Introspective: Week 4

This image of The Babe's tiny, not even two month old fingers, along with her great grandmother's wise and time worn hands forces me to remember how precious life is...and makes me want to slow down and remember all these amazing moments.

It's My Burfday!

I'm usually soooo not one to announce to the world that it's my burfday, BUT that's my excuse for not doing an official post today!  Mr. Man, The Babe and I are goin' to party like it's my burfday!  And I'm going to eat ice cream.  Lots of it.

Source

Here's what we have on tap today, and what we sooo don't have on tap today.

• On Tap:  Eating ice cream.
• On Tap:  Mr. Man's brother is coming over to watch The Babe tonight, and we're going out for our first dinner / date in nearly a year.  That's right folks...we haven't been out alone since The Babe was born.  Heaven help us to not embarrass ourselves and to find something to talk about other than The Babe.
• On Tap:  I'm going to play with my new iPhone.  :)  Clearly, Mr. Man understood my hints (see 3rd paragraph in link) because this was my official birthday present.  Now, I can become oven more online obsessed.
• On Tap:  Cleaning, doing laundry, paperwork, etc.  You know, because why not be lame on my burfday.  I'm lame everyday.
• Not On Tap:  Working on the new chandelier or starting any other DIY project.  :)

Hope you all have a fabulous day!  I'm going to give it my best shot.

Redonkulous-ness

Yesterday, I blogged all about the promising progress I was making on the light fixture.  It was a beautiful day here in sunny North Carolina; I hung my favorite new find up in the tree and readied it for painting.  I got the first coat of spray primer on, fed The Babe lunch, and then decided we should head out to the hardware store to pick up the actual paint and a couple foam brushes.  Before leaving, we hurried out to the tree to admire the light, I casually glanced up at the sky, and made the decision that it would be totally fine to leave the light where it was.

Of course, if you follow The Tall Chick on Facebook, you know by now this was a bad idea.  A really, really bad idea.

On our way to the hardware store, we made one more quick stop by Jo Ann Fabrics.  You'll know why we did this in a little while.  Well, when we came out, I noticed the sky towards our house looked ominously dark.  Uh-oh.  I called Mr. Man and asked him to check the radar (because he should have been a meteorologist and I have a cell phone that barely makes calls, much less allows me to browse online - lame).  Anywho, he said it's probably pouring at our house and that it was heading my way.

I pulled my big girl pants on and decided there wasn't anything I could do about it, so The Babe and I headed on to the hardware store.  I was in a bit of panic and was rushing so we could get back to the house.  The guys at the paint desk were in nooooo hurry to help us out.  We finally got their attention.  I think it had something to do with the fact that I was muttering loudly about "must hurry, must hurry chandelier hanging in tree at home".  If that doesn't make me appear to be certifiably crazy, I don't know what will...  So, the guy got me my paint ASAP and off we went.  The rain was pouring like crazy.  When we got home, the wind was whipping the chandelier all around, the lighting was insane, and, well, the rain was redonkulous.  Have I mentioned it was raining?!  Yeah.

So, my chandelier project went from this....to this.

Quite possibly the best before and after photo ever?  Right?!?  :)

Anyway, I think I have everything figured out, and I'm making some progress this morning.  So, if you'll excuse me, I am going to head into the GARAGE to work on the light.  Because, I figure that's a way safer place.  Phhhht.

Until next time, adventurers!

Guess What I'm Working On Today!?!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Things around here were super busy.  We took a trip up to visit my mom in the mountains of southwest Virginia, and I got to spend some quality time with my grandmother trying to help her get back on the mend in the hospital.  It was a tiring trip, though, and when we got back into town last night I did absolutely nothing around the house.  Which basically means I made ZERO progress on the light fixture I blogged about last week.  

This morning, though, I've made some progress.  I got the light hung up in a tree outside, lightly sanded it, and cleaned it up with some soap and water.  As I write this, I'm waiting on the water to dry so I can get started with my first coat of spray primer (if The Babe continues her nap!).  

Since the first time I saw my new light fixture, I've loved the lines and timelessly modern "cages"...BUT, this morning when I was cleaning it and forming my plans for how I was actually going to get it painted, I started to worry about a few of things.  AND in the spirit of keeping it real, here are a couple of my concerns.

