I did it again. I jumped on the feature wall train in yet another room of our house. I just couldn't hep it. I love them so much. You may remember the dark and moody feature wall that I did in our son's room a while back. Well, I added something similar to our guest room, and the project was just as spur of the moment as it was the first time. I think I work best when there is no planning involved whatsoever. I'll just keep telling myself that. So here's what happened (why do I feel like I am a teenager explaining myself to my parents?): I have been wanting to do something with our guest room for a long time. Truth be told, I've never really done anything to our guest room. It's always been the room that was put on the back burner, and I'm not really sure why. Well, last week, I decided to change that! To set the scene, I had approximately 2 hours before I had to be ready for a date night with my husband when I got the idea. Let me start with the facts. FACT: We have TON of scrap wood in our garage from previous projects. FACT #2: We also had a sufficient amount of leftover black paint from the wall in our son's room. FACT #3: Both of the previous facts indicated that this project could be done for exactly ZERO DOLLARS. Obviously, a no brainer. So I quickly rushed to the garage and corralled all the pieces that I thought might work for the wall. I found enough to lay out a pattern, with a few groups of differently sized boards. Like a puzzle, I placed them all on the floor and just played around with them. I tried different patterns and different combinations until I found something that I liked. And when I decided I liked it, I started nailing {I should note that my husband had no notification of this project until he heard the nail gun. Have I mentioned that he's an angel?}. An hour and fifteen minutes left until date night. In this particular case, I started with the section of the wall that I thought would be close to the middle, and found a wall stud to nail into. Armed with my level to ensure that the wood pieces were plum, I started shooting those nails in without even giving myself enough time to regret it. Spoiler alert: I don't regret it. Once the first section was up, I kind of just went from there, and eyeballed where I would want the following sections to be. Trying to hit as many studs as possible is ideal, but with a pattern of this sort, nailing into the drywall will be just fine in the cases where a stud isn't available. If you do find yourself in that situation, you may want to try to angle your nail gun a bit so that the nail is a little more secure. Once all the pieces were nailed up, I ran down to get some wood filler with 35 minutes to go before I had to be ready. I was able to fill all the holes and still had 20 minutes to pull myself together. Everything was coming up aces. I made it to date night, and after a lovely meal and a delicious beer, we came back, put the kids to bed, and I was able to sand down the wood filler before I called it a night as well. So far, total project time was approximately two and a half hours. I was up and at 'em the next morning, and as soon as I got my son off to school, my daughter and I were able to get the first coat of paint on. Now, I should note: In almost every case, CAULKING IS NECESSARY. I do NOT advise that you attempt a DIY batten wall or feature wall without caulking between the wood pieces and the wall. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and since I was painting the wall black, I was able to skip the caulk. In these types of projects, the caulk will ensure that there is a seamless transition from the wood to the wall and that there is no shadow to be seen. In this particular case, it would be virtually impossible to see a shadow on a black wall anyways. So I cut a corner. That being said, do as I say, not as I do. First coat was on before 10 o'clock and I was able to apply the second coat later that afternoon. Less than 24 hours for a feature wall and a guest room that seems a bit more complete? Not too shabby.

If you know me by now, you know that my number one go-to to change up a space is PAINT. And if you don't know me, you will soon learn this about me. So, with that being said, it probably won't come as a surprise that I decided to paint a vintage, second hand chair that I scored for super cheap. Now, full disclosure, I didn't originally intend to paint this chair. In fact, I was kind of hoping that I didn't have to paint it. My original plan was to just reupholster it, but as I was working on it, it became clear that I needed to paint the thing (more on that later). And let me tell you- everything happens for a reason, because I am soooo happy with the way that it turned out! So, first things first, this guy desperately needed to be reupholstered. It was stained pretty badly, and as much as I tried, I wasn't successful in getting it out. Just look at that poor guy. Such a gorgeous piece, but it really needed some love. So, reupholster it I did. If you are wondering how I reupholstered it, you are in luck, because I happen to have a blog post on reupholstering that you can find here. This piece in particular was a little tricky, because I wasn't able to remove the cushions. Still totally doable though- just had to spend a little more time with cutting the fabric. The piece of trim around the outside of the fabric hides the staples, and that was simply adhered with a hot glue gun. As for the wood itself, as I said earlier, I didn't really intend to paint this entire piece. Once it was reupholstered, though, I knew that the wood needed a little refresh, so refresh I did. I actually wanted to keep the caning unpainted, but because of the design of the chair, it just wasn't in the cards. So I ended up painting the entire thing, and I actually think that it makes more of a statement this way. The paint that I used was Behr chalk paint (carried at Home Depot), and this is definitely my favorite chalk paint that I have used (and I'm no stranger to chalk paints). I like the consistency and quality of this paint, and I also love that you can tint it to any color you'd like at any Home Depot {Speaking of Home Depot, click here for a special offer of free 2-day delivery on thousands of different items... Score!