Spring Mantel

Spring could not come soon enough in PA.  We have been hit with snow, snow and more snow this winter.  We even got some snow on April Fools Day.  Mother Nature sure has a sick sense of humor ;)

My first stop was Pinterest.  I began gathering ideas on how I wanted to decorate my mantel for spring.  I found lots of great simple things I could incorporate with some existing things I had around the house.  The look I was going for was just casual.  I'm tired of the formal / overdone look.  I knew I wanted to have some kind of floral arrangement with wild flowers.  Shopping alone rarely happens and when the girls are along it is not high on their list of priorities unless of course they get something.  I'm usually limited to a whole hour before the whining starts, so I make quick, efficient shopping trips. 

I got right to work with my spray paint can and painted some out dated candlesticks a fresh antique heirloom white in satin finish.  I love them now!  I don't know why I didn't think of painting them years ago.

I found a nice sized tin silverware caddy which most people would use for just that purpose.  But, I saw so much more potential and decided it was perfect for a flower arrangement.  Off to the craft store we went next to find some fake wild flowers.  Lucky for me they were all 50% off.  I bought five bunches of nice real looking wild flowers and three cheap bouquets of pink daisies for $.99.  The first thing I did was arrange some dry flower foam in the compartments of the tin container to hold the flowers better.  Then I added a thin top layer of spanish moss on top of the foam.

I put one flower bunch in the front center compartment, another on each of the front side compartments and then one more in the back.  I only used one in the back because you can spread the flowers out to still make it look full.  Then I sporadically placed some daisies mixed in with the wild flowers.

The rest of the mantel was just filler from things around the house.  I reused the white lantern from my winter white mantel and swapped out the pine cones for some pink daisies.  I put one more bunch of wild flowers in a white vase with a few daisies, added my painted candlesticks with some fun green candles and a few more items and we are done!

           Happy Spring!

Winter White Mantel

Christmas comes and goes so quick and once those decorations are taken down and put away, the space just feels empty and blah.  I couldn't quite make the change to put up all the normal decor on the mantel so I went shopping.  But, all I bought were four letters that spelled "SNOW" and a clearance burlap tree that was glitter green ($1) from Hobby Lobby.  Then I ran through the rest of the house and gathered some items to make it still feel like winter without the merriness that comes with the Christmas season.

I built a small platform to nail the letters to out of some scrap 1x4 and 1x2 boards laying in the garage.  Next I spaced out the letters and attached them to the front of the 1x2 with my brad nail gun.  I ran down to the basement and spray painted the platform white to match the letters.

It still didn't feel complete, so I picked apart some pine cone sprays I had in a Christmas bin and hot glued them to the "O" letter.  I also had a 12 pack bag of those $1 glitter snowflake ornaments so I cut the string off and hot glued a few to some letters.









 

I have a bunch of lanterns that I bought in black when they were on sale on Black Friday with the intent on making some gifts for people.  Well, lets just say I got busy with other things, so I have a ton of lanterns waiting for next year.  I pulled one out, spray painted it white, added a flameless candle, some pine cones and a burlap bow.

The mantel still needed a few extra things.  I grabbed some extra dowel rods and some platforms I had bought for a different project, drilled a hole in the center the size of each dowel rod and spray painted them white.  I added a glitter snowflake ornament to a few of them for filler and height on the winter mantel.  Oh, and that glitter green burlap tree I bought for a $1, also got some fresh white spray paint for a snow effect.

Kids Bath - Girl Style

Having two small girls in the house is so much fun.  Trying to keep things not too childish, but not tweenish is hard.  I let the girls help pick out the theme for their bathroom they share.  I did have a few rules though.  I really didn't want to go with anything Disney, Hello Kitty, Barbie, Monster High (you get the picture) because I didn't want to be swapping out shower curtains and towels each time the next big thing came along.

They both agreed on a shower curtain they liked with some cute large flowers along with the coordinating flower towels, toothbrush holder and trash can.  We easily matched those up with some solid colored towels and bath mats.  I added this all to their Christmas list and gave family some great non-toy ideas. Win! Win!

