DIY wood countertops one year later

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

See an update on our counters after four years.

A year ago, I wrote about how we DIYed our own wood countertop. Since then, this post has become far and away the most popular on the blog. Given that we’ve been living with our homemade counter for a year now, I thought a good topic for today’s post would be an update on how our DIY counter has worked for us.

The simple answer is the counter has worked great. Here’s what it looks like today.

Just a reminder, here’s how the counter looked a year ago.

Here are a few more details on how the counter performed.

The biggest measure of this counter’s success is the joints. After a year of use, they’re still nice and tight. Squaring off the edges of the boards, gluing the seams before screwing them together with my Kreg Jig, cramming every joint full of wood filler and sanding everything perfectly smooth have ensured that the counter has held up really well for us.

The finish has held up as well. The tone of the wood has stayed constant, and the Waterlox sealer has been a great protector. Originally, the finish was pretty shiny. It has dulled a little bit over the past year. We’re not the best at wiping down the counter religiously, but no matter what we spill or how long something sits on the counter (ahem), it wipes up easily.

We have one spot that has stained, but it wasn’t from food. Of all things, it was from a plastic bag. We had set a regular grocery store bag on the counter. The bag had some red writing on the outside, and that dye somehow transferred onto the counter. No matter how much I scrub, this dye will not come out.

It’s well known that wood is softer than the other countertop materials that are out there. It dents pretty easily. After a year of use, there are some imperfections in our counter. Most are the size of a quarter or smaller, and this one’s about the deepest.

The dents don’t worry me at all. We use a cutting board when we’re chopping, but if something leaves a mark, I don’t get upset.

Along one edge of the counter, we have some small chips. These were from a unique incident that had absolutely nothing to do with cooking. The night that we picked up our dining room table, Baxter got a little upset at being left alone in the house. To make himself feel better, he ate the pan of brownies that had been left on the counter. When he reached for the pan, his toenails left some marks on the edge of the counter. These marks are particularly noticeable because they go down below the stained surface. (The dark marks near the middle of the image are features of the board and aren’t a stain or damage that we’ve inflicted).

In my post a year ago, I talked about how the counter had warped a little bit and how we were able to flatten it by trimming the end and carefully screwing it to the cabinets. The boards have warped a little bit more over the past year. If you run your hand over the surface, you can feel a bit of a wave. The middles have curved up and the edges have curved down. The warp isn’t severe enough to impact the usability of the countertop and it’s not noticeable to the eye, unless I pull out the level to show you the gaps.

We don’t coddle the counter, and a year later it’s obvious that it’s had some use. I am really pleased with all of the choices we’ve made a year ago: going with wood, the colour of the stain, the Waterlox sealer, and especially making it ourselves. Everything has worked out really well.

The counters are still going strong four years later–although there are a few provisos.

DIY light fixture (fail?)

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I have another thrifted light fixture makeover for you today. Remember this beauty from my thrifting post?

When I was in the checkout line at Value Village, the woman ahead of me said, “What a great find! So classy!”

I said, “Oh, thank you.” In my head I was thinking, “Are you insane? This light is completely 1980s. It will look nothing like this when I’m done.”

My plan for the foyer was to replace the giant ceiling fan with a small chandelier covered by a simple drum shade.

Here was my chandelier.

Here was my drum shade.

It was vintage lighting fest over here.

I took apart the light, took apart the shade, merged the two together and spray painted everything oil-rubbed bronze.

I shortened the shade and added a new fabric cover.

Then I installed it over the stairwell.

Hmmm… not quite what I envisioned. As Matt said, “Woman, what were you thinking?” I stood there and laughed.

Then I got out my glue gun. A couple of daubs of glue held the shade a bit straighter.

I’m still not sure if this is quite what I envisioned. The inside looks a bit rough in some spots, and the ribs of the shade show through when the light is turned on.

Another layer of fabric on the inside might solve both of these issues, but it would also lessen the light. This light is much brighter than the ceiling fan that was there before, which I like as our foyer tends to be a bit dim.