}. But anyways, back to the chair at hand... This particular color is called "cracked pepper," and I have used it in a couple of places in my home, so I highly recommend. As far as applying the actual chalk paint, you can find some more guidance on that here. When working with chalk paint, you do not have to sand. I always recommended to sand before you paint, but chalk paint happens to be quite thick, and adheres to surfaces well. In this case, I actually didn't sand. This piece won't get a whole ton of tush traffic, so I was fine with rolling the dice a bit (I really like to live on the edge). But as always, do as I say and not as I do, and maybe give your pieces a very light sanding before you slap that paint on, because I would hate for your chalk painted furniture to end up all chipped because of me. And you don't need a primer either, but for those dipped legs (oh you KNOW I didn't forget about the dipped legs), I actually used the chalk paint as a primer itself. I used acrylic paint here, and that type of paint will not adhere as well to the treated wood (hence the primer). I taped those off and used a brush to paint those, but I think they are the perfect finishing touch! Make me do a little happy dance in my head every time I see them. Making a piece of furniture custom in this way is one of my favorite things ever. It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment to know that there is no other piece exactly like this, and that's because I created it. So, I encourage you to do the same. A friend of mine recently compared the "DIY high" to the "Runner's high," and she was spot on. It is quite a feeling to look at something in your home and think, "Wow, I did that." So get out there people and get your DIY on! If I can do this, so can you.

Well that escalated quickly. Seemingly, one minute I am dancing myself into 2010 as a twenty-something year old sassy spit fire, adorned with with a sequined top and some pleather pants, with little to worry about and much to look forward to. Suddenly, I BLINKED, and I am found again, (not so ironically, if you know me) dancing my way into the next decade, bearing a much more conservative sweater, but some very similar faux leather pants. Worries have a much higher frequency these days, as do responsibilities, but the main difference is that I don't see those things as negatives nowadays. In the past ten years, I have seen myself GROW. I've come to discover that the ages of late 20s and early 30s will do that to someone. And I am here for it. I've grown more as a person in the past ten years than I probably ever will. But here's the thing. I am the exact same person. I'm just a better version. It took me a long time to find that insight, but once I did, everything changed for me. Ten years is a long time, but in the grand scheme of things, it's just a blink of an eye. A moment in time. So much can happen in a decade, and for me, so much has. Like most, I've gone through some major ups, and I've also had some major downs. But all of it makes me who I am today, and though it's taken me three and three quarter decades to finally be able to say it, I am PROUD of the person that I've become. I'm proud to say that I've grown personally, and I'm also very proud of how I've grown professionally. This little blog has been growing, and people all over the world are tuning in to see what kind of crazy project I'll come up with next. It seems like people enjoy following along with my quirky self and spur of the moment DIYs, which, though puzzling, makes me happy. Even more important to me, however, is that it seems that people are also inspired to try their own. That right there is why I do this. If I can pass along that feeling of accomplishment to others; that "I made that myself" kind of feeling- it would make every scary step of this process worth it. So I guess that's what this post is... not your usual DIY project, but maybe a DIY post of a different kind. Through the world of DIY, I have been doing a little DIY on myself, and I am so grateful to each and every one of you for following along with it. I finally feel like I am Liz. I finally feel like I am who I was made to be. But the thing of it all is that I am still growing. In fact, I'm sure that there is WAY more growing to be done. Since I'm clearly not even CLOSE to perfect, I know that there are still areas where there's room for improvement. No one is perfect, and I don't strive to be. But, I do strive to be better. I strive every day to be a better wife, a better mom, a better daughter, sister, and friend. And if I can do that; if I can feel like I am doing my best to be better every day, then I know that in another ten years, I will be able to look back at what I've done and still be proud. And that right there... that's what it's all about. Happy New Year, everyone!

Tis the season for holiday gift guides, and I'm excited that the lovely people over at Wayfair asked me to put together some of my favorite go-to items for those last minute gifts. So if you are like me and you've saved some shopping for the last minute, check out these picks from Wayfair with this interactive gift guide! I'm not going to lie either, I wouldn't mind any of these items for myself! If you have been following along with my previous posts like this one or my Instagram page, you may already know that I am a bit addicted to spray painting. Nothing in my house is safe at this point. And let me tell you, that if I could spray my flatwear, I would. But I don't have to with the gorgeous black flatwear from Wayfair. I've got some amazing baskets for the organizer or home decor lover as well, and you really can't go wrong with a chunky throw. You can throw caution to the wind and grab a new whiskey set for the cocktail lover in your life, or some beautiful stemless wine glasses, perfect for planning a girls night with your friends. Have a college student or someone that works late? A new coffee maker for the win! Wayfair is having some excellent sales at the moment, and free shipping for orders over $49. You still have a few days to finish up those gifts! Check out all these items and more on the interactive gift guide , and I hope you and yours have an amazing holiday season!

