Downstairs Board and Batten

Cupboard Drawers

I've had a bit of spring fever lately, and as a result, I've been itching to organize a few areas in our house. We don't have a ton of kitchen storage so I've just been trying to maximize the space we do have.

As part of this, I decided to make a couple drawers for our island cabinets. As you can see the top shelf doesn't extend to the front, limiting the amount it could hold. The drawers add a little extra storage space and also make the contents a bit more accessible.

Baseball Thread Picture Mat

I made these picture mats over a year ago and I have just now gotten around to putting them in frames. I'm so glad I did!!

I saw similar mats at Pottery Barn a couple years back and loved them, but as usual the price was more than I wanted to pay and knew with a little work I could reproduce them. They were very easy to make. 

Caulking 101

I recently finished caulking around our kitchen counters, and now I'm in the middle of caulking some baseboards. While I am certainly not a pro at caulking, I thought I'd share what I do know and hopefully provide some helpful tips.

Materials needed:

• Caulk. There are several different kinds of caulk. For example, some are specific for kitchens and bathrooms. Some are paintable, some aren't. There are tinted, clear, and white variants. If you're not sure what kind you need, usually the sales people at hardware stores can help point you in the right direction.
• Caulk Gun. You may not need this if you are doing a smaller project, in which case you can just buy a small tube.
• Old rag/paper towels
• Bowl of water

West Elm Knock-Off...er...Inspiration

Make Your Own Magnetic Chalkboard

I found the above frame at Goodwill for only $3. I loved how large and chunky it was, but it was otherwise really ugly. Fortunately, it wasn't anything that a little paint couldn't fix. I bought it before we moved here and wasn't certain how I would use it. After we decided to make Sarah a little reading nook, I knew that the frame would be perfect for a magnetic chalkboard. The ledge on the frame is even large enough to hold a few pieces of chalk, a lucky accident.

Project Outlet

In the past I would have never considered myself a klutz. Growing up, I was always very involved with sports and dance, and I'd like to think I had above-average coordination. However, something seems to have changed. I feel like, with increasing frequency, I have been doing some pretty clumsy things. For example, a few nights ago I was putting on a quick coat of primer in our bathroom downstairs. I had finished and was ready to put the lid on the can, when I realized the lid wasn't going on as well as it should because of dried paint around the rim of the can. So I started to chisel the paint off the rim, when somehow the paint can flew off my counter spilling half the paint on my bathroom floor and splattered down the opposite wall. But not just the wall, it managed to get inside our outlet causing the bathroom lights to shut off. It was seriously like I took the can of paint and threw it on the wall and outlet.

Our Dining Chairs

Since I broke one of our dining chairs while using it as a step stool I thought it was a good opportunity to show you what I did to update them in the first place.

Wood Banister

 

Kitchen Island Board and Batten How-to

After I painted our kitchen cabinets I felt like our island was looking a bit boring. I had all the quarter round trim for the floor cut, painted, ready to install but I couldn't do it. I knew I wouldn't be happy with it just as it was. It needed more character.

 

Valentine Art

Score Board

Sarah's Bed Redo

Entryway Bench How-To

Painting the Cabinets

Here are the details of how we painted the cabinets.

Ryan's Dresser

*Update: I've decided to offer my knot knobs for sale for those of you who would rather purchase them. You can find them here.