Saturday Showcase May

by RoxanneK, in category How-to, Inspiration, Saturday Showcase

Happy Saturday! I’m SO happy for a long weekend. Long weekends mean more time to DIY around here. What are your Memorial Day plans? It’s the last Saturday of the month which means it’s time for another Saturday Showcase where I share what my talented blogging friends and I have been up to this month!

April from Uncookie Cutter was a participant in the One Room Challenge. She made over her courtyard, and I love the results. You have to see the amazing before and after. That table you see was also a DIY project!

She also put together this amazing gift guide for the DIY mom (or dad!).

Kim also participated in the One Room Challenge. She chose to make over her foyer. I love the board and batten staircase and the painted runner! I thought that was an actual runner until I looked closely!

Love Broadway? Check out this South Pacific tablescape Kim shared.

Another amazing One Room Challenge makeover is from Amy. She completely made over her home office and it turned out beautiful, complete with a chalkboard wall.

Amy also gave an old table a pretty makeover with paint. Don’t you just love this reading nook?

Emily is planning to upgrade her front door and has some great tips if you are looking to do the same.

Read about the 10-Must See Spots on Kauai, HI which Emily was lucky enough to visit recently! This looks amazing!

Meg was getting some paint therapy this month with an adorable table makeover. I love the contrasting bottom, nice touch!

Just in time for summer, Meg is also sharing beautiful blue paint colors to get that coastal look in your bathroom.

Amanda transformed a rusty old cart into a pretty bar cart. Another amazing example of the power of paint!

I’ve been thinking about painting my shed, and after seeing this workshop transformed with paint, I might just be motivated enough to do it.

In case you missed it, here are two of my own projects from May. First was the reveal of my daughter’s bedroom makeover.

We installed the floors shown above ourselves, and I was really surprised at just how easy it is to install vinyl floors!

Have a great weekend!

May102017May 31 2017

One Room Challenge Bedroom Makeover Reveal

by RoxanneK, in category Before and After, DIY, One Room Challenge

Last week one of my blogging friends posted that this One Room Challenge is making her feel like the mayor of crazy town. Hilarious, but so true!

I thought choosing a bedroom for my ORC makeover would be easy, especially after completely renovating my kitchen in six weeks. I should know by now with any renovation project it always takes longer and is more involved than initially planned. But after 6 weeks of actual blood, sweat and even a few tears, here is my finished space!

This is what we started with…

and now…

Before…

And after….

A drastic improvement for sure even though not everything went as I had planned. I had to make a few compromises and find a few substitutes for my original plans. One of which was the desk chair. The one I really wanted was just not in budget at this time. I found the cane chair at an antique store for $20 and gave it a makeover to better suit the room.

Finding the right headboard was a huge stress factor in this makeover for several reasons. When I was in the very beginning stages of planning my design, I visited an antique store where I found the perfect headboard that ever existed. It was completely unique and only $40! But sadly, it was a king size and I needed a full. There was no way to make it work. So I planned my design still with that in mind, thinking maybe I’d find something similar somewhere else. I didn’t. In addition to that, not all full beds are created equal in size and I needed exactly 55″ width or it wouldn’t fit with my nightstands. Every time I found one that worked with the design, it was the wrong size. Then my husband and I decided to DIY one. But with the clock ticking, I realized two weeks ago that there was no way we had time for that too. Finally, I found this one from Wayfair* that fit the space and the design. I love it, but honestly I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that first headboard from the antique store. First world problems, I know.

For the bedding, I knew I wanted a white and linen combo. However, buying linen duvet covers or blankets can get really expensive. To get the look for less, I found these amazing linen sheets from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I used them in combination with white bedding to achieve the white and linen look without having to spend hundreds of dollars.

I also spent an asinine amount of time picking the right throw pillow combination. Again, there were pillows that got away, sold out just when I needed them! I do love what I ended up with here though. (You can find the floral pillow here and the neutral textured pillow here).

Of all of the projects in the room, I have to say the barn door that my husband built might be the showstopper of the room. My daughter’s favorite color is green, so I painted it green, with a farmhouse distressed finish. No more bi-fold closet doors!! You can see how we built the barn door here.

chandelier

As for the hanging orbs, I’ve had those in a closet for at least a year waiting for the right place to use them. My plan was to turn those into chandeliers for over the nightstands. I had bought pendant lighting kits to do that but at the last-minute I decided I really didn’t want a wire hanging down the wall. Since my daughter wanted me to add string lights somewhere in the room, I wrapped these orbs with glimmer strings for now. I still plan to make those chandeliers in the future. (To my husband, you’re not getting out of that DIY project!).

