My $3 Flea Market Find

by RoxanneK, in category DIY, Home Decor

You guys know by now that I really love a good flea market. You just never know what interesting things you will find. A few weeks ago my mother and I stopped at a roadside flea market that didn’t look like much from the outside. It looked more like a small, run-down village than a typical flea market.

I wasn’t expecting much from the looks of it, but it turned out to be really interesting. The vendors were are super friendly and there were some great finds there. One or two things that caught our eye were sold before we got to them, but then I came across this kitchen sign. I wasn’t really in the market for another sign, but I had never seen one with the wording “Confections” before.

I told my mom I was only going to buy it if it was $10 or less. When the man quoted me $3 I was shocked and readily agreed. I knew right where I could use it in my kitchen. By the way, I have so many flea market regrets of things I didn’t buy because I didn’t know where I’d use them. I decided from now on if I see something I really love to grab it, I can always resell it if I can’t use it myself.

While I really liked this confections sign, I wasn’t thrilled with the colors ( I have an aversion to red) so I gave it an update with paint. I used paints I already had in my stash. Everything but the letters got a coat of Pure White chalk paint.

My cat Nelson, approving the design.

The letters were painted black with my DecoArt chalk paint.

I also painted the frame with the black paint. At that point, it all looked a little too stark, so I lightly sanded it all around for just a tiny bit of distressing to soften it a bit.

My mother and I were actually looking for furniture pieces that day. The thing with flea markets is you have to go in with an open mind, and you usually don’t end up with what you set out looking for.

You may also like some of my other flea market finds, check those out below.

Side Table Upcycle

Vintage Mantel

Cane Back Chairs and Vintage Sideboard

Aug22018Aug 6 2018

Living Room Update

by RoxanneK, in category DIY, home interiors, interior design ideas, Room Makeovers

You know that feeling you get when you cross things off your to-do list? Multiply that by 1,000 and that’s how I’m feeling over here since finishing up our living room makeover. Though there are a few minor details that I still need to get to, the major work is done and I’m finally ready to show it to you today. As I mentioned Monday, we replaced the all the flooring downstairs and installed the board and batten*.

Those two things had been on my to-do list for so long that crossing them off called for a happy dance! Now that the floors match in our little entry, living room, and kitchen, it feels much more cohesive.

The new area rug is like a breath of fresh air in this space, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this one.

I picked up a few new accents, like this pillow and inexpensive curtains from Home Goods. I am still in need of some lamps in here but I’m not in a rush for those, I’m waiting until I see something that feels just right.

Adding the board and batten moldings from Metrie over our vintage fireplace was what I was most excited about and really made this more of a focal point of the room. I also switched out the old mirror for this arched mirror. I think the scale works better with the new moldings.

I picked up this little jar last month and it’s been getting a workout, it’s perfect for small floral displays and hydrangea clippings from the yard.

Remember the end tables I was using as a coffee table?

I replaced those with an upholstered ottoman. Not only does it fill the space better, but it’s so much more comfortable in here to have somewhere to put our feet up at night. I am still using the end tables, as actual end tables (imagine that) now. The metal filigree inside the mantel is actually designed for wall decor, but I love how it looks in here.

As I mentioned on Monday, this project took months and it was nice to get things cleaned up and back to normal again. Now that about two weeks have gone by since then, I think I’m reenergized and ready to tackle the next project. I may have to wait another week or two before I let my husband know that. 😉

See something you like? Shop the look below!

*This post may contain affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here. Linking up with BNOTP.

Jul302018Jul 31 2018

How to Install Board and Batten

by RoxanneK, in category DIY, How-to

As I mentioned in my family room post, we were under construction here for the first half of the year. It started out with ripping out the old floors downstairs back in February, removing the chair rail molding in the living room and replacing all the floors and moldings in our kitchen, living room and entry. Lastly, we added architectural detail with board and batten trim.

We’ve had tools and moldings all over the house for months. The living room furniture was shoved into the family room where we were also keeping the paint supplies. When you work on it a little at a time, there is no sense putting it all away only to pull it all back out when time allows. Also because our family room used to actually be our garage, we no longer have garage space for storing these things, making it harder to DIY in the winter months. I’m so happy that this project is finally done, and while this entire project was a good bit of work, as always it’s all worth it in the end!

