DIY Restoration Hardware Inspired Rolling Cart

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4_s5zWSW8JbwPQMqoeozjo7PVUkMlcfDD0ovck_03p8_KjRBp1L7QaeeC97q1Y0OyQntbJABhdqzeTu27Yfq-PfaGjxX8W3QL2cKQgBAI9ZtnJfBxXQUZTZIbzgmicPivz3iLMXL7My6/s1600/aDSC_2756-2_TEXT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4_s5zWSW8JbwPQMqoeozjo7PVUkMlcfDD0ovck_03p8_KjRBp1L7QaeeC97q1Y0OyQntbJABhdqzeTu27Yfq-PfaGjxX8W3QL2cKQgBAI9ZtnJfBxXQUZTZIbzgmicPivz3iLMXL7My6/s1600/aDSC_2756-2_TEXT.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAZU3-Cs3DO0CzywGfFAJDntVI_tjFfBqvnfYpsLkCu_a_qw4j_k_ZvqOMscLAgHF3lSLWvRPV37kKxe4IVviOrq35rRXb-ize9IRZUPgbbPCr0VBypqE6MuFuEAp-IjA9YrZNv2X4QCI/s1600/aDSC_2697-2_TEXT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAZU3-Cs3DO0CzywGfFAJDntVI_tjFfBqvnfYpsLkCu_a_qw4j_k_ZvqOMscLAgHF3lSLWvRPV37kKxe4IVviOrq35rRXb-ize9IRZUPgbbPCr0VBypqE6MuFuEAp-IjA9YrZNv2X4QCI/s1600/aDSC_2697-2_TEXT.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLj4gMsl3g-69TPPsEAtNQAOnV8ydatJryPSpwurBP_izCErEtcG8P_bQJ5Ix4UHSs6baZz1PNK7cBT8qSM_Oi4iM7mFG_PHPo6DcBblhuLvxRgSA9iBhyb5qgecKQt592vnEA9G9os_e/s1600/tDSC_2616-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLj4gMsl3g-69TPPsEAtNQAOnV8ydatJryPSpwurBP_izCErEtcG8P_bQJ5Ix4UHSs6baZz1PNK7cBT8qSM_Oi4iM7mFG_PHPo6DcBblhuLvxRgSA9iBhyb5qgecKQt592vnEA9G9os_e/s1600/tDSC_2616-2.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESlpgnaebjpdP7ZTDZbTkf_26BNKtzK0OjjKGerig1Ejo-eR2yPoYOHAdvvQxy6GgJVMYg3NsyZuzqMeUgRXJMAlnw2uaVy6-dgIEvxGR6npHPoiBx2yq1-vQdvdRzovDOY_bf7BUFbXo/s1600/tDSC_2583-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESlpgnaebjpdP7ZTDZbTkf_26BNKtzK0OjjKGerig1Ejo-eR2yPoYOHAdvvQxy6GgJVMYg3NsyZuzqMeUgRXJMAlnw2uaVy6-dgIEvxGR6npHPoiBx2yq1-vQdvdRzovDOY_bf7BUFbXo/s1600/tDSC_2583-2.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have been on the hunt for a hutch for our dining room pretty much since the day we moved in. I have something in my mind but so far have not had any luck finding it at a reasonable price. I got all the dark trim in the room and windows and the chair rail painted Simply White and I painted the walls Gray Owl at 75% last fall. Then over the last year I have played around with the room and added things like our chandelier and a sideboard but haven't put a ton of effort into the room because it's probably the room we use the least in our house. Finally though, now that we've made progress in the rest of the house I was excited to get back to this room. It's actually the first room you see when you enter our house so it's been driving me a little bit crazy that when you walked in the front door the first thing you saw was this bare wall in our dining room. I am still going to be on the lookout for a hutch because I think that will ultimately look better with the chandelier and mirror and overall look of the room, and if/when I do ever find one I have a spot for this piece up next to my desk where I can keep my office and art supplies on it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Until then, I am so excited to finally have the dining room feeling a little more finished. And I love having all the shelves to play around with and change up seasonally. I am not thrilled with how dark I stained it but that's my own fault. I did the staining part in our dimly lit garage at about 3am and when I saw it the next morning I was so mad. I should have waited until the next day so that I could actually see and not have rushed through it! I wanted a lighter look because I am planning on either using a dark wallpaper or painting the walls in the dining room dark soon and now this is going to blend in a little too much. Other than that though I am excited about how it turned out!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />I recently built a similar industrial styled shelf for Jason's house but I found the plans to be confusing and it seemed to have quite a few unnecessary steps and the cost of the supplies was a lot more than I had anticipated. It also took me several days and I kept thinking the whole time that it seemed like it should be a much easier project. So, when I decided to make my one for our dining room I decided to come up with my own plan. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Please keep in mind that I really have no idea what I am doing. Over the last two years I just have started playing around with some different building projects and have learned things with just lots of trial and error (LOTS and LOTS of error!) Normally I wouldn't give a tutorial for a building project I would just link to one. But when I was looking for a tutorial for this to follow I didn't have any luck finding one that was this size so I am going to do my best to share as best I can how I built this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Because I had just finished building our dining room table a few nights before (I will have pictures of that later this week and links to the fabulous tutorial I used from Ana White's website) I wanted this project to be super easy. Fortunately it was! I started building it around 9:30 one night after the girls were in bed and finished it around 12:30 I think and then spent from about 12:30 to 3:30 sanding and staining it. So it was really only about a 3 hour building project which isn't bad! (And I don't really know what I am doing, so someone who does could probably build it more quickly or if you had someone helping you it would go a lot quicker too). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can find the inspiration piece here at <a href="http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1606017&categoryId=search">Restoration Hardware</a>. It sells for $2500! The wood for this project cost me a little less than $75 and then I spent another $40 on the casters. And if you throw in the brackets and screws I think it probably came in right around $125. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>INDUSTRIAL WOOD ROLLING SHELVES TUTORIAL </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><i>I intentionally made mine very narrow because our dining room isn't very wide. Because of that if a child ever tried to climb on it I think it would flip very easy so I actually used a little child's safety thing I had leftover from something we bought at IKEA earlier this year and attached ours to the chair rail that way it way it couldn't flip. If you don't need to have it as narrow as mine I would recommend instead of using one 2 by 12 for each shelf using maybe two 2 by 8's that you can use pocket holes to combine into one deeper shelf. If I ever make another one of these for a space that has more room I think I will probably do that just to help reduce the chance of it tipping over. </i><br /><br /><b>So, here's what you need:</b><br /><br /><b>(4) 2 by 12's cut to 52" long </b><br /><b>(4) 2 by 4's cut to 51" long</b><br /><b>(4) 2 by 2's cut to about 4 1/4" long</b> **optional** (I'd cut these at the end and make sure they fit each of the four corners) <br /><b>(4) dowels cut a little longer than 52"</b> (I think I ended up cutting mine to about 52 1/2") I am not sure on the thickness of the dowels I used except that they were the thickest ones that Lowe's had - I'm guessing they were 1 1/4" or 1 3/8")<br /><b>(4) casters</b> **optional**<br /><b>(4) corner brackets</b> **optional** <br /><br /><b>Tools and other supplies:</b><br /><b>Drill </b><br /><b>Kreg Jig and pocket hole screws</b><br /><b>A Spade Bit</b> - I think that's what it's called (to drill the holes for the dowels - I used one that was 1 3/8") <br /><b>Spray Paint - </b>For the dowels, corner brackets and wheels<b><br /></b><br /><b>Stain </b>- Rustoleum's Weathered Gray and Minwax's Provincial<br /><b>Saw **Optional**</b> - I also used my miter saw to cut more precise cuts for the four 2 by 2's although the 2 by 2's are optional so if you don't have your own saw you can just have the lumber yard cut your other wood and you'll be fine! <br /><br /><i>These next photos were all taken in our garage late at night with my phone so the photos are awful. </i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The first thing you want to do is spray paint your dowels so that they dry once you are ready to start building. This is the paint I used but really you can use any metallic type paint that you want to give you that look of it being a metal rod in the back of the piece. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19z6cGEREgv9Mg0F5Mr-rOS5mBY0OxLrSV6RwOGITnqtTL2EzI0mS88bFwK3QhTfAx5MPFRTky2B7dKVn8l4SQWNhyPzpShIBD4NsO93f1qAaBKqRfzGWDVKTLlceS8DQuTOcU71osuT9/s1600/cIMG_0906.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19z6cGEREgv9Mg0F5Mr-rOS5mBY0OxLrSV6RwOGITnqtTL2EzI0mS88bFwK3QhTfAx5MPFRTky2B7dKVn8l4SQWNhyPzpShIBD4NsO93f1qAaBKqRfzGWDVKTLlceS8DQuTOcU71osuT9/s1600/cIMG_0906.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><br />And while you have the paint out you can also spray any of the other metals if you want to. I painted the casters as well as the corner brackets. (You don't have to paint either of those though - that's just personal preference and dependent on the look you are going for). <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpP7Eh5gWq3q59k1V7KtjISzOGuQS_HL7neF86wNlKVAe_ABr0BucElAZQEy1koATeWzXORhuYWlORKLjHnCURcrYkAi7vhIdqGrxScwEZ5WM4HCwRRewZHU5TAANiHvQYEyPj06_dRHdh/s1600/bIMG_0917.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpP7Eh5gWq3q59k1V7KtjISzOGuQS_HL7neF86wNlKVAe_ABr0BucElAZQEy1koATeWzXORhuYWlORKLjHnCURcrYkAi7vhIdqGrxScwEZ5WM4HCwRRewZHU5TAANiHvQYEyPj06_dRHdh/s1600/bIMG_0917.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here are the dowels. I set them up on some extra wood and then painted them and once they were dried rolled them and painted the other side. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIJ0tb6Q7aek-YHe5uz3MDzAYh6e-LRlVu2dnzpO1YMqrLI267r1oEpBG42rK-TOTSiftUee4kjwZpNpiCUTIx8dc-KvfC_xzTqC-oMsArvv9k3EwJ6cV8y_CaWSWczTvmTY3jHOtOF4V/s1600/bIMG_0904.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIJ0tb6Q7aek-YHe5uz3MDzAYh6e-LRlVu2dnzpO1YMqrLI267r1oEpBG42rK-TOTSiftUee4kjwZpNpiCUTIx8dc-KvfC_xzTqC-oMsArvv9k3EwJ6cV8y_CaWSWczTvmTY3jHOtOF4V/s1600/bIMG_0904.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here they are painted. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivehv-Y6waR6X76c_MQ4M9Ez8L5GHgdd7C0xXJAFx2q29Y9jUHordHY58CLoGYLfyN24uoh7n9txKx8FWRtRojE5i16QnG7R0h9IhRGxhjinU-rF1vMyqk2eXImA6vGud7EZCsU6w3LKmm/s1600/cIMG_0908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivehv-Y6waR6X76c_MQ4M9Ez8L5GHgdd7C0xXJAFx2q29Y9jUHordHY58CLoGYLfyN24uoh7n9txKx8FWRtRojE5i16QnG7R0h9IhRGxhjinU-rF1vMyqk2eXImA6vGud7EZCsU6w3LKmm/s1600/cIMG_0908.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Next you want to drill all of your pocket holes with your Kreg Jig. You need to do them on each of the two ends of the 2 by 12's. When I first started this project I was kind of making it up as I went along so I did some this way.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOIHcT9_UAZ7Nbc26-EtvcuYpEIxegUynH-72IQczpWsMrZE8ySLiKajqSefh34xYtfBNDdbfM2W8uhUA93UvyAnv44uK3oXuDygqnSSSNtGsRJz4lf4dei9csymIHqwsKK0EL58UIGHJ/s1600/bIMG_0897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOIHcT9_UAZ7Nbc26-EtvcuYpEIxegUynH-72IQczpWsMrZE8ySLiKajqSefh34xYtfBNDdbfM2W8uhUA93UvyAnv44uK3oXuDygqnSSSNtGsRJz4lf4dei9csymIHqwsKK0EL58UIGHJ/s1600/bIMG_0897.