Ok, so this is my very humble opinion, but I am just going to go ahead and say it. You know those wire shelves that are in every closet, laundry room, or mudroom when homes are built? You know, the ones that you can pick up at any big box store? Well, I HATE them. Strong words, I know. But, come on. They are the worst, right? Well, I obviously think so, and so every single time that I walked out the garage door from my laundry room, I would cringe a little bit looking at ours. But not anymore, folks. NOT ANYMORE. Enter, my latest hack for covering up those ugly wire shelves. This project cost me NO MONEY AT ALL. I also did it all on my own (patting myself on the back), which I was pretty proud of, if I do say so myself. So, let's get to it. First things first, I checked what kind of scrap wood we had in the garage, and lucky for me, we had 2 pieces of plywood and a few pieces of pine left over from our board and batten diy. As for materials besides wood, you'll want to have these on hand: MATERIALS: Finish Nailer Wood Stain Measuring tape Circular Saw or Table Saw This project is really just a matter of measuring and making a few cuts. Since the shelves in this particular case were fairly small in size, I got them done pretty quickly. First, I measured the top and cut my plywood to size with my circular saw. If you are like me and don't have a table saw, you can check out my Instagram account for tips on how to ensure that you make a straight cut with a circular saw. Once I had the top piece cut, I laid it on the shelf and cut a pine 1x3 to size for the front piece that will hide the wire overhang. The little trick here is that you will want to include extra length for the side board as well. Once that was cut, I measured for the side board (this measurement will actually be the same depth as your top board). A few hits with my finish nailer connected all the pieces, and I was left with a partial "box". Once stained, the piece will fit right on top of the shelf, concealing the ugly wire shelving. The support bracket still shows. Sorry, I really don't have a quick fix for that, but I did have some black paint on hand, so a little bit of that to the support bracket, and it wasn't nearly as noticeable. And there you have it. Ugly wire shelf cover, and best of all- no more cringing! And in case you are looking for some cute storage solutions similar to mine, here are a couple of links to some I love! Cloth storage baskets Wire storage baskets Galvanized storage Tin Happy DIYing!

THIS JUST IN: I AM SUPER IMPULSIVE! Ha. That's quite the joke if you know me at all. Yes, I am incredibly impulsive, especially when it comes to DIY projects, but let's just be honest: this isn't news to ANYONE. So a project on a whim isn't all that big of a surprise. And this one happened like most of the others. There I was, minding my own business and organizing my cabinets, when a DIY basically plopped itself right in my lap. In this case, I don't have anyone to worry about explaining myself to, because this project was 100% FREE. IT COST ME ZERO DOLLARS. Husband, just go ahead and reread that last sentence and remember how amazing I am at not spending money. In all seriousness, this project really was free, and it only took a couple of hours out of my day to complete. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this might seriously be one of my favorite projects to date. So, here's the deal: I have been wanting open shelving in my kitchen for a while now. I even had a big ole plan to remove one of our cabinets and put open shelves in. But then it came to me (through oodles and oodles of Instagram inspiration): I don't need to remove the cabinet at all. I could avoid completely destroying a beautiful cabinet and ruining our wall but just using what we already had. This is kind of my mantra, and this one turned out pretty decently, if I do say so myself. Materials 220 grit sand paper Cabinet paint: I use the Behr Alkyd Satin Enamel from Home Depot Wood filler Foam roller Well, clearly a 'materials' list probably wasn't necessary, but including it shows you just how easy this project is. So, first things first. I had to clean out my disaster of a cabinet. It was one of those cabinets. The ones where everything gets thrown that doesn't make it to its appropriate home. And it was full of over 5 years of those everythings, so it was a MESS. But, organization was the word of the day for me, so I threw out a lot, organized a lot, and before I knew it, I had an empty cabinet that was just staring at me, begging to be painted and converted to open shelving. So without wasting any time, I pulled out the paint that I had previously used on my bathroom vanity and got to work. I 100% recommend using the Behr Alkyd Satin Enamel from Home Depot. It's geared for cabinet and trim painting and is pretty strong when it hardens. You can check it out here. Once the shelves were removed and sanded, and the cabinet door was removed, I was left with a cabinet with quite a few holes up the side walls (meant for the shelf brackets). I didn't want these visible, so I filled them with wood filler. A word to the wise: always over fill when using wood filler! You will be able to sand the dried filler down, and won't even notice the previous holes. You guys know that I am all about cutting corners when I can, but in this case, cutting corners on sanding wasn't an option. The "wood" on the inside of our cabinets isn't really wood. It's particle board, and paint doesn't love to stick to its shiny finish. So sanding with a 220 grit sand paper is a necessary evil, but trust me: it will save you way more time in the end. Once the cabinet was sanded, I did the same as I had done to the shelves and applied the paint using a foam roller. I love the foam roller on furniture and cabinetry because it doesn't leave those pesky lines behind. Two coats was all I needed with this hearty cabinet paint. I let it dry and styled. BOOM. Open shelving. This really was one of the easiest projects to date, and it brings such character to my kitchen! Cleaning out a cabinet and acquiring open shelves in the same day, without spending any money? I'm going to go ahead and call that a win... on a whim.

