Finding Fabulous

French Country Cottage

The CSI Project

The Shabby Nest

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Knock Off Decor

DIY Showoff

The Virginia House

The Pink Postcard

So thank you to you all for your amazing comments and helping A Creative Beginning get off the ground with such a great week.  (p.s. keep your eye out on remodelaholic for a couple of upcoming features!)

I hope you all stick around for a while, I have some big plans for ACB.

Thanks again!

I know there is a plethora of tutorials out in blogland on how to make the Pottery Barn Eagan Mirror.  Like here, here, here, and ummmm, here too!  While all of these turned out amazing!  I wanted (and needed) the EXACT same size that the REAL pottery barn mirror is.  I needed a large statement to hang above my mantel that would cover up that atrocious hole in my wall.  I simply was not going to settle for 8×8 mirrors.  If I was going to make this mirror huge, I was going to find a way to make it with the same size mirrors Pottery Barn uses (which happen to be 8 x 10 beveled mirrors).  I know some people were able to find them at hobby lobby, the dollar store, and michaels, but I checked all of these places, and none of them carried them anymore sad day

Well! Let me tell you it took me WEEKS to find a place that carried these.  I think I went 16 pages deep into a google search to finally find a place that sold them out of New Mexico here.  I will say, I had to pay a pretty penny to get these (*cough $165 including S&H cough*), but to me, it was worth it.  If you would like to save even more money, and if the size of the mirror isn’t too important then I would recommend getting 8 x8 beveled mirrors here or here.

So now that we have that out of the way, here is what you will need for the mirror.

x amount of mirrors
1/2 plywood or mdf (if you plan on hanging your mirror, I recommend plywood, its lighter)
some corner moulding
flat moulding
a can of Rustoleum’s “Oil Rubbed Bronze” spray paint
Liquid Nails’ “Mirror Adhesive”
Plastic Mirror Rosettes
Cut Tacs
nails and nail gun

So, are you ready?  Here we go….

Step 1 and 2: layout your piece of plywood, with your mirrors and trim and get an exact measurement of how long and wide your base (plywood) will need to be cut at.

Step 3: cut plywood to correct size
Step 4: measure our your corner mouldings so that they all line up and fit nicely together.
Step 5: (optional) line interior angle of corner mouldings with liquid nails

Step 6 & 7: Alternate nailing the top and side of the moulding to the plywood.

Now you are ready to start laying out your inner mouldings!

Step 8: Just lay out your inner trim and cut the correct lengths.
Step 9: lay mirrors in between trim so that you have the correct widths. You want to be careful with this step by not making the mirrors overly snug. You need to be able to pop them back out with ease, and don’t worry if you have a little bit of wiggle room, just even it out among the mirrors!
Step 10: With mirrors still in place, nail down the trim. Pick up the mirrors, or slide them down to the other side and nail the other end of the trim down.
Step 11: measure and cut cross trim and repeat steps 9 & 10

Step 12; Now for the fun part! Spray Painting!

I started off with the Krylon version, as you can see here.  After two coats I realized it wasn’t cutting it, so I went and bought the Rustoleum version. SO much better!

Save yourself the grief and just buy the slightly more expensive spray paint. It has primer mixed in with it, and it covers so much better than its cheaper competitor. ( I layed out all of the plastic mirror rosettes on the board as well so they would get colored. I grabbed a ton of the tacks and stuck them lightly into a piece of styrofoam so that I could get the tops of the tacs all nicely painted.

After everything has dried, it’s time to glue down the mirrors. Now this is where I ran into a bit of a problem. Some of my mirrors were no longer fitting in. I had no idea why, since I had nailed down the trim with the mirrors still in, I figured they should still fit. Well, some of them didn’t, and the only thing I could think of was that the paint had added a bit more depth to the trim, making them just big enough for the mirrors to no longer fit. I had to pull some of the trim back up and re-adjust. It was just a pain in the but having to do it all over again, so that’s why you should leave just a little wiggle room in the first place. Or you could just spray paint everything and wait to nail the trim down until your ready to glue your mirrors in at the same time. It’s totally up to you, just thought I’d share my mishaps in hopes that you don’t have the same.

I LOVED how the mirror turned out! It was a bit heavy, and I knew it would be sitting on my mantel so I didn’t have to worry about attaching hanging fixtures to it (at least not right now). But it passed the test with flying colors of hiding that horrific hole in my wall. All better now

Overall with everything included, I did spend a pretty penny (let’s just say around $200 including the shipping and handling for the 25 mirrors), but hey it still sure beats $700!

I loved doing this project, and can’t wait to come up with a good reason to do it again!  Hope this was easy to follow, just let me know if you have any questions!

Ta-Ta for now

Well there was this beautiful piece I found at a garage sale for $55, which was on the steep end.  The only reason I probably went through it was because there were two other people eyeballing it, which just made me want it even more!  (Common, I know I’m not the only one out there like that).  So I coughed up the $55 and walked out with a cocky walk as if to say “nah nah nah nah nah nah, I got it, you didn’t” and was on my merry way.

