I could easily become obsessed if stripes could always be this easy!!!

So after completing our masterbedroom last week I decided that the guest room needed some dire attention. For the past 2.5 years guests have come and gone from that room with no complaints. The bed was comfy, what more could one ask for. The room never had any style and I felt it was very plain. Reminded me of a college bedroom that had a bed and that was about it. I started with getting a beautiful new bed set, thanks mom for the great birthday gift:) Then I found  3 mirrors for $5 each that made for a perfect headboard. Recently I've seen lots of stripes online and thought it would create a perfect accent wall behind the bed. Thats all I've really done so far. The walls are painted, half the crown and trim are done. The nightstand is being painted brown then heirloomwhite over top with distressing afterwards. Still have lots to do but here is a quick peak. I have some great dark wood and chrome lamps for the room too. I may also build some shelves using leftover crown....depends how much trim we have left.

Sidenote the green on the wall is a bit off from the bedding but I think it work perfectly with the right accents.

I will of course post more pics as things change in the room:) 

I was featured!!!

Worked night shift last night. Which on a quiet night in the ER is where I have found some of the greatest inspirations for the projects I have done in our house. So at 3am as my eyes were getting heavy I popped over to theDIYshowoff and low and behold wow there was my headboard and blog as a feature!!!! I'm so excited to be given the opportunity to share my projects with others:) Huge thank you to Roeshel for selecting my blog to be shown:)

I have some great new projects in my head and will start a few tomorrow:) Stay tuned for updates on these this week!

p.s. all I did for projects today was finish my dear husbands night stand. I spent the day with him stocking his new truck with snacks for his trips and linens for his sleeper:)

One man's trash is a smart women's treasure

A friend of ours recently down sized his furniture and had this beauty sitting outside on his front porch waiting to go to the dump....can you believe he was going to throw this out!! Sure it's old, dated, and slightly broken but it's just calling out for some needed love. So I promptly said hi to friend and stole his dresser before the garbage man got his hands on it:)

For this project you will need:

old beat up dresser

Sandpaper

White spray paint (Beauti-tone semi-gloass white)

Minwac English chestnut stain

polyurethane

Shop towels

wood glue (if drawer broken)

paint and stain stripper
trim
nail gun

I started by stripping the top. This took several coats of stripper. I then sanded it with 60 grit sand paper then 100 grit paper. I applied 3 coats of stain followed by 3 coats of polyurethane.

Before you do below steps cut trim to cover the bottom lip, scallops were in before but not now!

Then spray painted the whole body with white spray paint. Allow to dry thoroughly. Then apply stain to the whole thing, work in sections like front, side, and back. After you apply stain to section promptly wipe off with shop towel. Stain will darken the paint and pick up the more distressed areas. Do the same to the drawers. My drawers had a great inset in it that I left the stain in. You could wipe it out if you want to but I think it adds to it. I applied 2 coats of the stain to the body. I then got some new handles and painted them black.

And your done, easy I swear!

Master bedroom remodel...is almost done:)

When we first laid eyes on our house I thought it was perfect, not a thing to change! Well when you move to middle of no where with no friends or family except for your husband (who works alot) and dog you get bored easily. So I decided to take on some remodeling. This bedroom has been nothing but a frustrating experience as I could not figure out what to do. So here we are after 3 different paint colours:) I finally found one that I love and creates that warm cozy feeling I was looking for.

The room still needs crown molding and to have the trim finished. I also ordered a great vinyl saying to go above the bed but it hasn't arrived yet. Room should be done done by next week:)

Here is the almost finished room:

OMG can't believe I ever thought this colour was a good idea!! Dan should have slapped me before I decided to paint all four walls this colour. Three of them were promptly painted back to cream!

More after: 

The door to the left is 2 inches taller then the other doors...makes no sense I know, thanks to the crazy carpenter who according to my dad installed the door frame upside down because the door is also 2 inches off the floor???? The reason is why there is only trim at the top, I had the store cut the 14ft pieces down but they were too short for this door:( Ah I'll fix it next week:)

Headboard:

Instructions for this project can be found at: http://ournorthernhome.blogspot.com/search/label/headboard

This mirror was a tile mosaic mirror that we got as a wedding gift. The tiles were green to match that ugly colour I mentioned above so this had to remedied quickly. I applied the same finish to this that I did to lamp.

A few years ago I painted these nightstands black.....poor lack of judgement I know. Well I stripped them back down but left bits of the black left to add to the aged look. I stained them using the same stain as the dresser. The thing that bugged me about these night stands is they had no feet which made them too short for our king size bed. After shopping around and see that the legs were going to cost me $80 for the 8 I needed I got creative. I used some left over trim that we had in the garage and created my own legs - cost free!!! I think they turned out fantastic!

