Our Story

MeridethJuly 21, 2020DIY LifeHello ya’ll! I am so excited to share with you how we built our very own farmhouse fireplace in our upstairs living room! You might want to get comfy for this one, it’s a bit long 🙂 First I should give you a little back story that brought this project to the top of my to-do list. My mom lives in a much warmer region of the country and was planning to come and stay with us over Thanksgiving. Since she had been here the previous May-June for graduations, and literally froze during her stay, I was very concerned about her being too cold while she was here during the actual winter. Sitting in our upstairs living room one night, I had a brilliant idea to add warmth to our upstairs by installing an electric fireplace. While we watched the evening TV I started doing some research on how much one would cost, how efficient it might be to run, and how to install one safely. Knowing that I didn’t want to cut into our existing walls, I started diving into building our own faux fireplace. Next, I pulled out my sketchbook and started drawing out the plan for the size and visual aspects of the design. As most of my ideas go, it started out fairly simple and became more complex as I dug in. The first step once I had the rough concept was to order the fireplace. I ordered it from Amazon (of course) and it was going to be here in about a week. That was enough time to purchase supplies and begin the build. During the course of building the fireplace and planning for my mother’s arrival, my husband had surgery for carpal tunnel on his right hand. This meant that the build was all on me with some instruction from darling HandyHubs. I was ready! #womanbuilder I wish I could find the information on the electronic fireplace we purchased. All I can tell you is that I am an avid review reader before I click BUY for anything that is electronic or digital for our family. I absolutely despise having to return stuff. We selected one that was a decent size, had the ability to blow heat out, and was pretty – all black with multiple fun color-changing options. It was easy to put together and very quick to install. Building Supplies 8 – 8ft 2x4s 1″ wood screws 2 sheets 1/2″ plywood 2 sheets 1/4″ smooth plywood 6 – 1x2x8 for trim Level Square Tape Measure Air Nails and Nail gun Paint Mortar Tile Grout Miter Saw Day #1 16.5 x 30.5 For the build, we measured and cut the 2x4s to create two side support pieces that would go from floor to ceiling with two supports in between the length. We wanted good ventilation around the fireplace, so we opted to have the overall depth of the faux chimney be 14″ with the framing measuring 12.5″ from outside 2×4 to outside 2×4. Once the plywood, wood and trim are added the overall depth will be about 14″. With the side supports built, we carried them into the house to attach to the wall. We decided that we didn’t want the framing attached to our beautiful hardwood floor or to the ceiling, in case someone wanted to remove it in the future, so directly to the wall itself was the way to go. We marked the wall and spaced the supports out from inside edge to inside edge at 54″ and screwed into the wall studs. The fireplace arrived in perfect condition allowing me to measure the insert area and determine where the framing needed to be for it to fit into the build. This part took me a bit of time, because I was struggling with how far up I wanted the fireplace to be from the floor. We had not yet ruled out a hearth as part of the build and I wanted to keep my options open. I settled on the outside edge of the front of the fireplace at 15″ above the floor. I measured and cut seven boards that would provide support across the front and the back to connect to the two side supports and create the overall structure. I then Kreg jigged the end of each board to attach them securely to the framing. The interior of the fireplace sits 54.5″ up from the floor, so I place one of the boards there and one at the top where the top edge could attach. I then realized I needed to add back support to the top 2×4 board that framed the top of the fireplace so that the installation would work. We placed the fireplace in the frame to ensure a snug fit before moving on to the next steps. You can also see that the back wall has been updated. HandyHubs completed some wiring work to have an outlet that we could easily access for the TV and other items. There are many ways in which you can frame and finish your faux fireplace. We had determined that the most affordable method for us was going to be a fully ship lapped design. But first, we would install 1/2″ plywood over the framing to support the shiplap. I have seen some installs that use drywall, but for the time and expense, we felt there was no sense for installing drywall when our plan was to cover it all up. With all the ply woodcut and installed, we sat back to enjoy the rest of the