Decor has meaning...

Mixing old with new...wooden brain teaser mixed in with a table center piece. 

Most women find themselves in the clearance section finding little things to put on shelves, trinkets for a table and something to put on a wall. Unfortunately, that means whatever was popular 6 months ago defines what is significant to you. Our decor should reflect meaning and significance. We should be surrounded by small reminders all around of us memories of days gone by, of things we cherish, hobbies, and above all else the things we love. 

Why a dog, teapot, and horseshoes? Sort of a strange collection of items. Yet, they all go together. My grandmother's teapot that reminds me of afternoon teatimes with her. The horseshoe is a brain teaser. You'll find brain teasers throughout our home. My husband is a huge fan. I keep them in fun places where guests would sit. Kitchen table or island, coffee tables and even sometimes in the bathroom. Last is an antique Newfoundland dog nut cracker. I raised Newfies for many years. 

Nate Berkus put it this way in an ABC news article "I think things do matter," he said. "Obviously people are important. They're more important, but things really do matter. They're what we touch every single day. They're what we surround ourselves with." 

And sometimes you just need a few new things that give you a chuckle and tie things together. This little piece of art work gave me a laugh because this is SO ME!

I have yet to read Nate Berkus' book "The Things That Matter".  Next on my Amazon purchase list :) 

Statement walls using art

One area that I've found I've worked with clients is that many people are lost when it comes to hanging art and photos. A few things happen.


DON'T's

1. Gunshot style: this is where you place frames that are too similar in style and size in spot on a wall and it looks like a huge bullet went through your wall. It looks like you didn't know where or why you put them there. There is nothing for the eye to follow and there is no variation and in color, size, etc.

2. Splat: this is where large framed art is just randomly put in your home without any thought of framing the large art with either smaller pieces or furniture.

3. Overload: this is where you just generally have too many things on your walls. It's ok to have some empty spaces :) You don't need a gallery on every wall.



Here is a link that has some excellent ideas when working with wall decor. Little House of Four is a great resource for ideas and inexpensive ways to do things for your home.

Here is a picture of my "gallery" I'm working on, still have a few more things to add to it. These are vintage photos of my relatives and I've included a clock since they all have to do with time past which is my theme for this wall. I've also included a coat of arms in my gallery that my grandmother use to have hanging on her wall. In the photo at the top of this post is when I was able to pull a few more things out of storage and start to add something that would help frame the chair I have to the side. I added a small ceramic plant stand and put some antique books and a candle.

Part 1 Concrete Countertops using Concrete Countertop Solutions and Z Counterforms

Concrete = Awesome!

Initial Planning:

When I began the process of designing our kitchen durability was top priority for the counter tops. Next priority of course was budget :-)  I was initially looking at Carrara Marble. Loved the look for BUT.... The draw back was the problem of staining. 4 young kids and marble probably wouldn't fair well over the years. I loved the thought of some wear and tear but didn't know if I would panic when grape juice got left out and made a ring on the marble ;/

Concrete: I had seen other people do concrete and read lots of reviews. It appeared durable but those who tried it with out a professional seemed to have issues. Many people create moulds, pour and then set the pieces in place. That looked a little too overwhelming to me(too many variables that could all go very wrong!).

I came across Concrete Countertop Solutions in my research. The reviews were good and the youtube videos they had were excellent and very helpful to see how easy it might be for the DIY'er.

Their customer service is AWESOME! They respond to questions normally within a day by email.

Tools:

Screeds: A screed is important for the first initial pouring and smoothing of the concrete. You can get a screed at your local hardware store. We purchased their Island Screed  for our 10Ft x 3ft Island. This was not needed and since the screed was only 40in wide we only had 2 inches on either side of the Island to move it back and forth(watch Concrete Countertop Solution videos on how to do this). We had the problem of the screed falling back into the concrete. I would recommend creating your own screed with a 2x4 for larger areas and don't waste your money on this one. My Island ended up having a little more rustic look to it than I had anticipated.

Drill: Make sure you have a drill that can be used to mix concrete. We burned up the first drilled we used :(  We ended buying a Bosch that is made for mixing and then bought a mixer bit. If you have a friend you can borrow one from that is even better!

