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Deck-orating Ideas

Published on June 11, 2015July 20, 2015 by Our Humble Abode18 Comments

Something strange is happening this year-something we’ve yet to experience since living in this house. For the first time in three years (technically ever, because we always planned to pour a new patio at our old house and never got to that point), we have an outdoor space that is furniture ready without major projects in sight.

Landscaping, windows, and siding are completely finished, making the back deck the perfect place to relax. Cue the trumpets, bring on some chilled drinks, and let’s get some comfortable seating and decorations. Before we can fully celebrate, we do want to pressure wash and restain the deck, but that’s not grueling. We’re checking the forecast for a rain free week to knock it all out, so fingers crossed it happens soon. Until then, I’m dreaming and scheming ways to cozy up and create a private outdoor oasis.

On the back deck, I’d like to create different zones for eating, lounging/chatting, and enjoying the fire. Directly off the family room, I placed four of our dining chairs in a circle with the boys’ mini table as a stand in coffee table. These pieces are not staying here, but give me an idea of the size and layout for the furniture I still have to get. Our dining set will sit just to the right, beneath the wide window.

This arrangement is centered on the fire pit and waterfall, allowing maximum enjoyment of all areas.

To further separate the eating and relaxing areas, I potted two arborvitae trees ($5 at Wal-Mart) in simple white $15 pots from Lowe’s. The added height and greenery on the deck do wonders for defining the spaces, and the pots are light weight so I can move these around easily, even bringing inside for winter if necessary. I filled two other planters I had on hand with succulents, just to add another layer, and popped them next to the trees.

For easier fire pit access, I nestled five flagstones in the rock to create a simple staggered walkway. Sometimes, you just don’t want to wear shoes, but walking on rocks is rough.

Because we already have the two benches flanking the fire, we don’t need to add more seating over there. Which is precisely why I want four light weight chairs to keep on the deck, but can easily get pulled over to the fire when needed.

So in place of those dining chairs, I’m considering these chairs from Lowe’s, if I can get Ben to sit in them and give his approval.

At $65 each, they’re a good deal, get very good reviews, are light weight, and stackable for easy storage through winter. Paired with the comfortable (for me at least), lower seat, they won’t look like dining chairs either. Though I love the comfort cushions add, I’m not the best at remembering to get them in the house before rain, so I’m happy to not sacrifice comfort with those chairs. Once we figure out the chairs, I want to make or buy a coffee table to round out the arrangement. Again, light weight would be nice for winter moving, but not completely necessary.

In other news, the row of grasses I plated last fall have quadrupled in size, most standing about 4 feet tall.

Flanking the wooden benches, at the end of the grass line, I planted drought tolerant, deer resistant Russian Sage. They smell lovely and should fill in with more purple stems.

Between the house and the walkway, I created a little garden space to enjoy from the deck, but also the bedroom windows. In the space between the windows, I’d love to add a climbing plant on a trellis. Knowing plants attached to the house are bad, I doubt I’ll ever convince Ben, but perhaps a free-standing version that could stand a few inches away from the house would work? Any suggestions for shade loving perennial climbing plants?

Last year’s hydrangea, on the far right in the above photo, is alive and well, with only a single bud so far.

Everything within five feet of the house gets full shade, so I schooched the hostas back and filled in with a few coral bells to contrast against all the green. At the corner of the house, a viburnum stands guard and should grow large enough to give the back a little privacy from the driveway.

Closest to the walk, in the full sun, I alternated between cat mint and pink salvia. Hopefully in a few years the plants will all fill in and blend together for a super lush bed. Just for kicks, and to fully relish the last three years of hard work, here’s the back right after move in.

Broken patio, strange fountain, broken windows, trees far too close to the house, weeds everywhere, and no real place to actually hang out. Things kind of only got worse from there after tearing off all the siding to replace windows and excavating down a foot to keep the dirt below the wood rim joist.

And this past winter, when things finally looked finished with a super beefy reclaimed deck, windows, and brand spankin’ new painted and steel siding that hadn’t started to rust.

Now, only a few months later, we call the major components finished. I have a hard time declaring anything truly finished, because I always get ideas to make changes later on, but nothing other than furniture (see the table just waiting to go on?) and perhaps more plants should happen back here.

Any deck plans, outdoor dreaming, or planting going on at your house? It sure is nice to step outside, sit, and not feel like there are 1,000 things we need to work on. It’s equal parts liberating and strange.

