DIY Chevron Ribbon Wreath

Happy Monday! We have a super easy project to share with you to brighten up your front door for the summer.  I've been working on adding some pops of color to our front porch to liven up our very beige exterior.  When I saw this adorable chevron ribbon wreath on Lolly Jane, I knew I had to use the same chevron ribbon (it was an added bonus when I saw she found it at Hobby Lobby - helllllo 40% off coupon!). 

You will need a few things for this project:

• 1 straw wreath (leave the plastic on, or you will get straw all over the place)
• 2 rolls of ribbon (one for the wreath, one to hang it by)
• Straight Pins
• Sheets of felt for the flowers (2 sheets for a big flower, 1 sheet of felt for a small flower)
• Hot Glue

First, begin wrapping the wreath with your chevron ribbon. I started by attaching the ribbon to the wreath with a few pins.  Lolly Jane mentioned that the roll of ribbon would be just enough to make it around the wreath, so make sure to wrap it tightly. 

Once you get all the way around the wreath, tack the end of the ribbon down with a few more pins.

There are a million different ways you can then decorate your chevron wreath.  I wanted to add some red to match a bench cushion on our front porch, so I decided to make some felt flowers.

First I started by printing a flower template in 2 different sizes. I downloaded the flower template on this blog, and re-sized the rounded petal flower (see arrow below) on our printer/copier. 

Once I had my templates, I simply cut out 6 flower shapes for each color flower. You might notice 2 of my 6 flowers in red are smaller. I only had 1 piece of felt to make my big flower, but I would recommend cutting 6 flowers of the same size (and using 2 pieces of felt).

With my flower pieces all cut, it was time to hot glue them together. I've been perfecting my felt flowers for baby girl headbands, and I love this tutorial. Instead of recreating a step by step guide that is already perfect (in my opinion), I'll let you follow these instructions.  I like a fuller felt flower, which is why I decided to do 6 cutouts, instead of 4-5 that she recommends. I glue the extra flowers in the middle.

When you have your flowers created, you simply add them to your wreath with a few more straight pins.  These felt flowers are really easy to make and so versatile.  Like I mentioned above, I've been making smaller felt flowers and adding them to elastic for baby headbands.  They could also be hot glued on to belts, adult headbands, or pinned on pillows. 

Cut one more piece of ribbon (I decided to use the yellow chevron to add some more color) to hang your wreath by, and you are done!

How easy is that?! A few days after I hung the wreath on the door, Reed mentioned that he thought my flowers were "getting much better".  I'm not sure if he thinks I made some horrible flowers in the past or if all of my practice has made me a flower expert. Either way, Reed noticing the flowers (and then remembering to say something) is a huge compliment in my book! ;)

Have you added any summer-y decorations around the house? Share your links in the comments, we would love to see!

Ladders Aren't Just for Climbing

When we pick things up on the side of the road, there isn’t always a plan.  A perfect example is the 28 foot wooden extension ladder that we found a few years ago.  When I saw it laying there, I was excited but Deanne wasn’t quite as sure, so our compromise was to only grab half of the ladder.  Luckily, our neighbors never saw us pull into our driveway with the trunk wide open and a beat-up wooden ladder sticking out 6 feet behind my Honda Accord (at least they haven't said anything to us about it).

The ladder sat in our basement for the past two years collecting dust, but a few weeks ago we came up with the plan to use it as a light fixture on our screened-in porch.  The only lighting out there was a small rusty spotlight that did a terrible job of lighting the porch at night.

We started out by cutting the ladder to a shorter length (around 6 feet) and cleaned off all of the dirt and grime.  We had considered sanding it down to remove all of the old paint marks but we really liked how the paint gave it more of a rustic look.  To protect it from the elements (and deepen the wood color a bit), we applied two coats of poly.

Next, Deanne wrapped the ladder with a strand of lights that she picked up at World Market (looks like they only sell frosted bulbs now), while I got started on the wiring.  Since the old spotlight was in the corner of the porch and the new light would be in the middle of the room, I got to put my limited electrical skills to the test.  I won’t bore you with all of the details but I took down the old spotlight, ran some conduit, and installed an outlet (which is controlled by the old light’s switch) on the ceiling in the center of the room.

To hang the ladder we just used an oil rubbed bronze chain from Menards (from the lighting section) and some matching hooks.

