Tutorials

Painting Pillows

December 22, 2011 By Stacy 6 Comments

Here are the pillows I made for the bench in my office. I love pillows! But I dislike sewing. I am sewing challenged…..So I left these pillows until last. I went against all my mother taught me. “Do the things you like the least FIRST and save the things you love for last.” Great advice but I totally did the opposite :) Pillows are basically the only thing I know how to sew.

One of the reasons I don’t like to sew is I have a hard time finding fabric that I want. It is totally my fault. I get an idea in my head and I HAVE to have it that way. I am willing to settle for something close, but I would rather have it just that way I want it. I couldn’t find anything close to the color and pattern I wanted for these pillows so I painted all but one :)

Remember when my hallway looked like this? For all of about 1 week! Well it didn’t match the rest of my house but I did love the pattern and color. So in memory of my hallway, I used the same stencil (Alessa Scroll)and same color for one of the pillows.

For the off-white (dare I say ruffly?………the tom boy in me just shuddered :P) pillow in the front I used an old shirt. I could never pull the gathered thing off on my own so I cut up a shirt from my closet. It was a bright white so I “dyed” it using paint (I will explain that in a sec). Sorry for the terrible picture!

The brown polka dot one was made from left over fabric from when I made the valances for my kitchen. This was the only one that didn’t get painted.

The solid blue one was also dyed using paint. I wanted a darker color than the wall color but couldn’t find fabric that was the right color. So how did I do it?

It was actually really easy and not too messy.

I added a little paint to an old tupperware bowl and then added an entire 2 ox bottle of fabric paint medium. Then I added some water so that it was quite watery. Make sure the paint is 100% mixed. If there is paint at the bottom that settles and doesn’t get mixed in you will have uneven color for your end result. Stirring it is the most important step. I got the fabric that I had already cut to the right size and stuck it in the paint. I swished it, squished it, and picked it up and rubbed it. Once I made sure that it has sunk into all of the fabric, I wrung it out really well. ***The absorption of paint will depend of the type of fabric that you have*** I had a plastic kitchen garbage sack that I laid on the table for the fabric to dry. I smoothed it flat. The next day I washed them in the washing machine. Since it is not actually dye, you don’t have to worry about it bleeding. I washed the stenciled one and the two “dyed” ones together with towels and had no problems. After that I ironed them. Then they were ready to sew :) I have used actual dye in the past and this was a lot easier.

Filed Under: Decorating, Painted Fabric, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 6 Comments

DIY Topiary and My Magnet Board

December 12, 2011 By Stacy 10 Comments

I have a thing for topiaries. I love them! Any shape or size. But if you have ever shopped around for them you know they are SUPER pricey. I have made most of mine so when I decided I wanted not one but TWO in the office, I knew I needed to make these also.

I always use sticks and tree limbs when I make a topiary. Not only is is cheaper to head out to the backyard for supplies, but it makes it more real. I actually don’t like having fake plants. I would much rather have them be real. And I have bought real topiaries in the past. But they are pricey too and don’t do well indoors. So I try to make mine look as close to the real deal as possible.

The greenery I used came from a place called Tai Pan Trading. I know they are not in every state, but they have hands down the cheapest prices. Each bunch of greenery was $5.00 instead of the $15.00 at the craft store. That right there made this even more affordable. Shop around and not only look for greenery that looks realistic but for a good price too.

I didn’t take pictures along the way because I have actually already done a topiary tutorial here before. You can see the step by step process from when I showed how to make pine tree topiary trees.

My magnet board used to be red. When I decided to paint it white my first thought was how much of a pain it was going to be because it would take a lot of paint. I used RustOleum’s Heirloom White X2 paint (the same paint I used on my kitchen cabinets) and I was amazed! I already knew I liked the paint. I have used it a lot. But it only took ONE COAT!!! To cover RED people! (Dear RustOleum….I {heart} you!!!) And it only took one can. Here it is before:

And after:

The other cool thing about my magnet board are the magnets themselves. I got them from IKEA. The are meant for the kitchen to store herbs or whatnot. But mine hold office supplies. So instead of floating around in the bottom of my desk drawer, they are organized and out of the way! Plus they double as decor :) They are called GRUNDTAL containers. They would be fun filled with craft supplies, in a kids room filled with their “treasures”, in a bathroom with small hair things or q-tips, or ANYWHERE! They are kind of my new favorite thing….

