DIY: Wood Fence Refinishing

With the baby coming in just a month, even the hubby has gotten the itch to complete some projects around the house. One of the things we've wanted to do since we moved in was refinish our privacy fence in the backyard. But the expense to have someone come out and do it forced us to put this project on the back burner. After finishing the beadboard paneling in the nursery, we were feeling confident in our DIY skills so the hubby started doing some research on how to refinish the fence ourselves. Here's a look at the before and after.

I knew it was awful before, but after comparing these pictures I really can't believe we lived with it as long as we did. We even put off landscaping until we could address this giant eyesore of a backdrop. And in the end, it turned out to be a much easier project than we anticipated, we should have tackled this sooner!

Supplies:

• Power washer (we rented one from Home Depot)
• Sherwin Williams Woodscapes Semi-Transparent Stain in Cedar Bark
• Wagner Power Painter Plus Sprayer
• Purdy 3 1/2" Glide Brush

here's what the fence looks like after power-washing

Step 1: Power wash the fence to get all the dirt and grime off and expose the original wood before you stain. We rented a power sprayer and it took a few hours to do the entire fence.

Step 2: Let the fence dry for at least 24 hours, preferably 48. If you live in a humid area, you may want to wait even longer. If the fence isn't completely dry, the moisture will crack the stain sealant and ruin all your hard work.

spraying the stain and finishing with a brush

Step 3: Stain the fence. We opted for 5 gallons of premium stain that's intended for home exteriors so we don't have to repeat this process for another 5 years. We bought a little hand pump sprayer to apply the stain but that didn't work. So we tried rolling the stain on with a paint roller but that was taking forever. We finally decided to invest in an electric paint sprayer and it was absolutely worth it! The sprayer we bought was only $99 and worked perfect. The key is to have one person spraying and the other person following behind with a brush to go over the surface and make sure the stain gets in all the cracks. Once we got the sprayer, the stain application was done in around an hour.

Can you believe the transformation? This is definitely a project that even an inexperienced DIY'er can tackle, just make sure you have the right tools or it can turn into a time consuming project!

Now we finally have the backdrop we need to start landscaping!

DIY: Dresser Renovation

I think I can officially say we're in nesting mode over here. I've been pouring myself in DIY projects to get ready for baby. The most recent completed project was renovating a dresser I picked up at Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I found it over Memorial weekend and they were offering 20% off so I got it for only $50. I had done quite a bit of research on how to refinish or paint an old dresser and followed some advice from one of my favorite bloggers, Sarah M. Dorsey. Check out her blog here, she's a talented interior designer with TONS of great DIY projects. I modified her process slightly, but did take her tips on the paint. I went to Sherwin Williams to pick up paint and they were so helpful. In fact we came back this weekend to get some advice and supplies to refinish our fence. I would highly recommend going there for a paint project instead of the big box stores because they specialize in paint and know what will work best for any kind of project.

Renovating this dresser only took a few hours to sand and paint over the course of a weekend with drying time. I took recommendations from Sherwin Williams and made sure to buy the best supplies for this project. The dresser is a small surface, but will get a lot of use so it was important to me to invest in quality paint and supplies.

Supplies:

• Electric Sander (you can use a hand sander but it will take longer)
• Course sand paper
• Fine sand paper
• Spray Paint
• Sherwin Williams Premium Wall & Wood Primer
• Sherwin Williams ProClassic Interior Acrylic Latex Enamel
• Purdy White Dove Roller
• Purdy Clearcut Glide 2.5" Brush
• Contact Paper
• Exacto Knife
• Measuring Tape
• 8 Drawer Pulls
• 8 Drawer Knobs

Step 1: Remove hardware and drawers from dresser. Fill in any gashes or cracks with wood filler if necessary. Using the course sand paper, sand down the existing paint or varnish to get an even surface on the dresser and drawers. Afterwards, go over the entire surface again with fine sand paper for a smooth finish.

Step 2: To add a pop of color, spray the sides of the drawers (both inside and out) with spray paint. I did not prime the drawers before doing this, and I wish I had. The wood soaked up the paint and I ended up using 4 cans for 6 drawers.

Step 3: When spray paint is dry, go over dresser and drawer fronts with primer. Use the brush to get into the edges, and the roller to provide a smooth, even finish. Go over with a second coat if necessary.