What You Will Need:

Baseboard Moldings (We used 5 1/2″ Flatstock moldings)

Molding for Trim Work (we used 3 1/2″ flatstock moldings for the vertical and horizontal pieces as well as the door and window trim, and the board and battens over the fireplace)

Door and Window Topper Trim (we used this more decorative trim above the windows and doors, this one piece of molding gives the appearance of a layered look)

Spackle (I recommend a large bucket)

Paint

How To Install Board and Batten:

Measure how many feet you will need for materials. Baseboard, horizontal pieces and vertical pieces. Door and window trim too.
Mark the height on walls where the horizontal pieces will go. We placed ours at 40″high for this room. You can also do a 60″ height. We put painters tape on the wall to get a visual before we decided exactly how we wanted ours. Make sure to factor in the height of your baseboard molding.

Install the baseboard moldings first.
Use a laser level to mark a line around the room at the height of your top piece, then install the top horizontal pieces.
Next, decide the width you want between the vertical batten pieces. Standard is 16″ apart, but we adjusted ours to 14 1/2″ apart because it worked out better in our space. We cut the pieces and placed them in between the baseboard and top piece around the room before actually nailing them into place to be sure we liked the overall look.
Cut a piece of wood to use as a spacer between battens, it helps not only to ensure exact spacing between, but it also helps when nailing them into the wall to keep everything straight. I recommend marking the spacer so it doesn’t get mixed in with any scrap pieces of wood (that happened to us a few times).

The vertical pieces may not always line up with the studs for nailing. When that happened, we used an angled nailer and nailed those pieces into the baseboard and top horizontal pieces. By the way, our Kreg portable workbench was a great buy, it folds for storage and we can just pull it out of the shed when we need it.

We treated the corners as if they were still a flat wall, and kept the same distance between the battens. (You won’t be able to use your spacer piece in these areas).

Finish work. This part really took forever! All the minor gaps between the boards and the walls need to be filled in with spackle, as well as all the nail holes. To fill the gaps we put spackle on our finger to place it in the gap and slide it down the wall, and then immediately went over it with a damp paper towel to wipe off the excess. Once the spackle set, we sanded and did it again in the areas that needed it. This part was messy as well as time-consuming.
You may find some of the nails didn’t go all the way into the woodwork. For those, use a nail punch and a hammer to sink them in before spackling. This is a good exercise in patience. 😉

Some things to mention, under our windows we wanted the end batten pieces to be flush with the window trim so we slightly adjusted the 14 1/2″ width under the windows to make it work.

We also wanted to add a board and batten feature over the fireplace. We followed basically the same process as on the walls. We cut the top and bottom pieces first, followed by the two side pieces which gave us a frame. Then we filled it in with the horizontal piece followed by the vertical pieces. Here is an in-progress shot of that.

And here it is with all the pieces in place.

Once we were finally done with the sanding and spackling, I used my favorite trim paint on all the new moldings, Sherwin Williams Pro Classic paint in Extra White. It’s expensive paint so I recommend watching for sales and stocking up on it at that time. I saved $30 a gallon by doing so.

I’m still debating whether to add a light color to the top half of the walls. I’m going to live with the all-white look for a while before making a final decision on that. I do think a light color would make the new trim work really pop.

I will share all the pretty after pictures soon!

All of the trim and moldings we used for the board and batten are from Metrie.com*. I find it so much easier to plan these types of projects out in advance and have the moldings delivered rather than run back and forth to the home store 101 times!

*This project was in collaboration with Metrie.com, all opinion are my own. This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.

Jul162018Jul 15 2018

How to Make a Room Look Bigger

by RoxanneK, in category DIY, How-to, Interior Design Tips

You guys all know by now I live in a relatively small house. I’ve talked before about how to make a room look bigger, there are definitely a number of ways to to do that. One of those ways is to keep everything cohesive. This creates the illusion of flow. If you have too many different elements and colors it makes everything look choppy.

For example, in a small space, you really don’t want a wallpapered accent wall, that just further breaks up space. Another example is if you have light walls you don’t want to have dark contrasting curtains, that also breaks up the wall when you want it to flow. In really large spaces you may want to create these different areas to warm up the room but in a small space, you want the opposite effect.

In my house, what made me crazy was the mismatched floors. My living room has a tiny little foyer on one side and opens up to my kitchen on the other. All three of these areas had different flooring. Tile in the foyer, carpet in the living room and outdated laminate in the kitchen.