I am looking forward to sharing the rest of my office tutorials this week :)

Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 10 Comments

Reclaimed Wood Floating Shelves

December 5, 2011 By Stacy 58 Comments

I have been so excited to share this tutorial with you. Out of all the elements in my new office I have received the most emails about these shelves.

When you have a small space the smartest thing you can do is go vertical. I was NOT taking advantage of the wall space in the way my office was done before. I knew I wanted shelving but I did not want a giant wall of built in shelves because I thought it would feel too heavy and would make the space seem smaller. I love the openness of these floating shelves!

I have mentioned in the past that I think that a small budget forces you to be creative. That was definitely the case with these shelves. My original design called for new wood that would have been painted cream to match the cabinets below. But when all was said and done the budget didn’t allow for that. I have a large pile of old fence pickets in the backyard I got for another project so I used some of those. Free was definitely in my budget. I am happier with these shelves than I would have been if I had bought new wood :)

Before I get to the tutorial, I wanted to talk about the things on the shelves. I was able to work with IKEA (remember the awesome giveaway back in September?) and was able to pick out some things for my office. When I think of IKEA the first thing that comes to my mind is “storage”. They have so many inexpensive storage options. And I am totally, and completely in love with the KVARNVIK boxes!!!! Not only do they provide ton of storage for everything from paper to craft supplies to cords to …..okay, basically anything, but they are beautiful. I love the texture of the jute burlap material on the outside. And the hardware makes it look vintage. I got some of the round ones too. They remind me of old hat boxes.

The baskets are the BYHOLMA baskets in gray. I think they go with the grey shelves very well.

The blue jars are the ones that I painted. Buying the real deal vintage blue jars can be so expensive so I was glad I figured out a DIY version :)

I already explained how I made the wire plant cloche. The base is an ARYD candle holder from IKEA and I have another ARYD candle holder that I left as is.

The brown boxes are also from IKEA but I bought them several years ago and I could not find them there again. They are a great size for all my photos :) IKEA has similar ones in other colors now.

The dark turquoise magazine file boxes are the KASSET boxes. They come white, so I painted them :) I couldn’t find a spray paint the color I needed so I used a foam brush and the sample can of wall paint. I used a butter knife to bend the brackets on the inside so I could take off the “label holder” (for lack of a better name). The other silver parts got taped with painters tape.

Remember when I revealed my office and I said that my shelves had a secret????

Eeeeek! They are also drawers!!!!!! I love it :) When I was brainstorming for ways to add much needed storage to this space I thought, why not this? Granted the drawers are only 2 inches deep, but they are perfect for paper! Anything else would probably be too heavy anyway. Right now they are filling up fast with my kids artwork and school work that I will one day put into scrapbooks, and with things I am too lazy to file away.

Alright, on to the tutorial!!!

I decided how long I wanted the shelves to be and then measured and cut the wood pickets to that length. There would be 6 shelves total and it took 4 boards for the top and 4 boards for the bottom so I cut (48) 30 inch boards. Then I cut 12 boards for the sides. After I did that I needed to cut the enda at an angle (mitered cut). I used the miter saw and cut at a 45 degree angle. I swear I had my husband take a picture of me cutting at an angle but I couldn’t find it in my computer file. Sorry about that. If you look closely to the picture you can see the angled ends.

For the side pieces, the long side needed to be cut at an angle, not the end. I sent my hubby to the neighbors to use their table saw while I was doing the other cuts. (Dear Santa, I need a table saw…..) You can see the smaller side pieces in the picture too.

When I talked about building the bench that is on my office, I mentioned that picking out smooth, straight wood was critical to building furniture. Well, new fence pickets are not straight and smooth let alone OLD ones. So I broke that rule. And it made it a little more challenging when it came time to construct. But the end result was totally worth it!

