Category: Home Improvement

Affordable ways to update your home.

Chunky Wood Moooi Random

Published on by Our Humble Abode28 Comments

Way back in November, I attempted a wire version of the Moooi Random pendant.  I failed miserably.  After my failure, I brainstormed other DIY lighting options.   Then we got busy finishing our laundry room and my quest for a cool light fell to the back burner.  Ben bought a 250 foot roll of iron-on wood veneer edging for our laundry room shelving and drawers.  We tried it on one drawer and hated it.  Having used some of the roll, we couldn’t return it.  What’s a DIY gal in need of a light to do?  Use the otherwise unusable veneer to create a light, of course. 

So, I gathered supplies.

A hot glue gun, scissors, small clips and the veneer.  I also bought a ceiling canopy and socket kit, just like the ones I used to make my coffee filter pendant, from Home Depot. 

As my glue gun was heating up, I looped a piece of veneer until I liked the size, which is about the final size of the fixture.  Cut the end and cut about 20 more of the same length.  Overlap the ends slightly, about 1 inch, apply a large pea sized dollop of hot glue.  Press the ends in place until the glue has dried.  If you attempt this and use iron-on veneer, the heat from the glue will start to melt the glue backing.  This isn’t a problem, just something to be aware of.  If any hot glue seeps out, wait a few seconds, then peel the glue away. 

Glue the ends together of about 15 strips.  Now the fun begins.  Start by overlapping two circles, perpendicular to one another.  Glue at both touch points. 

Continue gluing, overlapping to create a random pattern.  Bend the veneer circles to fit in the holes.  They’ll pop back into shape. 

Make a smaller fitting triangle for the socket to fit into.  I marked mine with a small clip.  This will help keep visible seams toward the top, out of sight.  When your sphere starts getting full, it will be more difficult to place the circles inside.  At this point, start weaving your strips through the light to fill any large gaps.  Be sure to leave at least one gap that is large enough to get your hand and a bulb in, though. 

Cut a piece of coordinating cardstock for your socket.  Mark a circle at the center and cut a slit from one side to the center.  Place your socket in to keep the socket from shifting.  This is a super simple, cool (I think so, anyway.   Ha!) light.  It took me less than two hours from beginning to installation.  Baby breaks and all.  Stay tuned for pictures of the light installed. 

Anyone interested in giving it a try?  Or another DIY light?  Maybe you’ve already tried one.  Care to share some pictures?  Head on over to our Facebook page to show off your hard work.

In the Works

Published on by Our Humble Abode22 Comments

Gallery walls are all the rage right now.  We already have one in our main level hallway.  I’ve been scouring Etsy lately to find the perfect art to fill a gallery wall in our basement.  I’ve finally found enough art to fill the wall.  Now, I’m fiddling with the arrangement.  Something asymmetrical containing all my bird, feather and tree art.  To find the perfect arrangement, I started moving the frames around on the floor in front of the wall.  One layout I liked, the other I loved.

Option number one:

Option number 2 is the winner!

With the layout decided, I traced each frame on newspaper and marked where to nail.  Seriously, this saves so. much. time.  After determining the center of the arrangement and the center of the wall, I taped my templates up. 

My frame arrangement as well as my drawing were close by for reference. 

Stay tuned for the final reveal.  In the mean time, I’m wondering how many of you have or would like to have a gallery wall?  Where do you have it?  Sprucing up a hall?  Meandering down the stairs?  What fills those frames?  Family photos?  Travel mementos?  Etsy art?

No Longer Homeless

Published on by Our Humble Abode5 Comments

Not me, but the cute little deer hooks I bought back in December.  Originally, I thought they would live in our entry.  Unfortunately, they were too deep and the door would have crashed into them.  Sadly, the little guys sat in the closet for months.  Finally, a light bulb went off.  We need towel hooks in the basement bathroom!  Now, the dudes have a home.  One lives by the bathtub.

He looks happy, no?

He’ll be happier if/when I get around to painting the screws to match.  His brother lives by the shower.  Well, where a shower will eventually be.

So, our friends are back, to stay.  A nice manly touch to the man cave bathroom.  Still have to find hooks for the entry.  Have you seen cute hooks lately?  Just pretty?  Animals?  Share your secrets.

Basement Progress: Bathroom

Published on by Our Humble Abode18 Comments

While writing this post, I realized we’ve never shared true before pictures of our basement bathroom.  So, here is the completely blank slate we started with.

And the Frankenstein-esque vanity before paint.

For the bathtub surround, we cut the large floor tiles in half to create a large subway tile pattern.  The height of our trim treatment hinged upon the height of the tile and the window sill.

We used a sprayer to prime and paint the entire basement at the same time.  Here is what our bathroom (and the rest of the basement) looked like one year ago.  Remember, I was due on April 1.  Can you say, “Down to the wire?” 

Lots of white paint!

Finally, after a year (with breaks) of renovating, we were ready to add color to our walls.  That was a huge relief!  We still haven’t finished everything, but here it is today.

Still to do: build drawers and false front for the vanity, start finish the shower under the stairs, which will also be a steam room, and hang the mirror.

There you have it, folks.  Our basement bathroom in all its unfinished glory! 

How long does it take for you to complete a project?  Are you like us: finish 90% and then move on to something else until you get a bug up your butt to finally finish it?  Or do you keep focused until the entire project is just as you’d like?  I’m afraid to put anything too personal in bathrooms due to the creep factor.  How have you decorated your bathroom?  Any art I should know about?  Share links, too, please.

Simple Solution: Great Bathroom Lighting

Published on by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

So, this might seem strange.  More than once, we’ve had people ask, “Why is the lighting in your bathroom so great?”  They weren’t referring to the actual lights, rather the quality of light.  Three things are going on to make that happen.

1.  Large mirrors.  Both of the mirrors in our upstairs baths are huge.  The main bath mirror is three feet wide and 4 1/2 feet tall, so it reflects a lot of light.  Our master bathroom mirror is about the same size, filling the wall both in width and height.  Mirrors are your friend, in almost any situation. 

2.  Light colored walls.  This isn’t a must, but again, it helps bounce light around the room. 

3.  Ditch the overhead light fixture which casts harsh shadows.  Opt for sconces on either side of the mirror.  By using sconces, you’re getting equal lighting from both sides, eliminating those harsh shadows.  It doesn’t matter much if you choose a down lit or up lit style.  Ours happen to be down lit, just because the fixtures we chose looked better hanging.  Height matters!  A rule of thumb for hanging pictures is eye level or 60 inches from the floor. 

We have sconces in all three of our bathrooms and all are within five inches of each other.  The main bathroom sconces are 70 inches from the floor to the center of the electrical box.  The master bath are 66 inches from floor to center.  By keeping the fixtures near eye level (even if it is someone who is 6’2″), the lighting is more direct.  This also means you can use a lower watt bulb and pitch the flood light. 

Anyone interested in changing out their bathroom lighting?  Do you have a design problem and would like our help?  Send us an e-mail at ourhumbleabowed@gmail.com.