Category: Room Makeovers

Room changes, step by step.

A Finished Office

Published on by Our Humble Abode23 Comments

!!!!!  Yay!  This is the moment I’ve been waiting to share for a year.  For Mother’s Day, I we went out to breakfast, then did a little shopping.  Not the fun kind, though I did get a new Leatherman Squirt in bright blue.  That’s fun, right?  Ben bought me a bouquet of Kermit mums.  Love how fun they are.  When we returned home, I requested asked Ben to install the drawer fronts in my office as my Mother’s Day gift.  (Three years ago, I requested a new end table, which is now in the guest bedroom).  Being the fantastic hubby he is, he did.  I wasn’t able to get any during shots, so I’ll make sure to take some when we install the laundry room drawers.

Ben had already installed the drawers, but the drawer fronts couldn’t be built until the drawers were installed.  Which means waiting, which I’m not good at.  But, Ben built the fronts and it was my turn to prime and paint.  A few afternoon naps and three coats of paint later, the fronts were ready.  We went from this:

Which was already a huge improvement over this, both in looks and function:

Now, I can officially say my office is finished.  Well, the building, I’m sure it will continue to change and evolve over time and use.

We continued with the Shaker style panel, but had to make a few minor adjustments.  Can you see the difference?  It’s like a drawer version of Where’s Waldo?

If you haven’t noticed it, good!  That was the goal.  If you’re wondering, pay close attention to the horizontal pieces.  The top drawer front is only 5 inches tall, the second is 5 1/2 inches tall, the third is 8 inches and the bottom is 12 inches.  All of the verticals are 2 1/2 inches wide, but the horizontals are not.  Why, you ask?  Because, the top drawer would be completely flat if the horizontal was still 2 1/2 inches.  2 1/2 + 2 1/2 = 5  The second drawer would have only 1/2 inch between the horizontals, which isn’t enough room for the drawer pull.  So, drawer number 1 has 2 inch horizontals, leaving 1 inch for a pull, while the second drawer has 2 1/4 inch horizontals, with an inch for a pull.  Pretty fun, right?

After some convincing of Ben, he agreed it wouldn’t look completely stupid.  I hate the back-handed compliments.  And if it did, it was my idea and not his office.

I love the finished, seamless look, especially paired with the connected squares trim pattern.  I think the doors and drawers finish off the space perfectly, concealing every ugly, strictly utilitarian office essential.  Well, almost every one.  We still need to build, paint and install a pull out shelf to set my printer on.  It is ugly and needs to be hidden.

Ben admitted when he finished installing the doors that he was jealous of my office and has plans of a hostile takeover.

The clean white drawers and cabinets are the icing on the cake. 

Have you finished any lingering projects?  What took so long?  Weather?  Supplies?  Lack of motivation?  Just know you’re not the only one with outstanding projects.

Sun Bursting

Published on by Our Humble Abode103 Comments

I’m sure you’ve seen DIY sunburst mirrors all around the blogosphere recently, but because this is a hot trend (pun intended), I don’t think you’ll mind if I share another one.  Last fall, I hot glued bamboo kitchen skewers to the back of a bevel edged mirror.  After spray painting it white and living with it in our master bedroom for the winter, I decided it wasn’t the right fit.  You see, most of the accessories and furniture in our room are black, and the white didn’t stand out against the wall like I had hoped.  And the skewers we a little too thin for my liking, at least in this case.  I may hang it in the basement bedroom for some drama.

So, I started brainstorming a cheap or free way to make an awesome, chunkier sunburst mirror.  Then, while planning a paint chip project, it figuratively hit me.  Paint sticks!  They’re free and chunky.  I snagged 27 from Wal-Mart thinking I would have plenty.  Then, I chose a 12 inch diameter beveled mirror from Hobby Lobby (in the candle section).  Candles were 50% off, so my mirror cost $3.00.

I went home ready to get my sun bursting on.  I started by marking the mirror in quarters, using a Sharpie.  Then, I placed a stick on each mark and filling in.  Then, I realized I wouldn’t have enough for two tiers.  Our weather took a turn for the worse, so I waited to get more sticks.  While waiting for the weather, Kate at Centsational Girl posted about her DIY paint stick mirror.  Apparently, great minds think alike.  Though our plans of attack were slightly different, I knew the results would be stunning, too.

Finally, our weather cleared up and I packed the kids to go to Home Depot.  I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague.  Immediately, I knew the Wal-Mart sticks were thinner and had rounded corners, so I had to make a few changes.

Turns out 80  grit sand paper rounds corners of paint sticks really quickly.

