Reader Redesigns
Reader Redesign: Things Are Looking Up
Since we don’t have any excuse to decorate a little boy’s room, we live vicariously through friends and readers. Which is one of the reasons we’re excited to share Kat and Mitch’s awesome transformation of their son Ryder’s room. They not only did a bang-up job on the whole thing (and took on lots of DIY projects to keep it affordable) it was all inspired by a free bed they found. Here’s Kat’s letter:
We just finished my son’s room and we’re so proud of how it turned out. First things first, this is what this room looked like prior… well several years ago anyway when Ryder was a baby.
What made us decide it was time for a wee makeover was when I saw a metal bed in my neighbor’s burn pile one day. I didn’t want to put a new (to us) bed in a periwinkle room, so it was time for a change.
My husband did the pallet ceiling and I painted pretty much all the furniture in the room. The color we chose for the walls is Benjamin Moore Thunder. We had the swatch on the wall in our kitchen (actually it’s still there) and whenever someone comes over they give us a weird look when they see the words “BM Thunder” underneath the swatch. Funny. And yes, gross. Unless you don’t have a twisted mind like my friends and I.
The ceiling was a lot of time-consuming work but totally worth it and actually really not that difficult. And the best part is that Ryder loves it and can enjoy it for years to come. I know that pallet craft seems to be all the rage right now and may be just a fad, but it really does look cool.
The curtains and duvet cover I found at a thrift store literally days before the makeover was complete. I really didn’t think I’d be able to find anything second-handed. But wouldn’t ya know, a few days later I walked into a thrift store and found this duvet cover and two pillow shams for $3. It was the exact size I needed and it’s from Pottery Barn.
So we were able to makeover Ryder’s room on a very small budget. Actually the only things we bought new were the ceiling fan and a jelly jar sconce. Everything else came from thrift stores, auctions, or was given to us. I love the thrill of finding deals… there’s nothing like it!
Hope you like it! – Kat
You can see more pics and details about the makeover on Kat’s blog, where she’s got loads of links to the various projects that are peppered throughout the space (including this cool bookcase they retrofitted to match the ceiling). We’re so impressed with all of the thrifty finds she incorporated into the room. No wonder Ryder loves it! What’s your favorite part?
Reader Redesign: Counters Of Steel
Today we’re working away on demo-ing out the old balcony where the new deck is going to go (since Mother Nature rained us out yesterday) so we hope to have more photos to share of our progress soon (Monday at the latest if all goes well!).
In the meantime, we thought this awesome budget-friendly kitchen idea was such a smart solution. We never really considered stainless steel counters, but after seeing Linn and her husband make it look so easy (and affordable) we’re definitely into it. Here’s Linn’s note:
I wanted to share a DIY tip for countertops which isn’t really that common, but it’s a great idea if you’re on a budget and you don’t mind doing some work yourself. When my husband and I renovated our kitchen we were able to get awesome looking stainless steel countertops for the bargain price of $400 (for a small 20 square foot counter). A big box hardware store quoted us $3,000 to put in and install basically the same thing!! Here are our old formica counters during our renovation:
We made a plywood template to the exact size of our counter and worked with a local sheet metal shop that cut and bended a piece of 20 gauge stainless steel around our plywood template.
Then we installed the plywood on top of our old Formica counters…
… and added the steel on top of it (it’s covered in a protective sticker in this shot)…
This option proved to be so much cheaper than many other materials around, so if anyone else is contemplating what type of counters to put in, and they don’t want to spend all of their budget on granite or marble, then I would highly recommend this method!
Stainless steel looks great, is super durable, and requires no maintenance whatsoever!
We really love how it turned out! – Linn
Obviously a lot of other great stuff went into Linn’s transformation, so hit up her blog for more details about everything – from those awesome stainless steel counters to the kitchen project as a whole. Have you guys considered stainless steel? Did you know you could get help from a local sheet metal shop to accomplish something like this for thousands less than buying stainless counters the traditional way?
UPDATE: Since a lot of the comments are asking about long-term care and durability of Linn’s counters, here’s a link to a post she did with her thoughts on it.
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner, so click here to see if it’s you.
Reader Redesign: Blank Wall to Big Welcome
We never get tired of seeing a solution like the one that Sada and her husband Reagan sent our way. They took an otherwise useless wall in their entryway and turned it into both a functional space for coats and a pretty spot for displaying art and personal mementos (we think they did an especially awesome job picking meaningful, happy art and arranging it in a really charming way). Here’s their letter:
My hubby and I recently redid our entryway! With the way that our house is laid out, I knew we were never going to be able to have a beautiful “mudroom”, however, we have this huge blank wall right by our front door.
So we took advantage of it and created a little board and batten magic! Here is the before and after – Our version of a mudroom. :)
It is practical and it definitely adds a much needed pop of color.
The only thing we are still working on is the light (the light fixture AND the lack of natural light, as I’m sure you can tell by my photos). We are in the process of trying to fix both, but I love how our entryway is much more cheery! I find myself just staring at it, ha!
I love your blog (and would pretty much pee my pants if this was actually featured…tmi?)! Have a great night! – Sada
Obviously the woodwork looks great, but we’re totally into Sada and Reagan’s art arrangement (um hello, you know I love all things soda). It’s such a fun touch that they mixed engagement pictures with some of the real items they used at the photo shoot. You can click over to Sada’s blog to get more of the details on how they pulled this whole shebang off, along with sources for the art and all that good stuff. What’s your favorite thing? Sherry loves the sweet “Love” and “Always Radiate Sunshine” prints and I’m digging the dark hardware and those come-hither soda bottles. Oh yeah, I’m smitten.
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
