Archive | Before and After

Bathroom DIY Magazine Rack {tutorial}

April 18, 2013

I will start right off by saying I am not a fan of magazines in the bathroom. Icky and gross. However, it exists in our home. So, in an attempt to organize these magazines and keep them off the floor or the toilet tank, I decided to make a wall mounted DIY magazine rack for our bathroom. I used left over pine and birch that we had left over from previous projects and created a wall mounted magazine rack in an afternoon.

Here is the blank wall in our bathroom.

I used 1 x 2 pieces of pine.

Start by measuring how high you want your rack to be. Use a level to mark your area and cut your wood to the desired length.

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Be sure to use a level to ensure the rack is straight and level.

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I used a nail gun (2″ nails) to adhere the wood to the wall. As you can see, I had to work around the wainscoting detail on the wall so if your wall is flat (no molding) it will be a little easier for you.

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Be sure to nail the top and bottom.

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Depending on your base molding, your rack may or may not be flush with your base molding. You will need to think about this prior to purchasing your materials for your rack. Mine doesn’t fit perfectly flush with the base molding but I am fine with that.

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Decide how wide you want your rack to be and secure another piece of wood to the other side.

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Next, I added a piece of 1×3 for the bottom and the top rack (for the magazine to rest on).

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Next, I add a top piece. Use a level to ensure your board is straight.

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Fasten with your nail gun.

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I added another board 7″ inches down from the top. Be sure to place the board a bit higher then the inside board (against the wall) so your magazine won’t slide out.

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Use a level to ensure it is straight.

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Awww, isn’t it looking cute?

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Once you have completed your magazine rack, now you need to fill the nail holes with putty, caulk any seams or spaces, prime and paint.

My husband thought I was out of my mind when I started this project but he loves his slot for his Car and Driver magazine.

The walls are Rhinestone by Sherwin Williams which is essentially a White with a gray tint to it. I chose to paint the magazine rack bright white by Sherwin Williams, the same color as the base board and trim.

I love that the magazine rack is mounted to the wall. I think it makes the space seem organized but not cluttered.

There you have it, a DIY magazine rack mounted to the wall. This project took under 3 hours and was free! By using scrap pieces of wood and a little creativity, our magazines now a have a home in our bathroom. If you would like to see the rest of this bathroom, be sure to check out our recent spring makeover and our Christmas bathroom makeover which shows all the before and after pictures of this bathroom. It’s come along way from the outdated pink 1970′s style bathroom.

Bathroom Refresh with Better Homes and Gardens {makeover}

April 2, 2013

I was recently invited by Better Homes and Gardens to participate in a bathroom refresh with their products sold exclusively at Walmart. The opportunity and complimentary gift card couldn’t have come at a better time as our guest bathroom was still decorated for Christmas. We recently renovated this guest bathroom from an old 1970′s style to a modern cottage style that is much more pleasing on the eye. I was excited to freshen up our guest bathroom with a modern cottage design featuring various shades or blue, green, brown and white.

Our guest bathroom over the last couple months has changed dramatically. The existing bathroom had an old cast iron pink tub, pink toilet and old vanity. We removed the old cast iron tub, pink tile surround and replaced the pink sink with a new white modern sink. We choose to paint the existing vanity and update with new hardware.

Here is the bathroom after the renovation last December decorated for Christmas.

Needless to say, the bathroom refresh with Better Homes and Gardens challenge couldn’t have come at a better time. The Christmas decor needed to go! Better Homes and Gardens has a great selection of bathroom decor sold at Walmart with a large color selection to choose from . I love a modern cottage styled bathroom and was pleased with their selection of bath spring decor.

So lets get started with our “new” Modern Cottage Spring look by BHG @ Walmart products.

The shower above is where the old pink tub was prior to the renovation. I love how the classic striped shower curtain from Better Homes and Gardens coordinates with the glass mosaic tile. I chose the Egyptian aquifer colored bath and hand towels along with the matching memory foam mat (aquifer color) for in front of the shower.

The classic striped bath mats by are perfect for in front of our vanity. Don’t be afraid to venture out of the bathroom department at Walmart. Better Homes and Gardens carries a full line of home decor and kitchen accessories which is where I picked up the clear flip-tite caninsters, photo frame, candles and faux flowers. The clear kitchen canisters are perfect for displaying spring flowers and storing bath accessories.