evening and I took a much-needed break. Cutting and installing plywood on my own was a tall order and I was whooped! Day #2 You might remember earlier in my post I stated that the design idea was to cover the entire build with shiplap to finish it off. Well….. as you might have guessed, I sort of changed my mind the night before we headed to the store to buy our 1/4″ plywood for the shiplap. I know, I know! Big surprise! But I have to tell you why! We have a less than glorious real fireplace in the basement. I dream of refinishing quite often, but am having a hard time digging in and getting it done. I’m not sure why – maybe because I don’t care for the structure of it and that shuts off my creativeness. Anyway, with all that dreaming, I figured that if I’m building this one from scratch I should do what I Really Really want….. right? That’s where the tile comes in! Purchase 1/4″ plywood – Check! Have it ripped down to 3″ strips – Check! Purchase an extra piece for trimming out around the tile – Check! Check! Now for the tile 🙂 Oh, how I adore herringbone marble tile. It’s so nice. I love the selection at HD for backsplash and we headed there to basically blow our entire project budget. (oooops!) But again, if we are going to do this, let’s do it right the first time. Next we start by installing the shiplap because we know it’s doing to start from the ceiling and head down towards the mantel area. How far up to place the mantel? This one was a struggle for me, as you can really play with this visually and there aren’t really any “rules” to where the mantel should live. I also didn’t find many blog posts where people shared their placement – so I’m going to tell you ours in case it helps you out. Since we had decided to mount the tv over the fireplace, it was our biggest factor in figuring out the mantel. Our TV for this space is a 55″ and we determined that we wouldn’t need a bigger one ever upstairs and that any smaller would leave us sad. The TV needed to have space between it and the ceiling and if we sat at our couch we wanted tv viewing to be comfortable. Eventually, we want to install ceiling speakers, but for now, we also had our soundbar that is attached to the bottom of the tv to consider as well. Our mantel ended up being 48.5″ from the floor and we settled for a 3.25″ thick cut of rough cedar some friends gifted us. Works perfectly! HandyHubs cut an access panel into the shiplap wall to hide all the cords for the TV which is so awesome! He can move the TV and open that to do any cabling work that needs done without cables showing. Day #3 We trimmed out the bottom area of the fireplace with our 1/4″ plywood and determined the area for the tile. We ended up running back to the store for a few more sheets of file than we had originally planned for once we completely scrapped the hearth for good. The hearth would have limited walking space in our already somewhat small living space and neither of us could see any value in that. With HandyHubs still recovering from his wrist surgery from about four days ago, he is doing well and able to assist with cutting tile. The tile was tricky to install but overall, we are very pleased with the outcome. Day #4 We are almost done!!! Only a few pieces of tile were loose so we added some mud to each and allowed a few hours of dry time while we continued painting another coat on the trim. We cleaned the grout lines and mixed the grout to apply to the tile. I was able to do this part on my own once it was mixed. Have you ever grouted tile before? It’s pretty fun! I enjoyed using the tools and squishing the grout in there then wiping off with a big damp sponge. It’s dirty work and I ended up doing this in a dark room with a hot work light shining on me but overall, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Day #5 Today the finished tile and trim look so amazing! We are installing the mantel and adding trim and crown molding to the top of the fireplace and installing the TV. HandyHubs is going to build me custom corbels for the mantel but I haven’t designed them just yet, so that will be a step down the road. Overall, we love how this project turned out. My mom and the whole family enjoyed the extra comfy heat and how the new fireplace just adds to our space – makes it feel so comfortable and homey. I hope you enjoyed this post and found that this is a great DIY project you can undertake for your own home to add comfort and value. See ya next time! …. Update 3 months later: Hey all! We finally added the corbels. Here are some pics of our crazy corbel customization too. We installed heavy-duty magnet circles to the corbels so they are removable. I didn’t want any holes in them to secure them to the mantel and no holes in the mantel either so this was the way to fix that. Plus, I like that we could design a few other corbels and change them out if we really wanted to… is that unique or what? Ha! [...]