Butt of the Square

Published on June 2, 2015July 20, 2015 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

As our outside comes together, I’ve been furiously planting. Almost 60 assorted plants over our property in the last few weeks. Which spurred me to add a dose of life next to the front door.

With an 8 foot tall door, I wanted something taller, to not look dwarfed by the oversized door. A small tree would have been gorgeous, but I didn’t want to block the doorbell. After thinking about it, I might try a dwarf fruit tree. We’ll see. Before building this planter box, I looked at local nurseries, hardware, and home improvement stores but didn’t see any taller planters I liked. DIY to the rescue. Using four 8 foot long 2 by 4s and scrap 2 by 2 strips, I built a modern square planter box.

Before building, I decided I wanted a 17 inch square box six boards (21 inches) tall. To start, I cut twelve boards into 17 inch lengths. With the butt end design, opposite sides are the same length, but the adjacent pieces are shorter to fit between. For the design to be square, I cut twelve more sections at 14 inches long (the overall size minus two 2 by 4 widths).

Based on my finished height of 21 inches, I cut four 20 inch tall 2 by 2 pieces to secure the corners to. I didn’t want see the nails or the corners once filled. Working on a flat surface with a square, I set my pieces together and nailed 16 gauge 2 inch long finish nails from the inside, through the 2 by 2, into the 2 by 4. Much like hardwood flooring, getting the first row straight or in this case, square, makes subsequent rows go smoothly.

From there, adding boards, rotating the exposed ends is the name of the game.

I love the simple interest the staggered exposed ends add.

Once finished, the corner posts are tucked an in below the rim and are easily covered.

Before staining, I smoothed out the rough lumber with 80 grit sandpaper, slightly rounding the corners at the same time.

Wanting to accent the exposed end detail, I stained the box light gray. It darken the end grain just enough to really make it pop. To create the base support, I nailed scrap wood flush with the top of the third board down. Then used another scrap of 3/4 inch material for the base, notching around the corner posts. Sadly, I couldn’t find a square plastic hole-less liner to fit inside. I improvised with four layers of thick plastic. I really don’t want this leaking out and rotting the wood.

With the hard parts done, I got to fill it up with pretty plants my little helpers picked out.

Aromatic lavender, fuzzy lamb’s ear, a purple sweet potato vine, and a small basil plant.

With such a versatile design, I’d like to build a longer box to create a mini herb garden for our back deck. The basil may get swapped to that one later on. And at the end of the season, I can plant both the lavender and lamb’s ear in the ground.

Shelfie

Published on May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

Take a look at this picture of the guest room headboard and bookshelves:

Now look at the current version:

Despite having even more books, does it feel calmer, more natural? I hope it does, because that was my goal. I started by donating the few books I had read and didn’t like/wouldn’t recommend. Followed up by brutally eliminating every accessory/knick knack/tchotchke I didn’t absolutely love. I think only five things made the cut. Then, one shelf at a time, I pulled everything off to dust.

Being OCD, I have always separated my books into fiction and non-fiction groups main groups. Then sub categories for history, biographies, science, etc. and finally in rainbow order. Red books marked the beginning of a new group, making quick work of finding different categories. Even in my old office:

Through the years, my system hasn’t changed. But recently while at the school, I saw filled library cart, spines all facing up. Spines facing up. Duh, why haven’t I added that element to my system? Wanting a calmer color palette, it offers all the benefits of the controversial turning the spines to the wall trick, but, on lower shelves, books are still easy to find. Only snag is our floor to ceiling shelving, leaving the upper two shelves out of view. To keep these shelves as neutral as possible, I pulled out the white, black, gray, and tan books. These got a home on the top shelves, spines facing out for easy finding.

Remaining lower shelves are all nestled in, spines up and easily seen from above.

Occasionally, I placed a stack of books to break things up and create a pedestal for decorative items. Like this engraved silver cup turned fake succulent planter.

In addition to creating less visual clutter, flipping the books had another benefit. I was able to add three more shelves to the mix due to the shorter height. I have my fair share of books, so keeping everything together, tidy, and organized is my preference.

Bed height shelves also serve as built-in night stands, complete with an outlet on each side.

For best function, I tried to keep each of those relatively clear, without having an entirely empty shelf.