Well, that thing just sat in the corner of my master bedroom (which is a room I have to figure out what Im going to do with….its almost too big, and too much to figure out, but I digress).  I didn’t have anything on the dresser, or anything in it, so after a few months I thought it was time to see if I could sell it.  I got so many calls the first day I posted it!  I pulled it out of my bedroom so whomever came over wouldn’t have to trodge through my bedroom to see it.

And of course, once I pulled it out of my bedroom and out into the living room, I thought to myself, “hmm, that actually would look great right over there.” And it sure did.   I turned down everybody that called, and took it off craigslist.  I pulled in an old window that was left behind at my old duplex, and added some flowers I got on sale at Michaels.

I love love looooove my new mantel!  With it done, I feel like the main part of the house is finally complete! (thank goodness!).  I won’t lie, I kinda, I completely stole the idea from the amazing Layla Palmer over at the Lettered Cottage.   (thank you Layla!)

When I first moved in, the fireplace was a regular ol’ gas fireplace, with some “not-so-pleasant” tile, with a lovely  sheetroc surround (hence the sarcasm?). Mmmm, not my style.

Not to mention, there was this HUGE awkward hole right above the fireplace, where a bubble tv would fit.  We have a flat screen tv  that would never fit back there.  I originally just wanted to sheetroc over it, but realized that could get too messy and spendy.

When I came across the very affordable, yet stylish mantel redo that Layla did, I knew I had to have the same!

(and if you know me well, you know that once I have made up my mind on something, I have to have it, and there is no talking me out of it…..dad).

The mantel was super easy peasy to do, and so cheap!  I will post soon a step-by-step tutorial on how I put it together.  Also I plan on doing a tutorial on how I made the REAL SIZED pottery barn mirror, and the REAL SIZED pottery barn moss covered letters!  I got some great finds at garage sales, Ross, and the dollar store that just added the final touches to the mantel.  I got my Pottery Barn mantel for uber cheap, and I luuuurve it! Hope you do to!

The garden hose is directly on the other side of the wall and was leaking to the inside.  We had to tear into the drywall, fix it, and re-patch it.  We figured it would cost around $100 to have a guy come out and professionally finish patching it, and then texture it (we have odd texture and had hire that out earlier in the renovation).  Rather than spending that much money on somebody to come texture it, I figured we could build a window seat instead.

I found an awesome place that sells discount plywood.  We got two 4×8 pieces of particle board for $15, and started to make our window seat.  I’m the type of person who figures things out as we go…..drives TJ crazy!  But we did a pretty good job.  Here is what we did!

We started by placing a 2′ x 6′ piece of particle board on the floor.  We then nailed the back and the sides to the wall.  Next we took 4 pieces of 2x4s and nailed them together in a square.  We then nailed the 2×4 square to the back wall.  Next, we attached two pieces of particle board on either side to create two smaller compartments.

After that, we put the front on, and put trim around the edges.  Cut two tops, and screwed the hinges on.  Now all that’s left to do is paint it and make a cushion!

It’s already filled with Olivia’s toys that took over the room.  I love how deep these are!  I probably made the seat a little too high, but you have a great view out the window, and all that clutter it hides….gotta love it!

But of course, the next day, rather than finishing this, I had to start yet another project!  Knowing that if I got some things built over the weekend, I could paint them throughout the week, in between Livi nap times and homework.

The next day I decided to build a nice sized bookshelf to put next to the window seat that would house Olivia’s astonishing collection of books!  I once again got the amazing plans from Ana White.  Thanks Ana!!!  I built Pottery Barn’s Cameron Bookshelf…..otherwise for $300, which I built for $50 …once again, gotta love it!

Sorry I didn’t take many photos of my progress.  I need to do a better job at doing that.  I just get so wrapped up in what I’m doing, and go go go, I forget to stop and take some snapshots!

I’ll be sure to post the final product of both the bookshelf and the window seat soon!

enjoy!

RENOVATION REALITIES: THE LAIRD JOB

Building the box was pretty easy. Actually the whole thing so far has been pretty simple.

The true test:  is it level?  YES!

Not bad for a few hours of work.  We got all of the trim on, so now all that is left is to do is put the doors on, make the drawers, and paint it!  Since all of the furniture in Olivia’s room is black, I will be painting her armoire black as well. Last night I just put some wood filler in all the nail holes, and will hopefully start painting today.  I’m hoping to have the final photos up later this week!  So keep your eyes peeled for some flashy new photos of Olivia’s Armoire!

First step is to measure and cut your countertops to the correct length.  Also measure and cut the hole for the kitchen sink. We had to actually rip one of the countertops to make it not as deep, for the breakfast bar.

We started by sanding all of the counter tops down.  I don’t remember exactly what grit, but start out rough, and work your way to a more fine grit.  After sanding, get a damp cloth and wipe off all the dust.  You will feel the wood become kind of rough.  The water pulls up the uneven grain allowing you to sand it down easier.  Repeat this step a few times, until you feel the butcher block is at its smoothest (wipe clean with a DRY cloth after the last sanding)

Now your read to stain!  But before watching your countertops transform into the perfect shade of color, you should condition the wood.  I applied one heavy coat of wood conditioner

Be sure to get an oil based conditioner and an oil based stain!  You will want to apply the stain within 20 minutes of applying the wood conditioner.  This will assure that the stain will lay evenly and not soak into drier spots.  I tried three different kinds of stain to see which one would look best on the oak, and also have the same kind of tones as the wood floors we were putting in.