I chose the white + chrome soap dish, toothbrush holder and tumbler.

Our vanity is a bit long so I decided that the classic striped bath mats by Better Homes and Gardens looked better paired together in front of the vanity. The striped shower curtain, blue towels and striped bath mats really look fabulous together.

The candle area in Walmart has a fantastic selection of candles and scents by Better Homes and Gardens. This is where I found the glass hurricane candle holder + candle below.

I also purchased decorative gems vase filler by Better Homes and Gardens for the base of the candle holder.

A basket filled with rolled towels is an ideal storage solution for bathrooms lacking in the storage area. I was very impressed with the color assortment of plush bath towels, hand towels and wash clothes that Better Homes and Gardens offers at Walmart.

This fuschia colored decorative silk flower by Better Homes and Gardens I think is my favorite purchase for this bathroom refresh challenge. So simple yet elegant.

I purchased a bunch of these flip-tite clear canisters in the kitchen area of Walmart. Better Homes and Gardens has their own section in the isle filled with canisters of all sizes and shapes. These are perfect for storing soaps, bath beads and other bath accessories.

The white matte frame below is also from Better Homes and Gardens. To jazz it up a bit and add some color to the room, I purchased a piece of scrap book paper and added it inside the frame. A simple and inexpensive solution to add color to any room.

This guest bathroom ( really my husband’s bathroom) is now ready for spring.

So how about you, are you dreaming about a bathroom refresh of your own? Well guess what, you can head over to the BHG @ Walmart Pin It to win contest and you may just win yourself a $1000 room refresh of your own! Follow this link to enter Room Refresh Sweepstakes.

If you love our Modern Cottage bathroom refresh design, I have included a mood board of the Better Homes and Gardens products I used that you can purchase at Walmart. The product name and colors are below the mood board for your reference.

Aquifer memory foam bath mat, Aquifer bath sheets, Aquifer bath towels + hand towels, Classic striped shower curtain, Classic striped towels, Classic striped bath mat, White Matted 11×14 frame, fuschia silk flower, White and Chrome tumbler, toothbrush holder, soap dish, Flip-tite clear canisters, Glass blown hurricane candle display, Gem vase filler

Thank you to Better Homes and Gardens for asking me to participate in the bathroom refresh style challenge.

All opinions are 100% mine and I was not told what to purchase or say. I really love our bathroom refresh!

Disclosure Statement / Disclaimer
―In accordance with the FTC Guidelines, I am disclosing that I received compensation
from Better Homes & Garden for my time and participation in the Better Homes &
Garden Refresh Challenge. Although we have a material connection, any publicly
stated opinions of Better Homes & Garden and their products remain our own.

Our modern cottage kitchen {makeover}

January 30, 2013

I won’t lie, it’s been a little difficult to not show our modern cottage kitchen makeover for months but Woman’s Day Magazine revealed our kitchen and dining room on their website last week so I have the go ahead to finally show you. Last summer (I cannot even believe it’s been that long), I installed blue glass subway tile for the first time on our back splash. What a long but fun project! I had never used a wet saw and was like a kid in a candy store after I cut my first tile and it didn’t break. I was pretty excited. The existing 1970′s kitchen was dark and outdated. Our new kitchen is a white, modern cottage style with a blue glass back splash.

cottage kitchen reveal

Woman’s Day Magazine & Bob O”conner

Here is a shot of the before and after,

white modern kitchen

The cabinets were sanded, primed and painted by a local painter just about 2 years ago. I have since repainted some of the lower cabinets simply to freshen them up and cover knicks. Once you paint cabinets, you have to expect to repaint and/or touch them up every two years or so, especially if they are white! I will do a tutorial soon on how to cover dark stained cabinets with primer as well as the steps used to paint white kitchen cabinets.

Here is a shot of the kitchen before from our dining room.

We tore down the wall between the kitchen and dining room to give it a more open and modern feel. We did this just before I started blogging so I did not take any pictures. Who would have known that pictures would be so important.

Here is a shot of the kitchen after from the dining room.

Last summer I spent a week tiling the kitchen backsplash with blue glass subway style tile. When Woman’s Day contacted me about featuring our kitchen, the backsplash hadn’t even been started and I only had 3 weeks to get it done. I had no idea what color or even how to install tile so needless to say, I panicked. I got online and read through tiling tutorials and finally ended up at Home Depot to purchase supplies. I ended up special ordering the blue glass tile from Dahl Tile and was a bit nervous because at $16 a square foot, I couldn’t afford to break many! Would you believe me if I told you the tile was removable? Oh yes, my first tiling job and I made it removable. A modular backsplash. I’ll share the tutorial soon.

