The Table is In!

 

Welp, it's finally finished!

I made this table way harder than it should have been, and in the future I will be able to complete a table way quicker.

The trouble with this table was that it had to be built in our garage (and by ours, I mean my husband's side, he was thrilled... thrilled to have his garage back!) and installed at our cottage in pieces, so I couldn't assemble it and then paint and stain it.  The top alone weighs around 100 lbs, give or take.

I do love how it turned out though!

Because of the natural hickory floor and stained pine ceiling at the cottage, I chose a driftwood stain. To achieve this color I used a mix of Rustoleum Kona and Driftwood stains. Everyone's idea of driftwood seems to be different, but I took a piece that I found on the beach in Grand Haven and matched as close as I could to that, creating a very rich gray-brown. 

I love a good contrast, so the off-white legs that match the kitchen cabinets are just what this table needed to create a harmonious balance of light and dark. I lightly distressed them and put several coats of poly-crylic over all of it. I'm hoping that because it boasts a more rustic finish, that the inevitable dings will not show as much.

I was hoping that the two wicker chairs I got off Craigs List would be tall enough to act as captains chairs, but they look ridiculously small in comparison to the red wooden chairs. Placing them in the middle seems to work just fine though. 

The best part about this table being finished is that my husband actually said several times that he wants me to make another table. I was shocked! I really thought this was my last adventure in woodworking for at least 25 years. 

Looks like I might be making a headboard and a day bed for my boys after all! ;)

Half-Bathroom Reveal

 

It's been a long time comin'!

This little space is not 100% complete, but with the exception of a window treatment, it's ready to be enjoyed.

 

Months ago, I had to take a long break from my living room projects when our tile installer called on a Friday and asked us if we would be ready for our new floor to begin installation on Monday. We couldn't say no. We had been waiting a year or so to get this situation fixed!  So that weekend, we demolished the bathroom. And by we, I mean my husband and a sawz-all. He rippeth out, I maketh beautiful!

{Just to recap, we had installed new tile 3 years ago, and much to our surprise, about a year after installation the grout started cracking and chipping, and the tiles were coming loose.  That's how this whole process came to start, although we had wanted to renovate this bathroom for some time.}

 So, after dreaming and pinning from inspiring blogs, I created a design board, which I really didn't stray too far from, besides the wall color.

I had a little debacle with ordering the Montaigne Vanity from Home Decorators collection, a piece which I had a crush on for years! It just goes to show, you must always measure twice and cut, er... order once.  But that gave me the chance to try out my new Kreg Jig I got from my husband for Christmas, and build a similar vanity using my own modified version of this vanity from Ana White. Ah, I love new tools! 

 

I had painted the ceiling a month or so prior to demolition with a free sample of Clark & Kennsington paint I got from Ace Hardware. They used to give those away quite frequently. They should start that up again. ;) Then I painted the upper portion of the walls a different color than what I had specified on my design board. After seeing a photo on Young House Love's site, I decided to go with a darker gray up top; Benjamin Moore's Kendall Charcoal (HC-166), instead of continuing the minty ceiling color onto the walls, as originally planned. I'm happy I did, because the contrast with the planks and the ceiling is refreshing!

 While the new floors were being installed, I got busy planking the walls. Any excuse to use my air compressor, and I'm happy! This process moved quite quickly by myself, but I can't imagine planking a large space, like some inspiring bloggers have done. My biggest challenge was cutting around the window, toilet paper holder, and all of the electrical boxes. Electrical work was something else I also tackled for the first time while working on this bathroom!

Then I primed a couple of coats and painted a few more, and sealed it all off with a coat or two (depending on the area) of Polycrilic.

After the floor and walls were complete, I set the vanity in place and had a template made for the quartz counter tops. And then we waited... 4 weeks. I suppose this would have been the perfect time to get those doors done in the living room, but I didn't. 

 

I worked on other projects, like renewing the sconces in the bathroom...

 and painting a couple of baskets as storage for the vanity (this is an unseen action shot of how I sometimes get projects done with the boys).

A month had come and gone just like that. Who am I kidding? We were in the dead of winter just trying to survive the Michigan Snowpocalypse of 2014! But we kept busy, and waited patiently. As soon as I got the call that my vanity top was done, I dragged the boys out of bed to pick it up! I saved $80 and installed the counter top myself by applying a bead of silicon adhesive to the vanity, and then caulked the two edged with a waterproof silicon caulk as well. Super easy, since this piece weighs only about 50 pounds.