I’m content to live with it for awhile until I make up my mind. Either way, it’s an improvement over the fan that was there when we moved in and the pigtail that we wired up when we were painting.

I’d love to hear your to opinion. Do you think this is a #DIYfail or #victory? Have you ever made over a light fixture?

How to refurbish a ping pong table

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so today’s post is all about something green. Our new(ish) ping pong table.

This ping pong table was a bit of an experiment. We found the top (in two pieces) in the barn when we first moved in. It was pretty dirty and had even been pooped on by the swallows that live in the barn.

I am always optimistic, so one day last summer, I dragged the two halves outside. I have no idea how I managed to move them by myself because each piece is extremely heavy. I haven’t been able to carry them on my own since. I scrubbed with a brush and sprayed with the hose until all of the poop and dirt (and a fair portion of the original green paint) washed away.

Matt did not share my optimism that the table could be rehabilitated. That night he tucked the pieces deep into a corner of the driveshed. I have no idea how, though, because the tabletop is heavy even for him to move on his own.

Despite his lack of enthusiasm for the project, Matt did help me carry the top into the house. Then, one weekend while he was out of town, I went to work.

This project was a total experiment, and I’m sure ping pong purists out there will be horrified. But (spoiler alert) everything worked out, so I’m sharing my technique with you.

There were two big issues with the table: 1) We had no legs to go with the top. 2) The top itself was not in great shape.

The leg issue was easy to solve with six trestle style legs from Ikea (Lerberg).

The top took a little more effort.

I started with a coat of fresh white paint over the lines. After sleeping on it for the night, I realized I really should have sanded the top first, so the next morning I basically started all over again. I sanded down the top, which was not an indoor task. Sanding resulted in a fine green powder over the whole room–not the best scenario with our nice light carpet. There was a defined line between where the drop cloth had protected the carpet and where the green dust had floated beyond the drop cloth’s reach. I was very glad Matt was not home to see the mess I had made.

The Shop Vac erased the green mist, and I was able to get back to the painting.

White paint went on again, and, then once it was dry, I taped off the lines. Since painter’s tape doesn’t come in ping pong line widths, I had to very carefully trim it.

Then the tape got a quick coat of white paint to seal it, and after some drying time I moved onto the green. Since I wasn’t sure if this was actually going to work, I used some regular latex paint that we had left over from Matt’s office. It’s Manor Green from Benjamin Moore in case anyone’s interested.

The green took about three coats, I think. On the final coat, I carefully peeled off the tape to reveal the white lines. Some of the white flaked off (I think giving the white more time to dry, or even doing two coats would have been helpful).

Chips aside, the finish was a massive improvement over the table’s previous state. In fact, Matt was so impressed when he arrived home that he started to think that maybe I wasn’t entirely crazy in wanting to save the table.

So now I had a tabletop and I had table legs. How to put them together?

It turned out that the Lerberg legs are a bit shorter than regulation ping pong height of 30 inches–hey, I have some standards. Using a few 2x3s and my Kreg Jig I built a frame to attach to the underside of the tabletop.

I screwed the frame to the tabletop… or at least to one half. The top ended up being too unwieldy and heavy as one big piece, so I didn’t screw everything together. We set the top on the frame and the frame on the legs, and we think each piece is heavy enough to stay in place on its own.

The six Lerberg trestles mean the table is very leggy. However, we really needed the support in the middle of the table as well as at each end.

We got a very simple cheap net at Walmart. It’s called an “everywhere table tennis” from EastPoint, and we just clipped it onto the table. Again, I wasn’t sure that this refurbishment was actually going to work, so I didn’t feel the need to invest in a professional net.

With the table set up, Matt broke out the paddles, tapped one of the balls across the net, and it bounced. It worked! We had a functional ping pong table.

I had no ping pong skills, but after a week of daily practice, I’ve improved a lot. I finally won a game against Matt yesterday (he also may have let me win one). My ping pong prowess aside, refurbishing the table was a definite win.

Have you ever rehabbed a piece of furniture that seemed beyond hope? Anyone have any ping pong pointers? How are you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?

