Blog

Time Zone Clocks

February 17, 2015

Clocks
Plexiglass
Vinyl
Screws
Spacers
Finishing Washers

Drill
1/8″ Drill Bit
Utility Knife
They sell sheets of plexiglass in various sizes at Home Depot.

Make sure you score the plexiglass well. To break it, I kept flat pressure on the score line and then apply pressure to break off the plexiglass.

Using a 1/8″ drill bit. drill through the plexiglass, On the plexiglass I purchased there was a film applied. At this point I removed it.

At this point you can add your location cities. I used my silhouette to cut out my cities. If you don’t have a vinyl cutter, there is an easy solution. Trace it! You are working on a clear surface. Just place a printed version of the word/city behind the plexiglass, then trace the word using a black permanent marker. Easy peasy.

Now is time to put those up on the wall. I used a 1.5″ screw. Thread the screw through the “finishing washer” then thread through the plexiglass signs, and then finally through the spacer. Once it is all sandwiched together you simply screw it into the wall. Then hang the clocks centered above the city plaques.

…and that is all there is to it!

Faux Shiplap Walls

February 5, 2015

From time to time I would go into our front sitting room (seen below) and would try and figure out what was “off” I liked the room but never liked spending much time in it. I have always been a minimalist, so this room was always too busy for me, to the point that it was unsettling. It also felt a little cave-like. I kept dreaming of an open floor plan with a bright airy feeling and faux shiplap walls.

One typical Tuesday morning I was driving home from school drop-off and made a split second decision and turned left towards Home Depot… and this is a documentation of what occurred in the next 48 hours…

I walked straight to the paneling section in the lumber isle and started comparing board widths, finishes etc. I ultimately decided on a 7/32″ plywood. After some calculating I guesstimated I would need 6 sheets.

My sidekick helped me locate a nice gentleman that could do me a HUGE favor. I needed all the panels cut down into 6″ planks. He was AWESOME and was happy to oblige.

After our impromptu trip to Home Depot, this is what the rest of our day looked like…

Faux Shiplap Walls – Fast & Easy Install

Within 25 minutes the front room looked a little like this…

Here is what I did. I started by sanding the edges of the planks. I applied these planks to the wall using an 16 gauge nailer. Worked like a charm.

Faux Shiplap Walls – Spacing for Outlets

I cut all the pieces to fit. Making sure to cut out spaces for the outlet placement.

I made sure to stagger the board seams so that it didn’t create a predictable visible pattern.

Faux Shiplap Walls – Nail Holes

At this point, I used nail hole filler on all the nail holes. After the filler dried, I smoothed out the nail filler patches with a fine sandpaper.

So NOW it’s time to prime! This was a rather time-consuming process. I didn’t want the cracks to be filled with paint, so in between coats I would used a box cutter blade to prevent the gap from filling. In retrospect, I wished I had primed the edges before fastening to the wall. Which is what I did, on the adjacent wall. ( No, it was not apart of the original plan.) 😉

Faux Shiplap Walls – Top Coat

For the topcoat, I used Behr Ultra Pure White. I used a piece of trim on the edges in order to hide the end edges. I followed up with caulk, it creates a very finished look! Look how pretty! I know that to some this may not be an improvement, but I really like it! I still have a lot of plans for this room, so stay tuned. It’s gonna be good!

Corey

Conduit Curtain Rod WITH End Caps

January 30, 2015

I know that the concept of a conduit curtain rod is not exactly an original idea. But, I may be able to shed a little light on how to add the finishing touches to said curtain rod.

In case you are new to this electrical conduit phenomena, I will do a quick little re-cap.

Basically, you can have a 10′ curtain rod for just a few dollars!

Conduit Curtain Rod WITH End Caps

Supplies Used:

3/4″ Electrical Conduit (10′)
Metallic Spray Paint ( I used “Oil Rubbed Bronze”)
3/4″ dowel rod
Liquid Nails
Screw-on Curtain End Caps

Tools Suggested:

Drill
1/4″ drill bit
Fine Sandpaper/ Steel Wool
Saw

To make the conduit curtain rod:

First we will need to prepare the metal conduit for painting. I used a piece of steel wool, and lightly scuffed up the surface of the electrical conduit.

After that, I wiped down the rod with a wet rag in order to remove all the dust.

Once dry, I then appllied the spray paint. I propped mine up so that as I rolled it, it would not damage the painted side.

As with any spray painting project, I did multiple LIGHT coats (as opposed to one heavy coat). It always turns out better, and cures faster ! Promise.

Attaching End Caps:

While that is drying you can prep your end caps. YES, this tutorial will show you how to make it look like a real curtain rod, not just a spray painted rod!

