Life on Misneach Ridge: Decor

Monday, October 5, 2015

A Copycat Sofa Table

One thing that we have always been slow to add to our home is furniture. We try to be careful when bringing in pieces and we are always very conscience of our budget. We don't really splurge on pieces, and if we know what we want, B would rather build it for us. The best part about building our own furniture is that we can always get the end result that we desire, taking away or adding details as we please, and it saves us a ton of money. Of course, when I decided that I wanted a sofa table for our family room it was time for us to flex our DIY muscles once again.

Before we began to build, I started looking at Pinterest and different big box stores for inspiration. We could've built something simple and straight forward, but I knew that I wanted something different (read not all wood), and provided us with storage space. When I found the Bleached Pine Rolling Console from West Elm, I knew that I had found our next project. It took quite a few weeks of sourcing materials and discussing plans before we started. The finally decided on the following supplies to help us build our table:

- 3 - 12" x 5' pine boards
- 2 - 10' pieces of conduit (1/2" EMT)
- 50' of Galvanized Wire Fencing
- 3/4" Fencing Staples
- 4 - 4 x 1 1/4 Vintage Black Cast Iron Swivel Casters (2 with brakes) (not pictured as they were still being shipped to us)

Our plan was to build a similar looking table to West Elm's but with a smaller foot print and aged looking wood. After taking measurements, we decided the table would be 12" deep, 5' long and 2' tall (with the casters on). This would ensure the table would be only slightly shorter than the length of our couch, come up nicely to the back of it, and be deep enough to hold books and photos, without being too deep.

With our plans in place, our first step was the most fun! After B sanded the wood down (so we wouldn't have sharp edges) we got to beat up and "age" those pine boards. Our weapons of destruction?

Basically anything from B's shop that we could use to scrape, dent, gouge or cut the wood with. We threw a bag of screws at them, wacked them with chain, a hammer, a file... whatever we had, we used it.

Once we thought that they good and beat up, it was time for our first coat of stain. We started with Varathane's Ultimate Wood Stain in Golden Pecan (which we used for the Love Your Wood Challenge last month). B applied it lightly and wiped it off quickly since we didn't want it to be too orange. Next, we put on some of the Varathane Ultimate Wood Stain in Weathered Grey (also used in the Love Your Wood Project). Again, it was applied lightly just to bring some aging to the wood.

Once both stains dried, we beat up the wood a little more. More gauges, cuts and scrapes, but we also upped our game and B brought out his blow torch so we could burn it as well. Our last step in aging the boards was adding dark brown stain to random sections of the boards (which we used on our dining table that B built). This toned down the grey and really helped to complete the aged look of our boards.

You'd never guess that we started with plain pine boards, would you?

With our wood ready, it was time to start preparing the other parts of our table. Using Rust-Oleum's Painters Touch 2x The Coverage spray paint in Dark Walnut, we sprayed the galvanized fencing and fencing staples.

In order to start assembling our table, B created 8 spacers from scrap wood that were 12" tall to match the spacing on the galvanized fencing. We had four spacers between each shelf, screwed into the corners to hold the shelves sturdy. Then, using a hammer B nailed the fencing to the shelves using the fencing staples. This step took the longest, as he put a fencing staple at every other cross section of the fencing to keep it sturdy. We had a few staples split the wood, but it really just added to the aged/beat up look of our barn board (and they were on the bottom or back side of the table, which was good).

Next, B needed to bend the conduit pipe. Using a manual conduit bender that he picked up from Home Depot, he made 90 degree bends in the piping. This part proved to be the most difficult to mimic from the inspiration table. B mentioned to me quite a few times that with the conduit bender he wouldn't be able to get the pipe to wrap right around the wood, but rather we would end up with it winged out, more like handles on a bar cart. I was totally okay with this change in design and actually liked it more.

To attach the conduit to the table he drilled 1/4" holes halfway through the piping in order to hide the screw heads and then drilled a 1/16" pilot hole through the other side of the pipe and into the wood. He then used 2 1/2" screws to attach the piping to the wood.

The final step was adding the heavy duty cast iron casters that we ordered from Caster Connection. He screwed the castors to some 6" x 3/4" x 4'-4" aged scrap wood that he had, and then screwed that wood to the bottom shelf... and we now have this table!

This is the perfect spot for my vintage owl trivets, as well as our new Acrylic Photo Blocks from Tiny Prints. I love them because they are such a beautiful and different way to display some of our favourite photos and memories!

Though I would like to build a blanket ladder for this room, at the moment the bottom shelf is the perfect spot to keep a couple of my favourite throws from Penney & Company.