It was kind of like putting a puzzle together. I placed different pieces together and saw what worked the best. Sometimes I had to flip one over or switch it out.

Yes, I am doing this project on my 3 foot by 3 foot porch right outside my kitchen. (Dear Santa, I need a woodshop……….)

Then I glued and nailed the pieces together.

What you will have when you get done with that step is a long retanglular tube. You will have sides and a top and bottom. The next step is to mount some boards to your wall.

These boards will be the way you attach the shelves to the wall. I used 2×3 boards. I measured where I wanted them to be, marked it with pencil, and then I used my level to draw straight line. I drilled a pilot hole ( a hole drilled through the board that is smaller around than the screw) through the 2×3 before screwing them to the wall. I used 5 inch screws.Make sure they are level.

I have lath and plaster walls since my house was built in 1949, but if you have a newer home make sure you look for studs.

Then you will take the shelf and slide it onto the 2×3 board. Usually when I build floating shelves with new wood they are a perfect fit and are nice and snug. But these old boards were a different story. Some were too snug, some were a little loose, and some were way, way loose. Some boards bowed up and some bowed down. I just rolled with it. I cut strips of thin plywood and shoved them under the 2×3. You can see it where the red arrow is in the picture. Then when it was some what snug, I screwed screws through the top of the shelf down into the 2×3. I did about 5 screws across the top and then one screw in each side.

As far as the drawer construction went, I waited until the shelf was built so I could get an acurate measurement. I used thin plywood for the bottom and 1×2 for the sides. I just nailed them together (with a little glue).

They are very basic. No fancy sliding harware to make them glide in and out. But they work well and I think it adds to the rustic-ness (yes spellcheck, that is a word!).

Thanks for letting me share this with you! As always, if you have any questions just email me :)

P.S. I wanted to mention that IKEA has a fun site where you can share your rooms that you have decorated called Share Space. Guess where I am off to? I want to share my office. You don’t even have to use IKEA things in your space. Any room is great! Or you can visit to get inpriation by browsing through the rooms others have linked up. I love that :)
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Filed Under: Decorating, Furniture, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials 58 Comments

How to build a Storage Bench

November 30, 2011 By Stacy 27 Comments

I think out of everything in my office the 2 things that have made the biggest difference as far as how my office ( and home) function are the shelves, and this bench. We had a shoe storage problem. We have tried the basket approach. But that has major flaws. You are constantly digging through the whole thing to find your shoe’s mate, they get scratched up and dirty, and I never had a great place to put the basket.It always seemed like we were tripping over it. We had tried drawers, closets, and the things that hang on the back of the door with pockets. I have never been happy with those options. We are a “take your shoes off when you come in ” kind of family. And our bedrooms are downstairs. So hauling them to our closets was a pain. So far this bench has been amazing. The office door is directly across from the door that we use to go in and out of the house. The boys come home, take off their shoes, and go put them away. We have not had any lost shoes! I have not tripped over any shoes either. It is a small miracle.

Because of the depth of the bench it can hold two rows deep of most shoes. I counted and it can hold almost 30 pairs of our families shoes!

I hope this tutorial makes sense. I do not use drawn up plans when I build furniture. I picture it in my head how I want it and then sketch it out on paper. I just make it up. I am very visual and love seeing actual pictures of the steps. I know I should probably learn to use sketch up or something, but this works for me and I hope you will understand too :)

I bought all the lumber for this project at Home Depot. I think I made a few dozen trips there while doing my office :)

I was trying to do this as cheap as possible with out sacrificing quality. The top and sides are pine boards and the shelf, back, and bottom are sanded plywood. The trim is also pine. Be very picky when buying lumber. Spend the extra time looking through all the pieces and make sure they are flat, smooth, and not at all warped. The shape of your wood can make or break a project.

I used a jigsaw, a miter saw, a level, a brad nail gun (air compressor) and a little wood glue to build my furniture.