You can find screw on end-caps in the curtain rod section of most home improvement stores. I picked mine up for $6.98 at Lowes. One thing to remember when picking out your caps. They DO NOT need to match the rod! Remember spray paint is your friend! You will want to paint these to match your rod regardless.

That being said, scuff up your end caps with steal wool or sandpaper. Again, wipe down with a wet rag to remove excess dust. Once dry, you can then proceed to paint.

While that is drying you can move on to the next part of our project. Attaching the end caps! To do this I used (2) 6″ sections of 3/4″ dowel rod.

I drilled into one end of each dowel rod, using a 1/4″ drill bit.

To secure the dowel rod, I used Liquid Nails, worked like a charm! I just put a VERY liberal mount inside the conduit.

After I applied the glue, I simply slid the section of dowel rod, into the conduit curtain rod. I wiped off any excess glue and then allow it to dry overnight. After the glue had dried completely, I then twisted the end caps in place! Like a REAL curtain rod. It will allow you to remove and add curtains as needed! So, there you have it! A 10-foot long curtain rod, that is sturdy, and decorative for under $15! Something comparable in stores can range from $ 50+! Seriously, in just a half hour of labor, you can save your self some serious money!

So, take a look around, are you in need of curtain rods, or simply need to update, or replace bowing/short rods? This conduit curtain rod is the best bang for your buck, and it comes in countless finishes 🙂

Take Luck,
Corey

Easy Ikea Organizer

January 23, 2015

Hey everyone, today you can find me over at Remodelaholic, where I am showing you how to build a cheap and easy organizer perfect for… well ANYWHERE in your home! See all the details here.

Makeover Media Console

January 20, 2015

My husband will occasionally scan through the “Free” section of craigslist, and every once in a while I receive a text message from him ” Think you can do something with this ?” Haha. This was one such project. The structural integrity was so-so, the finish was in pretty bad shape, but it had good lines! But for FREE!? You just can’t beat that!

So Andrew (My Husband) brought it home, and I honestly didn’t touch it for a few days. I was not really sure if I wanted to completely change the entire thing, or go the easy route, and just refinish it. This time I opted for the ~~easy~~ easier route.

I was originally planning on simply painting all of the wicker drawers, but after a few coats, I realized it is NOT the look I was going for. So I re-grouped and decided to add paneling to the sides, and cover the wicker. I used construction glue, and caulked the edges to create a finished look. It worked like a charm. I then resumed priming the newly resurfaced bins.

Next it was time to paintthe actual unit. It needed a new paint job, and some structural reinforcing. When I take on a project like this, I usually prefer to take the entire thing apart, and work on nice flat/open surfaces. Yes, it is more prep work, but it will save you time in the long run!

Once all of the paint dried, I re-attached all of the drawer-glides, and then reassembled.

At this point the whole unit was white, and looked very dull. It needed some two-tone action!

I opted for Minwax Jacobean Stain for the top, and followed up with a coat of Satin Polyurethane.

Last finishing touch ? It needed hardware. It originally didn’t have any pulls. I found these pulls at Lowes for $0.51! Yes, $0.51! They were discontinuing a few styles and I bought ALL of them!

So let’s break it down..

Media console: FREE
Paneling: $5.00
Paint/Primer: Had on Hand
Pulls: $1.53
1×6’s: $8 (Crazy good deal in clearance section.)

Total: $14.53

Sold : $175.00

Profit: $160.47

I listed it on Craigslist and it sold within a day! All in all, I will call it a win!

Thanks for stopping by!

Corey

Garage Sale Flip

January 13, 2015

Picked up this beauty at a garage sale for $5.00 a while back. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was all wood, and a decent size and shape. In all honesty I had no clue what I was going to do with it, but I couldn’t just pass it up!

After a few weeks of walking past it in my garage, I started getting some ideas, and I really wanted my garage space back! So I jumped right in.

This is not really a tutorial per-Se , but you can follow along and see the steps I took to get there.

I started by dismantling the doors.

I then removed all the hardware. ( There was metal shelving brackets.)

Next, I removed the back panel, and then sanded down the entire unit. I beefed up the base and the top to give it more visual weight. ( You can see more details about the basic premise here.)

I then started trimming out all the corners and edges. (Again, you can see more details about this process, here.)

Next step was the doors. I opted to go with the “Apothecary Cabinet” style.

They are just faux drawer fronts, made to look like functioning apothecary drawers.

See look how pretty! I used concealed hinges so that it would hide the fact that they aren’t real drawers. If you want more info on installing the doors you can see my
“Apothecary Cabinet” tutorial.