We were building our house at the same time and I was able to get all of the lighting on my own.  We went shopping and the girls picked out these tulip lights from Lowes.  They had bronze vines and frosted glass tulip globes.  They were already really cute, but I just knew I could make them better ;-)

Lucky for me, my favorite thing in the world is spray paint.  I rarely won't buy something because it's not the right color.  I look for things with the style and size that fits the space and turn it into what I really wanted the look to be with a few cans of the perfect color.  There are so many colors available and so many finishes.  You can use it on metal, wood, plastic, you name it.  So, why not paint some lights and stainless steel towel holders and hooks, which is exactly what I did!
   

I very lightly sprayed the light globes because I didn't want to block the light from coming out.  I stood directly on top of each globe and sprayed directly down.  It almost created an affect where just the part that would be attached to the "stem" and the ends of each tulip were sprayed with paint.  Of course afterwards I panicked because we were worried it might be a fire hazard to paint light globes.  I got right on the phone with the manufacturer of the spray paint company and we were assured everything would be fine.  They recommended we did not actually use the lights for 7-10 days in order to let the paint cure completely.

And, the finished room is all cute an girly, at least for a few more years!

DIY Ceiling Tin Backsplash

Choosing a kitchen backsplash can be so easy for some.  For me, it was exhausting and still is.  We incorporated a beautiful stone range hood as a focal point.  But, choosing a backsplash to go with it and not take away from the stone was very hard.  I bought numerous samples of subway tiles, glued them to small plywood boards and placed them under the cabinets and around the stone before going all out and installing tile.  I couldn't find anything that I liked.  It was too busy with the stone and the granite.

I then began scouring the web for alternatives to the traditional tile backsplash.  I found some that I absolutely loved that used ceiling tin.  I began doing searches on ceiling tin when I came across Fasade Decorative Thermoplastic Backsplash Panels.  To my surprise, they were sold at Lowes.  And not only were they sold there, they were in stock in the Smoked Pewter color at a Lowes about 30 minutes from where I live.  They retail for $19.95 each.  I went online, began my online order and they were on clearance for $1.44 and had 30 in stock.  For a whopping $43 I bought all 30 of them.  I also bought the matching trim pieces at under $1.35 each.

Materials:  Fasade Thermoplastic Panels (18.5-in x 24.5-in), 18" Inside Corner Trim, 18" Edge J-Trim, Loctite Premium Construction Adhesive, tape measure, pencil and scissors.



I watched a you tube video on how to install the panels and trim and installed the panels in an afternoon.  I only installed the panels under the stone range hood.  Eventually, I'll add subway tile under the rest of the cabinets.  But this is now my favorite focal point in the kitchen.

The panels went up extremely easy.  I followed the manufacturer's instructions and was careful to clean up any extra adhesive immediately.  I ended up using 9 panels in total and two 10 oz tubes of the adhesive.  I installed the Edge Trim pieces on the sides that will be exposed to drywall/tile and used the corner trim pieces in the corners.

We have a pot filler above the stove, so I intentionally created a seam around the pipe that comes out of the wall in order to easily install around it.  Then I added the rest of the first row of panels based on this starting point.

Outdoor TV Cabinet

Super simple outdoor tv cabinet made for 50" TV out of pressure treated lumber and some barn style hardware.

The box frame was made out of two 2x8x8 pressure treated boards and the doors were made out of pressure treated decking and cost about $150.

We used two 2x8x8 pressure treated lumber and cut 40" off each board to be used as the sides. The remaining length of each board was about 56" (slightly less due to blade width from initial cut off of each board. We placed the 56" boards between the side boards for an overall width outside to outside of approximately 59".

We used a 2x4x10 and cut two lengths slightly less than 56" to be at the top and bottom of the inside dimensions which were lag bolted into the wall.  The box frame was then attached to the cleats using decking screws and L brackets.

We used regular pressure treated decking for the doors (approx 6" wide) . We used five - 8 foot boards for the vertical doors and cut 10 verticals at 36 1/2" each.  We ripped the remaining two decking boards at 3" on the table saw for each "Z".  Each door is 27 1/2" wide when finished.