Lets talk structure. This picture is of the bench standing up on its side. I hope the labels of ” top” and ” bottom” help. If I would have put the side piece over top of the top and bottom it would have been seamless when looking at it from the side. The side piece would have covered up the top and bottom piece. But structurally it would have been weak. By sandwiching it in between the top and bottom it is stronger. When you sit on it, the side piece is held in there. If I had nailed it the other way there would have been nothing under the top piece to hold the weight.

I am sure you noticed the 1″ by 1″ pieces in the corners. They add strength as well and help make sure the corners are square. I nailed the side pice to the top of the bench first then nailed the 1×1 in the corners before adding the bottom board on.

To add a shelf, you need something for it to rest on, something to support the weight. I used 1×2. I measured where the halfway point was. And drew a line. I nailed the 1×2 with the top of the 1×2 on the line. My “half way line” is actually one inch lower than halfway. I did that because the shelf itself is one inch thick. When you lay the shelf on the 1×2 supports, then the top of the shelf will be at the true halfway point.

Here is the basic “shell” of the bench

So the basic shell is not all that attractive. Here comes the trim! I used 1×2. Again, look for the best wood. You can buy rough cut (not sanded down) or the nice and perfectly smooth 1×2. It is worth the extra $ to get the nicer 1×2.

So I have now added 1×2 to the front of the bench to hide all the seams and the 1×1 in the corners. Now for the sides…..

I didn’t want to use 1×2 here because it would have stuck out too far and created a deep ledge. So I bought what is called lattice trim. It is about 1/8 of an inch by 1 1/2 inches. I framed out the sides to hide all the seams. It gives it such a finished look!

For added support I put two pieces of wood down the center of the inside of the bench. I could have done one piece down the center and then 2 shelves on either side of it, but this worked as well. I decided to do it this way based on the board sizes I had on hand.

This is a blurry picture, but what I wanted to show here was a little trick I learned. When you need to nail along the top or side of something, instead of guessing where to nail and hope that you don’t have a few strays that go through in the wrong spot, draw a line.

The center pieces got covered with 1×2 as well. The 1×2 that got nailed to the center piece is what the hinges got screwed to for the doors.

I added the back to finish of the actual bench and then moved on to the doors. I apologize for not having any pictures. It was at this point that I had a “my kitchen has been covered in saw dust for weeks and I need to just get this done” melt down. I was in gitter done mode and not tutorial mode.

But they were easy. I waited until the shell was made before I even took measurements. I figured out how big they had to be and cut them. I wanted to use the same hinges as my kitchen cabinets and for that I needed a circle cut out of the inside. I do not have a drill press which would have been ideal so I used a bore bit. The down side was that the pointed part went all the way through the board. I was okay with this because I knew I would be adding trim that would hide it. Drill down just deep enough for the hinge to set down in. Don’t drill all the way through.

I added the same lattice trim to the doors as I did to the sides. And in the same framed out way.

After building something I always use sandable, paintable, stainable putty to fill in the nail holes or any small gaps. I wait for it to dry and then sand the whole thing smooth. Then wipe it with a damp rag to get the dust off before staining or painting. I wanted the bench to have a dark espresso finish like I did on my desk so I used Minwax Gel Stain in WALNUT. I do not brush it on and them wipe it off like it suggests on the can. I brush a thin coat on with a FOAM BRUSH and let it dry the required time and then brush on another layer. This bench has 3 coats of stain. Then I sealed it with Minwax Wipe-On Poly. I LOVE that stuff. It is so easy to apply and it doesn’t smell nearly as strong as regular polyurethane. It also dries incredibly fast. I used the satin finish.

*Please feel free to email if you have any questions. It always seems I leave out something in a tutorial. I blame the late hours :)

Filed Under: Decorating, Furniture, Power Tools, Projects, Staining, Tutorials 27 Comments

Painted Rug

October 31, 2011 By Stacy 14 Comments

I think I will always be amazed at the power that paint has to transform just about anything. I wanted to paint my floors in the office but my hubby was hesitant. So figured painting a big area rug was a good alternative. I got this one from IKEA. It is the ERSLEV rug. I knew it would be a good one to use when I saw it because it was a nice off white color similar to the Heirloom White that all my trim is painted and because it has a tight weave that makes it nice and flat.

