Have you ever been scrolling through Pinterest looking for party ideas and notice those cute short wood picnic tables? Well I have done this plenty of times and always loved the look of them! After checking online, I found those tables sell for upwards of $200 each on Etsy. With an upcoming birthday party and baby shower, I decided to try building my own DIY short wood picnic tables.
Buying Supplies
After building a game plan in my head, I ordered 12” metal table legs from Amazon. I ordered two sets of 4 legs at $17 each because I intended to build 2 tables.
Next, I headed to Home Depot to purchase supplies. Here is what I purchased:
(1) 8FT X 4FT Wood Plywood Sheet
(6) 8FT Common Wood Boards
Wood Glue
Finishing Nails
Wood Stain
Sand Paper
After I bought all the supplies, I headed home to start building!
Building The Short Wood Picnic Table
First, you have to cut the 8FT X 4FT Plywood Sheet down the middle (making two 8FT X 2FT pieces) to make the two tables. While in the store, I asked if a Home Depot employee could do it and he tried but couldn’t get the cut right. Luckily, I own a Kreg Rip Cut Tool which allows you to cut large pieces of wood down easily with a circular saw.
Kreg Jig Rip Cut Saw Attachment
Once the plywood was cut down, I glued and nailed the two 8FT common boards to each side of the plywood. Then, I measured and cut down another piece of 8 FT Common Board into two pieces for the ends of the table. Those two pieces of common board were glued and nailed to each end of the plywood. I repeated the same steps for the second table.
After everything was dry, I gave it a solid day, I sanded each table down lightly. Then, I stained each table with Walnut Wood Stain.
Table Shell
Once again I allowed the tables to dry overnight. After everything was set, I attached the table legs to the 4 corners of the table using the screws provided.
One Completed Short Leg Picnic Table
Putting the Short Leg Picnic Tables To Use
Originally, I made these for a spa baby shower I was hosting; however, I decided to give the tables a test run at my son’s birthday party.
The tables were sturdy, adorable, and affordable! Total cost for each table was $50. We will be using the tables for years to come! Can’t wait for the warm weather to get here so we can enjoy them outside!
Kids Gaming Party!Spa Baby ShowerSpa Baby ShowerShort Leg Picnic TablesShort Leg Picnic TablesBaby Shower in Progress!
Our Master Bathroom was built with a generic plain builder grade large mirror. While I love that the mirror is large, I hate how boring and unfinished the mirror is. If I were to replace the current mirror with new mirrors it would cost hundreds of dollars. Before I spent too much money, I decided to try to see if I could frame the mirror out myself. Follow me as I construct and design a DIY Bathroom Mirror Frame!
Lights above Bathroom Mirror!
The bathroom is the entryway to our amazing closet. If you missed my closet makeover, check it out here, Custom IKEA Closet. The current bathroom is boring and lacks character. For the first phase of the bathroom makeover we decided to start with the vanity area.
Bathroom Mirror Before
I found some amazing modern lights for above the mirror from Amazon! Lights are generally easy to install, however I ran into a little bit of a problem installing these lights. In true new build fashion, my builders left a huge hole behind the former lights which meant I had to patch a giant hole in the drywall.
Giant Hole in Drywall
The best part of patching this drywall was I got to try a new technique. After I patched the drywall with spackling and allowed it to dry, instead of sanding it smooth I used a technique called wet sanding. Take a damp cloth and rub the dried wall spackling until you get your desired look. Not only does this wet sanding technique save you time it also eliminates the mess! Definitely a win win and I would highly recommend it for your next project.
New Lights with Patched Drywall!
The Frame
Trying to find inspiration photographs for the mirror frame idea I had in my head was nearly impossible. When people think framed mirrors, the frames are usually big and bulky. However, I wanted something sleek modern and sexy for my mirror!
First, I went to the hardware store and picked out a thin light weight Polystyrene Baseboard Molding. The molding was 1/2-in x 0.75-in x 8-ft and I purchased two to complete my mirror, total cost for both was $9.96!
While at the store, I grabbed some black paint (I used Tricorn Black) and some clear construction adhesive. In total I spent $50.90.
Once home, I measured and cut the molding. Next, I painted all sides of the molding pieces and allowed them to dry for a day. After the molding was completely dry, I used the clear construction adhesive to glue the molding to the edge of my mirror.