The cabinets are painted with a Benjamin Moore white paint called “decorators white”. We also added a custom brown glaze on top of the painted white cabinets.

Here is a picture taken for the Woman’s Day Magazine January feature.

Woman’s Day Magazine and Bob O”connor

I love how the blue glass subway style tile coordinates with the red kitchen aid appliances. I think the red appliances and red bar stools give the kitchen a great pop of unexpected color. The range hood below was spray painted with Rustoleum hammered silver spray paint.

We also added a french door between the kitchen and hallway that leads to my parents master bedroom. We added 5″ crown molding as well as roping detail to give the cabinets a custom look.

I purchased the roping molding and just nailed it to the 5 inch crown molding with 1 inch finish nails. You can purchased crown molding with all the detail already but it was more economical for me to do it this way.

Here is a view from the newly installed french door near the dining room looking into our mudroom and sitting area.

I think the red stools offer such a fun pop of color and coordinate perfectly with the red kitchen aid products that Target donated for the Woman’ Day makeover .

Here is a picture of the kitchen before without the newly installed french door.

Here is the newly renovated kitchen with the addition of a white french door.

Here is a shot of the dining room that is open to the kitchen. This shot was taken during the Woman’s Day makeover. I am so thankful that they let me keep the proofs from the professional photographer!

Woman”s Day Magazine

I am so happy with the transformation of the original dark and outdated 1970′s kitchen to a new modern cottage kitchen. My mom and dad recently had the house re-appraised and were very pleased with the increase in the home value. Kitchens and baths are certainly worth the investment for resale value. Target is giving away a $100 gift card here on the blog later today or tomorrow so stay tuned! UPDATE: You can enter the TARGET $100 gift card giveaway here.

Other projects in this room:

How to install a kitchen backsplash

How to measure square foot for a backsplash

How to cut glass tile

How to install mosaic tile {tutorial}

January 16, 2013

Tiling our bathroom wall was my second time installing tile and lets just say, I’m glad I don’t do it for a living. When I installed our kitchen backsplash, the grouting process was much easier as the tiles were larger then the mosaic tiles. It’s actually quite simple but very time consuming and messy. With that said, I’ve put together a picture tutorial of how I installed mosaic glass tile around our existing shower and adjoining wall.

If you have not seen the before pictures of this bathroom, you may want to check them out! The prior bathroom was a 1970′s styled bath with a pink toilet, pink sink and enormous pink fiberglass sunken tub with pink and white surround tile. It was a hot mess!

I purchased premixed white thin-set mortar for ceramic and glass tile at Home Depot. You can buy the huge bag and mix it yourself but where I am a newbie at installing tile, I wanted it pre-mixed to ensure proper consistency.

Tiling a wall requires that you invest in a couple of tools that will make your life easier. I used a V notched trowel to spread the thin-set mortar on the wall and a float trowel to apply the grout. When tiling a wall, you can either apply the thin-set directly to the wall or apply to the back of your tile and then adhere the tile to the wall. I did both. The key is to apply the mortar and use the notched end on an angle to remove some of the mortar. By using the trowel, you will ensure that the proper amount is left on the wall.

I purchased 12 x 12 squares of mosaic glass tile at Lowes. This next step is pretty simple, measure the wall and then cut your tile sheets to fit. If you do not have a wet saw (to cut your tile) you may need to purchase tiling shears to cut the individual tiles to fit perfectly. I got lucky and everything fit perfectly.

Then apply the mosaic tile to the wall and press firmly to ensure adhesion. Be sure to press in all the corners and sides as well. I apologize, some of these pictures of me tiling are not the best quality. The lighting is horrible in this bathroom. For some of the smaller tiling pieces, I used the “back buttering” method to apply the thin set. You basically apply the thin set like you would butter a piece of bread. Then remove with the notched end of your trowel.

Then simply stick your tile to the wall.

This part of the tiling process is fairly easy. It’s the grouting and clean up that I found time consuming.

As you can see, I tiled around the shower and wrapped the mosaic tiles around the wall.

