Coat Closet Makeover

Coat Closet Makeover

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Next to the entryway of my house is a small coat closet that we used to hold mainly miscellaneous items such as paper towels, toilet paper, and water bottles. It really wasn’t functional since it only had one shelf with one closet rod and a ton of underutilized space. So, I decided to demo it and start from scratch.

For my design process, I wanted to make sure I had enough room for three backpacks, some space to hang some coats up, a small bench, and enough room for a few baskets that could hold things such as koozies and sunscreen that we don’t use often but needed to have their own spot in the house. Finally, I wanted some lighting. This closet is so dark because the small walkway it’s in does not have a light due to the air return covering the entire ceiling. I had to use a head lamp during most of this project due to how dark it was!

Before I began, I found this free website called CutlistOptimizer, which helped me map out all of my cuts onto 1 sheet of 3/4 inch birch plywood, which saved time and money and was so helpful! All you have to do is type in the length and width of your cuts and the size of your sheets of plywood. I also calculated for blade thickness and put in 0.13. There are also options to consider grain direction and edge banding.

I began by demoing the room and patching any holes in the wall. Then, I started working on the bench. I decided on bench seating, mainly because we do not keep shoes in our coat closet regularly and at some point I want to redo all of the floors in the house and did not want to worry about demoing around or having to rework this closet in the future. To be completely honest, we also buy paper towels and toilet paper in bulk and I have not created a storage space in the laundry room (hint: future project), and both of these things still fit perfectly under the bench (and have a dedicated space in the house–which is honestly a huge need for my own sanity).

For the bench, I used 1x2s as an anchor to the wall, and added two supports in the middle. I used my table saw to cut the boards at 45 degree angles and nailed them to the anchors. I used stainable wood filler to fill any holes and when I was done painting the rest of the built in I stained the bench with a three part method: Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner, one coat of white wash, two coats of weathered oak, and poly to seal.

Next, I moved onto the side “tower.” Unfortunately, the walls were not straight when I started to put in the boards, so I used a technique I learned called scribing. Scribing is a simple technique that allows one to fit wood or other material against walls that are not straight. I used a drawing compass and placed one point against the wall and moved the other side with the sharpened pencil out to the widest gap between the wall and the piece of wood and tightened it in place. Then I ran the compass down the length of my board and cut out the excess using my jigsaw.

At the last minute I decided to make the shelves movable so I bought a Kreg Shelf Pin Jig, which made drilling equal holes a breeze. I used my pocket hole Kreg Jig to drill holes on the top and bottom to attach to the top shelf and the bench. These holes were then covered by Bondo and sanded prior to painting.

Of course, you can’t forget the moveable shelves! I decided to make 2 moveable shelves for the tower and after cutting down to size, I wrapped them with edge banding and stained them to match the bench.

Next, I added a top shelf that spread across the whole space and a smaller immovable shelf to the left of the tower. I also drilled in ledger boards to the studs to assist with making the shelves level, and to add more structural support. Finally, a face frame was added to the front of the built in using more 1x2s and I used caulk and Bondo to fill any holes.

To make the space more bright, I repainted the whole room. On the built in I made sure to prime the boards prior to painting for better adherence and sanded between coats. Then, I painted the whole space with Benjamin Moore paint in the color Classic Gray.

Then it was time to sand down the original closet rod and cut the rod to the new size. I also stained it to match the bench and placed it just underneath the smaller shelf in the closet.

Finally, it was time to add some finishing touches. As I have so many water bottles, I decided it was time to buy some bottle organization and, for now, we are keeping them in here due to limited pantry and kitchen space. I also found some baskets at TJ Maxx and decided to add a small set of hooks to the side of the tower to hold any purses, scarves, gloves, or keys that others bring in. Lastly, I found a light that is rechargeable and detects motion that I added to the ceiling to bring in some much needed light to the closet.

Tools:

  • Miter Saw
  • Table Saw
  • 18 gauge Nail Gun
  • Drill/Driver
  • Kreg Shelf Pin Jig
  • Pocket Hole Kreg Jig
  • Sander
  • Stud Finder
  • Jigsaw
  • Level

Materials:

As an LTK Creator I earn from qualifying purchases. Click on the link to find direct links to products and decor that I will earn some commission on.

