plank walls - what i learned

When I did the reveal of our family room on the latest One Room Challenge, I got a lot of comments and emails about the plank wall and several requests for a tutorial. Ask and you shall receive.

Well, sort of.

There are dozens of tutorials for planks walls out there, all of them giving you fine directions on the logistics. So I'd rather focus on the issues that made this project unique and a few 'learn from my mistakes' nuggets. So with that, let's dive in, shall we.

There was one huge head scratcher in our family room, which is in the basement, and that was the 15 foot long foundation wall that runs along one whole side of the space. Since it is the foundation it always made me a little uneasy to think about drilling holes in it. But it was so vast and boring and it just looked cold. It would basically give me the middle finger every night as I watched TV. "I may be ugly, but there is nothing you can do about it sucka."

I loved the idea of a plank wall to give that beast some texture and warmth, but every. single. tutorial talked about nailing the planks into the wall. And that wasn't happening.

Enter creative thinking.

Thanks to a night of G&G&T (Google, gin and tonic) I found an alternative that was worth a shot. Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape. (we got ours at Home Depot). The reviews were excellent and it said it would hold up to 10 lbs. I also liked the fact that it was outdoor, meaning it would hold up to any possibly dampness that can sometimes come with a basement. With a solution in hand, I went to put this plank wall into action.

On the advice of many a plank wall tutorial, we went to Lowe's to get our plywood and have it cut on site. We went with a mid-grade option that was light but sturdy. For our 15 foot wall we got eight boards which totaled around $180.

Our first attempt to get our planks cut was on a Friday night (I am Mrs. Weekend Excitement) and the old dude was obviously annoyed to be at work and tried to tell me that they didn't cut wood for customers. As he was standing in front of the big huge wood cutting machine. I asked him what that machine was for then and he just said, "Lady, we just can't do it." Uh huh.

So I went back the next day and got the young spry Lowe's dude who was more than happy to use the big machine for me. So hold strong and be firm - Lowe's does cut boards. Home Depot however does not, and they state that fact in their lumber area. Go figure.

One other important note - make sure to stand right next to the young Lowe's dude as he cuts your boards. We sadly, did not do this. And then when we got home after loading all of these boards into the car and then unloading them into the garage and then bringing them downstairs, we noticed that he was not a straight cutter. The first three planks cut from each board were straight as an arrow but as he got closer to the bottom of the board, young Lowe's dude didn't hold the board with both hands and the ends of the last two planks would start out straight and then get narrower as the weight of the board would tilt at the end of the cut. Bummer.

Of course, this discovery wasn't made until we were already several boards into the project and it caused me to exceed my cussing quota for the day. So cutter beware.

With the wall primed and the boards home we got busy installing. We cut our tape into long strips spacing them out on the plank and up it went.

Since the walls nor the floor in the basement are perfectly level we started at the top knowing we could address the unevenness at the bottom with finishing trim.

Once the plank was up, one of us would keep our hands on it while the other would run the length of the plank making sure all of the tape was adhering. And it worked like a charm. This stuff sticks like no ones business so it is hard to remove after you put it up, which was the hope. We did have to remove a few pieces as our friends cutting skills came to light but with a bit of muscle the plank came off with only a small chip to the paint on the wall. The key is to remove it right away if you decide you need to. Once that tape is on for a few minutes, it is on there for good.

From there the process went quickly. It would have gone at lightening pace if we didn't have to fit the planks like a jigsaw puzzle to account for the poorly cut boards. But without the need for a nail gun the whole thing moved right along. Just make sure to stager your seems as best you can.

Some people suggest using a nickel as your spacer in between planks but I wanted more space between my planks so the wall looked more authentic and less engineered. So we used a short castoff plank as our spacer.

Once the wall was up it was time to prime. I was worried that this wood would just drink up paint and I would need many many coats. But Kilz killed it again and one coat of primer was all that was needed.

Once the primer was up, I went over the wall and caulked some of the bigger seams as well as the space between the wall and the crown. And then finished it off with two coats of the white paint I used on all the other walls of the room. I didn't paint in the seams because I liked the depth it gave the planks but you certainly could use a paint brush to get dip into those cracks. Just a matter of preference.

I was so happy with the result that I used the leftover planks for the backs of the bookshelves.

I finished the corner where the plank wall meets the stairwell with a piece of corner trim that fit like a charm. And with that the project was done.

