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How to Build Drawer Fronts for Cabinets and Furniture

October 21, 2018 by Eileen Leave a Comment

How to Make Quick and Easy Shaker Style Drawer Fronts Post Preview: You’ll find out how to build simple drawer fronts that can be used on cabinets and furniture. These simple raised panel drawer fronts are easy to make and truly look professional.

One of the things I love about DIYing is that you can make anything.

The possibilities are endless.

A few years back, I undertook a large bookshelf project with a window seat. For the cabinet under the window seat, I bought premade cabinet doors. They look awesome, and the whole project turned out really nice.

My most recent project was building an entryway piece with cubby shelves and hooks – which is a similar project. At the last minute, we decided we would add in some custom drawers to hold more things.

This time around, I made the drawers and the drawer fronts, and I couldn’t believe how simple it was. And, my wife was blown away at just how amazing they look.

Just as beautiful and professional as the store-bought cabinet doors from the bookshelf project – and it couldn’t have been easier.

Today, I’m sharing exactly how I made these DIY shaker-style drawer fronts for our entryway cubby shelf storage project.

Here’s a picture of the end result of these basic drawer fronts. While very simple in design and easy construct, you can see that they look elegant, especially with the shiplap paneling and the card catalog drawer pulls.

Looks very professional, don’t they? You too can make these faceplates yourself in very little time.

In case you need some help making a drawer, check out my drawer post here.

Materials Needed for Drawer Fronts

3/4″ thick pine board strips, 2 1/4″ wide
3/8″ thick plywood
1 1/4″ pocket hole screws
Finishing nails
Construction Adhesive
Paint
Drawer Handle

Tools Needed for Drawer Fronts

Miter saw
Table saw (or circular saw with edge guide)
Coarse sand paper
Finishing nail gun (optional, you could use some screws instead)
Drill
Kreg pocket hole jig
Rubber mallet
12″ bar clamp
Face clamp (optional, but helps)

1. Measuring & Making the Cuts for the Drawer Fronts

To determine the size of the drawer front, look at the hole that your drawer will go in. You want your drawer front to be at least a ¼” bigger on each side than the hole or opening that the drawer will go in.

So if the drawer hole/opening is 8 inches wide, then you want your drawer front to be at least 8 ½ inches.

So my faceplate drawer design consists of 5 pieces of wood. I used a combination of pine boards and plywood because that is what I had on hand. Four ¾” thick pieces form a border (2 ¼” thick), wrapping a rectangular piece of plywood in the middle.

I liked the thickness of 2 ¼ for the border – it made for a really elegant-looking, shake-style piece.

Pictured below are the cuts I made for the homemade drawer fronts:

Did you notice in the picture (above) that the four perimeter pieces of the drawer front have a groove in them?

That groove is to hold the center plywood piece in place. I cut the groove with my table saw with the blade set to a very shallow depth of ¼ inch. If you don’t have a table saw, you could accomplish the same cut with a circular saw and edge guide.

Using my table saw, I cut the grooves into 2 ¼” wide strips of pine boards (the strips were originally cut from my table saw as well). I did have to make the groove cut with three passes on the saw.

The saw blade was a standard ⅛” thick blade, but the groove needed to be at least ⅜”’wide to fit the plywood.

So after each pass on my table saw, I nudged my guide fence ever so slightly for the next cut. Next I used my miter saw to divvy up the strips for all my drawer fronts.

Here’s a closer shot of the grooves on the bordering pieces:

Here are the pieces I made for the drawer front, along with an assembled one in the back (below).

2. Drilling Pocket Holes for the Drawer Fronts

After the pieces for the DIY drawer fronts have been cut, I drilled pocket holes into the bordering pieces (the two long pieces – see pic below) to secure them to each other.

Here’s my Kreg pocket hole jig in action for this task:

Here are all the pocket holes required for a solid DIY drawer front:

Don’t worry about the holes in the final drawer front. These pocket holes were drilled into the rear facing side of the drawer front, so they will not be visible once attached to the drawer.

4. Assembling the Drawer Front Pieces

With the pocket holes drilled, assembly of the single panel drawer front pieces could begin. I started to knock the pieces together with a mallet.

Here’s the fully assembled Amish-style drawer front. Next, I had to insert the pocket hole screws.

5. Locking the Pieces in Place

Here I am putting in the pocket hole screws. I used a bar clamp (left) and a face clamp (right) to help keep the pieces in place while I put the screws in.

6. Attaching Drawer Fronts to Drawers

Here’s a helpful tip on attaching the DIY drawer fronts to drawers. To get the drawer fronts, lined up perfectly with the drawers, I found it easiest to attach them while the drawers were already in place:

So I put the drawers in place (see above pic), I liberally used construction adhesive on the drawer itself.

Then, I pressed the drawer front to the drawer, adjusting it as necessary to make sure it was perfectly placed.

Once I was satisfied with the positioning, I locked it in place with a few finishing nails around the perimeter. I used about three nails on the left and three nails on the right. This strongly secured the shaker-style drawer fronts to my drawers.

If you don’t have a finishing nailer, you could just insert some screws from inside the drawers to fasten the drawer fronts.

To finish the drawers off, I lightly sanded the edges to make them smooth.

7. Attaching the Handles to the Drawer Fronts

I did run into a small hiccup attaching some handles. My wife picked out these card catalog-style drawer pulls. The problem was that the screws that came with the drawer pull were not long enough to pass through both my drawer and the drawer front.

So I used a Forstner bit on my drill to cut away some of the wood inside the drawer to accommodate the screws. This worked perfectly.

After a paint job (we loved using milk paint) and some drawer pulls, the drawers with awesome-looking drawer fronts are ready for action!

For the mudroom makeover, we did numerous things to makeover the space – painted the room, stenciled the wall, installed shiplap, built cubby shelves, added almost 20 hooks for organization, and everyone’s favorite part is always the homemade drawers.

Not only is making things fun, but it feels wonderful to make things that make you feel productive and that others adore.

6 Easy Things You Can Do to Love Your Home

October 10, 2018 by Eileen Leave a Comment

6 Easy Things You Can Do to Love Your Home Post Preview: You’ll learn six things that you can do to bring you more happiness in your home, emulating that Christmas morning feeling.

You know the feeling you get when your home looks ready?

Everything is in its place, it’s clean and sparkling, and you are surrounded by things that bring you happiness.

This is usually the feeling I get around Christmas when I walk down the steps and see the Christmas tree lighting up the room – I absolutely the holidays.

Since we can’t have Christmas all the time, and we deserve to love our homes year round, I’ve put together 6 easy things you can do to bring you more happiness in your home. (If you need a little more help with your home, check out our room makeover workbook!)

1. A place for everything

One of the biggest issues in our home was stuff. So much stuff. Everywhere.

Declutter

If you are feeling like there’s always toys without a home, or piles of papers laying around, or boxes of pictures that you haven’t hung up, it’s time to find a better way.

Decluttering is one of the best ways to keep your house in check. Grab a box or a garbage bag and start collecting things to donate or trash.

If you are holding onto things that you really don’t need or that you don’t like but keep because of obligation, start rethinking that.

While thinning out your belongings, you can make more space, so everything else has a place.

Make space

If you’re thinking there’s no way that I can thin out my book collection or my spouse is a kind of a hoarder (ahemmm my husband), then declutter what you can – but make a spot for everything.

You can buy under-the-bed boxes to toss extra shoes in, you can buy more storage baskets or bins for toys (heck, you can even make these from cardboard boxes and contact paper), or you can hang shelves on the walls that can store fabric containers. Vertical space is amazing.

Little problem areas

You might just have a few areas in your home that are little problem areas. For us, the top of our washer and dryer becomes a dumping ground for mail and school papers.

It was making me so crazy because things would get lost. So, we are attaching hanging inserts to the side of our entryway piece with eight slots for paper organization (tutorial coming).

So, think about those messy areas of your home that seem to add stress or affect your productivity. Rethink how you have it organized – if it’s something as simple as adding some organizational boxes, you’ll be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner.

2. Rearrange for a fresh look

When I’m getting tired of a room, one of the first things that I do is rearrange it. In fact, I’m thinking about rearranging my office furniture as I’m typing this. I would love my desk to face the window 🙂

My love for rearranging runs deep. When I was a kid, I always shared a room with one of my sisters. I used to make little floor plans of our room and figure out how I could rearrange my furniture without having to move it more than once.

Rearranging a living room with a wall to wall fireplace

Rearranging this space made me love this room again

Last spring, the family room in our home was driving me crazy. When we moved to the house, the furniture all got placed, and it just stayed that way for years.

We had the TV mounted low on the wall, above the television table, and I arranged a gallery around the TV. Even though it looked nice (and we always got compliments on it), I just didn’t love it.

So, we remounted the TV high in the corner of the room, moved the TV table up to my son’s room for a toy table, moved a couch over to the wall where the TV was, and did a smaller gallery wall.