• I don't want to paint the chain and electrical cords + I need more chain than what is on the existing light.  Hmmmm....  cover the chain and cords with string, ribbon, etc?  Make a chain cover with fabric?  Spray paint the chain and cords and don't look back?  There are lots of ideas out there in DIY land, so it will be interesting to see where I end up.  I need some type of chain, though, to hold the light because of the little circular designs on the top of the canopy (see picture below).
• Painting the inside of all the little "cages" is going to be a pain since I don't have the perfect shade of turquoise spray paint.  Time to break out the paint sprayer our previous homeowners left behind?  Time to break out the tiny art paint brushes?

Hopefully, I'll resolve my internal dilemmas about the questions above soon enough, and I'll get this bad boy finished!!  I've also decided we need to move the electrical box in the ceiling to get the light to hang in the center of the stairwell.  SOOO, that's going to take some effort and probably a late night in the hot and sweaty attic.  Poor Mr. Man.  :)  Ohhh, and don't tell Mr. Man we're moving the electrical box in the attic.  He doesn't keep up with the blog daily, but I've promised to tell him about any big plans that may require his assistance.  I figure if I've announced it on the blog, then that's official notice to him as well.  Too bad he may be a few days late in reading it, though!  :)  When he complains about me surprising him with moving the electrical box, though, I'll just tell him he should have read it on the blog already!  MUUAHAHAHAH!

Okay, well time to get back outside and see if the water is dry!  Stay tuned and have a fabulous Monday!

Introspective: Week 3

Happy Friday, everyone!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Help Me Decide What To Do!

Yesterday, The Babe and I went to Lowe's to find the perfect turquoise spray paint for our new light fixture.  We were enthusiastic and sure that we could find what we wanted in a standard off-the-shelf color....BUT, we were sorely disappointed.

Turns out, I'm going to have to spray prime the fixture and then use a regular paint to achieve the color I want.  A con to this new development is that it's going to take longer to do, but on the positive side, I get full control on the exact shade of turquoise.  The choices are overwhelming, though.  So, help me decide!  Here's a quick swatch panel I've put together.  Do you love any of these or do you have another suggestion?  Pretty please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

The poor guy at the paint counter looked at me like I was crazy when I started explaining what I was attempting to do.  He even sarcastically repeated my words... "a turquoise chandelier, really?!".  To prove to you and Mr. Paint Counter Man that I'm not crazy for picking turquoise as a color, here's an entire website devoted to the color!

Ohhh and I must tell you what The Babe did while we were in line waiting to check out with our spray primer.  She started blowing the loudest raspberries on my arm fat.  They were super loud and deep and sounded exactly like I had quite the upset tummy.  I tried laughing it off but there were a few folks nearby that looked pretty disturbed.  Ahhh, gotta love it.  AND it totally makes me think of this scene from Dumb and Dumber.  Don't watch it if you don't love sick potty humor.

I'll leave you with that mental image for the day, and now will you leave me a comment to help me choose the paint color?  :)

Time On My Hands and Lights On My Brain

Yesterday, I posted all the details about my hallway stripe project and the new color Du Jour in the stairway.  I also mentioned my plans to hopefully find a new light for the stairwell and my dreams of finally going to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Well, guess what folks?!  I achieved both yesterday!  The Babe and I had an afternoon adventure going to the ReStore and browsing the aisles.  I even brought home a new light fixture that will soon grace the stairwell.  I proudly showed off my find to Mr. Man when he got home from work, and he rolled his eyes and muttered something about how "unique" it is (man code for ugly I guess).  It certainly is different from what I ordinarily buy off the shiny new shelves at Lowe's or Home Depot, but that's precisely what I love about it.  I saved this bad boy from the landfill.  Now, let's just hope it works.  AND with that I leave you with the video that shows I have far too much time on my hands....  :)

ANYWAY, clearly the light does work.  THANK GOODNESS!  I was reading horror stories online today about how difficult it can be to rewire the arms of a chandelier.  Initially, one of the light bulb bases wasn't working, but we quickly figured out that the old bulb had just broken off.  A pair of pliers and 30 seconds of twisting fixed that issue, and we now have a perfectly operating light for a whopping $30 buckaroos.  I also just want to say that the light is super heavy... it's not cheap at all!  The finish may leave something to be desired, but don't you worry... I have a plan.  In fact, I've been browsing pinterest seeking some inspiration, and I happened to find this great chandelier below.  Pure yumminess.

