Daddy/Daughter DIY

Last year shortly after we made the move to the new house, our daughter and her boyfriend decided they were going to buy a house.  It has been almost been a year now that she has been gone.  (and her Mamma misses her everyday...shh, don't tell her!)

When we downsized she took most of our extra furniture and rented a storage unit, knowing that she would be moving out on her own shortly.  While that saved them tons of money having to furnish their home, it was hand-me-downs.  After living in her home, she is now ready to make some changes and add some things that are all her own.

My girl has grown up watching us turn curbside finds into treasures and watching her Dad make beautiful things from nothing.  She knows how to shop for bargains and how to stretch her money. She wanted to change up her master bedroom, but didn't want to spend a fortune.

They have a metal bed-frame, but no headboard.  She wanted a project she could tackle on her own with minimal help from her Dad.  We took her to Home Depot last weekend and she purchased eight 1 by 6 by 6 planks and three 2 by 3 by 8 pieces of pine.

She measured her bed and frame and came up with the width and height she wanted and McG cut the planks to length for her.  She chose to stain them with Minwax Dark Walnut stain.

Here she is in her protective coveralls doing the staining.

Once that was complete and the boards were dry, she played around with the planks until she got them into an order that she found visually pleasing.

McG attached the 2 by 3's at the appropriate place in order to connect the headboard to her bedframe.
Her walls are plaster and she didn't want to attach it to the wall.  He also placed a 2 by 3 in the center for stability and to keep the boards from warping.

Once everything was attached, they gave it two coats of a satin urethane.

When the headboard was dry, we transported it to her home and McG attached it to their bed-frame.

She wanted something that was rustic and more masculine.  The next step is to add some IKEA furniture that she is going to customize to compliment the headboard.

I think she did a great job with some help from her Dad.  I know that he was glad to take a break from stripping the kitchen cabinet doors...and I know he LOVED having his little girl all to himself for the afternoon!!

I will be sure to post the next step in her master bedroom makeover!

Cheryl

Styling Open Shelving

Earlier this week my son and I took off the cabinet doors and hardware in the kitchen.

We are beginning the kitchen renovation in the hopes that it will be completed before the Christmas holidays are upon us.  (cue the laugh track!)

Seeing as I now have to look at everything that is in my cabinets, I took some time yesterday afternoon to clear out things that haven't been used in awhile.  This then led to trying to style what was left in there to make it look "prettier". Using what you have is always a good no-cost way to decorate.

I am toying with the idea of removing these two cabinets and replacing them with two big chunky shelves instead.  To be honest with you though, I'm not sure I can do it.

This is the bare minimum that I could bring myself to pair down to, and quite frankly I still think there is too much here to be visually pretty.  I made sure to incorporate my blue Ball and Crown mason jars and a few other accessories.

But the most distracting thing for me is this orange Ethernet cable that you can see in the back here.
In order to get wi-fi in the rest of the house, the modem is in this cabinet.  Although I did my best to hide it, I'm not sure I want it on display all the time like it would be if we change this cabinet out to shelving.

For now, I am leaving it as is, and I'm searching for other possible methods or places to hide the modem without seeing.  I'd love it if you have any suggestions!!

Cheryl

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A Stroll Thru Life

Fall Front Porch

Last week I gave my Facebook followers a sneak peek of my fall front porch decor.

Decorating for fall comes a little later around here....usually around the first of October.  Doing it in September just feels like we are trying to rush the seasons.  I for one do not like winter, so rushing fall in seems counter productive to me!

I switched out the flag to this new "Autumn" one...

...and added some orange and purple mini lights.

These huge Mums on either side of the stairs were just $20 each.  McG and I found them one Sunday on a drive in the county.

A few faux gourds and some scarecrows round out the display.

I am really loving how the warm fall colours seem to pop off the dark charcoal colour of the house.  It makes me want to snuggle up with a hot cup of cocoa and watch the world go by!

Thanks for visiting!

Cheryl

Linking Up @:

Lavender Cottage

My Pinterventures

Rustic and Refined

Cozy Little House

Thrift Store Finds

You all know by now how much I LOVE thrifting...finding anything at a bargain price is a SCORE for me!  Decorating on a budget can be tough, but I find thrifting the best way to find things for my home that don't break the bank.

Last week I found a couple of great things while out on my own.

This enamel jug for $3.99 that now houses my kitchen utensils by the stove.

This letter sorter.

I sprayed it black and am using it as a mini command center in the kitchen.

I also picked up a cute shelf for $5.99.  It's going to be used in the kitchen renovation which will be starting soon!  Don't you just love the scrolled brackets!

This week I found this great green glass leaf dish.

...and this wine crate from a local winery for $6.99.

I have been wanting this organizer for my make-up, but I didn't want to pay the $99 for it

Source

I had McG take out the diagonal wood supports that hold the wine bottles and turn them up and down to create an organizer for my make-up.

I used some containers I had around the house for now, but I am on the look out for some wicker baskets or metal containers to get the look.

I wanted to update you on that chair that wicker chair that I rescued from the side of the road a few weeks ago.  Here's the before...

...and here it is now!  I gave it a fresh coat of paint and then McG rebuilt the springs and recovered it.
It now has a home in the spare bedroom.  Total cost for this transformation was $10 for the spray paint.  The fabric I had here already.

I'd love to see what you've thrifted...please send me a comment or a link so I can check it out!

Cheryl

Linking up @:

Bliss Ranch