So with the experience behind me and the benefit of time and hindsight I would tell you that a plank wall is a very cost effective and manageable DIY. Just be sure to make sure those boards are cut straight, and know that if you thought this wasn't an option for you before Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape is your friend.

What about you? Have you ever had to tweak an online tutorial to fit the quirks of your house? Ever hung anything on your walls with tape? (Besides your Cory Haim posters)

ribbon trim pillow diy

So last week I was all about bathrooms and this week it appears that pillows are the flavor of the day. But then again, when aren't pillows my jam? Never. The answer to that question is never.

My pillows pinterest board (say that five times fast) is full of wish list pillows and fabrics to make into more pillows. But since my Publishers Clearing House check still has not arrived, I need to get...creative on how to make these pillows happen.

1 // 2

Case in point.

I love these pillows long time. But they are a bit out of budget. So one day while drooling I thought, "I've got pillow cases and I've got ribbon, how hard can this be?"

The answer - it was so easy I almost feel foolish to share the step by step. Almost.

I started with a simple white pillow cover from IKEA (the Ritva, for only $7). I love the Ritva because its cheap (duh), it has great texture and a nice boarder.

Next was the ribbon - I sifted thru my stash and decided on this navy and white ribbon I used way back when. And if you remember that post you must be my mom as I'm pretty sure my mom was the only one reading this thing back then.

First step - layout your base lines and cut the ribbon/trim to size. I decided to use the natural boarder on the pillow as my 'end' which allowed me to get nice straight edges.

Second step - balance. What is that weird thing in the bottom of the picture? It's a tape measure. I know, weird and very uncharacteristic of me. But I wanted this to be as pretty as I imagined it in my head and for the design to work properly it does need to be accurate. Never a favorite word of mine, but I did it. The measurements themselves are totally arbitrary but once I decided on one side what looked best, I made sure to measure that same spacing out everywhere else.

Step three - add your diamond pieces. You will want to make sure that they meet precisely in the middle of the pillow on each of the four sides to ensure your pattern isn't lopsided. I'm not a fan of lopsided pillows.

Once everything is in place, grab that trusty fabric glue and go to town. Oh, and I did cut down each end and then iron the end of the ribbon to the underside of said ribbon in order to prevent fraying and give it that 'perfect' edge.

And it's (say it with me) just that easy!

Zoey is photo bombing my beauty shot. Don't focus on the dog, look at the pretty pillows. Ooohh. Ahhhh.

Very little work for very big impact. And so fast. I was done in 20 minutes. Give it a go, you know you wanna.

So I've used the words preciously, exact and measurements all in the same post. Doesn't sound like me at all. I must be growing, or hallucinating.

Are you precise with your DIY projects? Ever try a different path for your projects?

potty time - the aftermath

Happy Monday (she says with a forced smile that comes after a long holiday weekend)! Thanks everyone for the kind words about the CNN feature and my birthday. 'Merica and I had one great birthday celebration. Here is hoping your weekend was filled with summer fun.

I'm going to diverge from design today to give y'all an update on the potty training front and share some successes and some rather stinky failures. If you don't want to hear about the bodily movements of a toddler, I totally understand and I'll talk with you on Wednesday. For the rest of you, let's chat.

As I said before, I changed up my tactics a bit this time around to accommodate for my independent Eve. I read blogs, books, articles, and talked to anyone and everyone to find out what worked for them. And from all of that research the only thing I learned is that there is no magic potion. For every person who said, "Blank worked really well for my child", I had someone else who said, "Don't do blank, it didn't work for my child". Only you know your child - their temperaments and sticking points - so don't follow one theory or method, but instead follow your gut and go with the flow (I couldn't not have a pun).

So with that in mind, I'm not going to give a tutorial or the 10 best tips etc, because I don't think this is something that can be wrapped up that easily. I'm simply sharing what we did. Take it as advice or just a funny antidote. Whichever you choose.

I want to be just like you.
Eve has no interest in following my directions, however she is more than happy to do anything her big sister does. So for several weeks before we officially started training I left the door open while Amelia went to the bathroom (I know, eww). Eve would hang out in there, sometimes watching and sometimes just playing in the sink. But she noticed.

Take your pants off.
We took the standard trip to Target where Eve got to pick out any underwear she wanted (Dora) and any candy she wanted (Peanut Butter M&M's). But for the first few days she had no underwear on at all and she's worn only dresses. This saves valuable seconds between the 'I have to go' and the actual...going. It may not seem like much but that could be the difference in those first days between celebrating success and just almost making it.

