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Master Bedroom Makeover

By on August 22, 2012 in House Projects

A few weeks ago, I got the hair-brained idea to paint my bedroom from a bright yellow to a calming “Balanced Beige.” I added crown molding to the room and I think it looks so much better! The room still has some work to be done, but it’s slowly coming together.

If you remember, I posted about the state road maps in picture frames, well see them below in the finished space! Also, you’ll notice the wood shim mirror hanging over the bed.

Within the book shelves, I took out a considerable amount of books and added more picture frames and pops of color.

The entire project cost me $200 (paint, wood shim mirror, picture frames). The trim was free of charge, someone owned me a favor!

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Comments { 3,287 }

Pops of Color

By on August 21, 2012 in House Projects

I’m nearing the end of my master bedroom facelift. I have large, floor-to-ceiling book shelves in the room with hundreds of books from my Aunt. I took out many of the books and gave them to my brother, and in place, I put in picture frames, conch shells, large picture frames of photos that I’ve taken – which are for sale at www.ninakochphotography.com (shameless plug).

I went to Michael’s and bought scrapbook paper, 3 different sheets for a total of $3 and put them in the frames that I bought from Aaron Brothers a few weeks ago. The construction paper gives me just the right amount of pop of color.

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DIY Mirror Made of Shims

By on July 16, 2012 in House Projects

I’ve had an old mirror from my grandmother, leaning against my bedroom wall for years. I didn’t know what to do with it, because I wasn’t totally attached to the look of the mirror. It’s a rectangular mirror with a wood frame, with rounded corners and the top looked like a heart.

I took the frame off the mirror to only find that the mirror had been cut to the shape of the frame – the project just got a little more difficult.

Fear not, I had a plan! So I had left over scrap pieces of plywood, measured the wall space where I wanted to the mirror (above the bed) and then cut the plywood with a circular saw. I then used Liquid Nails Mirror Adhesive to attach the mirror to the plywood – the mirror’s not going anywhere!

I bought two packages of the larger shims at Home Depot  (costing me $8) and I cut the shims to a certain size, so the skinnier broken off pieces were cut off. **Note a simple tip to cutting the shims to size, cut one piece and use it as a template. I cut four to five shims at a time with the template and it made it go much quicker.**  I used Elmer’s Wood Glue (love this stuff) and glued each shim, alternating to the plywood and let sit for a few days. You could let it sit overnight, and you should be good.

  

Now, the rounded part of the mirror was still showing, so I bought 1×2 wood pieces from Home Depot and cut each piece to make a frame around the mirror. I again glued the pieces of wood to the top of the shims. I then sanded down any rough edges with an electric sander (you could use a piece of sand paper).

I used wood stain instead of paint. I wanted the darker parts of the project to stand out more.  I used one coat to cover the entire piece, so it wouldn’t be too dark. I let it dry overnight. I then bought Sisal rope and applied rope with Wood Glue around the inside of the frame to cover the last little bit of mirror that was showing.

I then attached to the back of the plywood, Ring Hangers and Mirror Wire Cord with ease and hung up the mirror! A very simple, but time consuming project!

Items you’ll need:
Circular Saw
Miter Saw
Plywood
Liquid Nails Mirror Adhesive
Shims (My project was 45″w x 25″h and used one-and-half packages of shims)
Elmer’s Wood Glue
2- 1×2 wood pieces
Sander or piece of sand paper
Stain or paint
Sisal Rope
Ring Hangers
Mirror Wire Cord
Pro Picture Hangers

Since I had most of the items for this project, in total it cost me $40.

 

Comments { 4,809 }

Recycled Plastic Bottles to Ice Packs

By on June 16, 2012 in House Projects

Nothing worse then not having enough ice packs for the cooler or having to buy more of them at a couple of dollars each.

I have a great way to reuse plastic water bottles or Gatorade bottles as ice packs. You’re also recycling at the same time.

Fill each bottle with water, put the cap back on and put in the freezer for a few hours. Take the bottle out and use. Once you’ve used the bottle, and the ice has melted, just put it back in the freezer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

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Spice Rack Organization

By on June 9, 2012 in Craft Projects, House Projects

It would be an understatement to say that I’m OCD when it comes to my kitchen. My spice shelf has been a thorn in my side for a few years now, and I finally got around to doing something about it. I did tons of research to see if I could get plastic spice jars in bulk, you can, but I only needed 20 and that isn’t considered bulk, so I would have been slapped with fees from a small order and then shipping on top. So my cheap plastic jars were costing me triple what I wanted to spend. I ended up going to The Container Store and bought a spice rack with empty glass 3oz bottles. It was cheaper to buy the whole kit, then buy each individual bottle. I also bought the 3-tier Expand-A-Shelf.

I designed my own labels with InDesign and printed them out on a full-sheet sticker. I then cut out each individual label and adhered each label to each jar. I’ve included the PDF if you’d like to print out the labels for yourself. Free Spice Labels I also moved all my baking goods to this cabinet, so I can keep everything together. If you remember from a past post, Pantry Organization, I used OXO Pop Containers to organize the pantry, now I’ve moved the key ingredients for baking to this cabinet.

