Project Diary Entry #3 Color Passive Paint

There’s more progress on the studio and the #helloredreno series. I need to get you caught up. I am a big lover of the power of paint. It’s such a game changer and a budget friendly one at that! There are so many possibilities. Dark and moody, fun and colorful, light and airy, neutral and soothing. Do you gravitate towards specific colors?

library/meeting room before…

library before

So this room. Oy. The color. Yikes. A bit on the aggressive side if you ask me. lol 

blue room

Blue is one of my favorite colors but this shade is just so very…smurf-y. It’s just not my style. blue wall

Perhaps that’s why this color called “Passive”, a pretty and neutral shade of gray from {HGTV} Sherwin Williams jumped out at me. I have painted walls in bright shades in the past and I’m a fan of accent walls, but for the most part, I prefer a neutral wall shade. 

Sherwin Williams Passive Paint Color

Because I like to decorate and redecorate so often. I’ve learned that I prefer a neutral back drop so that as my style changes or evolves, I can easily swap out decor and color schemes to fit my fickle choices.HGTV Home Sherwin Williams Passive

It’s gonna take two coats to cover all of the blue but I’m already feeling soothed! 

paint in progress wall paint

I even put up a few accessories previous owners left behind and what was in my car to help get an idea. Final thoughts? It’s definitely the right color for me. What a difference, right? 

paint after

So pretty! Ugh, this last photo shows just how much work there is to do! I spy a lot of caulking in my near future. And book donating! Stay tuned for a design board and more progress. Follow #helloredreno

helloredreno

Creating a Reading Nook

There’s a section of our living room near the built in shelving that I like to call our reading nook. It’s a place for displaying my DIY, decorating, home improvement book collection. A place where I enjoy curling up and flipping through the pages of the latest issue of my favorite home magazines.

Things to consider when creating a reading nook:

Bookshelves or bookcases are a must-have for display and organization. In our home, I use a section of built-ins in the living room.

Comfortable seating. I chose two Nico Accent Chairs by Sauder. I love the sturdiness, traditional design, durable linen fabric and fun print in neutral colors with nailhead trim for completing the look and function in this space.

Lighting: Everyone knows that reading in the dark was bad for our eyes, right? You’ll want to make sure there’s some sort of adequate lighting to provide a bright atmosphere for reading. I currently use a pole lamp but would love to incorporate some wall mounting lighting.

Accessories: A collection of books (and/or magazines) of course,

a warm comfy throw,

a foot stool (I’m still scouring estate and yard sales), coordinating accent pillows

and a few decorative accents that reflect your style.

Everything needed to inspire quiet time and reading. It’s my favorite spot in our living room, a little library corner.

For more design inspiration, check out the Sauder Look Book.

Do you have a designated reading space in your home? Do you have any tips to add for creating a quiet comfortable space?

*This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sauder. The opinions and text are all mine.

 

DIY {wall mounted} Pallet Shelf

Mr. DIY’s hobby isn’t DIY {it’s mainly mine and I take full advantage of his muscle power}. He does have several hobbies including cooking (lucky me!), grilling on his Big Green Egg (lucky me again!) and home-brewing. Not my thing…but I do think being a ‘beer-chemist’ is kinda cool and he enjoys it. Hey, those hobbies are DIY in a way.

homebrew

The problem: Supplies and materials are often scattered in the basement, hiding in built-ins in the dining room, sitting around in the kitchen driving me crazy or just ‘lost’ sparking a lot of temper tantrums and wasting precious free time on the hunt for supplies. And when he finally has a free weekend to cook up a recipe, he’s often searching for empty bottles, caps, hops, grains, what-nots and tools-of-the-trade. Or more often, “I” become detective in the search because I’ve probably stowed something away where it doesn’t below in an effort to de-clutter. Oops!

The solution: Making the space in the open basement stairwell an organized home brew supply station, library, storage area with a fun rustic/industrial vibe. Everything in it’s place, easy to find.