Custom Display Cabinet

MeridethApril 28, 2020Our HomeWelcome back! This month we have done so many things! Maybe its the promise of warmer weather, or the being stuck at home during Covid 19 in 2020….. no idea, but here’s another home project for you to read about. Our basement is a garden level with one of those shelves that travels around the perimeter. Last year we added some beautiful weathered shiplap to the lower half, re-trimmed the windows and painted. I love how it looks so calm and inviting now, but this one long wall without windows has always been an eyesore to me. I have felt that it needs shelving or a cabinet but not across the entire length. Okay, the elephant in the room is the ceiling where there’s a darker circle. I just have to call it out – it’s on the to-do list friends! This is where the previously old light fixture was in the basement prior to our installation of our down lights. We have two of these and a third will live here soon as well. So once that light gets redone we will tackle them all at once. Now back to the project at hand… LOL (November 2020 Update: apparently the teenagers that frequent our home call these the ceiling nipples. I have taken care of this now….so embarrassing) After spending some time looking for inspiration online we came up with a plan for a tall cabinet that basically sits on the shelf, but has glass doors so it’s more of a display rather than storage. HandyHubs planed down boards to build the sides, top and shelves. He then built some custom doors and we ordered glass for them. I painted the back of the wall a darker shade of gray then the surrounding walls and painted the cabinet SW Alabaster white to match the trip and shelf. The handles are beautiful brushed iron finished ones from Magnolia at Target that my sister gifted me with last year. To finish off the cabinet we installed strip lighting around the edge of the interior and set it up on an evening schedule to turn on and off. Now we have a beautiful dust free space to store our display items. We have a few final touches to do on this build before it’s fully complete. The top needs a piece of crown molding and the bottom needs a trim board across the front on the inside to help hide that our shelf along the wall is not completely build level (nothing ever is in a home build), and finally some trim that runs along where the cabinet and wall meet. Thanks for stopping by! I will link in HandyHubs “how I built this cabinet” when his blog post is ready. [...]

Oak Trunk Finish

MeridethMarch 28, 2020Unique Home DecorHey there! Welcome back to the T&T blog. Today I want to share this gorgeous trunk HandyHubs built for me. Have you seen all the beautiful steam trunk makeovers online? They are so creative and fun – but maybe a little bit too fancy for my space. I was in search of handmade, simple and a nice addition to our home. After looking at several different designs online, I sketched out a simple design and legs for my trunk. HandyHubs wrote a post on his blog that has all the details of the build. To read more about how he built the trunk, please visit his blog Diaries of a Craftsman. In this post I will share with you how I painted and finished the trunk. These pictures will guide you through my process. Let’s just say, picking the colors was the easiest part. I was inspired by a dresser that one of my favorite furniture artists, Brandy of Brushed by Brandy did a while back – her attention to detail and blending techniques are top notch. I am a bit of a messier painter and often the process is where I do something, then come back later and realize it’s not quite where I want it to be so I do more. I started by painting the bottom half of the trunk with Dixie Belle Chalk Paint in Vintage Duck Egg and the top half with Sand Bar. I came back in along the bottom with a mixture of DB Aubergine and Caviar to get the deep blue black I was looking for. From this photo you can see that I applied more Vintage Duck egg and sprayed it with my water spray bottle to run the color down into the blue-black layer. This is where i will begin blending the edges together and laying the duck egg blue over the darker color to hopefully create some depth and interest. After a few hours of working the paints around and blending them in an out, I decided to take a risk and blend in some of Dixie Belle’s Iron and Copper paint. These are part of the Patina Paint line and I have used them on a few other projects quite successfully. Using the Patina paints and sprays will bring some rusty areas to the trunk and give it an interesting aged look. I am a big fan of patina but I’m also trying on this piece not to overdo it. Now that I’ve blended the paint and have the general look, I am going to add some decal work along the lighter top area of the trunk down into the dark – so the decal is fading into the darkness of the bottom. Then I will stain the lid. The final step in the process of painting the trunk is to add some gold here and there. I have purchased a gold handle for the lid and I think adding gold around the edges and here and there over the corners and dots of gold in the center of each decal. A coat of water based poly over the truck will keep it safe and easy to clean. I love how the trunk turned out. It fits perfectly where we intended it to go and the colors and design fit in nicely with our upstairs living area. We receive so many compliments on it, but best of all these things – I have a space to store extra blankets finally! Thanks for visiting the blog! Please leave your feedback, questions and comments. [...]