Don’t be scared if the thin-set comes through the creases of the mosaic mesh. Be sure to wipe it off though with a damp towel. Once it dries, it’s a nightmare to remove. Trust me, I know. Once you have all the tiles adhered to the wall, you need to wait 24 hours before you apply your grout. I purchased pre-mixed bright white grout and basically applied some spots with my fingers and used a float trowel to spread the large areas. Be sure to work in small sections and wipe any excess grout off as you go. DO NOT let it dry and think you will scrub it off the next day. Once it dries, it’s not easy to remove. The tiling directions on both the thin-set and grout are very easy to read and self explanatory.

As you can see above, I am using my float trowel to apply the white grout. Note, grout comes in “sand or sandless”. Basically, if you are applying grout to glass tile, you do not want sand in your grout as it will scratch the surface of your tile. I used my finger and the trowel to ensure that the grout was firmly pressed between each crease. This part of the tiling process took me a few days working for 3 or 4 hours at a time. It was time consuming and messy but well worth the outcome in the end.

Tiling our bathroom wall and around our shower dramatically changed the look of the space. The total cost of this tiling project was under $350. I used 30 sheets of 12×12 mosaic tile pieces plus the cost of supplies.

I hope tiling a bathroom wall or any wall for that matter, seems less intimidating after this tutorial. It really is a fairly easy project but not one that can be done in a day. My suggestion if you are on the fence, just do it and stop thinking about it. You will be amazed at what tiling a wall will do for your space. The amount of character and modern glam that this tiling project added to our bathroom exceeded my expectations. Be sure to check out the full bathroom renovation reveal post to see the rest of the bathroom as well as our diy board and batten wainscoting tutorial.

Other projects in this bathroom:

Spring bathroom reveal

DIY Magazine Rack

bathroom reveal

Board and batten full wall treatment

DIY bathroom renovation {reveal}

November 29, 2012

My husband’s DIY bathroom renovation is finally completed. When I tell you that this 8×10 space made me cry and almost jump out the tiny window in this room, I am not kidding. You will see why in a minute. I really enjoy DIY projects and love the idea of the finished product but this little o’l budget diy bathroom renovation put my patients to the test. The only thing that kept me going was that my husband and I were sharing a bathroom and I needed to get rid of him! Oh the mess and oh the noise in the morning. I was on a mission to complete the new bathroom. The original bathroom was a 1970′s pink color scheme which we demolished earlier this year.

Here is the bathroom before:

You can see I tried to paint the tile and that didn’t go so well. My dad agreed to help demolish and remove the pink tub. Thank goodness because 2 hours of taking off the tile was not fun. I posted a couple months ago about the newly framed closet and shower stall that we added in this space. Here is a picture of the original vanity minus the drawers. The quality of these pictures are not that great as these were taken with my old camera. It’s so strange to think that this was my bathroom when I was a kid.

The deal I had with my dad was he helped get rid of the existing tub and tile and I would help him add a closet and shower stall. Once we installed the closet and shower, I was on my own. That was when my anxiety set in. Like I said, I love a challenge and do it yourself projects but this was over my head and the old saying, “learn as you go” was now a reality. This project started earlier this year with the demolition and the addition of the shower and closet and then came to a halt once that was completed. I got busy doing our family room, dining and mudroom makeovers. However, I started back up again (that’s when my husband moved back into our master bath) about a month ago and finally it’s done!

Sherwin Williams provided me with complimentary paint for this makeover and I ‘m loving their new gray colors. I used their new line called Emerald. I painted the original vanity with Sherwin Williams gray clouds, the walls with rhinestone and the trim in extra white (semi gloss). The original walls are old and somewhat uneven so I added 3 1/2 inch boards to create texture and add character. The boards are painted the same as the walls in rhinestone. I chose a satin finish which I think offers the perfect sheen for the walls and vanity. I have always been a big fan of Sherwin Williams paint and I was so excited when they contacted me about this project.

Now for a look where the old pink tub was.

It’s quiet dramatic in my opinion and yes, this is the part that almost killed me. We installed an inexpensive fiber glass shower stall and once it was installed, it looked like it needed a little something to jazz it up. I did not have plans of adding tile but you know how that goes, once you get started, you can’t stop. Once I started tiling inside the shower, I decided to wrap it around the new closet. I love how it looks!