Total: $279.20

Total with added decor: $427.20

*For my cost breakdowns I like to let you in on the total cost of everything if you decided to start this project today; including what I used that I already had on hand. I have put an asterisk (*) next to what I already had at home to show the added cost of what you might spend in total if you did not have anything at the start of this project and assuming prices haven’t changed when you start! I only calculated the cost of what my total was in this post.

I hope you loved this project as much as I did. Let me know what you think in the comments.

As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram at @rachcreatesahome to see these projects in more detail.

DIY Yard Games

DIY Yard Games

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After refinishing the outdoor tables and chairs, I decided I wanted to have some outdoor yard games to host some friends at the end of the summer. I settled on making Cornhole, Kubb, Yardzee/Farkle, Ring Toss and Polish Horseshoe. I loved making each of these games and they have already made a huge impact on our group hangouts. Our friends love coming over and having games to play, whether its for a fun party or for watching a football game, these games have been a big hit!

CORNHOLE:

I was planning on building some cornhole boards out of 1x3s and some plywood, but I ended up at a yard sale one morning and the seller ended up having a cornhole set they were selling for 50 cents! Upon trying to gather my change, the lady was so kind and told me I didn’t have to worry about paying for them! I told her it wasn’t a big deal, it was only 50 cents, and she said, “Exactly, it’s only 50 cents, don’t worry about it.” So I took the cornhole set home and got to work fixing it up! It needed a lot of work.

First, I spent some time cleaning it on the top and the backside as well. Then started to paint it. I used Behr Ultra Stain Blocking Paint and Primer and decided to paint it with the Kansas City Chiefs colors and logo. I used the colors Soft Boiled, Delicate White (color matched), and Whip Lash. My husband is obsessed with the Chiefs and my brother actually already made him a DIY Washers set in the Chiefs colors as well, so it only seemed proper to make another set in Chiefs colors!

To make the perfect logo, I printed off a picture online, and ended up using graphite paper to trace over the logo. Then I used a black paint pen for the smaller details on the logo.

Finally, I add a sash lock and slip joint hinges to hold the two boards together to easily pack it up after using.

Here’s how it turned out:

Tools needed:

  • Drill
  • Paint roller

Material and Cost Breakdown:

Total: $76.87

KUBB:

Have you ever heard of Kubb before? It’s one of my favorite yard games to play, but not that many people know about it. Rumor has it that Vikings were the ones who came up with this game as it’s been around for hundreds of years.

How to play:

  1. Set up looks like: 5 Kubbs at the end of each baseline on a field that’s 5×8 meters long (full disclosure, I never play with the field this big) with a King in the center.
  2. Batons are thrown underhand and length wise behind the baseline.
  3. Closest baton thrown to the King is the team that goes first.
  4. Any knocked down Kubbs have to be thrown over to the opposing teams side, these are now field Kubbs.
  5. Now, that team must knock down any field Kubbs before any baseline Kubbs.
  6. If you don’t knock down all the field Kubbs, the closest one to the King becomes a temporary advantage line to throw from.
  7. This continues until all of one teams field and baseline Kubbs are knocked down, then you can go tfor the King to win it all!
  8. TL;DR? Here is a link on how to play!

Cut list:

  • 10 Kubbs: 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″ x 6″ length (I cut down one 4×4 for this)
  • 1 King: 4×4 x 12″
  • 6 batons: 1 1/2″ diameter dowel x 12″ length
  • 4 stakes: 3/4″ diameter down x 12″ length

To make the 10 Kubbs, I bought a 4×4 at the store and used my table saw to cut the length down so that the Kubbs would be 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″ x 8′. Then, I used my miter saw to cut 10 Kubbs at 6 inches.

For my King, a traditional 4×4 with a decorative top cut into it would have worked (and cut down my own cost). However, I did not feel like I have the skills currently to attempt to cut a decorative top out using my table or miter saw, so I ended up using a small fence post, and cutting it down to 12″ in height.

Then I took my 1 1/2″ diameter dowel and cut 6 batons out at 12 inches in length.