DIY Chalk Paint – Quick & Easy

MeridethFebruary 21, 2020DIY LifeHey ya’ll! If you follow me on the regular, you probably recognize that I am absolutely in LOVE with Dixie Belle Chalk Paint and I use it almost exclusively on all my furniture projects. I am not a brand ambassador, nor do I sell DB; I’m just a very enthusiastic customer. However, with all the gorgeous colors they have available – there are times when I have a particular color I want to paint with because one of my clients has requested it, or it matches something else in my home, etc. I discovered an easy method to making my own Chalk paint years ago and as I sit today ready to dive into a new project, I thought I’d share it with you also! I will teach you in this short post how to make your own chalk paint inexpensively and quickly. I will tell you, it’s not perfect, and it’s not better than the stuff you can buy ready to go, and the shelf life isn’t long – you want to use this paint within a few weeks of making it, or it could start to harden. But in a bind, or if you are doing a project and want to use some paint you have on hand, this is the way to go. The Ingredients that you need to make your DIY Chalk Paint are: Latex Paint, or Acrylic Paint (any including flat, satin, semi-gloss) – 1 Cup Plaster of Paris – 1/3 Cup Warm Water – 1/3 Cup A container to mix in that has an airtight lid. A Stir Stick of some sort. You can make as much as you’d like by increasing the recipe. Plaster of Paris will take the sheen out of the paint and provide that chalky smooth finish that we love so much! Warm water is essential to help in mixing the Plaster of Paris or you will end up with a clumpy mess (trust me!) There is no order or preference to the mixture, just put it all in a container and stir thoroughly then apply to your piece. What to do After you Paint After you apply your paint and it dries, I recommend giving your piece a quick once over with very fine grit sandpaper, like 220 fine. This will give it that smooth chalky finish. Did you know – you don’t “have” to seal chalk paint?? – 30 days after application, chalk paint cures fully. However, if you are impatient like me, you want to use your finished piece immediately…. if that’s the case do the following: You can elect to use a Clear Poly ( I like MinWax flat water-based poly) over the top in 2 thin coats to seal your piece -especially if you painted the top of a dresser or table where you know wet items might be placed, or you can wipe the piece down with clear wax ( I like Dixie Belle Clear Wax). I have used my own DIY chalk paint on several projects including Clocks, plant holders, artwork, and furniture. Try out this simple recipe and share your experience with me including some pictures of your creations! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day! [...]

Custom Coffee Table

Handy HubsNovember 20, 2019Farmhouse Collection / Our Home / Unique Home DecorWhat a fun build this unique piece has been. As you follow us here at T & T you know we are in constant remodel mode. This, my friends, is the reality of home construction. Chaos, dust, and tools everywhere!! I estimate we have refinished probably about 75% of our “older bi-level home”. So no surprise, we are currently working creating a more inviting living environment for our upstairs. This piece is one that Mer has wanted me to build for a while. A custom Farmhouse style coffee table made with a variety of woods. Mer designed it to match our kitchen island X end legs we installed earlier this year The bottom shelf is finished with straight pine planks. The top design is an opposing arrow design. I used Pine, Alder, and Hickory boards glued and air nailed from underneath. the edges were finished off with planed pine wood. We wanted to keep the same color stain as our kitchen island but with a bit more character. . White was too much, gray was boring! Mer applied our favorite Dark Walnut Danish Oil and waited patiently for it to dry. She then app;ied a wash of Dixie Belle chalk paint in sawmill gravy, grey and then dark wax here and there. It’s a lovely muted mix of tones on top that will hide dust and imperfections. We don’t feel guilty putting our feet on it either!! The finished coffee table compliments our cozy upstairs living space and our diy fireplace build (post coming soon! [...]