Once we got it hanging level, we plugged it in and stepped back to admire our work.  We couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.  The screened in porch was already our favorite part of the house but now we love it even more.  For our neighbors’ sake we are trying our best not to stay out there too late on weekends but with the warmer weather, that has been a real challenge for us.

(The first picture below was taken while we were trying to figure out the 

proper height - hence the extra chain)

Decorating the Industrial Bookshelf

Once Reed finished assembling our new bookshelf for the office (read all about how he built it here), it was time for the fun part! And before you ask, no, the bookshelf hasn't been sitting empty for the past 3 months, we are just really slow at writing blog posts. Yes, we know, horrible bloggers.  This would be a good time to promise we will be better. But lets be real...its almost summer.  How about we compromise and tell you, we promise we will try our best?  Sunshine has a tendency to take priority around here (rightfully so, I mean, we've had the LONGEST winter ever, am I right?). 

So, anyway, back to the shelves...I tend to struggle with shelf decorating because I believe there is a fine line between having a visually pleasing display and over cluttered shelves. I've spent plenty of time browsing blogs and searching Pinterest for bookshelf displays that I love and I have a few tips that I try to keep in mind while attempting to decorate: 

• Each shelf can be arranged differently, but its important to show some consistency throughout.
• Books can be displayed binding out (to add color), or pages out (to create a more neutral look). Although true story, we initially had all of the books pages out and got quite a lot of slack from both sides of the fam.  This inspired us to just hide most of the books in storage instead of displaying them :)
• Books can be horizontal or vertical to create visual interest and variety in the displays.

• Storage should be labeled (if there is even a tiny bit of hope that you I will stay organized), properly fit the shelf size, and coordinate with other storage options.  And yes, I know, I haven't labeled my storage boxes yet. Would you believe me if I said its because I haven't decided what font to use? :) [Our Storage Boxes are from Ikea]
  

• If storing books isn't the only purpose of your shelf, add different objects throughout the display (for example: plates, vases, antique items, clocks, fans, candles, etc.)
• Use items on the top of the bookshelf to add height and fill the wall. Speaking of, anyone have a suggestion for what I should put in the frames on the top of the bookshelf? [Our frames are from Target (Threshold Brand)]

• Layer decorative objects or frames and place multiple objects at different heights on the same shelf (books are great for creating height differences).
• Decorate with details and objects that are meaningful to you. Reed attached our old license plates to some pieces of hardwood flooring to add a personal touch to our shelves.

 

• Use bookshelves as a way to add accent colors to a room and complete a cohesive color scheme.

• Remove paper book cover sleeves from hardcover books for a more classic look.  You could also recover the books with scrapbook paper/brown kraft paper/newspaper to add color or pattern to your bookshelves
• Use frames, mirrors, artwork, or even empty frames on the back of the shelves (or wall in our case). Or, follow the lead of some of our favorite DIY experts and paint the back of your shelves!
• Search stores like Goodwill, TJMaxx, Ikea, Hobby Lobby, Antique Shops (and garage sales/estate sales) for reasonable decorations.  Don't want to spend any money? Walk around your house and look for objects in other rooms that could be re purposed.  Do you have something that's perfect but the wrong color? Spray paint it! We painted a black elephant orange to match the blue/grey/orange color scheme we have going on in this room.

 

• Nothing is permanent. If you are getting frustrated, leave the shelves for a few days and come back to it later.  The beauty of decorating shelving is that it can be changed with the room, seasons, month, or even your mood! 

Hope these tips provide you with some ideas and inspiration!  We have 1 piece of art to frame for above the desk and the office will be DONE. No promises on when that will happen though- the sun is shining and we are ready to move our projects outside for the summer!

[Linked Up with Thrifty Decor Chick]

Susie & Ike's Basement Remodel- Guest Blogger (Flooring)

Our friend Susie is back with another fabulous update on her basement remodel! 

