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Evolution of the Guest Room

August 10, 2013

Have you ever been afraid to start a project because you didn’t know EXACTLY what you wanted the outcome to be ? Have no fear, you are not alone…

When moving into our house, the guest room was the catch all of misfit furniture.

“Where should this go ?”, “Hmm, I don’t know, just put it in the guest room.”

Hopefully you are nodding your head in agreement as you consider a similar section of your home.

It was a hodge-podge attempt at a a room. I TRIED to make it cohesive, and I just was adding more things I didn’t love in an effort to make it flow. (Hopefully that makes sense.)

Well one afternoon as I was sitting in the room staring at it, (yes, I do that) and I had an epiphany. I was certainly spending time and money trying to make the space work, why not just spend that time and money and make something I love. Who cares that I will not use the comforter I’ve had for years. I am spending MORE money trying to make it work, than it would be to buy a new blanket!

SO…This is the journey of the misfit room to the Guest Room!

Again, not bad, but it is not my typical color scheme. There is not a speck of blue in the entire room. That is a problem. (I like blue)

I saw this picture on Pinterest one day and fell in love with the color scheme! I had found my point of inspiration.

The room was just “heavy”. It needed to be lightened. Let me tell you, there is a HUGE difference between a light cream, and white. The original room was a contractors white (off-white) , and the picture below shows an ultra white. It made a big difference in the room right away! Same with the curtains, I took down the off-white and put in pure white curtains. Again, huge difference.

Oh, that is much better… I found a navy blanket for $30.00 at Ross, and used some of my white sheets and old bed skirt. Next I painted the end tables coral. But it was still missing something…

I thought that maybe the wooden bed frame, was throwing me off. I removed the bed frame and turned it into a headboard!
(There will be a tutorial for this, someday.)

Again, I liked where it was going, but it was STILL off… What was it ?

Of course, how silly of me, I needed a blue wall… if I am ever missing anything, I just assume it needs more blue, and I assumed correctly.

I liked the blue wall, but I was torn about the stained headboard. I took a gamble and painted the headboard white. I took a sigh of relief when I realized the white was just what it needed. Phew.

Ta-da, I had achieved a guest room that I was excited to have guests in.

There were MANY undocumented changes along the way i.e. pillows, night stands, wall art, curtains, etc. My main point being, that if you are hesitant to pull the trigger on a project, don’t be! You are allowed to change your mind! I have decided that all projects are a process, and if you give up at the first hiccup you won’t ever like your final product. Believe me I very RARELY get it right the first time, but guess what, all the extra practice has helped me developed a whole bunch of random skills along the way.

So be brave and pop open that paint can.

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Add Character to Your Cabinets!

July 30, 2013

Our kitchen cabinets have come a long way since we moved in.(See before). I love the way it looks, but it need a little pizzaz. I wanted to add a little color, BUT I didn’t want to clutter up the space above the cabinets, so this is what I came up with!

I simply removed the cabinet doors, and filled the hinge holes.

If you would like to add a glass rack to your cabinets, here is a very easy way!
All you need is :

3 – pieces of 1×2″ ( cut to the depth of your cabinets)
6 – 2″ bolts
18 – nuts

Simply drill holes through you 1×2″ slats as well as your shelving board. Use the bolts to hang the slats securely.
Easy Peasy.

For a few bucks you can add a lot of character to your kitchen cabinets!

Cheapest and Easiest Curtains EVER. (Part 2)

July 24, 2013

Last week we learned how to make these beautiful Muslin curtains. Not only are these panels CHEAP and easy, they are versatile!

As promised, here is another way you can use your Muslin Curtains. You can add TEXTURE!

You can create awesome texture by tying the panels in knots. Then toss them in the washer.

You can let them air dry if you want to avoid any shrinking. But I live and Florida, and with humidity, it would mold before it would ever dry, so I put mine in the dryer…

Once dry unravel and you can have a totally different look!

Thanks for stopping by!

Corey Decker

Muslin Curtains – Cheapest and Easiest Curtains, EVER!

July 10, 2013

Alright people…lets talk about muslin curtains

See these drapes?

They are beautiful right? Flowy, light, long, and perfect. Of course they had better be for the $129.99 PER PANEL at Restoration Hardware.

I am going to let you in on a little secret, you can make these same drapes for less than $15.00 for a SET of floor to ceiling drapes…

Ok, get your Joanns coupon, and measure the height of your ceilings.

When shopping for material you will be looking for a material called “Muslin”. This stuff is great!
They have several widths (starting at 36″ all the way up to 120″) and traditionally, a bleached (white) and unbleached (linen).

DIY Muslin Curtains!