Now that we've got the spray painting of the fixtures covered, I can move on to the other project that this refresh involved, and that, my friends, was the painting of the vanity. You may not have even noticed that I did, in fact, paint the vanity. But I did, in fact, repaint the vanity. This vanity had already been painted before, and it was previously a grey that had a few too many blue undertones for my taste. I wanted it to complement the existing tile a bit more, so painting it was the answer. I went with the color "sculptor clay" by Behr. I absolutely love Behr paint, and my entire house is painted in it. You can get Behr paint at Home Depot, and wouldn't you lucky readers also know that you can get free shipping on thousands of items at Home Depot by clicking here! But, back to the vanity. So I went with a color that was more of a greige, and once paired with the gold hardware, I found that the whole room flowed way better. So, how do I paint a vanity, one might ask? Well, it's not as difficult as you might imagine. There are actually cabinet painting kits that make the entire process extremely easy. I used these kits for all my original vanity painting (and I have painted every vanity in my home). First things first, you are going to want to sand everything down a bit. This is a way for the paint to adhere to the wood. You do not need to sand the vanity and doors down to the bare wood, but instead just rough it up a little bit so that the paint has something to stick to. After it's all sanded down, remove the doors and get ready to paint. In this case, I went with Behr Alkyd Satin Enamel. This paint is specifically designed to be used on cabinets, and creates a very hard surface when finished. It was highly recommended, and I am very happy with it. I will definitely use it again in the future. When painting cabinet doors, you are going to want to paint around the inside of the crease first, and then paint the remaining door. I used a dense foam roller for this project, and though it was my first experience with this tool for cabinet painting, I highly recommend it. There were no brush strokes, and in addition to that, I found that the foam roller distributed the paint more efficiently, so less paint lasted me longer. As far as number of coats, in this case, you are going to want to apply at least two coats of your color. I actually went with three in some spots. It's amazing how much hand traffic cabinets get, so the stronger the paint, the better. Just make sure to let your paint dry in between coats, because it will be way more likely to chip if you don't. Lastly, you are definitely going to want to apply a top coat. I have always used this one, and have had great luck with it. Once all that is done, ladies and gents, you are DONE. So it's really not that bad. Slap that hardware back on, throw those cabinets back on the vanity, and bask in the glory of your completed project, because your bathroom just got a brand new refresh.

So we all have those spaces in our homes that need a little love. Well, maybe not all of us, but we definitely do. When we moved in, there were plenty of updates to be had, and we are having fun checking them off the list, one by one. Maybe someday we will have them all finished and we will be update-less. Maybe. But probably not. Let's just be honest here. We all know I love to change things, and so I'm sure I'll be changing our house until the day I die. But, for now, my thoughts are on our current update, which happens to be our master bathroom. Now there is nothing wrong with our bathroom, per se. Well, except for the tile that I really don't like, the layout and the all the mismatched fixtures. So basically, what this bathroom really needs is a good ol' reno. But you want to know what I don't need? A good ol' reno. SO, our bathroom finally got a refresh without the reno, and it all started with a piece of art featuring a couple of horses that I couldn't get out of my head. I saw this piece at Homegoods and I had to get it. I didn't know where it was going to go, but I knew I loved it. And then it occurred to me: The colors in this piece complement the tile in our bathroom pretty well. So up it went. And then the wheels started turning. I decided that I didn't need to gut the bathroom after all. All I needed to do was make a few small changes, and work with what I had. SO, work with what I had was exactly what I did. And it started with the fixtures. For whatever reason, there was basically every metal known to man in our bathroom. We had brushed nickel hardware on the cabinets, oil rubbed bronze lights, and chromed faucet fixtures. I decided that the easiest way to change out the fixtures was to spray paint them. Risky? Totally. But I hated them already. So the worst that could happen was that I still hated them. So, armed with my Rustoleum spray paint specifically designed for this very purpose I got to work. Now, if you are going to attempt this, I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH how important the following supplies are: Drop cloth (with painter's tape attached) Painters tape Rubber gloves Now, let me tell you: I am not a big project prepper. In fact, I generally like to just jump into a project as quickly as possible, but in this case, PREP IS NECESSARY. It is super important that you lay down drop cloths over EVERYTHING, because there WILL be overspray from the paint, and it WILL get all over everything. Spray paint creates a kind of powdery film that is a big pain to clean up. But the drop cloths will prevent that clean up. So I highly recommend using them over everything like I did. The next step in the process is to go ahead and spray those guys! Short, quick sprays are your friend here. This will prevent from dripping, and will also keep your over spray to a minimum. Take your time and be patient. Give ample time to dry, and once everything is relatively dry, you can go ahead and pull the painters tape and drop cloths off. Now, if you get a little on the counter, don't fret too much. Most of the time, you will be able to remove paint by scraping it off, but I definitely recommend doing your clean up as soon as possible so that the paint doesn't have much time to set. And there you have it, guys! New (to me) fixtures, and as it turns out- I don't hate them! After changing out a few decor items and getting some new cabinet hardware, our mix-matched bathroom suddenly flows. And it suddenly works. And we love it all over again. At least until it gets a big ol' reno.