the base. Again, we ran each through the table saw to cut away the rounded corner.

Large beds are difficult to maneuver, getting around corners and through doors, so we built each side to come apart easily. For even easier disassembly/moving, Ben attached spacers to the side rails, leaving enough room for a vertical 2 by 4 between each. These keep the mattress cross supports in place without nails, meaning the supports are removable without tools!

Along the head and foot rails, we secured a 2 by 4, to give the OSB a ledge to rest on, keeping it flush with rest of the cross supports.

Below, the rails are ready for the corner posts.

On a level surface, lay all the pieces out upside down, which keeps the tops of the rails and posts flush. Then drive a 6 inch long screw through the post and into each rail.

While still in the garage, we assembled the bed to make sure everything fit, then took the side rails apart, leaving the legs attached to the head and foot sections before staining.

Our finishing cap that covers the posts and rails is also a 2 by 4, but planed down to a 1 inch thickness and cut to match the post width of 3 1/4 inches.

Mitered corners on the foot end, but a square-cut at the head end to tuck under the headboard.

Once stained, oiled, and dry, we hauled the pieces up and put it back together, just like Humpty Dumpty. In go the cross supports, spaced 16 inches on center. Ben builds everything to allow a large pachyderm to be able to use it, so no creaking, squeaking, or wobble going on here.

Then the OSB sheeting.

The headboard is a sheet of OSB cut two inches narrower than the frame, then the edges are thickened up with a half strip of 2 by 4. I wrapped batting, then the velvet over, stapling to the underside of the 2 by 4 edge. Once the upholstery was done, we nailed a 1 inch wide wood strip around the sides to finish it off.

Two by six sections run vertically, screwing into the back side of the head rail to attach the headboard. Overall, the bed took us about 6 or 8 hours to build and finish from scratch. And in those hours, we saved roughly 1600 dollars, which is far more than my hourly pay rate of nothing.