A Growth Chart for the Boys

Rowan grows like crazy.  Every day it seems like he's this much closer to grabbing the doorknobs and bonking his head on the counter top...ok, he's already grabbing the doorknobs!

It's time to start tracking this kids height!

Originally, I was going to paint a growth chart, but we can't take that with us when/if we move.  No fun :(  So I kind of put that off...

Then this came up on the Silhouette blog

I hate to be a total copycat, but basically, we copied this project to a "T"....except for a few things:

-We used wood slats from an old Ikea bed instead of pallets.

-We made ours by putting two slats together side-by-side and then another pair on top so that it could be taller....our boys could be tall!

-We started the measurements at 2 feet.  This allowed us to make more room above 6 feet and besides, by the time you measure your kid's height, they'll probably be taller than 2 feet already.  BUT, you have to make sure you mount the chart exactly 2 ft from the floor!

-No need for a fancy-schmancy Silhouette  (: x).  For 3 Bucks, I bought number stencils at The Home Depot.

-For the white portion, we Kilz used primer, which we had on hand.  Worked great.  It's runnier than paint so you can still see the wood grain and it give a very flat, rugged finish.


I like.

Also, not sure how the original one was mounted, but we used two flushmount brackets on each of the two pairs of slats.

Mounting the chart was kind of a challenge.  We measured two feet from the floor and marked where the bottom of the chart had to be.  Then we attached one piece of the flushmount brackets to the back of the boards.  We put tape on the back of the other piece and clipped those into the attached piece.  Placed the boards against the wall and applied pressure until the other piece of the flushmount was taped to the wall.  Then carefully lift and remove the boards, leaving the other piece of the bracket on the wall.  Then drive in the screws!  It's a little tricky and might be easier to just measure it all out.  But that's how we did it.

You'll want a level too, to make sure your chart is straight.

DYI Headboard Inspiration

I've been wanting to make a headboard for a looooooooong time now.  It seems simple enough, but for some reason I can't seem to jump into this project.

A recent FB post from an old friend who made her own headboard got me thinking again.

I was originally inspired by this Crate & Barrel bed, which I LOVE.  Knowing this bed is completely beyond a splurge, I thought I could replicate it with something homemade.

The problem is, I can't make up my mind!!! First, I wanted something plush and pin-cushioned.  Like these....

I have also toyed with the idea of windows/window treatments, and I always love old doors...

But looking around a bit, I found this rustic fence post headboard by Dana at House Tweaking.

 And I love love love this!

But thinking about two little boys jumping around on our bed, a cushy, plush headboard still seems like a good idea.   Having a California King doesn't help matters, since I can never seem to find enough material of anything to fit it.  I hope I can come up with and commit to something soon because our bedroom is in serious need of some style.

{My apologies, I originally had all the links to all the bloggers who posted these great DIY headboards, but I lost all of the info when my computer froze up and my post didn't save.}

Under-Cabinet Lighting

And have under-cabinet lighting!!  Woohoo!

That's something to get excited about!  Since the kitchen is about 90% done, and fully functional, that last 10% just seems to linger. 

But we try to eek in a small project here and there. 

And I guess it makes every task that gets done seem like a major triumph.  Thank goodness we did the majority of the work before Rowan came along!

To get this mini project done, we used:

-Flourescent under-cabinet lights (2)
-Ikea under-cabinet moulding*
-Drill
-Screwdriver
-Chopsaw

We placed the lights as close to the front of the cabinets as possible, as recommended by the lighting manufacturer.

*Tip:  Use caulk to close any gaps in your undercabinet moulding.  Applied to just one side, it blocks the light from shining through!

New Dual-Paned Windows for the House

Working on the house has slowed down a LOT snce Rowan was born, but we're getting things done here & there.

We've been thinking about new windows for a while.  Our old windows were the originals, and while I liked them for their character, they were terribly inefficient.  Wtih winter upon us, and a little one to keep warm, we bit the bullet and got ALL windows replaced. 

The new windows are double paned, vinyl, with a UV barrier.  Ideally, I would've liked to have some more time and money to put larger windows in. However, retrofit windows go in super quickly and easily, AND, we didn't need a permit.

Ultimately, we think this update was a great decision.  The new windows look nice, and hopefully, our heating bill won't be as outrageous this month.

Eff You, Blue Paint!

OH, I am SOOOO frustrated with the paint we are picking for our kitchen/dining areas.

First of all, it took me a long time to decide what colors I liked on the swatch.  Then, it took me a long time to get some real samples to try out. Then, it took me a long time to acutally take the plunge with the real deal.

I chose a dark grey/blue color for the kitchen, behind the oven and fridge.  I started painting away, and fell in LOVE with the color!  Wow.  I was so proud of myself for taking a chance and getting it right!

I did three coats on the whole area and it looked fantastic.  A few hours later, I went to go do some touch-ups.  To my shock and horror, the touch-ups turned out a totally lighter color! WTF!! I must not have mixed the dang paint well enough.  Okay, this might seem like an easy fix, just go get a new can of paint and mix it well, right? WRONG! Because I like the DARK color!  I don't like the color as much if it's all the way mixed.

 Crap. 