Of all the projects in this room, it was the curtain rod that nearly put me over the edge. As I was hanging it on the wall, the nails weren’t grabbing. So I started again, using the anchors this time. Even the anchors were falling out. It was as if the wall was crumbling around it. SO frustrating. Luckily my husband came home and was the voice of reason in my distress (this is a role reversal for us!) and fixed it all up for me. He said the screws were too short and so were the anchors!

For the desk area, I wanted to pack in as much storage space as possible to help keep things organized. This little desk organizer is perfect. In a small space sometimes you have to hide things in plain sight.

I also picked up this multi-functional rolling cart. This will be used for my daughter’s extra notebooks and text books as well as for her makeup. She can roll it right over to the mirror when she needs it. I could think of a use for this in every room.

I added an ottoman to the end of the bed for extra clothing storage. With the nightstands and this storage ottoman, it eliminated the need for a dresser, freeing up space for the desk.

rug/serving tray (similar)

I kept things mostly neutral but I did add a few pops of green to echo the barn door. I added books with green to the nightstands.

comforter set/chandelier

I also added a bit of green to my DIY garland above the bed. The beautiful wall decor I originally chose for this space is still on backorder, I still plan on using it when it comes in. In the meantime, I pulled that frame right off my bathroom wall to hang above the bed. I made the garland because the frame looked a little bare and I wanted to incorporate a little more green.

I also brought a few touches of green in the artwork above the desk. (You can find the art shelves here, the barn print here and the cow print here.)

Because the room is mostly neutral in color, I relied heavily on textures for this space.

Clockwise: fringe pillow, basket and textured blanket, fringe bed skirt, textured woven blanket

Now that the six-week challenge is over, it feels a little like Christmas. It was a whirlwind leading up to it and now I have a lot of catching up and cleaning up to do.

Thanks to my husband for getting on board the six-week crazy train with me again. For building the beautiful barn door, helping me install the flooring, fixing my curtain rod disaster and all of the other details, too long to list here!

Thanks also to my wonderful sponsors who made this makeover possible: The Home Depot (flooring) , Metrie (crown molding), Bed Bath & Beyond, Minted, Antique Farmhouse, and Flowings Etsy shop. Thanks also to my contractor for installing the beautiful crown molding.

To say this was an exhausting six weeks is really an understatement. I can’t wait until the next one, lol.

If you missed weeks 1-5 you can catch up below.

Week 1- One Room Challenge Bedroom Makeover Before

Week 2- One Room Challenge Bedroom Makeover Progress

Week 3- One Room Challenge Bedroom Makeover Wall Art

Week 4- Installing Crown Molding – One Room Challenge Bedroom Makeover

Week 5- Installing Vinyl Floors – One Room Challenge Bedroom Makeover

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

May82017May 8 2017

How To Remove Carpeting

by RoxanneK, in category DIY, How-to

Chip Gaines lied.

Demo day isn’t really fun. Last week I told you all about how to install vinyl floors. That was the easy part. Removing the carpets prior to installing was the hardest part of that project. It was a dirty job, but necessary, and of course worth it in the end. There aren’t any pretty home pictures today, I thought showing you how to remove carpeting might just come in handy for you the next time you install new flooring.

You will need*:

Utility Knife or carpet shears

Flat head screwdriver

Duct Tape

Remove baseboard molding:

Before you can remove carpeting you have to first take off the baseboards. Score along the top of the baseboard with a box cutter to loosen them up.

Once you’ve got them loosed up, wedge a pry bar in between base board and wall. Then pry the molding away from the wall with the flat bar. I found that some spots had longer nails than other areas. To get those out I used my hammer rather than the flat bar to pry the molding away, the hammer gave me more leverage.

Once you have each section of molding off the wall, use the hammer to flatten the nails that are sticking out of the molding you just removed . This is a safety measure so you don’t stick yourself or step on them later.

Remove Carpeting:

Now you’re finally ready to remove carpeting. Once I had the moldings off, the carpet loosed up in the corners all around the edges of the room. Next, you will cut the carpet in sections to make removal easier. This was more difficult than I anticipated. I was having trouble cutting the carpets with my utility knife. Luckily my husband came home around this time with a sharper knife that worked much better. Save your back by having the right tool for this part. Carpet shears would likely be your best bet.

Remove each section, and then roll it up and tape it for easier disposal. We didn’t have duct tape so we ended up using painters tape. That wasn’t sticking as well as duct tape would have, we had to go around each section a few times for the painters tape to hold.

Remove Cushion Layer

Under the carpeting there is a cushion layer that is stapled to the sub floor. This needed to be removed as well since we were going to be installing vinyl plank flooring. This was the dirty part. It’s unbelievable how much dirt gets under the carpets. I wore gloves and a dust mask for this part.

