Farmhouse Style Basement - In The Beginning...

Beginning a new project is always exciting, but can be overwhelming, too.  Especially when the room to be finished or renovated is over 900 square feet...been used as storage and a workshop for the past 12 years and is pretty much a mess.  While we've a lot left to do, we've made great progress.  Today I'm sharing a few pictures from early on.  I hope you'll stick with me on our journey as I've got some very fun things to share.

 We started out by adding faux shiplap to a 40 foot and a 26 foot wall, both 8 ft tall.  Also added along the stairs and around a pantry closet.  That's a lot of shiplap!

 We used tongue and groove car siding for our shiplap.  To get the wider plank look we turned it over and exposed the backside.  This eliminates that extra v-groove that's on the front.

 Because of the inevitable water leak that always seems to happen, we did not want to sheetrock the ceiling.  Even with the old stand by false ceiling tiles... you're going to have to replace them if they get wet.  Plus...we wanted something that looked cool.  After trying a few options we decided on galvanized tin that we salvaged from an old barn.  Would you believe less than a month after installing we had a BIG water leak...yep...we did!!  We removed the galvanized panel in that area, fixed the leak, dumped the water from the panel...dried it and put it right back up...good as new!! :)

The recessed lights were a snap to put in and turned out great.  Because we live in a manufactured home we have steel beams rather than wood that supports the house over the basement.  Initially we planned to make them look like faux wood beams, but loved how the raw steel looked with the galvanized metal and decided to leave them as is.  It's a nice rustic/industrial vibe to mix in with the modern farmhouse look.  See that hint of dark along the left edge of the picture?  That is something very unique and fun and I will be showing all in my next post. :)

 Not only was the pile of wood free, but it's probably fairly available to most.  No it's not pallet wood, but it is pretty amazing.  I can't wait to show you what we did with it.  Oh...ignore the chicken poop, lol.  We live on a farm and the wood is stored in our barn that our free range chickens seem to think is their playhouse. :) #keepingitreal 

I will be sharing our budget strategies and how we created this space for a fraction of what it would normally cost.  

Here's a peek at our very unique bar/island with open shelving that was practically free to create.  Details coming soon!  Have a great weekend, Friends!

Farmhouse Style Basement Project

Hello All!  Life here on the farm has been busy to say the least.  Right now we are trying to finish our basement.  For the past 12 years it's been storage and my workshop and I'm dreaming of the day it's finally finished and a place to relax and enjoy.  Our home improvement projects are done on a cash only basis so it can be slow going at times. ;)

  Since we live on a farm and I love all things farmhouse and of course fixer upper style...it only seems logical to model this space along those lines.  However, there's going to be some unexpected pops of an industrial warehouse feel.  So a little rustic combined with a little modern farmhouse sprinkled with a touch of industrial.  We are DIY'ers and doing it all on a budget so I'm going to have lots to share and hopefully inspire you.

Here are a few sneak peeks...they may seem very random at this point, but once I share pictures of it all coming together it will make more sense.

 This is some very old barn wood and the vertical impressions were caused by 2x4's that the wood was once mounted to. This wall is going to be the backdrop to our mini kitchen/farmhouse bar.

 Here's a peek inside the pantry closet.  It's complete with a galvanized ceiling and an old style pull chain light.

 Of course there's going to be lots of shiplap! :)  Trying to choose the perfect white paint.  Don't worry... we did go back and cover the screws with spackle.

 The pantry closet just might have an old farmhouse door.  Be still my heart! ;)   I'm loving the old galvanized metal ceiling and raw steel beams.  Edge of ceiling isn't quite finished, yet.  I can't wait to show you the rest and the very unique pieces we added for that industrial farmhouse touch.  Stay tuned friends! :)  

For the past few months I've been collecting old pins, brooches, earrings, etc.  I had planned to make one of those cute jeweled trees on Pinterest.  The ones that are in the shape of a tree and glued into a picture frame.

 Then I had an Ah Ha moment as I was setting up some of my mini trees for Christmas.  My first though was to create tree toppers with my little angel pins.  Once I did that I couldn't resist bejeweling at least one of the trees. :)

 It was super easy and I love how it turned out.  The clip earrings easily attach to the branches.  For the pins and brooch's I closed the clasp and slipped the tip of the branch through it.  For regular earrings I carefully wrapped the tip of the branch around the post and added the back of the earring.

Since these are lightweight mini trees...the key is to evenly place the jewels so it's not heavy on one side.  Lighter weight jewels work best.  I'll show my other trees that only have a toppers on them, soon.  I've got them all on my entry table...so I like having one granddaddy tree and the others around it with their toppers, only.

I hope you've been inspired! :)

Vintage Milk Glass & Tarnished Silver Christmas Decor

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  My dining room is adorned in one of my favorite combinations... vintage milk glass and tarnished silver.  Yes...I prefer my silver tarnished rather than polished.  To me it tells a story of years gone by.

It only takes a piece or two of milk glass to pop against the silver.  I've used a large hobnail vase and a pair of quilted milk glass lamps combined with an ornate silver tea/coffee set and a couple of mismatched silver trays on either side of the buffet.  A small Christmas tree in the center and that pretty much does it.

More Christmas to come! :) 

Rustic Barn Door with Beautiful Hardware

My ever so popular rustic barn door is getting a new look.  Once my current inventory of doorplates run out I will be going to this beautiful and over sized plate and knob.

 When I brought it home to try I was uncertain how it would look, but it was a score!  I didn't need to look any further for a replacement.

I love the much larger acrylic knob.  It really sets it off and is the perfect size for the doorplate.  Be sure to visit my Etsy to start planning your one of a kind barn door.

Furniture Set from Reclaimed Lumber and Steel Pipe...

Furniture set made by my husband and his brothers and being donated to their sister's silent auction and soup supper.  It will be a raffle...$10 per ticket/6 for $50, for the set.  Anyone locally or that will travel for pick up and is interested...please let me know.  Also willing to ship at your expense.  Set includes... adjustable height coffee table and two matching side tables.

I Love the combination of industrial pipe and reclaimed lumber!

It's just gorgeous...the color and aging is amazing.  The markings, words and numbers printed into the wood make it even better,

 Here's a sampling of how you can decorate and tie it in with your decor.  

The height of the coffee table is adjustable.  It would make an awesome bar table in the basement.  It's beyond sturdy and can take whatever you dish out. :)  Coffee table height also makes a great bench!  So many ways to use it.

 Love the rusted metal accents that are in each table.  There's so much character in each piece.  What's not to love about it?! ;) 

Decorative Ladder - Prayers Go Up...Blessings Come Down!

I must admit...I'm thrilled with how this little ladder turned out.   I've wanted a ladder for as long as I can remember, but never took the time to create one.  That is until a customer of mine requested that I create her a ladder with this quote.  I was thrilled to do so!! :)

Love the quote... it's absolutely perfect for a ladder!  Thank you, Estella!

Ladder measures 3' x 13.5" and can be hung or propped against the wall.  Ready to display as is or adorn for each season.

Another idea that I have, but haven't tried yet... is to hang ladder and place a 5x7 framed photo between each rung.  As a wife and mom... my family is at the top of my prayer list so it seems fitting to incorporate their photos into it. 

Ladder will be available for order in my Etsy, soon!  Will be happy to create in the colors of your decor.