Now that I had all of my supplies, I got started.

I applied a coat of black paint to the front and sides of each stick.  For my first tier, I knew I had to cut the sticks so the curved edge didn’t show, so I didn’t bother painting that far.

After the black paint dried, I applied a coat of metallic silver paint.  The silver is semi transparent, so the black still showed through making a really great metallic charcoal grey.  See the difference?

So, after a few hours of painting, letting it dry, painting again, and letting it dry, I warmed up my glue gun.  Before I could start gluing, I had to cut the sticks.  With a baby and toddler in tow, it wasn’t an option to use a saw.  I opted for a wire cutter.

I just squeezed hard twice on each side and then snapped it off.  Worked great, but not a super clean edge.  I measured 8 inches long on a sample stick and marked the back of each stick for a reference to keep the same length.

I tried to place each stick as evenly as possible.  A few lines of hot glue held each stick firmly in place.  After finishing the first tier, I flipped it for a quick look.  I’m a likin’.

On to the next round.  I was able to keep half of the sticks the full length by alternating non cut and cut.  This round is 10 inches long with the curved edges hidden behind the first round.  Yay for not needing to trim everything down.

With the sticks in place, I glued a picture hook to the back of the mirror with Liquid Nails.  48 hours of dry time later, I hung the mirror on our wall.

Paint Stick Sunburst Mirror Over Bench

The grey contrasts beautifully against the grey/green walls.

Paint Stick Sunburst Mirror After

The metallic sheen also changes with the lighting.  The wall against the bench is now nicely filled with the sun burst mirror.

Paint Stick Sunburst Mirror Over Bench

How about a little budget breakdown?

50 paint sticks:  Free

Paint:  Already owned

Glue gun and sticks:  Already owned

Picture hook:  Already owned (are you noticing a trend?)

Mirror:  Originally $5.99, but 50% off to $3.00

Total:  $3.00

Have you jumped on the sun burst band wagon?  Did you go the store-bought or DIY route?  Which store version do you have your eye on?  Maybe you have a favorite tutorial?  If you’ve made a mirror, we’d love to see yours on our Facebook page.

We’re still looking for questions for our blog anniversary.  If there’s something you want to know, just ask.

P.S.  We’ve had another request to size down our photos.  What do you think of this change?  Too large, too small?  We need your opinions so we can make the best changes.

A (Nearly) Finished Office

Published on by Our Humble Abode18 Comments

Has the suspense built enough?  Are you anxiously awaiting the reveal of my office cabinets?  Well, just a minute, let’s reminisce, shall we?  Last spring, my office looked like this:

Almost finished, just needed drawers and cabinet doors.  Over the summer, Ben made cabinet doors.  We waited, and waited, and procrastinated, and waited some more until several months had passed.  Then, a month ago, Ben installed the drawers in my office, filling the gaping hole to the left of my desk.

Now, after several painting sessions, we were ready to install the cabinet doors.  Adding the hinges was simple enough.  Ben drilled a hole for the hidden hinge to rest in, then screwed it in place.

After securing the hinges to the door, Ben hung the doors on the cabinet.  After a few adjustments, finally, the other huge void in my heart my office has been filled, by cabinet doors.

We used the same design as the theater room and added modern cylinder handles from Home Depot for $20.00 for 10.  Here’s a tip, make your own hardware template by measuring the distance from the top and sides of your cabinet.  Mark on a scrap of paper, then measure and mark the holes for the handle.  Poke holes to easily transfer the screw placement to each door.  I made a set for a left and right side.

This little piece of paper will save time while keeping the placement consistent on each door.

 

To make the space even more functional, we’ve added a few extra features.  Like this closet rod to store my packing paper.

I want to add a hook or two to the right, in front of the paper to hang a reusable shopping bag to corral outgoing mail.

Also on the list, adding a pull out shelf above the computer tower to get the printer off the work surface and clear the clutter.

For a dose of fun, I would love to paint the shelf a poppy color, like the pull out shelf in Yellow Brick Home’s amazing media wall.

Fun, right?  You know what else is fun?  Finally organizing the cabinets.  While I was tearing my office apart, I decided to rearrange my shelves.

I found a cute drawing on Pinterest, so I printed it and popped it in an IKEA frame.  It says, “I want a boy who will build me bookshelves.”  A perfect fit for me and Ben as that is one of the traits I love about him, his handiness.  One of my globes moved down a shelf and I added a vase to corral paint swatches.

It is amazing how much brighter the room feels by covering the shadowed cabinets with crisp white doors.  If you follow us on Facebook, you know I’ve been painting.  Any guesses on what?  With nice weather comes painting, lots of it.  Even though I detest painting, I’ll be happy to have it done.  What is your least favorite home improvement task?