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />And for other ones (like the one below on the right I added a few more pocket holes. In the end I didn't need all of them and really just needed it like shown above for the top and bottom shelves and for the middle two shelves the middle hole wasn't necessary). <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8119Qv1s663B-u3C6M1tPezbOHMS5HJXhqururcMaXWpN0JIXLq1NQNtGp5cIbMLPiGi1lWQ4I2lIJoe1FQvWog0f-ijTfzn01RiH59mjLwh9DX9jO_OJxkJuQM-Q-kG1sgVOzGXzMOL/s1600/bIMG_0898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8119Qv1s663B-u3C6M1tPezbOHMS5HJXhqururcMaXWpN0JIXLq1NQNtGp5cIbMLPiGi1lWQ4I2lIJoe1FQvWog0f-ijTfzn01RiH59mjLwh9DX9jO_OJxkJuQM-Q-kG1sgVOzGXzMOL/s1600/bIMG_0898.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Next you want to use one of these to drill holes for the dowels to fit in. They just need to be about a 1/4" deep. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1Da1DRL43HzbFj_RHV-l5UZYyT2y9QINNZXFmVAleYKpYjZFB-4OGV6VOYWIGfGGGBc6bIhnKRjNr947dOnY5nlh4wOYew6s9CHWZi_X5C8nOknvJzVjYL9C5mGJ_PpRanDD1DbI2WDR/s1600/cIMG_0909.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1Da1DRL43HzbFj_RHV-l5UZYyT2y9QINNZXFmVAleYKpYjZFB-4OGV6VOYWIGfGGGBc6bIhnKRjNr947dOnY5nlh4wOYew6s9CHWZi_X5C8nOknvJzVjYL9C5mGJ_PpRanDD1DbI2WDR/s1600/cIMG_0909.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />You'll want to drill three holes one one of the 2 by 4's and 3 holes on a second 2 by 4. (The two remaining 2 by 4's do NOT need holes). I played around with my measurements a bit and am not sure what exactly how far down on each 2 by 4 I went but basically you want to just line the four shelves up in place and put a dowel between each shelf. (You can look at the finished project to see what I mean.)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgQlBgN2iTVCaBgaZu8pHKxp0cqUE6JW7x3As0jYYCd-cDUQTDRH0GFGYBr7d88ZeoQeWUeWfLiybXSpFZIdXEAQyhyme1ZFtyuaTM36wVFAW6q6YbOK1FD7WTC37RmSJdcKiF3Py5k1t/s1600/bIMG_0910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgQlBgN2iTVCaBgaZu8pHKxp0cqUE6JW7x3As0jYYCd-cDUQTDRH0GFGYBr7d88ZeoQeWUeWfLiybXSpFZIdXEAQyhyme1ZFtyuaTM36wVFAW6q6YbOK1FD7WTC37RmSJdcKiF3Py5k1t/s1600/bIMG_0910.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Now that you've got everything ready it's time to put it together! The fun part in my opinion! YAY!<br />I used a clamp this time (normally I just kind of awkwardly push things up against walls or blocks of wood to help balance but I finally bought a clamp a few weeks ago and that really helps, or of course if you have someone to help you that would be good too) and then started drilling the top shelf to the top of one of the 2 by 4's. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lPM52uT_Eshec8U8sbrVKxdLhyphenhyphenknXHJdpJ8FnT2p_UO7ZVncYN0gyMA_fY8MT3gvYWQtfEUqSdld-xd7y3lea4AGJ0gSz2BjaqwLwHqd5b8j6OLuKdCl20LvmhLMYi9LdX-TRwjJMCRv/s1600/bIMG_0911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lPM52uT_Eshec8U8sbrVKxdLhyphenhyphenknXHJdpJ8FnT2p_UO7ZVncYN0gyMA_fY8MT3gvYWQtfEUqSdld-xd7y3lea4AGJ0gSz2BjaqwLwHqd5b8j6OLuKdCl20LvmhLMYi9LdX-TRwjJMCRv/s1600/bIMG_0911.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />Then I put the top dowel into that left 2 by 4 top hole and then into the right 2 by 4 top hole (and you can put the other ones in if you want to at this point) and then I used the pocket holes to attach the right to by four to the top shelf. Then just move your way down the piece attaching both of the back 2 by 4's to each shelf and making sure the dowels are in place.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzu8DoEIqIZfJ3w0ZhZGq3MZihuXa1xnvBymH3N7wmw7wws9o29NGWFnqpnbiBk_epe9hAb_fzkxhyphenhyphenER1IzQVFPZoECc3i_SWBJA1r0R_Q9MYrULCa4qQl9MZkP_gqz__qsPLogqMskhHG/s1600/bIMG_0913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzu8DoEIqIZfJ3w0ZhZGq3MZihuXa1xnvBymH3N7wmw7wws9o29NGWFnqpnbiBk_epe9hAb_fzkxhyphenhyphenER1IzQVFPZoECc3i_SWBJA1r0R_Q9MYrULCa4qQl9MZkP_gqz__qsPLogqMskhHG/s1600/bIMG_0913.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Once all four shelves were attached and the dowels secure to the back 2 by 4's I stood the piece up to make sure everything looked nice and level! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbjxFdSBCfTHCdp_lSXCfij2dQF9a7FSllUwJdhZN8qNPgXngTXpRnhRlIImXmJFSoXJ2fB_v-Ef1kDt9YeDYkIi-19dvKq-_NMdYQaGvCOiADtIczccv9G6_Brsycmo81II4Vke683W4/s1600/bIMG_0914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbjxFdSBCfTHCdp_lSXCfij2dQF9a7FSllUwJdhZN8qNPgXngTXpRnhRlIImXmJFSoXJ2fB_v-Ef1kDt9YeDYkIi-19dvKq-_NMdYQaGvCOiADtIczccv9G6_Brsycmo81II4Vke683W4/s1600/bIMG_0914.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />Then I laid it back down and attached the front 2 by 4's and once they were attached stood it back up to make sure everything was good. Here's what it should look like at this point. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5pOEgQ6iJCKGDVXqo_ZiLtzd8Qnmew62j4mxgdwnVxpI6ULLul7E4cEZwyoJsLLtRGy90f5IEvpp9xRyuxTyo0PFS_OlguHWHHf2A_MgOqdCTBiDhlJS9GUf_VmVs2TICM8bQMy2w3tC/s1600/bIMG_0915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5pOEgQ6iJCKGDVXqo_ZiLtzd8Qnmew62j4mxgdwnVxpI6ULLul7E4cEZwyoJsLLtRGy90f5IEvpp9xRyuxTyo0PFS_OlguHWHHf2A_MgOqdCTBiDhlJS9GUf_VmVs2TICM8bQMy2w3tC/s1600/bIMG_0915.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />Then to give it a slightly more finished look I attached the 2 by 2 pieces to the top and bottom corners like this. This particular piece I didn't cut quite right and I had to cut one that fit a little better which I of course forgot to photograph. You can do this at the end of all of the shelves but I like how it looks doing just the top and bottom pieces. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MhtCIND71l8hs8-IfIWLA4eidDLUmEc0frdVKcRqy974wdZ-W1DjrAzhx4GNFLrXgAcgxjWxwlooW28kGzkGQA0kQDNnrA-LFF6-GsgwBeCC_nZn3ys6y6w5dYSHbbklAcbOR8k83EoW/s1600/bIMG_0918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MhtCIND71l8hs8-IfIWLA4eidDLUmEc0frdVKcRqy974wdZ-W1DjrAzhx4GNFLrXgAcgxjWxwlooW28kGzkGQA0kQDNnrA-LFF6-GsgwBeCC_nZn3ys6y6w5dYSHbbklAcbOR8k83EoW/s1600/bIMG_0918.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Then I just screwed the casters onto the base and stained the whole piece. I first used a coat of weathered gray and then topped it with a coat of provincial. As I mentioned above it was in the wee hours of the morning and I was rushing through it and I went on way too heavy with the stain and am disappointed in how dark it turned out. I've stained quite a few other pieces (our dining room table, the top of our new kitchen sideboard, several of our chalkboards, etc.) with this mix and normally am paying a bit more attention to what I am doing and have always been happy with the overall tone of it. And then once the stain is dry you can add a wax or some other kind of finish (I haven't done that yet) and then have fun adding your things to it! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here it is:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72_OBO7bWXuRpSnzWmJrWQD_2RRPCiunF2yNQ2R_0ll05RY9tMQVAF6C8z4MHcry-pduY707zVrO5c2e5FivCdLp7YLeKtzyE-HT0CdThtH-c1q8Zx78oTrjH3EJoIaT8jGLDhYa0i7BM/s1600/aDSC_2587-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72_OBO7bWXuRpSnzWmJrWQD_2RRPCiunF2yNQ2R_0ll05RY9tMQVAF6C8z4MHcry-pduY707zVrO5c2e5FivCdLp7YLeKtzyE-HT0CdThtH-c1q8Zx78oTrjH3EJoIaT8jGLDhYa0i7BM/s1600/aDSC_2587-2.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>And here's a little glimpse of the new table! I'll be posting lots more photos of the dining room later this week. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhtlV9JRcytOry329pbz51UJkzQuo8LlVWgdy5SoXHiU_JGZhjmY8MP6wemLd0UEpLf-vbfu3g5BBvUpYktfxh8blHVY0ObyAmMltj1WcgZ-mCTdO1lf-9F0hkfWEybeIMG-ghunKRJAh/s1600/aDSC_2662-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhtlV9JRcytOry329pbz51UJkzQuo8LlVWgdy5SoXHiU_JGZhjmY8MP6wemLd0UEpLf-vbfu3g5BBvUpYktfxh8blHVY0ObyAmMltj1WcgZ-mCTdO1lf-9F0hkfWEybeIMG-ghunKRJAh/s1600/aDSC_2662-2.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStiVm4FYZkTuCoPgobI5HbTmVgkAFjmrIuRi6ErYHTnY6yZMyi4MJMJWmHLjBFgkel-vSm-3toqlpldVmCnwaZ6LRUfRoDeg2FX9svu5AxjxwO7AdHYcFqHA4ihY-pDmQOFVSJgRWVT5B/s1600/sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStiVm4FYZkTuCoPgobI5HbTmVgkAFjmrIuRi6ErYHTnY6yZMyi4MJMJWmHLjBFgkel-vSm-3toqlpldVmCnwaZ6LRUfRoDeg2FX9svu5AxjxwO7AdHYcFqHA4ihY-pDmQOFVSJgRWVT5B/s1600/sig.png" /></a></div>

DIY Restoration Hardware Inspired Rolling Cart

I have been on the hunt for a hutch for our dining room pretty much since the day we moved in. I have something in my mind but so far have ...

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Master Bedroom Night Stand Tutorial (IKEA Tarva Hack)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6qU-6PlexJ8kIUMz8Rwf4_pnqQHV6KAjEb0Pl67iiceX_gH7nbWAY-1aNldH5ys16ud2-aeVZfIUXGX1aikZ9pVubdWvMk2bnDRVZoKpFAJziRvOegfgLJ8uam69W0XqDiitFTRL-wED/s1600/jeDSC_8936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6qU-6PlexJ8kIUMz8Rwf4_pnqQHV6KAjEb0Pl67iiceX_gH7nbWAY-1aNldH5ys16ud2-aeVZfIUXGX1aikZ9pVubdWvMk2bnDRVZoKpFAJziRvOegfgLJ8uam69W0XqDiitFTRL-wED/s1600/jeDSC_8936.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When we finally got around to making over our master bedroom a couple of months ago we decided to switch to a king-sized bed and we moved our other queen sized bed into the guest bedroom and slept with our new mattresses on the floor for quite a while so we just kind of used the floor as a nightstand. =)  Then we ordered a bed from Ballard Design (which I will show you lots of pictures of next week) and once it arrived we needed to figure out some kind of nightstand option. We didn't want to spend very much money but still needed something substantial to look proportionate with the size of the bed. I hunted and hunted but had trouble finding something the right size that wasn't way more than I wanted to spend. I ended up giving up on finding something and decided to go with the  the inexpensive IKEA Tarva dresser and customize it to look a little bit more our style. Even though technically it is a dresser, it is the perfect size nightstand for our room. Here are a few photos of the end result and then if you scroll down I will show you what it looked like when we started and how we transformed it. (I think they look a little more distressed in these photos than they do to me in real life for some reason). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-j3IVkLHsLcPZZSsfi2cKjFHB77L_aRKsVGQ5zhlzy5-iVD-DcAGicEmmdvqT8LdLn6LE5EKi1inGJr-2_O3uOhJTiePgIrffdUSZP6JrY2IBsZ33DJx7ayZJQ46vM55mrzDogDW2JO6J/s1600/eDSC_8962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-j3IVkLHsLcPZZSsfi2cKjFHB77L_aRKsVGQ5zhlzy5-iVD-DcAGicEmmdvqT8LdLn6LE5EKi1inGJr-2_O3uOhJTiePgIrffdUSZP6JrY2IBsZ33DJx7ayZJQ46vM55mrzDogDW2JO6J/s1600/eDSC_8962.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjTBDotL2o-njCn247W2ILJHRoL5SobhhTuzFeL548u2zJWAkhPFL0HUPRAOcoMUj3QY7V1SM4lRxSiVJHIfNze2ps1LaOklGMe4RRowB7acXju6vTlDSIsVTbENOE0PWZxbUfpftDFSN/s1600/eDSC_8991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjTBDotL2o-njCn247W2ILJHRoL5SobhhTuzFeL548u2zJWAkhPFL0HUPRAOcoMUj3QY7V1SM4lRxSiVJHIfNze2ps1LaOklGMe4RRowB7acXju6vTlDSIsVTbENOE0PWZxbUfpftDFSN/s1600/eDSC_8991.