Check out her previous posts here:

Post 1: Introductions

Post 2: DIY vs. Hiring Out

Post 3: Color Schemes

Since we’ve last updated the blog, not only have we painted the walls, we’ve also installed the ceiling grid for our dropped ceiling. I realize this wasn’t on my initial outline, but since it was truly a DIY project, I figured I better at least summarize the experience for those interested:

For the entire basement and separate bedroom, the process for just grid installation took nearly 18 hours broken into two days. While it could have been quicker, our basement naturally has three beams in the ceiling that separated our grid into sections. I’ll get into this a bit later to discuss why it added some headaches, but first an overview of the process. In order to get a level line around the entire circumference of the basement we rented a rotary laser that broadcasted a laser. Side note: rent these if you can as they can get quite costly and you probably won’t have a need for it in the future. From there we used Mason’s Line or Construction Line to mark the exterior grid. After those were installed, a little math was necessary to figure out how many rows and columns were needed in each section. It made the most sense to have full tiles in the middle rows and columns of the section and have partials (if needed) on the exterior. I realize this makes absolutely no sense…but I’m sure it will be helpful once you are in the midst of it! So like I said, having three sections made this process tougher as we had to reset up the laser, install separate exteriors, and do the math for each section…plus the bedroom! If you’d like more information about this process, feel free to drop me a line.

Side note: this is a long post-but hang in there for some great photos at the end!

Now onto the flooring! If you recall, the back portion of our basement is dedicated to a family TV area and kid’s play space, while the front portion is an exercise area and most likely a bar. Yes, I think I’m caving on the bar. While I’d like to offer a definitive reason for this decision, it’s probably because my husband was so passionate for this addition.

So anyways, with the back portion we were more concerned with comfort and from the get-go knew we wanted carpet. As you know, the world of carpet is vast and ranges in price from $0.30 to well over $12.00 per square foot. Obviously, given that it is a basement, we wanted to be on the lower end of the spectrum, but were also very concerned with the durability and softness of the carpet…two features that quickly add cost to the baseline. We started by visiting a couple hardware stores to get an idea of what we liked and the cost associated. From there we did our due diligence at a flooring store and online. This proved a bit more difficult than we originally thought as carpet retailers and wholesalers do not have the same name for a line of carpet across the board. So while it may be called “A” at Home Depot or Lowe’s, online wholesalers call it “D.” The best way to identify carpet was to outline the manufacturer, give any style numbers, and provide color options. We found that color options remained the same across the board, so wholesalers were able to identify a line via this information. In the end, we purchased our carpet from Lowe’s for a number of reasons: 1) it was cheaper than a flooring store 2) we didn’t feel comfortable purchasing online as there was no guarantee it was the right carpet AND we’d still have to find someone to do the install and 3) it was a one-stop-shop offering deals on carpet pads and installation (free actually!).

Now onto the front portion of the basement. Here we wanted something less expensive and easier to clean as it would be by the bar with more chances of “liquid damage.” At the flooring store we discovered “Luxury Vinyl Tiles.” These upscale versions of vinyl tiles can either be locked together or glued in place and give the look of real tile or wood without the cost. When laid next to a cheaper vinyl tile from a hardware store, you can really see the difference. 

Meanwhile, below we have two options in real ceramic tile - a modern pattern and a "wood". Yes the one on the right is actually tile not wood! The picture is taken at the bottom of our real wood stairs to see which would look better. 

To give you a better idea of costs involved with the three options we looked into, here is some pricing (again I used a variety of hardware store, flooring store, and online wholesalers to gather the best prices…unlike carpet, names of certain lines were pretty universal throughout).

We needed to purchase approximately 600 square feet of flooring:

1.  “Allure” brand vinyl planks at Home Depot (or similar)                      $1.59 PSF or $954 total
                  No adhesive or labor needed for this option

2.  Ceramic tile at Lowe’s (wood or modern pattern)                                $2.25 PSF or $2,260 total

                  This option included $910 labor and mud

3.  Luxury Vinyl Tile by Mannington, “Adura” line (GLUE)                  $3.50 PSF or $2,247 total
                  This is for the adhesive type including glue

4.  Luxury Vinyl Tile by Mannington, “Adura” line (LOCK)                  $3.75 PSF or $2,250 total
                  This type merely locks together

As you can see there is quite a price difference per square foot, but when you add labor or materials they all end up within $15.00 of each other excluding the vinyl planks. Now as you may recall, my husband isn’t the most savvy man and goes for looks over budget…with that said, the vinyl planks were out (option 1 above). From here we decided that we truly liked the wood look (not the modern pattern) as it would best contrast with the white bar we were having constructed (more on that next time!) Out of the ceramic "wood" (option 2) vs Luxury Vinyl Tile "wood" (options 3 & 4), we felt the ceramic one at Lowe’s had a better look. Option 2 was the winner!

