Our Farmhouse

I know you know that I’m frugal… and that I LOVE to get great deal whenever and wherever I can… right?

Well, I thought it might be fun to show you a few pictures of our Master Bedroom furniture… all of which cost me less than $100!

When we first got married, we purchased a complete, matching set of bedroom furniture. It was very nice… but I never really loved it.

Then, one day, I found an old iron bed {see pictures above} at a junk sale for $70 and knew I wanted it for our room. So I sold our 1-year old bedroom furniture on Craigslist {for MORE than what I paid for it new!} and set out to find additional furniture pieces to complete our master bedroom.

Here’s what I found…

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I already mentioned that I got the bed from a junk sale… and that red door behind the bed was actually in the basement of our first house. I loved it so much that it made the move with us to our farmhouse!

I wanted a little sitting area in our bedroom {see below}, so I found a cute “women’s rocker” on Craigslist for $10 and I made the little night stand out of an old wine crate that I bought for $1 at a garage sale!

The black ladder is actually only half of a huge ladder I found a few years ago. Some black paint and a bunch of nails makes it the perfect place to store my necklaces!

Dave and I both like to fold a lot of our clothes, so we each needed our own dressers. I bought the green dresser from our old neighbors for $10 and the white one from Goodwill for $7.00.

After a little paint and distressing, they fit perfectly in our farmhouse bedroom!

Oh, and I found that little black stool for free on the side of the road {I painted it} — all the accessories are either from garage sales, junk yards, or other places in our house.

So here’s the price breakdown:

• iron bed = $70
• red screen door = $0
• rocking chair = $10
• night stand = $0
• ladder = $0
• green dresser = $10
• white dresser = $7
• black stool = $0

I won’t even tell you how much we paid for our first bedroom set {a lot more than $100} but at least I got our money back when I sold it! Plus, I absolutely LOVE our new bedroom “set” so it was worth the extra effort it took to pull everything together!

What are your favorite frugal ways to find furniture?

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Here are a few more inexpensive decorating tips:

• Get your disorganized bathroom in top-shape in no time with these hints from Apartment Guide.
• Is your kitchen an unorganized mess? Apartment Guide provides simple tasks and storage ideas to keep your kitchen spotless.
• Like Apartment Guide on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for real-time tips and updates on making the most of your space.
• Whether you’re living, looking or moving, Apartment Guide offers how-to tips for making the most of a space on a budget.

Apartment Guide and owner Consumer Source, Inc. have partnered with bloggers like me as Official Apartment Guide Bloggers. As part of this program, I have received compensation. They have not told me what to purchase or what to say about the products used, and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

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I know it’s still the day before Thanksgiving — but since I’m over nine months pregnant and since I wasn’t able to put up many decorations last year — I decided to get a head start on holiday decorating this year.

And I’m SO glad I did!!

We’ve been enjoying the twinkling lights of Christmas trees and garland in every room since November 16 — I love it so much I may have have to change my tradition of setting up the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving… we’ll see!

Here is a mini tour of our Christmas decorations so far.

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This is the new tree I got just last week. It’s a 7.5 food slimline tree that would have cost over $300… but I got it from a local thrift store for $40 and it was already set up with all the branches perfectly spaced out!  It even came with the box for easy storage after Christmas!

This tree is in our office and is in the direct line of sight for anyone who walks through the front door.

Since we don’t have a fire place {I have plans to make one though}, I hung some old knitted stockings on the barnwood shelves. I actually really like the look!

Since that tree is our “main tree” this year; that is the tree I put all of Dave and my childhood ornaments on. We’ve each gotten at least one ornament every year of our entire lives, and we also have a bunch of ornaments we made as kids too.

We currently have over 80 of these ornaments, but for some reason, the ones above are a few of my favorites. I got the Cabbage Patch doll ornament in 1988 when I got my first Cabbage Patch doll; the sparkly Christmas tree was one I made in preschool; and the wooden bell was given to us on our first Christmas as a married couple.

One of the main ways I like to decorate during the holiday season is with natural items like pine cones, berries, greenery… and candy canes! OK, so candy canes aren’t really natural, but I have a bunch of HUGE fake candy canes that I use to decorate various places around our house.

I’m also a big fan of the tall, skinny Alpine trees — and have at least 5 of them floating around different rooms of our home. I often just put white lights on them and call it good, but I decided to string some cranberries and big gold bells on this one.

The book case is in the corner of our living room and just needed a few splashes of red, green, and gold to look really festive!

Told you I love these big candy canes! 