Finally, I cut 4 stakes (To be my field outline) down to 12″ each and cut one end at a 45 degree angle to better stake into the ground.

This is where you can sand and put a clear coat on; the reason being that the way to play to the game is to throw the wooden batons at the wooden Kubbs, but I decided to use some leftover stain I had in my garage and the white paint from my cornhole DIY to make it more unique, and finished by sealing it with some polyurethane.

Tools Needed:

  • Miter Saw
  • Table Saw
  • Orbital Sander

Material and Cost Breakdown:

Total: $49.44

Yardzee/Farkle

After making Kubb, I had enough of of the 4×4 left over to make some yard dice! I decided to make 6 dice so that we could play both Yardzee (Yahtzee) and Farkle! The size of the dice are 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″. I used special walnut stain and Behr Ultra in Delicate White to paint the round dots (pips) on. To paint the perfect circles I traced a quarter on the wood first, then painted the pips. Finally, they were coated with polyurethane to finish!

I found this free Yardzee page here for you to download for yourself if you’re interested!

Tools Needed:

  • Miter Saw
  • Orbital Sander

Materials Used:

Cost breakdown: Free from other projects!

Ring Toss

Making this game was definitely the most challenging out of all the games I ended up making! This was mainly due to my choice to use a router on the edges and personally struggling with tying the strings so they both look level, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, I think it turned out great!

Cut list:

  • One 1×4 cut to 17.5″
  • One 1×3 cut to 15.5″
  • Two 1×6’s cut to 12″
  • One 1 1/4″ dowel cut to 12.5″
  • One 1 1/4″ dowel cut to 2″

First, I took the 1×6 and sandwiched them on top of each other, using wood glue and clamps, to create a 2×6. Then, I used my router and a 1/4 inch cove bit to create a decorative detail on the edges. I then used a 1 1/4 inch spade bit to drill into the center of the wood for the dowel to be placed in. I made sure only to go through the first piece of wood and not through the bottom.

Next, I cut my 1×3 down to size and drilled a hole in the center using my spade bit. I also cut a decorative edge around this piece of wood to match the bottom piece. I did not drill fully through this piece of wood with my spade bit either.

Then, I used wood glue and wood screws to secure the dowel in the base and the top. I then sanded, stained with golden oak, and sealed with some polyurethane.

Finally, it was time to screw in the eyelets and hooks! I screwed in the eyelets 1 inch away from the edge of the 1×3 on both sides. The hooks were screwed into the dowel 3 inches above the base. I used string to attach the eyelet on one side and the ring to the other side.

An optional piece to add is the ladder. To make the ladder I used one 1×4 cut to 17.5″ and drilled 5 holes with my 1 1/4 inch spade bit equally distant apart for a small dowel (or glass) to sit on, and used my router to route the edges with the same decorative edge as the rest of the piece. I also cut a piece of the 1 1/4″ dowel to 2 inches for the playing piece.

How to play:

  1. The playing piece starts in the middle of the ladder.
  2. Once you hook the ring, you advance the playing piece towards your opponent
  3. You must hook the ring until it’s officially off the ladder; then the game ends!

Tools:

  • Drill
  • Spade bit
  • Router
  • Cove bit
  • Miter saw
  • Clamps

Cost breakdown:

Total: $58.06

Polish Horseshoe

Finally, I made polish horseshoe! This was one of my favorite projects this summer because of how simple and easy it was!

How to play:

  1. Players take turns throwing the frisbee in an attempt to knock the other teams bottle off the pole.
  2. The defending team attempts to catch both the frisbee and the bottle.
  3. Receive one point for throwing the frisbee and it’s not caught.
  4. Receive two points for throwing the frisbee and knocking the bottle to the ground, but the frisbee is caught.
  5. Receive three points for throwing the frisbee and both the frisbee and the bottle are not caught.
  6. First team to 21 points wins!

Materials:

First, I cut the PVC pipe in half, so both poles would be 5 feet tall. Then, I put the adapter and the end cap on one side and drilled a small piece of spare wood into the end cap so there would be a little more surface area for the bottles to stand on. I cut the spare wood down to 2×2″.

