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DIY Fall Decor: Stacked Signs with 2×4’s

September 28, 2017 No Comments

This post was originally published in September 2017 and was updated in September 2018.

Okay guys, I’m taking a small reprieve from our barn door project to bring you an easy and fun DIY project! We have a lot of small-ish 2×4 ends leftover from the barn doors, so I wanted to find a way to use ’em up. My first project is a set of fall-inspired stacked signs! They were really easy, inexpensive, and a fun way to bring more fall decor into my home!

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I don’t actually have hayrides or a pumpkin patch in my house. “Apple Cider” is pointing to my pantry, so I suppose that’s appropriate. LOL

Anyway, let’s hop to it!

Home + DIY

DIY Barn Doors Part 2: How to Build Barn Doors

September 19, 2017 15 Comments

Hiya, friends! Today I’m excited to share Part 2 of our latest project with you – how to build barn doors! We’ve been in full DIY mode and it is SERIOUSLY paying off. Can I let you in on a little secret? This project has only cost about $250 TOTAL – compare that to about $400 per barn door at home improvement stores! *angels singing*

Before I hop in, here are links to each post in this series, if you need ’em!

Part 1: How to Prep the Doorway for Barn Doors
Part 2: How to Build Barn Doors
Part 3: How to Hang Barn Doors

Last time I talked about how to prep your doorway for barn doors, which is a crucial step in making the finished project look professional. If you’re taking on this project, don’t miss that step!

Planning the Barn Doors

Before we started building, we had to decide on a design! Duh. 🙂 This involved some MAJOR Pinterest-ing, where I finally stumbled upon this design from @themodestfarmhouse and fell in love!

A post shared by Denise O’Donnell (@themodestfarmhouse) on Jun 15, 2017 at 4:53pm PDT

Aren’t they BEAUTIFUL? Simple and clean with a classic barn door look. Perfect for our loft. Now came the fun part – how we were going to make them!

Home + DIY

DIY Barn Doors Part 1: How to Frame a Doorway for Barn Doors

September 8, 2017 9 Comments

Happy September, friends! I am so stoked for this fall – we are almost there!! As you may have seen on the Hello Hayley Facebook or Instagram, we’ve been working on an exciting new project: BARN DOORS! We have a loft upstairs with double doors, and we’re replacing them with two barn doors. There are a few different stages of this project, so today I’m excited to share Part 1: How to Frame a Doorway for Barn Doors!

Part 2: How to Build Barn Doors
Part 3: Hanging the Barn Doors

Now, you can’t just slap up a couple barn doors and expect them to look Pinterest-worthy (unfortunately, lolol). If the doorway already had doors in it, you’ll need to convert the hinged doorway into a walkway! This includes taking off all the existing door hardware and smoothing out the sides and top panels so it looks more like a walkway than a doorway.

Home + DIY, Motherhood

Adventure Nursery Sneak Peek!

August 25, 2017 18 Comments

Happy FRIDAY, peeps! I think Friday is a great day for a…. MINI REVEAL!!! Now listen here, our nursery isn’t 100% done, but we have tons of decor up, lots of furniture in place, and I think it’s a good time for a little sneak peek!

We’ve made a ton of progress on our adventure nursery over the last 6 weeks, including…

Installing crown molding
DIY-ing lots of decor AND hanging it on the wall
Ordering the rocker and super-soft, plush rug
Sewing our own valences

K, ya ready??

(check out the bottom of this post for links to all decor!)

Fall & Thanksgiving, Home + DIY

26 Fall Decor Pieces You Need from Amazon

August 11, 2017 No Comments

Guys… it’s MID-AUGUST already. Are you hearing me?? Do you know what this means??

via GIPHY

FALL. PUMPKIN SPICE. SWEATERS. BOOTS. LEAVES. ACORNS. PUMPKINS. Oh, did I say PUMPKIN SPICE?????

Fall is JUST around the corner and I’m already thinking about my fall decor. I spent a small fortune on fall decor last year, so this year I’m just looking for a few things to spruce up my collection. I loved the centerpiece I made last year from Hobby Lobby stuff and can’t wait to get that out!

