This Old Colonial Home

Filling our house with love and a lot of DIY

Tag Archives: wood


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Master Bedroom Reveal

I am so happy to report that our master bedroom is finally done!Master bedroom reveal It has taken more than a year to get this room all pieced together. Gasp! Certain things just tend to hold up the process: time, money, jobs, weekends away, a baby on the way … but that’s alright. This is what real life looks like (at least for us). Who are these people anyway who can knock out a room in a weekend?!

It all started in March of last year when Jamie painted our room Cliffside Gray by Benjamin Moore and I tackled my first stencil wall. (See all the details here.)Stencil wall project in progressThe furniture remained a hodgepodge of pieces that didn’t go together. I had bought a yellow nightstand at a garage sale for $5 that I loved. The original thought was to add another yellow nightstand on the other side of the bed, but as usual I eventually changed my mind. So the room remained in a state of mismatchedness. (Is that even a real word?!)Yellow distressed nightstand found at garage saleThe plan now is to put this pretty little piece in the nursery.

Over this past winter, the furniture started to come together a little bit better. We bought dressers from Ikea and started adding some decor.Round rustic mirror painted woodI then splurged on this accent chair from Marshalls. We had the space for it, and it was just too cute to pass up!Navy chair with silver nailhead trim We also added curtains with some industrial pipe rods (see it here). It’s amazing how curtains can make a room look so much more complete! Master bedroom curtainsAt this point I wasn’t feeling our headboard anymore. I just didn’t like the color of the wood with the new dressers. So onto Craigslist it went and the search began for a tufted one. After a few months, I found the perfect headboard on Wayfair for a crazy, awesome price! (This is not a sponsored post, but I’m telling you, you should sign up for those daily deal emails. They will literally pay off!)Tufted headboard from WayfairAnd after just a few days of ordering it, our headboard finally sold too. It was meant to be!

The ceiling fan in our room also got a nice little update. (You can read more about that here.)

So now we’re down to the final pieces of the puzzle: the nightstands.

My ever-so-handy husband built us two nightstands using these free plans from ana-white.com. Here are a few shots of his work in progress:DIY nightstand wood cuts DIY wood nightstand build progressDIY farmhouse nightstands with drawerI was then tasked with finding drawer pulls, lamps, and decor. Again, each item took a little bit of searching, but it finally all came together.DIY wood nightstand DIY wood nightstand stained ebonyMy favorite part is the artwork. Instead of buying some generic saying in the store (sorry, but I’m over the ‘Love you to the moon and back’ signs), I used Canva to create something that has more meaning to us as a couple. “When I’m with you feels like I’m home” is a lyric from the Duncan Sheik song ‘Home,’ which is the first song we danced to as husband and wife!

So as you can see, this room went through a lot of different phases. Here’s where we originally started when we first bought the house.Accent wall beforeAnd this is how it looks now!Gray blue master bedroom revealTufted headboard and bed with DIY nightstandsI truly love our master bedroom! I find it to be such a calming and relaxing space, and a true reflection of us. Is it time for bed yet?!


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Mason Jar Sconce

In our entryway we have a doorbell niche. It’s a long, narrow cutout in the wall with only the chime at the top. It’s a plain feature that’s been begging for a little pizazz. (Sorry, I forgot to take a “before” picture.)

I toyed with the idea of tiling it or painting it a different color. I still may do the latter someday. But for now, I decided it would be a good place for flowers. I thought maybe a nice, faux orchid … but while scouring Pinterest I stumbled upon a mason jar sconce. It seemed like an easy and inexpensive DIY project and one that would go with our vintage style décor.

Simple jar sconce

Found on Pinterest

For this project all we needed was a mason jar, a piece of wood, a pipe clamp, stain, and flowers. We already had a mason jar and we used a piece of scrap wood as well as stain left over from Jamie’s awesome coffee table. I picked up a pipe clamp from Home Depot for only around $1.50. More on the flowers in a moment.

Jamie ended up taking the lead on this quick DIY while I worked on another project. He cut the board, sanded it, rounded the edges and stained it. Once it was dry, I simply hand sanded the corners a little to make it look worn. He added a sawtooth hook to the back and then nailed the pipe clamp to the board and tightened it around the mason jar.Nail pipe clamp to wood

Attach mason jar to wood with pipe clampAs for the flower part of it, I found some clear, vase filler gems at Target for under $5 and I chose a fake hydrangea from A.C. Moore for under $4. You could really fill it however you want. But I like how this adds a little pop of color to the room!Easy DIY wall sconce

Shabby chic decorBall jar with hydrangeas and vase fillerPop of color in entrywaySuch a simple solution that helps make the entryway feel a little more welcoming.

We’re adding a few more additions to the foyer … so look for that soon!

 

 

Linking to:

Serenity Now | DIY on the Cheap | The Shabby Nest


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DIY Coffee Table

Aside from finding the plans, I certainly can’t take any credit for our awesome, new coffee table.

It all started when I saw this lovely post on Pinterest/Hometalk, which then led me to the incredible site ana-white.com.

Rustic wood coffee table using Ana White plans

Courtesy Creative Little Daisy via Hometalk

If you’re not already following her – START! Her pieces are gorgeous and she provides free, easy-to-follow plans to make your own furniture — saving you some cash.

Jamie picked up the necessary materials, any tools we didn’t already have, and even got a table saw from his dad. (Thanks, Jim!)Supply of pine and douglas fir boards for coffee table Making cuts for the coffee tableWhile I was working on my dresser makeover, Jamie began working on this project. He followed the cut list and then began assembling the pieces step-by-step.The cut list of boards ready for assemblying Screwing the coffee table frame togetherCoffee table base assembledThis is what it looked like when he was done. Pretty impressive for a novice, right?!Base and top of coffee table togetherDIY coffee table assembledHe did have one slight hiccup that needed to be fixed. When we brought it inside to test if it was level – it wasn’t. After taking the top off and apart, he determined that the base was level, but some of the boards on top were warped causing it to be thrown off balance. Jamie eventually replaced the boards with new ones and – voila! All better!

After that, he filled any major holes with wood filler and gave it a good sanding. He then applied a wood conditioner before moving on to the stain. (We picked Minwax Special Walnut.) He brushed on the stain, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a rag.Applying pre-stain before stainingA can of Minwax stain Special WalnutApplying the first coat of stainIt took 3 coats to get the look we were going for.Coffee table completely stained with 3 coatsI just LOVE how it turned out! Who knew my husband was so handy?! (I think I’ll keep him around!) Here it is in our living room, where I think it fits in perfectly!DIY coffee table in living room DIY wood coffee table and gallery wall in living room Close-up of wood coffee tableDIY coffee table and decor Side view of coffee table with XRustic coffee table with blue and green accentsFront view of DIY coffee table Rustic living room with handmade coffee table In the end, this project cost only about $100! Try finding that in a furniture store!