February goals wrap up report (and a reveal)

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

It’s the last day of February and time for the final report on how we did on our goal for the month of painting the main floor hallway, foyer and kitchen.

Want a sneak peak?

Yup. We have light fixtures, art and fresh paint. Hallelujah.

Just for a reminder, here’s a look back at how this project unfolded over the month:

Heading into last weekend, the final task on our list was installing light fixtures. I chose school-house type fixtures from Home Depot (a complete source list is below). There were lots of options through their web site, and these were about the cheapest. I love how the dark oil-rubbed bronze contrasts with the light coloured walls, our pristine white ceilings and echoes the dark tones of our picture frames.

The light fixtures came in both a semi-flush mount, which I used in the hall, and in a pendant, which I used over the island. I love these lights and have wanted to use them for awhile. They have so much more personality than the boob lights that were there before, and I think they work very well with our casual country setting.

The final task on our to-do list was also where we fell off schedule a little bit. If I zoom out a little bit you’ll see that we’re still missing one light fixture in the foyer. I’m DIYing this one and need just a bit more time to pull it together. This angle also gives you a glimpse of the kitchen, hallway and foyer all together.

This one miss aside, I’m declaring February’s project a success.

For us, a month was a realistic timeline to completely transform these spaces. My schedule worked really well to keep us on track. I kept a rough tally and for just the painting, we spent about 25 hours. We worked steadily but didn’t stress ourselves out trying to get it all done too quickly. I’ll definitely be mapping out monthly goals again.

The main floor feels fresh and new. Having Matt’s grandpa’s paintings on the walls really makes the space feel like ours. I’ve fallen even more in love with my house.

Anyone else go through a transformation this month? What did you accomplish in February?

Source list:
Wall paint: Abalone from Benjamin Moore (75% intensity)
Trim paint: Cloud White from Benjamin Moore
Light fixtures: Luray Collection Oil Rubbed Bronze 1-Light Semi Flush mount (this one doesn’t seem to be available online anymore) and Luray Collection 1-Light 34-5/8 in. Hanging Oil-Rubbed Bronze Pendant both by World Imports through the Home Depot
Paintings: Family heirlooms painted by Matt’s grandfather

Progress report 2

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Another Friday, and time for another update on how we’re doing with our February project of painting the foyer, hallway and kitchen.

We have colour!

It’s subtle, but I promise it’s there.

Just to remind you, here’s how the hallway has looked throughout this month.

And here’s how the colour stage went down.

Thank goodness for three-day weekends
Two coats of the colour took longer than I expected, but, like everything else that’s been on the to-do list so far, we finished it, and we are on schedule.

Tag, you’re it
Painting at our house is a game of tag, as I cut in and try to stay ahead of Matt who handles the rolling. On the first coat, he caught me quickly. Cutting the ceiling, baseboard, nine doorways and the kitchen meant that I was extremely slow.

I was so glad I made the decision to take off the chair rail. I would not have been happy if I’d had to do more cutting.

On the second coat, Matt didn’t even start rolling until I finished edging the hall and the kitchen. This timing ended up being perfect, as we finished at exactly the same time.

Scraping the bottom of the bucket
We had just enough paint. I bought two gallons, even though Matt thought three might be better. We were probably a bit stingy towards the very end of the second coat, but I still think we have a good finish on the walls… and less than 200mL of paint leftover.

Change it up
We chose Abalone, a popular neutral shade from Benjamin Moore. I find this colour very changeable, which I like. At night with the lights on it looks very grey. In the morning with the sun shining in the windows, it looks more brown.

Lighten up
I had the paint mixed at 75% saturation, as our hallway and kitchen tend to be a bit dim. I was a bit worried that lightening it would change the colour, but it still seems true to the Abalone tone, and the lighter shade works really well in our spaces.

Tongue-tied
How do you pronounce Abalone? Is it “own” like “home alone?” Or is it “onee” like “baloney?”

Coming up
The major work of painting is obviously done. I’m keeping my eye out for touch-ups, but so far haven’t found any spots that inspire me to break out the paintbrush again.

Since I took the picture at the top of this post, I’ve put the cover plates are back on all of the plugs and switches. Which leads to the final item on my original to-do list: install new light fixtures.