How To: Create Beautiful Modern Flo Art

MeridethOctober 10, 2019Unique Home DecorHey there friends! Today I want to share with you an easy way to create gorgeous modern art for your home. Modern! you may say – but yes. In our home, HH and I like to mix it up a bit – Farmhouse, Modern, Vintage, Industrial – you just never know what you might like. I have found that this flo art work is a beautiful addition to any home – AND – bonus here: What a great, inexpensive way to take care of those big awkward wall spaces. Trust me! Okay, here’s what you need; 1 Canvas (OR) build your own wood frame any size and stretch a prewashed piece of painters drop cloth and air-staple that cloth gooood and tight. If you stretch your own – buy a bottle of Gesso (in the art dept) to seal the small holes in the fabric and allow it to dry fully before you paint 1-2 hrs. Pick your colors! We typically use 4-5 colors and something glittery or metallic. However, you can do as many colors as you want. One should be WHITE and one should be BLACK Walmart has great, inexpensive bottles of acrylic paint in the craft department – get the bigger or medium size, not the small. Elmers Glue – BIG BOTTLE Water (grab a big cup or bottle and fill with water) Popsicle Stir Sticks Plastic cups that you can toss out Plastic Sheeting Folding Table A work area (maybe a second table) Spray Brake Parts lubricant – you want it to be SILICONE BASED Acrylic Clear Spray Sealer A few things to know before you begin are: You will make a mess. Your painting with take a few days to dry fully everyone who sees it is going to want to know where you got it. Be prepared to become addicted to this method. 😉 Prep: The best way to begin is to grab your plastic sheeting and locate the area you will work on your painting. I recommend a flat area, maybe the garage or driveway on a clear non-windy day. Place a large piece of plastic on the ground, then open your folding table and stand it over the plastic. Lay a second piece of plastic over the table. It’s alright if it drapes down, but make sure you won’t be stepping on it while you work. Take a few of your empty dixie cups and turn them upside down on the table, then place your canvas on the cups to keep it up above the table. I recommend having the cups on the edges on the frame so the canvas isn’t pushed up. A second table or area should also be set up -this will be your work area. Cover this also with a plastic sheeting piece to protect it from the paint. Mix Flo Medium: To create this painting, we need the paint to flow freely on the canvas. There is special flo medium sold in craft stores for this purpose, but it is costly. To save money, we found that using Elmer’s glue dilluted with water makes a great flo medium. Take a dixie cup and fill it half full of glue, then add about 1-2 inches of water to it. Mix well will a popsicle stick. It should not be just slightly thicker than runny. Now, for each cup of paint, you will BEGIN with this flo medium. Mix Paint: Grab another dixie cup, pour 1 inch of flo medium in the bottom, grab the white paint and squeeze about twice as much of the flo to it. 2 parts paint to 1 part flo. Use a new popsicle stick to mix well. Do this with each color you plan to use. The final step in this process is to take the Spray Brake Fluid and spray a quick spray into each cup of paint. This is how the paint will be encouraged to create cell formations and swirl. Once you have everything mixed, it’s time to begin! The best way to start in my opinion is to get a new empty cup. Pour a 1-2 inches of White Paint mixture in, then layer other paint colors of your choice on top of it. Of course, the paint goes down into the center, and you only see ribbons of paint in the cup. DO NOT MIX IT this time. So for instance, maybe I do 2 inches white, then a pour of teal, a pour of yellow, a dot of black and a dot of silver in the cup. This is getting exciting!! If you have the skills of a ninja you can go to the canvas, any area of it you want, and flip that cup onto the canvas and leave it there upside down, let it sit for a minute then pull it straight up and watch the paint colors flow and run. If you are not a ninja you might need a bit of help to accomplish this. To help the paint colors run on the canvas, you can lift one end or side and tilt it this way or that. Just be aware that however you tilt it consistently is how the paint will flow, so do a variety of tilts in different directions. After the intitial pour, you can repeat that using other layering techniques in each cup or do straight pours with single paint colors. Do this all over the canvas and tilt, tilt, tilt until the entire canvas is covered with paint. The paint should flow out over the edges. As I said earlier it will be messy but completely worth it. Once you are all done, clean up all your left over paint, cups and plastic. Leave your painting to fully dry on a flat surface (preferably how it was set up while you painted) and check on it daily to see how the paint is drying. A good estimation of paint dry time is 1-4 days. When it’s dry, you can give it two light coats of Acrylic clear coat spray to seal and protect the painting. This will keep it from dulling, and make it easy to dust. Now that you are done, you can frame it if you like and put a hanger on it. I hope that you will give this Flo Art Method a shot and share with me how it went. [...]

