DIY Charging Bench for Electronic Devices
If charging all the electronic devices in your home has become a chaotic nightmare of jumbled cords, let me introduce you to my DIY charging bench for electronic devices. It’s a way to hide all of your charging cables and devices in plain sight. It’s my answer to the kitchen charging drawer because I’ve always wanted one of those, but we’ve never had a spare kitchen drawer with outlets in the back. I won’t promise this charging bench will eliminate all the cord chaos, but it can help you hide it. That’s half the battle! A charging bench can be made from any bench that has a hidden storage compartment. The…
9 Pumpkin Crafts to Make This Fall
I hope it’s not too soon in the year to publish this “9 Pumpkin Crafts to Make This Fall” post. I don’t want anyone pumpkin spicing my lawn in protest because summer isn’t over. Wait…maybe I do. Hmmm. This is the point in the year where I’m not ready for summer to end because summer is awesome! But everything feels a little wilted, including yours truly, because it is so dang hot and I’m looking forward to the more manageable temperatures of autumn. Please note I said I’m looking forward to autumn not winter. Winter can take a hike to get me more pumpkin spice. Now back to the program!…
How to Paint Metal Pool Coping with Marine Paint
This post is for a super small percentage of the population who have a really old pool with metal coping and are wondering if they can paint that metal pool coping. Yes! You can! (Editor’s Note: I wrote a blog post with an honest assessment about how the paint is holding up after 2 years. You can read that here. To find out how we painted the coping and the paint we used, continue reading this blog post.) If you aren’t familiar with the term, pool coping is what caps the edge of a pool. Modern pools are built with pool coping made out of concrete or stone, but some…
The Age Our Kids Start Doing Their Own Laundry Plus a Laundry Hamper Makeover
Our kids start doing their own laundry when they start middle school. Why? Why not? 11 and 12-year-olds are perfectly capable of starting the washing machine. It’s true! Psst! They can run the dishwasher and vacuum too! Plus, learning how to do laundry is a great way to teach kids responsibility and time management skills. If you want a clean shirt for school, then you need to plan ahead and wash and dry a load of clothes. It’s that simple. I did not do my own laundry until I went to college. COLLEGE! I can’t believe my mom didn’t even show me how to do laundry until then. Of course…
DIY Cabinet Door Tray
I am so happy to share a DIY Cabinet Door Tray project with you today because it’s not mine! No work was involved on my part. I just get to look at fun pictures, be inspired, and share them with you. It’s a good feeling. There’s even a twist in this project that I didn’t see coming. I love a good twist. Today’s DIY Cabinet Door Tray project comes from someone I affectionately refer to as The Junk Whisperer. Seeing what she’s created out of actual junk over the years has inspired me to take a second look at everyday objects and reimagine them in a new light. Ready to…
How to Add a Console Sink to a Vanity
Is it possible to add a console sink to a vanity? Yes it is! By doing so you get the style of a console sink or other wall-mounted sink without sacrificing storage. Whether you build a custom vanity like we did or retrofit an existing vanity, we will show you how to attach a console sink to a vanity so that it looks good. Spoiler: It’s all in the transition from sink to vanity. Add a Console Sink to a Vanity Step #1: Figure out what you are working with. Carefully flip the console sink or wall-mounted sink over so you can see the underside of the sink. We set…
Updating Our Home With Antique Hardware
We have been replacing “modern” door and cabinet hardware with antique hardware in our Colonial Farmhouse and it is surprising how big of a difference it makes to the overall look and style of our home. I’m using the term modern very loosely. In a house that is 240 years old, anything in the last 100 years could be considered modern. Most of the hardware we’ve replaced is probably 20 – 30 years old. I doubt it was installed as a style statement, but more of a practical response to a “this cabinet door no longer stays closed” situation. This modern hardware didn’t look bad. It didn’t look good. It…
3 Mirror Makeovers to Try
Mirror, mirror on the wall, which of these three mirror makeovers is the fairest of them all? That’s right! I have 3 mirror makeovers to fuel your creative juices today. All my hopes and dreams would be fulfilled if you take one of my ideas and make it your own! Here are 3 mirror makeovers to get your ideas flowing: MIRROR MAKEOVER #1: DIY ROPE MIRROR If you can use hot glue, you can make a rope mirror. All you need is a round mirror, rope, and hot glue. I’m using 3/8-inch sisal rope for this project and 100-feet of it should cost less than $12. That’s WAY more rope…
Wood Flag Painted on an Old Door
Our Colonial Farmhouse dates back to the 1780s. The small barn on our property isn’t quite that old, but we know it is over 100 years old. On the side of our barn hung a wood flag. Well, what was left of it. The American flag was only recognizable on that strip of wood because that symbol is imprinted on our subconscious. I didn’t hang the wood flag there. I don’t know how long it had been hanging there. Suffice to say, that poor wood flag had seen a storm or two. We actually didn’t realize the American flag was on a wood door until we took the flag down.…
How to Fill Gaps in Wood Floors with Oakum
For the small percentage of you living in really old houses (bless you!), let me share one of the more historically accurate ways to fill gaps in wood floors with oakum. This is the information I needed when we bought our Colonial Farmhouse and didn’t know what to do about the gaps between the original wood floorboards. I had to comb through the internet to find bits and pieces of information, so I’m combining what I learned all in one place with links out to the information that helped me. If the gaps in your wood floors don’t bother you, leave them. But if your kids can push things through…