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1qM1SEGbNd495RicF-vX4YzSECJe27uOhlJKb6uDnJP7-c_lLNbI5PMtFHGCm7v6n2w5HwA8arKJOIM8pTHB52VJIruVoi04TOf1KFu84an41g9o2lnG2iBMGYSnJk4zr-dxWZ1fNpb6/s1600/eDSC_8984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1qM1SEGbNd495RicF-vX4YzSECJe27uOhlJKb6uDnJP7-c_lLNbI5PMtFHGCm7v6n2w5HwA8arKJOIM8pTHB52VJIruVoi04TOf1KFu84an41g9o2lnG2iBMGYSnJk4zr-dxWZ1fNpb6/s1600/eDSC_8984.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIRbsbgfB1tc2Yj_o8ryg7HwM4dgCDdVmQpHXgwmspfP8Y1hWng5GfVbpAhORormCjGAvZQBgLEn2UqenHPAiefUhry4Dk9QcWhoPnjUrWiUJ4tA7fPfaQ19KlMepTqgiW-Zsf4W7o5cp/s1600/eDSC_9006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIRbsbgfB1tc2Yj_o8ryg7HwM4dgCDdVmQpHXgwmspfP8Y1hWng5GfVbpAhORormCjGAvZQBgLEn2UqenHPAiefUhry4Dk9QcWhoPnjUrWiUJ4tA7fPfaQ19KlMepTqgiW-Zsf4W7o5cp/s1600/eDSC_9006.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Okay, so here is what is what we were working with:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeczHtPkMDEH-pPLbebFMZ9KyrEvN11-zaabVu4Ul_bw2ibTmHBF5A7Y_G1_Pqu_fcrVqOp8-ToXVK4IsAHPiUuO7ILQ5nT4oL7A-jpI4vEJCrVdqcZIjazX6nILz5BT1RuVmnKob3swU/s1600/IKEAhacktext.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeczHtPkMDEH-pPLbebFMZ9KyrEvN11-zaabVu4Ul_bw2ibTmHBF5A7Y_G1_Pqu_fcrVqOp8-ToXVK4IsAHPiUuO7ILQ5nT4oL7A-jpI4vEJCrVdqcZIjazX6nILz5BT1RuVmnKob3swU/s1600/IKEAhacktext.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The first part of the project was putting together the Tarva. And I am not going to lie. I am not a fan of putting together IKEA furniture. I hate it. And I would also add I probably am least impressed with this piece as far as IKEA pieces go. I actually am planning on writing a post in the near future about all of the different IKEA items we have purchased over the years and what we have been happy with and what we would recommend (because there are several pieces I absolutely love) and what items I have not been as thrilled with. Anyway, because of the drawers this piece took a little while and it's a little bit on the flimsy side. Once I got to the part where you add the legs I skipped that step. The legs on it would have made it a little taller than I wanted next to the bed plus I thought it would look a little better with some little bun feet. In retrospect I wish I had gone with a larger size and may switch them out at some point but you don't really notice them once you are further back so I may never get around to it. To add the bun feet I first attached these:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-eM13W_VKf2mKZ4GzKA_62vqnPZqXhOqSH-4Cs5ktKgYdZNK-XKEWMD0uYA1AjIoALkaosZ3Yen_X0-pR0bsSS75SACQqKKDClOdcXgIsyv2r1UtGV_zcaAdYbxaeUS4RxIdchhtFbdh/s1600/IMG_6857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-eM13W_VKf2mKZ4GzKA_62vqnPZqXhOqSH-4Cs5ktKgYdZNK-XKEWMD0uYA1AjIoALkaosZ3Yen_X0-pR0bsSS75SACQqKKDClOdcXgIsyv2r1UtGV_zcaAdYbxaeUS4RxIdchhtFbdh/s1600/IMG_6857.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">and then just screwed the feet in:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6DbQnfZsIluJY0LsFFE5t0ZEvX067nJGKBKbSdNZJP5UWwpK-yqnz_AEULOHcoY0CxaMr4AyYTjMXpGeCJvRfogG-6d6LZEC8xVjD6kCJftLdLB6RUIjIbewpgre94-BQZXhoz_J-pkq/s1600/IMG_6858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6DbQnfZsIluJY0LsFFE5t0ZEvX067nJGKBKbSdNZJP5UWwpK-yqnz_AEULOHcoY0CxaMr4AyYTjMXpGeCJvRfogG-6d6LZEC8xVjD6kCJftLdLB6RUIjIbewpgre94-BQZXhoz_J-pkq/s1600/IMG_6858.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Then I used liquid nails and added some thin pieces of wood to sort of frame out each drawer. I used clamps to hold them in place until the liquid nails dried. First I did the long pieces:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphG4qEKCwp5Zebjkja7G-SHdjpV9DOhqfISvdEX8V4W6aTgS1abzfBOV3Wjs22AaiD9S9vCHmYRUDmTkPl3jnG55yWhyphenhyphenCvqrv5oZC3hpxDbBQK81pwZCmGXH29k1iPFnkKPuF7-n9EXXP/s1600/IMG_8409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphG4qEKCwp5Zebjkja7G-SHdjpV9DOhqfISvdEX8V4W6aTgS1abzfBOV3Wjs22AaiD9S9vCHmYRUDmTkPl3jnG55yWhyphenhyphenCvqrv5oZC3hpxDbBQK81pwZCmGXH29k1iPFnkKPuF7-n9EXXP/s1600/IMG_8409.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And then I added the side pieces - I measured each one of the side pieces separately seeing how the drawers themselves weren't "perfect"  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwl5MwOf09kdie6fRqiXuN5Hdg1jUKQiJcUKoErN6l_EMSY_npRE3nbUSA9uayUejJG0YSQNufLglhPRz3veEC8EzUVWDmke46ffE1vPfSz17W0bOL1sk3166GcYg-heo3ABufyuIl4T_/s1600/IMG_8416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwl5MwOf09kdie6fRqiXuN5Hdg1jUKQiJcUKoErN6l_EMSY_npRE3nbUSA9uayUejJG0YSQNufLglhPRz3veEC8EzUVWDmke46ffE1vPfSz17W0bOL1sk3166GcYg-heo3ABufyuIl4T_/s1600/IMG_8416.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">So here is what it looked like at that point. Not perfect and nothing too fancy but definitely a little bit more grown up feeling than the original piece.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs2Mxr62wt7fI6duoarktDs9WCu152bce5NJ7SlhBrYk5RJaZrEp6oH8ukB88i2fWoQBVMoSBJC28LMq6CMauO5dKSApU7w-PMpZTHtqG4iFC9UOspCNW7yvZkfEZs2xRK6rE9qy0XSJ8/s1600/IMG_8422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs2Mxr62wt7fI6duoarktDs9WCu152bce5NJ7SlhBrYk5RJaZrEp6oH8ukB88i2fWoQBVMoSBJC28LMq6CMauO5dKSApU7w-PMpZTHtqG4iFC9UOspCNW7yvZkfEZs2xRK6rE9qy0XSJ8/s1600/IMG_8422.jpg" width="218" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Next I painted it. I just used some sample sized colors from Benjamin Moore. First I coated it with Duxbury Gray. I haven't sealed mine yet but at some point will probably use some Annie Sloan Clear Wax on them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-FO1Ch5L5vdKVPYbHSmQxSAiL5eWuJ-CgkKI38KRHbAljguccVI7m5-BJ2OhKEP9E7B5IBIYOWgPePOt3vWB2uooQUV7IbBX_8nQzgdWruZBZe5G7_NuyjHMrPz9oFOO9ll_V12oYUlS/s1600/IMG_8470.