And, I just love it.

It brought a fresh look to the room.

Plus, there are all these other advantages – like I can now see the TV from the kitchen. Also, with the television mounted so high, the kids can play anywhere in the room without being too close to it.

If a room is driving you crazy, think about how you could rearrange it to make more functional or more enjoyable for you.

2. Do easy DIYs

Did you know that anyone can do simple DIYs? You don’t have to be really awesome with wood or really talented with designing a room. Anyone can watch a youtube video and learn a new skill.

Simple DIYs like updating old drawer pulls or old door handles (goodbye brass knobs) can make a huge difference.

Card catalog drawer pulls and DIY drawers

Loving these card catalog drawer pulls with space for labels

Painting a room can be absolutely huge. When we moved to our house, the entire house was painted stark white. In a few of the rooms, we painted a softer grayish white.

While we knew it wouldn’t be a drastic difference, it feels like one because the entire room feels warmer and more welcoming than that harsh white. Color can make a huge difference.

There are tons of other easy DIYs too – stenciling a wall, using peel and stick tiles, and refinishing furniture with milk or chalk paint (no prep work).

If you aren’t sure where to start, pick one DIY project you are excited about or one space in your home to hone in on.

3. Bring in things you love

I can’t emphasize this one enough – bring in things that you love, things that make you happy.

It’s way too easy to get caught up in the trends. Don’t just buy things or decorate with things because they are popular. Go with the items that make you happy.

If you just adore a print you find or a patterned chair, go with those things! Leave the trendy stuff behind. Unless, you love the trendy things, then by all means, go for it.

Treasure-Hunting

Go to thrift stores for new finds. I can’t tell you how many things I’ve found at thrift stores that I just adore! And the price and the fun of the find makes me love these things even more.

Sentimental Things

Decorate with sentimental things. My grandpop was a woodcarver, and we have many of his wooden animals and Santa Claus figures around the house. I love them because they remind me of him. My son recently asked if he can keep the wooden dog in his room 🙂 He’s learning young to surround yourself with what makes you happy.

Photographs

Photographs are also awesome – print a couple pictures that you love and put them in some picture frames that are on sale at Michaels. The pictures could be family photos, photos of your kids, your engagement photos, some awesome candids, or pictures of your travels. Or even some original artwork.

Make These DIY Picture Ledges with Scrap Wood!

Love these DIY photo ledges – they make it so easy to display tons of photos

Things that you adore

Last, if there are any special items that you love, decorate with those. I totally have a thing for pillows. What can I say?! They make me happy 🙂

4. Get rid of things that you don’t love

If you don’t like something anymore, then why keep it?! Lots of times we keep things out of obligation, just to collect dust in the basement or on the shelves.

Or, sometimes your style changes and you are no longer into the same things.

I used to have a huge collection of gold frames that I really am not so crazy about anymore. Yet, I got tired of the space they occupied in hallway closet boxes, so I went through them. I spray painted a few and donated the rest. I do have to say, it felt really freeing.

I also just got rid of a box of beach-related things that were former bathroom decorations in our old house. I never was really into beach-themed but I wasn’t sure how else to decorate a bathroom.

That box went straight to the thrift store, and I’m sure someone who loves beach decor was excited to find new treasures. (What’s in my bathroom now? Just a simple vase with flowers and a few simple pictures).

Big ticket items

If it’s something big that you don’t like, such as a couch, think about how you can change it.

Could you get a slipcover that would fit? Could you use throw blankets and accent pillows to spruce it up? Could you swap the couch with one from another room? Or, would you rather save up for a new one?

If you don’t like something, think about how you can change it so you do.

But, if you really don’t like something and it’s not a necessary item, don’t keep things around just to keep them around.

5. Find ways to bring more light

You know the feeling you get after a few days of rain and sunshine finally comes out? That long-missed sunshine always makes me smile.

An easy way to bring that happiness into your home is more light!

You can do this by taking down cumbersome old blinds and valances and replacing them with honeycomb blinds or long, flowy curtains, which will allow more light in.

For kids rooms, room darkening shades are great because they work perfectly to block the light for naps and early bedtimes, but they are easy to open to let the light back in.

Bulbs & Fixtures

Another way to bring more light in is through replacing dim bulbs or changing out your light fixtures, for a lighter, more modern look. And, the benefit on this is twofold – more light and a prettier fixture.

6. Work on the areas that need a little love

If there’s a particular room or space in your home that you feel needs a ton of work, you can easily pick a project or two and start chipping away at it.

We had a horrible mudroom, and it’s on our list to do a full renovation to one side of the room (tearing down a closet and replacing with countertops and cabinets).

However, as it was, that room made me crazy. It doubles as our entryway and our laundry room, so you can imagine how much time I spent in there.

Finally, I started chipping away at some projects I could do, independent of our grandiose future plans, and the change is insane.

Mudroom makeover – you won’t believe the “before”

We painted the room, stenciled a wall, added shiplap, added an entryway piece, and switched out a light fixture. Now this room is my happy place. Seriously, it’s the nicest room in the house 🙂

And to think, I almost didn’t touch it because of the future closet-to-countertop plan.

It just goes along with everything I’m saying – create spaces in your home that make you happy.

Don’t wait. You deserve it 🙂

Looking to makeover a room right away? Get our room makeover workbook that will guide you through making over a space in your home.

How to Get Astonishing Results with Milk Paint & Raw Wood

September 29, 2018 by Eileen 8 Comments

How to Use Milk Paint on Raw Wood Post Preview: You will find out how to use milk paint on raw wood to create beautifully-finished furniture with a non-toxic, zero VOC paint.

This post is sponsored by Old Fashioned Milk Paint. All opinions are entirely my own.

We have been on a mission lately at the grocery stores, when online shopping, and even at the home improvement stores.

We’ve been choosing products that have the healthiest ingredients. Ones with basic ingredients, instead of long lists that we can’t pronounce. Ingredients that aren’t detrimental to our health.

If you’ve ever read the ingredients or warning signs on a regular can of paint, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

After a ton of research on paints with the best ingredients, I stumbled upon milk paint.

Milk paint is a non-toxic, water-based paint. It has been around for thousands of years – before adding solvents, toxins, and chemicals into paints was a thing.

I’ve painted tons of furniture before, and I was worried that milk paint would be hard to work with or not give me the results I wanted.

Well, my worries were met with a beautiful, easy-to-work with milk paint and that delivered the same results that a high-quality furniture paint would, without all the chemicals.

How to Milk Paint Unfinished Furniture

My husband and I were in the middle of a mudroom makeover when we started our quest for natural paint. We had built a wooden entryway bench with locker-style cubbies. It would hold backpacks, coats, hats, diaper bags, mail, shoes and more.

In our search, we were ecstatic to find Old Fashioned Milk Paint, made from just milk casein, lime, and earth pigments. The milk paint worked exactly as a high-quality furniture paint without solvents, toxins, and other chemicals that have since been added to paints. Old Fashioned Milk Paint has absolutely zero VOCs, it’s bio-degradable, and non-toxic.

Most times when you see milk paint used on Pinterest and blogs, it’s usually used to refinish an already-painted piece of furniture.

However, milk paint can also be used very easily on raw wood. And, it looks beautiful.

Milk Paint Materials

Milk Paint – We used Old Fashioned Milk Paint in snow white
Angled paint brushes
Mixing container
Mixer or drill with paint mixer attachment
Extra bond
Safe Coat Sealer

Using Old Fashioned Milk Paint to paint raw wood

Materials for mixing milk paint

How to Mix Milk Paint

First, milk paint comes in a powder form. You simply mix it with water and then it’s ready to go.

While this is an extra step, it’s totally worth it to be painting with zero VOCs. There are also advantages to mixing your own paint. For example, you can easily create your own colors, the paint dries quickly, and it can be cleaned with simply soap and water.

To mix your Old Fashioned Milk Paint, follow these instructions.

1. Measure your ingredients.

First measure out equal parts of the milk paint powder and water. Dump these into a bucket or mixing container.

2. Add in bonding agent, if necessary.

You’ll want to figure out if you need a bonding agent mixed in your first coat. A bonding agent helps the paint to stick. It does make the first coat more watery but subsequent coats will be thicker.

Typically, if you’re using raw wood, you typically don’t need to use a bonding agent. We used the bonding agent for the first coat because we used birch to build our entryway piece. Birch is a close-grained hardwood, so we needed the bonding agent to get good coverage.

If you aren’t sure if you need a bonding agent, Old Fashioned Milk Paint has tons of information on types of wood and whether the bonding agent is needed.

3. Combine ingredients with a mixer.

To mix milk paint, we found that the paint mixer attachment on the drill worked perfectly. You can also use a regular kitchen mixer.

I’ve also used milk paint without use of a drill or electric mixer and I haven’t had as much luck, especially when mixing colors.

So you just dump your ingredients into the container and mix it very slowly for 2-3 minutes.