From each 3" ripped board, we cut two lengths of 27 1/2" and had enough left over from each board for the diagonals which we cut and fit in place last.  We placed two of the 27 1/2" cut boards on the ground and started attaching the verticals from what would be the inside of the door.  We made sure everything was squared up and the spacing of the five verticals was even across the top and bottom of the "Z".  Last we cut and fit the diagonals in place and attached them to the inside.  We made the second door following these same steps.

Our doors fit inside the box frame and the outside "Z" boards are flush with the front of the box. We attached the barn style hardware on the inside of the box frame because the style we chose had a slightly wider hinge than our 1 1/2" sides of the box frame and would have stuck out on each side.  We did have to notch out a section on our inside of the box frame to accommodate the hinges being attached on the inside.  Because we had the box frame built before we added this hardware, we could not attach the hinge screw from the inside where we sandwiched the hinge between the sides and top/bottom.  Before we attached these hinges, we put the hinge on the outside to use as a guide and made a mark with the pencil where the screw should line up, then we screwed decking screws from the outside of the frame in these holes.  We attached the decorative piece to the front of each "Z" and added a latch to the front as well as some latches on the inside top and bottom of the left door.  To keep the doors from touching the TV and staying flush with the outside box, we added some 2x4 blocks to the inside of the box on the top and bottom.  Next, we added a steel bolt to the inside top and bottom of the left door.  The latch that we bought did not keep the doors closed because both doors could open.

We purchased a fairly cheap TV because it's outside and also didn't want to spend a ton in case it was ever stolen.  Depending on how deep your TV is, or the wall mounting brackets you purchase, you may need to use 2x10x8 boards for the box frame.

Materials List:

2 - 2 in. x 8 in. x 8 ft. Pressure Treated Lumber - $8 each (used for box)
1 - 2 in. x 4 in. x10 ft. Pressure Treated Lumber - $5 (used for cleats)
7 - 5/4" x 6 in. x 8 ft. Pressure Treated Decking - $6.50 each (used for doors)
4 - 8" Heavy Duty Black T Hinge - $8 each (bought from Lowes - Stanley-National Brand)
1 - Hardware Slide Bolt Latch - $5 (bought from Lowes - Stanley-National Brand)
2 - 4-in. Steel Bolt - $4 each (to be used to lock one door into box frame, other door will have Slide Bolt latch)
Decking Screws (various sizes, longer screws used to build box frame, shorter screws to build doors)
8 Lag Screws - $3-$4 each (used to attach cleats to house, buy at least 6" exterior use lag screws)
4 - 4 in.Flat Brace (L Brackets) - $3 each (to be used to attach box to cleats)

DIY TV Built In / Wall Unit

This is my DIY Built In / Wall Unit made for 60" TV.  I used three in stock brown maple Home Depot upper kitchen cabinets (30" wide x 18" high x 12" deep), plywood, bead board, 1x2 & 1x3 boards and some decorative moulding!  The cabinets required three coats of primer and five coats of paint. I used Olympic Interior Latex paint in Satin finish.  The color is "Crumb Cookie".

Starting Out:  You have to have an idea of size, style and color.  I had a very big wall and needed something big enough to fill the wall space, but not intrude on the living space.  The perfect solution was to buy in stock wall mount kitchen cabinets because they are only 12" deep.  Now, what to do with them?  My original drawing was just scratch paper with two cabinets with a 60" TV.  We soon realized we needed one more cabinet.  Thankfully, Home Depot was having a 25% off sale on all in stock kitchen cabinets.  

Tools, Skills & Time:  Living in the Northeast with lots of expected snowfall is the perfect time to build things.  We stayed pretty close to the sketch and kept the TV on the wall during the entire build in order to get exact dimensions around the TV.  This is not our first DIY project, but was the most time consuming, mostly because I'm a little fussy and this was going to be part of our living room.  I would say we have an intermediate skill level.  We spent two weekends constructing the unit and multiple hours priming and painting.  We used a table saw, circular saw, chop saw, jig saw, tape measure, pencil, square, level, screw gun, brad nail gun and shims.  I'm sure there are better tools for this job, but this is what we had in the garage.