Farmhouse Style Dining Table Build

Handy HubsAugust 11, 2019Farmhouse CollectionGood Day All!, Handy Hubs here to talk about an awesome custom order we completed this month. Our good friend’s, the Peete’s commissioned us to build them a 7ft long farmhouse table and matching bench for their family. We have been wanting to build one so this came at a great time. We browsed several different styles of farmhouse tables and our friends selected a few styles they liked, but with slight modifications. They wanted a chunky 4×4 legs, with an X style and a wide style top, all boards in one direction. We would stain the top dark and make the bottom white with distressing. That’s all the Mrs’ to figure out – I like to focus on the building part. I picked up some lumber and supplies to get the job done: 2x4s, 2x10s, and 4x4s Wood Screws Wood glue I would need to use my miter saw, hand planer, drill, kreg jig, measuring tape. I don’t have very good photos of the build process. Basically, I made my cuts for the table top, the 2×10’s, and ran them through the planer to get them squared up so they could be kreg jigged together cleanly. I then put boards along the ends as a boarder for the entire top, and additional supports on the underside where the legs would go. This way, I would not put any screws or bolts into the table top to hold the legs. The table top ended up 7′ in length and 35″ in width. It was quite heavy. Next i put the legs together. Using 4×4’s I cut the x centers to the height I wanted, then cut angles into 4 pieces to join them to the center. You can see in the photo how they look and where I put the screws in to hold them. I ran a 2×4 then along both ends for the top and base of each leg. A long 4×4 piece was then cut for the center support between the two legs. Because this table was 7ft long, we needed to have that additional support. If it was a 4ft table, it would not be necessary. At this point, I took a break from building so Mer could stain and paint the legs. This took her about four days to complete. she used a dark stain for the legs and support and white chalk paint over the top. Once the had two coats on and dry, she used a 120 grit sanding blog to do some distressing here and there. the base was sealed and ready to go. The bottom of the table was also stained dark and had dried fully. We took the legs and attached them to the table top between those supports I had installed (see photo). Once secured, we grabbed one of our boys to help us flip it over. Talk about a very hefty and sturdy table!!! I now moved my attention to building the bench while Mer stained the table top. For the bench, we made it about 6.5 feet. We used the same techniques we used for the table in this build. Next our friends found a set of chairs that would match perfectly once refinished. I may have mentioned this before…. chairs are NOT Mer’s favorite to refinish. They always have spindly parts and too much old layered paint. But of course, we wanted everything to look perfect for our dear friends so we jumped right in. Once they were cleaned, we removed the seats and gave both the frames and seats a good thorough sanding. I brought out the paint spray gun for this job while Mer stained the seats the same as the table tops. After a few coats of chalk paint spray they looked great. Mer lightly sanded to make the chalk paint a soft texture and applied Wax on them to seal. We used Water based Poly on the table top(3 coats), bench seat and chair seats to protect them. Once we finished, we very carefully transported them to their new home. The transfer and installation included removing the top of the table from the base due to the size and weight. All went well and our friends love their finished set. Thank you for reading my post and letting me share with you a bit about my build. Now off to the next order! [...]

