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May 1 2015

art and a bargain

Posted by hayley
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The name Eastman Johnson may not ring a bell when it comes to famous artists. But I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of one of his greatest accomplishments β€” he co-founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in NYC. Yet he himself was a painter and his work Woman Reading is one of my all time favorites.

art and upcycling  greyhouseharbor.com

Handsome and I got married 3 months before his first deployment – a 7-month-long separation. Not one to sit around pouting, I adventured all around San Diego to fill the time. On an outing to the SD Museum of Art, I saw the original of this painting and was instantly smitten. She felt familiar and I connected with the idea of reading letters from a distant love (this was before Skype, people!). I found the sparse composition and muted color palette calming and loved how the water is not actually painted but rather implied with the reflection of the sailboat.

This past Christmas, twelve years after first seeing it, my cousin bought me my very own oversized print of Woman Reading. For several days I let it sit under my set of trusty cornhole bags to flatten it from its shipping tube.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

Most of the art that hangs in our house was done by yours truly. Not really a bragging statement, I’m simply too picky (and frugal) to hang just anything. But this piece was to be framed and displayed properly! I got quotes from custom frame shops and craft stores… HO-LY milk maker. Those 60% off framing ads are nonsense. The minimum they wanted to rob me of was over $200.

My bargain hunter alter-ego kicked in hard.

The kids and I scoured thrift stores for something that might work and found this …

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

Scary right? But you gotta look past the two-tone wood frame and faded ensemble of creepy kids! Here you can see just how large it is (as well as another nice frame I snagged for a different project). Bug wasn’t convinced.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

Below is the frame shop quote for a chincy frame with single mat (left) and what I paid the thrift store for a large, solid wood frame with glass and double mat (right). Cue the happy dance.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

After disassembling the frame, I patched a few nicks in the edges with Ready Patch spackling compound, let dry and sanded flat.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

art and upcycling  greyhouseharbor.com

A couple coats of Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spraypaint took care of the rest.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

Initially I planned to cut a brand new mat, but luck was on my side and it was a precise fit (I’m talking millimeters)! Then I was going to spraypaint the mat, but when I placed it on top of the artwork, it was pretty much perfect as-is. Even the dark gold inner color worked.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

I cleaned the glass and reassembled everything. Framing staples originally held in the art and backer board, but since I had to tear those out I kept the new art in place with small wire nails instead.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

Then I just replaced the hanging hardware and added cut adhesive felt furntiure pads on each bottom corner to keep it from scratching the wall.

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

If that’s not an uptown look for a downtown price, I don’t know what is. Can I get an amen?!

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

Now every morning I wake up to my favorite painting and feel mighty good about my latest thrift store success story!

art and upcycling greyhouseharbor.com

Tags: art, our home, trash to treasure
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Mar 19 2015

i heart you , ikea

Posted by hayley
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Last we spoke, the playroom was being painted and prepped to become our new creative space. Originally we were calling it the craft room, but when little kids say that fast it sounds very inappropriate. So now the room is known simply as “the studio” – so chic. Might even convince someone I’m a professional or something.

One critical aspect of a functional studio is storage. This was one of the battles we fought when the craft table was upstairs parading as both an office desk and creative workspace at the same time. All the supplies the kids and I have amassed over the years would end up errwhere. No bueno. Nothing a little trip to Ikea couldn’t solve. I ended up purchasing 3 “Billy” bookcases with oxberg doors and 2 “Alex” flat file drawer units.

ikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.com

Build-it-yourself furniture is a great opportunity to let little hands get in on the action. Bug even wore the right shirt for the job.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

One issue we ran into is that the wall where I wanted to install these has only 1 electrical outlet right smack in the middle, behind where I wanted the bookshelves.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

With a computer, a lamp, a sewing machine and a few other things to plug in, I decided the best solution was to cut a hole in the back of the closest unit. Because the back panel is thin-ish fiberboard, I was able to cut it easily with a sharp Xacto knife.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

I then plugged in a power strip before setting the bookshelves against the wall. To keep it in place, the power strip was attached to the inside of the bookshelf with industrial adhesive Velcro.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.com

As a single income military family, we don’t have the budget for all our furniture to be high-end. This is why Ikea speaks to my soul. If you are diligent in assembling their pieces with attention to detail, they can be an excellent alternative to custom built-ins for $100s less.

ikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.com

Not only do they take the cake in affordable furnishings, but when we were stuck inside the next day due to rain, their boxes kept my tiny construction helper busy for hours. I heart you, Ikea, for so many reasons!

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

Tags: art studio, bug, diy home improvement, ikea, our home
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Jan 21 2015

one priest’s trash

Posted by hayley
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If you’ve read any of my photo tutorials, you may have noticed that it looks like I’m working atop a door. That’s because I am! I’ve had a few people inquire about my door-desk, so I thought I’d share how this beauty came to be.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

But first, you should know that this is a true trash-to-treasure story: a swashbuckling tale of daring thievery. When we lived in San Diego, Songbird attended preschool at a Presbyterian church. The church had been renovating their sanctuary for a couple weeks and one afternoon during school pick-up I noticed workmen carrying two large, multi-paneled, solid wood doors out to the dumpster. They didn’t throw them inside, but rather leaned them against the outside of the big green bin.

