Old Sewing Machine Table turned Outdoor Planter

Hey Y'all! I am back after a two'ish week break. I needed to focus on healing.

I developed shingles, and let me tell you...that's stuff is NO JOKE!

Thankfully, it's passed, and I have learned so much about myself and how I handle stress (actually how I don't handle it.)

I am taking baby steps, and learning to say no, and learning to just breathe.

It's SOOO hard y'all!

Anytime I am on the mend from an illness, I always have the urge to get up and do something. I don't do well sitting still, but sometimes life knocks you down and you have to listen to your body.

I had plenty of time to dream up different projects with all of that sitting I was doing with those nasty shingles.

So as soon as I was feeling up to it, I was out in the garage tearin' things up.

I had an old empty sewing machine table sitting in my attic that was given to me by one of my mother's friends. I knew I could do something with it, but I just didn't know what.

So it sat in the attic for more than a year.

Hubby kept trying to make me get rid of it because it was taking up space, but I refused. 

I am so glad I didn't throw it out.

I finally came up with a fun way to repurpose the table.

I turned it into an outdoor planter.

This was its original state.

Sans sewing machine.

I used the wood from the stand my porch swing used to hang from, and created a box to slide inside the table. Building the box took 40 forevers!

I went with my tried and true Krylon red. This was the first time for me to use this all-in-one paint and I LOVE it. It was super easy to use!

I made sure to drill a few holes in the bottom of the planter for drainage.

I also roughed up the top with my orbital sander, just to knock off the sheen.

Two coats of spray paint, and she was ready for assembly.

I used the plastic that Lowe's gives you for your car to protect the floor mats as my liner for the planter. Dual purpose, and it was free!

I had some leftover dirt from some previous plantings, and it was just enough. Lucky me!

I also poked holes through the plastic for drainage.

I made sure to get shade tolerant plants, since they would be under a covered porch. I always seem to ignore the suggestions on those little plant tags. 

You know what? Those people from the plant stores kind of know what they're talking about, so I chose to listen this time :-)

I love the varying heights of the plants.

I can't wait until they fill in a little more.

This was an inexpensive build, and I was only out the cost of spray paint and the plants.

I am so thankful for days when I can create what I imagined. It's so fun!

So, who's ready to make their own? I would love to see pictures if you decide to recreate this piece!!

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American Girl Doll House Inspiration

Raise your hand if you have a daughter who is obsessed with American Girl Dolls.

Sister LOVES A.G. dolls, and I will have to admit, I really like them too.

The dolls were first released in 1986 (when I was 5), and have been going strong ever since.

I had friends growing up who had them, and I always wanted Samantha.

However, the dolls are very expensive, and always have been, so I never got to own one.

I survived, obviously.

Anyway, Sister fell in love with the dolls, and we started with the Target brand of Our Generation dolls. We weren't investing in something that expensive if she wasn't going to play with them.

She did play with the dolls, and really didn't notice that they weren't the real deal. She did get frustrated with the hair though. That's the biggest difference between the cheap dolls and the real dolls. The hair is WAY better with the real American Girl line.

After realizing that she truly would play with these dolls, we stepped into the real world of American Girl with a Bitty Baby. 

Bitty Baby is so precious. 

I miss those days (sniff). 

For those that don't know, Bitty Baby is the line geared towards the younger girls. 

We graduated from Bitty Baby and now Sister has two American girl dolls.

At first, we had all of the kids' toys upstairs, including the dolls because I don't like seeing toys strewn all over the house.

However, one of our lovely guests decided that Isabelle needed a trim last year, (grrr) so all of the A.G. stuff is in Sister's room for safe keeping.

Which has created a bit of a storage issue, as seen below.

 

There isn't a good way to store everything she has, so it's tucked away in little pockets everywhere in her room which is driving me bananas!

I needed a solution!

I knew that Ana White would have some plans for a doll house. I have used her website for plans before. We built a dollhouse bookshelf which is currently being used as a Barbie house, and I built a see saw for the kids.

Her instructions are easy to follow, and there are PICTURES!

This particular build is massive, and it has pocket screws (which I don't know how to do), so hubby is going to have to help me build this one.

He just doesn't know it yet!

I'm thinking this will be a great project this summer after we finish the laundry room and get through some of the yard work.

 

I found this picture under the brag posts from Ana White's website. Isn't this adorable? Someone took a tremendous amount of time in making this dollhouse special.

 People are so creative when it comes to making doll house accessories! I love this little living room set.

