Budgeting With Boys

The past several years, I have been collecting items to build the flower garden of my dreams. After years of dreaming of a beautiful rose garden, I decided to finally embark on my garden journey. I wanted to add dimension to the garden and make it look beautiful. Garden Obelisks are beautiful and functional in any garden, although they can be very pricey to purchase. Instead of buying garden obelisks, I attempted to build them myself. Follow me on my journey to build the perfect DIY Garden Obelisks.

Supplies

• (2) 2in x 2in x 8 Foot Pressure Treated Southern Pine Lumber
• (2) 1in x 2in x 8 Foot Pressure Treated Southern Pine Lumber
• (1) 4in x 4in Pressure Treated Wood Pyramid Post Cap
• (1) Gothic Wood Post Cap Finial
• Wood Glue
• Deck Screws

I was able to purchase all of my supplies at Home Depot. My Home Depot sold the Wood Post Finials in singles, however, if you plan on making a bunch of obelisks you can buy the value pack of finials online.

The list of supplies above is for building one Garden Obelisk. If you want to build more than one obelisk then just buy the appropriate materials based on the list above.

Constructing the Garden Obelisks

There are several tutorials on how to build and create Garden Obelisks online. However, after several trial and error attempts, I found the easiest way to build them.

First, take the 2in x 2in x 8 Foot pressure treated lumber and cut both pieces directly in half. Each board should be 4 feet in length. Once you have 4 boards, adjust your saw. Set the miter saw to 7 degree angles on both the bottom swivel and the bevel cut. Line all 4 of the boards up on the miter saw and cut a small portion off one side of all 4 boards using the 7 degree angles.

Once the wood is cut, begin assembling each triangle side. Place two pieces of the 4 foot cut wood in the shape of a triangle with the angle cut sides being on the bottom. Next, take the 1in x 2in x 8ft wood and cut three varying sizes to connect the triangle together. You can cut and place the pieces wherever you think it will look best. One piece will be towards the top, one towards the bottom, and one in the middle. Once you place the pieces for the first triangle, you must ensure you place the pieces in the exact same location on the next triangle so the pieces match up when they are attached.

While some people make and connect the smaller pieces with 45 degree angle cuts around the obelisk, I found it was too hard to do with pressure treated lumber because not all of the lumber is straight and level. To avoid hassle, avoid doing any angle cuts for the 1in x 2in x 8 foot wood pieces.

Once the 1in x 2in x 8ft pieces are in the proper position on the triangle, attach them using wood glue and deck screws.

Next, stand up both triangles and connect them making a tent like structure. In order to keep the wood stable, use wood clamps to hold them in place.

Pre Drill a hole in the center of the post cap for the finial. Attach the post cap to the top of the triangles using 4 wood screws. Screw the wood finial into the pre drilled hole at the top of the post cap.

In order to stabilize the structure, I added 2 pieces of 1in x 2in wood to each open side of the obelisk using wood screws. Then, I added a longer 1in x 2in piece of wood to the middle of each original triangle section for design aesthetic. Once the structure is built and stable you can play around with the wood pieces and add as much or as little detail as your wish depending on style and budget.

Once the obelisk is built you can stain or paint the obelisk if you wish. I chose to leave the obelisks in their original state because I liked the natural wood look.

Lately, I have been helping my sister with projects around her house. Together we built a mudroom, added decorative molding to her kitchen island, and built an electric fireplace!

We were discussing what to do in her long hallway that leads to her laundry room and we decided we would add a barn door. My sister, Brooke, wanted to add some character to the hallway with a statement piece barn door. After some online research, we found a door we loved. Much to our surprise, the door cost $1,500 dollars! Knowing we could make a door for her space, we decided to tackle the challenge of building a custom made barn door.

Getting Started

The first stage of any project is research. Looking online, I found several blog posts that gave me a general idea of what I would need to complete the project and how I would get it done.

Next, I ordered my materials. Amazon has the best price on barn door rail systems. Click the link for the amazon rail system we ordered for this custom made barn door.

