DIY Ottoman, DIY Project Parade and Giveaway Alert!

Hello, DIY’ers!  How was your weekend?  Productive? Relaxing? Fun?  I hope all three! Show and tell time! I’ll go first. I’m still tweaking this catch all/entry area but having so much fun doing it.  See the ottoman below?  We built it! I’m linking up to

freckled laundry
Head over to see some gorgeous inspiration!

Remember when I mentioned we were building an ottoman and that I’d share the spot inside where we enter our home?  Well, here it is! It’s just a little nook for right now until we have a real front door (next year?) or until we save enough for Mr. DIY’s dream stand alone refrigerator and freezer, then this little nook in the kitchen goes away. But for now I love that we have a little space to sit comfortably, put on or take off shoes and dump everything when walking in the door. 
(Wow…construction in the kitchen creates dust. I thought I got it all!  I’ll be taking care of that refrigerator vent asap!)
Lalka is my shadow so she’s usually right where I want to snap pictures – diva kitty! 
The ottoman frame (everything except the feet and fabric actually) were provided by The Upholstery Studio. They have entire kits for DIY ottomans! That means, for this 24×26 ottoman, I only picked out the fabric and bun feet and the rest was all ready to be assembled with the assistance of detailed instructions and helpful video. Mr. DIY and I built this together with our own two hands.  Here’s a little of what we did:

Pre-dill holes

Glue and screw together the frame

Attach webbing
Add burlap

Glue down foam and cover wood with dacron.

Cover in batting

Cut fabric

and sew cover
Slip on cover and staple

Create welting 

Staple on welting
Cover up

Add feet 
It can be built in just a few hours although I recommend taking a few days…better to spread it out a little and take your time.  I’m so proud that we built it ourselves and I also learned some cool things along the way. Interesting bits that definitely help with future projects.  Super sturdy construction and bouncy comfy seating! It’s empowering – I feel like I could build an entire couch!  Well, you really wouldn’t want to see that but the entire learning process was very helpful for when re-upholstery skills are needed on a future thrift store find. The kit looks a little overwhelming at first because of all of the goodies packed inside, but it’s not hard. It was actually fun and more like a complete course in re-upholstery with everything needed to build the perfect accent piece that matches your style.  
I even had a blast designing the fabric myself at spoonflower. If it fits your style, you can purchase it too. Yep, add fabric designer to my list of DIY. Easy and exactly what I wanted…personal/cooking related and a little typography-looking but not girly or too kitchen-y.

Since it sits in our kitchen, I wanted to personalize it for the cook my husband. I really love that it’s exactly what I wanted for this space. I have plenty left to make some throw pillows or covers for bar stools or even valances.  I’m still undecided.

What do you think? Show of hands:  How many of you have an ottoman in your kitchen? ::crickets
::  Anyone?  🙂

And guess what?!  There’s a designer ottoman kit giveaway going on at the DIY Club right now!  Head over to enter to win a designer ottoman kit for yourself and also see how Cheri, Holly and Amy took their designer ottoman kit and created something that fits the style of their home too.  

Let’s see what’s been keeping you busy!

The DIY Show Off


1. You must use the button above (ADD BUTTON HTML CODE FROM SIDE BAR TO YOUR POST) and link to this post to share the linky love.

2.Include your name or blog name and project title. Add your permalink (not your blog url, but your DIY project post url). Feel free to link a Past Post, just invite your readers in a current post with a quick note.

3.Or email your link to thediyshowoff@gmail.com and I will add it for you.

4.If you notice your link has disappeared -please add the link back to The DIY Show Off to your post today, a button or a quick note to your readers about the party and try again! I love when everyone participates and readers check out everyone’s links, but I think the return favor of linking back is the nice thing to do so everyone plays fair and enjoys all of the projects and links. Also – this blog party is for DIY projects only. Links not related to DIY will be deleted.

5.  NOW you can “like” the links!  What a fun idea!  Most liked links may be included in a post of DIY Project Parade highlights later in the week!


I received the designer ottoman kit as a part of my participation in the DIY Club.  I did not receive compensation for building the ottoman and opinion and results are my own. 

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Roomspiration – Entryways

Let’s get this party started!