Cost:  Approximaty $600-$800, excluding the cost of tools depending on the detail and your skill level. We used three kitchen wall cabinets which retail for $129, but we got them 25% off. The plywood was around $35 / 4x8 sheet.  We used four sheets and had some leftover.  The 1x2x8 and 1x3x8 pine boards were around $5-$6 each. We used roughly eight 1x2x8 and two 1x3x8 boards. A box of bead board for the back of the shelving and top was $20 and finally added some knobs. 

The Base:  This was fairly simple.  We built a small frame out of 2x4's roughly 14 1/2 inches deep by 7 1/2 inches high by 7 ft 11 inches long.  Once that was assembled, we covered it with 1/2" birch sanded plywood using a small brad nail gun.  Once the birch plywood was added, the unit is 8 ft wide by 15" deep (before finish trim).  This was intentionally made 8 ft wide to use full sheets of plywood for the rest of the unit.  The overall depth at the base once the finish trim is added is 8 ft 2 inches wide by 16 inches deep.

Setting the Cabinets:  In order to space out the cabinets evenly, we used a 1x3 as a guide between each cabinet and on each end. The 1x3's were attached permanently later.  To give the cabinets a more custom look, we also ran a 1x2 above and below all the cabinets which were later attached permanently on the front of the unit.  We did not buy full overlay door cabinets and I didn't want to see the cabinet frame.  To allow for the 1x2 spanning the length of the unit above and below the cabinets, we used 3/4" plywood under all of the cabinets and on top of all of the cabinets prior to the next step.  The 3/4" plywood gives the cabinets a little height in order to have a 1/4" space above and below the cabinet doors.  We placed the 3/4" scrap plywood at 13 1/2" and placed the cabinets on top of that allowing for a 1 1/2" gap between the back of the cabinet and the wall.  We did not necessarily need a gap, I just wanted the base to look slightly deeper than the side shelving.  The overall distance from the wall to the front of the cabinet door is 14 inches.

Media Storage:  We cut two pieces of 1/2" sanded birch plywood 15 inches wide by 8 feet long.  Using a brad nail gun, we attached a small piece of plywood to each end (15 inches by 8 inches).  We then added a smaller piece of plywood to be spaced between the pieces of plywood to provide strength and spacing for the media equipment (DVD Player, Sound Bar, Cable Box).  The overall height of the media box is 8 inches, but we added a 1x2 across the top making the actual opening only 7 inches.  We also put a 1x3 over the plywood edges on the ends and spacers later. 

Side Shelving:  Two more simple boxes for vertical shelves made out of 1/2" sanded birch plywood.  The sides of the box were cut at 42 inches by 11 1/4 inches.  They were attached together by cutting another piece of plywood for the back at 42 inches by 16 inches and one piece for the top at 11 1/4 inches by 16 inches.  The back piece of plywood was ultimately covered with bead board so we used scraps for that.  To add the finished look, 1x2 boards were added to the top and sides of the shelving.  Note: we do not have a bottom for the side shelves. They rest directly on top of the media storage box created above.

The Top:  Sensing a theme here?  Yep, another box.  This was customized slightly to allow for large crown moulding around the top. We ended up piecing the top because the length was longer than an 8 foot sheet of plywood, but at 8 feet high, we didn't care.  The bottom sheet of plywood was cut at 94 1/2 inches by 11 1/4 inches in order to fit directly on top of the side shelving.  The top section/sheet was made to be 103 inches long by 15 inches deep.  The front and sides of the very top board had to overhang all three sides for the crown moulding.  The two ends were cut at 19 inches by 11 1/4 inches.  The middle spacers were cut at 17 1/2" inches by 11 1/4 inches (two in total).  The overall top box is 19" high.  However, I wanted to display items flush with the top of the 1x2, so we added 1/2" spacers, then added another full sheet of 1/2" sanded plywood.  So, the inside depth of the box is only 17 1/2" due to the additional spacers and 1/2" plywood in order to create a flush affect where the top 1x2 sits.  The spacing of the dividers in the top box follow the spacing with the media storage spacing.  