After your done mixing, let it sit still for 10 minutes. Then give it a good stir with the paint brush, and you are ready to start painting your wood with milk paint.

Mixing milk paint in a bucket with a drill attachment

Mixing milk paint with a drill attachment

How to Paint Raw Wood with Milk Paint

Now that your paint is mixed well, it’s time to start painting that wood.

1. Make sure your wood is clean of any sawdust or dirt.

Wipe down your wood to make sure it’s ready for painting.

Unfinished wood bench ready for painting

2. Use an angled brush to put on your first coat.

We found that an angled brush works really well with furniture because you can easily get all of the nooks and crannies.

We also preferred a brush to a roller because we could control the paint better and watch for drips more easily.

If you have the bonding agent in your first coat, it will be more watery and thin. So you want to be careful of paint drips. Definitely start at the top of your furniture and work your way down. This way if you do have drips, you are painting downward and can even them out more easily.

The first coat is more about coverage than anything else. So a thin coat is fine as long as you are covering the area well. The first coat won’t look beautiful and that’s okay.

Let the coat dry and then you’ll be ready to move on.

Painting unfinished wood with milk paint

After one coat of milk paint (with extra bond) on wooden cubby shelf

3. Stirring frequently, apply your second coat, making sure to use even paint strokes.

While the first coat was about coverage, when painting the second coat, you want to make sure that you are evenly coating your brush and evenly spreading the paint on. Take time to go over your brush strokes to make sure the paint looks smooth.

As with the first coat, start at the top of the wooden piece and work your way down. If your paint is extra drippy, use less at a time or apply a thinner coat.

If your milk paint mixture is too thick, you can add a little water at a time and mix well. The paint shouldn’t be difficult to apply or difficult to spread. You could also wet your brush a little to help.

Painting with milk paint on unfinished wood cubby shelf

Getting a second coat on the cubbies

4. Apply additional coats as you see fit.

Depending upon how thick or thin your paint coats were, you might need three or four coats. Or, you could need three coats and a touch-up coat. Decide what you’re comfortable with. You might put an extra coat in areas that are more visible.

Wooden drawers painted white with milk paint

Homemade bench drawers with three coats of milk paint

Remember if your paint is too thick, add a little water and stir. The paint shouldn’t be hard to apply.

Here’s a useful tip for you. Keep some sand paper handy while applying milk paint. After some coats have dried, you may notice some hardened drips you missed. Just lightly sand them down with 150 grit sand paper and cover up with the next coat. Also, when your last coat of milk paint has dried, the surface may feel a little rough as you run your hand across it. A very light sanding of 300 grit sand paper yields a super smooth finish.

Here is the finished cubby piece installed in our mudroom. The cubbies and the drawers were all painted in Snow White from Old Fashioned Milk Paint.

Locker-style cubbies in mudroom painted in Snow White Milk Paint

Finished locker-style cubbies and bench drawers painted with milk paint

Here’s a close-up of the drawers. The paint looks so professional. Out of all of the various furniture paints I have used, I’ve never been more pleased than I have been with milk paint.

Not only is it non-toxic and absolutely zero VOCs, but it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Mudroom cubby drawers painted with milk paint

Homemade face plates (and drawers) with snow white milk paint

How to Seal Milk Paint

Milk paint doesn’t always need a sealer, but if the furniture is prone to spills or moisture, then sealing is a good idea. We sealed our entryway piece because the kids would be sitting in there taking their shoes on and off, hanging up their wet coats and hats, spilling their water bottles, etc.

To maximize the longevity of the milk paint, we opted to seal the finish with an acrylic type glaze. The dried milk paint already seemed pretty sturdy, but we didn’t want to risk early wear on the milk paint. We used SafeCoat AcriGlaze because of the extremely low VOC content. Applying it was very easy. We used a good quality bristle brush, and applied just two coats of the sealer, about 2 hours apart. We were very happy with the product. True to its word, it had a very low odor which dissipated quickly with a fan. The glaze dried clear. You could not tell it was even there unless you ran your finger across the wood. It was well protected.

All in all, we couldn’t be more thrilled with our milk painted entryway cubbies. The milk paint was extremely easy to use, proved itself as a high-quality furniture paint, and most importantly, it’s a safe, natural alternative to the chemical-laden paints that are out there.

Thank you Old Fashioned Milk Paint for offering a safe alternative so that we DIYers can build and create without compromising our health.

If you are looking for an easy to work with paint with zero VOCs, definitely check out Old Fashioned Milk Paint. You will love it 🙂

And as for the building of the cubby shelves, that tutorial is on its way to you next!

Want to see what our mudroom looked like BEFORE the makeover?

It’s almost unbelievable – but all of the pictures are here –>

How to Transform an Ugly Space into a Completely Functional Room

How to Stencil an Accent Wall You’ll Absolutely Love

September 24, 2018 by Eileen 6 Comments

How to Stencil an Accent Wall Post Preview: You will find out how to paint a stenciled accent wall, along with stenciling tips and tricks.

This post is sponsored by Stencil Revolution. All opinions are entirely my own.

Everyone has a spot in their house that drives them crazy, am I right!? For me, it was our mudroom.

It was boring, barely functional, and beyond a mess.

So, we embarked on a mudroom makeover and starting building an entryway bench with locker cubbies. In the meantime, I wanted to add a little character to the walls.

With its beige walls and grayish tiled floors, the mudroom room was just so plain.

So, I had a plan to DIY my own “wallpaper” aka stencil an accent wall.

Can I just say that stencils are amazing?! I’ve used stencils before on a world map wall art project, but never on a wall. I couldn’t get over how much the stencil completely changed the look of the room. The previously boring space became completely modernized with the stenciled accent wall.

The best part?

With wall stencils, you get to choose your own colors, rather than be stuck with premade wallpaper. And, you can save money by doing the work yourself – perfect for DIYing on a tight budget.

If you’re thinking about stenciling a focal wall in your home, it’s super easy – it’s definitely a DIY project that anyone can do.

Today, I’m sharing all my tips and tricks for how to paint a stencil on an accent wall.

How to Stencil an Accent Wall

First, I’m going to take you back a minute and show you a crazy before and after. It’s a little embarrassing, but seriously, this is what the room looked like prior to the mudroom makeover.

And here is what the mudroom looks like after its makeover.

And here’s another angle – I continued the stencil across the adjacent wall too.

So let’s get started! To stencil an accent wall, you’ll need a good chunk of time, and the following items.

Materials for Stenciling a Wall

Paint
Stencil – We used the Freya tile stencil
Rounded brush – This is a great brush set for stenciling
Paper towels
Optional – level (not needed if you use registration marks on the stencil), paint stirrers, plastic cup for small amount of paint, baby wipes (to quickly wipe mistakes)

Check out our wall stenciling video to see me in action, stenciling the wall.

Step 1 – Choose your stencil and paint colors

First, you’ll want to choose your stencil. Stencils are awesome because you can create a wallpaper effect for a really inexpensive price. We love the stencils from Stencil Revolution – you’ll definitely be oogling over their new tile line. The stencil we used is the Freya stencil and it’s part of their new line. We loved the colors they used with the stencil, so we mimicked those.

These stencils are especially easy to work with because they have registration marks, where you can easily line up each stencil with the one before. Because of these registration marks, you can get by without needing a ruler or a level.

After you have chosen your stencil, you’ll want to start thinking about paint colors for your stencil and, if necessary, the wall. Stencils don’t have to be the mono-colored. You can use two or three colors. Additionally, consider painting the wall or room, if it’s not the right background color.

We painted over our beige mudroom with white paint, as we wanted the background of our stencil to be white.

Then we chose two colors for the stencil – tan and charcoal. When you’re deciding on colors for your stencil, try them out with the stencil in a test area. I had a few different versions of tan before I settled on my favorite. You can try the wall stencil on an area of your wall that will be covered (I tried mine where the shiplap was going) or you can use a foam board.

Paint Tip: When choosing paint for the stencil, it doesn’t need to be wall paint. You can use acrylic paint from the craft store. Using the small acrylic containers from the craft store make it really easy to test colors too.

Step 2 – Prepare the wall

Next, you want to prepare your wall. If you are painting the wall first, you’ll want to do that now.

If you want to wipe down your wall or the baseboards or tape off any area, you’ll want to prepare that before starting to stencil.

Side note – If you’re painting your wall white over a darker color like we did, it can take extra coats to get back to white. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about your project timeline.

Step 3 – Decide where you want your stencil to start

Choose an ideal starting point for your wall stencil. Ideally, this is the spot where you’ll want your wall stencil to look the best. The most visible part of the room is always a good choice.

Keep in mind that at the opposite end of the wall, depending upon the length of your wall and the size of the stencil, the last stencil could cut off. When you’re making your starting decision, factor in the opposite end or ends of the wall.

Depending upon your stencil’s design, you could nudge your starting point just a little bit to help the opposite end terminate at a better point.