Next, I cut the 1/4 inch dowel in half and cut one end at a 45 degree angle so it would be easier to stake into the ground. The dowel is small enough to be hidden inside the PVC pipe. I used a hammer or a mallet to stake it into the ground.

Finally, I spray painted it black and set it up outside!

Tools:

  • PVC pipe cutter (I have had mine for years, this is similar to what I have)
  • Miter saw

Material and Cost breakdown:

Total: $33.02

What do you guys think of all these games? I hope if you haven’t played some of these, you’ll end up trying them out some time soon!

*For my cost breakdowns I like to let you in on the total cost of everything if you decided to start this project today; including what I used that I already had on hand. I have put an asterisk (*) next to what I already had at home to show the added cost of what you might spend in total if you did not have anything at the start of this project and assuming prices haven’t changed when you start! I only calculated the cost of what my total was in this post.

Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

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In late May, I was driving home from work one day and saw 2 tables and 8 chairs hanging out on the side of the road just down the street from the house. The neighborhood pool was getting rid of their furniture from last year to upgrade to a new set and I just happened to drive by at the right time! I had no intentions of working on “outdoor projects” anytime soon, especially with it being the summer, but I could not pass up the chance to take some free furniture home!

I pulled over and shoved one table and 4 chairs in the back of my Subaru and proceeded to call my husband, who happened to be borrowing a truck at the time, and asked him if he could please pick up the other four chairs and the second table before he got home. Thankfully, they were still there when he was driving home many hours later!

These two photos are the true “before” of what this set looked like the day I picked it up off of the curb. Many of the chairs had rust at the bottom, as it was near a pool and exposed to water daily, but overall the set had great bones, just needed some love.

There are 6 steps to painting outdoor furniture:

  1. Clean each piece of furniture with TSP or other cleaning solvent
  2. Use a wire brush and/or Citristrip to remove any paint and to fully ensure the surface is free of loose debris before painting
  3. Spray Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer on every space where rust is apparent
  4. Be sure to tape off areas you don’t want covered in spray paint before beginning to paint
  5. Spray Rust-Oleum Painters Touch-a paint and primer in one-to cover the furniture; spray in light coats so as not to drip any paint
  6. Spray Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Clear Coat to seal and better protect for the future

I quickly got to work cleaning each table and chair, using a wire brush as needed to scrape away some rust. For the rectangular table, it had previously been painted pink, I used Citristrip to remove the paint and a wire brush to make sure it was fully removed before painting.

After cleaning, I sprayed Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer on all of the places where rust was apparent. The Rust Reformer boasts of being able to instantly convert rusted pieces into a paintable and protected surface!

I highly recommend getting the Rust-Oleum Comfort Grip handle, this makes spray painting much more manageable over a longer period of time.

Prior to painting the entire piece, prepare a space to spray your furniture in and cover all of the areas on your piece of furniture you do not plan on painting if you have not already done so. I used my open garage door to make an area to spray my pieces. I would also highly recommend wearing a mask to ensure you’re not breathing in any fumes. Below is an example of how I made my makeshift prep space.

Finally, I sprayed Rust-Oleum Painters Touch in Matte/Flat Black finish on the furniture. I personally went over each piece twice before spraying with one clear coat, and I believe they turned out well, what do you think?

Cost Breakdown:*

Total with the umbrella and umbrella stand: $271.16

Total without the umbrella and umbrella stand: $163.16

Total minus what was already on hand: $228.65

*For my cost breakdowns I like to let you in on the total cost of everything if you decided to start this project today; including what I used that I already had on hand. I have put an asterisk (*) next to what I already had at home and have different totals showing what I spent in total and what you might spend in total if you did not have anything at the start of this project and assuming prices haven’t changed when you start!

I hope you loved this project as much as I did, feel free to follow me on Instagram at @rachcreatesahome to see these projects in more detail.