Cold turkey.
This goes right along with the whole pants thing - No pull ups. We go all the way in this house. It makes for a messy few days but I think its worth it in the long run. How confusing to put on things that look and feel just like diapers but be told they aren't diapers. We do however do wear the night time pull ups but that's mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to change sheets in the middle of the night. One battle at a time I think.

Clear the decks.
I have a hard time hiding my frustration when my favorite pillow/chair/rug is hurt in any way (mean mommy) and if there is one time when a child's ego is especially delicate it is when they are trying to master a new task. So to decrease the chance of injuring any of mommy's favorites and keeping spirits high, I covered furniture with towels and rolled up any rugs I was concerned about. We also tried to hang out in the yard whenever possible as nature doesn't care about her floors as much as I do.

House arrest.
This goes right with the no pull ups and no underwear thing. Eve and I hunkered down and didn't leave the house until we had a full successful day, (Well, that isn't entirely true but I'll get to that in a minute) which turned out to be about four days. Amelia was at camp every day so Eve and I had the house to ourselves and it was all about her. I didn't let her out of my sight until we had a few successes as I didn't want her failure to be because I wasn't there to help her get on in time. That potty was two carted around everywhere.

Don't ask me again.
The first day I did the 'let's sit down every 10 minutes and see if anything happens' theory but I quickly found that it created more anxiety than necessary. It is a big change to all of a sudden have to sit on this little throne and Eve was confused as to why she was being made to sit in that chair so often. It was starting to become a frustration for her and I wanted that chair to be something positive. So I changed course and backed off the regimented schedule. Instead I'd ask her after snacks, short walks around the yard, a tv show or anytime I went. This kid is far more 'go with the flow' so by making our training more relaxed she felt more comfortable and willing to give it a try.

Pavlov's Dog.
If there is one thing this girl loves, it is candy. Stickers work better for some kids, little figurines, whatever. The point is it is a prize. However, the prize is not given just for sitting on the potty. M&M's are only handed out once there is a success. I know a lot of people give out the treat anytime the kids says they need to sit down, whether they do anything or not. But (again mean mommy) I think this is silly and confusing. If all I had to do to get something I wanted was just do 20% of the job, hell I'd be asking to sit on the potty every 5 minutes. Nope. You give me something to flush and I'll give you some chocolate and peanut butter goodness.

And the oscar goes to. Hand in hand with the M&M's come the theatrics. Accomplishments need to be celebrated much in the same way a Kardashian throws a wedding - over the top. We cheered, we clapped, we danced, we sang, we called people to tell them. In the words of Kool and the Gang - Celebrate good times, come on.

The P word.
Our downfall. Eve got the hang of peeing on the potty pretty quickly (day 2), but the other P word however was not so easy. The first day she didn't have one at all and the second day we had an accident. No biggie. The third day we had one success and one failure. Moving in the right direction. Then we arrived at the fourth day. Ugh, the fourth day. We had been doing so well up until then that she and I got a little cocky and decided to break one of my cardinal rules - Stay HOME. We picked up Amelia and her friend from camp and I decided to treat the girls to McDonald's. Eve had just gone to the bathroom before we left and I even brought the potty in the car, just in case. We waited in line, got our food and found a seat right next to the play place, all without incident. But then Eve walked over to the slide. The horror. I'll spare the specifics but my tiny 2-1/2-year-old managed to  horrify and disgust two 10 year old. Boys that just a few minutes before were enjoying a very creative burping contest. The janitor had to be called over and gave me the look of death as he put up the yellow cones. I had been shamed out of McDonalds. I didn't think it was possible. And all because I broke the 4th rule of fight potty club - stay home.

So with all of this, I'm happy to report that Eve has gone thru a whole cup of M&M's and is now a successful potty training graduate. (With a master of the other P word about a week and a half after we started.) We have had a successful trip to the zoo and several stores and it feels good to be out of the house like a normal person again and not changing any diapers. Now we can enjoy the rest of the summer, even if we can't step foot in McDonald's again.

DIY ribbon trim curtain panels

So since my wrist has been giving me troubles, I've had a chance to catch up on other things; like gardening, reading, butter churning. You know, vintage pre-computer things. I even got out my old design binders. Those glorious files of tear sheet after tear sheet stuffed into six (yes six) binders. Basically the paper version of Pinterest.