Over the past year, I’ve made a conscious effort to bring in and keep only accessories I love. More and more, I’m drawn to natural elements and pieces. A few really cool driftwood pieces are on simple display above the bed.

Maybe having two hunter/gatherer boys has affected me. Collections of wood, rocks, feathers, antlers, shells, and even a few skulls have made their way inside. Each one has a memory or a story, unlike trendy store-bought piece I’m almost guaranteed to grow tired of. Mixing those nature finds in adds a lot of character without costing a dime.

Everything in nature is the perfect color, too. Nothing insanely bright or neon, simply beautiful. So I’ve happily been leaning on nature for the answers to my decoration conundrums. Have you seen any noticeable shifts in your decor preferences?

Guest Green

Published on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

I’m finished with the quick and cheap guest room update. I wouldn’t consider it a makeover because all I really did was repaint the walls, upholster the headboard, rearrange the bookshelves, and swap a few furniture pieces. Add in a few accessories and voilà, new room. For a full walk down memory lane, here’s the room the day we got the keys to this house:

Good starting point, but it was dark and drab. I quickly unloaded the books and accessories on the shelf and we pushed the bed against the only wall wide enough for a queen bed. Not at all better.

To add another foot of usable space opposite the bed, we carved out a little nook in the shelves, adding sconces for a cozy space. A larger window, white paint, and color cheered up the room tremendously.

Almost three years after finishing that, it didn’t flow with the rest of the house. It’s not that I didn’t like the room, it now felt chaotic and cluttered. Not wanting or needing to completely overhaul the room, I devised a plan to shake things up while toning it down. All for under 100 bucks. Ready to see it now?

I always say this, but paint offers the most bang for your buck when changing a room. For only $25 the room is calmer, but still has color. After comparing swatches, I settled on Thicket by Benjamin Moore, color matched at Home Depot. It’s a mid tone green with subtle brown undertones, making it soft.

Another easy change that cost twenty dollars was the upholstered headboard. Two yards of natural linen fabric, batting, and a staple gun covered the old painted panel. Better yet, it took two hours, tops, to knock it out.

I adore the softness and texture it adds.

Changing the bookshelves might be my favorite update though. More on that soon.

For another $20, I got a cream and gray stripe cotton throw from TJ Maxx. Using more of my Fab.com credit, I chose a light rose Pendleton wool pillow. Yet another fast way to add texture and pattern to the room without committing to anything drastic.

Shuffling furniture from different rooms was another free way to change the mood of the room. Previously, a petite mid-century dresser sat against this wall. I love it, but it always seemed just a tad small.

Moving my grandpa’s old dresser up from the basement took only a few minutes.

Just a few inches wider and taller, it fills out this side, but still leaves breathing room.

Perched atop is a small lamp, a few accessories, and what may be my favorite new houseplant. This Rhipsalis, found as a hanging plant at Home Depot, thrives in low light. Perfect live greenery for this north facing room.

Oh, here’s another tip. When artists include art on business cards, don’t throw it away. Cut a small chunk of trim to size and mount the card to the front. Tiny little art to settle in.

Years ago, I received an old oak chair from my great-grandmother. After sanding the peeling finish off and replacing the seat cushion, it’s a piece I love.

It still has plenty of character, but the wood tone against the green wall was too good to pass up. A stack of stripe towels are guest ready and in sight.

The bird, tree, and feather gallery wall is still my favorite collection/grouping.

Even better, it covers up the old sconce boxes, so you’d never know they’re behind there.

So that’s the story on the calm and nature inspired guest room. Even better, it cost about sixty-five big ones.

Green Squares

Published on May 14, 2015May 14, 2015 by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been splitting time between painting various rooms, adding plants to the exterior, and giving the guest room an update. None of which are completely finished, and all waiting for other elements before I’m done. Between the bigger guest room tasks, I decided to rearrange the bookshelves for a less cluttered look. For a bright spot on the shelves, a simple shadow box art was in order. I started with a piece of white mat board, glue, and a bag of moss.

Before starting, I lightly marked a square 1 1/2 inches from the edges. Working in sections, I spread glue and started placing moss along the edges.

After filling in the entire square, I let the glue dry and shook the excess moss off.

Twenty minutes after starting, I had a finished art piece, ready to frame. Both the color and texture are lovely.

I had an Ikea shadow box that fits perfectly on the shelf. Boom, instant nature art with depth and character. Any nature finds you’ve turned into art recently?