 And there are some really crafty mommas out there.

Look at this amazing washing machine made out of a baby wipes container! So clever!

I can't wait to get started with this project! Hopefully Sister's room will look a little more organized once we complete it.

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Laundry Room Renovation-Part 3

 I'm so glad you're back! 

In my last two posts, I shared with you our thought process in creating a more functional laundry area, and the beginning stages of building out the cabinetry.

Today, I am sharing the current progress of this space.

 The doors and hardware have been added to the enormous cabinets. (SOOOOOO much storage space!!!)

All of the cabinetry and trim have been painted and the counter top and bench have been stained.

And part of the crown molding has been added.

 Hubby installed a white subway tile back splash under the cabinets.  It's one of my favorite parts of the whole laundry room at this point. It offers absolutely no function other than being aesthetically pleasing, but sometimes that's ok, right?

You will have to forgive the over exposure of the back splash. The under cabinet lighting kind of washes it all out. 

Speaking of under cabinet lighting...we found an inexpensive light at Costco, and hubby installed it under the cabinets. I love how much it brightens up the room! It kind of makes folding laundry less depressing.



(click on the picture to find similar under cabinet lighting)

One of our concerns with the laundry room was I didn't have an area to stick ALL of the dirty laundry. This laundry tower solved those issues.
If you remember, I found my inspiration from this picture.

It is amazing to have so many baskets to sort all of my laundry in.

I really wanted to use wicker baskets, but it just wasn't in the budget, so we went with a Sterilite square laundry basket. Even though the wicker would have been much prettier, these baskets are clean and neat looking, and they definitely get the job done. They also fit the dimensions of our cubbies perfectly. 

Amazon had a great deal on the baskets, so we had them shipped in.

(click on the picture to get your own 6-pack of laundry baskets)

There are still soooo many things left to do in this room. Our list includes:

Adding wainscoting to match the Half Bath
Paint the walls a soft grey
Add crown molding and caulk
Add new light fixtures
Reconfigure the salon area
Add a little decor to finish it off

I'm sure that before it's over with, I will be adding to that list.
Everyone who has been in the laundry room lately has raved over it. Hubby and I are anxious for it to be complete. It seems like we have been working on it FOE-EV-UH!

I will keep you posted on any new updates we do to this room, so make sure to check back!


*This post contains affiliate links*

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Laundry Room Renovation-Part 2

In my last post, I shared with you all the issues I had with the different layouts of our laundry room. In the course of 6 and a half years, our laundry room has gone through several different looks, but never meeting all of our needs.

After searching for inspiration for what seemed like weeks(which in all actuality was probably more like days...maybe even hours), I finally came up with a design plan. 

I felt like an HGTV designer with my own show. It was kind of cool.

My design addressed all of the issues we were having with the space. We have 9 foot ceilings, so by taking the cabinets all the way to the ceiling, it would create a ton of extra storage. Making the laundry tower for holding baskets would clear out the dirty laundry on the floor, with multiple slots for all of my sorting needs. We would also have a seating area where my clients would be able to sit, and the dogs' crate could be tucked away underneath. And, most importantly, it would be "purty."

 Problems solved.

I just needed someone to build it for me. Thankfully I have a handy dandy hubby.

We started out by completely deconstructing the laundry room...again.

Then hubby got to work making my dreams a reality. He began with the counter over the washer and dryer. He used oak plywood  for the counter top, and took it all the way to the back wall. It's massive and I love it, mu-wha-ha-ha! I wanted the counter to be stained, so that's why we went with a slightly more expensive plywood.

He tried to end all construction at this point, but obviously that was step 1 of 6,453.

Next, he made the tower. Now, wood only comes in 8 foot sheets at Lowes, and we have 9 foot ceilings, so he made the entire 8 foot tower, and later on added a box on top of the tower, so it would go all the way to the ceiling.

Now that the tower is beside the counter, there isn't any risk of laundry going MIA.

He then built the cabinets that go over the washer and dryer. This was something that truly tried his patience, and broke the tip of my finger, but they made it on the wall, so all is well.

The laundry room stayed in this state for a bit because we went on our amazing Disney vacation that I can't wait to tell you about!

 When we returned, hubby was back in the garage working his fingers to the bone to make Momma's dreams come true. 

Stayed tuned, and I will update you on the current progress. This room is still under construction, but it's starting to look beautiful!!