DIY Extendable Daybed, Twin to King

DIY Extendable Daybed, Twin to King

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A day bed that extends from twin to king? Say no more. After building the desk and bookcases in this room, I envisioned one final project in here. I kept thinking about utilizing the space underneath the window, but also wanted it to double as a guest bed if we had visitors. This was when I started thinking about camper vans having seen multiple people DIY a pull out slat bed for their small spaces. That’s exactly what I wanted to do here, except I also wanted to add drawer storage underneath. I spent some time looking through Youtube trying to figure out how a slat bed was made, and did indeed find some options, but to no avail I did not find any day beds that pulled out and had drawers underneath for storage. (That’s not to say they weren’t there, I just couldn’t find it, if it was!)

The above photo is what the space looked like before.

The dimensions of my build are: 75 x 39 (without the added face frame) x 14.5 inches total.

To begin this build I essentially built two boxes. The first box I built is the outside of the build and the second box nested inside of the first box.

The first box was almost a complete box, except for the bottom side of the front of the box. I am having trouble describing the first box adequately, so I have added a short video below that shows what the first box looked like.

The second box nested inside the first box on the back side. The face of the second box went in front of the first boxes frame. Therefore, the back side of the second box was shorter in length than its’ front side. I also cut braces for this box for the three drawers to be supported on. I divided the length by three to find where to place the braces. I cut down all of the 2x4s into 2x3s for this whole build, except for the bottom 4 braces for the second box; I left those as their original size. Essentially, the second box is fully built out, except for the shorter sides of the top of the box. Again, because I am unsure how to best describe my build I have uploaded a picture below. Clear as mud?

The drawers I built are 24 x ~20 x 7 inches, and I used 1/2 birch plywood to build them. Everything is connected with pocket holes and wood glue.

After all 3 drawers were in, I used 1x3s to create the slats that would go on top of the bed. To create the ability to pull out the bed, I placed washers and shims under the boards so they would not become stuck due to the pressure of the screws. All of the boards were the same length, covering both of the boxes, which is another reason I added the washers underneath, so the boards would be able to slide smoothly onto the other box it was not attached to. I alternated the boards to create the slat effect, but essentially the first board connected to the second box, front and back. The second board connected to the first box, front and back, and so on. Once the slats were on I used my stud finder and screwed the box into the wall, so it would have something to anchor to as it was extended. I also added furniture sliders underneath the front side of the build to make it easier to glide over the carpet. I would probably add carpet sliders if I had wood floors too, as I would hate for the floors to become scratched from the weight of the bed.

Now that the first phase of the build is done, it was time to begin phase two. Phase two included creating the face frame and making mattress covers.

I posted previously about my mom asking me to paint her barstools (which she loves!), and I wanted to let you guys know she is pretty handy herself when it comes to a sewing machine. She used to make clothes and halloween costumes for me all the time as I was growing up, and even made our flower girls dress for my wedding almost 2 years ago. I called her up in April and asked if she could help, and we began brain storming our plan.

As this is a twin to king extendable day bed, I bought two 5 inch twin mattresses from Lucid Mattress with the idea to stack the mattresses on top of one another, and when the bed was extended they would rest side by side.

After one very long phone call we decided to buy a king size duvet cover. I personally bought Target’s Casaluna Linen Blend Duvet Cover Set and we cut it apart to make two bed covers for the mattresses. One thing I wanted to make sure of was that even though there were two mattresses, when the daybed wasn’t extended I wanted it to look as though there was only one mattress. My mom and I then came up with a “curtain” that hides the second mattress. With the face frame attached you cannot tell it’s a curtain hiding the second mattress. Bonus, was that we were able to use the zipper that came with the duvet cover for one of the mattresses!

Next was to add the face frame and drawer fronts! One of the biggest elements lacking in this room was an earthy tone. I wanted to bring some natural warmth into the room with this build by introducing some natural wood back into the design. I decided I wanted to use black walnut for this build. Unfortunately, where I live there is only one place that has black walnut in the area. I was hoping I could find some black walnut plywood, and this place only had planed 10 ft boards cut at different sizes. After contemplating what to do, I decided to go with what they had, and I am so glad I did. The face frame turned out just beautifully.

For the drawer fronts I wanted to add a subtle detail to give some dimension, so I used my router and cove bit to add detailing on the edges. I connected the face frame with wood screws and a lot of wood glue.