Step 4: Once the primer is dry, paint the dresser and drawer fronts using the same technique as the primer. Use two thin coats instead of one heavy coat to avoid drips.

Step 5: Add contact paper if desired to line the drawers and give a nice smooth, polished finish. Carefully measure the inside drawer dimensions and use the exacto knife to cut the paper to size. This is also an opportunity to add a fun pattern if you'd like. I added a diamond textured liner instead of a colored pattern and I think it's just as fun. Screw in the hardware and you're done!

Here is the finished dresser and a sneak peek at how the nursery is coming along!

Here's a look at how cute the drawers look with baby's things inside!

This dresser renovation has given me the confidence to restore the dressers in our bedroom. They're family pieces so I wanted to test out this process on something less sentimental first.

DIY: Beadboard Paneling

This weekend the hubby and I finally made some major progress on the nursery. First we sanded down the trim areas where the paint was chipping, washed, and then painted the walls. Then the challenging part - installing the beadboard paneling I had my heart set on.

Final Beadboard Paneling

Here's a reminder at how the original guest room looked.

A few notes before we share how we did this project:

1. We originally were going to use the giant sheets of beadboard paneling (4' wide x 8' tall), but at the last minute I found some smaller panels at Home Depot (7" wide x 32" tall). The smaller panels were a little more expensive, but we don't have a lot of tools or a good work space, so the large sheets would have been unwieldy for us. Once we realized how uneven our 100-year-old house is, we knew we made the right decision with the smaller panels. 
2. We wanted to keep our existing baseboards, but did NOT want to remove them from the wall to fit the paneling behind them. So we improvised and got a small quarter-round trim to cover the seam where the baseboard and paneling meet. This worked perfect for us, but if you don't have 100-year-old baseboards, it would be just as easy to add new baseboards with a notch at the top for the paneling to fit behind seamlessly.
3. We had difficulty finding chair rail molding. You want the molding to have a little notch at the bottom so it fits over the top of the paneling and hides the seam. Most improvement stores only carried baseboards and crown molding, which could have worked if we had a router to create a notch, but we don't. Luckily we found a Home Depot out in the suburbs that had one option for a notched chair rail - made specifically for covering paneling. 
4. In general, we have very limited tools but a lot of creativity. This project would have been faster if we had great tools and a workshop, but this just goes to show that where there's a will there's a way!

Supplies:

• Measuring Tape
• Pencil
• Beadboard panels (after measuring your space, remember to get a few extras for mistakes)
• Chair Rail with Notch 
• Quarter Round Trim 
• Level
• Circular Saw
• Mitre Box & Saw
• Nail Gun
• Finishing Nails
• Painter's Caulk
• Caulk Gun
• Caulk Edging Tool
• Spackle
• Painters Tape
• Paint (we took the time to match our existing molding so we didn't have to repaint all the window casings and door frames)

Step 1: Determine how high you want the paneling to go. The "standard" height of beadboard paneling when used as wainscoting varies. Some say the finished height should be 1/3 the height of the ceiling and others say anywhere from 32" to 46". We wanted the paneling to end underneath the window casing and the trim to be in-line with the casing. That gave us a finished height (including baseboard and chair rail) of 40" (+/- 1" due to the inconsistencies of our house).

Step 2: Measure the panels to the correct height (finished height minus the chair rail height and baseboard height) and mark with a pencil line on the back. With our home being so old, we had a difference of up to 2 inches in the height of the panels to maintain a level top edge around the room. So we measured each panel before installing it. If your home is newer, chances are you have an even height around the room - in which case you can measure and cut all your boards at once and save time.

Step 3: Using a circular saw, cut each panel at the pencil line. We found that cutting on the backside was a little easier. 

Step 4: Start at a corner and begin nailing the panels to the wall. We have old plaster walls, so we used a nail gun with an air compressor to avoid cracking the plaster with a hammer. Our panels had tongue-and-groove edges to lock them together. We moved left to right around the room and used two nails for each board - one at the top left of the board and one at the bottom left. That meant the right edge of the board was loose and allowed us to easily fit the next board in place.