Trying to match a mystery wall color doesn't work very well.  We bought a butt-load of new "add a touch of this" samples but none of them are right. 

Today, Rogér mixed two of the sample colors together, and it's surprisingly close.  I think we're going to have to live with it.

Moral of the story:  Mix your paint THOROUGHLY!  Even if you hate the fully mixed color, at least you don't fall in love with a color you can't match.

-Sarah

House Update - Furnace is Officially Working!

The GOOD NEWS:  The furnace is fixed and Dom, Buds, and I are sitting pretty (and warm) in the house these days.

The BAD NEWS:  The repair cost us 300 George Washingtons!!

The LESSON: A while back, a nice PG&E guy told us (for free) that the furnace probably needed a new ignitor. We chose not to DIY this one, because we had no clue about furnaces and just wanted it fixed already!  We had someone come and test the furnace, and after a $65 half hour diagnostic, he found that the ignitor needed to be replaced....genius.  after watching the guy repair it, we quickly realized this would have been a super simple fix.   The part just plugs into an air switch type thingy.  All you have to do is order a new ignitor and plug the hose into it! Well, the ignitor is not that cheap anyway, but you can certainly get it for less than $240 + $65.

Upcycled! - Baby Diaper Changing Station

We weren't sad to see our old cabinets go, but I felt bad scrapping all that wood, so I was trying to think of ways use them. In reality, the cabinets were so hard to get out that most of them got broken apart (and used as firewood), but we did manage to salvage this one section.

After staring at it sitting on our back patio for a few days, I came up with and idea!  A baby changing station!  I liked the idea that there were drawers, and it has a handy pull out cutting...ur...diaper-holding board!  Of course, it needed a little make over.

    

Materials:  Home Depot paint mistakes 1 pint lt blue - $1,  Martha Stewart sample paints - $1 each, Paint brushes $1 each, Painter's tape - $3, Not shown: Wood putty - $2, Ceramic drawer knobs - $2 each, leftover white paint from our walls - $0

  I sanded down all the surfaces, removed the pull handles and filled them in with wood putty. I painted the base light blue and the drawers white.  Then I taped off two drawer faces to paint light brown squares, and taped vertically on the three other drawers to get the lines. The hardest part was waiting for different coats to dry.

For the top surface, I took two cabinet doors, sanded them down, nailed them on, and painted them white. I drilled holes for the new knobs in the center of each door and put on the knobs.

I couldn't be happier with the results! The whole project cost less than $30 and took me, alone, about a week to complete (keep in mind, I have a growing belly and I need a nap about every two seconds).

Groutable Vinyl Tile Flooring - Our Experience So Far

I said I'd share more about our groutable vinyl tile floor, so here it is.

There are sooooo many floor options to choose from.  We were really excited when we this tile at Home Depot because we liked the look without the tile hassle. I looked it up online to see what advice I could find and there were a couple good suggestions. For the rest, we just took our chances.

The whole install was relatively painless.  My mom and I marked the centerlines of the kitchen and then laid out tile (with the backing on) in a square around the kitchen island, we did this to make sure everything was square. That looked good so we got to it, starting with our initial square and then building out.  We tried to avoid doing one long straight line of tiles all at once, in case things got a little crooked, which only happened once.  Once you lay the tiles down you can't really make adjustments like with real tile.  We did have to pull up one or two and re-lay them.  I'm not sure if this will affect the life of the tile.


We used 3/16" tile spacers because we liked the way it looked.

Grouting and floating was a little tricky.  We got pre-mixed, quick dry grout.  Never used it before.  This was much more convenient than mixing yourself. Warning:  It dries quick!!  At first, Rogér and I both grouted and when I went to go float over the tile, the grout was already drying, leaving patches of grout on the tiles and a rough finish in between the tiles.  After that, Rogér grouted and I floated over the grouted tile almost immediately.  This worked really well.  We didn't have problems with the grout not sticking in between the tiles. 

Pros and Cons so far:

Pros:
-Easy install and no need to account for extra thickness of floor like with ceramic and stone tiles
-Quick adhesion and drying
-Easier to cut than stone or ceramic (although, they are thicker than other vinyl tile, so cutting is still a bit of a challenge.  We used garden shears and a box cutter)
-Low cost - Ours was about $1.16/sft
-Looks great, almost like real stone (our baby shower guests had to touch it to tell the difference)
-Seems like it would be easy to replace
-Cleans up easy
-Less sealing (You should still seal the grout, but the tiles don't need it)

Cons:
-Can't adjust tiles once they're laid down
-May have trouble sticking (one of our tiles is lifting at a corner. maybe it got too wet underneath during float?)
-Must prime the floor if you don't have a super smooth subfloor.  Wood will need primer.
-Grout film - everywhere.  Cleans up after a mop or two though (after the grout has set of course).

Helpful tips:
1.  Use two buckets of water (dirty and clean) for the float, and clean the water often.
2.  Float quickly after grouting if using quick-dry grout.
3.  Use a large piece of wood as a cutting surface for the tile, score with the box cutter and fold to snap a clean line.  Use garden shears or heavy duty scissors for cutting more intricate shapes.

That's all I can think of.  We're pretty happy with our new floor :)