Matt, aka “he who hates pigtails,” aka “in-house electrician” will take on this task this weekend.

What’s on your to-do list for this weekend? What’s the division of labour at your house when it comes to painting and electrical? How do you pronounce Abalone?

I’m dreaming of a white ceiling

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I know a lot of people are adding colour and patterns to their ceilings these days, but I am still white ceiling person. Even if I wasn’t, the colours and patterns we’ve had on our ceilings for the past two years would not be my choice… ever.

There were the specks and smears. (Sorry for the poor photo quality. I find it really difficult to photograph our dim hallway).

Then there were the stripes.

Our home inspector’s explanation for these lines was that the insulation in our attic was insufficient. As a result, the ceiling joists got cold. The temperature difference between our warm drywall inside the house and the cold joists in the attic resulted in condensation. Dust and dirt in the air in the house stuck to that condensation, making stripes.

When we upgraded the insulation in the attic, our contractor had a slightly different opinion. Of course I now can’t remember what he said.

In addition to the obvious dirt, there was the overall grey tinge that you saw on Friday.

I’m a bit embarrassed to say that we’ve been living with these ceilings since we moved in two years ago. However, I am no longer ashamed. We used Benjamin Moore’s Fresh Start primer to make our dreams of a clean white ceiling come true, and I thought it might be helpful to post a bit of a review of this paint.

Out of all of the things I care about in my house, the shade of white on my ceilings is not one of them. My usual method is to use primer to paint the ceilings. For the hallway, foyer and kitchen, I didn’t splurge and go all the way to buying real paint, but I did choose a slightly upgraded primer, rather than the standard formula. The “high hiding” label on the Fresh Start can was what sold me. I had a lot of dirt to hide.

Fresh Start is a slightly thicker consistency than standard primer, which made me feel like I was covering more dirt. It’s not sticky, though, and was easy to apply.

Whether because of the thicker consistency or because our drywall absorbed the paint, we ended up using more than I expected. I had bought a second gallon, not realizing I had one at home already. The extra paint ended up being a good thing because for our 310+ square feet of hallway, kitchen and foyer we used a gallon and a quarter, just for one coat.

I had hoped that we would be able to get away with a single coat on our ceilings, but we ended up having to do two. I’m not sure if it’s that our ceilings were just too dirty, if the Fresh Start didn’t cover as well as I thought it would, or if we applied it a bit thinly in a few spots, but the next day there were sections where I could still see some of the grey.

The second coat went on very quickly (about an hour) and used much less paint (probably just a bit more than half a gallon). The second coat also did the trick. There are no more dirt spots, and none of the grey has bled through.

Since we were working on a ceiling, it would have been helpful for the Fresh Start to have a tint, like some of the specialized ceiling paints out there. These go on light pink and then dry white. In the dim lighting of our hallway, it was sometimes hard to tell where we had yet to paint. At least, it was on the second coat when we were painting over white, rather than grey.

One coat, two coat. One can, two cans. It doesn’t matter now. All that counts is that the Fresh Start did its job, and we now have the white ceilings that I’ve been dreaming of since we moved in.

There’s still one more painting post coming up this week. Check back Friday to see the progress we’ve made on the walls. (Hint: there will be colour!)

Until then, I’m really curious to hear how you handle your ceilings. Are you all about white, like me? Or are you one of those daring folks that embrace the “fifth wall?” What’s your go-to primer? Anyone else tried Fresh Start?

And just in case you’re wondering, Benjamin Moore has no idea who I am, I bought my own paint, and this post is just my opinion.

How to make a DIY ottoman

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The search for the perfect footstool for my basement reading nook took a little while. I knew I wanted something round. Between our sectional, the ottoman, the entertainment unit, the TV, and even my Austin chair, we have a lot of squares and rectangles happening in the basement, so I thought it was time for some contrast. And I wanted to make it myself. But how? What would give me the size and the shape that I wanted while being sturdy enough to sit on but light weight enough to move around? Maybe a Sonotube? But I couldn’t find one that was big enough in diameter, and I really didn’t want to buy a six foot tube and use only a short piece of it. Maybe I should just use one of the Moroccan poof patterns available online and upscale it? But that would take a lot of stuffing, and I wasn’t sure how it would work as a seat. Then one night it came to me just as I headed to bed. (Isn’t that always the way?) The next morning when Baxter and I headed out for our walk, we took a brief detour to our junk pile. (Doesn’t every farm have one?)