Once the rail system was ordered, we measured the door opening and determined the dimensions of the barn door. Finally, I placed an online order through Home Depot for all of the wood and materials we would need to complete the project.

Materials Used for Custom Built Barn Door

• One Sheet of 3/4″ 4ft x 8ft MDF
• (3) 1in x 4in x 8ft Primed MDF Boards
• (5) 1in x 2in x 8ft Primed MDF Boards
• Wood Glue
• Wood Filler
• 1-1/4in x 18 gauge Brad Nails
• Paint

I ordered all of my materials through Home Depot for an order pick up! Online order pick up is one of the best things to come out of Covid, at least for me and my family!

Once I received all of the materials, I got to work on the door. This project was great because I was able to work on the project at my house in my free time. Having a little baby makes completing projects way more difficult!

Building The Custom Barn Door

First, I had to cut the the MDF plywood sheet down to size. Normally, I would do this on a table saw. However, I do not own a really good table saw. Instead of a table saw, I used the next best thing; a circular saw and a Kreg Accu-Cut attachment. The Kreg circular saw attachment is the coolest piece of equipment I own. Not only is the Kreg attachment easy to use, it feels safe and secure while also providing accurate cuts.

After the base was cut, I was able to start adding all of the wood details. First, I framed out the MDF Plywood base with the primed 1in x 4in x 8 foot boards. I attached the framing with wood glue and brad nails to ensure strong bond.

Next, I cut several 1in x 2in x 8 foot boards at 45 degree angles on each end at varying lengths. I attached each 1in x 2in MDF board to the MDF Plywood base using wood glue and brad nails.

Next, I wood filled all of the seams and nail holes. Once the wood filler was dried, I sanded the entire door down.

My sister wanted to match the barn door paint color to the existing cabinets she had installed in her open air office. I painted the barn door black. It took approximately 4 coats of black paint per side.

Finishing Touches

After the barn door was dry, I drove the door over to my sister’s house. Together, we installed the barn door hardware above her door opening. Since we left the door molding on, we added a backer board to the wall before adding the rail system. My sister painted the backer board the same color as her existing wall so it would blend in.

We followed the installation instructions on the barn door rail kit manual and were able to hang the door with ease. Finally, we added the handle hardware my sister had picked out for the door.

I am in shock and complete love with this custom built barn door! I was able to build the entire door from start to finish in less than a week for less than $250! My sister was so happy to have her statement piece. Normally I get worried when I do work for other people but I had no complaints about this project! I cannot wait to build my next barn door. Possibly an updated Barn Door Shutter in my future!

Getting Started

If you have been following my blog for a while then you know the Laundry Room was the first room I renovated! This was one of my very first DIY projects. Originally, I wanted the laundry room to have a tile wall. However, I did not feel comfortable tiling the room myself. I ended up buying and installing peel and stick tile. While the tile look was cool, it definitely did not look like real tile. Check out the original blog post for DIY Peel and Stick Subway Tile!

The room had tons of unused space. There was also exposed piping that was not aesthetically pleasing. I needed the laundry room to function better for my family. A Laundry Room Remodel was a must!

Laundry Room Before Pictures

The Laundry Room before pictures feature a hodge podge of design. There was no functionality for cleaning supplies and I was unable to reach a majority of the soap because the shelf was too high.

I added a curtain at some point to hide all of the ugly exposed piping making the room feel dark and closed off. This space was no longer functioning for our family and needed to be updated!

Creating A Storage Shelf

I created a second shelf above the washer and dryer. This shelf was put in place to hide the exposed piping but also provide me with extra storage! Due to lack of studs in the area I wanted to hang the shelf, I applied the shelf support with drywall anchor bolt screws.

Luckily I did not run into any of the piping for the washer and dryer! After the shelf supports were in place, I added pine wood to create the shelf. I added a larger piece of pine facade to the front of the shelf to help conceal the exposed piping. The top shelf that was already in the laundry room prior to the remodel was white. I simply left the white shelf and applied a pine facade to the front of the existing shelf to match.