Step 5: Measure the chair rail molding to the correct length and mark with a pencil line. To cut the length of the molding for the corners, use a mitre saw or mitre box to cut the edge at a 45 degree angle. Fit the molding over the paneling and nail into place. 

Step 6: Follow the same process as the chair rail: measure, cut and nail the quarter round into place to cover the seam where the bottom edge of the paneling and baseboard meet. If not using existing baseboards, you would follow the same process as the chair rail for installing new baseboards.

Left: unfinished edge, Right: finished caulked edge

Step 7: Finishing. With our old house, some of the seams were imperfect at the existing molding, and where the chair rail met the wall. To fix that, we filled the gaps. Tape off the wall at the top edge of the chair rail. Fill any gaps with painter's caulk. While the caulk is still wet, use an edging tool to perfect the seam (similar to bathroom tile). Remove tape before caulk dries completely to ensure a clean line. Next, use a small amount of spackle to cover all the nail holes. You can either sand the spackle after it dries, or I found that using a wet paper towel to wipe off excess before it dried worked well.

Step 8: Paint. Don't forget to re-tape the top edge at the chair rail and the floor at the bottom edge. Also tape any existing molding if necessary. We used a special brush made for trim to really get in the cracks and seams of the paneling, and then used a roller to go over the paint to give even coverage and texture. 

This project took us two days, but was totally worth it. It would have been faster if we didn't have so many uneven areas of our house and if I wasn't 7 months pregnant and needing breaks. 

Now I'm ready to start furnishing the nursery and decorating!

cedar chest makeover

One of my spring break projects was to update a cedar chest that we have in our bedroom. This chest was a birthday present from my parents when I was young. While I didn't appreciate furniture at that age, the chest has gotten so much use in my adult life and I love it! 

But my style has grown and the chest needed a little bit of an update to coordinate with the rest of our bedroom. Although I think I may paint the piece at some point, I'm really happy with how the simple upholstery update and hardware change helped the chest integrate better with our style.

I have to admit that when I started this project, I wasn't sure exactly what I was doing. But as always happens when I go to Denver Fabrics, I was inspired by this teal fabric and walked out with a steal on an end-of-bolt piece for $4. I came home determined to figure out how to make this work. 

Supplies:

• 1 1/2 yards of upholstery fabric
• 4 drawer pulls
• heavy duty stapler
• screw driver

Step 1: Disassemble upholstered lid. When I opened up the lid of the chest there were a bunch of screws - so of course I started unscrewing them. As I hoped, the screws held on the upholstered top of the lid. 

finished corners

Step 2: Re-upholster lid. I cut the piece of fabric to the size of the lid, with a 3" overhang. I stapled the corners first to hold them in place. Then I stapled the edges, being careful to ensure the pattern lined up with the edge of the lid and that the corners were neat. Think about the corners like wrapping a gift.

Step 3: Screw the upholstered piece back onto the lid. Easy as pie!

Step 4: Add the new decorative hardware. 

And you're done! It really couldn't have been easier. I lucked out that the lid fo the chest was a solid piece with an upholstered top, so I didn't have to actually take the lid off its hinges. Here's a snapshot of the chest in it's place between our closets. You might notice that I also painted the walls - the color is Behr Tide Pools.

DIY upholstered headboard

On Sunday I shared a little teaser of all the projects I worked on over spring break. One of the easier projects (and the one I was looking forward to completing the most) was making a headboard for our new bed. 

The new bed was our Christmas present to each other this year. For our entire marriage we'd been sleeping on a bed-frame that my great-grandmother used, and only a slightly newer mattress. In the 18 months we've been in our house, I've focused on furnishing and decorating the public areas. Finally we've turned our attention to the master and it was time for a new bed!

Knowing I was going to be leaving my full-time job to go back to school we decided that we would invest in good mattresses and leave the headboard to DIY. It was unbelievably easy to make, and here's how I did it.

Supplies:

Hank wanted to learn how to make a headboard too

• Tape measure
• OSB board 78"H x 48"W x 1/2"D
• Batting (2.5 yards)
• Upholstery fabric (2.5 yards)
• Heavy-duty stapler
• Roll of nail-head trim
• Hammer or mallet
• Pencil

Step 1: Determine the size you want your headboard to be. Our final size for a king bed is  78"W x 48"H. The width was determined by the bed size, but the height was dictated by two things. First, the fabric I purchased came in a width of 54" and I knew I'd need to wrap it around the board. Second, 48" was the width that fit in the back of our car :)

Step 2: Wrap the board in the batting. I laid the batting down first and then stapled it to the back of the OSB board. Wrap the corners the same way you would with giftwrap. 