“Uhhh… I don’t see anything that you’d want to put in the house over here…”

Are you confused like Baxter, or do you see it?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I upholstered a giant plastic barrel.

It was big. It was round. It seemed sturdy, but wasn’t too heavy. I had found my base. Now how to make it into an ottoman? I mulled the question of how to upholster it over for a little while. Here’s the technique I came up with. 1) Cut the barrel to my desired height–roughly equal to the height of Strandmon’s seat. I initially planned on using my hack saw, but then I realized that between the thickness of the plastic and the massive circumference of the barrel, cutting it manually would take forever. Plan B was my circular saw, which was much, much faster. Note: an extra person (thank you, Matt) to hold the barrel while you’re cutting is essential. Go over the cut edge with a file to smooth out any rough spots and remove any plastic strands. 2) If your barrel still looks like something that’s been sitting outside for who knows how long and really isn’t something you can see yourself bringing into your house, give it a good scrubbing. This is probably a good step regardless because you never know what’s been inside the barrel. Well, some of you might, but I sure didn’t. 3) Pack on the padding. I used a piece of 2 1/2-inch thick foam for the top. Using my barrel as a pattern, I traced a circle onto the foam. The foam cut easily by hand with a serrated bread knife, although I’ve heard that an electric carving knife also works. Using spray adhesive, I attached the foam to the top of the barrel.

Cutting and attaching foam to a foot stool

Note: Working in a barn avoids spraying sticky glue onto your floors, but you may end up with a few pieces of straw stuck to your stool.

4) To soften up the sides, I took batting left over from my dining room chair upholstery project and glued it to the sides of the barrel. It was at this point that I realized I had less batting left over than I thought. As in not enough to complete the ottoman. So the padded barrel came into the house and sat until I could go to the fabric store. During the waiting period, I found out that the spray adhesive maybe wasn’t going to work quite as well as I’d expected. Basically, the barrel shed its fluffy skin. 6) However, I was undeterred. Once I had more batting, I reattached the first layer using the same spray adhesive. By this point, it was cold outside, so I was working in the house. Note: Be prepared for some overspray. A drop cloth will help, but you will end up with sticky socks. 7) You’ll notice that my batting was a little patchy. To smooth it out and hold it in place, I added two more layers of batting over top of the whole barrel. I’m going to try to explain how I did this, but if it’s not clear, feel free to ask for more information in the comments. I draped the big sheet of batting over the whole barrel making sure it hung evenly down each side. Working in sections of about a quarter at a time, I sprayed the barrel with the adhesive, smoothed the batting down the side and stuck it in place. If you think of the barrel like a clock, I worked at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. In between each quarter section, I had extra batting. These looked like big triangle wings. I carefully took my scissors and cut off these wings. I wish I had a better picture of this, but my scissors hand was busy being camera hand in this moment. I snipped roughly where the arrow is pointing. The nice thing about batting is that it doesn’t fray, so I could just snip it off and the smoosh the edges together. The join wasn’t perfect, but close enough ended up working just fine. At the bottom of the barrel, I trimmed the batting so that I had about 6 inches overhang. Then I pulled it taunt, smoothed it out, wrapped it around the edge and tucked it up inside the barrel. A spritz of adhesive held it in place. Now I had a giant fuzzy marshmallow. Um, yum? 7) To protect the batting, make sure it stayed attached to the barrel and ensure a smooth surface to overlay my fabric, I decided to make a lining or slipcover before putting on my final upholstery fabric. This was also an opportunity to test my pattern for my outer fabric. To figure out the pieces for the slipcover, I measured first the circumference of my ottoman and then the height. I cut out a rectangle that was as long as my barrel was round (80 inches) and 8 inches wider than my barrel was tall (25 inches). Using the circumference measurement, I was able to figure out the size of circle that I needed to cut for the top of the stool. After a brief consultation with my resident math teacher, I remembered that Pi x diameter = circumference. So for my 80 inch around stool, I needed a circle that was approximately 25 1/2 inches in diameter (80 / Pi = 25.47). I started by cutting a 25 1/2 inch square, folded it into quarters, and then using a very makeshift compass I drew an arc that gave me the curve of my circle. I cut along the arc, and voilà a circle.

