DIY Build a Console Table

Our living room had a big, bare wall that was calling out for something.  When we moved in I hung a big, decorative mirror there and called it a day.  I knew it needed something else under the mirror but I wasn't sure what I wanted.  I thought some floating shelves, a storage cabinet or a simple console table, I don't know, something.   I left it alone for a while thinking it will come to me.  Meanwhile I searched for inspiration on Pinterest, magazines, blogs, furniture stores etc, etc...  I was confused I didn't know what I wanted.  I just didn't want to spend money on something I wasn't sure I needed or wanted, and most likely would replace because it was an impulse buy.  We all have those impulse buys.  We buy something because we want something, not sure what but it's nice so we just buy it and two months later you realize you hate it.  Now you have to figure out what to do with it. You already spent the money you can't throw it out and you don't want it but now you can't replace it because of guilt and you have to live with something that you hate.  I didn't want that so I decided I was going to take my time and wait for the right piece to come along.

Months flew by, I thought I could leave it alone until I knew for sure what I wanted. But... one day it started getting on my nerves pretty bad. It was a BARE wall in my living room!!! I looked at it EVERYDAY, avoiding it's cry for something, anything.

 So I did what I always do, I check my scrap wood inventory to see if I have enough to build a for now piece. I did!!  I asked my husband for his opinion and he liked the idea.  So I came up with a simple design, made some measurements, some cuts and then we got to work.  We finished building it together and then I took care of the sanding and finishing.

So much better, right?  Now I cant breath when I pass by the bare wall in the living room.  It's not bare anymore!!  I switched out the mirror with one I had in the dining room and moved a lamp from another side of the room, added some pretty accessories and it feels so much better.  Guess what I like it, but I don't love, so I am very happy this was a free project.  I would feel so guilty to have to replace it later if I would have bought this piece for now.  It's a perfect for now piece, it fills the wall, it looks pretty and best of all it was FREE.  I can stop obsessing over the bare wall until the right piece finds me.  

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Home office in the works

Our new house has a spare room that we use daily to enter the house and where we greet all of our visitors since it is our main entrance.  It quickly became a catch all room where we would just dump everything we didn't want to deal with at the moment.  That was a really big problem and it was stressing me out.  I wanted to turn it in to a home office space and create a  functional entryway.  I wanted it to be beautiful and reflect our style and I needed to spend as little as possible.

After pic my desk area

Planning my desk area

I knew what I wanted to do, I was just so overwhelmed that I didn't know where to start.  So I made a list (I always make a list) and got to work. To make the entryway functional we needed to add hooks for jackets, handbags, etc, etc... and a bench to take off our shoes.  We already had a few pieces we planned to reuse in this space.  In our previous home we had purchased a shoe cabinet from Ikea that has served us well and was in perfect shape, I just updated the hardware.  We also had a campaign desk that we purchased second hand and painted it glossy white.  Our small fish tank was sitting on top of a table we had built in our previous home, we planned to use it for the time being until I refinish the cabinet we plan to use in the space.  It's an old road find that needs work.  I also thrifted a small metal file cabinet when we first moved in. I wanted to add another desk to the room.  The room is long and narrow with four windows, three doorways, a big bump out from where the fire place is in the living room, and a small nook next to it with a window facing it.  It's just a little bit of a challenge when it comes to arranging furniture in it but we were confident we could make it work.

before pic

before pic

Painting a room always gives me the feeling of a fresh start, so first we emptied out the room and got it ready for paint.  We wanted a moody, dark charcoal color for the walls. The paint color we chose was Behr's Intellectual but had the color matched to Glidden's premium plus paint and primer in one. For two reasons, to save money and because we have used it before and it is good quality paint.

After painting

Next we got to building a desk for my husband. We searched high and low but couldn't find something that fit both our style and budget.  So we designed it to look somewhat like a work bench, simple lines, very masculine and strong. The body is constructed of solid wood 4x4's and 2x4's and the top is made of 3/4" osb material because I like the texture.  We used pocket holes to conceal the screws.  I then sanded it smooth and painted it. I chose a semi gloss black and sealed it with water based poly.  I know a lot of people wouldn't use this material for any surfaces but we seriously love how the textured surface looks.

We wanted to make use of the little nook with the window facing it.  At first I figured I was going to use a small metal and glass shelving unit from Ikea.  The dimensions were perfect, it would be the perfect spot for the printer, some magazine files and other stuff.   But then I thought we could save even more money if we just used some of the leftover sheet of osb that we bought for the desk top.  We have tons of leftover wood from previous projects we've tackled in the past.  So we grabbed some 1x2's to make the supports and painted them the same color as the wall so they would kind of disappear and painted the shelves white. Again I know it's weird but I really love the texture this adds to the space.  I will definitely be using this material in other spaces around the house.  It's cheap, strong, and full of texture.  Anyhow we got our shelves up and we love it! It gave us the added storage we needed, it looks great and best of all it was FREE!!