To finish the wood, I used Rubio Monocoat’s Wood Stain Oil Plus 2C in Pure (clear). This brand boasts about protecting and coloring wood in a single coat.

Finally, I put 8 inch drawer pulls on the fronts that match the drawer pulls from my desk built in, to tie it all together.

For the final phase of my project I recruited my mom to help me make a working roman shade and valence to finish out the space. We attempted to color match the mattress cover to the duvet as best as we could. I used some spare wood (1×2 select pine glued together, one board horizontal and the other stacked underneath vertically) to create the valence, which we stapled the fabric to. My mom hand sewed 9mm rings on the shade for the cord to go through. We also bought four thin dowels to put in the shade for it to keep its shape when its hung. Further, we added some eyelets into the valence for the cord to go through. Finally, we stapled the shade to the valence.

I went ahead and bought a 4th handle to put on the bed to assist with extending it, but at the last minute I did not want to mess with the face frame. I am able to still open it easily as the face frame is about an inch taller than the build.

What do you guys think? I think it turned out stunning.

Tools used throughout the build:

  • Impact Driver
  • Drill
  • Kreg Jig
  • Miter saw
  • Table Saw
  • Router with Cove Bit
  • Plate Joiner
    • (If you do not have one you could use your kreg jig-I used my plate joiner for the side of the build as I had 3 separate boards to join, or if you used plywood this would not be an issue)
  • Orbital Sander
  • Stud Finder

Cost breakdown:

Total = $1,464.10

Let me know what you think in the comments! As always you can follow along on Instagram or TikTok to see what I am up to next!

DIY Bookcases

DIY Bookcases

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Following my built in desk, I knew I wanted to make more space for my growing book collection, but did not want to spend as much money and time on this new project as previously.

I decided to do an Ikea hack and create the look of built ins with previously made bookshelves.

I bought two Ikea Billy Bookcases and two Billy extension units and from there I added a face frame, crown moulding, and baseboards!

The most difficult piece of this project, for me, was installing the crown moulding. The only other time I had installed crown was on my desk built in, and this bookcase was extending that existing moulding throughout the rest of the room. I had 2 outside and 2 inside angles in this one side of the room alone. The walls weren’t straight and I really struggled with getting the angles right. I personally wouldn’t say its a perfect job, but it’s perfect enough for me! I love how it elevated the bookcases to a whole new level!

I hope you can forgive the mess, prepping to paint with a sprayer means making a mess to prevent an even bigger one!

After finishing the moulding, it got down to the nitty gritty details: filling holes, caulking, sanding, and priming. For the paint, I used Benjamin Moores Advanced paint line in the color satin! You’ve probably heard me talk previously about how much I love this paint due to its durability and self-leveling abilities. It absolutely leaves the smoothest finish, which is hard to beat, and I’ve used it for 3 of my projects already! The color I used is called Rushing River.

You may (or may not) have noticed the baseboard on the bottom right side of the reveal photo isn’t painted…this is because I have one last project going on in this room before I move on to the next room! I am building a pull out slat bed! It will be a reading nook during the day, and if guests need to stay it can pull out into a king sized bed! I will be removing that baseboard so I didn’t feel the need to paint it. I’m so excited about this project; follow along on my instagram if you aren’t already, to get updates on my progress.

Tools used:

  • Miter saw
  • Graco spray gun
  • Brad Nailer

Project Item Breakdown:

I think this project turned out pretty well! Let me know what you think!

Mom’s Barstools

Mom’s Barstools

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Shopping for gifts for my moms’ birthday or Christmas is usually pretty difficult for me, so I’ve gotten into the habit of asking her what she wants. This past year I asked her quite a few times and was left with “I’m not sure yet.”

The week of Christmas 2021 she called me and asked if I could repaint her kitchen barstools as she wanted them to match her new kitchen island. See, my parents had their kitchen remodeled earlier in the year that no longer matched the new kitchen style. I immediately agreed and my parents drove the 3 barstools to my house, along with the paint, so I could get to work!

Before painting the chairs I decided to prime them as these chairs were previously stained blue, around 20 years old and had some residue built up that was difficult to fully remove even after sanding.

