$45 Bathroom Cabinet DIY

When we first bought our home, we knew that there were plenty of things that we would need to update. Add in a few "oh my gosh the refrigerator is dead/pipes froze/furnace is broken" moments (insert amused, all-knowing "welcome to homeownership" comment here), and there have been plenty of times when I sat, staring at bare walls and leaking doors wondering why I didn't just move a little further north, to a brand new home.

*Sigh*

Taking all setbacks into consideration, our house is far from complete. I still walk downstairs and think "oh right, that room needs XYZ." However, while it is a work in progress, I still love our home. But now, I'm in even more of a time crunch, because I'm pregnant, and if I don't do it now, when will any project be finished?

So that is what led me to tackle the bathroom, last weekend. Ever since we moved in, I have wanted to paint the kitchen cabinets, and, at some point replace the countertops. I decided to work on the bathrooms first, as sort of a "test run" on a smaller scale.

So, in one day, I took my bathroom from this:

To this:

I chose a black stain because of the existing bathroom color scheme: the toilet and bathtub in this bathroom are gray, while the existing cabinet was brown wood with a cream colored countertop. I opted for black, hoping that the contrast would make the cream/ivory countertop appear whiter and brighter, so that it would complement the gray fixtures.

Supplies:

• Sandpaper or sanding block (I used 2 fine grade sanding blocks)
• Stain, such as Minwax Polyshades
• Paintbrush (I used a thinner paintbrush than one I would use on the walls, since I needed to paint around the mirror)
• Mask, to avoid breathing paint fumes
• New hinges and door pulls
• Painter's tape

How To:

1. Remove the doors, drawers, hinges, pulls, etc.
2. Sand the existing finish and diminish any existing gloss.
3. Tape off any edges, and around any hardware that cannot be removed.
4. Mix the stain. I purchased one quart of stain, which is way more than enough, so keep this in mind when purchasing. A little goes a long way.
5. Cover the entire surface with a thin coat of stain. You will get a much better result from multiple thin coats, than you will from one thick, gloppy coat. Plus, the stain is rather thin and runny, so a thin coat reduces the risk of drips.
6. When the stain has dried enough so that it is no longer sticky, lightly sand (optional).
7. Add another coat of stain. This may be enough for you, but there may also be places where the stain needs to be touched up a bit. Add a coat as needed.
8. After the final coat has dried, remove the tape, attach your new hardware, and reattach the doors and drawers.

Now, you should have a brand new bathroom!

What I May Have Done Differently:

While I love the new cabinet, and the bathroom definitely looks modern and updated, the finish is a lot glossier than I anticipated. If I were to redo this DIY, I would pay more attention to the finish on the can of stain, and maybe pick something a little more subdued. However, I am definitely not disappointed, and this is, of course, up to personal preference.

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Painted Brick Fireplace

Recycled Chairs: Wooden Chairs Turned Teal and Chevron

Painted Brick Fireplace

Today's post is a classic example of a DIY gone wrong, that actually ended up even better than anticipated. When we moved into our home a few weeks ago, I knew that I wanted to paint the fireplace. Some people love old brick, but it just wasn't working for me, and it made the room in the basement look a lot darker.

Plus, there was a section of mismatched brick and ugly mortar in the middle of the wall, where a hole was clearly patched.

I was at first inspired by this gorgeous painted fireplace, so I started by following those instructions. The two paint colors that I chose were "Creamy White" by Behr Ultra, and Behr "Blanket Brown", both satin enamel. I used a roller to paint the brick with the white shade, and a paint brush to paint between the bricks and completely cover the mortar. I used roughly two coats, to completely cover the brick.

Now, the blogger at the previous link stated that her brick had a rough texture, and was uneven, which helped to get the almost spattered look of the painted fireplace. Because my brick was mostly smooth, I used a pair of scissors to give the roller some texture for the top coat.

Then, I rolled it in the brown paint, and lightly painted over a section of the wall.

I don't have a photo of that part, but maybe it was the color, maybe it was the texture of the brick, but whatever it was, it was unfortunately not the effect that I wanted. 

We mixed some white paint with the brown to lighten it up a bit, and tried again. Still something was off.

"I kind of like the white better," my husband said. So we decided to try and wipe off some of the brown paint, wait for it to dry, and then repaint that section white. As I grabbed a paper towel and smeared off some of the paint (which actually just smoothed it out), my husband stopped and said, "actually, I kind of like how that looks."

A new plan was born.

We painted the walls, still using the textured roller and a light hand, and coating the wall and fireplace in sections. It's important to roll vertically instead of horizontally, or the paint will cover the mortar. Then using a dry paper towel, smudge the paint horizontally along each brick. This part of the process is really quick, and the goal isn't to make it look completely perfect. 

Here is the finished product (excuse the table full of supplies)!

Close up:

Painted brick fireplace.

All in all, I think it turned out really well for a a DIY accident, and it really makes the room look much brighter and put together!