Or if you get really lucky, the stencil might fit perfectly across the whole wall.

I started the stencil right next to the window, as this part of the wall was the most visible when walking into the room. The stencil cut off at the opposite end of the wall, but I started the first stencil a half an inch inward, so the last stencil would cut off exactly halfway. I was okay with it cutting off there because that end was in a more hidden corner of the room.

Note – The starting point for the stencil doesn’t necessarily need to be where you first start painting. It’s just where the stencil pattern starts. You could begin painting in a less visible area, such as toward the ceiling, so that any early mistakes are made high up, where people won’t be able to see.

Step 4 – Secure stencil to the wall

Next, you’ll want to attach the stencil to the wall. To do so, I just used four pieces of painter’s tape. It was super simple. When you’re done, you just peel the stencil and tape off and move to the next spot.

Some people like to use a spray adhesive, but I found that unnecessary. The tape was very simple.

Step 5 – Use a small rounded brush to start dabbing on the paint.

Now the fun part! To stencil the accent wall, you’ll want to use a rounded, stiff brush to stencil your wall. If the brush is too soft, it will bend. The best brushes are rounded that come to a point.

With your rounded brush, you are just going to dab the end of your brush in the paint. Do this as evenly as you can, and then blot the extra paint. This is important because if your paint is too thick, it will slip under the stencil and cause unclean lines. A little paint goes a long way.

As soon as your paintbrush is ready, gently dab it onto the wall. When you’re painting the wall, don’t use brush strokes, just stipple it onto the wall.

Now it won’t be perfect. But with a small amount of paint and a small rounded brush, it will be pretty close.

If your stencil isn’t flush against the wall, you can use your marker or pencil to hold the stencil flush against the wall with one hand, while you paint with another. I used a drill bit, rather than a marker, because it was the first thing I found 🙂

Brush Tip: As for brush size, keep in mind that a smaller brush will get you more accuracy and a bigger brush will get the job done faster. You could use a bigger brush in higher areas, where people won’t be able to see up close (because it goes faster) and a smaller rounded brush in lower areas.

Step 6 – Remove stencil and repeat

Simply peel back the stencil and remove. If there are any stray marks, you could always wipe with a paper towel or a baby wipe before it dries.

Then, line the stencil up with the registration marks (see above) and work on your next stencil.

It will be slow going at first, but like anything, it gets quicker as you get used to it.

A Few More Wall Stenciling Tips

For our mudroom wall, I only stenciled the top third of the wall. On the lower part, I attached shiplap, which made for a really cool look.

I also ended up stenciling more than I thought. My plan was to just stencil the wall around the window, but I kept going around the doorway of the laundry room. If you are undecided on whether to continue the stencil on a neighboring wall, you can start with the wall that you are sure about. Then, go from there.

Stencil Cut-Off Tip: If you are doing a lot of stenciling and your wall stencil cuts off at the corner or around a window, you could do a couple of things. You could simple bend the stencil and tape it. I would use a lot of tape so it doesn’t slide when you are painting. It’s a little tricky to do but that’s what I did (see picture above).

Or, you could order more than one stencil, and cut the stencil so that you have a flush fit when stenciling around windows and near corners.

Here’s a close up of the finished wall, with the stencil at the top third, and the shiplap at the bottom.

Next, we put shiplap on the lower portion of wall, and we have a full tutorial coming on this! It was super simple 🙂

Here’s a few more pictures of the other side of the room, including the portion above the laundry room nook.

And, I just adore these hooks! They look perfect with the stencil and the shiplap. I think there’s about 16 of them in the mudroom now 🙂 They’ll be no excuses for bags and coats not hung up.

Go for it!

If you’re debating whether or not to stencil a wall, definitely go for it. Stenciling a wall is an easy, budget-friendly DIY. With a little bit of work, you can completely transform the look of a room.

If you love the way the shiplap looks on our accent wall, that post is coming next, and our whole mudroom makeover will soon follow.

So, there we have it! A completely transformed room with something as simple as a wall stencil. If you are looking for a thrifty way to redo an old space, definitely consider stenciling an accent wall.

How to Transform an Ugly Space to an Insanely Functional Room

September 8, 2018 by Eileen 15 Comments

Every time I walked into the house, I cringed.

Every time I did laundry, every time I went to grab my coat, every time I went to get the mail.

I couldn’t stand our mudroom, and I was constantly in and out of it.

It was a tight space with a bench blocking the window. The bench filled up quickly with backpacks, hoodies, and amazon boxes. There wasn’t any place to put anything down and then of course a third of the room was a huge closet.

It was beige-y, boring, and not functional for our family.

We had big plans to knock out the closet and put in countertops and cabinets. However, we didn’t have the time or budget to take that on this summer.

We thought that we were stuck with this room as it was.

However, we changed a few things here and there – and it started with painting an accent wall and building cubbies. Before we knew it, we had a whole new room even with the old closet.

So, here are our 4 proven steps to transforming a room in your home.

If you love these, check out our room makeover workbook and you’ll be on your way to making over a room in your home too!

1. List the things that drive you crazy.

The first thing we did was think about what we didn’t like about the room. Figuring out what we didn’t like (other than just saying “ugh I can’t stand this room!”) helped us see what we could and couldn’t fix.

Here’s our list of things we didn’t like about our current mudroom.

There was nowhere to store coats, shoes, and backpacks – and therefore was always a mess.
There was not enough light.
It was a boring space – beige paint, beige and brown floors.
And, there was the huge walk-in closet, taking up a huge chunk of the room.

2. Brainstorm fixes for each item on your list.

Next, we jotted down a fix for each thing that drove us crazy.

Nowhere to store outdoor gear –> Build locker-style cubbies with bench and plenty of space for drawers or baskets
Not enough light –> Move bench away from window, switch out the light fixture for a brighter (more modern) one
Boring space –> Paint, stencil an accent wall, install shiplap?
Huge closet –> Tackle this stage of the project at a later date

By simply listing out the problems and fixes, we had ourselves a blueprint of what our mudroom makeover would look like. Now, we weren’t planning on tackling the closet/countertop fix this time. However, that’s okay!

With all of the other changes, I was certain our mudroom would get its much needed makeover. Here’s an after picture – what do you think?!

3. Make a master list – break large goals into smaller action items.

In order to get our mudroom from the before picture to the after picture, we took our list of fixes (above), and then we turned it into our master list. We had four main items to work on.

Stencil the wall
Install shiplap
Build an entryway piece with bench and cubbies
Replace light fixture

And then, within those large items, we broke it down into smaller tasks. For example, the stencil task looked like this:

Stencil the wall

Choose paint colors for wall and stencil
Paint entire room
Review stenciling techniques
Do a practice stencil
Stencil wall

Breaking large items into smaller ones make them more manageable and it gives you direction on what you need to do next. Also, action items keep you from getting overwhelmed or wasting time.

4. Set goals to complete action items each day or week.

Now that we had a master list with manageable action items, we set goals each week to complete certain action items. Each day, we chipped away at our action items, crossing things off the list here and there.

It took us a month – but we had an incredible mudroom makeover. The process of listing out the problems with the room, then determining solutions worked so well for us.

All of the years that we’ve lived in this house that I spent frustrated with the mudroom or complaining about it, could have been channeled productively through creating solutions and chipping away at the projects.

I mean, you can’t tell that it was the same room!

5. Check out 33 Days To a Space You’ll Love

Looking to transform a space in your home? Tired of the room or space driving you nuts?

Check out our Room Makeover Workbook to guide you through transforming a room in your home in just 33 days! We will take you step-by-step through the process of making over your space.

10 Photos from this Insanely Awesome Mudroom Makeover

August 29, 2018 by Eileen 20 Comments

Is there a room in your home that frustrates you? An area in your house that totally stresses you out? A space that just doesn’t work for you and your family?

For us, this was the mudroom. It was absolutely dreadful.

There wasn’t a good place anything – bags, coats, shoes, or packages that came in the mail all haphazardly piled up. We had a old bench awkwardly blocking the light from the window.

The room itself was pretty boring – the beige walls, the brownish tan floor, and an outdated light fixture.

Tired of sighing every time I walked in the house or did laundry, I decided to make some simple changes to the mudroom.

Here are 10 photos from our mudroom makeover that are totally awesome and will hopefully inspire you to transform a space in your home that drives you nuts.

Mudroom “Before” Photo

Let’s start with the before photos. Now, I just have to say that these before photos are real life. This is exactly what the room looked like day in and day out. You can see why it drove me so crazy.

Mudroom Makeover Details

First, we cleared out the room, relocated the wooden bench and started fresh.

Stenciled Accent Wall with Shiplap

We decided to do an accent wall – that was half stenciled and half shiplap. It turned out so awesome, right?! The stencils are from Stencil Revolution, and we have a stenciling tutorial coming soon!

L-Shaped Entryway Bench with Cubbies

We also built a DIY bench (see above and below). This was a simple place for people to sit to take their shoes off.