And while searching thru my old piles of inspiration I found this.

source

An image from one of my all time favorite articles on Fran Keenan in Cottage Living (hand over your heart. How I miss that magazine). I have been looking for a way to spruce up my plain white curtains in the dining room since, oh the day I got them. I'd even toyed with adding ribbon along the leading edge of the curtains, but it just looked dinky so I never went thru with it.

But this looked more... substantial. And big key, simple(ish) enough to attempt. I tried several different sizes of ribbon from my stash (c'mon, like you don't have a ribbon stash?!) to figure out how big the ribbon needed to be. 1" was too thick and 5/8" was too small, leaving lucky 7/8". Before I knew it I was putting the girls in the car and we were off to Michael's to buy a 20 yard roll of 7/8" navy grosgrain.

This project went down so quick I didn't take many pictures of the process but I will tell you it is as simple as making an X with two ribbons, repeating it about 50 times and then trimming the whole thing with more ribbon. I just tried out a few different size Xs to see what I would like best and then once I found the right length, I cut 24 strips in that length to make the Xs. I glued down each one and then finished them off with trim at the top and bottom of the X and along each side of the drape. One thing to note, this takes A LOT of ribbon. My 20 yards wasn't enough and I had to go back and buy another 13. Crazy, I know.

Very simple and a great detail against the white curtains. I knew I kept all of those old magazines for a reason!

Can't show you the right side of the dining room as there are some other projects over that'a way that I'm finishing up. Soon enough my friends.

So spill it. Have you been so inspired by an image that you needed to create something right away? Is there an old magazine article that is burned into your brain? Have you ever used 33 yards of ribbon?

anatomy of a gallery wall

Happy Monday! I trust that y'all had a splendid weekend. We got pummeled with more snow than we should have for the whole month of December, never mind the fact that it is almost April. Mamma ain't happy. I've got some flip flops burning a hole in my closet. I need spring!

I want to thank all of you for your kind words about the girls' room and all of your great questions. You know how to make a girl blush! There were lots of questions about things on the gallery wall so I thought I would tackle those today.

Here are the specifics on what I included and why.

1. Keep it personal. This is a 'commissioned original'. I wanted something vertical so I asked my uber talented graphic designer bestie to take some lyrics and make them pretty. This is from a song, I Will, by a little band called The Beatles. I sing this each night to the girls (Eve sings along). They are the only ones allowed to hear me sing unless cocktails are involved.

2. Add something with dimension. A craft I did with the girls for Valentine's Day. It is their handy work and they are very proud of it.

3. Humor is important. Let me introduce you to Herb. 'Herbie' to his friends. The hubs got the ceramic dear head for Christmas and as soon as he opened it the girls were smitten. It was Amelia's idea to put Herbie in their room and the hubs was gracious enough to share him. Right now he wears some forsythia for this season I hear we are supposed to get someday called 'spring', but Amelia is on the hunt for the perfect antlers (aka branches) that we can make glittery. Because when you think of a mounted deer head, you think of glitter. At least I do.

4. Art is in the eye of the beholder. An unsolicited piece by Amelia herself. She came into the kitchen one day over the moon to show this off. My favorite is a toss up between the swing on the tree and the paver walk. The girl is a genius obviously.

5. Include something that includes all the colors of your scheme. One of my favorite watercolors from MaiAutumn.

6. More pretty watercolors my parent's gave Eve for her 1st birthday. And yes, the one on the right is in there sideways.

7. You need an 'awww' factor. I keep several pieces of clothes from the early baby days (no matter what my mom might tell you about my sentimentality) and this is one of the few items that both of them wore. This is the hat that both girls had on when they came home from the hospital. How I wish I had better handwriting.

And good gracious, have you ever tried to take a picture of something behind glass?! It isn't pretty, and neither are the pictures.

8. History. The girls' birth announcements. Memories.

9. Add a bit of life. Mean I know as they are no longer alive, but the girls love butterflies. And the yellow ties into the colors of the room. Any random group of things can become cohesive thru color.

10. Break the routine. A vintage oval gold frame from my stash. Something nice and round...or oval, helps to break up all the squares and straight lines.

11. Words to live by. Kate Spade has spoken. Amen Kate.

12. Lessons Learned. I believe I wrote this in sixth grade. There is also an accompanying illustration that severely dates me. Let's just say Benetton was one of the stores featured. They did have great rugbys. I'll keep that little drawing for myself.

13. B. Baumgartner. No expanding on that really.

And yes, I used my tried and true template hanging method and it worked like a charm. Take that plaster.