Note that length of the string should be equal to the radius of the circle (half the diameter).

Before unfolding the circle, it’s helpful to mark the outer quarters (basically 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clocks again). They’ll come in handy later. Now that I had my top, it was back to the sides of my slipcover. I joined the short ends of the rectangle to form a tube, stitching them together on my sewing machine. This is a good point to “try on” the cover. I slipped the tube over the footstool and adjusted the fit as necessary. You’ll notice I haven’t talked about adding seam allowances. I had them at first, but I found that the cover was looser than I wanted. To get a smooth, close-fitting cover, I found going with the actual measurements of the ottoman worked best. Once I had the fit I wanted, I marked the tube in the same way that I’d marked the circle. Using the seam as 12 o’clock, I marked the tube along one edge at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock (rather than measuring, I just folded the tube in half and then half again and pinned at the creases). Then, I pinned my circular piece of fabric to my tube, starting at each of my marked clock points. As I made my way around the circle, I had to smooth things out a little bit since I was joining a straight edge to a curved edge, but with some patience and adjustments everything lined up. 8) Finally, I could sew the cover. I took it fairly slow as my machine stitched around the circle, and then I held my breath as I flipped it right side out and slipped it over the ottoman. Victory! It fit perfectly. 9) Now to finish the bottom edge. Remember, it was about 8 inches longer than than the barrel. I turned the raw edge under by a 1/4 inch all the way around, and then I turned the bottom up an additional 3/4 of an inch. I stitched this hem almost all the way around. I left about a 2 inch gap so that I could insert a drawstring. 10) It was time to dress the ottoman. I slipped the slipcover over top and using the drawstring cinched the bottom tightly. I turned it over and… Victory #2! A pretty smooth, albeit slightly crooked, slipcover.

Note to self: In the future, straighten out the cover before taking the photo.

With my pattern perfected, it was time to move on to the official fabric. The search for this fabric had taken my Mom, her friend and me up and down the fabric district, in and out of every store. I was carrying one of the cases from the couch throw pillows, trying to find a fabric that was equally vibrant and equally fun. In one store, I went over to a particular bolt and said, “I love this fabric. I actually bought a few yards a year ago, just because I couldn’t bear not to have it.” My Mom’s friend said, “Hold your pillowcase up.” I did, and she said, “Julia, I think that’s your fabric.” It took me a minute, but then I saw that it was absolutely perfect. I bought some more because I couldn’t remember how much I had already, added some bright turquoise piping and carted it all home. For all of you who’ve admired the fabric, it’s Crazy Ol Bird Midnight by Swavelle/Mill Creek. To make the outer cover, I followed the same technique that I had used with the inner slipcover. I even did the drawstring at the bottom. The only change was that when I sewed the top to the sides, I sandwiched some piping in between the layers. The piping is a great pop against the black fabric, and I think it makes the ottoman look a bit more professional. And here’s my finished ottoman sitting with Strandmon and the stump table in the reading nook. I love it. This ottoman is such a fun addition. It makes the reading nook a really comfortable spot to hang out. If you have any questions about the construction please let me know. Have you ever used something unconventional (like a plastic barrel) for furniture? What upholstery projects have you tackled?

Update: While I know everyone doesn’t have a plastic barrel lying around outside, it just occurred to me that a plastic garbage can would probably work in much the same way and be close to the same size.

Linking up to: Happy Housie DIY Challenge Party: Fabric Projects, Happy Housie DIY Challenge Party: Patterned and Textured Projects

Reading nook details

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

There are so many elements that I love in my new reading nook that I had to write a separate post where I can share all of the details.