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Teal and Chevron Painted Wooden Chairs

DIY Faux Headboard

When we moved into our apartment, we really didn't think about decorating right away. As a result, we have nice furniture, but our place doesn't look completely "put together".

Take our bedroom for example: it has the basic furniture like a bed (obviously) and shelves/dressers for clothes. Our walls are bare, and they are a particular shade of "previously-rented-and-spackled-apartment white". Our bed is new, but doesn't have a headboard, and since we want to get a larger bed in the near future, it wouldn't make sense to buy a headboard in the near future.

So I broke out my crafty side and made a faux headboard!

It's less of a physical headboard, and more the illusion of one. To make it, I used three 11 x 14 inch canvasses (bought in bulk from Amazon), a window scarf, and a collection of 3M hooks and hanging strips.

I painted the canvasses with grey acrylic paint. They tended to absorb the paint, so I needed 3 coats to really cover them.

After the paint was dry, I used ribbon to create three different patterns. I had some paper tape (for taping gauze and bandages), which was useful for holding the ribbon in place while arranging it, without messing up the grey paint.

I used a thin coat of mod podge as glue under the ribbons, and left enough ribbon at the edges to wrap around the back. The edges were taped at the back to finish the canvas.

Next, I attached three metallic 3M hooks to the wall, about 45 inches above the top of the mattress. The window scarf was draped over them, and then I attached the painted canvasses to the wall to get the finished product.

That's it! I completed the project within only a few hours, most of which was waiting for the paint to dry. The turquoise ribbon was a little lighter than I had hoped, but overall it turned out nicely. Plus, I have so many canvasses I can always redo them if I need to!

Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas!

DIY Centerpiece Vases Without Flowers!

Budget a was a big concern when planning our wedding, so we immediately crossed flowers off of the list for centerpiece ideas. While they can be lovely, bouquets can also be expensive. Plus, I wanted something "sparkly" and a bouquet of flowers in a vase just wasn't going to cut it.

We/I spent a long time discussing/researching the different possibilities. We eventually found a set of plain glass cylindrical vases which we could buy in bulk, and that came in assorted sizes. We also ordered enough floating votive candles to float in each one, and estimated how many tiny acrylic gems to buy to sit at the bottom of the vases.

Originally, the idea was to buy flowers in bulk, and submerge them in the vases. The trouble came when I started researching types of flowers, and learned of the risks of certain flowers fading, wilting, or breaking apart. Unfortunately, the flowers that were most suited for this type of display were either expensive or unappealing to me. 

Source: google.com via Samantha on Pinterest

To my surprise, I was unable to find many suggestions to use as alternatives to flowers. I did not want a tall clear vase with nothing inside of it, but I also didn't want to risk my centerpieces becoming a faded, jumbled mess. Gel instead of water was an option for suspending gems, but a bit of a hassle for a set up a full 24 hours before the wedding (and possibly an even greater hassle to disassemble).

Then, it hit me! I didn't necessarily need anything inside of the vase, I just wanted something to fill the large visual space. Instead of having floating crystals, gems, or other objects they could be wrapped around the outside!

Source: projectwedding.com via Samantha on Pinterest

So I calculated the amount of crystal garland I would need, and I started my search. Note: if you are looking for cheap craft items while DIY-ing a wedding, always check the shipping charges. Every "cheap" craft site I found added an astronomical charge for shipping and handling.

Ultimately, after debating the important factors such as price, and assembly, and risk of looking tacky or gaudy,  I came up with the idea to forgo the crystals, and use ribbon instead. We ordered way too much

navy blue, satin ribbon (one of our wedding colors), and tied bows around the middle of each vase. The extra ribbon turned out to be great for creating the table numbers, and for averting a floral disaster 20 minutes before the ceremony (story to be told on a later date)!

We tied the ribbons around the vases well in advance of the wedding, and stored the vases in the boxes they were delivered in. We also filled the smallest vase of each set with enough gems for all 3 vases per table, for easy set up. The only change I would have made would have been to use a dab of glue or even tape to attach the bow to the vase, because they may fall. In every photo of the sweetheart table, the ribbon is at the bottom of the vase. I would also move the "WedPics" cards out of the photo...

Welcome to "Coles in the Kitchen"!

It's amazing what you discover when you have your own place, and one of those amazing things is how much easier it is to cook and bake when the kitchen is "yours". Add in the explosion of Pinterest, and trying new recipes has become sort of a hobby for me.

As I've collected my own "pinspiration" on my own Pinterest boards, I've come across plenty of cooking blogs, DIY blogs, and more. So I figured that I would add my own contribution to the pool of information. Who knows, maybe you'll be pinning my projects before you know it!

Name of the blog aside (though that is subject to change, anyway), I'll be covering more than just recipes, and including various projects around the house and beyond. I spent 11 months of the last year planning my wedding (so plan on seeing a lot of photos and DIY ideas related to the reception), and decorating the apartment I share with my husband (the original Cole, and one half of the Coles in said kitchen... I cook, he mostly tastes tests and reaches the things that I can't).