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!!!!
With our third baby’s arrival fast approaching, I have been working hard to complete house projects! Recently, I finished the baby’s room by creating a Board and Batten Bedroom Accent Wall. Now that the baby’s room is complete I can move on to a long awaited project, the Office Renovation with Wallpaper!
Board and Batten Bedroom Accent Wall
The Office Before
Before starting this project, I realized the office had become a catch all junk room. I wanted to make the office space more visually appealing as well as a more usable space for our families needs.
The Office During Corona At Home Learning!
The office furniture was a variety of free or cheap items we had collected over the years all packed into one space. It had always been my intention to redesign the office at some point to make it a more cohesive space.
During the height of Corona, we invested in a Peloton. While I love using the Peloton on a daily basis, I don’t love looking at it while its not in use. This workout bike eyesore needed to be addressed during the office renovation!
Getting Started on the Wallpapered Office Renovation
The first thing I did was get rid of all of the furniture in the existing office. Next, I went through all of my craft supplies and materials and got rid of items I no longer needed.
After the purge, I focused on creating an accent wall. The office has a double door entry and is right off of our front entrance space. I wanted the entry wall in the office to be the focal point of the space.
I decided to add a board and batten wall with peel and stick wallpaper. Wall paper adds a nice texture and pop of color to any space. Peel and Stick wallpaper is something I have tackled before in my Pantry Renovation and Reorganization on a Budget , so I felt comfortable working with it.
The hardest part about wall paper is picking out a pattern that works for your space! Target offers a wide variety of peel and stick wallpaper options. I purchased 2 rolls of NuWallpaper Cayman Peel & Stick Wallpaper Gray.
NuWallpaper Cayman Peel & Stick Wallpaper Gray
Next, I ordered all of the mdf primed boards I needed to create a 3/4 board and batten wall, similar to the wall I installed in the nursery. For a guide to building the board and batten wall follow the guide in my Board and Batten Bedroom Accent Wall Blog Post.
Board and Batten Bedroom Accent Wall
Creating the Wall Papered Board and Batten Wall
The first thing I did was install the wood for the board and batten wall with the exception of the top edger. I left the top edger off until the wallpaper was installed to maintain clean wallpaper edges. Next, I painted the board and batten wall. Since I wanted to keep the office bright, I went with a white paint I had from a previous project.
After the paint was dry, I hung the peel and stick wallpaper. The most important part of hanging wallpaper is making sure you have enough to match up the pattern and to make it look seamless. Hanging wall paper takes patience and practice but the best thing about peel and stick wallpaper is you can pull it off and manipulate it if there are air bubbles or it isn’t lining up correctly.
Hanging Peel and Stick Wallpaper
To begin hanging the wallpaper, I started on the left side of the wall and worked my way to the right. Make sure to leave overhang to the top and bottom of the wallpaper. Having more wallpaper is better than having less! You don’t want to run into a situation were you are too short and have to recut the wallpaper section. Using a box cutter, cut the excess wallpaper off to maintain clean edges.
Excess Wallpaper Prior to Cutting
I continued the wallpaper all the way to the right edge of the wall.
Once the wallpaper was installed, I added the top ledge to the board and batten wall. The top ledge was a design choice I added to allow me to place plants and decor on it.
Finishing Touches
To create a desk large enough for the space, I purchased three white file cabinets from Home Depot. For the desk top, I purchased a wood butcher block counter top from Home Depot and placed it on top of the evenly spaced out file cabinets.
For desk chairs, I used the same faux leather chairs I have in my dining room. Using my dining room chairs in the office allows me to store the excess dining chairs for holidays while maintaining a cohesive look.
Office Desk and Chairs
To create the light fixture, I found a basket I loved at Home Goods and transformed it into a basket light. For a step by step guide to creating a basket light, check out my DIY Basket Lights on a Budget blog post.
DIY Basket Light
In order to hide the Peloton, I purchased a screen from Amazon. When we use the Peloton, we simply move the screen to the side and when we are finished, we put it back.
Peloton Screen
I created a small seating area with chairs I had in my bedroom. The chairs needed to be moved for the baby’s bassinet, so this was the perfect spot for them!
Office Seating Area
For all of the accent pictures and decor, I took things I already had around the house as well as purchased items from my favorite store Goodwill!
I could not be any happier with the way this room turned out. It went from a catch all room to a fully functioning office/work out space!