That turquoise would really pop
against those crisp white walls, huh?  ;)
Source:  http://pinterest.com/pin/45855627/

So, that's a quick peek at the new light fixture and the most likely direction I'm headed in with my plans for it.  What do you think?  

I also just wanted to say that the Habitat for Humanity ReStore may be one of my favorite new places to go when I'm seeking reclaimed materials for our house.  The aisles are packed full of any type of materials you may need for a remodel and the prices are amazing.  On top of that, all the proceeds go to help build new houses.  So, you're saving stuff from the landfill, helping build homes for others, and saving yourself some $$$ at the same time.  Win-Win-Win.  So, get on over to your ReStore pronto and find some inspiration.  Here are a few more quick pictures I took while we were there (yeah, I was that weirdo taking pictures). 

This is actually a pallet of old gym floor planks.  Can you
imagine using these as a feature wall in a teenage boy's room?
The lines from the floor are still visible and would tell such a
great story.  LOOOOOVE these.  

A bunch of ugly light fixtures...just waiting to be fixed up!

Tons of shutters... Hello headboard project?!

The lovely light fixture I brought home!  

A great patio set that's waiting on a fresh coat of paint and new cushions!

Well, that's it for me today, folks!  Time to start working on the light makeover!  :)

Have you saved any items from the landfill lately?  I would love to hear your stories, see your pictures, hear your thoughts, etc!  

Stripes = Happiness

I think we all know how many times I've referenced how much I hate math.  If you want to know exactly how many, have fun reading through the blog archive counting them up.  I don't like math enough to do that... BUT, I can tell you this.  Stripes = Happiness.

Late Friday night, I put the finishing touches on a stairwell / hallway striping project.  I was so excited I even posted a quick blog update.  If you didn't get to read it, click here.  Since Friday, though, I've just been admiring the stripes happily.

Before we get started, let's take a peek at what the hall / stairwell looked like before...  The color was beige with peach / orange undertones.  Eeeek!

  

I wasn't in love with the beige and wanted to freshen things up with a lighter, brighter color.  So, the striping project commenced!  Now, let's get down to the details.  First, let's start with the colors I blogged about earlier.  Not surprisingly, I selected gray and white.  I figured they would help brighten an otherwise dark hallway, and easily transition between current and future color schemes in the adjoining rooms.  One thing I've read online and put into practice in my home is trying to use a united color scheme.  In a smaller house, the complementary colors are supposed to help things flow and keep the spaces feeling unified and larger.  At least that's what I've heard and decided to follow.  :)

To get started with the painting, I put on a coat of the white paint (Olympic's Du Jour).  I knew that was going to be my "primary" color and it would be super easy to cut in around the door trim, ceiling and baseboards since they're already white.  Now, that's what I call good planning folks.  :)  I made the job easier on myself by picking the white color, and I highly encourage you to do the same if you're in the mood for stripes.  The first coat went on pretty quickly, but I needed a second coat.  I finished that up on Thursday night.

In this photo, you can see the parts I've cut in using Du Jour

Most of these photos were taken at night, so it's hard to see
the difference... BUT, trust me.  The white is waaaay better.

Once I got on two coats of white paint, it was time for the fun part of the project.  Friday morning, The Babe and I got started taping off the stripes.  This part of the project actually went quickly, even though it was the part I dreaded the most.  I think it helped that I went into the morning with a plan, though.  Please, please don't look at my crappy drawing skills.  It helped me imagine what the stripes were going to look like...and it involved some VERY basic math.

If you care about how I decided the width of the stripes, read this.  If you don't care, move on to the next paragraph.  :)  The wall height (minus baseboards) was 92 inches.   I knew I wanted thick stripes and that I didn't want to cut in with gray around the top of the door frames.  Since the top of the door trim was 12 inches from the ceiling, I knew I wanted stripes a little wider than that... So, I played around until I found some even stripe widths that would closely divide into 92.  I decided 13 inch stripes sounded good, and I would make the top and bottom stripe slightly wider (but not noticeable) at 13.5 inches.  PERFECTION.