P.S.  We’re still looking for your questions for us.  Anything you want to know, and, it doesn’t have to be home related.  It’s going to be a lame Q and A if we only have three questions.  *Smile*

Birds and a Feather

Published on by Our Humble Abode39 Comments

I didn’t intend to be such a tease when I revealed our progress shots of the basement gallery wall.  After placing my templates, marked with where to nail, I had almost completed the wall.

Of course, almost included cutting a mat, replacing some temporary art and painting a few black frames white.  But the weather was not on my side, until this past Sunday.  Two Saturdays ago, it was 75 degrees here, which sounds beautiful, right?  But if I painted then, I would have had more paint on me than on the frames because it was so windy.  Sunday’s high temp was 35 with intermittent snow/rain showers, so painting was out of the question.  That’s spring in Montana for you.  Last week brought highs in the fifties with gusts of wind and sporadic rain, so still no painting.  Finally, Sunday was perfect, 55 degrees with a slight breeze.

I disassembled my frames, breaking one piece of glass along the way (grrr!), hauled the frames, spray paint in hand, to the back yard and set up shop.  Two coats of gloss white and a few hours of dry/air out time later, I was back in business.  Hanging the frames was easy because I had already placed the nails.  Here is the final (well, until I get bored or find new art to add in) wall:

I really love having a complete wall in our basement.  And, you can catch a glimpse from the top of stairs.  But, let’s take a closer look.

The bird, feather or tree theme + collection of white frames = cohesive gallery wall.  All of the art came from Etsy, was a free printable or something I made.  Here’s a complete gallery wall source list, from left to right:

1.  Northern Flicker by Mai Autumn.

I just ordered this print, so I printed off a temporary design until I receive it.

2.  Original Pressed Feather, for sale in the Our Humble A{Bowe}d Etsy shop.

3.  Nesting Hand Cut Silhouette by Jessica Alpern.

Jessica, and the rest of her work is fantastic as well, so fantastic that I couldn’t resist her Spork, Welcome to the Family cut out for our kitchen.  But, if you’re looking for bird, feather or tree cut outs of your own, might I suggest Leaf Skeleton, or Peacock Feathers?

4.  Willow photograph from Ara133 Photography, which I mentioned a while back.

5.  Polymer clay wall flowers.  Find how I made them here, though I did make a new set of three.

6.  Collection No. 18 by Lori’s World, a gift from a friend.  Check out the other amazing bird related prints, too.

7.  Bird print I mounted to a 4 inch square piece of MDF.

8.  Baby Feather Original Petite painting from Renée Anne.  It was a toss-up between the feather and this Bird I Once Knew petite print.  The feather won because it is an original.  Shipping was fast and the painting is of great quality.

9.  Family Tree cut out, customized in colors of choice, in our shop.  I’m really great to work with, too.  Haha.  But really, try it for yourself.  *Wink*

10.  Free bird printable from That’s Happy, mentioned here before.

11.  Bird painting I recently whipped up.

12.  Autumn Landscape print from Siiso.

It was so hard to decide on something from the Siiso shop.  Every new print I saw was just as fantastic as the last.  I also bought the Blossoms 35 print as part of a housewarming gift for my sister.  She loved it!  Tell Yang Yang hello from us if you order.

13.  5 by 5 Float print by Cat N Photography.

I also bought the Heart print for our guest bedroom.  Cat is great.  If you’re looking for interesting photography, just ask Cat.

14.  I Believe There is Someone for Everyone print by Amy Ruppel.

I’ve admired her work since seeing Nicole’s commissioned painting, so it’s cool to have her work in my home.  Some day, I’d love an original.

Last but not least, number 15, Autumn Feathers by Miles of Light.

The photo is so realistic, Ben thought I had framed feathers.  When I told him it was a print, he had to inspect it to believe me!  I don’t know how she does it, but Romina takes such beautiful photos.  If only I could learn her secrets.

See any art you want to order?  Have you made any bird, feather or tree art?  Have you seen the Geico Bird in the Hand commercial?  Definitely not their best, but I do love their woodchuck commercial.  And Ben does a great impression of the grumpy farmer.  Do you have a themed gallery wall on your home?  Maybe you know a few photography secrets or tips?

Please note: We were not compensated for this post, we simply love the items we’ve purchased from these shops and want to share with you!

All  images found via the featured Etsy seller’s listing as linked above.

P.S.  We’d really appreciate your vote!  Thank you!

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.