Pantry Makeover Reveal Part II

MeridethAugust 10, 2019Our HomeI am so excited to finally show you what our completed pantry looks like!! This reveal has been a long time coming, but trust me – so worth the wait! In my last post about the pantry build here, I shared with you the craziness of how this remodel came to be and walked you through conception and build. In a separate post I shared my organization tips and tricks. Now, I can share the exterior and finishing touches of the build. First, full disclosure: this girl (me!!) has a pantry that friends, neighbors, total strangers even – are in awe of. Well, if they aren’t they should be! (Thanks Handy Hubs!) Day after day our family uses this pantry to grab quick snacks, make meals and make memories. Let’s jump back to the BEFORE …. wow. We have come a Loooonnnnnggggg way friends. Once we finished the interior of the pantry it was time to focus on the front-facing walls and a door. HandyHubs and I really wanted to give this Pantry some character – make it a focal point of our little kitchen and let it be the shining star. I had an idea to theme the kitchen with a wood-metal-farmhouse type of look. To begin, we decided to create some custom shiplap and install it over the finished drywall. We first taped, mudded and then painted the drywall and let it dry thoroughly. For our shiplap this time, we used hardwood instead of plywood. HH pointed out that we would need to plane down the 1″ boards a bit to reduce the thickness of the walls – and basically, he was really just trying to sell me on buying him a planer. Did it work?? Of course it did!!! (Ha Ha Ha) We selected 1×2″ boards in 8ft lengths for this project… and then we bought a great planer. Once the boards were planed and sanded we laid them out on a few sawhorses for staining. I used an assorted variety of stains and applied thin coats on most of the boards. I then introduced a variety of chalk paint colors into the mix and applied the paint by wiping on and wiping back over the dried stain. Some boards were gray, others were a blue-teal and still others a light green. I then came back with white and dry brushed it over the boards here and there. To apply the shiplap to the walls, we worked from our back deck. We set up our tools: Miter Saw, Air Nailer, Hammer, and level and got to work. I randomly selected boards and cut them to the lengths I wanted, then handed them off to HH for installation. We did not use glue to apply them, only air nails. In the future, if we decide to remove the planks, we don’t want to have to fight glue and removal. Since the space would not have any humidity, board warping isn’t a major concern. I was careful in my selection so that I did not create a pattern. As we went along, I realized that I wanted to use the unfinished boards sparingly as well. A few of the boards had some interesting knot holes that really look neat. I also decided to only apply the shiplap on half the wall and use galvanized metal along the bottom. I recalled that I had noticed this type of look in a restaurant we had been to and I really liked it. Once the metal was up, HH framed it in with some of the remaining boards for a finished look. We love how it all turned out… but… we think it’s missing something… hmm. Is there maybe a Pantry Reveal Part III in our future? Check back soon for the rest of this makeover! Have you created a shiplap feature in your home? We would love to see what you have done! Please comment and share below. [...]

DIY Pantry Labels

MeridethJuly 9, 2019Our HomeNow that the interior of the pantry was complete, I could take on the task of organization – not really my forte. Since I had spent SO much time in the evenings scrolling through Pinterest and getting some storage ideas, the next big task was shopping for the right containers. Hobby Lobby has great glass containers that are fun and fit any style. I headed there first to find cute jars for candy, snacks and anything that is in its own packaging. (50% off deal day friends!!) I didn’t want to put my baking goods in anything that wasn’t airtight. I learned that TJ Maxx usually has a selection of containers that are airtight for a decent price. Each one was between $8 and $12 so I decided to check Walmart first. Walmart sells one type of container, and you can get 4 in a set for $15. So I grabbed that. Washed them, put my flour in them, and guess what? The seal would not allow me to close the lid securely unless I fiddled with it EACH time I removed it and replaced it. Maybe you could live with that – and if you can, I give you big props. But in my world, No, No, Definitely Not. I guess that’s what you get for $15… I ventured back to TJ Maxx to get the better ones. You can guess what happened next… Cute canisters require cute labels! Out comes my Silhouette. I didn’t care to take the time to design my own labels, so luckily I was able to download these ones from Cori’s site at “hey let’s make stuff”. Aren’t they fantastic? Free download on her site. You may not find everything you can think of for your pantry needs with these labels, but I have to say, it’s a pretty darn good list of options. If you don’t have a Silhouette or Vinyl Cutting Machine, you can find cute labels in various shapes online for great prices or on Etsy. [...]