Once I knew the width for the stripes, I started drawing on my level lines.  I started with the top stripe first.  I knew the bottom of the top stripe would be 13.5 inches down from the ceiling.  So, I measured 13.5 inches down and drew a straight line across the entire wall.  Once the top line was lightly penciled on the wall, I drew the second line 13 inches below the first.  I repeated this process the entire way down the wall until I had very light pencil lines on the entire wall.  I also put little "Gs" on each portion that would eventually be painted gray; it was a nice reminder to me later on when I began the taping and painting process.  I was so nervous I would have a brain fart and inadvertently paint a portion that was supposed to be white.  But, I didn't do that thanks to my little G friends.  :)

Once the lines were all drawn, I began putting the tape on the lines.  I closely followed my pencil lines, but I put the tape slightly away from the line so it would eventually be covered with paint.  Another trick to help save myself some work later.

Lines are taped off on one wall

Once all the lines were taped, I put a thin coat of Mod Podge on the tape edges where gray paint would be applied.  If you read my earlier posts when I asked you to guess what this was for, now you know!  I used it to create a seal on the tape edges so excess paint wouldn't bleed under.  And guess what!?!?  It worked!  I have extremely clean paint lines on the walls and only a few minor touchups to do!  I learned about this trick from another blogger and am so glad I did.  It only took a few minutes and less than $3, but I'm guessing it saved me hours of touch-up work!  

My new BFF - don't paint stripes without it!  :)

All the lines are taped and mod podge-d.  :)

Once the Mod Podge dried, it was time to finally start painting on my gray stripes.  JOY-JOY-JOY!  I ended up doing two coats of gray paint as well.  

First coat of gray for the stripes

Honestly, the hardest part of this project was putting on the two coats of white base color.  The hallway part was easy, but painting the stairwell was a bit of a challenge.  The stripes were super easy and ultra rewarding!  Here are the after pics....

This is looking upstairs... I love the stripes
and how the gate keeps The Babe from seriously
injuring herself.  I also can't wait for the day when
I can remove the gate and look at the stripes without it.  :)

The crisp white color for
our future gallery wall.  :)
I will probably also paint the banister and use
color photo frames for the gallery wall.  

In this picture, you'll see the stairway to the left.  I'm going to leave
that a solid white color now.  I think the stripes would be too busy, and
I'm hoping to introduce color with a new light fixture.  :)  

This photo was taken without any lights on and is the truest representation
of the color on the walls.  I lurve it.  ;)
PS - In case you missed it, I will be changing out all the light fixtures ASAP.  

So, that's the wrap up on my stripe project.  I'm truly happy with the results and was pleased at how little math this project took!  Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get over to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to browse light fixtures.  I'm hoping my next project will be a funky light for the stairwell.  :)  

Hope you've enjoyed reading all about this project!  I would love your comments, questions, feedback, etc!

Linked up @:  Home Stories A to Z, Our House of Joyful Noise, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog

  

Sunday Happiness

Happy Father's Day, everyone!  Hope you all are having a great day.

Around our casa, we're taking it easy after a trip out of town to visit with friends.  It's also Mr. Man's first time celebrating as a proud papa himself, so he's enjoyed just spending time with The Babe.  We're getting ready to grill some fancy hamburgers and sweet potatoes, too!  Hopefully, he'll enjoy his dinner.  We're also baking some fresh zucchini bread from a zucchini we got out of the garden.  If it's yummy, I'll be sure to share details.  AND how could it not be yummy?!  It has three huge cups of sugar!  :)

We're so thankful this year to have The Babe to focus on for Father's Day.  I lost my Dad sixteen years ago and today has always been bittersweet for me, and since Mr. Man just lost his Dad this year, we're both really glad The Babe can help keep things lighthearted and joyful for us.  It's hard to be sad when you're chasing her around and trying to keep her from eating mulch the dog drags in...  Sigh.

I also wanted to share a bit of news about the blog.  A couple of recent projects have been featured, and I couldn't be happier.  To check them out, please visit Spunky Junky to look at the post on the upholstered headboard project, and also stop by and see Melissa at The Inspired Room.  She featured the DIY curtain rods a few weeks ago.  Both of these bloggers share lots of great projects, so be sure to check them out!

Thanks for stopping by and if you haven't had a chance to go "like" The Tall Chick on Facebook yet or officially follow the blog with Google or Networked blogs over on the right sidebar, please do so!  I would love to have you as a regular visitor and follower!

Having A Crazy Friday Night!