I can’t write this post without telling you a few things, though…the luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) are said to have better durability and warmth. For instance, a ceramic tile can be cracked if something hard is dropped on it, while the LVT would not. Additionally, ceramic is naturally colder in temperature…and for a basement on a concrete slab, this could mean quite the temperature difference for LVT. Finally and probably most important, installation of ceramic tiles is quite expensive. In my chart above we paid $810 ($1.35 PSF) for installation and approximately $100 in materials ($910 total). This doesn’t sound too bad, right?! Fortunately we were able to find a laborer just starting his own business that wanted the job and would do it for a fraction of what other contractors would charge.  On average, the going rate was $4.00 PSF for just install- which would have cost us $2,400 for the labor alone! Had we not found this reasonable contractor option, there is no doubt in my mind we would have gone with LVT and saved ourselves the ridiculous labor costs.

Thanks for hanging in on this “overly” long blog. Hopefully these photos make your wait worth the while…and don’t mind our half-decorated, half-organized mess!

Susie & Ike's Basement Remodel - Guest Blogger (Color Schemes)

We are back with Susie & Ike's mini series blog post #3 (in case you missed it, you can read post one here & post two here)! Today Susie talks about picking colors for her basement remodel.  I have to admit, this is probably one of my favorite topics. Not only are color schemes extremely exciting to me, but picking out details like colors make me think that the dirty work of remodeling is almost complete, and its time to start thinking about decorating!

As promised…a “fun” post. Finally I get to let my creative juices flow! Now that the drywall is taped and mudded (well worth contracting that job out!), it’s time to paint. And even though the space is very large, it is worth to take this job on internally as there is no baseboard or ceiling in place that makes trimming difficult.

With that said, onto choosing colors…or shall I say entire color schemes. Its hard to just head to the hardware store and pick wall colors without having an entire color palette in mind. So to start that process, we decided to choose furniture and cabinetry colors first. Besides for Ikester’s train table and a random end table, both a dark cherry wood, we didn’t have any other furniture dedicated to this space. So while I wanted to choose a furniture color that would compliment these pieces, I knew it wasn’t necessary since refinishing two pieces of furniture would be pretty easy if necessary.

Like most of my other home décor projects, I headed to Pinterest for inspiration. While I truly appreciate this site, I’ve also noticed myself becoming more indecisive since joining. So many design styles are showcased on the site, most of which I find one thing or another I really like. But alas, I narrowed it down to these three:

“A” just looks so fun for kids, while also being mature enough for adults. If you remember, our basement is really one large open square…so any corner I chose to decorate like this would be visible from any point in the room. I could really see this making a great statement!

While “B” is a nursery, I really like the fun orange mixed with the light blue. In this option I would add either a navy or green accent as well, as I think it looks pretty youthful as is.

Option “C” was the first scheme that both Ike and I were drawn to. In fact, it provided inspiration for our basement in the first place. I love the two different wall colors because not only do they add layer and depth to the room, it semi identifies a separate area of the open basement.

Ike and I decided that we needed to eliminate “A.” While it still tugs at my heart strings, I realized adding wallpaper would be a lot of work and money that wasn’t necessary when it would probably be covered with toys anyways. This left me with “B” and “C.” In “C” I liked the mix of white furniture and wood colored furniture. Plus, I knew exactly where I could find an abundance of white furniture options on the cheap (thank you IKEA!) Additionally, with “C” I could incorporate fun pops of color in orange or other “in” colors with my décor. It was just our luck that there was no link for the origin of this image; leaving us with no paint colors! Off to the hardware store we went to find the perfect greige and light aqua.

When we got to Home Depot, we quickly realized we had already stumbled upon the perfect greige. Throughout our entire upstairs level we used a lot of Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. Since the stairs leading down to the basement were already this color (and we had some paint left over) we decided to make that our greige.

Here are the options we chose for our aqua shade.

As you can see, they actually range from mint to colonial blue. From here we chose our top 3 shades and googled images of them in actual rooms, in addition to holding them next to Revere Pewter in various “lights.” In the end we settled with Martha Stewart Enamelware. To us, this was the perfect shade of light aqua and truly complimented our greige. 

 

The image below outlines the proposed walls for the chosen paint colors. Check back soon for paint pictures and a discussion of flooring options.