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. So, part of the reason behind being such a DIY freak (gosh that word has such a negative connotation, but I wear it with pride) is that DIY projects are a great way to customize my home. It puts my own stamp on it. If you view most custom homes, you will see lots of unique aspects, and in particular, different trim features. And in my humble opinion... one of the most effective ways to add a custom trim feature? Board and batten. Now, if you aren't familiar with the term, don't feel bad. I didn't know what it was called either. So if you aren't familiar, board and batten are the feature walls that you'll see all the time in dining rooms or foyers where the trim pieces kind of box out different sections on the wall. In most cases, you attach a board to the wall and then put the trim pieces (batten) on top. Most cases. In OUR case, however, we are just sticking to good ole' batten alone. Skipping the board all together. I'm talking about one of our most recent projects: the completion of a batten wall feature in our foyer and guys, let me tell you... I walk through my foyer way more than I need to in order to take a peek, because I love it that much. You may be wondering why we skipped the board part, and so here's the skinny: First off, and to be totally transparent, it made our lives easier. Are you surprised that I opted for easy? Well, if you recall previous posts from here and here, you probably aren't shocked. Secondly, we have really smooth walls. Some homes have textured walls, but since we don't have that feature in our home, going without the board is a pretty easy change up, and no one will ever be the wiser. Except everyone who reads this now (face palm). So, on to the project at hand. First off, you'll need to gather supplies, and if you are like me and don't have much time to get to the store, you can always order online and... SUPRISE! You can get free shipping from good ole Home Depot right here. Anyways, in regards to supplies for this particular project, in our case, we went with ... -1x3 pre-primed (remember that whole "easier" things? These help with that later) pine boards -1x4 pine base board (pre-primed) -1x2 pine trim board (pre-primed) -wood filler -fine grit sand paper -paintable caulk -paint color of choice -finish nailer First off, and though optional, this will make your life a LOT easier: Paint the wall underneath. Trust me. It is SO much easier to worry about painting only the trim pieces afterwards rather than getting into every section with the roller. Easy enough, right? Right. Once that's painted, you will want to measure and do your cuts. Here's where a little creative thinking comes in. You are going to want to decide how far apart you want your trim pieces. In many cases, people tend to choose to place their boards 16 or 24 (or a multiple of) inches apart. The reason being is that most houses' studs are 16" or 24' apart from each other. The area that we were working on was small, so this detail didn't matter quite as much as it would if we were working on a larger scale. For our purposes, the easy choice was to place two trim pieces on the outside edges, one in the middle, and two boards centered on each of the sides of the middle piece. This was really our personal preference, and it's up to you how you want your finished product to turn out. So, once that was decided, we could measure and cut, and attach the trim pieces to the wall. "Measure twice and cut once," in the words of my wise husband, and if I ever actually listened to this advice... well, I would make a lot less mistakes. But, since he was helping me with this one, we didn't really have that problem. Adhering the trim pieces to the wall is pretty self explanatory. We removed the base board (this step is also optional and personal preference) and we then attached the top and bottom pieces, using our finish nailer to nail into the studs behind the drywall. If you don't have a finish nailer... well, you are going to want to borrow or rent one, to be totally honest. Nailing by hand is unfortunately just not going to give you the finished uniform look that makes these projects so pretty in the end. Once the horizontal pieces were attached, we were able to attach the vertical ones. And I think it goes without saying, but for all of these pieces: LEVEL, LEVEL, LEVEL. NOT all walls are created level. So just double and triple check that your boards are level. If you are looking for a level that I happen to love and adore, check this one out here. No one wants a crooked batten wall, am I right? And the good news? Once you get your pieces hung, you are almost done! But I did say almost. The next steps are SUPER important, so don't skim on these, folks. Wood fill those holes. A teeny tiny bit goes a long way, and you will want to overfill just a touch so that you can sand it down. And then there's the caulk. Are you listening? Because this is VERY important. You may remember from this feature wall that I did not, in fact, need to use caulk. That was in large part because of the size of our boards (small) and the color of our wall (black). Gaps likely won't show as much with small boards on a black wall. But you know where they will show? On a light colored batten wall. So go ahead and caulk every edge. Yep, I said every. Now, this is definitely my husband's department, but