Roomspiration
What better way to kick off Roomspiration than with welcoming entryways, right?  Pop over, knock on a few bloggers’ doors by visiting Laurel Dawn at Abode Love  (her entryway is GORGEOUS!) and walk right into some inspiring entryway links.  
Technically, we don’t have a front door or entryway yet.  Previous owners enclosed the front porch/front door area and now it opens to the side.  We don’t use that entryway at this time, we use the set of French doors off the kitchen.  So, until hopefully next year when we knock out a wall in the enclosed porch and add a beautiful front door area and entryway, I’m bending the rules for me and here is where we enter our home and what currently qualifies as our front entryway…
I’ll be sharing the entry way area in our kitchen coming up soon.  🙂

And here’s another entryway, the second set of French doors at the back of our home…

This area has actually undergone some changes but it’s not finished yet.  Another day or month or couple of months. I’ll spare you the other two entryways because they are frighteningly ugly and it’s not Halloween yet!

Head over to join the fun and link up your entryway at

abode love: a man's home is his wife's castle
Here’s the rest of the schedule so you can join the parade and see more home inspiration! I’ll be sharing some of our finished rooms that you’ve probably seen if you’re a DIY Show Off fan, but I’ll take some fresh pictures so it won’t be so boring for you. And if you’re a new reader…you’ll get a look at where I live.

abode love: a man\View Along the Way
  Involving Color
{ All Things Bright and Beautiful }  Touch of Gray
The Blooming Hydrangea  The Mustard Ceiling
 The DIY Show Off

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Did You Enter to Win new flooring and Vote for Cassity & Roeshel today? Please do!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the


DIY at Blissfully Ever After

Meet:  Jennifer from

Blissfully Ever After
Jennifer shares her creativity, blissful and healthy living and DIY.  🙂
This beast of a bathroom after being gutted…
Bathroom1
became this beauty!  Blissfully ever after?  Definitely! Beautiful fixtures and attention to detail. See the full post with more detailed pictures and progress at Bathroom Renovation
Bathroom AFTER
The entryway before wasn’t bad…
Entryway BEFORE
But now, with a new facelift, this girl shines! 
Secretary's desk
Sweet scripted detail…
Scroll design
Welcome to Blissfully Ever After…DIY coat rack and wainscoting detail:
Front Entry
Jennifer isn’t only talented with home improvement.  She’s a craft genius too. I love these Restoration Hardware inspired baskets.  Gorgeous! My favorite project and since she had everything on hand, her cost? 59 cents for the foam brush. Now that’s thrifty and inspiring!

Inspiring, yes?  Thanks for sharing your beautiful DIY, Jennifer!

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~*~*~*~

After you’ve enter the HGTV Home collection area rug giveaway and cast your vote (PRETTY PLEASE!):

and 
$5000 Couple Speak DIY Contest

Pop over and get a big whopping shut up! ROFL for a hilarious voting contest with my friend Lindsay over at

Trust me, you’ve never witnessed anything so ugly!

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Before and After at Oak Ridge Revival

Stunning before and after transformations!
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Meet:  Andrea, a self proclaimed design addict.  Her before and after home transformations are amazing.  Here are some sneak peeks.  Click the links to see the full original post with more pictures and all of the details. 
Kitchen and Dining Room Before
and now, after removing a wall, making one large room and changing spaces….
this is where the dining room was!

I love the white cabinets with the rich wood tones of the island.

and the dining room is where the kitchen was located in the first picture…
gorgeous!

the mudroom is right off of the kitchen…
I love when everything has it’s place (and it’s there!).

See more of this area of her home at The Heart of the Home
A bedroom becomes a bathroom and if I didn’t see the in progress pictures, I wouldn’t believe it’s even the same house let alone the same room!
Bedroom before…
Ready?  You won’t believe your eyes!
The same area is now a beautiful, spa-like retreat.
  
Rub your eyes.  Look again.  It’s still a beautiful dreamy bathroom!
Seriously, wouldn’t you love waking up and getting ready to start your day in here?
You’d find me here…getting all wrinkled…in a good way.  
See the details at Bedroom to Bathroom.
The living room before actually looks pretty decent in the photo at first glance…
But, they removed the wallpaper, drop ceiling, poorly designed built-ins, old oak flooring, mantel, huge wood burning stove insert and everything else in the room. Literally.  Makes the room sound terrible, doesn’t it?
They started fresh. As in this fresh….
Here is the amazing result. 
A quiet space to read, play, chat and entertain away from the family room. 
Reupholstered wingback chairs (fabric was $4 a yard!).
See more pictures and decor at Out With the Old
Andrea, you’ve done a super job! The transformation is unbelieveable – it’s a completely new beautiful home. I love what you’ve done. I love your style.  Thank you so much for inspiring us and sharing a bit of a home tour!
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Pop over to see more. There’s 27 posts in her Before and After category…just warnin’ ya! 🙂

Closet to Mudroom

I love when closets become new fun spaces – little rooms like my cloak room makeover and Gwenny Penny’s sewing/craft space featured earlier in the week.  Take a look at Amy from The Mistress of Oxford‘s closet turned entryway mudroom!