Additionally, we put drawers underneath for winter accessories. Underneath the drawers was open space for shoes. A tutorial and plans for this DIY bench are coming soon!

As you can see, the bench allowed much more light to come through the window.

One of my favorite parts of the room are the card-catalog style drawer pulls. Insert heart-eyed emoji here 🙂

Above the bench, we also built locker-style cubbies. Within these cubbies, we installed more shiplap to create a uniform look across the room. Then, we stenciled the wall above the entryway piece.

New Mudroom Light Fixture

We found a new light to replace the dated one. We partnered with Wikibuy to find this awesome lamp. Wikibuy is a website and browser extension that finds you the lowest prices on things you want to buy online. It’s just like having a shopping assistant 🙂

It’s amazing the difference that a gorgeous light fixture makes.

Next, we put hooks everywhere. You can never have too many hooks in the mudroom or entryway. I think we put at least 16 in 🙂

Mudroom “After” Picture

This was the view walking in. What a difference!

And, it was so much more functional for our family because there are tons of places to put everything. The drawers the huge, the hooks are plentiful, and the baskets help with extra storage.

The baskets were an awesome find from Michael’s. They have three different sizes – this one is medium. I was able to use their coupons and make several trips to get each one discounted. 🙂

You could also make your own storage bins with cardboard and contact paper – thrifty and easy!

And, comparing the mudroom to the before picture, here is the same view as the before picture. SUCH a difference, right!?

It’s absolutely amazing to walk into the room and not see a disorganized mess.

Everything has a place in the entryway cubby shelves. The locker-style cubbies help to keep everyone in the family’s things organized. The L-shaped bench provides plenty of seating for our family and visitors to put their bags or sit and take off their shoes. The stencil and shiplap add so much character to the room.

It definitely looks like a completely different space.

Have a room that you want to makeover?

If you are wondering if you can do this, you CAN!

You can totally makeover a room into something you love too!

Join our FREE Challenge!

If you have a room in your home that’s driving you crazy, stressing you out, adding to your frustration, then definitely sign up for our FREE challenge 33 Days To a Space You’ll Love.

We will send you daily emails with simple assignments which will help you transform a room in your home in a month’s time.

You don’t need to have a lot of time or money to makeover your room – just a willingness to make some small changes. Small changes in a room make a HUGE difference.

Make sure to sign up for our FREE guide and you will be transforming a space you don’t like into a space that you LOVE.

And when you do, don’t forget to send me before and after pictures. I would love to see 🙂

How to Build a DIY Screen Door

July 22, 2018 by Ash 7 Comments

For some reason, flies love to hang around in our garage.

As annoying as they are in the garage, they are even worse if they make it inside the house.

I finally got tired of chasing after flies in the house and decided to install a screen door leading into the garage.

Now, in traditional Just Measuring Up fashion, I wasn’t about to just buy one from the store.

I had lots of wood left over from previous projects, so I decided to just make my own door. I just needed to buy some hinges and insect screen.

DIY Screen Door Design

I had a basic idea of what I wanted the scrap wood screen door to look like.

So I had a quick session on the table saw and miter saw using the scrap wood that I had laying around, and here is what I came up with for the screen door design:

DIY Screen Door Materials

Boards (see details below)
2 door hinges
Handle
Insect screen
Trim
Spring (or pneumatic closer)
Magnetic catch (optional)

Since I was retro-fitting a custom door in the door frame, the dimensions were customized to fit within the existing doorway trim.

Here are my exact dimensions:

How to Use Scrap Wood to Make a DIY Screen Door

The long boards for the screen door I cut with my table saw, while the triangle trim inserts were done with left over scrap wood using my miter saw. I used whatever surplus boards I had lying around the garage.

If I were to buy boards from the store, I would be fine with just two 1′ x 10′ x 8′ boards.

Next, I had to join the pieces together to form the screen door. There are lots of different ways to join these pieces. I opted for the simplest method of using pocket hole screws. I used my trusty Kreg pocket hole jig.

Here is my Kreg pocket hole jig in action, connecting the pieces to make the scrap wood screen door:

How to Make Pocket Holes for the Scrap Wood Screen Door

Making pocket holes with a jig is really fast and produces very strong joints. Here are what some of the joints look like:

Pocket holes joints do leave visible holes. Normally, I don’t mind them.

However, I wanted this screen door to have a more professional finish.

So I filled the holes with these pocket hole plugs and a touch of wood glue:

Once the wood glue is dried and the plugs are sanded down, the holes practically disappear (a coat of paint will seal the deal):

Using Triangle Inserts for the Design

In making the scrap wood DIY screen door, I didn’t use any pocket holes for the triangle inserts. I just used some construction adhesive and two finishing nails.

Here is the assembled scrap wood screen door (it’s looking great so far):

Installing Door Hinges on the DIY Screen Door

For my particular set up, it was more practical to install the hinges on the outside of the screen door frame (rather than inside, like typical door hinges are).

So rather than screwing the hinges directly into the screen door trim (which would be hideous and not very strong at all), I decided to make simple mounts for the hinges.

I cut out a small segment of the existing doorway trim, and inserted a block of wood. This piece of wood was both glued and screwed into the doorway to make a strong mount for the hinges.

Here is what one of the mounts looked like for the DIY screen door:

Attaching the Screen to the Door

After my wife painted the door, I proceeded to attach the screen to the door. I wrapped the door really tightly with the screen and stapled the perimeter of the windows with my staple gun:

Then I used my utility knife to cut away the excess screen:

I covered the staples with door trim by attaching construction adhesive and letting it dry overnight:

Attaching the DIY Screen Door Accessories

While attaching some of the screen door accessories (like hinges, handle and magnetic catch), I realized some of the screws were a bit too long.

They were sticking out the other side of the door. I remedied this by shortening the screws to the thickness of the door.

Trimming the Screws

To trim the screws, I drove them into a scrap piece of wood. Then I secured the wood in a vise and used my handy Dremel to cut off the protruding parts of the screws (via a reinforced cut-off wheel).

I made sure to wear gloves and safety goggles for this, as lots of sparks fly when cutting metal.

Here’s a picture showing my screw trimming station:

Attaching the Screen Door

To attach the DIY screen door, I placed it in the doorway and positioned it in place.

I needed a 1/8″ gap between the door and the frame. So to ensure a consistent gap along the entire perimeter, I used several wooden shims underneath and along the edges of the screen door.

Once I was satisfied with an even 1/8″ gap, I screwed on the hinges to lock the screen door in place.

For the moment of truth, I pulled out all the wooden shims and watched the screen door swing freely.

Next, I attached the door handle and a long spring to self close the door.

However, I noticed that even with the spring in place, the screen door didn’t remain closed all the way (there was about half an inch of a gap). So I used a magnetic catch to keep the door pulled in all the way.

The DIY screen door made from scrap wood was complete!

Here is the finished homemade screen door for the garage:

For a final touch, I also attached a latch to be able to keep the screen door open if needed:

The DIY screen door only took a few hours to complete (although I had to wait extra time for paint and glue to dry).

Since I reused extra wood left over from projects, my total cost for the DIY screen door was around $30 (for screen, hinges, spring, handle).

And, the flies? They can longer get into the house.

And that, my friends, is a win.

12 Things Every DIYer Needs in Their Garage

June 26, 2018 by Ash 16 Comments

With so many DIY projects in progress, our garage is usually a hot spot of disorganization. I finally got around to organizing my garage (again) last weekend.

When it was all done, I stood by the door admiring my handiwork, hoping that this is the last time I need to do a garage organization overhaul.

This time, the garage is really efficiently organized. There’s tons of DIY garage storage shelves, lots of folding and rolling work spaces, creative nooks that house frequently-used items, and a few fun things as well!

Now that every single thing has a place and is neatly organized in the garage, it makes me want to start a DIY project right away. But before I do so, I wanted to share these DIY garage storage ideas with you.

Without further ado, here is list of 12 things around my garage that I made or bought to help organize DIY projects and efficiently store tools.

Battery Charging Station

Over time, I have accrued a number of power tools with different types of batteries. I believe I have 8 different types of battery chargers. Now when I buy new cordless tools, I try my best to find ones that will work with my existing batteries.

Nevertheless, I am still stuck with an existing assortment of battery chargers that need to be organized in my garage. Managing all of them can get messy, so I decided to centralize them into a battery charging station.

It’s just a simple L shaped storage shelf off the side of one of my workbenches. This DIY garage storage idea has organized my batteries perfectly.

Hidden Workbench Storage

Of all the DIY garage storage and organization ideas, this is one of my favorites. I recently built a new rolling workbench, and mid-construction I thought about how much potential storage space was being wasted inside.

I am always on the lookout for making use of idle spaces, so I came up with the idea of hidden storage for the workbench.

So, I divided my workbench into 3 sections, and attached the top with hinges. Just under the table top, I now have huge drawers of garage storage space.