We’re starting with a wall-mounted pallet shelf for holding an empty bottle collection. The bonus: {I love that this project is all about making his hobby more enjoyable and it inspired us to work together as a team, a date night or two at Lowe’s.}

diy-wall-mounted-pallet-shelf

Materials:

  • Pallet 
  • Three 1 x 3 x 4 pine wood planks
  • Rustoleum’s Ultimate Wood Stain (color: Kona)
  • Rustoleum Polyurethane (matte finish)
  • 2 Purdy 2.5 inch angled paint brush for stain/poly
  • Rags
  • Hanging Hardware (wall anchors, screws, toggle bolts)

Tools we used:

  • Crow bar
  • Hammer
  • Nail gun (finishing nails)
  • Saw
  • Dremel Multi-Max (sanding)
  • Drill (hanging)

DIY Pallet Shelf Tutorial

1. After we found the perfect pallet (tips about working with pallet wood from Funky Junk Interiors), we decided to use the back of the pallet as the front of the shelf and removed 1 plank using a crow bar and hammer. {How about those wool socks with flip flops? He’s all mine, ladies!}

prying-pallet-wood

pallet-before

2. Measure and cut the 1 x 3 x 4’s to fit between the front and back pallet planks to create “shelves”.

diy-pallet-shelf

3. Position the 1 x 3 shelf bottom into place. We used a level to ensure shelf bases weren’t crooked. Some places were a little tricky and needed hammering into place or lifting the old pallet plank a tad with a crow bar, while positioning the 1 x 3 into place.

pallet-shelves

4. A finishing nail gun (and a good eye for lining up the nails in the 1 inch area) secures the shelf bottom to the sides of the individual shelves. {Forgot pictures of the nail gun step…it’s just so much fun!}

We added a few screws to some of the pallet face-boards to tighten things up.

diy-pallet-shelf

5. Sand all sides and splinters.

6. Stain. I used Rustoleum’s Ultimate Wood Stain.

rustoleum-ultimate-wood-stain

Brush on in the direction of the wood grain. Wipe away in the same direction with a rag. Rustoleum Wood Stain dries fast! {Not shown: I did wear latex gloves to avoid stained hands.} Isn’t this rich dark brown gorgeous? It’s called “Kona”. Love it!

staining-pallet-shelf

7. About an hour later, I was ready to seal the stained wood. Using the same technique, I applied Rustoleum’s Polyurethane and let it dry for 24 hours.

8. Hang! I used FrogTape for marking the area we wanted the pallet shelf to hang.

hanging-pallet-shelf

I marked the studs with a chalk line.

finding-wall-stud

Wall color: homemade chalkboard paint using Benjamin Moore Hale Navy.

We used 6 drywall screws {screwed into the wall studs} to secure our pallet shelf to the wall.

hanging-diy-pallet-shelf

I have to say, he doesn’t always see my vision, but once things are put into action and start coming together, he loves it! He spent about 30 minutes styling his new pallet shelf, stepping back and re-arranging it over and over. Success! And just like completing one DIY project leads to more, this little pallet shelf inspired a lot more creative ideas for his home brew supply space/beer library. Keeping things organized so stay tuned!

styling-diy-pallet-shelf

Organized, right? What do you think?

diy-pallet-shelf

The plan: A place for everything and more DIY:

  • A DIY light fixture.
  • Built-in shelves on the wall above the ledge for supplies.
  • Ladder for reaching high shelves.
  • Slate tiled stairs and landing.
  • More inspiration: laboratory/brewery/library Pinterest board.

homebrew-organization

Ps. DIY dates inspire daydreaming and communication (sometimes the occasional fight with the opportunity to make up too!). Do you enjoy working on DIY projects with your spouse? Do little projects inspire bigger dreams?

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before/After party and Project Inspired.

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*Disclaimer: I’m a new member of the Lowe’s Creative Ideas Creators and Influencers network! I received a Lowe’s gift card to complete this project for a spring cleaning/organization challenge. Each month I’ll have the opportunity to participate in a themed DIY challenge however the tutorial images, instructions and opinions are my own. 

*This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my own experience.

 FrogTape Blog Squad