I don't know about you, but over here at my house we're having quite the crazy evening!  I just finished up painting for the night, The Babe is asleep, and Mr. Man has his nose buried in his work laptop.  LAME-O.  Anyway, since Mr. Man and I are both head-first into our computers, I figured I may as well show you what I've been up to.  :)

On Wednesday, I blogged all about my current hallway / stairwell painting project.  If you missed that post, you can read all about it here.

I'm happy to report that after several days of nonstop painting and taping during The Babe's naps and after she went to sleep at night, I'm pretty much done!

More details early next week, but for now....  here's a quick peek at my progress!  Sorry for the quality of this pic; grabbed it with my phone!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Linked up @:

Tater Tots & Jello

Crazy Dreams Must Be Going Around

Yesterday morning, I woke up in a frenzy.  I could hear The Babe shouting for her mama, and I knew I needed to roll out of bed and get with it.  The problem was that I couldn't stop thinking about the dream I had just been having.  I was frantically searching for wood crates.  I was looking everywhere.  Contacting everyone I knew.  Begging for help to find crates.  

I am sick.  Twisted.  And desperately in need of some crates like these.  Do you know where I can find some on the cheap?  Please, help me.  :)  

My pinterest.com source

To prove I'm not alone in these crazy decorating induced dreams, Sherry over at Young House Love blogged about a crazy dream she had about every room needing at least one elephant worked into the design.  

See... I'm not the only crazy one out there.  Now, help me find some crates because evidently they're all the rage.  In fact, here's a whole blog post by French By Design on recycling wood crates and pallets.  Just don't let anyone know they're all the rage.  I want them to be inexpensive.  ;)

So, if you're out there and reading this and see any crates like the ones above, let me know.  Feed my addiction and help stop these crazy dreams.

The Color Du Jour

Yesterday morning, I woke up with an urge.  ;)  I had an overload of energy for the first time in a couple of weeks, so what's a girl supposed to do with all that energy?!?  Head to Lowe's to grab some paint so I can finally get started painting the upstairs hall and stairwell, of course!  After The Babe's morning nap, we jumped in the car and went out to buy three gallons of Olympic's Zero VOC paint and some Mod Podge.  Now, what in the world do you think I need the Mod Podge for?  And what color paints did we buy?  Ahhh, the suspense!

Well, we got 2 gallons of Olympic paint in Du Jour.  According to Merriam-Webster, Du Jour is something that is popular, fashionable, or prominent at a particular time.  In the paint world, evidently Du Jour is, ummmmm, white.  I realize that some of you may be rolling your eyes right now and muttering words like "that's a safe choice" or "white really isn't a color".  I hear you!!!  I guess I'm feeling a little "safe" with my choice, too, but we can't forget the end mission here.  A gallery wall like the picture below!  Look how fresh and pure the white looks and the art really does steal the show, which is the whole point!

Grand Rapids Art Museum:  Photo source

Anyway, even Mr. Man got on me a little last night about my white color choice by saying things like "what's up with your white color kick lately" and "isn't there a reason why people don't paint with white anymore"?  Le sigh.  Anyway, at 11:00 last night as I was still rolling my beautiful, pristine white color on the walls I decided I was thrilled with it.  Besides, what Mr. Man doesn't know won't hurt him.  The white color is merely the beginning of the work.  We've barely even begun.  <<Insert maniacal laughter here.>>

The secret is all in the last gallon of paint, my friends.  I had that gallon color matched to Behr's Silver Sateen.  This is the color I painted in the majority of the downstairs.  It's a nice and airy gray tone that I really love.

Behr's Silver Sateen:  Source

AND, I'm planning to use that color to create something along the lines of my Pinterest inspiration boards.  Gotta love it when a plan comes together!!  :)

Pin Source

Pin Source

Pin Source

So, that's the direction we're headed in folks.  I'm totally doing horizontal stripes in the hallway upstairs, but I'm still in debate mode about continuing them into the actual stairwell.  I can't imagine how long it will take to tape the stripes.  BUT, I want to do it.  We'll see where we actually end up.  In the meantime, here's a list of scary thoughts I won't allow to deter me.

-What if the currently hot gray color scheme becomes the not so hot beige color scheme 5 years from now?
-What if the huge bruise I got on my right thigh creates a blood clot that goes to my brain and kills me while this project is underway.  Poor Mr. Man.  But more importantly, would he finish my stripes?!?!
-Exactly how long will it take for me to tape all of the stripes?  The Babe may be three before I'm done, but my current goal is to be finished before the end of the weekend.  ;)

And here are a few quick pictures I grabbed last night while we were painting away until nearly midnight!  I hate the carpet now.  But, I reckon that's another project.