The paint is from Benjamin Moore’s Advanced Paint line in satin. My parents chose this beautiful rich color called Hale Navy.

This project only cost $30 total as I had everything on hand or my parents brought up. The only piece I paid for was the primer!

Project item breakdown:

This project was a quick and simple way to change up the chairs without having to pay for new ones. My mom has already told me how much she loves them, what do you all think?

Desk Built In

Desk Built In

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March is my my husband’s birthday month. Last year I told him for his birthday I wanted to build him a desk. As a teacher, he spends much of his time grading papers, filling out paperwork, and much more, so I thought this would be a great gift for him! He responded by saying, we should wait until we buy a house and then you can build me the desk. When we bought our house in May, I told myself one of the first big projects I wanted to complete was a desk built in. I spent all summer drawing up plans and making sure I had a rough estimation of cost and what I needed to save.

This project began in September 2021, and was finally completed in January 2022. To say I am proud is an understatement.

Beginning the project, I spent much of my time measuring how big I wanted the built in to be. The way the room is set up, there is a perfect nook that I wanted to utilize every inch of. The space is 8ft wide x 8ft tall and I wanted to make sure the desk had both storage and shelves.

I decided to use pre-bought base cabinets for my base and cut them to my desired size to save some time and money, as this is my first major build. The cabinets were 30 x 34.5 x 24. I used my circular saw to cut the width and height and ended up with two base cabinets that were 30 x 31 x 20. I understand that normal desk height is between 27 and 30, however, for this build I ripped out the carpet underneath where the base cabinets would sit, which does take away from the height some.

I bought 2 4x8ft pieces of 3/4 inch birch plywood for the top of the desk and for the book shelves. The desk top size is 21in x 96in. 4 vertical pieces that make up the bookcases were cut 12in x 60in and the top piece was cut 12in x 96in. To attach these vertical pieces I used a dowel drilling system to drill into both the top of the desk and the ends of the system. Next, I bought two 4x8s of 1/4 inch plywood for a smooth back of the bookshelf.

The shelves were cut to 12in x 30in and the one shelf in the middle was cut to 12in x36in. To attach the shelves I used a kreg jig and my stud finder to make sure the shelves were properly attached to both the sides of the bookcases and the wall.

Next, I bought 7 1x2x8s of finished pine to create a Face Frame for the front of the shelves. Plywood does not have a finished side. Two ways to remedy this were to add a Face Frame, or to add a veneer edge. I decided to build a Face Frame to make the shelves appear thicker than they are. The edge of the desk was given a birch veneer edge.

Lastly I added crown molding and baseboards to give it a more finished feel.

The final step of my build was to fill holes, sand, caulk, and to add paint! To prime the unit I used Killz primer as I had many dark marks on on the wood. If you followed along on my instagram, you would find that when I was driving the 1/4 inch plywood pieces home, it broke on the road! (I was going less than 30 on a side road). However, I drove back by to pick up the wood and ended up using it in my build as it was still in great shape, it just had a few tire marks (as seen in the picture above)! It gives it character!

After two coats of primer, it was time to paint! I decided to use Benjamin Moore’s Advanced Alkyd Paint line in Satin on these shelves as the paint is self-leveling, will not need a top coat, and is very durable. I painted two coats of this as well. Between each coat I made sure to sand, starting with 180 and going up to 320. The paint color is called Rushing River, and I believe it makes the space look so beautiful.

Staging the build, I utilized second hand stores and used what I had on hand, outside of the focal point of the build and the pulls and knobs. I bought the hardware through Pottery Barn in tumbled brass. The pulls are 6 inches and the knobs are 1 inch.

The art light was found on amazon and is remote control operated and runs on batteries! It was absolutely perfect as I did not want to worry about hardwiring any lights into my build. I did not like the color of the art light so I used some Rub n’ Buff in antique gold to give it a richer color and now it makes the art piece shine brightly.

Finally, the art piece was a gift from my husband for Christmas. I have been eyeing it since it’s creation. The art is by Kesia Finley out of New York City. She created this limited-edition print titled Anthos and I knew when I first laid eyes on it that it was meant to be the shining star of my build and it certainly feels like it was always meant to be here!