To make it even cooler, I installed some pneumatic lid supports to keep the lids in place when open. The supports also make it a lot easier to open since the lids are pretty heavy.

Rolling Tables with Storage

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted a workspace in the middle of the garage or out in the driveway.

So I finally drew up some garage plans for a rolling storage table, with a lot of emphasis on storage and organization.

The rolling table with storage is turning out awesome. My custom table has drawers on both sides for maximum organization. I use locking wheels so the table doesn’t roll when in storage or when I’m working on it.

Even the height of the table was carefully taken into consideration. It’s the exact height as my table saw. So when I am cutting large pieces of wood with my table saw, I can just roll out my table for extra support. When I’m done with the table, it rolls away to fit under my garage workbench and serves as static drawers.

Don’t mind the missing drawer in the picture! The table is still under construction, but very usable in its current state.

Folding Workbench

As much as I love my garage workshop, it still is just a garage. As such, our cars need to fit in there from time to time.

So, to strike a fine balance between a solid workshop and a working garage, I constructed a folding heavy duty workbench.

The folded workbench is mounted on the walls and supported by 3 floating legs. When I need to park the car in the garage, I push the legs flat against the wall, and the whole table folds down.

See my post for more details on this awesome folding workbench. It’s definitely a must-have for an organized, functional DIY garage.

Wall-Mounted Computer

A computer in the garage can be a really valuable tool.

I like to sketch 3D designs of my projects on the computer. It makes it easy to visualize how something will turn out in end, and helps me determine how much material I will need.

It’s also great for instructional YouTube videos.

When I’m not using it for projects, I just use it for music at night to keep the projects pumping along.

I built my own computer (made the case out of wood!), and mounted it high up on the wall next to a TV.

No sawdust is going to get up there. I control with with a mini wireless keyboard and built in touchpad for the mouse.

Check out my blog post for full details on my custom made garage computer – such an awesome DIY garage idea, right?!

Shelves Galore

I have to admit – I may have gone a little storage shelf crazy in my garage. In fact, I even have sub-shelves attached to larger shelves. I can’t help it – they are so practical and useful. Here is a whole subset of DIY garage organization ideas for shelving.

Extra Plywood Hack

Here I have some metal storage shelving in my garage, but I took it to the next level by bolting on some plywood to the side to store an assortment of things (like rakes, brooms, and even a chainsaw).

This has been so helpful to not have these items on the floor haphazardly.

Scrap Wood Bin

Using otherwise wasted corner space, I built a scrap wood bin, and attached some shelves above it to store the smaller pieces (that would normally get lost in a bin).

The bin and accompanying shelves house all of my scrap wood, emptying out other areas of the garage. Plus, all of my scrap wood is easy to find for my DIY projects made entirely of scrap wood.

Mini Shelves

Here is a mini shelf I built for holding some plastic drawers. The plastic drawers are holding the items for the computer/TV. Whenever I have an item that I don’t have a great place for, I just make my own little stand or shelf to hold it.

Sliding Shelf Tower

I also made a storage tower with sliding shelves for the garage. It holds a TON of things on it. Check out the blog post for the sliding shelf organization plans and design. This is Eileen’s favorite part of the garage because of the all the storage. In fact, she’s been wanting a few of these storage shelves that slide in the basement.

Sub-Shelves

Here’s the sub-shelf I mentioned earlier. I couldn’t stand looking at the empty void beneath one of my larger shelves. So one day I tossed together some scrap wood for a mini shelf attached underneath.

French Cleat Shelves

French cleat shelves are awesome. I made these storage shelves from scratch with a french cleat mounting system. They hang very sturdily off the wall, and lift off with ease for me to carry around on various projects.

See my blog post about french cleat shelves to learn more about them.

Repurposed Shelves

Here I repurposed some closet wire shelves for spray cans. My neighbor tossed them out one day, and my eyes lit up. Free storage!

Don’t underestimate something that you or someone else is getting rid of – especially something that can be used as shelving.

Various Storage Bins

Storage bins are great for screws and commonly used things like driver bits and washers.

I dedicated a number of shelves to just storage bins. I even mounted some storage bins to the wall for easy access.

They are also very portable. You can take them around with you during your project instead of having to run back to the garage every time you run out.

Folding Stands for Bulky Tools

If you don’t have the space in your garage workshop to dedicate to certain bulky tools (like table saws and miter saws), then consider folding stands for them.

My table saw came with a built in folding stand. It allows me to fold up the saw and store it upright. It saves a considerable amount of space. The stand also makes it very portable. I can just wheel my table saw where ever I need to use it.

Similarly , I bought a folding stand for my miter saw. I get the same organization perks in the garage as my folding table saw.

In addition, it comes with extending arms to help support long pieces of lumber I need to cut.

Easy Access to Power Tools

Whenever I need to plug in a tool for power, I never have to wander too far for an outlet. With this awesome extension cord holder, I just grab the cord and pull out however much I need.

When I’m done, I crank the handle to reel the cord back in. This extension cord holder is probably the most used contraption in my garage.

To make it even more convenient, I mounted it on hinges so it can fold away when not being used.

Here’s a really good tip. If you use a lot of power-hungry tools (like table saws, miter saws, or even large shop vacs), I highly recommend a pair of dedicated 20 amp outlets, on their own breaker.

I hired an electrician to install this for me, but it was pretty cheap. I can’t tell you how many times I used to fire up my table saw just to trip the 15 amp family room breaker. My wife was not very happy sitting in the dark when previously she was just enjoying The Bachelor.

Having a pair of outlets on their own breaker also means you can even run multiple high wattage tools simultaneously and never have to worry about making trips to reset breakers.

Overhead Storage

Your garage ceiling is prime real estate for storage.

It’s completely out of the way, but there for you when you need it.

So take full advantage of any free space up there. I’ve been using some heavy duty U bars bolted to my ceiling joists to store most of my lumber.

I just grab a ladder or stepping tool when I need to access them.

There’s a wide market of ceiling mounted storage accessories for you to check out. Just be weary of their load limits and make sure you attach them to ceiling joists with lag bolts.

Magnetic Tool Holders

I recently picked up a handful of magnetic bars to store loose tools. They are an awesome organizational tool. I tacked them onto any free surface that made sense.

I use the magnetic tool storage holders to store wrenches, screwdrivers, loose screws, basically anything that is made from metal. Magnetic bars make it so convenient to quickly grab a tool, then slap it back on the bar when done. And they are pretty cheap!

Blowing Off Some Steam

Not all DIY projects are full of bliss. There are times you will get frustrated. At the end of a hard day, you’ll probably want to let off some steam.

That’s why I built a boxing speed bag platform in the middle of my garage workflow.

It’s stowable too so it rises out of the way when not in use. It’s even secured to the ceiling with rubber dampeners to reduce the noise.

Check out my blog post for more details on my boxing speed bag platform.

That’s it! I hope my list gives you some ideas for your own DIY garage storage and organization projects.

Let me know what cool things you have in your garage, especially DIY garage storage ideas. I’m always on the lookout for more things that can make my garage workshop time be more efficient and productive.

7 Easy DIYs for Your Walls

June 5, 2018 by Eileen 24 Comments

This post is sponsored by Stencil Revolution. All opinions are entirely my own.

Even though we moved into our home years ago, we still had way too many bare walls in our home.

The walls were my last priority in getting ourselves unpacked and settled. So, picture frames sat in boxes in the garage for months and months.

What I didn’t know in my procrastination was that I could have been using all that blank wall space to our advantage.

Wall space isn’t just for pictures – it’s a gem of versatility! From floating shelves to accent walls to cool wall hangings to easy DIY wall art ideas, here are six easy DIYs for your walls so they will no longer be bare or boring.

1. Build Simple Shelves

One of my favorite spots in our home is my craft room, which is just a sitting room off our bedroom. When we moved in, we had no idea what we were going to do with it. Ha! I’ve completely taken it over with craft supplies.

When I had filled every inch, I moved to the walls.

We built two simple shelves with the dimensions to fit four fabric storage bins on each. That’s eight storage bins – filled to the brim – and not taking up any closet or desk space!

If you’re running out of space in your home, take a look at your empty walls, and see where you could put up a few storage shelves.

2. Make a Cool Wall Hanging

It’s hard to find the perfect wall hanging to go over couches and beds because they need to be so big to look nice. And, art is expensive! So, why not DIY it?

I partnered with Stencil Revolution to create this awesome stenciled world map wall hanging.

They have really cool stencils, and they have more than half a dozen sizes for each stencil. So you can paint a giant wall with a huge stencil or make a custom DIY piece like I did.

To make this, I first measured the area above the couch in the craft room. Then, I ordered the world map stencil size that was a little smaller.

After that, I put together three wooden boxes, painted them white, and then used the world map stencil.

As far as the paints, I used acrylic paint and faded one color into the next.