My new home-away-from-from for the next couple of days!

I'll be back soon with more updates!!  In the meantime, if you want to read even more on the color Du Jour, here's a fabulous link.  AND, if you want to take any guesses as to what the Mod Podge is for, please do so in the comments!  Happy painting!

Introspective: Week 2

I'm a stalker.

So did that post title get your attention?  If it did, please know that it's true, and I'm admitting it right here for all of the blogland to see.  Rest easy, though, I'm just a harmless Craigslist stalker.  Wait a minute...that really doesn't sound much better, right?!?  :)

All jokes aside, I do feel a bit like a stalker, though. I spend far too much time on Craigslist looking at furniture and hoping to find that elusive perfect piece.  Take a look at these pieces I found while "browsing" over the weekend.

I'm totally in love with this chair, especially the modern lines and the most likely ooohhh so easy to reupholster seat.  If this chair was located in Apex or Cary instead of Chapel Hill, I would have already gone to pick up my new BFF.  For $25.  That's the best part.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/fuo/2436259313.html

I also really like this antique sideboard.  It looks like a great place to "tuck" things (otherwise known as cramming stuff in when I'm in fast cleanup mode!).  I think it would be gorgeous refinished and painted.  Maybe even great as an entertainment console for a flat panel TV?

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/fuo/2435982028.html

OR this one.  A bit smaller, but it would still be great for storage and could really make a statement once it's refinished.  It's solid wood, which is really important so you don't have to worry about cracked veneer that would be a nightmare to refinish.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/fuo/2435972694.html

AND, I really love this last piece.  It's HUGE so I don't know that we could get it upstairs, but if I thought we could, I'd probably be picking this one up.  It would hold SOOO much stuff, and I think it would look great painted a funky color like the image I posted directly below this one.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/fuo/2435940733.html

Have you found any cool pieces lately that would look amazing refinished?  I really need to get on the ball and just buy one of these pieces so I can stop "stalking" and start doing (that sounds like a Home Depot ad).

Hope you all had a great weekend!  It's time for me to start cleaning up things a bit, and then maybe I'll get to some DIY projects.  You know it's time to clean up when you have people over and you can't "let" them go upstairs because of how messy it is.  Our friend kind of described our house like a mullet... you know the whole business in the front, party in the back thing.  EXCEPT, our house is like business downstairs, party upstairs.  I think she nailed it with that one...and on that note, I'm off to clean!  :)

Playing Pretend Pays Off!

Last week, I blogged all about how I was going to be playing pretend last Saturday morning.  AND guess what?!?  It paid off thanks to the fabulous talents of Julia Wade.

We had a blast pretending to be engaged again (and finally getting some amazing photos of just the two of us), and we got to do an early celebration of The Babe's birthday.  Julia released a few quick peeks at our images yesterday, so hop on over to her blog to check them out!

I can't wait to get started on the gallery wall with all of these amazing images.  In fact, I've been collecting some additional inspiration images over on my new obsession www.pinterest.com.  Please stop on by and take a look at my boards and get obsessed, too, so I don't feel so bad about how much time I'm spending on that site.  :)

One of the "pins" that inspired me... I love everything about this image.

Happy Saturday!

Introspective: Week 1

So, I've decided to start a new weekly blog category....because I can!  :)

Each week I'm going to share a recent photo I've taken, along with a few words.  The key here is "a few words".   Just something quick that has inspired me to think a little deeper.

Hangin' Tough

Yesterday, I posted all about getting things back on track in the boudoir.  I gave you an update on the DIY headboard project and started going through the assembly details, then promptly left you hanging before the big reveal.  :)  Nice of me, huh?

Today, I'm going to reference New Kids On The Block and tell you all about hanging that headboard, which definitely had us singing...  "oh, oh, oh, oh, oh....hangin' tough".  Nothing like a reference to these lyrics to intrigue, right?



To get us started, let me say again that math isn't my favorite subject.  I even picked up a tank top with this saying during a trip to Vegas one year.  I used to wear the tank top to the office under my business clothes when we had important meetings... I called it my underflair and secretly got a kick out of it during loooong, boring meetings focused on numbers.  I may have let a few other select people in on my "secret", too.  ANYWAY, I digress.  The whole point I'm making here is that I don't love math and hangin' up this headboard took a fair bit of math and a whole lot of patience.