The girls are loving the lighted garland and candy canes that I used throughout the upstairs and down the banister. They started taking pictures immediately when they got home from school!

I have so many more decorations to share… but I think I’ll wait util AFTER Thanksgiving to post more pictures! For now, I’m just thrilled that I was able to get all the decorations up before our baby girl arrives.

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This post has been a long time coming — and even though I’m still waiting on ONE more piece of furniture, I’m so excited to take you on a tour of our “brand new” Farmhouse Nursery! 

The nursery is by far, the smallest bedroom in our house; and as you might remember, we basically had to gut the entire room and start over again from scratch. We even knocked out one entire closet to make room for the walk-in shower in our master bath.

Our nursery now has all “new-to-us” doors, windows, floors, walls, wood paneling {I’ve always wanted painted wood paneling in my nursery!}, crown molding, base board, light fixtures, furniture, and accessories. So while it definitely does NOT look like a 120 year old nursery, I hope it still gives off a little of that farmhouse charm I love so much! 

Our Farmhouse Nursery — The Full Tour!

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The nursery, and the master bedroom are conveniently both off one “wing” of the living room… so there is just a very short hallway from our bedroom door to the nursery.

As you can see, our master bathroom is on the left side of the hall and our built-in medicine cabinet is to the right.

As you enter the nursery, it might look a little “bare” and that’s because I’m still waiting for a small white bookcase that will go against this first wall. Then I have some cute ideas for above the bookcase as well. However, I’m pretty sure the baby won’t care if she has a bookcase right away or not!

Once the bookcase is here, it will form a little reading/toy nook, along with my most favorite IKEA Poang chair and hand-painted night stand. We already have a little collection of books starting… and I’m sure the toys will follow in the next couple of months

If you keep rotating counter-clockwise in the room, you’ll see that our crib is to the left of our reading nook. This photo is a little blurry because there was so much sun shinning through the windows that I couldn’t get a good shot.

I purposely put the crib on an angle; partially because I think it looks better, but also because I wanted  a place to put my old wooden gate!

Here’s a BEFORE picture of this same wall:

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One of my favorite features of this room is the white porcelain chandelier. It looks so old, yet I actually found it a couple months ago at Home Depot!

I’m absolutely in love with this dark-stained Jenny Lind crib and how it contrasts with the stark white bedding I made. It’s exactly what I wanted… and I found it on Craiglist for a fraction of the price of a new one!

Oh, and I just have to mention the crib skirt — because I made that too — and I purposely made it long enough to touch the floor so we can use the space underneath for storage. Currently, our Pack n’ Play and BabyBjorn Bouncy Seat are nicely concealed until we need them!

If you keep rotating counter-clockwise, you’ll see just how small the nursery is… however I still fee like there is plenty of room for everything we need.

I recently painted and distressed the changing table {solid wood Basset dresser for $20 on Craigslist!} I was originally planning to paint it all white with a brown glaze, but then felt like the red /whitewash would give it just a bit more “farmhouse flare” — and I was right!

Thankfully, the dresser is still over half empty, so I have plenty of room for more clothes, blankets, diapers, etc.

The oval picture on top of the shelf is actually MY grandma as a little girl… so I think that’s a really special addition to this room. And I’m simply ecstatic that the changing pad and basket of diapers and wipes fits perfectly on top… it must have been meant to be

Just to the left of the dresser is our nursery closet.  

Here are two more BEFORE pictures!

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I’ve already shown you several pictures of this closet, but here’s one more — just to complete the tour {and I think it’s a little bit fuller than last time too!}

So that’s it… the full farmhouse nursery tour. 

Everything is washed, folded, and put away; our hospital bags are basically packed and ready to go; we have everything we NEED; and now we’re just waiting…

What do you think… will our baby girl like her new room?

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A couple weeks ago, I showed you my super simple curtain makeover in our master bathroom — and I received more comments, emails, and questions about the Shaker Peg towel hooks underneath the  windowsill than I did about the curtains!

We love these pegs, and apparently so do you… so back by popular demand, here is the mini tutorial on how to make your own Shaker Peg towel hooks!

STEP #1 = Gather Your Materials:

I used 3″ long shaker pegs and a 1″x4″ piece of wood that I painted white to match our window trim exactly. You can use whatever length of board you want, but I usually space out the pegs by around 4″ for shorter boards and around 6″ for longer boards. And if you’re using a shorter board, make sure it fits at least 3 pegs because 2 just looks funny!

STEP #2 = DRILL:

If you buy traditional style Shaker Pegs {available at any hardware store} you will need to drill a 1/2″ wide hole — however make sure you read the packaging before you start drilling.

