Tutorials

Pottery Barn Coffee Table Makeover..

Much of my inspiration came from (Dear Lillie) at Dear Lillie
Please visit her coffee table makeover for a similar Pottery Barn Table Makeover
Coffee Table Step by Step 

**Disclaimer of all responsibility**

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This is only a tutorial for informational purposes. This site or its owners take no responsibility for harm that may occur to you from misusing chemicals or undesired outcomes. Please always use safety precautions when performing a DIY project and always read and follow manufacturer’s directions for the products and tools you use. If this is not acceptable to you, do not read further and you must leave this page.

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If you want to really learn more about painting furniture I highly recommend visiting one of these blogs, where you will find very detailed information on painting furniture: Miss Mustard Seed, Perfectly Imperfect, and Centsational Girl.

Items needed:

Electric Sander - 120 -150 -220 grit paper.
Paint Thinner ( Only if you want, I was able to sand one whole side with little trouble)
Mineral Spirits (if you use Paint thinner)
Desired Stain
Polyurethane
A Mask
Safety Glasses

Examples..

 I used American Walnut..

 Use a mask..

 This will make it easy..

I took a Black Pottery Barn Table and made this..

I used Rust-oleum American Walnut stain (one coat) and a Satin Polyurethane (one coat)
The Paint is a Valspar Antique Grey
Notice the distressed corner of the coffee table.. compliments of my dog Murphy!

I'm going to do the same thing to it's smaller end table version..and post a Step by Step.. Coming Soon!!

 Here is the Sanded version..

DIY: Laundry Room Drying Rack

I really wanted to save the money and build a laundry rack for Megan.

I knew I could do it with a picture, so I did. Here's my DIY Ballard style Drying Rack.

Here is a Similar one from Centsationalgirl Laundry Rack that inspired me.

The Laundry Room isn't exactly gigantic, so that more space I could utilize the better!

You are going to need some tools and materials. (Here's What I used)

1. Three 1/2 x 2” poplar boards ($5.90) or white board 8 Feet long ($2.67)
2. Three 3/8” dowel rods (48” long) ($1.20 each)
3. Sheetrock screw system ($2.41)
4. White chain with small screw eyes (.68 cents)
5. Primer and paint of your choice
6. White Paneling with design of your choice. ($9.78)
7. Framing Nails and Panel Board nails

- Drill with Bits ( 3/8th's needed for Dowels)

- Rubber Mallet

- Sander with 120 thru 220 Grit Paper

- Jigsaw or other cutting contraption (Ryobi Orbital Saw is $28.00 at Home Depot)

- Tape measure or ruler

- Hammer and Framing Nails

- Wood Filler (Elmer's is great)

Here is the Finished Product!

Tools you will need--

-

Building the Individual Racks

Rough Frame to double check Cuts and make any necessary changes

Pre-Finish - Awaiting more paint, panel to be secured, white chain and for me 

to finish painting the Laundry Room

On the Wall

DIY: AMAZING APPLE PIE. 

As a fan of Apple Pie, I wanted to share my recipe for the best Apple Pie you may ever try. ENJOY!

DallVechia Apple Pie recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pastry crust for a deep-dish pie 9-inch (homemade or store-bought)

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (You may need more if your family sits by the bowl and sneaks the sliced applies when you are not looking) I like to use Golden Delicious and Fuji apples.

1 recipe crumb topping (see below)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup caramel topping

Ingredients for Crumb Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup butter

Directions for Crumb Topping:

1. Stir together brown sugar,flour, rolled oats.

2. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until topping is like course crumbs. Set aside.

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.

2. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated.

3. Transfer apple mixture to the pie shell (I remove the store-bought pie shell from the aluminum pie plate and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate of my own, but you do not have to.)

4. Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture. 

5. Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don't drop into your oven.

6. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil.

7. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes. Then remove foil and put back in for another 25 to 30 minutes without foil.

8. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pie with chopped pecans then drizzle with caramel on top.

9. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

There you go!

DIY: Ikea Shoe Cubbie Hack for Ryan Homes Ferncliff!

Regardless if you own a Ferncliff, a Rome, a Venice.. Florence.. Savoy etc.. etc.. 

We all look for ways to De-Ryanize our homes! (Thanks DW ;)

Megan and I wanted a way to optimize our entrance, but also make it functional.. all with a small amount of space.. Do we put a Bench? a wall unit to hang and store coats and shoes? Art?

Thanks to a few folks for the idea widely know as the Ikea Hack!

I definitely recommend you visit Hemnes Shoe Cabinet Hack

AND!! Original Idea from Scrap Hacker

DIY - HEMNES Shoe Cubbies 

Materials: 2 HEMNES Shoe cabinets, 2 wooden planks, sanding paper 80 grit thru 340 grit, Polyurathane

Drill and bits

Description: The design of the slim HEMNES shoe cabinet is the perfect if you have a narrow to small entryway.

Each Hemnes is 42.1 wide, and about 8 inches deep.. using two planks I made the depth 11 inches to give me a nice countertop.

Pardon the shot as I haven't hung anything on the wall yet! 

STEP 1: Start by removing original top boards of the HEMNES Shoe Cabinets. Push the cabinets together and secure the units into the wall.. then identify what top you want.

STEP 2: OK so I decided to go with two boards..

Megan and I found two lovely aged boards at Construction Junction in Pittsburgh

STEP 2 Cont. - Take the time to sand the board appropriately. Going through the Grits helps make the board smooth as silk and prepare to be finished with Polyurathane 

Optional STEP 2: Stain to match interior of house.. Left side is American Walnut by Rustoleon and Right is Golden oak by Minwax (I didn't like either.)

STEP 3 - Measure, Measure, Measure!! I used the remaining Hardware from the Hemnes to attach the boards. I also Fortified the boards together with metal braces to make to board stable. 

Attached Board! with finished wood

STEP 4 - Find beautiful Hardware to replace crappy Ikea Knobs!

FINISHED PRODUCT!!: If you were looking to save space and keep the lean and sleek design intact with functionality.. this is the unit for you. 

We all love walking through Ikea and seeing some neat design and pieces, however it can easily be made to reflect your flare for design or taste by adding to it. a simple two pieces have function of shoe, glove and dog leash storage.. coupled with the aged and "Antique" look of our home.


Good Luck with your Ikea Hack!