I'm so in love with this table and thrilled that we decided to challenge ourselves to work with more than just wood to create a new piece for our home. Yes, B did the constructing but we collaborated on how to age our boards and what products to use for the look we wanted - we do make a pretty good team, if I do say so myself.

Have you been working on anything new that challenges you to think outside the box? Or maybe you've just acquired a really great piece of furniture that has made you look at your home in a new way!? We'd love to hear about it!

Four New Beauties

Welcome September! My favourite month of the entire year - one that brings the feeling of a new start, the beginning of fall (my favourite season as of late) and of course my birthday. And this September 1st, I have one more reason to love this month. Today Farrow & Ball is launching 4 new stunning wallpapers, inspired by Japanese craftsmanship.

Using their own paints and unique production methods, Farrow & Ball have created the perfect papers to bring pattern, colour and texture into your home. When the samples arrived on my doorstep late last week, I was instantly won over by the quality of the paper and the texture of the designs. Though they offer big bold patterns and colours, I found myself more drawn to the subtle tones and finer designs.

Yukotori (meaning birds flying away in a group) is, without a doubt, the design that I am most drawn to. The pattern is simple and delicate, and could bring a sense of calm into any room, no matter which colourway you choose.

My guest room walls are screaming to be covered in this gorgeousness!

If the birds aren't really your thing, Amime is the other subtle pattern offered in this collection. This design is taken from a Japanese pen and ink drawing and the name means the space between netting.

Moving towards the bolder patterns, Aranami will bring the rolling waves into any room you choose. What I adore the most about this paper is how the waves rise up to meet one another brings so much depth to the paper. I'd love to see this in a dining room (mine to be exact) over a chair rail with a solid colour below.

Last, but certainly not least, Shouchikubai is what I believe to be the showstopper (specifically in the metallic gold colour). The paper features flowers, bamboo and trees in hexagonal frames, all of which bring a very obvious Japanese feel to this design, which is taken from a metallic print found in Kyoto.

As much as I found these wallpapers gorgeous when I saw the first photos from Farrow & Ball, nothing can compare to seeing and touching these works of art. The quality and craftsmanship that Farrow & Ball is known for, is present in each of them and I'm certainly itching to wallpaper all over this place!

Which one is your favourite, and where would you love to use it in your home? Don't forget, they are all available for purchase as of today. Visit their website here to find your nearest stockist!

While this post is brought to you by Farrow & Ball all opinions are my own! I would never, ever share something that I didn't absolutely love with my readers!

Canadian Blog Home Tour

Last month I got an email from Shannon at AKA Design, asking if I would like to take part in a Canadian Blogger Home Tour. I jumped on the opportunity... and a few days later reality set in and I freaked out a little. I kept thinking "Our house is a mess and not really anything special"... then I told myself to breathe and thought about this realistically. We've lived here just over a year (15 months to be exact)... and I'd say that in that time, we actually have done a reasonable amount of work to make this home reflect who we are.

Home's are always a work in progress and when we moved into this larger home from our tiny place in Toronto, we didn't have much furniture. We have been putting our home together on a single income, and I believe that we are proof that you can do a lot on a small budget. There is a lot more to do around here, but these are the rooms we've pulled together so far...

My Office

When we bought this home, I was so excited to finally have a space to turn into my own office/craft space. In our previous home the area was shared with our laundry room and it could get very crowded very quickly.

The first thing we did in here was to paint the walls. I used the same two colours that were used in Halle's room (Pearl and Coral). The little bit of coral on the window wall was the perfect punch of colour but it's not too overwhelming in the small room since it's used sparingly, and the sheer curtains help to soften it a bit as well. I also replaced the light fixture with a paper lantern that I DIY'd , and we hung some pegboard on the wall to help with organization. My favourite part of the room though, is the huge desk B built for me that runs wall to wall. It's the perfect spot to spread out and craft, sew - whatever creative thing I desire.

For my pegboard storage we bought some hooks for hanging my tags that I paint. I also used a small dowel on hooks to keep all of my ribbon organized. For my pens, pencils, etc I used plastic cups and punched two holes around the top edge. I then used zip ties to attach them to the pegboard. A perfect spot to keep everything easily accessible from my desk, and neatly organized. I also think it looks kind of pretty with the coral cups (that were left over from H's 2nd birthday party) offset in rows. Who doesn't enjoy some pretty organizational solutions?

{some of my newest tags for Halle Handmade}

The Dining Room

The dining room was originally meant to be two separate areas, with a seating area by the window and a smaller dining table located under that light fixture. When we bought the house we envisioned this area as one large dining room that could seat all of our friends, so that is what we did.