Vertical Shiplap is an easy way to update your space and make it comfortable and homey. I decided to shiplap our entire upstairs living room and hallway areas.
The upstairs area in our house is the kids area, which means the walls take a beating. We had two options: shiplap or repaint. DIY vertical shiplap tied in the farmhouse feel we have throughout our house and was less expensive than hiring a painter to come in and repaint our space. The decision was made and I set out on my journey to DIY vertical shiplap the entire upstairs by myself during a quarantine with kids. Here is my journey!
GETTING STARTED DIY VERTICAL SHIPLAP
While I did not want to make extra work for myself, I quickly decided I needed to frame out all of the windows in the upstairs living room. The upstairs windows needed a frame to tie the vertical shiplap together and make it look cohesive. I decided to purchase the same boards I would be using as a top edger for the shiplap to frame out the windows.
First, I measured the space I was working in and got a rough idea on how much shiplap I would need to complete the project. Let me tell you, my original measuring was incorrect due to varying baseboard heights. Just be prepared because nothing is ever level and the walls are never even!
Next, I determined how much edging I would need for the top of the shiplap. I did not need to purchase edging for the bottom of the shiplap because there is an existing thick baseboard that would act as an edger.
I did not buy finishing cap pieces for corners until the end of my project.
The first thing you need to do is decide on the height of your vertical shiplap. Since I was working with 8 Foot boards, I decided the easiest and most economical approach would be to cut the boards directly in half. Due to the fact that the boards would be resting on top of my existing baseboards, the 4 foot boards would be perfect.
My biggest mistake during this project was precutting the shiplap boards for the first wall. Turns out my baseboards are not level! I know, I know; measure twice cut once. Honestly, It just wasn’t something I thought about prior to cutting those boards. You live and you learn!
Another mistake I quickly figured out was, the top edger must be installed prior to adding the shiplap because it will save you a lot of time further into the project! Since I was doing vertical shiplap on all of the upstairs walls, the top edger needed to connect at the same height throughout the entire space. Placing the top edger up first throughout the space just makes your life easier when it is time to add the shiplap to avoid boards not lining up (been there done that and got the badge!).
I attached all of the top edger to the wall using 1 1/4 Brad Nails and my Nail Gun and level. After the top edger us up, I framed out my windows with the same wood I used for the top edger.
Top Edger is on before Shiplap Installation
INSTALLATION OF VERTICAL SHIPLAP:
After the windows were framed out, I attached the shiplap pieces to the wall using the same brad nails and nail gun. While it is ideal to shoot the nails into a stud, if you cannot find a stud in the area you are hanging you can alternate shooting brad nails at an angle into the board.
All of the walls I installed vertical shiplap on had power outlets and/or light switches. When you encounter an outlet or light switch you must first mark the location of the outlet/switch onto your shiplap board piece. I marked the outlet locations by flipping the outlet cover and reattaching it to the outlet backwards. I applied paint to the edge of the backwards outlet cover and then placed my shiplap boards against the wall to get the exact location of the outlet.
Using a jigsaw, I cut the outlet locations out of the shiplap boards. Because the cut you need to make to the shiplap may be in the middle of your board, you may need to use a power drill to pre drill holes in the corners before cutting with the jigsaw.
Top Edger, Framed Window, and Shiplap with cutout for Outlet!
INSTALLING REMAINING TRIM PIECES:
Depending on your space, you may need trim pieces to finish off the walls. I added outside corner molding to all of the outside edges and quarter round molding to the interior edges.
Quarter Round Pictured on this Wall
INSTALLING OUTLET EXTENDERS:
Once the shiplap is up, the outlets and light switches will need to be extended. The outlets and switches should sit flush to the shiplap.
First, turn the power off to the area you are working. I used a lamp to ensure the power was indeed turned off. Next, I detached the outlets from the wall. Finally, I added the plastic outlet extenders and reattached the outlets to the wall.
FINISHING TOUCHES:
First, I used wood filler to fill all of the nail holes. Next, I added paintable caulk to all of the vertical shiplap and trim edges. Finally, I sanded down all of the wood filler and painted the shiplap and edger with white paint I had on hand.
Finished Space for Relaxation and Play!
The windows are perfection and really really change the space!
I was able to add a work space for the kids and I
This project transformed my upstairs area into a beautiful living room/office/kids area. I could not be any happier with our new functional space!