By the way, that lovely yellow stripe around the room is from where we removed chair rail molding in preparation for new board and batten which I will be sharing soon. I finally got my husband to help me replace the mismatched flooring with one cohesive flooring. We decided to use the same brand of vinyl plank flooring* that we used in my daughter’s room last year. We love the quality of these as well as the durability. Best of all, they are so easy to install yourself. Since I’ve already shared how to install vinyl plank flooring, I will skip the details this time. Here is the first board going in.

And here is another install shot, when things were starting to really come together.

It’s amazing how much more cohesive and spacious these areas look with uniform floors.

This time we used Lifeproof Vinyl Plank flooring in Shadow Hickory. I wanted a darker shade to coordinate with the existing floors in our family room, and this was the closest match. I’ve always been happy with our choice of dark floors in that room. I keep everything else as light as possible, so with the dark floors underneath it feels balanced to me.

You can see a peek of my new area rug in that photo above, I’m very happy with that choice. Here is a side by side shot of the before and after. What a difference the flooring made! If you’re looking for ways on how to make a room look bigger, think about the flooring first.

YOU GUYS. Sometimes I look at things that need to be done around my house and think that it may just never get done. So when something I am envisioning for months or even years, finally comes to life it’s wonderful! Here’s a look from the other direction.

Amazing difference, isn’t it?

*This post was in partnership with Lifeproof, a brand that I love. All opinions are 100% my own. This post may contain affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.

Jun212018Jun 28 2018

The Ultimate Guide to Beating the High Cost of Decorating

by RoxanneK, in category DIY, home interiors, How-to, Inspiration, Interior Design Tips and Tricks

Decorating. It can seem like a frivolous thing.

It’s really not when you think about it. It’s not about showing off your home to others or trying to one-up the neighbors. It’s about how you’re home makes you feel, and how it makes your family feel. That’s important.

So, today I have a little surprise for you. I’ve been working on something behind the scenes over here. If you’ve been following along with me for any amount of time, you know by now that I am always thinking up ways to decorate on a budget. That is out of necessity, but even if I had an unlimited decorating budget, I wouldn’t overspend on home decor. Plus, I do like the challenge as well. When I can create a DIY chandelier or imitation designer closet doors, for a small fraction of the retail price, it’s a very satisfying feeling!

My goal has always been to share all I’ve learned with you. So I’ve taken all of my decorating and DIY experience and put together an eBook called The Ultimate Guide to Beating the High Cost of Decorating! I use the term eBook lightly, it’s under 20 pages long but I packed each of them with my best cheap decorating ideas.

Such as when and where to find the best deals, how to repurpose and reuse outdated items, and how to think outside the box. It’s full of practical tips and tricks you can use to create a beautiful home without draining your bank account.

I created this as thank you gift for subscribers of my blog. If you’re already a subscriber, you should have gotten this in your inbox last Friday. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can type in your name and email using the form at the bottom of this post to get placed on the list (your email will never be shared with any third parties!). Once your subscription is confirmed, you will receive an email with a link to the eBook.

By the way, as a subscriber, you will receive my new posts by email, filled with tons of decorating tips and tricks, as well as being the first to know about giveaways.

I am committed to decorating my home on a budget and I want to share with you how you can do the same!

Linking up with BNOTP.

Jun182018Jun 17 2018

DIY Granite Countertops – Yes, Really!

by RoxanneK, in category cheap decorating ideas, DIY, Kitchen

I live in a development where all the houses have pretty much the same layout. They were all builder grade basic to start out, and that is one reason I’m always trying to personalize it and add some interest. One of my neighbors was itching to upgrade her kitchen and asked me to help her out with it. She had seen how I painted my niece’s kitchen counters and wanted to do something similar to hers. We talked about it and decided to go with the look of granite countertops as opposed the marble look I did at my niece’s. The granite is better suited to my neighbor’s kitchen and style.

Here is what her kitchen looked like before. She had just replaced the flooring and had someone scheduled to come over and paint the cabinets. My neighbor wasn’t ready at this point to spend the money on new counters, or new backsplash so we matched everything to the existing backsplash.

The Giani Granite countertop kit I used last time worked so well that I wanted to use that product again. We decided to go with the Sicilian Sand kit to compliment her existing color scheme. Here is her kitchen before:

As you can see, it’s very similar to what my own kitchen looked like before I remodeled it, it’s just flipped. Her’s is to the right and mine is to the left.

