Ana White ~The Handbuilt Home {giveaway}

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Roeshel

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Note: This giveaway is now closed. Winner is Bre! Congratulations! Bre has been contacted by email. Winner was selected randomly using the PickGiveawayWinner WP plug in.

DIY Blog Crush: As a long time DIY blogger, I’m no stranger to Ana White’s awesome DIY building talent. This girl has some crazy awesome DIY skills!

Ana White with daughter, Grace

Her beautiful DIY furniture plans have been sitting on my ‘to-do’ list for years as I work up the courage to actually try building something. I’ve conquered my fear of power tools, but the idea of actually building something from scratch has been a little daunting. When Ana’s new book was recently released, I knew I had to have it and pre-ordered it right away! Guess what. It’s here!

Designer Furniture for a Fraction of the
Retail Cost? Yes, You Can Build That.

The Handbuilt Home shares 34 simple, budget-friendly woodworking projects! As if her blog isn’t inspiration enough, having a physical resource in my hand is motivation to just get over my fears already and just do it already!

{flip top storage bench plans}

What I love most about the book? Not only does she share the details on how to build some gorgeous furniture, she also features some of our super talented DIY friends and shares their projects using her plans. How awesome is that?! So not only is the book filled with step by step ‘how to’ instructions, there’s some beautiful after shots created by DIY’ers we know. You can see a sneak peek of The Handbuilt Home here. I’m really enjoying going through and bookmarking things I love, adding ideas to my DIY notebook…

Press Release: Forget IKEA hacks and glue guns. Ana White, a young homemaker, is revolutionizing the furniture building industry, designing DIY furniture plans that rival the styles of Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel and cost 1/10 of the purchase price to make. Using basic tools and hardware store supplies, Ana’s THE HANDBUILT HOME teaches readers how to build everything from bookcases to beds to kid-friendly items and storage solutions, even if they don’t have any woodworking experience. And the best part? Building your own furniture means you can customize it for your home and save thousands of dollars off the cost of buying it. Packed with 34 of Ana’s favorite projects, THE HANDBUILT HOME includes easy-to-follow instructions, costs, time estimates, and plenty of helpful tips guide even the most amateur of carpenters through every project. As Ana likes to say, “If I can build it, so can you!”

Starstruck: I was lucky enough to meet Ana this year at the Haven conference and not only is she a DIY super star, she’s gorgeous and humble and real.

So, want to create unique, modern, one of a kind furniture for your home? You can get The Handbuilt Home here {affiliate link}:

I love having a library of DIY home improvement and decorating books at home…and so happy to add Ana’s to my collection.

and enter to win one too!

THE HANDBUILT HOME GIVEAWAY

Prize: 1 copy of Ana White’s new book, The Handbuilt Home

How to enter:

Leave a lovely comment for Ana. Have you ever built a piece of furniture? Was it an Ana White DIY furniture plan? Is there something you’d love to build yourself?
Share this giveaway and leave a comment about where you’ve shared the love.

Giveaway starts today 11/2 and ends Monday, 11/5 midnight EST. Winner will be drawn randomly and announced shortly after. Open to US and Canada residents 18+ only. Good luck!

Kitchen Island Makeover

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Roeshel

We’re starting to furnish the apartment – on a very tight budget. An old inexpensive portable kitchen bar/island with bar stools is something we’ve had sitting around and the perfect size for creating a dining area in a tiny apartment.

But the old top was in bad condition. Pictures don’t show the pink stains (Kool-Aid, maybe or magic marker) and scratches…

I removed the top.

The frame was spraypainted white to freshen up an old scratched finish.

New top was made using alternating sizes of 1×3 and 1×5 pine planks cut to 40″ in length…a little bigger than the previous table top.

Boards were sanded.

I used wood glue to assemble the planks together…

Then clamped until the glue dried, wiping away excess wet glue.

I didn’t take pictures but I stained and used my Silhouette Cameo to make some ‘postage’ themed stencils at Ali’s request. Then sealed the top with about four coats of polyurethane and let dry.

The bar stool tops were sanded and taped off using FrogTape while frames were spray painted a fresh new coat of white.

I applied a coat of stain to the top of the barstools…

When that was dry, I used my Silhouette Cameo to create number stencils with a circle border. Using transfer paper, I applied the stencils to the top of the stools. (They didn’t stick to the shiny finish of the stain very well and took a little work to remove the transfer paper, but I managed to do it! I’d recommend staining after the numbers have been painted…although it will change the color of your paint unless you’re using a clear coat. Removing the vinyl also pulled off some of the finish…but that just added to the distressed character of the top of the stools.)

I painted in my stencils using acrylic craft paint and immediately removed the vinyl stencil.

I let the numbers dry over night and then applied several protective coats of Polycrylic, allowing it to dry between each coat (also lightly sand using a fine grit between coats).

So cute, aren’t they? Better pictures coming up in the apartment reveal. That’s where this kitchen bar set will be living. VERY SOON! Hurray!

Sharing over at Beth’s this week:

I LOVE my Silhouette Cameo – it’s my #1 way to create vinyl stencils. There’s also a special going on right now with the new Silhouette paper label kit! So cool – print and cut your own labels! There are so many fun ways to use this machine. LOVE that!