Driving home, I couldn’t get the doors out of my head. For months I’d been trying to think of a way to build a large, affordable desk. So the rustic charm, sturdy construction, and sheer awesome history of free trashed church doors was like manna from heaven. By the time I had decided to go back for them, it was late and I wouldn’t be able to politely ask the church staff if I could have one. But I also couldn’t risk them being hauled off by the garbage man the next morning. And I knew if I asked Handsome to watch the kids so I could go steal doors from a church dumpster he would think I was craaa-zaaay.

I did the only thing any desperate-orphan-furniture-hunter would do in that situation… I waited until everyone was asleep and at 1am in the morning I climbed out of bed, snuck out in my sweatpants, fired up Handsome’s truck, drove to the church, backed in, loaded the best looking of the two doors into the truck bed, and peeled outta there just as the church security guard rounded the corner yelling and waving his flashlight.

True story.

I justify this act by telling myself the door would be rotting in a landfill today. I was it’s redemption and I’m prepared to answer to the Almighty for it.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Anyhow… after we moved I finally transformed it into the oversized work table of my dreams. I bought four 28″ table legs from Home Depot for about $6.50 each and screwed them into the corners. Being a newb to furniture construction I thought I was done, but quickly learned that a 80lb door on 4 stilts only makes for a great hula show.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

To firm it up, I cut 2x4s to size and secured them inside the legs with 2 metal brackets at each corner β€” screwing them to each other as well as to the underside of the door.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.comhow to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

If I had owned my kreg jig when I made this, I would have fashioned pocket holes to secure the boards into the legs. But since I didn’t, I just countersunk 2″ wood screws at each corner.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird helped. Because this girl is all about getting her hands on some power tools.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Since I wanted to retain the worn and weathered character of the door, and because the inset panels would have been impossible to work on, I needed a topper. Glass was an option, but I was concerned about both the added weight as well as the potential for breakage with small craft helpers. We found a 1/4″ thick sheet acrylic at Home Depot in almost the exact dimensions of the door for $116. A bit pricey, but considering the rest of my materials had only cost $35 at this point, I relented.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

The acrylic was 5.5″ shy of the table length, but I couldn’t justify the expense of a custom cut piece, so I just attached a strip of 1/4″ plywood with heavy duty double-stick tape to the end to finish it off.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

To keep the acrylic from sliding around, we sandwiched these non-adhesive clear vinyl discs between it and the door surface. Works flawlessly, notta budge.

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

The only other thing I added was two wooden yardsticks to one edge for quick measurement references (and to hide where the door hinges had been).

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

I’m considering staining the legs/skirt a little darker. Thoughts?

how to make a desk from an old door  |  greyhouseharbor.com

A 36″ x 78″ solid wood workspace that can handle any amount of creativity we throw at it β€” all for $151. Just goes to show that one priest’s trash can indeed be another family’s treasure!

Tags: diy, our home, trash to treasure
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Jan 20 2015

changing spaces

Posted by hayley
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Have you ever had an amazing idea… only to find out that the reality of that idea wasn’t what you had envisioned? You may remember my post last year about our playroom. I spent 3 days painting the mural and turning our “formal dining room” into the idyllic childhood retreat. I envisioned endless afternoons of dress up and puzzles, toy cars and teddy bear picnics.

bug / insect kids playroom  |  greyhouseharbor.com

A whole room just for toys and playing! What could possibly be bad about that? Well, turns out that 90% of the time it actually looked like this.

changes spaces

Truth is, they rarely played in there. Toys were drug out in droves littering the kitchen and strewn about the family room. Every day was an unrelenting battle to keep all the clutter in check. And, despite my best parenting tactics, asking the kids to help clean up was like pulling teeth.

Changing Spaces

After enduring this for over a year, Handsome and I were D-O-N-E, done. He suggested putting their toys in their rooms and I suggested incinerating all of it. His idea got more family votes. So we did a trial run, donating anything the kids did not actually play with and finding organized homes for the rest in their bedrooms. The change had some surprising outcomes.

I was concerned that moving toys upstairs would just mean messy bedrooms, but once the toys were out of sight, they were also out of mind. This lead to our kids spending a majority of their time playing with each other (imaginative pretend-play, games, etc), rather than fighting over playthings. They usually think of one or two things they really want to play with, which do end up downstairs for the day. But it’s a heck-of-alot easier to help them put away a couple toys at bedtime, than to tidy an entire playroom. We’ve reclaimed our main living space from the toy clutter free-for-all! And finally, my stress level has decreased dramatically. Being a visual person, the playroom chaos subconsciously ate away at my soul and I resented that room (hence the incinerator suggestion). Apparently, I’m not alone.

Now that the toys are officially upstairs for good, we are re-purposing our spaces. The old playroom is being transformed into my art studio/office. Since the kids do a lot of creative projects with me, I think this will be a better use of the space. But because I need visual calm to be creative, the mural got a fresh coat of white paint. Bye-bye bug friends.

Changing Spaces

Ahh yes, a blank canvas to begin again! I did leave the blue sky though. This large table was previously up in our bonus room serving as a desk for both Handsome and I, plus hosting crafts and kids projects. It was always a mess. Down here it can be dedicated to creativity alone!

Changing Spaces

I just need to figure out some serious storage solutions for all this crafty goodness. For 10 years I lived within 20 minutes of an Ikea and totally took that for granted. Now the closest one is 3.5 hours away. Roadtrip time!

Changing Spaces

Tags: art studio, our home, playroom
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I'm Hayley. Wife and mother by day, DIY enthusiast by night. Fueled by sweet tea and jelly beans, I own power tools and know how to use them. Consider yourself warned.

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