Step 3: Wrap the board in the fabric. Pay particular attention to the corners so they're nice and neat. 

Step 4: Add the nailhead trim for a finishing touch. I used a pencil to mark a line 3" from each edge and followed that line. Did you know you can purchase nailhead trim on a roll? It's basically a long strip of nailheads and every fifth one has a hole in the center. You hammer in a real nail into the holes. It saves time and helps with accuracy of a straight line. For the corners, just overlap two of the ends and drive the nail through both.

I do have to say this designer-in-training was embarrassed to share pictures of our bedroom because until now, it hadn't been touched. I'll share the progress as we go - hopefully refinishing the dressers, getting a statement piece for above the bed, styling the nightstands and some accessories for the walls. Stay tuned!

spring break recap

I still can't believe that I'm fortunate enough to be going back to school for a career that I'm so passionate about. So when spring break came, I wasn't going to squander it. I had a to-do list a mile long and I'm proud to say I accomplished everything I set out to do. I reupholstered our cedar chest and gave it new hardware, made a headboard for our bed, painted our bedroom walls and spray painted our porch furniture. Plus, I was even able to attend two volunteer commitments, catch up with friends, window shop, and do something active every day!

Here's a sneak peak of the progress I made over the past week...

I'll be sharing how I made the headboard in a future post, so stay tuned!

DIY Leaning Floor Mirror

I'm not going to lie, I would love to have an infinite budget to buy wonderfully chic things for my home every time I see something that strikes my fancy. Unfortunately, my budget (even before becoming a student) does not allow for that. So I take pride in my crafty side and try to come up with thriftier alternatives that I can do myself. A few projects now and then can really curb my home-decor shopping bug.

Here's an easy project that the hubby helped me out with when I really needed a leaning floor mirror for the guest room. I love the presence that a large scale mirror gives a room. It fills up vertical space without taking up too much room on the floor. Not to mention the lean of the mirror gives a very flattering perspective of yourself! 

The inspiration...

look at the size of this guy

I knew I couldn't make this, but it's too gorgeous not to include.

love the whole rustic vibe of this space

I would definitely feel like a princess waking up here

My DIY version...

Supplies:

• Tape Measure
• Mirror (mine is 24" x 64")
• OSB board (1/2" thick)
• Boards for the Frame
• Wood Glue
• Mirror Adhesive
• Mitre Box 
• Clamps

Step 1. Determine the finished mirror size. I looked at quite a few floor mirrors and kept those measurements as a guide. Then I measured my space to make sure the scale would be appropriate. My finished mirror measures 32" x 72".
Step 2: Get your mirror. You can find old mirrors at thrift stores, but I had mine cut by a glass store. I was able to get this mirror for $60. If you're having the mirror cut, you'll want them to sand the edges so they aren't sharp.

Step 3: Gather your frame materials. To provide stability, I got a piece of OSB board to mount on the back of the mirror. You can use plywood, but it's more expensive and heavier. I didn't want the board to show from the side, so I subtracted 2" from the height and width of the finished mirror (including frame). For the frame, I liked the rustic look of the knotty pine and chose a 4" width. 
Step 4: Cut your frame. We don't own a circular saw, so I bought a mitre box. We cut the boards at a 45 degree angle so they came together seamlessly at the corners. If you're going to stain or finish the boards, do that now.

Step 5: Glue it all together. Follow the directions for the mirror adhesive. We used generous amounts to make sure the board would hold the weight of this size mirror. Carefully flip the mirror over and secure it to the board. Using wood glue, adhere the frame pieces to the board edges. Use clamps to secure the fit and let set as directed.
Step 6: For added safety, you can secure your mirror to the wall with a mount.

I originally planned to take a hammer to the wood and stain it to give it a "reclaimed" look, but I ended up loving the light pine and kept it as-is. 
So what do you think? Can this DIY version hold up to the expensive versions?