Remove Nail Strips:

You will find these tacky strips around the perimeter of the room. Use your pry bar by sliding it under the tacky strip. Hammer the pry bar to wedge it under more until it’s loose enough that you can pry it up with the bar.

Removing Floor Staples:

I had picked up a sharp blade tool for removing the staples. I figured this would also be easier rather than going around and prying them out one by one. We did use it, but it didn’t work as well as I thought it would and I still had to pry tons of little staples out using a flat head screwdriver. I’d probably only invest in that if you are doing a large area or multiple rooms.

Fix Those Squeaky Floor Boards:

Don’t you just hate those squeaky floor boards? (I know my daughters do when they’re sneaking in late!) I think that occurs due to moisture which makes the wood bow. That is easily fixed by using coarse dry wall screws which are threaded and will stay in place. Drill one into squeaky areas next to the nails.

Although this was a dirty job, with the right tools it isn’t quite as hard as it could be. I underestimated the amount of muscle needed for removing carpets. It’s also possible that I may not be as strong as I think I am.

Demo day. Maybe it’s a guy thing.

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

May42017May 11 2017

Installing Vinyl Floors – A Do It Yourself Guide

by RoxanneK, in category How-to, One Room Challenge

It’s week 5 of the One Room Challenge! Yikes, did these last few weeks fly by! This week was all about installing vinyl floors. I have been wanting to replace the old carpeting in our home for a very long time, so when the day finally came to rip those out and get these beauties installed, I was beyond thrilled!

My husband is usually the one who installs flooring around here, but this time we did it together. I wanted to learn for myself how to do and I was surprised to find that installing vinyl floors was much less complicated than I expected. If I can do it, you definitely can too!

What You Will Need:

Lifeproof Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring

Hammer

Rubber Mallet

Tapping Block

T Square/Straight Edge

Pencil

Tape Measure

Floor Cutter (highly recommended!)

Utility Knife

Jigsaw or Shears for irregular cuts (not pictured)

Spacers (not pictured)

Step 1 – Planning:

Most importantly, you will want to do your research and pick the right floors. A blogger friend recommended Lifeproof Luxury Plank Flooring (previously referred to as Allure ISOCORE, they are currently undergoing a name change) to me. The first thing I asked about was installing the underlayment. I was shocked when she told me that these floors had the underlayment built right in, completely eliminating that whole step! Honestly, I thought it was too good to be true and I questioned the company on it, and they assured me that it is indeed true. That alone makes these floors stand out, saving you time, money and labor.

Step 2 – Preparing Sub Floor

By subfloor, I mean whatever was under your existing floors before. When we pulled up the carpets we found staples attached to the wood boards underneath. All of these must be removed prior to install. It has to be a clean, flat surface. This was the worst part of installing the new floors, you can read about how to remove carpeting here.

Step 3 – Fix Squeaky Floors

This is the time to fix those annoying squeaky floorboards. When you find a squeaky spot, simply drill a drywall screw in the subfloor next to the nail in that area. It’s easy and it works!

Step 4 – Installing Vinyl Floors:

My husband really liked the finish on the Lifeproof Multi-Width Walton Oak Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring so that is what we chose. I liked the varied wood tones of the wood and the different sized planks. When installing there are several patterns you can make with the multiplanks, so you will need to plan ahead before you begin so that you have an idea of your layout. None of the patterns are complicated to do.

We followed the easy directions from the back of the box, which recommends beginning in a corner and proceeding out from there. Each piece of flooring has a tongue and groove on two sides, this is important to pay attention to. You want the tongue facing the wall on the first row. Use the spacers between these first planks and the wall, the space will be covered by the molding later. We began ours in the closet and the alcove of the entry door.

Once we got past that section, it was really easy. The floors snap together with the tongue and grooves. Be sure to stagger the seams so they don’t line up. This sort of happens naturally. When you get to the last piece in a row you’ll have to cut a plank to fit. We used the piece we cut off to begin the next row, and in doing that the seams were naturally staggered.

Once you put the plank in place, you use the tapping block and the hammer to make sure it’s flush with the neighboring plank. A hammer with a smaller head helps make this part a little easier.

When you are tapping it into place, be careful the entire floor doesn’t shift. We found that if one of us stood on the neighboring plank while the other one was tapping it would keep things in place. If you’re installing alone, positioning yourself on the new floor rather than on the subfloor will keep it in place.

To cut down planks at the end of each row we used a floor cutter. My contractor told us about this and he let us borrow his for the install. It made cutting them so easy and they came out perfectly straight. We used a straight edge and a pencil to mark where the plank needed to be cut and then popped it into the floor cutter, which works just like a paper-cutter.