The glass mosaic tile is called Venetian and I purchased it at Lowes. The tile consists of a sand stone color, blue/green and gray glass. The door is painted in Sherwin Williams Cloud Gray to match the vanity. Instead of using a standard shower curtain, I used an 84″ white cotton panel from Target. I wanted the shower to appear as large as possible and I think that hanging the shower curtain higher creates that illusion. Don’t you? No worries, I will be hanging an extra long shower liner inside with drapery rings.

I installed bingo brackets that I purchased at Home Depot and added thick stand alone glass shelving. I think the tile and shelving are by far my favorites in this space. I was surprised at how easy the bingo brackets were to install. I will provide a tutorial soon on how to install them.

One of my goals, besides kicking my husband out of our shared master bathroom, was to provide him with a spa like feeling bath that he would love. When we go away on vacation, one of the things he loves most is the hotel baths that are newly renovated and spa like. I wanted the overall feel to be a modern cottage look with a spa feel. I think we accomplished that. This next picture shows the planks that I added to the wall. I purchased 1/4″ MDF and cut to 3 1/2 inch strips and created squares as a wall treatment. I’m sure there is a name for it, I just don’t know what it is!

I love the texture that the wood adds and this project was honestly, a pain in the butt. A close second behind the tile. If I had someone helping it would have been easier but most of this space was completed during the day when everyone was at work so I was on my own. I will also provide a tutorial soon on the wall treatment.

Target provided complimentary holiday towels and accessories for this makeover and the pops of red are absolutely perfect paired with the gray and white color scheme. You can imagine my excitement when I got an email from the PR department at Target last month wondering if I would like to have some complimentary holiday decor. It even came gift wrapped in a huge box!

I love the fresh holiday greens and berries paired with Target’s holiday candles. The soap pump and tray below are winter white featured in a cable knit pattern also from Target’s Threshold Holiday line.

The tray, tumbler and soap pump are the perfect coordinate against the silver mirror.

The additional closet space is perfect for my husband’s work attire. We have one small closet in our master bedroom (which we were sharing) and now, my husband has this closet all to himself. Now he just gets up in the morning and leaves the room! Yay! No noise from the adjoining master bathroom or rummaging through the closet.

My husband asked me if these were real gifts for him. Sorry honey, just an inexpensive way to add some character to the room.

I love how the glass shelves and nickel colored brackets look against the wall color. The rhinestone wall color is a very light gray, almost a silver tint.

You can see the colors of the tile a little better in this picture.

I got a new camera lens and attempted to use my custom white balance setting for these photos. I think I’m liking the clean crisp effect of using a preset white balance.

Last summer we added natural sand stone colored ceramic tile to the floor.

I hope you enjoyed my husbands new diy bathroom. I will provide tutorials of all the diy projects and a budget breakdown soon. Lets just say we saved thousands doing it ourselves. A big thank you to Target and Sherwin Williams for the complimentary products. I know you all know this but I have to say it, all opinions are mine!

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Linking up to Sand and Sisal’s holiday countdown party.
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How to build a lattice privacy screen on a budget {tutorial}

July 22, 2012

Today I am sharing how to build a lattice privacy screen on a budget. Do you have air conditioner units, trash bins or maybe a neighbor that you can’t stand the site of? Thankfully, we like our neighbors (knock on wood) but we have two large air conditioner units that are at the end of my mom’s patio so we decided to make a simple and inexpensive lattice privacy screen.

Last week I posted our patio makeover and showed you how to repair an old cracked cement patio. As I mentioned last week, this happens to be my mom’s outdoor space so we are trying to “beautify” it for her . I cannot believe the amount of emails I received asking for a tutorial on how we built the privacy screen. I had already planned posting a tutorial but your sweet emails made me that much more motivated to get it done quickly! I love tutorials that I find online but especially love the visual tutorials, so I decided to create this post using mostly pictures.

Before I get started though, I wanted to let you know that I’m over at SandandSisal today visiting my southern friend Kim! I would love if you would come visit me after you finish up here!

Ok, back to the lattice privacy screen. My dad thought the solution was to hang the lattice from the gutters above with hooks but the man only thinks in practicality, not in aesthetics. So I showed him some pictures that my mom and I liked in order to get his brain in “design” mode. He never ends up in design mode, he just caves because he can’t stand two of nagging him.

BHG privacy screen

Source

I love how this screen had a planters box on the top, so pretty!