I measured out how far apart each stripe had to be so that the pattern would work. Then I used painters tape to tape the lines. Luckily for me the rug had lines from the weaving and so I followed them. I mixed up the paint with a little water so that it would sink into the rug easier. I used a foam brush because that is what I had on hand. A foam roller would work as well. The roller would have been faster but I liked that the foam brush could work the paint into the crevices. If I had to do it again I probably would have used both. When painting near the tape I made sure the brush did not have very much paint and I brushed away from the tape line. This helped so that it wouldn’t bleed under the tape. This was very time consuming since it was such a big rug but I love how it turned out!

(Sorry for the terrible picture. I still have all my office things in totes including my computer. I was not able to edit this.)

*A little office update: I am slowly getting there. I had a ton of things to build from scratch so that has been a big job. I also painted the walls 3 times before I got the exact color I wanted. I just hope that it all works out the way I want so that all this hard work was worth it :) I have some fun things in store this week!!! I got some good news too that I hope I can share soon. Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Decorating, Painted Fabric, Painting, Tutorials 14 Comments

Freshen Up Your Moss!!!

October 24, 2011 By Stacy 13 Comments

I love moss! I love plants in general but moss is such a fun way to add nature and greenery to a space. And you can’t kill it. That’s a plus :) When you buy moss from the store it has been dyed. The dye over time will fade. But you don’t need to throw your moss projects out. You just need to freshen them up!

I made this topiary YEARS ago and it has slowly been fading. So I painted it.

It is so simple and it took me about 5 minutes. I mixed some craft paint to get the right mossy green color and then used a foam brush to apply it. Don’t get too much paint on your brush at a time. Then just dabb. Don’t press too hard or your moss will flatten. If that happens get a paper towel and fluff it back up by dabbing in the opposite direction that is is laying. This also helps with any dust that accumilated over time. It really is that easy!!!

I also painted the pot dark brown. It had been cream before.

Now I have a question for you. Since I moved my clock out of here to put in my bathroom, I was thinking of putting the Mason Jar Wall Planter where the clock had been. What do you think? My main concern is that the wall planter would fill up that part of the wall and I worry the other side of the broom closet would seem empty. I don’t want it to be off balance. Any thoughts???

P.S. I giggled and giggled over your confessions. That was so fun!!! And for the record I do not hate cheveron (and pennants). Like it said, they are nice. It is just everywhere :) I am glad so many of you participated. Maybe we will do something similar again in the future.

Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 13 Comments

Wire Plant Cloche Tutorial

October 19, 2011 By Stacy 22 Comments

I love plants! I have always loved coming up with different ways to display them. I have seen these types of cloches around but they always have a bigger price tag on them than I am willing to pay. So I thought, why not try to make one???

It was simple and with the plant it was less than $15.00 to make. Here is how I did it:

I used a $1 pie pan, wire, a candle stick, epoxy, needle nosed pliers, wire cutters, spray paint, and a big wooden bead.

I spray painted the pan and the candlestick holder before gluing them but you could glue them first if you want. I used Rustoluem’s Painter’s Touch X2 in Expresso. The candlestick is from IKEA.

Using the inside of the pie pan as a guide, I made a circle out of the wire.

I was worried about the strength of the circle so I wrapped another wire around it. It helped it be stronger and I liked the look if it better (not that you will really see it).

I cut about 8 pieces of wire that were about 2 feet long. I straightened then out as best I could. The I bent the end of one of the 2 foot pieces around the circle. The needle nosed pliers really helped with this part.

The I took the other end and wrapped it around the circle on the opposite side. This crates the dome. I did this with all 8 or so.

Don’t worry when it looks like a hot mess. :)

Cut a small piece of wire to tie the top together with. This will help hold it still so you can play around with it to get the shape you want.

Just keep bending a little here and a little there until it is the right shape. Then I used epoxy on the bead that I had spray painted and added it to the top.

And there you have it! I was really easy and didn’t take much time at all. I can’t wait to add it to my office! This will go on one of the shelves I built the other day.