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$29.99 for spice jars
$9.99 for riser
$0 for labels
$0 for spices (already had them)

Total = $39.98

Comments { 4,188 }

How to install a deadbolt strike plate

By on April 24, 2012 in House Projects

I live in a 1940′s cottage style house that was built on pier-and-beam. This house is rock solid, except for change in barometric pressure and give and take of the soil. That’s a Texas thing. So each year at specific times, my back door is almost impossible to open and shut. If there’s ever a fire, I’d have a better chance either jumping through the flames to get the front door, then trying to open the back door.

After inspecting the lock system, I noticed that the pre-drilled deadbolt strike plate in the door jamb was on it’s last leg. The screw holes had worn out and the plate was actually moving every time I tried to open the door. I marched myself down to the Home Depot and bought a large plate, and that had longer screws, for more security and strength. I really didn’t have a clue how I was going to install this new plate, since it’s wasn’t flush with the existing cut out. How Hard Could It Be?

I traced the new plate on the door jamb using a pencil. I then used a screw driver and hammer and hammered the screw driver to trace out the form. Then I chiseled the wood with the screw driver until the plate sat flush with the existing cut out. I sanded it all down to make it smooth. I fitted the plate in, screwed it in (make sure to use a drill bit first to make two small holes) and the door opens and closes with ease now!

I went back in with some white wood filler and filled in any spots that were “oopsies.”

Remember anything is possible with some imaginative thinking and a few basic tools.

Cost of project = $6.00 | Time it took = 30 minutes (probably shorter had I knew what I was doing)

 

 

Comments { 4,867 }

Pantry Organization

By on April 7, 2012 in House Projects

My pantry is small, and that’s understatement! Apparently the previous homeowner didn’t like to eat.

I have started to use the OXO Pop Container systems for some of my food and it’s really helped keep everything from going bad and everything looks neat and clean! I got the 10-piece set for Christmas and have slowly added on to the collection. I go to Home Goods to get them on sale. They aren’t cheap when they’re regular price, but you can save easily $5-6 on each container by going to Home Goods.

I used the same FREE labels that I used for the bathroom cabinets, just in a different color and size!  Better Homes & Gardens  They have tons of other sizes, shapes and colors!

I told you the pantry was small!

Comments { 4,835 }

Dirt and Dust Free Shelving

By on February 26, 2012 in House Projects

I have a complex about things being stored on the floor in the garage or even on the counter top. I like everything up and put away into a place, preferably behind a closed door. I have tons of built in cabinets in the garage, but I needed more space.

We are getting ready to move offices and pretty much had a fire sale. So I picked up two IKEA shelves for $50. Since the garage gets very dusty (I still haven’t figured out how it does), I needed to cover the shelves with some sort of cloth to keep the dust and dirt off. I thought a Queen size sheet would work, but that was getting costly, since I needed two sheets. I went to Joann’s Fabric store first, but couldn’t find anything that would work. I went over to Home Depot and went to the paint aisles and looked at tarps and drop clothes.

Perfect! I found $10 Canvas drop clothes 6′x9′ perfect size. I thought I’d secure the cloth with Velcro, but Velcro isn’t cheap, close to $20 for enough Velcro for one shelf. So brilliantly, I found little expandable sash rods that were $2.97 each with the mounting hardware.

Start of the project:

Next I used a heavy duty stapler to staple the cloth to the shelf. Make sure to keep the fabric tight

To attach the sash rod to the shelf, I had to measure and cut a piece of plywood, that would fit the brackets

I then attached the board to the shelf. I safety pinned the extra fabric so the two sides of cloth would just slightly overlap. I then used a Snake keychain (below) to attach from the sash rod to the safety pin, to create a sliding effect of a curtain.

I used some Velcro pieces where the two sides of fabric meet, in order to keep less dirt out

Finished and in the space

Taa daa

Comments { 4,230 }

Inexpensive Cabinet Organization

By on February 18, 2012 in House Projects

We all have them, cabinets in our houses that look like small bombs have exploded. Nothing is organized and when you need something immediately, like the sterilized gauzes to keep your finger from falling off, you can’t find it in all the clutter.

My bathroom cabinet was a disaster zone. On one my many outings to Michaels, I ran across photo/media boxes that were on sale, $1 each and it even had a lid. I bought five of these puppies and went home to see what I could do with them.

I didn’t need the lids, but I kept them anyway, just in case, down the road I wanted to use these boxes for their intended purpose – for photos.

I pulled everything out of the cabinet and split everything into different stacks – Medicine, First Aid, Makeup/Dental, Everyday Use and Misc.

I put everything back into the cabinets, and luckily everything fit nicely!

I found these FREE printable labels on Better Homes & Gardens website. They have tons of other sizes, shapes and colors!

The baskets with the towels are pull out baskets and are great for better reach. These were already in the house when I bought it.

So in total this entire project cost me $5 and it was a simple organization project!

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Time Lapse

By on January 30, 2012 in Garden Projects, House Projects

It’s been almost five years since I bought my house and I’ve taken some pictures and made a collage to show the difference in time, sweat, determination and money takes to change out less desirable items!

Enjoy!

 

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