What You Will Need*:

Giani Countertop Kit (We used Sicilian Sand)

Painters Tape

Utility Knife

Small Artist Brush

Light Sanding Sponge

How to DIY Granite Countertops:

The first step is to clean the existing counters with a brillo pad. This does double duty. It cleans them as well as roughens them up a bit, no sanding required. Then rinse twice with water.

Next, I used painters tape all around the perimeter of where I’d be painting to protect the walls, cabinets, and appliances.

After that, you prime them with the black primer included in the kit. It also comes with the roller to apply it. I used a brush around the edges and where the counters meet the backsplash. Once it’s primed, let it dry for 8 hrs. My friend and I were saying we even liked how it looked at this point.

The kits come with 3 accent color paints and a sponge for sponging them on. Open all 3 cans, and pour a little of each into separate trays. Working in 2-foot sections, sponge color 1, then 2, then 3 without letting it dry in between, you want them to blend.

There is no right or wrong way to do this part. You can add as much or as little color as you like. One thing I did notice, was that as I was progressing along and the sponges became more and more saturated it was leaving more paint on the counters. I had to go back and touch up some of the areas where I started to make it match.

When that is dry, roll on your sealer (also included in the kit). Wait four hours before using a second coat and sand the first coat very lightly first if needed.

When everything has fully dried, score the painter’s tape with a utility knife before removing so you don’t pull any paint up with it. That did happen to me in one or two tiny spots. I used a small, flat artists brush to touch up those spots.

Also, keep in mind that real granite countertops are a natural stone so the pattern is never exact. This should help alleviate any fears you might have about trying this yourself.

Here is a full side by side before and after. Can you believe the difference here using only paint?

Using a kit to achieve granite countertops is such a great alternative if you can’t afford to update your existing counters right now. I highly recommend giving it a try. Especially if you have laminate counters, you really have nothing to lose! If you do try it, I also recommend reading the instructions on how to care for them. Even though the top coat is solid, you don’t want to use abrasive cleaners on them so that they last as long as possible.

*Thank you to Giani Granite for supplying the countertop painting kit. All opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.

May312018Jun 25 2018

DIY Wooden Sign For The Porch

by RoxanneK, in category DIY

Every good home decor blogger knows you never throw out leftover wood. Or fabric. Or pretty much anything else because you never know when inspiration will strike next, or what you will need when it does. You basically become a hoarder. That’s how it all began with this DIY wooden sign.

When we do have unusable scrap left from projects we load them into the bed of my husbands truck so he can bring them to the dumpster. As I was adding some scraps in there awhile ago I found a perfectly good piece of wood leftover from our sliding barn door that my husband snuck by me. Which gave me an idea. I’m still loving the wooden sign trend, so I made my own welcome sign for the front porch.

I started out by staining the wood, using the same technique as when I aged these wooden crates. First I stained it with Rust-Oleum weathered gray stain*, once that was dry, I went over it with Annie Sloan dark wax to give it a distressed look and to seal it.

While that was drying, I got out my Cricut machine to create the lettering. To determine what size I wanted the lettering to be, I measured my piece of wood and divided that number by 9. Seven for the lettering and 2 more for spacing at the top and bottom. My piece of wood measured 4’H X 5.5″ W and I made my letters approximately 3.5″W X 4.5″H.

I couldn’t fit them all on one mat, so I had to make two separate sheets. I used the Cricut alphabet font for this project.

I cut out each letter and used the Cricut transfer tape to apply each letter. Once I had them all cut out, I figured out my exact spacing on the wood. I drew pencil lines to divide each of the 9 sections to keep me on track. Each letter section was approximately 6″ H.

When I applied the letters I lined them up with the top pencil line of each section, this way the letters are spaced evenly in between without much effort.

You can read how to use the Cricut transfer tape here.

I’ve had my wooden sign outside on my covered porch since last fall and it’s holding up really well.

I have seen double-sided welcome signs at flea markets, which I didn’t do but I might add lettering to the back later. I’m thinking the word Autumn would be nice for fall and since it has 7 letters in it, I know the spacing will work out the same.

You can see my front porch all decked out for summer here.

*This post may contain affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here. Linking up with BNOTP.

May282018May 27 2018

13 DIY Garden Ideas

by RoxanneK, in category DIY, Garden, Uncategorized

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all of our men and women in uniform that put their lives on the line everyday to keep us safe! I’m so happy that summer is finally here, and we can get back to outdoor activities again. Do you love working in the garden and on outdoor projects as much as I do? If so, you’re in luck because today I’ve rounded up some really clever outdoor and DIY garden ideas. Just in time to kick off the season of outdoor living.