At the core of the nook is obviously my much-loved Strandmon from Ikea. This is a seriously comfy chair. However, I like to lounge with my feet up, so I needed a footstool. Strandmon is not a tiny chair, so I wanted something that was a decent size and perhaps even could double as additional seating if we have people over. The bird ottoman fit the bill. It’s a complete DIY that ended up being super easy. You won’t believe what’s underneath that pretty fabric that so many of you liked. Stay tuned for a how-to post coming up next.

The stump side table is my rustic touch for the nook. It’s another DIY, this time completed with the help of my father-in-law. Most of the stump tables I’ve seen tend to be pretty short–and super expensive. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t prepared to spend $200+ on a log when I have hunks of wood just lying around outside.

The nice thing about DIYing the table is that I could make it exactly the height I wanted. I don’t like to have to work too hard to pick up my drink–reaching kind of defeats the purpose of relaxing. So we cut the log so that the top of the table matches up with the top of Strandmon’s arm.

I’ve actually been saving this particular log just for this project for a little while now. I intentionally chose a log that had lots of knots and bumps and personality. After lots and lots of sanding, I coated it with three coats of varathane to seal it and glued a piece of cork to the bottom just to protect the carpet.

When it came to choosing art for the nook, the decision was easy. This monkey print hung in Matt’s grandpa’s house (not painter grandpa, other grandpa), and when his grandpa passed away Matt asked for the picture. Its bright colours and fun theme fit in perfectly with the feel I’m going for in the basement.

While Matt loves the picture more for its connection to his grandfather than for the subject matter itself, this picture has led to a bit of a monkey collection for Matt. He has a see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hear-no-evil figure on the windowsill and another trio of monkeys stuck into the ivy.

Speaking of the ivy, you saw my yellow pot awhile ago. Somehow I’ve managed not to kill the ivy, and it’s actually thriving. The oversize games piece was made by my dad who is a wood turner and happily takes commissions from his oldest daughter.

I’m not quite satisfied with my windowsill vignette, but I’m not sure how to fix it. I think I might need something that’s a little more horizontal? Or something that sits on top of the books? In the comments on Monday, Margaret suggested lowering the monkey picture might help to bring everything together. Any other input would be most appreciated.

While the window gives us great natural light–a huge benefit considering we’re in a basement–during the reno we added an overhead light in the centre of the nook. I liked the idea of a pendant rather than a flush mount or a lamp. However, it had to be mostly glass so that it didn’t obstruct the view out the window, and we had to hang it pretty high so that I don’t konk my head when I stand up. After weeks of searching, this simple pendant ended up being just what I wanted and just $50. Score!

The newest addition to the nook is our fleece Hudson’s Bay point blanket that Matt’s aunt gave us for Christmas. I love the point blanket pattern, and the pop of white plus the brightly coloured stripes work really, really well with everything else that’s going on in this nook.

It’s so nice to have a quiet corner to curl up. Matt can be playing a game or watching a movie over on the sectional, and I can be in the same room, but doing my own thing. All of the little details come together to make it a very special, cozy space.

I’d love to hear what is your favourite part of the nook?

Source list:
Wall paint: A custom grey somewhere around Bunny Gray from Benjamin Moore
Trim paint: Cloud White from Benjamin Moore
Wing chair: Strandmon from Ikea
Stump side table: Made by me with an assist from my FIL
Bird ottoman: Made by me (how-to is coming), fabric is Crazy Ol Bird Midnight by Swavelle/Mill Creek
Light fixture: Catalina Bella 1-light pendant from Rona
Yellow plant pot: Rona
Monkey statues: Gifts
Oversize games piece: Made by my dad, painted Seaport Blue from Benjamin Moore
Monkey print: Family heirloom
Hudson’s Bay fleece point blanket: Gift (from The Bay… I mean, it’s from Matt’s aunt, but you can buy your own at The Bay)

Last minute gift: Hand made wooden monogram

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Usually I’m a last minute shopper/crafter when it comes to gift giving. (Exhibit A: I’ve done absolutely no Christmas shopping yet). However, back in March, inspiration struck and I whipped up a little gift for my sister and her husband. My plan was to give it to them as a housewarming present. Never mind that at that point they hadn’t even started building their new house.