It looks amazing in my craft room above the couch – it fits the area perfectly and I got to create something exactly the way I wanted. Definitely check out the stencils that Stencil Revolution has 🙂

Rather than have blank walls above couches or beds, think about making a custom DIY piece with cool stencils. This is one of my favorite easy DIY wall art ideas 🙂

3. Create Gallery Wraps

Another way to create wall art is by making your own gallery wraps.

Simply purchase a few canvases from the craft stores, and then find some wall decals that fit the theme of the room. Paint the canvases and then apply the wall decals. I painted some a solid blue and others striped. The striped ones added some extra flair.

You could also use stencils on these gallery wraps too. These are great for nurseries or kids rooms.

And, if the decals come up easily, you can swap out the decals for other ones as the kids grow up.

These canvases are definitely a go-to project for easy DIY wall art ideas.

4. Put Together Scrap Wood Picture Ledges

These picture ledges were free! Yes, you read that right 🙂 We made them out of scrap wood laying around the garage (I love a good scrap wood project) and painted them with paint we had on hand.

The little ledge at the end is perfect for holding picture frames, and I emptied an entire box of frames. The picture frames perfectly took up the wall space in between two windows.

Not only were the ledges free, but it took just a few hours to put together.

5. Spray Paint Frames for an Artistic Gallery

If you’re looking to make a gallery but can’t find enough frames that will compliment each other, use spray paint.

I had an entire gallery of brown wooden frames, but two of the embroidered pictures had frames that just didn’t go.

With a little painter’s tape and some spray paint, the pictures now fit perfectly.

Galleries are a fun way to hang pictures – especially in hallways or staircases. It can definitely add some character to these places.

6. Create an Accent Wall

I love a gorgeous accent wall, and it’s an amazing way to bring character and flair to your space.

There are so many ways to create an accent wall – you can wallpaper, you can stencil an accent wall, or you can paint – a whole wall one color or a simple striped wall.

One of my favorite things about an accent wall is it saves you from painting the whole room – just updating one wall usually is enough.

7. Hang Pegboard for Office or Craft Supplies

This is another of my favorite DIYs from my craft room.

By installing pegboard, I was able to empty my entire desk. In fact, I got rid of my desk of drawers for a much simple table-desk design.

I didn’t know if I would like the pegboard because I would have to put everything back always (something I’m not great at), but I LOVE it! It looks so cool, and I can see everything.

Also, I don’t get asked questions by my husband and kids about where my scissors or markers are because everything is in plain sight. My son has a little spot on the edge, where he stores his markers and paint brushes too.

If you have overlooked wall space in your home, turn it into a fun DIY project.

You can use wall space for storage – floating shelves, storage shelves, pegboard organization, or built-in cabinets. You can use the space for fun décor to add a little style in. You easily update or modernize your home with cool pictures or wall hangings with these easy DIY wall art ideas.

Wall space is undoubtedly a little gem that can be used in efficient or creative ways. If you’re looking to add a little flair to your walls, definitely try one of the above DIYs.

You’ll be loving your wall space in no time.

How to Get Amazing Results with Milk Paint

April 8, 2018 by Eileen 51 Comments

Learn how to use milk paint to refinish furniture with this easy tutorial. This amazing before and after shows just how easy and beautiful milk paint turns out.

This post is sponsored by The Real Milk Paint Company. All opinions are entirely my own.

Ever since I painted an old nightstand with chalk paint, I was hooked on using alternatives to regular latex paint.

For me, chalk paint was one of the easiest ways to transform old furniture and the results were amazing.

Since I had such a great experience with chalk paint, I had been wanting to work with milk paint.

Yes, there is a difference between the two! Milk paint comes in powder form, so you mix it with water.

Milk paint is always non-toxic, which is a huge bonus.

We have been moving toward having a more organic and natural lifestyle, and with our love for DIY, milk paint seemed like a natural next step for us.

So, our first milk paint project was giving an old dresser a makeover. This dresser was given to us from my aunt and uncle and it easily dated back to the 1950s.

My goal was to bring some new life into this old piece by using milk paint.

The dresser was really tall, and I recently saw that you can run furniture through a tablesaw to shorten it! So, I gave my husband the challenge of shortening the dresser, thinking it would make for a less bulky piece.

Below is the old dresser, in its original form.

My husband accepted my challenge and transformed the tall dresser into a shorter one using a jigsaw (for those details check out how to shorten a tall dresser).

I was so thrilled with how the four drawer dresser looked and couldn’t wait to start refinishing it with milk paint.

For a sneak preview of how the dresser turned out, check out the picture below. The milk paint completely transformed this old piece, and now I’m hooked on milk paint!

If you have an old piece of furniture that you’d like to redo, milk paint can completely make it over. From choosing a paint to putting on new hardware, all the details are in this simple tutorial.

How to Choose Milk Paint

When researching milk paints to use on furniture, I came across the Real Milk Paint Company and loved how natural the paint was. Their paint is entirely environmentally-friendly.

There’s absolutely no VOCs in the Real Milk Paint, and it is completely non-toxic. It’s made from iron oxide pigment, milk casein, and lime. You can literally discard the paint in your garden.

Crazy, right?!

After reading all the benefits of the Real Milk Paint Company’s paint, I knew it was the perfect choice for my next DIY furniture transformation project.

How to Prepare Furniture for Painting

First, you want to clean your piece and remove any hardware. Sometimes your piece of furniture might be old, and the hardware might be difficult to remove.

Ours was like this too, and we have a great tip in the a below section (How to Put New Knobs on a Dresser).

Now with milk paint, you need to be able to get the milk paint to stick to the surface of the furniture. So, you have two choices:

You can either sand down your piece OR
You can use a bonding agent in your milk paint.

If you use a bonding agent in your milk paint, you eliminate the need to sand.

For this old dresser, we did a little bit of both to prepare the furniture for milk paint. We sanded down the top of the dresser to give it a fresh start, but we mixed the bonding agent in the paint for the rest of the dresser.

You only need to mix in the bonding agent with the first coat. So, if you make another batch of paint for subsequent milk paint coats, you don’t need a bonding agent.

The Real Milk Paint Company has a product called Ultra Bond, which is really simple to just add into your mixed paint. Then, you don’t have to sand your piece, which does save a lot of time.

Milk Paint Material List

The following list of materials is what we used to transform this old dresser. I highly recommend getting a new high-quality bristle brush when working with milk paint, but more on that later.

French Gray milk paint
Lakeview Blue milk paint
Ultra Bond – This is the bonding agent which eliminates the need to sand your furniture.
Finishing Cream
Bristle paint brushes – This is a great brush set for milk painting.
Measuring cup – I grabbed an old 1/4 cup from the kitchen.
Cup for water – Plastic solo cups work well.
Plastic spoons – These are helpful for dipping into the finishing cream and milk paint powder.
New hardware – This is your preference but updating old hardware is such a great upgrade! And, I’m loving these half moon drawer pulls.

How to Mix Milk Paint

Milk paint comes in a powder form. Don’t let this scare you though because mixing the milk paint couldn’t be easier!

You definitely don’t need to be an artist or a even cook to be able to mix and measure your milk paint.

It’s a one-to-one ratio, so the measuring is simple.

And then you just shake, shake, shake.

So I was mixing the Real Milk Paint Company’s French Gray with just a little bit of their Lakeview Blue. However, I LOVED the French Gray so much that I added very little of the Lakeview Blue in.

To start, I grabbed a quarter cup from the kitchen and a few plastic spoons. I also filled a red solo cup with water.

Out in the garage, I scooped out a quarter cup of the French Gray and dumped it in the paint can.

Then I scooped one spoonful of Lakeview Blue and added it in.

Then, I filled the quarter cup again with water and dumped this into the can. I also added one spoonful of water (to balance out the blue) and added that to the mix too.

I closed the paint can and started shaking it up. You’ll hear the marble that comes with the can bouncing around.

This helps to mix the paint up.

After giving it a really good shake, let it sit for 20 minutes. After that, if any clumps come to the surface, simply shake it up again.

That’s it! Easy, right?!

Milk Paint Mixing Tip: If you are going to mix colors, make sure to write down exactly what you mixed so that you can create the same color again.

Testing Your Color

As tempted as you will be to start painting, it’s best to test your color first. You want to make sure the color dries the way you like it.

So, pick a small little area and give the color a little while to dry to make sure you like it.

The French Gray and Lakeview Blue mix that I conjured up was more powder blue than charcoal blue, so I decided that when I made another batch, that I would use a smaller amount of Lakeview Blue.

This was one of my favorite parts of painting with milk paint – you make your own color!

Of course, there are base colors to start with, and then you can add other colors in to achieve the look you want.

With regular latex paint, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken a can of paint back because it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

With milk paint, you eliminate all that by making your own color.

How to Use Milk Paint on a Dresser

Okay, I simply cannot stress this enough, but you need to use a really, really good paintbrush with milk paint.