Before:

They have a row of three closets on one wall. They needed a functioning space in the entryway so they retiled for the space, took the doors off and made a half wall. They relocated the light switch for a pass through and the closet turned mudroom/entryway was born. 



See all of the progress at the Mistress of Oxford Part I and Part II.


THE DETAILS
Antique leaded window = $40
(We installed 3 individual hooks)

Entryway bench = $75 KohlsWicker baskets = $20 ($10/basket) Pier OnePillow = $12 HomeGoodsRug = $15 HomeGoodsLetter “S” (pictured above) = $6 HomeGoods

Cast iron hook = $15 Elements (Local décor store)

Keyholder = $8 HomeGoods (This is on the wall next to the entryway)

Don’t you love it?! When there’s 3 closets in a hallway, what a great idea to make one into a functional entryway space to put on shoes, hang keys and store a purse or backpack!  Great idea and beautiful job, Amy!  Thank you so much for sharing!  It really
makes a beautiful change – lightening and opening up the area.  Love the bench and decor too!


Inspired to Organize – edited to add reading nook.

“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”  ~ A. A. Milne 


With the new year, the buzz is all about organization.  After taking down holiday decor, everything feels so de-cluttered so it’s only natural that motivation to get everything organized hits you like a contagious disease but it’s energizing instead.  As you know we finally organized our coat and shoe closet recently.  It was a chaotic mess with no purpose. Now coats, boots, shoes, scarves and hats have a place to call home.  Do shoes and coats and junk piling by the entryway get you stressed?  Maybe not in a ‘the world is coming to an end’ sort of way but it is stressful when things aren’t put away in their proper place or there isn’t a place for things to be assigned.  


Getting started is the hardest part but in no time, I was cleaning our and de-cluttering the rest of our back entry way and was done in less than an hour.  Tell yourself you’ll just do one small drawer.  Empty it, sort and start putting things where they belong.  Before you know it, you’ll have three drawers done instead of one.  I always trick myself with making a small goal. The trick is getting yourself to “START”.  Instead of looking at the BIG overwhelming picture of organizing your entire home or even a whole room, start small and say “I’m just going to clean up this little area.”  Once you get started, you’ll want results and do more than just that one small task.
Keys, change, cell phones have a designated and assigned area near the door with this organizer I made a couple of years ago (yes – we still use it!).  Key Keeper Tutorial

We chose furniture that allowed for extra storage.  I love decorating the console table but it’s the drawers and shelf that allow us to know where certain things are.  The top drawer holds take out menus, batteries, spare change, etc. 
The faux-apothecary chest is a great place for my summer shoes (my boots are in the coat/shoe closet).  
The drawers up top serve as a place for gloves and extra sets of keys.  Sometimes I’ll use a drawer to hide a few odds and ends during a ‘quick clean’ to corral little stuff until I have time to sort it.  Wooden boxes under a bench provide more storage and the bench is the perfect place to sit and pull on shoes.
Do you have an organized entry area in your home?  We actual enter through the door in the kitchen right now as it’s closest to our parked cars but I’m still able to redirect coats and shoes to be put away instead of piling near the door.  No mess. No stress.  🙂
Have a clean up/organization post to show off?  Link up and share!  
SHOW OFF ORGANIZATIONAL AND CLEANING TIPS!

I’m joining the party at

Organize and Decorate Everything

I’m back!  THIS is why it takes me longer than usual to organize:

I start out small.  “Just sort and put things away” I tell myself (you know you talk to yourself too, right?!).  Then I get carried away with the need to freshen things up, redecorate, rearrange and move things from room to room and before I know it, I have a new reading nook!  Let the above pictures serve as the before.  This is my after:


It’s sort of a reward for being motivated to clean up.  😉  However…warning:  This means you’ll mess up the adjoining room in an effort to redecorate and have to start all over again in there. 

TGIF!