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-FO1Ch5L5vdKVPYbHSmQxSAiL5eWuJ-CgkKI38KRHbAljguccVI7m5-BJ2OhKEP9E7B5IBIYOWgPePOt3vWB2uooQUV7IbBX_8nQzgdWruZBZe5G7_NuyjHMrPz9oFOO9ll_V12oYUlS/s1600/IMG_8470.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Lola helped me with the sides. =)  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzWkri2RiWu20gJ8PYMV2Ia-MDXguzpKCpzTtAfJp_2wdOxTHL7cs8Q4doMfEyy9i83tcVjuXzAMz2Zo7166OJZRZOqre6sk_ZXJQxIY4gL-e70FYHVCFjI1e2inGGRUBbc11LDHgQB2w/s1600/IMG_8429.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzWkri2RiWu20gJ8PYMV2Ia-MDXguzpKCpzTtAfJp_2wdOxTHL7cs8Q4doMfEyy9i83tcVjuXzAMz2Zo7166OJZRZOqre6sk_ZXJQxIY4gL-e70FYHVCFjI1e2inGGRUBbc11LDHgQB2w/s1600/IMG_8429.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Duxbury Gray is on the left. It was a little darker than I wanted so then I added some Sea Haze that I had an old sample from ages ago. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_SKg_puW3nH15p6NR-syWi8qad0z_B5u7xnCeN4L8GcS_a7ByIKqWs73VJE5nudaWos9HBLuvzrWImmSarJCMkt3bXRwmBb71Ln2h7EwwGzhqntSOd_0ayZkQh8Z57pqrnDwPWts-Vi4/s1600/IMG_8467.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_SKg_puW3nH15p6NR-syWi8qad0z_B5u7xnCeN4L8GcS_a7ByIKqWs73VJE5nudaWos9HBLuvzrWImmSarJCMkt3bXRwmBb71Ln2h7EwwGzhqntSOd_0ayZkQh8Z57pqrnDwPWts-Vi4/s1600/IMG_8467.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">While the Duxbury Gray was still wet I brushed on the Sea Haze: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwUFEtdLfjgTfBt-AAf2v8pOBKMUpRXDgw9oMW7_Uv6c9P_mSDgE3g_9Ibs0AJjp4XDYuPja6fdxNgEfcTo6WuBbyLmPRpMyMuOxR_2AbhopBTHyYuJZDrWGirZ7ZR3-LEeqb-LqmdAjb/s1600/IMG_8473.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwUFEtdLfjgTfBt-AAf2v8pOBKMUpRXDgw9oMW7_Uv6c9P_mSDgE3g_9Ibs0AJjp4XDYuPja6fdxNgEfcTo6WuBbyLmPRpMyMuOxR_2AbhopBTHyYuJZDrWGirZ7ZR3-LEeqb-LqmdAjb/s1600/IMG_8473.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I wanted the finish to have kind of a rough aged look (they look a lot more distressed in these photos than they do in real life though):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZhOi_QEOdiJnga_wsSEO0A4i2HWh9HuXYiHWgMLvXKxRI5QSWIQCcpz4-BWolo_YAtEY9yDYzRXd2k_SjgEBAeeywX4EcJ60pOZymE82F7isvJR4QdyDCNDiK1yAMvaK2Numu44qXDKb/s1600/IMG_8474.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZhOi_QEOdiJnga_wsSEO0A4i2HWh9HuXYiHWgMLvXKxRI5QSWIQCcpz4-BWolo_YAtEY9yDYzRXd2k_SjgEBAeeywX4EcJ60pOZymE82F7isvJR4QdyDCNDiK1yAMvaK2Numu44qXDKb/s1600/IMG_8474.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Once that was dry I added some extra holes for the hardware and then found these Martha Stewart Cup Pulls at Home Depot. I couldn't find any that had kind of an antique gold or antique brass look to them so I just bought these seeing how I at least liked the shape of them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kcb3GqbhnuqJYzP60yA6iaoF7W6KcKMWinjFi7To3I-JjgNExf6WdVr1BFOoMR1IEZ1YBmICbcHe2HoSWXp6wtUQzGrGB7vAzy6KkEnLwgdCn2PiHSrHUTtj-rhGkkNwbUX6lmp2nPAK/s1600/iphoto-1-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kcb3GqbhnuqJYzP60yA6iaoF7W6KcKMWinjFi7To3I-JjgNExf6WdVr1BFOoMR1IEZ1YBmICbcHe2HoSWXp6wtUQzGrGB7vAzy6KkEnLwgdCn2PiHSrHUTtj-rhGkkNwbUX6lmp2nPAK/s1600/iphoto-1-3.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is what they looked like to start with (If you are looking for this type of finish I would recommend these - they were quite nice - it just wasn't the color I was looking for to go with the rest of our master bedroom):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSApJU6QuJOefZ4-s8QjSxL6h8kO_VS3-Wfs4AgFn-IyjiFxGdNVt_IhuQNOR6PUTgUZajTXnDGb9Ty8W9dTV6K9u7CWvdXRBkUSBNmelJHDncjl5TaJAzcxqrggQbYJiKqjpfxidmlmB/s1600/iphoto-2-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSApJU6QuJOefZ4-s8QjSxL6h8kO_VS3-Wfs4AgFn-IyjiFxGdNVt_IhuQNOR6PUTgUZajTXnDGb9Ty8W9dTV6K9u7CWvdXRBkUSBNmelJHDncjl5TaJAzcxqrggQbYJiKqjpfxidmlmB/s1600/iphoto-2-1.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">So I sprayed them with this gold color: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBvg-m26W-M0BCM0CdImBGOnGAT0Iy8tvZSok-e716q5HfaCZBI1nd89mfOA3dQS2EfJ9mbmMwRd2f7ImBi0sC0gq9xcWQeExy3eDhgHQ8I6vcRf9ywxk-hPU2rjlSieKH1rFM7ZXP4sI/s1600/iphoto-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBvg-m26W-M0BCM0CdImBGOnGAT0Iy8tvZSok-e716q5HfaCZBI1nd89mfOA3dQS2EfJ9mbmMwRd2f7ImBi0sC0gq9xcWQeExy3eDhgHQ8I6vcRf9ywxk-hPU2rjlSieKH1rFM7ZXP4sI/s1600/iphoto-4.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />And then gave them a really light misting of an oil rubbed bronze spray too and then after that rubbed some Annie Sloan Dark wax over real quickly then wiped it off. You can see in the two below the one on the left was just with spray paint and the one on the right has the wax. It helps give them more of an aged look.  <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2g4LH-fuBVdKu01MeRe4FDj4jaf1ZZijC5GZd_xj50IkzX2HGDGuqswSCP42NllJXMlPaTWxcmNd8YQ2jFLun8NXwUdNgv9uDw3npCxZh7e3cx4XO4loCORFL7PGbcYCNNU1QnpSJTlYl/s1600/IMG_8464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2g4LH-fuBVdKu01MeRe4FDj4jaf1ZZijC5GZd_xj50IkzX2HGDGuqswSCP42NllJXMlPaTWxcmNd8YQ2jFLun8NXwUdNgv9uDw3npCxZh7e3cx4XO4loCORFL7PGbcYCNNU1QnpSJTlYl/s1600/IMG_8464.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />And then I just screwed those on and there you have it. So, it definitely took a decent amount of time to do two of these but all in all it was a pretty easy project!  <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmJpVMW2u6iU0sTBjyXLCYLnJo2oBLB9OLked-icHBq4UYGIo4m8IIMLpIc-Dl-qxqzfDoOU8p13yREZvs3xAqTpkcETqFzXg6185XncCiXdTTIBe6Eb0_B_MHeTWx0tUCX-bFTtVDNHC/s1600/eDSC_9031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmJpVMW2u6iU0sTBjyXLCYLnJo2oBLB9OLked-icHBq4UYGIo4m8IIMLpIc-Dl-qxqzfDoOU8p13yREZvs3xAqTpkcETqFzXg6185XncCiXdTTIBe6Eb0_B_MHeTWx0tUCX-bFTtVDNHC/s1600/eDSC_9031.jpg" width="436" /></a></b></i></span></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Source List: </b></i></span> <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Wallcolor - Moonshine by Benjamin Moore in Matte<br />Trim - Simply White by Benjamin Moore in Semi-gloss<br />Nightstand - Made over from a Tarva dresser from IKEA and painted first in Duxbury Gray and then Sea Haze<br />Pulls - Martha Stewart from Home Depot (spray painted gold and aged with Annie Sloan Dark Wax)<br />Lamps - HomeGoods<br />Gold Oval Frame - have had for years<br />Little Gold Vase - was originally a candle from Target, once it finished we now use it as a vase<br />Bed - Ballard Design<br />Euro Shams and Regular Shams - Ballard Design<br />Coverlet and little pillow in front - IKEA <br />Drapery Panels - IKEA<br />Pitcher being used as vase - gift (from Spring Mill) <br />H - gift<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday! I'll be back some photos from Jason's house and a new product later this week!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YfOLp6lZJZ8RaDqYPJODCicKfU3EfS4zbcp_anGe40bjgFX_gwKsWqSpc9AaziOJqRGqcUhyphenhypheneOIHGfV_m4h1Vr2_1X10NvtOS7UZJ5swUE_h2GqqZQkyjHaGTouU1tOOKGgy25xycNWY/s1600/sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YfOLp6lZJZ8RaDqYPJODCicKfU3EfS4zbcp_anGe40bjgFX_gwKsWqSpc9AaziOJqRGqcUhyphenhypheneOIHGfV_m4h1Vr2_1X10NvtOS7UZJ5swUE_h2GqqZQkyjHaGTouU1tOOKGgy25xycNWY/s1600/sig.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>

Master Bedroom Night Stand Tutorial (IKEA Tarva Hack)

When we finally got around to making over our master bedroom a couple of months ago we decided to switch to a king-sized bed and we moved ou...

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An Oversized Chalkboard and Bench In the Kitchen.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJF7hYnuacr9YI70cbaN49HSBgQnHnCcBGg3RW2CrObusNEVmbbcU8Wy3BQH6KfJx2NVW6hLV7e4SL33aHHyoSTNvnvvRdO3MRsLt11Qo9Wpu2dMWC-7u4JVigYc4Qu4jEz54jdRYBjMw/s1600/aJuly_2399.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJF7hYnuacr9YI70cbaN49HSBgQnHnCcBGg3RW2CrObusNEVmbbcU8Wy3BQH6KfJx2NVW6hLV7e4SL33aHHyoSTNvnvvRdO3MRsLt11Qo9Wpu2dMWC-7u4JVigYc4Qu4jEz54jdRYBjMw/s640/aJuly_2399.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sometimes I make decorating decisions that either I don't end up loving or that don't work for our family. I hit the jackpot with this wall seeing how it fit into both of those categories. You can see in <a href="http://www.dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-wall-in-our-kitchen.html" target="_blank">this post</a> how I first decorated it shortly after we moved in. Although I really liked the clock I wasn't as big a fan of the shelves. I thought they would be a nice addition seeing how we didn't do any of the open shelving that I had orginally planned on doing but because they were on a wall that we walked by regularly I had to go with shelves that weren't very deep and that meant I ended up just putting random things on there instead of dishes and other more substantial things that give the overall look I like when it comes to open shelving. Even though I chose shelves that were not very deep so there wouldn't be any problems with anyone bumping into them that didn't work out so well either. Poor Jon bumped into them just about every single day, to the point where they were leaning more and more and I needed to take them down before we had a big crash and some broken toes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, down they came and I decided to go with something more simple and practical. As you know, I love chalkboards so I thought it might be nice to make an oversized one that we could use as a message center of sorts. I may at some point put something "pretty" on it but for now it is working out really nicely as a functional chalkboard. It is a great spot to keep our grocery list (I just snap a shot of it on my phone before we head to the store), Lillie's memory verse for the week from school, and for keeping track of what we have going on for the week. We used it last week (which is what the photos are of), and then I changed it out this week and so far we are really loving it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then I decided to move the bench in here to see how it worked. We had moved it upstairs to the end of our bed once our new dining room chairs came and I liked the functionality of it there but I figured I would prefer it to be downstairs so it could still be easily used at either the kitchen or dining room table for extra seating. I didn't think it would work here because I thought it would stick out a bit too far but after a couple of days of it sitting there we realized it actually worked wonderfully. It's a nice place for the girls to sit when I am in the kitchen and we have all used it to put our shoes on and take them off seeing how the closet where we keep the shoes is just around the corner. Once we knew it was going to work there, the girls and I went ahead and recovered it with this striped fabric that my mom got for me from New England Fabrics in NH.  