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Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Projects, Tutorials, Uncategorized 22 Comments

Painting Upholstered Furniture

October 14, 2011 By Stacy 42 Comments

I remember the first time I saw someone paint upholstery. I was watching TLC’s Trading Spaces with my mom YEARS ago and one of the designers painted a couch. My mom and I both gasped. “You don’t paint upholstery!”

Lately I have seen a ton of tutorials for it. It seems to have gained popularity. Most tutorials have a lot of steps and seem complicated. I have very little patience and if I was going to try it out I wanted it to be simple.

Back when I was doing my one year anniversary giveaways I was working with DecoArt. I discovered that they have a paint made specifically for fabric called SoSoft. Now, I have used their fabric paint medium for a LOOOONG time and I love it but I had never tried their new SoSoft paint. I contacted them and asked if I could try it out.

Remember that $5.00 chair I got from the ReStore? Well, I painted it :)

Just a reminder of what it was before….

(source: Google images)

I used the color called Indian Turquoise and then I mixed it with Grey Sky.

Here is how I did it:

1.First of all, upholstery fabric is thicker than regular fabric. So I watered the paint down a little to help it sink in.

2.I used a foam brush to apply it. A regular brush would work too. I used what I had on hand. Keep it pretty thin. The heavier the coat, the stiffer it will be when it dries.

3.The key to making this work was after I brushed it on, I got a terry cloth wash rag and rubbed it into the fabric. I really worked it in there. I rubbed in every direction. If it sits on the surface it will be stiff. If you are worried that you got too much paint in an area, then get a wet rag and rub with it.

That is basically it. Because this chair was velvet, after rubbing it into the fabric I did wipe the rag all in the same direction so it would dry laying the same way.All in all it took about 20-30 minutes. I let it dry over night before sitting on it.

I am happy with how it turned out. It obvioulsy is not as soft as the original velvet, but it isn’t crunchy like I thought it might be. The main problem is that you can’t throw it into the washing machine to soften it up. Like I said, I have painted fabric for a long time (pillows, blankets, etc) and after being washed they soften up even more. Maybe I will scrub mine with soapy water or something to test it out. Who knows!

*** UPDATE: After a few days of sitting n the chair the seat really softened up! It felt like the original fabric. Seriously. So I got to thinking, how could I get some wear on the rest of the chair? I decided to SAND it! I did! I used sand paper and went over the whole chair. I didn’t over do it because I didn’t want to damage the fabric, but it totally worked. The whole chair is soft :)***

*Oh, another thing to consider is the color of the original upholstery. If you have a black chair, you probably won’t get it to turn a perfect white. This chair was gold and I think the blue was the teeny tiniest greener because of it. Just a thought.

But I love it! I can’t wait to add it to my office. Which is coming along nicely :) I also stained the legs with Minwax’s Gel Stain and sealed it with Minwax’s Wipe-on Poly.

Filed Under: Decorating, Furniture, Painted Fabric, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 42 Comments

Dress Up Your Bathroom Medicine Cabinet! TUTORIAL

September 30, 2011 By Stacy 29 Comments

I have really enjoyed my new mirror! I didn’t realize how boring the old one was until I had this one. I know that the whole tri-fold thing makes this harder. This would be a lot easier if you had a singe mirror/door on your medicine cabinet. That is how my down bath one is and you KNOW it will get decked out :)

Not that you need a reminder of what a builder’s grade mirror looks like, but here is my mirror (and bathroom) before:

(Terrible picture, I know)

I took the doors off the cabinet and laid them on the piece of plywood. Then I traced it. And yes, my mirror is filthy. I do live with 5 boys you know :)

Because the doors need to open, the fancy frame for the mirror can not go below the hinges so I marked where the hinges go.

I free handed some of the design but I did use a drinking cup for the rounded parts. I used a ruler so I could measure and mark where all the points, dips, and peaks were so they were all the same.

I only drew the design on the bottom of the wood and one side. Then I took some white butcher paper and traced the bottom and the side separately.

I cut the bottom one out and then the side one. I used them as a pattern for the top and the other side. This way they were all the same.