if you are looking for a quick tutorial on it, you will want to head over here. Once everything is all dried (and you are definitely going to want to give the filler and caulk ample time to dry), you can sand down the filler and repeat as necessary. It will really pay off to make sure that you continue to add filler and sand until smooth. That will ensure that you achieve a smooth and uniform look. Lastly, go ahead and paint the trim pieces! A brush will suffice for the corners and edges, but if you want an extra smooth look without the brush strokes, give this one a whirl. Just as a side note, I ALWAYS recommend two coats of paint. Always. Even if the can says otherwise. Because if the can says you only need one coat, the can is LYING. Just do yourself a favor and throw on a second coat. So get AFTER it, ladies and gents! Go customize your homes! This one is a little more detailed, so as always- never, ever (ever, ever) hesitate to reach out to me by leaving a comment, or visit me here with any questions at all! If I can't answer them myself, I can certainly steer you in the direction of someone who can.

So, as you may know by now, I do this thing, where I get an idea in my head, and I can't really stop thinking about said idea until something is done about said idea. This little quality (not sure if that's really the correct description) of mine stands true for most aspects of my life, but it really rears its ugly head with my DIY projects Enter our previous kitchen chandelier. I loved our chandelier before. There was really nothing wrong with it. But something was just telling me that the space in our kitchen above our table was made for MORE. And, once again, I couldn't get this idea out of my head. And, I've got a thing for rehabbing chandeliers. So I tossed around different ideas, and even considered starting from scratch with an entirely new fixture, but I just couldn't justify it. I had a perfectly functioning light that hung above my table that was only a few years old. Well, I think we all know where this is going, and if you don't, well, DO YOU EVEN KNOW ME?! I kid, I kid, but for real. We allll know where this is going... I took the opportunity to jump on this project while my husband was out of town. I honestly didn't plan on working on it while he was gone. It just happened. I SWEAR. Was it convenient that he wasn't around to question why on earth I would paint a new-ish chandelier? Well, yeah. But I swear that it wasn't planned. Anywho, with no one around to question my impulsivity, I got to work. The first thing I had to do was figure out exactly what I was going to do with the thing, but I knew one thing: all the wood and white tones in my home were really working for me, so I decided to roll with that. So, I was faced with the task of making my metallic chandelier appear to be wood toned. Challenge accepted. One thing that I have accepted about myself is that when I do a project, I want it quick, yet effective. I want the easiest route to the prettiest outcome, and in this case, chalk paint was the answer. I'm no stranger to chalk paint, and if you remember from here and here, I kind of love the stuff. It never really occurred to me to use it on much other than furniture, but in this case it was an absolutely perfect choice. First off, I didn't need to sand anything down, which was great because sanding a chandelier sounds like something that I did not want to partake in. Second, it dries quickly and is so easy to work with. I quickly checked my own inventory, and, JACKPOT. I had a barely used jar of Martha Stewart's chalk paint in the color "clay" I quickly laid down a drop cloth (you are welcome, honey) on our kitchen table, climbed my little tush up there and started painting before I changed my mind. PHEW, I liked it. I put two coats on the frame of the light fixture as well as the pvc piping that I had already placed as covers for the light. That's right, folks. That's pvc piping. This light originally had standard globes that you see on many chandeliers, and I had already removed those and placed some pvc piping in their place in order to cover up the exposed lamp sockets. As a little twist of fate, 2 1/4 inch pvc piping fit PERFECTLY into the base. This might actually be a thing for many light fixtures as well, because I believe that the globes that we previously in place were a standard size used in many fixtures. So, back to the painting. 2 coats on. Check! Once those were dry, I wanted to add a bit more dimension, and since I recommend using wax over chalk paint anyways, I opted for a dark wax. I used Minwax Finishing Wax in Special Dark because I wanted the wax to be darker than my paint. This is not always the case with chalk painting, but in this particular instance, I knew that a darker wax would give the illusion of a wood grain, which was exactly what I was going for. I prefer to apply the finishing wax for chalk paint with a paper towel, and you can see the tutorial on this here. There are brushes that are made for this, but a good ole paper towel works for me. But you do you, boo. I applied a little wax, let it dry, and would add more as I felt needed until it appeared that the fixture was now wood. I was pretty happy with it so far, but it still needed a little something... A little something like some wooden beads. I LOVE them as an addition, and it was so easy! I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up some natural wood beads (I used 20mm) and fishing line, which you can find at any craft store near the jewelry supplies. I strung the first line and tied each end, and mimicked the others in the same way. Voila, ladies and gentlemen! I had a brand new "wood" chandelier. And I have to tell you- I get SO many complements on this thing and questions about where I bought it. The best part of this DIY, along with most of the others might even be that I get to say that you can't buy it anywhere... because it's custom. Cheers!