Pick the width you would like your curtain to be. I believe mine are 45″ but in retrospect I would have gone wider. ( I think the next increment up is 90″)
I have 10′ ceilings so I needed right around 3 1/2 yards per panel, for a total of 7 yards.

So you have a better idea:

45″ Muslin = $2.99 x 7= $21.93 – (50% off coupon) = $10.46 !!!
or
90″ Muslin = $5.99 x 7= $41.93 – (50% off coupon) =$ 20.96 !!! ( I should have done these…)

Ok, so that was the cheap part, here is the easy part…

Since you bought the fabric in the width you needed , you do not need to cut it, therefore you do not need to sew the edges! Half of the reason I love muslin is it’s selvage edge (factory edge).

The only cuts you will need to make is the height. This is a basic formula you can use to calculate your height:

Example: ceiling to floor height + 3″ for bottom hem + 4 ” (for a standard rod)= Total fabric length.

So layout your fabric and measure twice and cut (preferably with a rotary cutter), this will ensure a nice straight cut.

( If you do not have one, and you want to become a more efficient seamstress or seamster, I would definitely invest in one!)

So lets start with the hem….

If you started having a panic attack, there is a tutorial here… ( I swear basic sewing tutorials will be up eventually).

You just completed the bottom hem, flip it over and do the exact same thing only leave 3.5″ and the .5″ folded under. Deep breaths you can do this without a picture.

FYI make sure your hems are both facing back, I have several times gone to hang up a panel and realized I have sewn the hem on the opposite side and had to take it out and re-do it…

Once both ends are hemmed you can either use a rod, or attach clips to hang.
I have used both rod version and clip versions in my home… It all depends on the look you want!

So lets review, less than $15.00 for a SET = CHEAP

Sewing two straight lines = EASY

Not only are they the cheapest and easiest curtains to make they rival with Anthro, Restoration, and Pottery Barn.

Sounds like a winner to me!

Stay tuned for second way to use Muslin curtains with a twist!

PVC Stairwell Lighting

June 28, 2013

This Light Fixture is made of PVC ! www.sawdust2stitches.com

I recently used PVC pipe on a few projects and I have become obsessed. I have been finding the most random uses for it, that is where this next project comes in…

I needed:

$4.99 Ikea Cord ( I needed 3 in addition to what I had at home)

Leftover PVC Pipe, and Joints

$1.00 Vases x 7

For a grand total of $29.00 Spent…

I have a freaking fantastic stairwell light fixture!

In fact it made it so much brighter that I painted the accent wall a darker color, and I LOVE it.

Sorry there is NO WAY I am going to be able to make a tutorial for this project. They are all custom lengths, and heights.

But the same basic principle can be applied to your own homes. It’s a lot of math, ladders propped in odd positions, near death experiences, and trial and error. But it CAN be done!

That being said, I don’t think I have EVER spent this long on one project EVER! It took weeks of prep work and a few days to install… (Keep in mind the ceiling is nearly 17′ at some places.) It was a lot of work, but it paid off!

Thanks for stopping by!
Corey

Cheap Nighstand Lamp Post

June 20, 2013

So, I like the idea of having reading lamps, BUT I have a horrible habit of knocking them over. THAT, and I hate having to move them in order to clean. It’s just one more thing, I don’t like clutter. My solution…

Replacing lamps was enticing, especially when they are only about $9.00 a piece.

Here is what you will need:

Fir Stripping 1×3 (1) $ 1.50 each

Fir Stripping 1×2 (2) $ 1.00 each

Fir Stripping 1×4 (1) $ 3.00

Jelly Jar Light (2) $ 5.00 each

Extension Cord (2) $ 1.00 each

You will first need to decide how tall you want the lamp to be.

I cut my boards tall enough to be higher than my nightstands, I cut my boards at 2′. (They actually end behind the nightstands, not at the floor).

Cut List- ( This is to make TWO )

1×4 (2) @ 2′

1×4 (2) @ 4″

1×2 (4) @ 2′

1×3 (2) @ 5″

After cutting boards, sand and stain or paint.

Nail 1×2’s to the sides of the 1×4.

Nail the 1×3 to the top of the post.

The new light fixture should come with a mounting bracket that looks like the one pictured below. Simply screw bracket to the new post.

Drill a hole below the mounting bracket so that wires be fed can through it.

Use cheap extension cords, like these.

Cut off the ends of the cords, like this.

Then use a utility knife to split the ends.

Use wire strippers to strip the last 3/4 inch of the casing.

Feed wires through freshly drilled hole.

Here comes the fun part!


You can get them at Home Depot

Wire the light fixture to the extension cord. When wiring, the white cord will be connected to the “ribbed wire” and the black will the connect to the “smooth”.