Enter the unique promo code SHOWOFF to get 1 CAMEO, 1 package of printable gold foil, 1 package of printable silver foil, and 1 package of printable white sticker paper for $269.99. (Savings of almost $57!) These are brand new Silhouette products that just got back in stock after they sold out after release, so don’t wait too long!

Use the promo code “SHOWOFF” and click this link to get this sweet deal: http://www.silhouetteameria.com/blog-special-media-1.aspx. The discount will run through the 30^th of September

~*~*~*~

The Silhouette America link is an affiliate link. I make a small percentage of sales. I share about my experience with my Silhouette Cameo in my own words.

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

DIY Console Table – The House of Wood

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Roeshel

Jen from the House of Wood…

is such a super sweet friend. The kind of friend who builds furniture for presents! Specifically a DIY console table for extra kitchen work space. WOW, huh? My kind of friend…(Jen?) haha!

Jen’s friends Matt & Anya are new home owners. (Congrats to Matt & Anya!) You can find the instructions and detailed tutorial on how to make a console table/coffee bar at The House of Wood. (Cost: less than $70!)

Love this rich color…

and the rustic towel bar.

Beautiful job!

Every time I look at my Kreg Jig, I’m overwhelmed. lol Once I figure that thing out, I have visions of making furniture for me! And some friends…once I learn to build. No one wants a ‘first time built piece’, do they? Jen…wish you were local to give some lessons. 🙂

Here are some more favorite DIY projects from Jen worth checking out:

Knock off Pottery Barn kids cubby shelf tutorial – how cute!

rustic planter box tutorial…

foam board window cornice tutorial…

Kitchen island/coffee bar tutorial….

How to turn a coffee table into an ottoman ~ Inside Out Design

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Roeshel

Brooke from Inside Out Design is sharing how to turn an old coffee table into a tufted ottoman. It takes a little work, but transforming an old coffee table with some foam and fabric can make add a beautiful element to your existing living room space. I do have an old coffee table hanging out in the basement and Brooke’s tutorial is an inspiration!

Brooke’s coffee table is actually pretty cute with a painted stencil design but she felt the height was wrong for her couch, wanted to add a beautiful designer fabric to her living room (sometimes throw pillows aren’t the answer) and having a comfy place to prop feet is always a bonus. I know I’m always propping my feet up onto a glass coffee table and it’s not ever comfortable. ::envisions of basement coffee table with a new look and coffee foot prop::

Quick summary:

To adjust the height, Brooke and her husband cut (and painted/distressed) the existing lets and reattached them.

Next, they added a frame so that it’d look more like an ottoman and less like a coffee table. The new wooden frame will support the new upholstery and hides the drawer.

A little math for spacing and a chalkline create a grid for drilling tufting holes…

They ordered pre-cut foam (awesome! see original post for details) and attached to the wooden frame using spray adhesive.

Add batting by stapling to the wood frame…

then fabric…

What a transformation! It looks good just like this…

But of course, tufting makes everything better. Brooke made up some buttons with the fabric and created some tufts (link to tutorial below). The final result is stunning and a beautiful addition to her living room!

Isn’t it gorgeous? Repurposing the old coffee table was a genius idea! And what a beautiful home surrounding it!

You can get the full details at Inside Out Design:

Part 1 – Turning a coffee table into an upholstered ottoman

Part 2 – Upholstered ottoman tufting tips

Another coffee table turned upholstered ottoman tutorial HERE.

and more DIY coffee table ideas.

How to Upholster a Headboard ~ The Sweetest Digs

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Roeshel

Every single time I see an upholstered headboard, I’m tempted to repurpose our existing furniture so I can DIY one myself. Today Gemma from The Sweetest Digs shares her DIY headboard tutorial.

Tips on How to Make an Upholstered Headboard

Gemma’s poor pillows on her “before” bed had no where to lean or rest…

Easy, affordable solution? A DIY upholstered headboard of course! Here’s how she did it…

She purchased her fabric and batting then had Home Depot cut her 1/4″ plywood to the right size (using measurements for her bed).

She laid out the batting on her dining room table.

Next she laid her plywood in the center and stapled the batting to the backside.

Next, she ironed her fabric and laid it out on the dining room table…

She laid her plywood in the center and stapled the fabric (starting with the long ends)…

and ending at the corners…

It’s hanging in place using French cleats (shown here).

Ta-da! Seriously, she made that look so easy, didn’t she? Who knew it was THAT simple and the result? Stunning! The best part? Total cost: $98! Woo hoo! Thanks so much for sharing, Gemma!

Love it! A beautiful inexpensive way to accessorize with color and pattern! See the full original post with more detailed instructions {and more DIY from Gemma} at

DIY Show Off ™ – DIY Decorating and Home Improvement Blog

DIYShowOff – Budget Friendly Do-It-Yourself Home Improvement and Decorating blog

Tag Archives: Furniture

Ana White ~The Handbuilt Home {giveaway}

Kitchen Island Makeover

DIY Console Table – The House of Wood

How to turn a coffee table into an ottoman ~ Inside Out Design

How to Upholster a Headboard ~ The Sweetest Digs