mini house mighty hearts: May 2017

Way back in 2014, right after we bought our first house, Chad and I tried our hand at DIY for the first time. We made THIS table (and it straight up took us 2 weeks - TWO WEEKS TO COMPLETE THAT PROJECT - bahahaha. We were SO inexperienced). Here's a pic from that precious post - we were so thrilled with ourselves! (And how about that cute 4-year-old-at-the-time Carter?)

So yes, preciousness. Looking back, constructing it in that way was probably the most roundabout process ever in terms of making a table - I mean, kindaaaaaa over kill (hence the 2 weeks construction timeline?... Let's be real, we were just slow workers back in da day). But hey, it was the first thing we ever made and gosh dangit we loved it then and we love it now.

That table top has lived a full life since 2014 - making a stint as our master bedroom's headboard for a bit there - and now is nestled in our backyard upon a new TRUSS BEAM BASE that we, a much more experienced DIY duo, completed.

THANKS AGAIN, ANA WHITE, WE LOVE YOU SO!

But anyhoo, here was a bit of us making it (in pictures). Honestly, who needs an additional tutorial from me (like I've done in past posts on this here record-o'-our-projects blog) when every DIY we ever tackle comes from a much more DETAILED and HELPFUL tutorial anyway?

^^^One of the two benches we made! So darling!

^^^Before sanding it down and staining it, we moved it into it's spot just to see how the ol' girl would look! We ended up keeping 'er there for a few weeks, eating outside almost everyday - I'd say we were in love.

^^^Time to sand, stain and weather-proof! We've got some cute helpers ;)

^^^My favorite accessory right there!

I'm so glad we have a solid, huge, beast-of-a-table out there. And with Chad's new pride and joy (his grill/smoker), the whole outdoors just got a whole lot more fun.

2.5 months in the new home is looking pret-ty darn great, I have to say :)

*One thing we skipped from Ana's tutorial (and the Restoration Hardware version of this table - HOW ABOUT THAT FREAKIN' PRICE TAG?!!!!!! HOLY HECK! $2,895-4,295! Oh my goodness. Thank the Lord for husbands who indulge their wives' champagne tastes on beer budgets!) were those two pretty beams that come down in the middle (if you checked out the tutorial, you know what I'm talking about). I asked Chad if he wanted to add them last second before staining but he said he liked it the way it is here - simple. Works for me! Love him!

Well gosh-be-darn, we bought a new house (UNEXPECTEDLY!). If you're interested, you can see what went down here on the ol' family blogular. But I just couldn't skip over our final DIY at the old house on this here home improvement project site of mine! It would be blasphemous.

So anyway, this project started out with us just wanting to oomph up the entryway, specifically this one, giant wall - it was just a huge, blank, vaulted ceiling-ed thing of nothingness. When I discovered Lauren over at Blesser House and began stalking her site regularly, I became transfixed by her DIY batten board project and so it was decided - BATTEN BOARD IT WAS!

So yes, anyhoo, it started off as us just wanting to do that one, entryway wall. But then, when we (very briefly) decided it would be in our best interest to stay in our tiny home for a few more years (baha! We were unaware of how we would be selling the ol' thing just months later), the project's scale escalated. All of a sudden, instead of just doing the one entryway wall, we decided to do the 7' batten around the ENTIRE entryway ROOM. So just to start things off, we did the entryway walls on BOTH sides (making one section into a tiny mudroom type area) and wrapped it around to the wall where we had a TV mounted.

We did it all based off of THIS tutorial - straight from Blesser Heart OF COURSE. (If she leaves, I will find her, Wedding Crasher style. Obsessed with her visions!)

*Lame photography comin' atchyu. I got lazy and didn't want to edit.

BEFORE:

^^^Not horrible, but just BORING.

AFTER:

OUR PROCESS:

1. We skipped the whole MDF thing (even though I'm pretty sure that's the "proper" way of executing batten board) opting instead for a few easy-on-the-pocket-book coats of paint. It took 4 coats - with white you can't mess around! After that we framed out the top of the project with a few 1x4's nailed to the wall with Chad's baby, the ol' nail gun. EASY PEASY.

2. Next it was time to space out the batten! It was SUCH a tough process doing this - oh man... We had to do the arduous task of placing a batten board at each end of the giant wall, then one in the middle of those two, then two in the middle of those sections, then more in the middle of those ones (baha! Easiest thing ever). Then we went through and individually measured the horizontal space between the batten. Each time it was different. Some were 18" apart, others were 21" - it's worth it to take the time to do this step! Don't just go out to the garage and cut a bunch of the same-sized horizontal boards - it will be a waste of your time. Measure twice, cut once, ya dig?

SO WE ADDED A BOTTOM SET OF BOARDS WHICH VARIES FROM THE ORIGINAL TUTORIAL. In our home, on top of the already-existing baseboards, leaving the bottom open gave it an unfinished look. It was Chad's suggestion to add that bottom step and I'm glad we did. How pretty does it look, all buttoned up like that?

3. Next it was filler time (or spackle? Who knows what the correct wording is baha!). There I am SUPER pregnant with little Gracie!!!!!!!! So cute.

Doing this part of any project is always the WORST PART for me. These finishing steps suck - they just do. No one wants to spackle. No one likes to sand. It's awful, boring, mind-numbing and just one big fat hurdle before the finished product. But of course, it's so important to get that super amazing, finished look. So spackle (or fill?) we did! (Spackle, then sand to get a flat surface where the boards meet.)

^^^Okay so see what I mean with the white paint? It's streaky and easy-to-see-through on almost ANY surface. So we actually ended up doing a FIFTH coat to give it that bright white look.

4. Next it was PAINT, PAINT, PAINT, PAINT, PAINT! We added hooks to that area on the right, creating a cute little mudroom-esque type feel and we actually ended up painting the door Hale Navy because the off whiteness of it looked like puke compared to the bright white of the project.

And here is the rest of the project we finished a few weeks later! I really loved it! The plan was to complete the rest of the room but then we ended up selling it.

So anyhoo, not the most detailed blog post ever but you get the gist, amiright? Also, like I said, we followed Miss Lauren's tutorial anyway, so pop over there if ya fancy more dets. Bottom line from me: we used Behr Premium Plus for the paint as always (around $27 per gallon - who knows how many we went through for this project - I want to say 3 or 4 gallons?) and a whole lotta 1x4's from the Depot, each weighing in at a whopping $3.62 per board - WINNING.

I loved what this project did for our home. It made EVERY picture the sexiest thing ever. Batten board just does that!