B built the table for around $100 (it's 12 feet long) and he also constructed the light fixture using pine boards. We ordered the wire from a company online and bought the mason jars from someone local. We bought the filament bulbs (plus some extra's) from Restoration Hardware during their lighting sale early in the year. To keep the jars from getting too hot we just drilled a few small holes into the snap lips.

First Time Fancy DIY Dining Room Light Fixture

I found the small table at Salvation Army for $3, and it's perfect in here since the wood tone works with our dining table. Our large family photo I had printed when Shutterfly ran a "free" 16x20 deal and the frame is a simple IKEA Ribba frame. Artwork is one thing we need to add more of to our home - it's slow going, but we're getting there.

On the table is a burlap runner that my Mom sewed for us, using burlap left over from our wedding tablecloths (she sewed those for us as well). We have so many more plans for this big room (like the 11 foot church pew we are working on for the opposite side of the table), a built in where the too small bookcase currently lives and maybe even a window seat. I'd also like to paint in here, but that is a much larger commitment as our house is pretty open concept.

The Kitchen

Since moving in, in May of 2013 we've done quite a few things in this room. We started by replacing the light over the kitchen sink, with a fantastic $7 find at Home Depot. Then around Christmas last year we made some bigger changes, including a new dishwasher (after the old one started to leak and flood the kitchen) and a complete makeover of our kitchen cabinets. Not only did we change the colour using Cabinet Transformations from Home Depot, but we also upgraded the hardware to something more substantial. It's not a forever solution, as down the road I think we'd love a full kitchen renovation, but this has made us very happy with the space for the moment.

The room has come a long way, but I'd still like a new fixture over the table, a seating bench in the window area and some shelving in the bump out where my "A Nice Cup of Tea" print hangs.

The Family Room

The family room was bland and boring when we bought the house. It hasn't been painted yet since it opens into our dining room, kitchen and main entry. We've done what we can with what we have though.

The pallet over the fireplace is one of my favourite pieces. It's a pallet that B got for free. He ripped it in half and attached two oars that we purchased on sale from Canadian Tire. We originally planned on using hinges to hang it so we could keep seasonal decor behind it in the "alcove", but it wouldn't fit properly. B ended up screwing it directly to the wall and it works perfectly. We're so happy to have that hole covered by something we love!

Our gallery wall in this room holds a lot of meaning. B is from Massachusetts, hence the cutting board we have hung. The picture in the top right is a watercolour of the Spanish Steps, which I bought when I was in Rome in 2005. The print in the white frame below Massachusetts is of a couple in New York, a reminder of where we met and fell in love. The small white frame is an anniversary Eagle Scout badge B received - and of course our family photos always make us smile.

The Master Bedroom

When we bought our home we thought it was great that everything was neutral and grey... then we lived here for a few months in this rather grey climate and realized it wasn't as wonderful as we thought. This past winter I finally painted our bedroom - choosing a dark moody blue, inspired by the room we stayed at when we were in Scotland for our honeymoon.

We're slowly adding artwork to the space. Family photos over the bed with an ampersand that my father made for us. The frame between our closet and our bathroom is a piece that I created for B for our 1st Anniversary (which is on Sunday, but I gifted it to him early).

Our most recent artwork addition is this large print that I took from the top of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh last September. This is my favourite photo from our honeymoon, and again I had it printed when Shutterfly ran a promo for a free 16x20 print. It's the perfect addition to our room, and the best reminder possible of our incredible honeymoon!

H's Bedroom

When we got the keys, H's bedroom was the very first one we painted. B spent a night sleeping on the floor here since we wanted it all painted before we moved in. The walls and closet doors were horrible and dirty. We took the room from a bubble gum pink nightmare to a bright and airy little girl's space.

The bedframe was a $6o score on craigslist. The shelves were left by the previous owners and we painted them coral (her closet doors are the same colour). The dresser is a DIY project that B and I tackled when she was a baby. I was thrilled to find the IKEA PS 2014 Duvet Cover for her bedroom, as it ties together the coral, teal and yellows that are scattered throughout the space. Her boxspring is covered in a coral fitted sheet from Target and her sheets are a plain white.

Her bookshelves may be my favourite part of her room. My father made them for us when I was pregnant with her and they are perfect for her ever expanding book collection (I may need him to make her more).

The gold plumes were a cheap, but not quick addition to make her room a little more fun. I handpainted each one last fall using metallic gold acrylic paint. Each plume needed two coats of paint and it took a while as I had to free hand them, but I think it was so worth it. Whenever people visit, she loves to show off her bedroom and announce "My Mommy painted these for me!". I love that she loves them so much!

Looking for some more fabulous interiors and inspiration? Make sure to check out all of the Canadian bloggers that are giving you a look at their home! If these teaser shots don't convince you, I don't know what will! Stop by and show them all a little love and be inspired! Links below!