The overall height of this top box was 19 inches to allow for a light in each section to be hidden behind the crown moulding.  We bought "Hampton Bay 6-Light Black Under Cabinet Xenon Puck Light Kit with a Dimmer" at Home Depot.  The Model# is EC1333BK, SKU# 818313, $39.97.  You can connect up to 6 lights into the outlet box they provide and then plug the outlet box into the wall, which we fished behind the trim and the TV.

Adding the Trim and Shelves:  Shelving using 1/2" sanded plywood was spaced equally between each shelf.  We cut some shelf supports out of extra 1x2's to hold the shelves, but you could also buy removable shelf brackets.  We attached 1x2 boards to the sides, front and each shelf and top to give everything a finished look using a brad nail gun. 

Hiding the Wires:  We were fortunate enough to have had wiring planned for a wall mount TV, but by adding a media area, we ended up with visible wires hanging down behind the TV.  What to do?  Attach two 2x4's horizontally between both side shelves with a hole cut close to the wall in the top of the media area.  And, then cover it all with a piece of 1/2" sanded birch plywood.  We did caulk the back piece of plywood all around the media storage and side shelving after it was attached to the 2x4's.

Base/Cabinet Trim:  We added a 1/2" sanded birch plywood board to each side (13 1/2 inches deep by 19 inches high) prior to adding the 96" 1x2 horizontal boards that spanned the entire length above and below the cabinets.  We also flipped a piece of baseboard trim upside down around the top of the base that sits underneath the cabinets and gave it a little softness by running a router across that top edge.  There happened to be an outlet in the wall behind the middle cabinet, so we just cut the back out using a jig saw.  We also cut holes in the back of the media storage to fish media wires into the cabinets. 

We finished it off by adding the vertical 1x3 pine boards between the cabinets, media storage and each side/end.  We actually doubled them up by putting one 1x3 on top of another 1x3 for a little depth.  Another piece of baseboard trim was run along the floor and tied into the wall baseboard trim to give it that custom built in look. 

Planning Ahead:  Although we're calling it a Built In, we realize technology will out live this unit. The solution?  We only attached everything below the TV to the wall.  Everything else fits like a puzzle and can be removed when the next big thing is invented. 

Decorative Moulding:  Adding a few extra touches can really make a DIY project stand out.  It may even look professionally built.  We added chunky crown moulding around the top as well as some small decorative trim where the top sits on the side shelf boxes as well as the media storage/cabinets. 

Priming/Painting:  While I would have loved to have sprayed this unit, we built it in place and it was not possible.  The cabinets required a lot of sanding and priming to cover the original brown finish.  But, it turned out beautiful and looks like it was built with the house. 

When we were building our house, we did a walk through of another house our builder was building and fell in love with the wall colors used.  Unfortunately, it's a custom color from Sherwin-Williams and there is no official name for the wall color.  We used this same color for our house and painted all interior walls with this color.  This is the picture of the tag on the top of the paint can if you would like to replicate. They can scan the bar code and color match from that.  The window and floor trim is just basic Bright White in Semi-Gloss.













Materials List:

4 sheets of 1/2" Birch Sanded Plywood
8 - 1x2x8 Select Pine Boards
2 - 1x3x8 Select Pine Boards
3 - 30" W x 18" H x 12" D kitchen wall cabinets (Home Depot - Cambria Wall Cabinet - KW3018-CHR, SKU# 248306) 
1 pack of Cape Cod 14 sq. ft. Beadboard Wide Plank Paneling (3 pack at Home Depot)
1 pack of Under Cabinet Light packs (Home Depot - EC1333BK, SKU# 818313)
4-5 2x4x8 boards
10-12 feet of chunky Primed Pine Crown Moulding (under top shelf)
5-6 pieces of Decorative Trim (Home Depot - 5/16" x 11/16" x 8 feet - Model 244, SKU# 353-436)
6 Knobs or Pulls
Scrap Plywood for behind bead board (less than 1 sheet)
Paintable Caulk
Primer
Paint