Source

So lets get started. First, paint your “frame” before assembling the lattice. We used 1×4 pine as our frame that I painted white prior to starting the project. We needed to make 3 lattice privacy screens so we started with the 8′ section first. We purchased plastic/PVC lattice from Home Depot. You will need to use stainless steel screws so they do not rust. We used 8 x 1 – 5/8″ screws to create the privacy screen and used 10 x 3″ screws to attach the privacy screen to the existing post on the patio.

Next, I painted the 1×4′s before we assembled the privacy screen.

You are essentially going to sandwich the lattice between your frame. Layout your frame (1×4 pine pieces cut to size), place your lattice on top and then add 1×4′s again on top of your lattice. You will basically be cutting 2 pieces of 1×4′s for each side.

Use your stainless steel 1 5/8″ (or whatever size you choose) to attach the pine to the lattice. Remember, screw from the “inside” out. You want the side that you will see to be pretty, you do not want to be looking at screws! Look at my cute dad, he thinks I’m crazy .

Don’t be shy with your screws either and be sure to stagger them to prevent them from warping.

Note how we staggered the screws, this is very important according to my daddio!

My dad said in the middle of this project, “why do I want to share all my secrets with these people? I don’t even know them!” hehe. Isn’t he is funny? We ended up making 3 privacy screens to hide the air conditioner units so the next one, required cutting.

We used the same steps to create the other two privacy screens.

By this time, he is getting annoyed with all my pictures I am taking because I keep stopping and saying, “wait, I need a picture of that!” I really did help, but in between pictures. Of course, I got stuck cleaning everything up. My grandfather is watching out the window giving directions. ha.

Next, we attached the end pieces to the large 8′ piece using the 3″ screws. We also attached the small part (see below) to the existing post on the patio for stability.

Note that the screws are facing inward.

Much better, don’t you think?

Finally, a beautiful patio with hidden air conditioner units!

Total cost = under $40 (cost of lattice, pine for frame & screws).

Hopefully after this tutorial you feel a confident and motivated to build your own lattice privacy screen. They come in all sizes so you could always do a smaller version of this one. My mom loves that the air compressors are hidden now and she has a pretty back for her flowers. Mission accomplished!

You can view many more pictures of our patio makeover as well as our tutorial on how to repair an old cracked cement patio here.

How to repair a cracked & old cement patio {before & after}

July 19, 2012

Today we are sharing how to repair a cracked and old cement patio. Living with four generations under one roof poses many challenges, one being personal space. We took the opportunity this summer to makeover our deck and power-wash the patio and pool area. The patio has been neglected and seriously damaged through the winter storms but my dad completely ruined it (he says he didn’t, but he did) when he put down some kind of a rock salt last winter that ate through the cement like it was a little scooby snack.

Here is the before:

The patio was a mix of old red paint, gray original cement, cracks and holes. Can you say, mess?! After a good powerwashing and removing any loose cement, we added 23 gallons of the Concrete RESTORE. We bought the large 4 gallon buckets as well as the RESTORE roller. Attach the roller with a long handled paint roller and simply dump the concrete/paint mixture and roll it on. It is SO easy!

This is my mom and dad’s “personal” outdoor space so she chose Cape Cod Gray to have the RESTORE cement tinted to. There are so many colors available. I spread this entire 450 square foot area in about 2.5 hours. One important tip, do not roll it on like you would when painting a wall (back and forth). The directions say to use a paint tray ect. I simply dumped 1/4 – 1/2 of the bucket on the cement and worked in sections. When you spread the cement, simply pull it towards you or push away from you. Do not roll over back and forth. This stuff is very thick but easy to spread. I highly recommend the special RESTORE roller. Do not use a regular paint roller. If you take a break in between, just wrap your roller in a plastic grocery bag. That’s what I did

Ok, now for the good part, here is how my mom’s patio is looking now!

My gramps made these DIY adirondack chairs and couch. Isn’t he talented? I told him we are going to make some more for “my side” of the yard and I’ll be taking pictures of him to post on the blog. I think we need a tutorial on these, don’t you? We gave them a fresh coat of water-based stain and I think they are looking pretty snazzy! What do you think of that DIY lattice privacy screen to hide the air compressor units? My dad and I recently made it one Saturday afternoon, I will post the tutorial soon!