So that is how I go about picking what little nuggets make it up on the wall. How do you pick what goes on your wall?

high gloss dresser tutorial

How is that for a cleaver title post? Yawn.

I thought I would share what I did right, messed up on, and learned from on this old dresser.

For those of you who are new (welcome by the way) and those that might not remember, I got this dresser about a year ago. Long story short - $70 at an estate sale. Raise that roof people.

Here is the way he looked when I met him. The excitement of finding him obviously prevented me from taking a straight picture.

After a year of heavy use as a changing table/dresser it was showing a lot of wear, which I thought was odd. It's not like we beat it or anything. This should have been my first clue as to how refinishing would go.

It is as sturdy as can be and a solid piece of furniture but I was over the white. So let the project begin.

Since it was a balmy 30 degrees outside when I started this (and maybe 38 in the garage) I knew I'd have to take this project inside. So I pulled out the always trusty Citristrip. And good news, they now also have this stuff in a spray can. Wish I had known that before I started.

There is zero smell with this stuff. In fact it smells kind of minty fresh. And it is low VOC, so no worries about harming the littles with my projects.

Put on way more than this picture shows. Like double this amount. I put some on, took this picture and then put on more. More is more with this stuff.

They also recommend you use gloves but I didn't (I live on the edge). I got some on my hands and I've lived to tell the tale.

The directions will tell you to wait 30 minutes, but I could tell by looking at it after a half hour it wasn't ready. I waited two full hours, or basically until it looks like this. The longer you wait, the less muscle you need.

Then you scrape. And if you've been patient, it just lifts right off. Like butta.

As you can tell from this picture my suspicions were right - those little bastards just painted right over the varnished wood. See how dark that wood is? That's layers and layers of stain and varnish. No wonder it chipped so easily.

Enter Easy Liquid Sander Deglosser. This is the product if you have ever said "God I hate sanding. Can I pay someone to do this for me?" No need. Just pour this stuff on and rub it in with a corse lint-free cloth. I used an old wash cloth I had from the dollar store. 

You can see that all the varish didn't come off after the first, or second coat. So later, rinse, repeat. I'm going to find the people that painted this thing and shake them. Or make them watch episodes of 1600 Penn. Yes, that would be much worse.

The good news about this product is that you can do another coat as soon as the first one dries, which is usually about 15 minutes or so. And it's stink free too.

Finally it is ready.

Now I had originally planned to go with oil based porch and floor paint, like Jenny has used, to get the high gloss finish I was after. But remember that whole weather issue? I can't paint outside in 30 degree weather and oil based paint in the house with no windows open is a no no.

Luckily after telling my sob story to the smarty pants at Benjamin Moore, he suggested this.

Benjamin Moore Advance. It is a water based alkyd paint so it acts like an oil based paint (self-leveling, high gloss finish, hard laquer like shell) but without killing many brain cells.

Sold.

After talking about my search for the perfect shade of navy paint, I decided to follow Natalie's lead and went with Old Navy by Benjamin Moore.

I used a roller that my new bestie at Benjamin Moore recommended and it worked like a charm. I was a bit nervous after putting on the first coat though as it wasn't as dark as I wanted. But as the hours passed it got darker and darker.

And yes, I did say hours. A full 24 to be exact. That's how long you have to wait in between coats. And I did four coats. That is four days people. Of painting. And then another four days of drying.

Eight days and nights. Just sitting there, waiting for it to develop its hard candy shell. It was my biggest lesson in patience since having a 'willful child'.

But now he's done and looking good. He makes me smile every time I see him. That deep navy and the little sparkle of his gold handles. He looks like a royal admiral in the navy or something. I think I will call him captain.

Look at that glossy top. You can see the reflection of the ceiling in that thing. Oh captain, you are such a show off.

Pulls courtesy of Martha Stewart at Home Depot. Knobs are the same ones I used on the vanity from Hobby Lobby.

The high gloss on the captain makes him wonderful in person, but a bit hard to photograph.

I'm so protective of him I can't really bring myself to put anything on him. But he is calling to be styled I think.

So the lessons learned: Benjamin Moore Advance is aces, Citristrip is a cinch and Sander Deglosser is a lifesaver. And most importantly, do. not. ever. paint over varnish. Or I will find you.

Painted anything lately? Found a piece of furniture that was keeping secrets from you? Want to come over and help me put the girls room together?