We finally did it! Ok fine, we did it almost 4 months ago, and I am finally getting on the ball enough (ish) to write about it. BUT, we finally made a DIY swing for our patio. And I have to say, I am IN LOVE. It turned out just the way we wanted it to, and was also a fun little date night of building a swing in the garage while throwing back a couple of brewskis. I'm going to go ahead and jump right into this one, because the process is a bit more lengthly than some of my other projects. But don't get it twisted... lengthy and WORTH IT. Oh, so very worth it. You may also notice from the picture that we are sitting on a mattress... and that's not just any mattress. That bad boy right there is a crib mattress. Yep, you read that right. We designed a porch swing around a crib mattress. Because that's what we had. And that's what I do. I make stuff out of stuff that I already have (see here, here, or here if you need any reminders). Now, you may not have an extra crib mattress on hand, or maybe you want a larger swing. Ours needed to be on the smaller side anyways (as far as porch swings go) because of the space where we wanted it to hang, so a crib mattress was kind of perfect. Plus, I had a perfectly good one being unused in a closet upstairs. So we got to work. The first thing we did is build a base. We decided to throw this thing together from scratch, but just as a little side note, you could actually just as easily start this process with an already assembled wood palette. A palette would suffice for this if you happen to have access to one, because we basically built a palette. We used 3 treated 2x4s and extra pier boards that we had laying around to make the base. Once the base was built up, we moved on to the mattress frame. We wanted to ensure that the mattress wouldn't slide around, and so we used select pine 1x3s to frame out an area for the mattress to sit in. We used the same pine 1x3s to create a back to lean against. Our measurements were specific to the size of our particular crib mattress, so you would obviously want to consider the size of the mattress or cushion of your preference. We chose select pine because we knew that these parts would be decorative, and we also knew that we wanted to paint these parts. We knew that the pine would take paint well, and we're also hoping that it will hold up well in the elements (though we are going to take this little baby indoors during the winter, because.. well, we live in ILLINOIS. Enough said). We also framed the bottom part of the swing in pine (1x6s this time) and 1 inch quarter round. This was all purely for ascetic purposes, and I actually didn't think it was necessary in the beginning. My husband insisted though, and I am so glad he did, because it gives the swing a much more polished look. These parts were painted with outdoor paint. As far as covering the crib mattress goes, I went to the baby store and got a waterproof crib cover, and also sewed a slip cover from waterproof outdoor fabric. I don't know if you guys remember from this little feller or not, but I am no seamstress. In fact, I would be doing you all a disservice by attempting to teach you how to sew a cushion cover, but there's a nice little tutorial here that might be helpful. The last and final thing we needed to attempt to do was to hang the thing. So we built a swing, but could it actually hold humans? Well, the answer to that one is yes, but I'll be honest... I have no idea how that was accomplished. Absolutely none. I happen to be married to a math whiz with an engineering background that was up to the task of figuring all that out for me. But it hangs! It hangs, it holds humans, and we love it. So check another one off the list.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. First off... hello, all! It has been a MINUTE. I have enjoyed taking some time off this summer to enjoy all things summer, but I am back with a vengeance and have quite a few tricks up my diy sleeves that are ready to rock for you. I have to say that I have been itching to start a new project, and the latest one DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I've been called quite a few things in my day, and moody is definitely one of them. In most cases, I might take offense to a ridiculous claim like that, but in this case, I'll embrace it. I'll embrace it, and I'll be downright proud of it, because my latest project was definitely moody. Moody and dark and bold... and wonderful. I have been seeing dark feature walls all over the place lately, and I am so very here for it. I have always loved the look of a classic board and batten wall, but to take it one step further and create a feature wall that's black?! Well, it's not exactly something that I knew I would love. But I do. Oh, I really, really do. After seeing these pop up everywhere, I felt like I NEEDED some black paint in my life. In my house. Somewhere. I hemmed and hawed about where exactly it could go, and I decided on the perfect spot- right in my son's bedroom. It was perfect because his room already had some black decor. Now, you don't have to make your own feature wall black. You can make it whatever color you choose. Just don't expect me to sit here and pretend that I don't want you to paint it black, though, because truth be told, I do want you to, and I don't think you will regret it. The Project Feature wall. To elaborate, a feature wall is a popular design trend that often involves adding wood to a wall. This particular feature wall is a great starter for someone (like myself) who has never actually ATTEMPTED, much