So this week I decided to pop on to Amazon to see what autumnal treasures I could find. Let me tell you… I was NOT disappointed! I found tons of cute stuff that I want to show you (that’s all rated 4+ stars, because I’m picky!). I’m also loving Amazon for 2 other reasons right now:

Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime (on most stuff)
It’s still 100 billion degrees in Arizona and going out is not incredibly pleasurable, especially at 24.5 weeks pregnant

Take a stroll with me through all my favorite fall decor Amazon finds and some ideas to get your home in tip-top fall shape! Lots of wood, lots of warm colors, and lots of foliage!

Home + DIY, Motherhood

How to Make Colorful DIY Chevron Arrows

July 26, 2017 14 Comments

We’re almost through July, peeps! It’s funny living in Arizona – this is the time of year where we stay inside most of the time because it’s SO. HOT. outside! I’m not opposed to that, since I’ve been busy, ya know, growing a human!

I’m now on Week 22 and Baby R is the size of a coconut! Time is FLYING by!! As I mentioned in our nursery planning post, I decided on an adventure theme for our little boy’s room. I think this theme will be easy to play around with if we have a girl in the future.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been making huuugggeee strides in our nursery! One fun (and impactful!) project I want to share with you is a set of DIY chevron arrows, inspired by this pin. They add a fun pop of color and are pretty simple to make! Plus, the set of arrows cost us less than $20!

Home + DIY

Chalk Painting an Antique Mirror Frame

June 15, 2017 6 Comments

I’ve heard from some of my family members that you can chalk paint pretty much anything. Seriously – my aunt chalk painted an antique scale and my mom chalk painted a cushion. I had only tried chalk painting wood furniture up until last weekend when it alllllll changed. Dun, dun, dun…….

My dear gramps passed away a few months ago and as my mom and aunts were going through his belongings, they kept texting me to see if I wanted stuff. Leaf blower? Sure! Bread box? Um… okay! An old mirror they always had from way-back-when? Mother Bird said I could chalk paint it, so I said, “OK! New challenge!” She wasn’t joking when she said way-back-when… she sent me this picture for proof – she was about 16 here!

Cutie!

Home + DIY, Motherhood

Planning Our First Nursery!

June 5, 2017 4 Comments

In case you missed it, last month we announced we’re expecting our first babe at the end of November! And guys… I didn’t think planning our nursery would be THIS much fun!! It’s an excuse to put together a whole new room for the best reason ever. Eek!

We hadn’t thought much about our nursery during my first trimester, but now that I’m feeling semi-back-to-normal we’re checking things off our list! Even though we don’t know baby’s gender yet, we’re starting to work on the big-ticket items – like picking a room and finding furniture!

Home + DIY

6 Essential Steps When Painting Furniture

June 1, 2017 5 Comments

Alright, friends. I’d like to have a little chat about painting furniture… I have seen tons of tutorials and projects on Pinterest and I’m deeply saddened to see the results! Don’t be fooled by those posts that say, “No sanding or priming required!” Sure, skip those steps if you want your furniture to look good for less than 10 minutes.

Here’s the gist: Whatever way you do it, it takes work to paint furniture. So if you’re going to put in the effort, make sure you do it the RIGHT way! No shortcuts!

The hubs and I have refinished lots of furniture over the past year and (after some trial & error) here are the steps we make sure to take each time so we get a good finish that lasts.

Home + DIY, Uncategorized

Knobs, Pulls, & Finishes: Choosing the Right Hardware

May 20, 2017 2 Comments

Have you ever thought about the impact that hardware can have on a room? By hardware, I mean knobs, pulls, handles, faucets, and other things that are usually metal. They’re often overlooked but can have a massive impact on how your room pulls together (pun intended). Heck, they can be statement pieces if you let them!

*Please note that this post contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy an item after clicking a link, I may receive a small commission from the purchase at no extra cost to you. This helps me keep this blog up and running. Thank you!*

Our Bathroom Hardware Inspiration

When it comes to choosing hardware, we tend to pick brushed nickel because it has a simple, clean feel (and it just goes with everything), like in our guest bathroom:

Shop this faucet