Why buy when you can DIY !?

Some couples like the try out the theatre, some couples like sporting events, some even like to do completely different things, away from each other. Garrett and I enjoy all of those things but currently our most favorite past time is building furniture- TOGETHER!

When I first got settled in to Houston I kept thinking of things to do around the house- Hang a picture here, put a table there, buy some pillows for this, buy some curtains for that. I had a billion things I wanted done for the house but could never find the right piece- for the right price. Of course I'm just as obessed with Pinterest as the next person and I've gone even further to get Garrett obsessed with it as well. So Garrett and I decided to take on some house projects of our own and we have really grown to love it! Here are some of the things we have done over the last couple of months....


Our first project was simple- some distressed picture frames for our downstairs bathroom wall. We mocked some I found on a Pinterest blog.

The blog I got the idea from (above) said she used piecess of an old fence. I didn't have access to any old wood so using some chalk paint (that I also made myself) we made ours using new wood.

 

Because I wanted the distressed look it didn't matter if the nails were showing, or if any of the pieces weren't "perfect". I painted the underneath a dark grey, used vaseline as my "wax" and painted chalk paint covering the entire frame. Then I sanded in random places, allowing the vaseline to chip away parts of the paint- giving it a distressed look.

 

 

I painted some clothes pins the same color grey that I had done the underneath with, hot glued them to the frames, and used 8 x 10 pictures to hang. I have since then replaced the large clothes pins with mini ones that you can barely see but I like them done either way.

 

I was so happy with the finished project that we ended up making some smaller versions as hostess gifts for my Bridal shower. I thought it was a very personal and unique way to say thank you to each of them- inclduing a picture of us on each.

 

 

 

This was my first time to use chalk paint so I was slowly getting better with it. This was a really fun thing we did on our free weekends between all of the traveling during wedding planning. We found it was a stress free way we could spend some quality time together.

 

Once we finished the frames we decided to take on a little larger task- building a table. Our downstairs bathroom is very small but was very bare and I needed something big enough to add some character, but small enough so that it didn't take up too much room. Finding a simple corner table was NOT easy so Garrett used his imagination and we made a cute and simple space!

 

Just so you have an idea-- this was our work space :)

 

I used the same method for the table as I had for the frames. I painted a dark grey underneath (to match the grey in the rug on the floor), then a vintage white on top.

 A few birdcages, and a basket of fresh hand towels for our guests and the bathroom was complete.

We have taken on bigger tasks as we have gone along. Now that we had a table completed for the bathroom I stopped my hunt for a front foyer table and Garrett took on that task as well. Of course it was Pinterest inspired compliments of 

http://www.bournesouthern.com/2013/04/diy-entry-table-under-30.html?m=1



For the other projects we worked on we didn't really use a step by step guide but for this one we followed along with most of the directions, changing some parts to fit the space we were working with. The drawers are actually faux drawers- just for look, and we chose to only do 2, instead of 3. It fits perfectly in the entry way to our front door.

 For this piece I used Ce Ce Caldwell's Chalk paint in Simply White, along with Ce Ce Caldwell's Dark Aging Cream for the bottom, and I stained the top and the knobs on the faux drawers.

 I again, was looking for a vintage look so I simply brushed on the aging cream, not paying attention to detail- just covering most of it and wiping down, or sanding areas I wanted to look more distressed.

 

 I never knew a small table accompanied by some candles and a picture frame could make our foyer look so welcoming. I was really pleased.

 

We just finished our largest project so far- a Pottery Barn inspired Buffet table for our kitchen. We moved it in to the house last night and we are both in love with it! We have been keeping all of our beautiful platters and trays in the cabinets that we got as wedding gifts and now they are on full display! I'll be posting pics soon :)