less completed a project like this before. It is way less involved than a traditional board and batten wall (but don't go thinking I'm not going to attempt one of those bad boys too). The reason that this is an easier project is because with traditional board and batten, removing the trim at the bottom of the wall is often times necessary. In this case, the featured boards do not go all the way from top to bottom, so you don't even need to worry about that. Supplies: Any wall 1 x 2 boards (I used select pine) Paint Painter's Tape Caulk Wood Filler Level Finishing Nailer First step- and this is IMPORTANT: PAINT THE WALL BEFORE YOU HANG THE BOARDS. Although this step is not 100% necessary, it will make your life immensely easier to have the wall painted the final color before the boards are up. You won't have to worry about painting in between the boards, and it will give you a much cleaner look in the end. Wall painted- check! Onto the fun stuff. The nice thing about this project is that you can really use your creativity and make it what you want it to be. Or, you can screw the creativity and do exactly what I did. No judgement here. Regarding the number of boards to use, I chose to do a geometric, angled pattern, and I chose to use 5 boards in each section... for no particular reason, really. I liked the spacing that came along with the 5 boards, and I like odd numbers. So, reeealll technical over here, folks. I would, however, recommend being a smidge technical when it comes to the spacing, just so that everything looks all nice and tidy at the end. I leaned boards against the wall to get an idea of what I wanted to begin with. In order to ensure that I had the exact same spacing between, I used "Liz's DIY Hack no. 8,476," and used a piece of painter's tape throughout the project. My husband looked at me like I was a literal crazy person when he saw me doing this, because he couldn't for the life of him understand why I wouldn't just measure. Well, I'll tell you EXACTLY why I won't measure. Measuring leaves room for error, especially if your name happens to be Liz Hartmann. The same piece of painter's tape used throughout does not. DUH. Once you've got your spacing figured out, and provided you don't need to make any cuts, you are ready to rock with the hanging of the boards. For my first section, I didn't need to make any cuts, because I purchased 6 foot boards, and my wall was taller than that. How convenient. So, all I had to do there was make sure that the boards were level with themselves and the floor and nail them in. I used a Finish Nailer so that I wouldn't have to worry about seeing the nails after the project was done. I kind of think that it's the only way to go with this sort of project. Besides, using a nail gun makes me feel super tough, so there's that. If you don't have one, but want one, we got ours at Home Depot, and if you click here you can get free shipping. Score! After that, the sections get a little more involved, but nothing that can't be figured out with a measuring tape. Nope, didn't use that once. Again, I used painter's tape to measure out the desired distance of the boards, and then placed said painter's tape on my board to be cut. For the angled pieces, I either made them all one length and spaced them appropriately (see pic), or I cut the longest one of the bunch and then measured down, board by board, leaving the same amount of length off of each prior board. For example, if I wanted my longest board in the bunch to be 18 inches long, I cut the remaining 4 boards to be 15 inches, 12 inches, 9 inches, and 6 inches (ok, I lied, I used the measuring tape a little bit). For the record, I found that 3 inches of difference between board lengths was a good amount for my particular wall, but you do you. Not every wall is created equal. The main objective is to get the boards to be evenly spaced, so however you want to do that is totally your call. Once you get your boards cut and hung appropriately, the hardest part of the project is over! All that then remains is to fill in the nail holes with wood filler (so annoying, but yes, very necessary) and caulk the gaps. Don't worry, nail filler for those small holes dries incredibly fast, so this step won't set you back too far. After the nail holes are filled, dried, and sanded, you will want to caulk the edges between the wood boards and the wall. UNLESS YOU ARE ME AND YOU DECIDE TO PAINT YOUR WALL BLACK. If you choose to paint your boards and your wall black, it really is not necessary to fill the gaps. First of all, the gaps are incredibly small. Secondly, the only reason people fill these kinds of gaps with caulk is because a shadow will show up on lighter colors. But guess what? Shadows are black, and so they don't show up on black paint. BOOM. Another reason why you might want to consider painting that wall black. But alas, if you do in fact choose another color, I would highly recommend caulking the gaps (with paintable caulk). Once the caulk is dry, you are good to go ahead and paint the boards. I would recommend using pine select boards, because they paint pretty well. I did have to do two coats, but let's be honest, two coats is kind of always necessary if you don't want previous color to show through. So go the extra mile and add a second coat. You can thank me later. Finally, a little while later, once your paint is all dry, you can just sit back and marvel at your amazing new custom feature. This entire project took me about 4 hours, including drying time for wood filler. I definitely sense more of these walls in my future.