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Laundry Room Renovation-Part 1 (again)

 Six and a half years ago when we moved into our house, this was what our laundry room looked like. Plain and boring.

I tried to add  a few touches in the corner to make it look a little nicer, but it was still fairly blah. Functional, but blah.

 Then I got the bug to decorate in the laundry room. I have people in there on a somewhat regular basis because I cut hair in the nook of my laundry room. I wanted the room to look a little nicer, so I had hubby build some amazing risers for the washer and dryer. 

I painted the walls, and it gave the room less of the cookie cutter look.

 I also added some seating for my clients, and that seemed to make things better.

  However, it didn't take very long before I was tired of that arrangement. It just wasn't working. We sold the risers and the bench, and we stacked the washer and dryer hoping to create more space in the area. We built a table to fold the laundry on, and I thought that was going to be it. 

There were still issues with the arrangement, though. The laundry was always on the floor, if I put clothes on the table to fold, things would inevitably fall behind the washer and dryer, the kids couldn't reach the dryer, and I really wanted to put the pups' crate in there as well, and there wasn't a place for it.

I sat in my stylist's chair one day and just stared at the laundry room. I kept trying to figure out what could be done to solve all of my issues. 

I hopped on Pinterest, and typed in Laundry Room, Laundry Room Storage, Laundry Room Design, anything that I could possibly think of for some inspiration.

After pinning for what seemed like forever, I started finding things that caught my interest. 

I needed storage, I needed a place to put my laundry to fold, and I needed a place to hide the dirty laundry when I had clients over for a cut.

Once I figured out what I really wanted for that space, I could narrow down the design.

I loved the idea of taking cabinets all the way to the ceiling. It's my opinion that one can never have too much storage space.

 

 (Source)

 I loved this stacked laundry basket area. It seems like every laundry system only has slots for three colors. I usually need 4-5. This seemed like a perfect solution.

 And who doesn't love subway tile? Absolutely timeless.

So after gathering loads of inspiration, I put pencil to paper and drew out what I wanted my laundry room to look like.

I was so excited about my plan and I knew hubby could build it. I just needed to convince him it was a good idea!

Thankfully, he loves making me smile, and we tore apart the laundry room once again.

Next I will share the progress we have made thus far, so make sure to check back!

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Jewelry Cabinet Facelift

 Hey Friends! 

I have another project to share today.

A jewelry cabinet makeover.

Sister has moved up to big girl jewelry, and is sporting dangly earrings on a daily basis. 

She looks so grown up with them in...sniff..

She had her ears pierced when she was 4, and has never had any issues until about a month ago when one of her ears became infected. 

We switched to dangly earrings, and thankfully haven't had any issues since. 

 She needed a new jewelry storage solution, so I went digging around in my stash in the attic, and found this cabinet. It was a yard sale find. 

I think I paid around $5 for it a few years ago. I kept thinking I just needed to get rid of it, but I'm so glad I didn't ;-)

The previous owners used some serious paint stripper on this cabinet, so all I had to do was use 220 grit sand paper on my orbital sander to smooth out the finish.

 

 Sister picked out the colors. Turquoise was the first color she wanted. The cabinet took 2 coats.

 Remember the old drawer I turned into a jewelry organizer? Well, I used the same type of metal from Hobby Lobby. This sheet was $11.99 (a little steep, but I used a 40% off coupon. It made the price not sting as bad). I laid the sheet on the back side of the cabinet door and marked off where I needed to cut.

 I used metal snippers to cut little sections at a time, being careful not to cut my fingers on the metal. It's extremely sharp.

 Once I was finished snipping, I tapped the edges down with a hammer.

After the metal was smooth, I painted it purple, Sister's second choice.

(Sometimes you have to get creative when spray painting two sided objects.)

 Once things had dried enough to handle, I attached the metal screen to the cabinet door(because I didn't have the patience to wait until it was completely dry), and then drilled a bigger hole in the door front so I could attach this adorable button knob from Hobby Lobby.

 

 I also added 2 picture frame hangers to the back of the cabinet, and hung it. I felt comfortable with using those because this cabinet is made out of very lite, thin wood.

 

 Here's a shot of the inside of the cabinet. It looks a little beat up, but the door will stay closed the majority of the time, so I am ok with it.

 

 And a quick before and after shot.

Now, Sister has a nice little spot to showcase her earrings, and it will be so much easier keeping up with them.

 And just for fun, a reality shot... so you know that I don't keep a perfect house. I just move things out of view ;-)

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think!

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