Revitalized dresser:

Instructions for this project can be found at: http://ournorthernhome.blogspot.com/2010/11/one-mans-trash-is-smart-womens-treasure.html

New lamp:

Instructions for this project can be found at: http://ournorthernhome.blogspot.com/2010/11/from-old-to-new-then-back-to-old.html I thought my mom was going to kill me when she saw these pics but she said I'm still in the will and she'll forgive me:)

Key Keeper

I totally stole this idea from Roeshel at the DIY showoff. I love how simple it is. Who would have thought to use individual little dishes to hold your keys. I'm sure Dan will not like it but at least we can keep our keys sorted out:) I searched high and low for the right dishes and finally found these which work perfectly! Total cost $12 including modge podge and huge sheet of letters which will for sure be used for future projects.

From old to new then back to old:)

  

Warning mom do not proceed ahead if you don't like this picture:)

I say that because my loving mom gave me these brass lamps which I liked for a while but was always slightly turned off by the brass. She told me the last time I suggested changing them that it was not to happen:( So after 2 years of them sitting in the garage I decided they needed a change, which of course I do first then show mom later right;). I used the same finish on these as on our dresser and thought it would work great on these lamps.

For this project you will need:

Brass lamps

Sandpaper

White spray paint (Beauti-tone semi-gloass white)

Minwac English chestnut stain

Shop towels

Step one:

Find brass lamp:) The lightly sand the lamp to give the paint something to stick to. Then wipe down with a semi damp paper towel, then with a dry paper towel to get all the little bits off.

Step two:

Tape of parts you don't want painted, don't forget the cable. Then apply 2 coats of white spray paint, allowing each layer to dry appropriately.

Step three:

Using brush coat lamp in stain. I did it in 2 sections so the stain was absorbed evenly. Let stain sit for one minute then wipe off with shop towel. Allow base coat to dry, continue apply coats until you reach the desired finish your looking for. I used 2 coats of stain for this look. I love love love how the paint didn't hold in all areas. It makes it look even more aged and actually to me looks silver, not the original brass that is hiding underneath. I did not cover with a sealant but you could clear coat it if you want too. I like the look and feel at this point so left it:) Can't wait until the bedroom is done then I can add these to my tables.

The new headboard

I borrowed this idea from my parents bedroom. My dad created this gorgeous much larger headboard using wallpaper and lots of trim but I being a simple girl tried a different approach:) Before I start please ignore the plain coloured walls they are in transition right now and are currently being painted a beautiful coffee brown:)

This project is for a king size bed and obviously would need to be altered for a smaller bed.

So for this project you'll need

One 5 panel door

crown molding

2x2s

Base paint colour of your choice (I used a burgundy by Behr but can't recall exact colour)

Top paint colour of your choice ( I used Cottage White)

One jar of crackle medium

painters tape

First step cut the door down to fit the width of your bed. When you cut the bottom of the door of you cut away the inner support with it. Remove the inner support from the scrap you have left over and install it back into the bottom of the door that is now open, it's easy trust me:) Then using a nail gun attach the 2x2s to the back edges of the door. Install to all 4 sides. This helps with mounting the door to the wall but also creates more depth for the headboard. Don't worry about the visible joint that now is seen from the sides. After all the painting is done you won't be able to see it.

Cut crown molding to size and mount along top edge of headboard. I have a inch lip on the top of mine so if I got creative enough I could put some lighting rope in the top and it not be seen.

I did not prime the door, because it already comes primed from the store. Take your base paint and apply 2 coats to the door. Allow to dry thoroughly. Once dried your going to tape of with your painters tape the areas you DO NOT want the crackle effect on.

Apply the crackle medium as per the directions on the bottle. You apply it in one direction with a paint brush. If you desire more crackle you can brush more strokes in one spot for that effect. Be patient and allow it to work it's magic. Trust me it will happen and when it does it looks gorgeous!!!! After the crack has started to work you may remove the painters tape that you applied earlier. You could probably apply a polyurethane if you wanted for seal and shine but I didn't and I think it looks great:)

To mount the headboard I mounted 2x2s x2 (top and bottom) onto my bedroom wall (into studs) that fit inside the outer edge you created on the back of the door. Use at least a 3in screw or it WILL NOT hold the door to the wall, trust me I speak about this from practice....lol Then you carefully hang the door to the wall and screw into those 2x2s that are on the wall, I went from the top and bottom of the project to secure it.

Enjoy!!!

Little about us

My husband Dan and I are just a couple of young hard working people making of life of living in Northern BC. Originally from Victoria BC we decided in 2008 to make the move to the North to make a life for ourselves and experience some snow:)

It's been a bumpy road the last 2 years getting used to the weather, city, and people but we're slowly making it home.

I created this blog because I love to DIY. I have to keep myself busy somehow right? And how else can I drive my husband crazy then with constant projects:) I only have a few projects to post right now but am slowly building the collection up:)

Enjoy!!!

Oh and here is our home, we love it and got it for a steal of a deal!