The pin boards were another DIY project.  They were basic cork pin boards with a cheap, frame that we've had for many years.  Over the years we have used them in different rooms for different purposes and have gave them different looks.  I knew I wanted to use them in the office so I gave them another makeover with leftover fabric and batting from another project.  The nail heads I also had leftover from another project.  So that was another FREE DIY project!!!  Those pin boards are already working hard everyday, I love them!

Next to my husbands desk I hung a floating shelf that we already had to display some of his things.  I displayed his baseball glove in honor of his favorite sport. The stack of boxes are a few of his games,  his wooden chess set, cards and dominoes. I framed two of his certificates from work on the wall.  Next to the certs is the handmade tree I helped the girls make him for fathers day. The wooden dice are handmade by yours truly.  He keeps his golf set in the corner behind his desk.

The curtains I bought a while back for the living room and I switched them out so they ended up here.  I added some plants that I stole from other rooms in the house for fresh air and because I love plants.  We didn't spend much to get the room to look like this because a lot of the things we already had.  The only accessory I bought so far is my desk lamp because I needed one and it wasn't expensive at all. I bought it at Target on sale and with a coupon so it was under $20. The rest of the money was spent in the paint for the room, the supplies for the desk and the hooks for the entryway. Total we've only spent about $120 in this room.      

I want to do a separate post for the entryway part of the room because I'm not quite done with it but here are a few details. We reused our shoe cabinet, added hooks, built a small bench with scrap wood, and added some temporary accessories.  Basically I made it functional but I still need to paint the bench, I'm not sure what color I want.  I also bought a new, smaller lamp for the top of the shoe cabinet I just haven't thrown a picture of it yet. I have to order two more pulls for the cabinet. I bought those for another piece but I like the way they look on this cabinet better.

The room is not finished but it is functional and looks soooo much better than it used to.  I still have a list of things I want to do to it but like I said I wanted to make it functional and beautiful for the least amount of money possible.  Some of the things I want to do require spending a little more money others just require time. We will get there!  For now we are really happy with the outcome of the room. It is getting daily use, no more spreading out paper work on the sofa, leaving shoes and purses in the dining room.  We now have a place for everything and everything is in its place.  I know that sounds cheesy but it's true.

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My headboard tutorial

I want to share how we built our headboard.

I tried downloading Sketch up but apparently you need to learn how to use it before you start doodling on it like I did, bad idea, I'm going to need to take a course some day.  So here is the unfancyest tutorial ever.

Shopping List
2- 2" x 3" @ 8'
4- 2" x 4" @ 8'
7- 1" x 3" @ 8'
2- 2" x 2" @ 8'
3- 1" x 2" @ 8'
2 1/2" screws (we countersunk the screws otherwise you could just use a Kreg jig and buy pocket whole screws).
1" screws (for middle support on back of the headboard)

Cutting List
2- 2" x 3" @ 59"  Top and Bottom of the Frame for the slats
2- 2" x 3" @ 36-3/4"  sides of the frame *(left over from the two first cuts)
1- 1" x 3" @ 33-3/4"  middle support *(use leftover 1" x  3" from front slats)
3- 1" x 2" @ 62" Front slats
2- 2" x 2" @ 62" Front slats
7- 1" x 3" @ 62" Front slats
4- 2" x 4" @ 62" Front slats
2- 2" x 4" @ 23" Legs

Order of slats
1x2 (this is the only slat that will be screwed in from the back and into the 1" side).
1x3
2x4
1x3
2x2
1x3
1x2
2x4
1x3
2x2
1x2
1x3
2x4
1x3
2x4
1x3

You should have a total of 16 slats all together

This is what we did.  I sanded every single board prior to putting it together to make it easier because you will have lots of height variation.  I used 60 grit, followed by 220 grit to give it a very smooth finish.

First step is to build your frame with the 2" x 3" studs.  Predrill your wholes for the screws and countersink them from the out side and use wood filler.

Next we started screwing in the slats from top to bottom.  The first slat (1" x 2") is flushed even with the frame.  We attached all the slats by screwing them in from the back of the frame countersinking in the screws as we went along so that we didn't leave any scratches on the walls.  I would advise you  to put your middle support on first I don't know why we skipped this step and did it later.

 

We also ended up turning the headboard upside down because the first slat gave it a sturdy base to work on.

 This is what I mean by we screwed the slats in from the back of the frame countersinking the wholes as we went along. 

And that's it, because we attached the legs after we stained the headboard.  I forgot to throw pics of that part. Sorry, I'm new at this. As for the stain we used one coat of natural oxidizing stain.  The stain gives it a weathered look.  But because my stain was mixed weeks prior to making the headboard it had already created rust from the steel wool which resulted in some reddish tones around the headboard which I personally didn't like.  I wiped the headboard down with a couple of damp cloths to remove most of the rust but I still don't like the color.