I ended up using Minwax’s English Chesnut stain.  I was able to use the smallest “tester” can that is 8oz, and was able to do three coats on all of my countertops and still have some left over.  So the 32oz (pictured below) is overkill unless you plan on using the stain on other projects.

Just apply as many coats until your satisfied with the color.  I believe I did three coats of stain.  Be sure to allow plenty of drying time in between coats.

Next, and finally, comes the clear coat, the sealer.  A lot of people opt to go with a waxy, oily rub (not quite sure what the correct name is) that you have to apply to butcher block every three months.  I know how forgetful of a person I am, and wanted to go with a more permanent sealer.  I found something called Waterlox.  Its a like a polyurethane, clear coat.  It’s provides a hard protectant coat over the counter tops, and will never need be to reapplied again.  The problem with Waterlox, is a lot of states don’t sell it, so you may have to buy it online.  I lucked out and found a store here in Eugene that carried it.  The reason a lot of states don’t carry it is because of the very high VOCs.  I recommend applying coats in a well ventilated area, I even wore a respirator because the fumes were so strong.  You MUST allow it to dry and cure before preparing food on it.  Full cure time is about two weeks.  We went ahead and installed the counter tops after it had dried, and just prepared our food on a separate surface until the full 2 weeks had passed.  I got two different kinds of Waterlox, a gloss finish, and a satin finish.  You must start with a couple of coats of the glossy finish.  I didn’t want the countertops to be glossy, so after the two coats of glossy I finished up with 2-3 coats of a satin finish.  Be sure to lightly sand away any dried bumps or bubbles after every coat!  We used a 400 grit or higher for this, just enough to take the bumps away, but not take the layer off.  It is a long and time consuming process with all of the drying time, but it is definitely worth it!  I absolutely love the way they turned out!

Hope this helps!  Here are some extra photos of the process

Our old cabinets were in great shape!  They just needed a new face lift.  I knew that I wanted to paint them white (to help brighten up the kitchen) and add some hardware.  I found a great deal on some silver knobs and pulls on craigslook (a nation wide search version of craigslist).  I got 30 brand new pieces of hardware for just $30!

We sanded down all the cabinets, and primed them with Zinsser 123.  Then we put 2 coats of white cupboard paint on.

I decided to go with bead board backsplash, and that would also wrap around the breakfast bar.

We supported the breakfast bar with heavy duty metal brakets, and disguised them with these wooden ones that I found for $10 at Home Depot.  I decided to carry these throughout the kitchen under the upper cabinets.

I got all of the new lighting at Ikea (both the pendant lights and the under cabinet lighting) The best $40 spent in the entire kitchen I LOVE LOVE LOVE my under cabinet lights!

The microwave was a christmas present from my father, but just so you know he got it on sale at Home Depot for only $100!

We got the new dishwasher ($25) and Kohler sink ($20) at a garage sale.

The counter tops were from Ikea.  We spent about $700 for the butcher block.  

And last but not least, the bamboo floors!  I can’t rave enough about these floors….I love them!  They are a click strand bamboo.  Meaning they just click together, no nailing, no gluing.  Its sooooo simple!  We spend about $3000 on wood floors for the entire house, so I’m guessing that about $500 of that is in the kitchen.

Grand Total: $2305

countertops: $700

floors: $500

cabinet paint: $120

cabinet knobs: $30

pendant lights: $60

under cabinet lights: $40

kitchen sink: $20

faucet: $120

dishwasher: $25

beadboard: $60

wooden brackets: $60

trim: $30

wiring, boxes, and switches for new lights: $50

and about $500 in smaller things (caulking, wood filler, sand paper, nails, paint brushes, stain and sealer for countertops, and some plywood to make a new box for one of the base cupboards that was rotten)

Once the headboard was done, I went out and bought a REAL mattress (I already had a box spring and frame). I also needed some new linens. I wanted something with a Pottery Barn look for a about $20-$30. Far fetched, I know, but I kept looking! Lo and behold, I found just the thing at Ross! It was an 8 piece set for under $30!! (Awesome!!) I loved the color and the design on it, and it looked great with the headboard I made. I pulled in some lamps, and stools that I had (just to hold the spot until I could make some bedside tables like these)

I of course would stain them the same color as the headboard to match!

I took one of the green shams in to Jerry’s to get a color match for paint. I wanted to paint the wall behind the bed in the same green and the other three walls in a lighter shade of green. The dark green turned out perfect, but trying to find the lighter green was trickier (not sure if you can tell the weird minty green tested on the far wall)

I have some more work to do, but its coming along. I still need to hang some curtains, make the bedside tables, add some pictures to the walls, and maybe some cute little candles to run across the top of the headboard!