After a little touch up paint the project was complete. This was a super simple inexpensive project and it turned out fabulous!!!!
I wanted to update the walls in my house and add character without breaking the bank. I could have painted the walls and added accent colors but I wanted something with a bit more character. I love the look of board and batten but sadly it was not in my budget. After some research, I realized I can do this myself for a lot less than it would cost me to hire someone to install it.
I told my husband my plan to add board and batten to the downstairs living and dining room and surprisingly he loved my idea. I immediately got down to business and started drawing out a plan. I decided to install board and batten in the dining room first so I could get a feel for the look. My motto for this project is “Start small, dream big.”
Before Picture
I have a small dining area so the space was not that overwhelming to tackle. Here are the tools and supplies I recommend to complete the project with the least amount of headache:
TOOLS/SUPPLIES:
Miter Saw
Air Compressor Nail Gun
1 1/2 inch Pneumatic Finishing Nails
1x4x8 furring strips
level
measuring tape
paint (I used the Behr Premium Plus Ultra Minimalistic in Satin finish)
Hand Sander
Paint Brushes
Wood Filler
Paintable Caulk
*I had the advantage of having flat untextured walls. If you have a textured wall you might want to consider adding full length boards of plywood or MDF if you want a perfectly flat appearance.
The first thing you need to do before heading to the hardware store is measure the space you are placing the board and batten to get an idea on how much wood you will need. My dining room wall is exactly 8 feet in length. I decided to start the board and batten 40 inches high because I didn’t want to have to navigate around the light switches. I ran the boards approximately 15 1/4 inches apart. I ended up needing 4 boards (1x4x8 furring strips) for the entire project. I purchased my furring strips at Home Depot for approximately $2.30 per board (love that price!).
While at Home Depot I purchased the paint for the project. I have two toddlers who are always touching the walls with Mac n Cheese hands so I knew I wanted to buy the more expensive washable paint. I purchased a gallon the Behr Premium Plus Ultra in the color Minimalisitc, which is a fancy name for white. This is where I spent the majority of my money. The paint cost $32 and was worth every penny!
After purchasing my supplies I got down to work. Using my stud finder I found and marked the location of every stud in the area I would be hanging the board and batten. The reason I marked the location of the studs was so I could ensure that when I nailed the wood into the wall at least some of my nails would go into a stud allowing extra support.
I marked the location I would be hanging my vertical wood boards all the way down the wall.
I painted the horizontal top board and the two vertical end caps before placing them on the wall. This is not necessarily something that needs to be done but it saved me the headache of getting excess paint on the wall edges.
I hung the horizontal top board first. My wall was exactly 8 feet in length, which means I did not have to cut this board down (score, one less cut!). I held the board at my desired height. Once the board was in the desired location, I placed my level on top of the board to ensure it was completely level. Using my nail gun, I placed several 1 1/2 inch nails into the board attaching it to the wall.
Horizontal Top Board
I chose to paint the wall below the horizontal top board with a coat of paint before attaching the vertical boards because I thought it would make things easier for myself and it was a task I could do while the kids were napping without waking them.
I measured the distance from the bottom of the horizontal top board to the top of my base board for each desired vertical board location. I used my miter saw to cut each vertical board to its desired size. The vertical end cap closest to my staircase required me to complete a bevel cut so it would fit flush against my stair railing.
Bevel Cut
After completing all of the vertical board cuts, I attached the boards to the wall in the same manner as the horizontal top board using 1 1/2 inch nails in conjunction with my level.
All of the boards are installed….time for wood filler and caulk!
Once all of my boards were in place, I filled all of the nail holes and seams where the boards met with wood filler. Once the wood filler was dry, I sanded down the areas until they were smooth. I also sanded down a few imperfections in the wood.
I caulked around the tops, bottoms, and edges of every board on the wall with paintable caulk to give the wall a more finished look.
Once everything was dry, I painted the entire board and batten area several times with the Behr Ultra Premium Paint I purchased from Home Depot.
The total cost of the board and batten dining room wall was $42. It cost me $10 for the wood and $32 for the paint. All of the other items used in this project I already had on hand.
It took me 2 days of intermittent work (two toddlers remember) and less than $50 to complete this beautifully elegant accent wall. I can’t wait to start on my next project!
The finished product!
*I provided buying links to a majority of the tools and supplies I personally used for this project. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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