Price Breakdown:

I think it turned out pretty well, what do you all think?

DIY Snowflakes

DIY Snowflakes

by rachcreatesahome ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Do you know of an easy way to decorate for the holidays? These paper bag snowflakes did just that!

As I was making these I spent some time wondering who made these come to life. A few comments that I saw noted that a crafts book in the 70s is where this OG design came from (source: @kismethouse IG post)! I personally saw this design through @thekwendyhome, and knew I had to try it for myself. I hope you find it as easy and fun as I did!

Materials needed:

  • Paper bags of any size / color.
  • Hot glue gun
  • Glue sticks
  • Command strips
  • Hanging wire.

Instructions:

  • Place paper bags the same direction, with the bottom of the bag facing up.
  • Use hot glue to glue around the bottom flap and lightly glue the top of the bag together as well.
  • Place next bag on top of the first and repeat this step multiple times.
  • I personally used between 8 and 10 paper bags per star, but one way to know if you need to add more bags is to open up the bags once glued and if they aren’t coming to a circle easily, add more bags!
  • Cut out whatever shape you want for your star.
  • Once the final bag is on top you can glue the bags together. If you want to use them next year, you can use paper clips to keep them together instead!
  • I hung them up with wire and command hooks.

I wanted to share a few of the shapes I used for my stars, but honestly anything you cut would look great!

This was such a fun project, let me know if you guys try it out!

Chair Makeover

Chair Makeover

by rachcreatesahome ♥ 1 Comment

I bought 6 cane back chairs at a garage sale and knew they just needed some TLC to make a statement!

Left: Before | Right: After

These chairs were pretty outdated, so I got to work quickly on removing the old seat cushions and the blue paint!

I used Citristrip to remove the paint and it revealed a beautiful wood underneath. (Which to be honest, I was very thankful for because it took a very long time to remove the paint from between the caning and would have been sad if what was underneath was not a wood I thought could be stained well). After stripping the paint off, I sanded down the chairs and used Mineral Spirits to wipe the dust away.

Finally, I utilized Wood Conditioner before I stained the chairs a beautiful Golden Oak color. After letting the stain dry I finished the chairs off with a Polyurethane spray.

Tips for staining:

  1. Utilize wood conditioner prior to staining so that the wood does not become blotchy upon staining.
  2. If you cannot decide what to stain your wood, test out in an inconspicuous spot. I chose to test the stain color underneath the seat of the chair for my project.
  3. A penetrating stain (such as the one I used) will go into the wood, while a gel stain will sit on top of the wood.
  4. Sand in between staining coats. In my case I stained two coats of Golden Oak. Start with a courser sand paper (180 grit) and move toward a finer sand paper grit (220-320 grit) with each sanding.
  5. When applying the penetrating stain, I would recommend applying and then wiping off with a rag immediately. The longer you let the stain sit on the wood, the darker the wood will become. It’s much easier to add more stain than remove it.
  6. After the stain dries, apply polyurethane to seal it. I used a spray and it worked great! I applied 3 coats of poly to make sure it was very sealed!

After staining I moved onto the seats. For them, I decided to take off the previous fabric and upon removing the fabric I realized the foam and backing were in great shape so I kept those for my project. I initially struggled trying to decide what type of fabric to use as there are many different types of fabric out there. As these are dining room chairs, they will be prone to more traffic, but I knew I could also reupholster at any point if the fabric broke down. I ended up choosing a corduroy fabric and LOVED the result!

This project was a labor of love, but I absolutely adore how they turned out!

Cost breakdown:

  • Chairs: $60 for all 6 chairs
  • Citristrip-$40 for 1 gallon
  • 180/220 grit sand paper-$18
  • Steel wool (fine)-$8 (In my case I had these on hand but wanted to add the cost into the breakdown. I used these to get the paint out of the caning).
  • Mineral Spirits-$8 (Already had on hand)
  • 2 yards of fabric-$19
  • Wood Conditioner-$14
  • Stain-$8
  • Poly sealer $10

Total cost with chairs: $185

Total cost without chairs: $125

I ended up spending about $21 per chair for this makeover in total!

Let me know what you guys think!