You can see some of the color variations here.

You can see more pictures of our headboard in this post.

Cost of making this headboard
$32.83  Lumber
$8.47 pack of 2-1/2" screws
Grand total of $41.30 plus tax @ $2.48 equals a whopping  $43.78
Everything else we already owned.  Our inspiration bed cost $899 plus tax, delivery, shipping and handling puts it over $1,000 ouch.

This is what I would do differently if I were to make this headboard again.  First I would add to the frame the length of the legs at the very beginning.  I would also replace the top 2x3 frame piece and the first 1x2 slat with a simple 1x4 to keep the look more clean even though you really can't see it from where your standing.  I would not make my stain weeks before to prevent all the reddish tones on my headboard from the rust of the steel wool.

Over all the bed was easy to make, super inexpensive, and imperfections and all we love it.  There you have it my not so fancy tutorial.  I hope you can understand it well enough to be able to make your own headboard.

West Elm Stria bed Headboard Inspiration

 I fell in love with the Stria Bed from West Elm but it was definitely well over our budget.  So, I thought to myself we could build it!  I showed the bed to my hubby and he really liked it and was on board to build it with me.  So I sketched it up, came up with a list of wood and sizes that we needed them cut up to and off to the Hardware store we went.  The first picture below is the official bed from West Elm not mine.

We only made the headboard, not the bed frame, but who knows? maybe in the future (hint, hint babe ;-).   And here is our headboard.

 

Here's the bummer I love the headboard, but I don't love how the stain came out.  It's close to the stain from the original one but I don't know, I just don't like it.  I haven't sealed it yet because I'm still thinking on whether or not I should change the stain color.  I don't know what to do.  Should I keep the stain the way it is or add another coat of the oxidizing stain treatment or maybe a different stain or paint or should I just keep it the way it is and seal it already? Or, or, or, or....  Let's see what I end up doing.

Mini version Modern Farmhouse coffee table

We needed a coffee table for our living room since we got rid of our large brown leather ottoman.  The ottoman wasn't fitting in with our new Kivik loveseat chaise combination from Ikea.  We loved it, but it was just too big now with the chaise. Here she is, all in her stubby gorgeousness.  Yup she's a miniature size model of our modern farmhouse dining table.

Here she is in front of our sofa, sorry about the bad pictures, messy surroundings.  I didn't vacuum the rug, fluff the pillows or fix the sofa cushions either, my bad. 

And a view of the smaller side.

 

We made her with some leftover pieces of wood we had stored in the garage and we purchased only one piece of scrap wood at Home depot that came up to .54 cents.  So total investment for this project was .54 cents, less than a pound of apples.   

Building a modern farmhouse dining table

I was seeing a trend on home blogs of building your own farmhouse dining table. I like the idea of saving money and building your own awesome dining table so we decided to build one for ourselves too.  Like a lot of people we used ana-white.com for free easy awesome plans.  I am now addicted to Ana's website. I want to build everything in our house from scratch but my husband doesn't share the same feeling.

We had a smaller table with 4 chairs that didn't feel right for our small eat in kitchen which is our only eating space in our home.  So we sold it on craigslist and used the money to buy the supplies for our new table.

We are in love with our new table and a little obsessed.  We are also very proud of ourselves for building our own super sturdy, awesome, incredibly beautiful, obsessively gorgeous, makes me wanna clean it everyday modern family farmhouse dining table ( I told you I was obsessed).  We used the shopping and cutting list provided in Ana's website and then followed the instructions to a T.

We bought mini hand held Kreg jig.  We had never used one before but it was easy to use and I love that it hides all the screws under the table top.  We also had all of our lumber cut at Home Depot.

We then sanded the whole table but I don't have any pictures of that part of the process. We taped and covered the whole kitchen with plastic because we sanded it inside the house, crazy I know. We started with 60 grit rough sanding paper, then worked our way to 180 grit medium sand paper and all the way down to 220 grit fine sanding paper. We finished the table with wood conditioner, one thick coat of Rustoleum's Dark Kona stain applied with foam brushes.  We let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes and wiped out the excess with a cheese cloth.  We used  3 coats of Minwax water based polycrylic in satin finish for the top coat. And that's it.  She's a beauty.

And here she is with the chairs we bought through Craigslist.  The chairs are waiting to be painted, I'm thinking glossy white or some other bright pop of color, not sure yet.

 

I'm in love, it's not perfect but it's not supposed to be.  It's bigger that our old table but the smaller chairs really help to make it feel alot more spacious than before.  It's been about 4 months since we built it and we couldn't be happier with our table, we are totally in love.