Wall Treatment

First, I decided on the wall treatment I wanted to use for the space. I chose a board and batten style design with small 1×2 MDF primed boards. Primed MDF is cheaper than wood and the best product to use if you plan on painting! I ordered all of the 1×2 primed MDF boards and the 1×3 primed MDF border from Home Depot.

Second, I prepped the space by removing all of the items from the room. I removed the peel and stick wallpaper from the accent wall. Removing the peel and stick wallpaper caused some damage to the drywall. In order to repair the dry wall, I applied a skim coat of professional strength spackling to the damaged area. Once the spackling was dry, I sanded the wall smooth.

Next, I attached the 1×3 primed MDF border (crown molding) to the top of each wall with brad nails. After the border was in place, I began hanging the 1×2 primed MDF board and batten boards. My walls are over 10 feet tall. Instead of spending more on longer boards, I cut each 8 foot 1×2 primed MDF board at a 22.5 degree angle and connected them together to create a longer board for my space. While this was extra work, it saved me tons of money!

After all of the 1×2 primed MDF boards were up, I spackled all of the nail holes and gaps in the wood. Next, I sanded all of the spackling and painted the walls and accent wood white.

Adding a Storage Cabinet

The odd lonely nook needed to be addressed. Since we desperately need extra storage in our house, I decided to add a storage cabinet. I purchased a painted shaker style cabinet from Home Depot.

Next, I added support framing to the wall where the cabinet would be installed. I installed the cabinet by attaching it to the framing with screws.

After the cabinet was in place, I added 1×2 trim pieces to each side to make the cabinet appear built in.

Finally, I installed the cabinet door hardware and built and installed a cabinet top. To complete the cabinet top, I cut and joined pieces of pine wood with wood glue and my Krig Jig to get a seamless connection. Once the countertop pieces were joined, I sanded the counter top down and applied a sealant.

Finishing Touches

Once everything was in, I added decor items to make the space function for my family. I added a clothes drying bar above the storage cabinet, glass jars with soaps and dryer balls, and a sign for our space.

I could not be more happy with the way this laundry room turned out! While the inside of this laundry room is complete, we will be removing and building custom doors for this space shortly. Keep checking back for when that project drops because you will not want to miss it! In the meantime here are a bunch of pictures of our new and improved Laundry Room.

We recently remodeled all of the boys rooms. In my oldest son’s room we added a Wooden Slat Accent Wall. After the Slat wall was in, I installed wall sconces. The problem with adding wall sconces is we did not run electrical nor did we plan on adding that huge expense to our bedroom renovation. There were two options; leave the wall sconces as non operational aesthetic wall fixtures or figure out a way to make battery operated wall sconces!

Materials For Battery Operated Wall Sconces

The wall sconces were purchased from Amazon for a very reasonable price! Since this is a child’s bedroom, I didn’t want to install anything high end in case they broke it and it needed to be replaced.

The black and gold wall sconces from Amazon came in a two pack for $40 total. This was the best price I could find for a modern wall sconce.

Next, you need to purchase puck lights. Battery operated puck lights will be the light source for your sconces. Make sure you find ones that provide adequate lighting. I chose to purchase puck lights with remote controls to make the functionality easier for my son. I purchased a 6 pack of multicolored puck lights with a remote from Amazon.

Finally, you will need a light bulb socket extender for each puck light. Once again, I purchased the light bulb extenders from Amazon. Light socket extenders are relatively inexpensive, less than $10 for a 4 pack.

Assembling the Battery Operated Wall Sconces

First, attach the wall sconce to the wall. Since the sconce is not being hardwired, you can cut the wiring off prior to installation. If you are not installing the sconce on a wall stud, simply use drywall wall mounts to ensure the sconce is secure.

Next, using hot glue or Gorilla Glue, glue the light socket extender to the back of the puck light.

The Extender should be centered on the puck light.

Installing Puck Lights with Extender into the Wall Sconces

Once everything has dried, add batteries to the puck lights and ensure they are operating properly. Simply screw the extender with the puck light attached into the Wall Sconce.

This amazingly simple project can be utilized in a variety of spaces! I am so happy with how the lights turned out and so is my son! This created an elevated modern design element for a fraction of the cost of hardwood wall sconces!