My mom loves black and sand colors together so we used her existing cushions along with some DIY bolster pillows from the fabric I had left over from our dining room makeover.

My mom is loving her new space! Especially the Cape Code Gray cement color.

This is where my mom drinks her coffee every morning. It’s a pretty cozy spot!

So what do you think? Would you be daring enough to dump tinted cement and resurface an old worn cement patio or even a deck? This stuff can be used on a deck also. I had no idea how to repair a cracked and old cement patio prior to using this product and I’m happy I gave it a try. The patio isn’t perfect but it’s certainly better than it was. The best thing, my mom loves it!

You can view the DIY lattice privacy screen tutorial here.

If you would like to see our other outdoor makeovers, check out our orange and pink deck makeover.

PS. Total cost = under $275 (cost of cement product + lattice for privacy screen)

Our pink and orange deck {before & after}

July 2, 2012

Today I am sharing our pink and orange deck reveal. The before pictures are not the best. Who knew last summer (before I started blogging) I would need a picture of our deck. Thankfully, I had taken one with my phone last summer of this poor little structure looking dreary and thirsty for some stain! The transformation of this deck is unbelievable in my eyes.

Before:

After,

The floor before,

A couple weeks ago, I shared some pictures on my twitter and facebook page of us staining this space. Note to self, do no add a rubber backed outdoor rug to a space that has been painted/stained. The humidity last summer adhered the rug to the floor and when I ripped up the rug, all the stain came up and the rubber was stuck to the wood. Lets just say, it took me 2 weekends to scrape and strip off the rubber and existing stain.

After,

The furniture is from BHG purchased at Walmart a couple years ago. The addition of flowers, an indoor/outdoor rug and accessories I had laying around the house, I think add such a warm and cozy feel.

I love pink and orange together and I think the colors look great with the sand colored furniture cushions. I picked up these pink hydrangeas at Michaels on sale for $4.50. The watering can was a brown brassy color so I gave it a quick coat of powdered blue spray paint.

I bought this bench from Homegoods last summer on clearance for $69. I bought the fabric for the cushions and throw pillows at fabric.com. The pillow fabric is Silsila Lawn indoor/outdoor by P Kaufmann and the cushion fabric is hugo stripe grenadine by P Kaufmann. If you would like to sew your own pillow covers, be sure to check out our pillow cover tutorial.

I purchased the pink and orange scatter bath rugs from Marshalls for under $5 each! I was pretty excited about that

This is the view from my back door,

This is my summer mom cave spot.

We used Natural Cedar and linen Behr porch and floor stain. I think the two toned stain color coordinates nicely with our pink and orange deck color scheme. I highly recommend power washing your deck first and allowing it to dry for 24-48 hours before staining. The stain is water based so it’s very easy to apply. How about you, are you tackling a deck project this summer? Send me some pictures if you are.

Would you like to learn how to build a DIY lattice privacy screen? If you have an unsightly spot on your deck, this tutorial will help you hide it. Be sure to check out our outdoor rooms and covered porches that wow as well.

Coastal Cottage Dining Room {before and after}

June 25, 2012

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing our coastal cottage dining room makeover that was a long time coming but it’s finally finished. It’s full of DIY projects ranging from the reupholstered chairs, board and batten wall treatments and the old hutch makeover. My grandmother gave me this hutch over 15 years ago and she wasn’t impressed at first when I decided to paint it white but she loves it now.

Since writing this post, our dining room was featured in the January 2013 issue of Woman’s Day which was a blast. Here is the Woman’s Day tear sheet of our kitchen and dining room.

Woman's day feature + behind the scenes

photos courtesy of Woman’s Day Magazine

I don’t know about you, but our dining room is part of our kitchen and really serves as a multipurpose room. We eat, surf the net, build legos and do arts and crafts. No formal looking dining room under this roof! The room before was fine, it just needed some pizzaz and character. The curtains were my first sewing project last summer and for a lack of a better place to hang them, I hung them in the dining room with these chairs. I know, they don’t exactly go together.

Before:

I wanted a room that was fun, bright, cheery, cozy, comfy with a touch of coastal cottage flair. It needed to tie in and coordinate with the planked walls we just added in our family room.

So I decided to add board and batten to the walls in an effort to add some texture and visual appeal to the plain boring walls. You can view my DIY board and batten tutorial to see exactly how I did it.