This beautiful DIY garden bench is simple yet creative, those are my favorite kinds of DIY ideas.

Yet another use for old pallets! this garden pallet organizer is genius!

Or make an entire walkway out of pallets!

This one isn’t really a DIY, it’s something you can buy. These rustic shovel and pitchfork planters are so cute, I wanted to throw it in here.

I love creative planters, anything is better than the ugly plastic pots you get at the garden centers. This container idea is definitely a step up.

I would really love to have an outdoor pizza oven. Who wants to heat up the kitchen on those hot summer nights?

What do you think of this raised garden bed, made using wine boxes?

Creative upcycle idea; refresh an outdated table like my friend Deb did with hers!

If you love that idea, check this one out too. The same concept, only wood was used in a herringbone pattern instead of tile. You know I’m a sucker for herringbone pattern!

Don’t forget the red white and blue with a pretty tiered garden using terracotta pots.

Build a DIY outdoor grilling station (this would be perfect for that pizza oven)!

Or a cozy outdoor fire pit.

And if we are talking about DIY garden ideas, we have to throw in a DIY pond !

Lastly, every great outdoor space includes some string lights, read 9 Ways to decorate with patio lights here.

So many great project ideas, so little time! Do you have any clever DIY garden ideas? Tell me about it in the comments!

May102018May 9 2018

How to Make DIY Herb Pots

by RoxanneK, in category Cricut Projects, DIY

You guys may know by now that I have a thing for herbs. I love herb gardens, herb planters, herb markers, etc. There are just so many fun ways to grow them. Last weekend I made these DIY herb pots, it was an easy project and I love how they turned out.

I started with simple terra cotta pots* and painted them white using Fusion Mineral Paint in Picket Fence. Next, I measured halfway down the pots to mark the center point. I made the lettering using my Cricut machine. I cut out words for several different herbs because I wasn’t sure which ones I was going to use at that point.

I used Cricut adhesive vinyl (I used purple knowing this was going to be removed later) for the lettering and transferred them to the pot using the transfer tape method like I did here. Then I painted over the pots again using chalk paint by Plaid in the color nautical.

Lastly, I used the Cricut weeder tool to remove the adhesive vinyl from the pots, letting the white show through.

They looked cute at that point, but I thought what would add more interest is to wrap the pots with some twine. I used hemp string, it’s a little thinner than twine. I attached it with a few drops of hot glue. If you try this project, take your time with this part. Let each spot of glue dry well before wrapping the next loop, and pull the string tight. Here is the finished result.

These would also look cute indoors on a windowsill.

I’m keeping these herb pots in a protected area outside for now because I did not put a sealer on them yet and I am not sure how this chalk paint would hold up if it gets rained on.

*This post may contain affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.

May32018Jun 8 2018

How to Make a Wreath

by RoxanneK, in category DIY

I’m calling this post how to make a wreath even though there are SO many different ways that wreaths can be made. After I finished my armoire makeover, I really wanted to add little wreaths to the doors. I loved the simple spring wreath that I made last year so I decided to do something similar, only with artificial greens this time as opposed to real.

I started with a 6″ embroidery hoop* from Michaels. You will also need faux greenery of your choice and fishing line.

I cut a few long stems from the faux greenery and began attaching it to the hoop with fishing line. You could also use floral tape, but I find the fishing line holds better and because it’s clear it just disappears into the greens.

Keep winding it around the hoop until you have your desired amount of greens on it. I had to go back in some spots and secure it with more fishing line where it looked a little wild.

To hang it on the door of the armoire I used a clear command hook that I attached to the inside of each door. You need to attach it UPSIDE down for this to work.

When you tie the fishing line from the wreath to the command hook, the weight of the wreath will pull the hook up to support the wreath, this is why you attach it upside down.

I thought about using twine to hang these wreaths like I did on my book page wreaths in the kitchen, but I used the fishing line instead thinking you would not see it. Because the armoire is a dark blue, it does show up a little. I’m okay with how this looks for now but may change it if I find something I like better here.

I hope you like my version of how to make a wreath. Pretty simple, right? In other news, we are finally making some progress in the living room. We started installing moldings and board and batten last weekend and hope to finish it up this weekend.

Lastly, congratulations to Kim from NJ, the winner of the wooden wall hook giveaway!

*This post may contain affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.