You might not want to go digging in your bucket of brushes and instead just buy a couple really nice ones.

You’ll thank yourself later when you love your refinished piece.

If you use a poor paintbrush, you’ll end up with lots of streaks and uneven surfaces. But a smooth bristle brush will give your surface a really nice look.

Where to Start with Milk Paint

So, back to painting. Now that your paint is mixed and you’re happy with the color, it’s time to get started.

I would choose a small area to start in, so that you get used to the milk paint on a smaller surface.

Rather than jumping right into the top of the dresser, I started on a drawer.

Starting on a drawer gave me a smaller area to work on so that I could perfect my milk painting technique.

As you’re painting, keep your water cup near your paint can, because depending on how thick your mix is or what coat of paint you are working on, you might need to add some water.

Tricks to Painting with Milk Paint

Milk paint has a different consistency than regular paint and a different consistency than chalk paint. It’s not as smooth as either of those. It can be watery, thick, or can even clump together.

Light Coats – The trick is you want to give your furniture light coats.

Don’t clump on thick layers of paint because milk paint doesn’t work this way. Paint will start to build up in places and start to crack. Light coats are key.

The milk paint might look streaky because you’ll see the wood coming through, but that’s okay. Another coat or two of milk paint will even it out.

Even Brushing – Another tip is that milk paint usually dries the way you are painting it on.

So, you want to make sure you are running your brush from one end of the piece to the other, so you don’t have brush strokes on your piece.

f you’re seeing brush strokes when you paint, you will see these when it dries.

Adding Water – If you’re painting and the milk paint seems too thick and it isn’t spreading well, then dip the very, very edges of your brush into your water cup.

A little water goes a long way. Then attempt to spread the paint.

You also might do this with a second or third coat to help the paint spread better.

Now, if your paint becomes bubbly, you have too much water. Keep going over the bubbles with the brush, until they are completely gone.

Getting into a Rhythm – I think the best tip I could give you is to just work with the paint, and the more you work with it, the more you’ll find a good consistency and technique for you.

As you start painting, you’ll start to get into a rhythm and notice what works well for you.

How to Use Milk Paint on Furniture Video

In the below video, I show you my process for painting with milk paint, using a drawer as a test piece. 🙂

My Milk Paint Process

Just to back track, after painting a test spot with milk paint, I went on to paint a drawer.

I was happy with that, so I continued onto painting the rest of the drawers.

After the drawers, I was comfortable with my consistency and I moved onto painting the top of the dresser.

It took me a little while to paint the top of the dresser with milk paint. I started in small areas, like I mentioned above and continued to keep smoothing out the milk paint.

I didn’t do the rounded sides of top quite yet because the milk paint dried so fast – that I was spending all the time getting the top to look perfect.

After I was pleased with the top, I moved onto the front of the dresser and the rounded sides. For the rounded sides, I wanted to paint these with precision.

I needed to be careful not to get any paint on the dresser top – since I had already painted that and it had dried. For the rounded sides of the dresser top, I used a small brush from my craft room.

Pictured below is the whole dresser after one coat of milk paint.

It was a little more blue than I wanted, so the next coat I mixed up, I used just a half spoonful of Lakeview Blue.

And, the third coat of milk paint, I used all French Gray.

The picture below is after the first coat – so the dresser was looking quite blue.

I continued on to paint two really good coats of milk paint on the entire dresser, and then a third light topcoat.

Letting the Milk Paint Dry

Milk paint dries super fast, so you can knock out a milk painting project in a short amount of time.

Paint a coat, head inside for a snack, and by the time you’re done that snack, you can probably do another coat.

That’s why milk painting is a great naptime project for mommas!

How to Apply Finish to Milk Paint

Applying the finish to the milk paint dresser couldn’t have been easier. Once the milk paint furniture is dry, you can apply your finish.

We used the low sheen finishing cream from The Real Milk Paint Company. I simply scooped a dollop out with a spoon and then used an old sock to rub it all over the dresser.

You use enough of it to cover your area. It was super easy.

The finishing cream is non-toxic – and doesn’t have any kind of smell. Only one coat was necessary too!

Milk Paint Finishing Tip: Some of the milk paint pigment might rub off on your cloth. This is normal. If your piece of furniture is more than one color then you might want to use a separate cloth for each milk painted color you are applying the finish to.

How to Put New Knobs on the Dresser

Part of the upgrade that we were giving the dresser was new hardware. I loveee adding new hardware to old pieces because it is an instant upgrade.

Prior to painting, when I removed the original hardware, I had a little trouble removing a few of the old knobs.

Some of the screw heads started to strip with my screwdriver because of the age, so I used my impact driver to easily remove them with no damage.

In putting the new knobs on the dresser, I decided to use round knobs on the top small drawers and half moon shell knobs on the rest of the drawers.

This made the two smaller drawers the easiest to upgrade as it was just a matter of swapping the old knobs with the new ones.

The larger drawers needed some additional holes drilled to accommodate the half moon shell drawer pulls. I used a ruler to line up the existing holes.

My husband helped me out with this since my kids’ naptimes had ended.

He drilled new holes parallel to the ruler, offset by 2.5″ from the old holes (the spacing required for the new handles).

Excited to see the refinished dresser with the new hardware, I laughed when I saw that my husband installed all the half moon drawer pulls upside down haha! (see below).

He thought the half moon shell pulls were like little bowls 🙂

After having a quick chuckle, I easily flipped the half moon drawer pulls. It was just a quick fix to flip them, and voila! The refinished dresser was done.

I finished the piece just as the sun was setting and was anxious to move it inside.

Once inside, I quickly adorned it with some of my favorite decor, including the below picture of my late grandmother.

So fitting too because she was a DIYer back before the term ever existed. A flea market fanatic decades before all of the network shows.

Boy, she would have loved to have known about milk paint.

Overall, I was so thrilled with how the refinished dresser looked in our home. It was truly quite a makeover.

If you are looking to transform an old piece of furniture or if you are just looking for a non-toxic, child-friendly, pet-friendly safe paint, definitely check out The Real Milk Paint Company.

They offer tons of colors (and you can mix even more yourself), the paint is easy to work with, your painting projects and possibilities are endless, and most importantly, the paint is safe.

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Build

Materials Needed for Drawer Fronts

Tools Needed for Drawer Fronts

1. Measuring & Making the Cuts for the Drawer Fronts

2. Drilling Pocket Holes for the Drawer Fronts

4. Assembling the Drawer Front Pieces

5. Locking the Pieces in Place

6. Attaching Drawer Fronts to Drawers

7. Attaching the Handles to the Drawer Fronts

1. A place for everything

Declutter

Make space

Little problem areas

2. Rearrange for a fresh look

2. Do easy DIYs

3. Bring in things you love

Treasure-Hunting

Sentimental Things

Photographs

Things that you adore

4. Get rid of things that you don’t love

Big ticket items

5. Find ways to bring more light

Bulbs & Fixtures

6. Work on the areas that need a little love

How to Milk Paint Unfinished Furniture

Milk Paint Materials

How to Mix Milk Paint

1. Measure your ingredients.

2. Add in bonding agent, if necessary.

3. Combine ingredients with a mixer.

How to Paint Raw Wood with Milk Paint

1. Make sure your wood is clean of any sawdust or dirt.

2. Use an angled brush to put on your first coat.

3. Stirring frequently, apply your second coat, making sure to use even paint strokes.

4. Apply additional coats as you see fit.

How to Seal Milk Paint

How to Stencil an Accent Wall

Materials for Stenciling a Wall

Step 1 – Choose your stencil and paint colors

Step 2 – Prepare the wall

Step 3 – Decide where you want your stencil to start

Step 4 – Secure stencil to the wall

Step 5 – Use a small rounded brush to start dabbing on the paint.

Step 6 – Remove stencil and repeat

A Few More Wall Stenciling Tips

Go for it!

1. List the things that drive you crazy.

2. Brainstorm fixes for each item on your list.

3. Make a master list – break large goals into smaller action items.

4. Set goals to complete action items each day or week.

5. Check out 33 Days To a Space You’ll Love

Mudroom “Before” Photo

Mudroom Makeover Details

Stenciled Accent Wall with Shiplap

L-Shaped Entryway Bench with Cubbies

New Mudroom Light Fixture

Mudroom “After” Picture

Have a room that you want to makeover?

Join our FREE Challenge!

DIY Screen Door Design

DIY Screen Door Materials

How to Use Scrap Wood to Make a DIY Screen Door

How to Make Pocket Holes for the Scrap Wood Screen Door

Using Triangle Inserts for the Design

Installing Door Hinges on the DIY Screen Door

Attaching the Screen to the Door

Attaching the DIY Screen Door Accessories

Trimming the Screws

Attaching the Screen Door

Battery Charging Station

Hidden Workbench Storage

Rolling Tables with Storage

Folding Workbench

Wall-Mounted Computer

Shelves Galore

Extra Plywood Hack

Scrap Wood Bin