Then I half-way succeeded to hook up the plumbing myself. I installed the faucet, but I didn't have the right drain pipe (or know-how) to complete that myself. One quick call to our plumber, and the drain was hooked up the next day! Now we can wash our hands ensured that water won't be leaking all over my precious vanity.

After placing the baskets, a sweet little painted pot with a succulent my little guy picked out, and hanging the mirror & a painting my husband and I got in Key West from our wedding/honeymoon, the bathroom is complete. Enjoy some photos while I continue my search for the hand towel that started it all!

And now for everyone's favorite shot, the side by side before and after:

So, what do you think? I love it so much that I'm trying to figure out how to get a mattress to fit. :)

Sources:

Ceiling Color: Benjamin Moore Fresh Dew

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal

Plank Color: Benjamin Moore White Down

Floor Tile: MS International Metro Charcoal @ Home Depot

Vanity: DIY

Baskets: Found at Meijer and Dipped

Countertop: Cotton White Quartz fabricated by Top Of The World

Faucet: Pfister Ashfield in Tuscan Bronze

Sink: Kohler Kelston Undermount in Biscuit

Mirror:  Bolivar Decorative Wall Mirror

Linking up to:

I Heart Nap Time: Link Party Palooza #37
Design, Dining & Diapers: Inspiration Gallery Link Party
The Cards We Drew: Sunday Soiree Link Party
A Bowl Full of Lemons:  One Project at a Time
The Holden Sycamore: Inspiration Gallery Link Party 
Liz Marie Blog: Inspire Me Please - Linky Party  

Featured At:
The Golden Sycamore, Design, Dining & Diapers, Craftberry Bush
Tuesdays at Ten June 

Half-Bathroom Sconces -- a quick fix!

After a quick & impromptu project, we've decided not to replace our sconces, but to renew them!

I've received a lot of compliments on our $20 Home Depot sonces, and I really liked them too, but the original chrome finish just wasn't working in this new rustic setting. 

Enter: Rustoleum Aged Copper Spray Paint & a mini tutorial!

 Step One: Remove the fixture from the wall.

 Step Two: Lightly sand all exposed metal with a fine sanding block or sand paper. I used a 120 grit sanding block.

 Notice the scuffed up surface. This will allow the spray paint to adhere to the sconce.

 Step Three: Cover sockets with painters tape. Spray away, according to the instructions on your can of course!

 Step Four: Spray additional coats as you see fit. I only had to do two, about an hour apart. I let the sconces dry completely for 48 hours.

Step Five: Re-install your fixtures, step back, and enjoy the beautiful and cheap "new" lights!

This option is way more economical than the $100 I would have spent on new sconces. I've seen other bloggers who have sprayed door knobs with this same product, and they didn't have much luck with it staying, mainly because you're constantly touching knobs. I figure I will probably only have contact with these lights once every couple of years to change a bulb, because let's be honest - the first time I cleaned these was before I sprayed them... yep... that's 3 years of dust. ;)

Sconces Before:

 And after:

The bathroom is really starting to come together now!

Linking Up To:
 Just A Girl And Her Blog - Hit Me With Your Best Shot #10
 I Heart Nap Time - Link Party Palooza #32

We're Half Way There...

"Woooah! Livin' on a prayer!" And you better believe it. I finished two of the four doors for the built-ins in the living room, and thanks to the awful weather we've been having, I wasn't rushed to get it all done because no one ended up coming for dinner on Saturday. However, even if it was sunny and 75, there's no way I would have gotten the other two doors done.

I have a major road block, and I'm not sure how to move past it. There is nothing square about the opening under the TV, which makes building new doors for it very difficult. So, while this project isn't complete, I have a before and half-after for you that I'm excited about!

I'm really happy with how these two doors turned out. My husband's happy that they are no longer bi-fold, and that makes a cleaner look.

I have a little sanding to do between the doors, and if Winter ever ends (we'll have snow here until July) I'll spray a top coat on and maybe some poly, too. But for now I'm enjoying the new style... and try to figure out how in the world I'm going to make doors for the other side. I WILL finish this before I go on to the bathroom.

Oh wait... I already started staining the legs. Shoot!