Be sure you are cutting the correct side of the planks so that they line up with the neighboring plank. We only cut one plank wrong this day (and it wasn’t me!) but we were able to reuse it elsewhere. To cut around floor vents we marked the plank with the straight edge and pencil and then we cut it out with a jigsaw. You could also use shears for this if you don’t have a jigsaw or a multi-max type tool.

That’s really all there is to installing vinyl floors! We used nine boxes to cover this room which is approximately 12′ X 14′. It says right on the box that these are the easiest floors ever, and I would agree with that. You really don’t need any power tools to install these, and anyone can do it themselves.

I absolutely love the variation of the wood tones on the Walton Oak, and the multi-width planks give it added interest. I feel that these floors really make the whole room. Without them, the rest of my design would have fallen flat. I would definitely use this flooring again in other rooms of my house. A huge thank you to the Home Depot for sponsoring the floors for my One Room Challenge bedroom makeover!

If you’ve missed the previous weeks of my bedroom makeover you can catch up below.

Week 1 – Bedroom Makeover Before

Week 2 – Bedroom Makeover Progress

Week 3 – Wall Art

Week 4 – Installing Layered Crown Molding

Week 6- Bedroom Makeover Reveal!

Next week is the big reveal and I still have lots to do! Wish me luck. And send wine!

Feb202017Feb 19 2017

Cowhide Floor Rugs: Beautiful, Long-Lasting, and Hypo-Allergenic Too!

by RoxanneK, in category Inspiration, Interior Design Tips

Hi friends! While I’m catching up with things after my vacation, I have a guest post for you today from my friend Caroline. I love all things design, and it’s always fun to share another’s perspective. Enjoy!

Designing with Hypo-Allergenic Materials: Cowhide Floor Rugs

Natural animal hide is a gorgeous material that remains a design favorite even while trends come and go. If you want to add a touch of rustic style and luxury to your home, you can’t go wrong with a cowhide rug.

There’s no question about their visual appeal, but cowhide rugs offer many other benefits as well:

They’re Hypo-Allergenic and Easy to Clean

Some materials may look beautiful, but are they safe to use in your home? The fibers and chemicals in synthetic rugs usually aren’t, especially for allergy sufferers, asthmatics and children. Certain natural materials, like wool, can also trigger allergic reactions.

However, cowhide accessories are completely hypo-allergenic and free from harsh chemicals. Pollen and dust don’t get trapped in them, either. When they get dusty, just shake them off outdoors or vacuum with a soft brush. Use a soft, damp cloth with mild soap to clean stains, but don’t ever soak cowhide in water!

They’re Unique and Beautiful

When you buy a cowhide rug, you can be sure that nobody else has the exact same one. This is because each hide is unique, right from its color and texture to the pattern of speckles or patches that run across it. It hasn’t been mass-produced in a single design, the way conventional rugs typically are.

The tactile appeal of natural hide is also undeniable, whether you’re walking across a rug or sitting against large sofa cushions. The organic look and feel of cowhide floor rugs makes them the ideal accessory for any interior space.

They’re Versatile and Durable

A cowhide rug looks equally at home in a contemporary, minimalist home as it does surrounded by classic or traditional design elements. You can place it where you like – on the floor, over the back of a couch or even displayed on a wall.

Cowhide is tough and hard-wearing, standing up to stains or spills better than conventional materials. This makes it perfect for areas that see a lot of foot traffic, such as hallways and living rooms. With a little care and maintenance, your cowhide furniture and accessories will remain in beautiful shape for years to come.

They’re Child-Proof and Yoga-Friendly

Since they’re so versatile, cowhide accessories can really be used in any area of the home. They offer a wonderful solution for keeping a child’s playroom or nursery warm, without exposing your little one to potentially dangerous fumes or fibers. They can also take the wear and tear of a playroom better than most synthetic rugs.

Here’s another way to use a cowhide rug – place it in your exercise room or any other part of the house where you practice yoga. Since hide is soft and non-slippery, you’ll find it easier to hold those difficult poses!

Natural Hide Is Ideal for Any Home

Cowhide and leather rugs, sofas and cushions are visually striking elements, combining sophistication with warmth and comfort. They fit right in with any interior style, from rustic-style log cabins to homes with modern furniture and accessories.

You’ll find a wide range of shapes, sizes, colors and patterns when you shop for cowhide rugs online. No matter if you want a large area rug for your living room or smaller lasered rugs for bedrooms, prepare to be spoilt for choice!

Author Bio: Caroline Modig works at Art Hide and oversees their marketing and promotional efforts. Her passion for interior design and the knowledge she gained over the years allows her to find time from her busy schedule to write informative blogs about interior trends, popular styling tips and everything related. When she isn’t working or writing, you can find her relaxing to some contemporary jazz while solving puzzles.