I used my jigsaw to cut it out. In order to cut the middle, you will need to drill a hole big enough for the saws blade to fit in. Then you can cut it out. Whenever using a jigsaw, think of it like cutting something out with scissors. You will have to move and reposition sometimes.

And here it is all cut out!!!

Okay, the reason I do not have a picture of me using the router to do this fun edge is because by the time we got the router from an awesome neighbor it was dark. My husband had to dance in front of the motion light to keep it on so I could see. And then when my arms got tired he would take a turn and I would dance. It was pretty hilarious! Plus the sucker was so awkward. It was hard to keep it still while using the router.

After all of that was done I sanded the crap out of it. I used a fine grit sand paper so it would be smooth and not have the scratched that grittier sandpaper can leave.

This next step scared the soup out of me! I had to cut it up!!! One wrong cut and it was over baby! I laid the mirrors down on my kitchen table again. The I laid this frame over top of it. That way I could mark where the cuts needed to be. Then I used my miter saw to cut it.

There is something I need to point out. The wood I used was 1/2″ thick. I would not recommend going any thicker if you have the tri-fold. It will not have room to open if you use thicker wood. Mine works fine but any thicker and it would have not worked. If you are doing this for a single mirror feel free to go thicker.

I put the mirrors back on the cabinet and then I used my nail gun to attach the frame pieces to the mirror. I nailed from behind so there wouldn’t be any visible nail holes to worry about filling. You could easily screw it on from behind as well. I am going to calk around the seam where to two meet with paintable caulk to hind the seam and because the caulk will act as glue.

Can you see where the hinges are and how the frame is the same thickness as the original mirror at those places?

Thanks for letting me share how I created my fun bathroom mirror! If you have any questions, please let me know :)

Filed Under: Decorating, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials, Uncategorized 29 Comments

The “How To’s” of My Bathroom

September 29, 2011 By Stacy 11 Comments

I was just going to do a tutorial on how I made the mirror but since I have received a ton of emails asking questions about other things in my vintage inspired bathroom I thought it would be easier to address it in a post. I will still do a mirror tutorial. I will post that tomorrow. But today I will share everything else.

My dad’s cabinet needed to be sealed. Not only was the paint chipping off but there is a possibility that it could be lead paint. I chose to use Minwax’s Polycrylic. It does not yellow things that are white like polyurethane does. I used a foam brush to apply it. It dries quickly since it is water based. It also does not smell as strong as other sealers which is a plus.

(Source: Google images)

The wall color is called Almond Biscotti and is made by Mythic paint. I had never tried Mythic before. I won two gallons from a design contest. It says that is has zero toxins and is safe for the environment. Super cool. I was expecting it to smell like, well, nothing. It smelled like regular paint. Not a problem for me as I love the smell of fresh paint. I was just surprised I guess.

(Source: Google images)

The door knob towel hooks were actually pretty easy. I took the threaded rod from the inside of the door knob like shown here:

And we cut them in half using a hack saw and a clamp. These are what I put into the wall. I drilled a hole in the wall that was a little smaller that the threaded rod. The I used pliers to screw the rod into the wall. They were pretty tight but they did wiggle a tiny bit. I have 4 little boys. Some of which have been know to hang on the hooks and towel bars in our bathroom. So I added a little Gorilla Glue epoxy. Maybe it was unnecessary but I felt better :) P.S. I have lath and plaster wall so I did not have to worry about finding a stud in the wall.

The curtain fabric was bought at Joann’s Fabric. It is kind of funny because I had something specific in mind and I ACTUALLY said to my husband “I do NOT want eyelet.” When I picture eyelet material I think of the scalloped edges and such. I actually like it. I grew up with it everywhere. But I worried that it would be too old fashioned for this space. Ya’ll know I am a sucker for paisley! So when I saw this I was kinda in love. And I think it works :)

The bead board I stained using Minwax’s Gel Stain in Walnut. I am getting ready to seal it using Minwax’s Wipe-On Poly. I love the dark color that is different from the traditional white you usually see on bead board.