Trowels:

A Magnesium Trowel is needed for the first troweling step. PLEASE watch Concrete Countertop Solutions videos on troweling. I watched them probably at least 25 times before attempting this. This float can be purchased at Home Depot as well.

Steel Trowel is much cheaper at Home Depot than through this company. I steel troweled too early on my countertop and had some issues with my stain and sealer sticking. So please make sure you watch the videos and don't do it too early.

FORMS:

We chose the square edge form since I wanted a more basic and simple style. Forms were very simple to take off. Had to give it a little muscle to get it off but overall very pleased with the forms. We had some bubbling holes where we didn't get all the air out of the concrete with tapping as they suggested in their videos. We liked the more natural look so we kept them.

The sink form video was helpful except that it was for a sink with slightly rounded corners. Our sink was a 42" sink(see review on the sink we chose) with tighter corners it was a little more challenging to get the work to stick to our sink. We used a broom handle to help bend the plastic so it would fit tighter in the corners.

In this picture you can see where the side of the cabinets on the ends touches the walls(not the back)

Side walls: Here is where we couldn't find any info on what to do with this wall whether to use the back forms or whether to put the concert right up to the wall. If you're putting backsplash on then you can use the back wall forms but if you're leaving it just drywall don't use the forms. I'll need to get creative now on the sides of my counter top edges because I have a black form showing :/



I'll be posting about these tools in part 2
Reinforcement
Sanding
Stains
Sealers

Backsplash and Range Hood Coming soon!

Review: DIY Shanty 2 Chic Farmhouse table

Finally got my farmhouse table and bench done from Shanty 2 Chic . One more bench coming that will be used in our mudroom and then pulled out in case we have extra company. 

Size:

A few thoughts on the plan. I opted to make mine a bit longer by not cutting the 1x6x8's that are used for the top of the table and benches. This gave me a few extra inches which I wanted for my dining room. This is a very large table so make sure you double check your dining room space. Since I made mine larger we figured we can probably fit 12 people at a minimum at this table, with children you could fit a lot more. 

 
A few suggestions:

I didn't use standard 1x6 for the top of the table since I wanted a nice smooth surface for cleaning. Four young children and food don't mix well with cracks and crevices in a table. Using standard boards will look more rustic but is terrible to clean with kids. I opted to use Menards' Select boards. The price is significantly more(about $8 a board). You can see the price difference by clicking here

Total cost:

Total cost for table and two benches(including all the pocket screws is around $300). This price doesn't include needing to buy a Kreg Pocket Jig. I needed the smaller K3 for my 1x6 and the larger Kreg Jig for the 4x4's and 2x4's

I used 1x3's on the sides of the table instead of 2x4's that are in the plan. I wanted to avoid gaps on the edges since there is a lot of food in this area with kids. Another option would be to find a high quality 2x4 which would give it a more chuncky appearance but that would add a lot more cost to the table. 

You can see the 1x3 on the table edge

This is the side of the table from another angle

For the benches I used 2x4s for the edge rather than the 1x3 like I did on the table. It made the bench very sturdy and it would take a lot for a kid to turn this bench on its side(I've had that happen before with other benches :) 

The picture below is of the bench. You can see the difference of using a 2x4 for the edge.

Final finish for the tops of the table and benches: I stained and used 6 coats of tung oil. Loved the matte finish, very smooth and the grain of the wood still pops through. It's also waterproof. We accidentally tried this out when my kids left a wet cloth on the table over night....no damage :)

Legs: I Chose a distressed look. This takes a few more steps

Step 1: Sand and fill all the holes. I used a combination of caulk and wood filler. Since the 4x4 and 2x4 for the legs are not the best quality wood there is a lot of filling. If you're planning to stain them then you'd have to use some type of filler that can be stained or leave the gaps and have it look a lot more rustic. 

Step 2: Stand with any kind of dark stain. This is the color that will pop through your paint

Step 3: Paint( I used a flat paint since I wanted a more matte finish)

Step 4: After paint dries use sand paper to distress the areas you want the color to pop through.

Step 5: use polyacrylic or wax paste for sealing the wood. This will enable you to clean and wipe off the legs when you need to

Slight distressing on the main beam on the bottom of the table.