DIY Stair Gates – Baby Gate – Dog Gate

MeridethJuly 9, 2019Farmhouse CollectionSo around these parts (ha ha ha) and probably in your neck of the woods too, new homes are being built so incredibly fast. They are beautiful with gorgeous wood trim, hardwood flooring, TALL basements, wide staircases… I could go on and on – but let’s get back to the WIDE STAIRCASES…. You have dogs? Me too. You have kiddos? I use to have littles, now I have bigs. Regardless, it is challenging to find gates that fit the wider staircases, and down below is usually a pretty hefty set of stairs. We understand how frustrating it is to order online for a one fits all solution that doesn’t work and costs a ton of money. HandyHubs and I began building custom gates because we had customers who needed these solutions, and desired an affordable solution. Our gates are built from pine or other hardwoods, using Kreg holes, screws and wood glue to ensure the framing and centerpieces are firmly secure. We use heavy-duty hardware gate lift hinges and gate locks for an easy swing, safe open and shut gate system. So far, we have installed four custom gates in our local area. Gates are built custom to fit your needs and to your color specifications. Due to the customized nature of the gates, we do not take online orders that are outside of our immediate service area. If you are interested in a DIY gate solution, here is some more information on how to achieve a simple, affordable gate that looks great in your home and won’t break the bank! Some things you will need: 2×4’s equaling the length you want to use Gate hardware ( Hinges X2 and a latch). You can use whatever hinges and latches that will fit your needs and space. We found some heavy duty ones at Menards that we really like. Bolts for mounting the hardware – depends on your needs. Kreg Jig 2″ Screws Wood Glue (we use Gorilla Wood Glue) Anchors (if mounting into drywall with no stud) 1 1/2″ inch screws (don’t necessarily need to use Kreg screws). Drill Drill Bit Measuring tape Level One thing you do have to know is the measurement of your hardware before you build your gate. Handy Hubs recommends actually temporarily installing your hardware mountboard (See on the right side of the picture painted white) and one set of your hardware. Attach a 2×4 to the desired length making sure you leave plenty of room for the clasp arm and decorative trim, as seen on the left banister, so it does not interfere with the swing. Once you have you the overall length you can start building. If you look at the pictures, you can see that there is baseboard trim that needs to be taken into consideration on the mount side of the gate and on the latch side, the banister also has trim. This impacts the measurements of the gate. Additionally, the customer opted to have their gate swing towards them rather than away. If it had swung away, the latch and the mount side would have been switched and the railing would have needed to be accounted for. For this build and installation, we were fortunate to have a solid wall on the mount side with no obstructions other than the wide base trim piece. To build this gate, we begin with the frame construction. We started with 2X4s cut to the sizes we needed, with the top and the bottom fitting in-between the two side pieces. We use our planer to plane the boards down to where they were about 1 3/8″ thick. This eliminates the roundness from the edges of the 2X4s. We then Kreg jigged ( Kreg setting to 1 1/2″) the top and the bottom boards so they would attach to the sides using the 2-inch screws. With another 2X4, we cut the centerpieces to length and then planed them down to 7/8″. Then again Kreg jigged ( Kreg setting to 7/8″) each end of each board, making sure to do so on the same side of the board. We lined up the boards with the side we would consider the front, measured and spaced them out evenly then attached the centers with the 1 1/2″ screws. Next, we attached the hardware to the gate where we wanted it then, propped it up against the wall mount board to attach the hinge side of the hardware and the latch. One thing we like about the hardware we picked is that it is pretty heavy duty metal, which requires anchors into the wall if you don’t have a stud to mount into. If the customer ever needs to remove the gate, they simply unlatch it, and lift up to remove it off the hardware we use. Little ones can’t lift it because it’s a tight fit, so no worries there! Please note, if you don’t have a planer that is fine all the boards can be the same thickness we just like the finished look and weight of the planed boards. [...]

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