Well, the house is done, and they’ve moved in, so the present has now been presented… and now it’s time to share it with all of you. Just in time for those looking for a simple craft to make as a Christmas present. Sorry that you don’t get to actually unwrap it like my sister did.

I was inspired by the wooden monograms created by Jamie Givens that I spotted through Pinterest. Mine is nowhere near as large or as professional as Jamie’s, but I’m pretty pleased with how it came out nonetheless.

This medallion ended up being about 12 inches in diameter. I used pencil tied to a string tied to a nail as a makeshift compass to draw the outer circle and then two more lines for the inner rings. A couple of vertical and horizontal lines finished off the letters. Then, I used my drill to make a hole for my saw blade and my jigsaw to cut out the initials.

A handheld jigsaw and my limited skill level means the lines are not perfectly straight, but I’m not sure how many people will notice that (except for all of you now that I’ve pointed it out). I tried to fix some of my mistakes during the sanding stage, but it was difficult to get the sandpaper into all of the nooks and crannies. The ‘D’ ended up being a bit stencil-ish, as I realized part way through cutting that I needed some way of keeping the centre of the letter still attached (duh).

My one piece of advice to anyone who tries this project is to be careful what wood you choose. I started with some planks I had lying around in the barn, and hidden splits became visible really quickly when my medallion broke in two. Plywood would probably work pretty well, as long as you don’t mind seeing the layers on the edges.

It’s neat to see how letters and names go together. In my sister’s case, she and her husband have a pretty symmetrical monogram. How about you and your partner? How do your initials combine? Have you made any gifts this holiday season? Do you usually make or buy gifts for people? Any go-to housewarming (or Christmas) gift suggestions to share? Who else is a last minute gifter? Please tell me someone else out there hasn’t started shopping yet.

Linking to: Happy Housie Get Your DIY On: Wall Decor

How to build simple closet shelves

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

When I first asked everyone’s advice on what we should do in our mudroom makeover, the most frequent suggestion was to pull off the closet doors and make built-in storage with a bench, cubbies, shelves and hooks. While I love that look, I knew I needed places to put things more than I needed to be able to sit down. The biggest improvement I could make to how the mudroom functioned was to build more storage in the closet.

As you saw in the reveal, I split the closet in half, putting floor to ceiling shelves at one end and a single shelf over top of a hanging rod at the other.

To build these simple shelves, I went with my go-to shelving material: white melamine. It may not be the fanciest, but this stuff is easy. It comes in 12-inch or 16-inch widths (I chose the 16) and 8 foot lengths. One long edge is pre-finished. There is no painting (although you can), no sanding, no special tools.

To support the shelves, I screwed 1x2s (which I did paint) into the wall studs with 3 inch screws. The shelves simply sit on top.

For the top shelf, I used 1×3 as I wanted a wider board to attach the rod.

The divider in the middle is a piece of melamine run vertically. There was a cut-out in the ceramic tile floor for some long-ago shelving system, so I filled that with a 2×4 and cut a channel to hold the melamine in place.

The melamine comes in 8 foot lengths, so for my 9 1/2 foot closet, I had to splice a few of the shelves. My technique was to tack a piece of melamine underneath. It’s perhaps not the most attractive solution, but tucked inside the mudroom closet I wasn’t super concerned about appearances. It’s sturdy and will easily hold a golf ball collection or anything else you want to put on it.

The sturdiness of melamine is its best feature in my opinion. As long as it’s properly supported, it can hold a decent amount of weight and won’t sag. To prevent any droopiness, it’s important to put the 1×2 supports along all three sides of the shelf, not just at either end.

I know there are much more attractive storage systems out there, but, for a behind closed doors solution, this simple set up of melamine and 1x2s works for us. Even better, it’s completely custom and accommodates exactly what we need.

How do you handle closet organization? Has anyone else built a custom storage system? Any other melamine fans out there?