After getting everything assembled, we started by figuring out how high we wanted to mount the headboard.  Remember, I had the plywood cut to be 48 inches tall, and I knew I wanted the bottom of the headboard even with the mattress.  So, we measured up from the floor to the top of the mattress and then added that number to the overall height of the headboard.  For us, those numbers were 29 inches to the top of the mattress, plus the 48 inches for the headboard.  29 + 48 = 77   Whoohoo!  So we knew that's how high the headboard would be on the wall.  I also knew I couldn't mount it all the way at the top of the headboard, so we reduced it by 12 inches so the hangers would be about 3/4 of the way up on the plywood.  I thought it would hang more securely that way.  SOOOOO, 77 - 12 = 65 inches.  Tough math so far, right?  ;)

Once we knew that we wanted the wall side of the hangers at 65 inches, we drew a level line on the wall and started installing the hangers.  Please note that we used a stud finder to ATTEMPT installing the brackets into studs.  BUT, our stud finder is a little less than accurate.  We drilled pilot holes and if we hit a stud, great!  If we didn't hit a stud, we used wall anchors.

This is the first bracket going into the wall...with anchors and long screws.
Please note the time here... 2:10 PM on the day of the tornado.

After installing the first, we moved onto the second and then the third.  I was being really obsessive, so we checked and rechecked and then checked the level again before drilling.  Doesn't Mr. Man look thrilled?

2:25 PM... t-minus an hour or so before the tornado hit.

Fourth and final bracket going in... The Babe is awake from her nap and ready to inspect.  I think she approves.

2:35 PM... The tornado's coming soon.

After installing all the brackets, it was time to install the coordinating side of the brackets on the back of the assembled plywood.  Mr. Man had decided to take a break to watch the news about the storms and The Babe and I contemplated the best way to do this...which involved math.

Maybe if I stare at it, the solution will magically come?

Mr. Man came back into the room after watching the news and suggested that we take a break to monitor the weather.  I thought he was just sick of the project, and I was a little frustrated by the next step, so I reluctantly agreed.  We went downstairs and shortly thereafter the tornado hit, and the headboard sat just like this for at least another month.

Once I got back at the project, magically the solution did come to me quickly.  I taped sheets of paper together and made a template of the brackets on the wall.  I then taped the template onto the back of the plywood, and like magic I had the perfect replication of the brackets on the wall.  I screwed the headboard side of the brackets onto the plywood, and voilà it was ready to hang with minimal math involved.  Please note I also drew a level line on the back of the plywood at 36" inches and used that to line up my template.  EASY!  

So, after a significant tornado delay, the headboard was finally mounted on the wall for us to enjoy!  TA-DA!

I'm still not done in the master bedroom, though.  I want to change out the lamps for some "vintage" ones from Mr. Man's parents house, and I want to put in new artwork, new curtains and a new duvet.  I also sold the kitchen island that was in here (hooray for Craiglist!), so we're in desperate need of more furniture.  I plan on hitting up the flea market, though, and hopefully I'll find some interesting pieces to refurbish.  SOMEDAY.  Hopefully soon.  Barring no more tornadoes.

If you're a new reader and missed the step-by-step on assembling the headboard along with all the supplies used, click **here**!

So, after a LOOOOONG delay, that's the DIY headboard project!!  :)  And here are a few, quick lessons learned if you decide to give this a try on your own (which I highly recommend!).

--Don't go overboard with the staples.  Since you'll be stapling the batting first, then the fabric, you're going to be putting a lot of staples into roughly the same area of plywood, around the same perimeter.  I think I stapled too much because I felt the plywood weakening and splintering around one corner.  Trust yourself, use a fair amount of staples, but don't staple too close together.

--Have patience!  Easier said than done, I'm sure, but this project requires it.  Actually, the assembly part is pretty fast, but hanging it took awhile.  I think if you use the template idea, though, it will go much faster for you.  I think the whole project start to finish could be done in as few as 2-3 hours.  For reals.

--Measure, measure, measure...  Level, level, level.  The time we spent here was important, and the headboard hung perfectly at the first try. 

Well, that's it for now, folks!  Have a terrific Tuesday!

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