It is the same fabric she used in her kitchen and I LOVE it! Even though it's still neutral I think it adds a nice interesting and fun touch in here too. And don't look too closely because the nailhead trim is pretty crooked. The girls took turns hammering in every other nail =)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Until we can go ahead and replace the counters and add a backsplash (and that is probably still months away!) the kitchen is pretty much finished for now. Here is a reminder of what it looked like on moving day:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVbTEvnlS-Zt9sCesFq-KPKoEA8bsez2PumPjxJ54uBKiTxeMJ_Kax8IaNUDY2gUmjE9QnankepadedAfJuse48pv4HabUR7bqrKEhfIlaYwjJy2kUKCVnAPEQZ1VOvuQ1L-e0PTCH3RL/s1600/aDBeforeAfter2b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVbTEvnlS-Zt9sCesFq-KPKoEA8bsez2PumPjxJ54uBKiTxeMJ_Kax8IaNUDY2gUmjE9QnankepadedAfJuse48pv4HabUR7bqrKEhfIlaYwjJy2kUKCVnAPEQZ1VOvuQ1L-e0PTCH3RL/s1600/aDBeforeAfter2b.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0h25FWXjE11zimVuvyPMtzqwWeFX7gbyzHnw2OxN10Ui4gv5ANpFQEnhxl-pz-1bSuY5FDAsqsfh_0W1zhXkeGnDenqpI-_lR0YRks01X29_7FkhmRofcy23N2Ktp5YOcECe7u67OS7T/s1600/aDBeforeAfter2c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0h25FWXjE11zimVuvyPMtzqwWeFX7gbyzHnw2OxN10Ui4gv5ANpFQEnhxl-pz-1bSuY5FDAsqsfh_0W1zhXkeGnDenqpI-_lR0YRks01X29_7FkhmRofcy23N2Ktp5YOcECe7u67OS7T/s1600/aDBeforeAfter2c.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRUoPnTSJjX0ZYmsHylnv3XigynSrT07AqKwD8ufLipoVLaKjHFaDpc6TmXyEVWdhuQFqB7f0qlol7pKP0fGyJbpB4WuyVNtF3YnqcUU9UoaX_uRLqWOqmnya6GQpbx49zlHmgDGO8Zor/s640/aJuly_2387.jpg" width="640" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagRZhUMIx8ntAhzhWQ1dGPGytqUyCL4pSTotbOxmz-my68UTTU_G6FhhNLDcHPr0oPby6AX6f8VTXkQooIx8pvlT-hD56BVmkp3r1kDbwHYQ3YMEDfU5OhmSqbMrzIRKPeGjW-6KYIxMF/s1600/aJuly_2428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagRZhUMIx8ntAhzhWQ1dGPGytqUyCL4pSTotbOxmz-my68UTTU_G6FhhNLDcHPr0oPby6AX6f8VTXkQooIx8pvlT-hD56BVmkp3r1kDbwHYQ3YMEDfU5OhmSqbMrzIRKPeGjW-6KYIxMF/s640/aJuly_2428.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrxPyaeqt4jBr9GeZp9pQywWasBKLh9NqmZLhaivfvjCpjeMoLeQrvYU_CmhBYH2YBGnhNWkhAN0CAaGrMUbnMh8eW96UrbH7OR9sjhvLqInCcfY8jeWFUXo88kuugba6He_GsZiMX8BGQ/s1600/aJuly_2412.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrxPyaeqt4jBr9GeZp9pQywWasBKLh9NqmZLhaivfvjCpjeMoLeQrvYU_CmhBYH2YBGnhNWkhAN0CAaGrMUbnMh8eW96UrbH7OR9sjhvLqInCcfY8jeWFUXo88kuugba6He_GsZiMX8BGQ/s640/aJuly_2412.jpg" width="436" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv43IfbT-FTs99dsSxTBPGcoXJbsEmpzUpEEj3gsinZqN09YK1qXkRvoP1bC3Q88zC_LuxrHgDWpoUMWDMHuFs6qxrunrSuZdkG6-yjSAXdhccWGOLBFhJMvwpDXoideiH9zqrjhhN09N-/s1600/aJuly_2416.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv43IfbT-FTs99dsSxTBPGcoXJbsEmpzUpEEj3gsinZqN09YK1qXkRvoP1bC3Q88zC_LuxrHgDWpoUMWDMHuFs6qxrunrSuZdkG6-yjSAXdhccWGOLBFhJMvwpDXoideiH9zqrjhhN09N-/s640/aJuly_2416.jpg" width="436" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCukjhOjlLdzRjOE1N12Lv2BFZtjKNvVIEEPyGsvH-Mf5jFnfM4Yl2RntHcjCbY_ccf0lP-KXqimLBoK48gOmhcvgmNZDTHihMbH06xsBEj2JKsEleQkTSCs909HEmzWsGDjxzSYV2Rnv/s1600/aJuly_2407.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCukjhOjlLdzRjOE1N12Lv2BFZtjKNvVIEEPyGsvH-Mf5jFnfM4Yl2RntHcjCbY_ccf0lP-KXqimLBoK48gOmhcvgmNZDTHihMbH06xsBEj2JKsEleQkTSCs909HEmzWsGDjxzSYV2Rnv/s640/aJuly_2407.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8B7L2gTxPp2AKhkQUdXCOPdsiTVnQ3AL80t3WnMZyeUGZsVreR8po0_rZbN0amEsPktIbp5r2YFgwGFk6dmBLy2KjgOeFCWwdLafCmx7Go4ipUPnJLFjEuQh35dLtq7tuiHcAvAgzFgH/s1600/aJuly_2401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8B7L2gTxPp2AKhkQUdXCOPdsiTVnQ3AL80t3WnMZyeUGZsVreR8po0_rZbN0amEsPktIbp5r2YFgwGFk6dmBLy2KjgOeFCWwdLafCmx7Go4ipUPnJLFjEuQh35dLtq7tuiHcAvAgzFgH/s640/aJuly_2401.jpg" width="436" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I made the chalkboard the same way I did for our <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-make-your-own-chalkboard-with.html" target="_blank">other ones</a> (you can find that tutorial <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-make-your-own-chalkboard-with.html" target="_blank">here</a>) except I made it a good bit larger. And then for the chalkboard part instead of painting chalkboard paint onto a piece of wook, I painted the backside of a whiteboard that they sell at Lowe's. It was $13 for a HUGE piece (I think it was 4' by 8') so I had them trim it down a bit for me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can find our tutorial on how to <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/dining-room-bench-tutorial.html" target="_blank">build the bench here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And if you are looking for <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/p/our-home.html" target="_blank">sources</a> you can find those by <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/p/our-home.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Have a blessed week!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubz9w_S5iiJNNaClQxEaXNKpGyMixiSYUlY67rZN7Qg0hLy_ouhEUsaMF2PKFobe4NW98K91Z8yuifi2DHXq4IuERaf7e7FChFyFiO0wfmuWiNwFxWq3tlsCbDLBYupcBpTG7DuTYFDb2/s1600/NewSignature.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubz9w_S5iiJNNaClQxEaXNKpGyMixiSYUlY67rZN7Qg0hLy_ouhEUsaMF2PKFobe4NW98K91Z8yuifi2DHXq4IuERaf7e7FChFyFiO0wfmuWiNwFxWq3tlsCbDLBYupcBpTG7DuTYFDb2/s1600/NewSignature.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>

An Oversized Chalkboard and Bench In the Kitchen.

Sometimes I make decorating decisions that either I don't end up loving or that don't work for our family. I hit the jackpot with th...

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