During:

During this entire process I knew I wanted something bold, fun and a little “out of the box”. I wanted to take a risk and really mix and match the upholstery fabric and the drapery fabric. However, I almost chickened out so I contacted my friend Darlene, who is the owner/designer of Fieldstone Hill Designs. If you don’t know her, check her out because she has so many reasonable e-design services and she helped me decide on the coordinating drapery fabric and wall color. So after painting the wall four times and finally deciding on a drapery swatch I loved, this is the rooms new look:

Can you believe we coordinated striped {sand & black indoor/outdoor} Sunbrella fabric with the bold flowered chair fabric? I would have never been so daring had I not had Darlene holding my hand through it all! I ordered the fabric (3 yards for each panel) and sewed the curtains. I have never used indoor/outdoor fabric inside for drapery but I am on board! The texture is fabulous and very easy to work with.

The top part of the wall is painted Cobblestone Cape May by BM. The lower part (the board & batten) is White Dove by BM.

This hutch was an old piece that was given to me by my grandparents that I recently overhauled with white paint, new shelving, hardware and trim. I love how my great grandmother’s blue willow china looks in it . The hutch houses a mix of old and new. I have the baskets filled with our sons crafts and paint supplies. I added floating shelves to the wall below to add custom artwork done by my son and step daughters.

This side of the room needed some color so I gave the kids some paint supplies and a tarp and had them do some splatter painting. My great gram used this blue willow china at her camp on the lake as her everyday dishware so it is ironic that it is paired with kids art work and crafting items over 100 years later. I think she would be pleased

The two wingback chairs I reupholstered in Samoen Plantation fabric by Iman. I hope to have a tutorial on the “how I did it” soon. I am so clueless with the computer/video editing stuff that it is taking me forever to try and lighten the video.

I struggled with some of these photo’s because of the size of the windows and the sunlight. I really love when pictures have that blown out sun effect but sometimes it’s to much so I was struggling to find balance! I have to thank Kevin and Josh from Shoot Fly Shoot. I have taken their online photo workshop and also learned some tips from them while attending last weeks Haven Conference. When I returned home, I picked up a few suggestions and tried them on this room and am happy with how they turned out. They are by no means perfect but I am learning .

Lastly, this is the view from our kitchen. Would you believe me if I told you there use to be a wall here? Last summer, before I started blogging, we tore down the wall and opened up the kitchen into the dining room. Had I known I would need a picture a year later for a little o’l thing called a blog, I would have snapped one .

I will post a resource list soon. I will tell you though, this room makeover cost under $300.

I think our new open cottage dining room is much more inviting and has so much more character. Would you add board and batten to your wall? Be sure to also check out our other room makeover in our project gallery.

Here is a fun shot of me setting the table during the photo shoot.

Jess setting dining table resized.jpg

Thank you so much for taking a peak at our coastal cottage dining room. It truly is the heart of our home along with our kitchen.

Coastal cottage family room {feature at Curbly}

June 21, 2012

Hey Everyone! A big thank you to Brittni and the rest of the crew over at Curbly for featuring our family room makover today. I was so excited when Brittni contacted me for a feature . If you have a chance, hop over and visit them. Their site is ginormous and packed full of DIY & decor ideas. I’m getting ready for day one of the Haven Conference and I cannot wait to meet some of my cyberspace friends .

Last updated by Jessica Bruno at June 23, 2012.

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About

JESSICA BRUNO
Hi, I'm Jessica and welcome to our blog. We are a crew of four generations all living together under one roof and I just happen to be the ring leader of our little o'l blog. We are multigenerational family ranging in ages from 5 to 85 living, dreaming and DIY "ing" together. If you love Do-It-Yourself projects, room makeovers, project tutorials or just want to hear about the bits of chaos (some good and some not so good) of what it's like having four generations all living under one roof, then follow along, you have come to the right place!

Archive | Before and After

Bathroom DIY Magazine Rack {tutorial}

Bathroom Refresh with Better Homes and Gardens {makeover}

Our modern cottage kitchen {makeover}

How to install mosaic tile {tutorial}

DIY bathroom renovation {reveal}

How to build a lattice privacy screen on a budget {tutorial}

How to repair a cracked & old cement patio {before & after}

Our pink and orange deck {before & after}

Coastal Cottage Dining Room {before and after}

Coastal cottage family room {feature at Curbly}

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