I always put another board underneath the board I’m drilling because in order to get the hole deep enough for the pegs, the sharp tip of the drill bit will end up going through the back of the board.

STEP #3 = PAINT:

I like to paint the hooks before I glue them in place because otherwise you have the potential to get globs of paint on the board. So I simply hold the pegs by the end that is inserted into the board, paint the peg with 2 coats of paint, and let dry.

STEP #4 = GLUE:

Once the paint is dry, I dab a SMALL about of Gorilla Glue on the bottom of the peg and a little more inside the hole.

Then I press the peg firmly into the hole and hold for a few seconds. This will be an extremely strong bond within a minute or two, and unless you have children hanging on these pegs, they should hold just about anything!

STEP #5 = HANG:

We used a nail gun to attach these pegs directly over top of our existing window trim — I think that gives it an extra custom look.

You could also counter-sink holes and then screw the board into your wall. Either way, you’ll want to make sure to nail/screw it into studs so it doesn’t pull away from your wall.

STEP #6 = CAULK

If you are going for a totally custom look, you’ll want to caulk or puddy any nail holes and any visible cracks/seems. Once the caulk dries, do a quick sand over those areas, and apply one final coat of paint.

That’s it — you’re finished! 

I was actually so pleased with the first set of hooks that I made a second set for another wall in our bathroom. This one only has 3 pegs but is great for hanging our robes, PJ’s, or extra towels when we’re taking a shower or getting ready.

This entire project cost less than $5 to make since I already had white paint and a few extra pieces of 1×4 left over from our trim. However, even if you had to buy the wood and the paint, it will still be a really inexpensive project — and it just looks SO much cuter than traditional towel bars cluttering up every wall!

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As I mentioned the other day, I work A LOT of hours from home. So when we were looking for a new house, one of our top requirements was that it had a nice area that we could use for a home office.

We wanted that area to be big enough to accommodate my work, my business, my hobbies, Dave’s school stuff, Dave’s books, and a few fun things too.

And even though it took quite a bit of renovation {and knocking out an entire wall} we got exactly what we wanted!

A Few Before Pictures:

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Very “grey” and industrial looking… don’t you think? Plus, the nasty outdoor carpeting and that hideous office chairs just wouldn’t do

The thing we loved about this office though, is the set of French doors that lead out to a deck on the back of the house!

We also loved that there was potential to close off the door to the hallway and knock out the back wall {see below} to completely open the office up to our main living room.

OK, that’s enough grey and blah. On to the NEW, after photos!

Our Farmhouse Desk:

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I already showed you our farmhouse desk the other day, but here’s a second look at it. It is probably my favorite part about our office!

We purchased this 120-year-old farm table off Criagslist and NO, we did not cut it to fit!! The table is 5′ 11 3/4″ which is EXACTLY what we needed to wedge into our space {it was meant to be!}

We did sand it down a bit, dry brush white on the legs and base, and then stained/polyurethaned the top to match our floors. I’m so completely in love with this desk — which is nice since I sit here for several hours each day

I wanted to keep the desk very “clutter-free” since there are several times when both Dave and I work here together. So I decided to only have a few basic office supplies in the corner: pens, pencils, calculator, paper, paper clips, stapler, and some highlighters. I keep these supplies in an old bread pan and an old white measuring cup so they still look nice. I also put a basket on the right side for any mics. papers I have to deal with.

The TV was Dave’s request because he likes to watch TV while he grades papers and works on his computer. And as you’ll see later on, we also have a nice, comfy chair on the opposite wall, so it creates somewhat of a “den” atmosphere when the computers are put away.

One of the things I’m most excited about is that we managed to hide ALL our cord clutter {I know, I’m a dork!}

I mounted a large power stripe on the back side of the desk and then plugged in both our laptop chargers, the TV, the light, the cable modem, and the wireless router. Then I installed small hooks all along the back side of the table, wound up each cord, and hung them on the hooks.

As you can see by the image above, it still doesn’t look that organized underneath the table – but at least you can’t see any cords hanging down or laying on the floor!

Built-In Cabinets:

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We actually kept the built-in cabinets above the desk and just updated them with a fresh coat of white paint. They serve as excellent storage for all our craft supplies, mailing supplies, batteries, extra printer paper, folders for the different committees we’re both on, etc. etc.

The large basket on the top shelf nicely conceals many of my craft supplies, the rest are in the wooden crate on the bottom middle shelf. I store cards and photos in the two blue boxes, and the rest of our supplies are “out in the open” but still somewhat decorative {like the colored pencils, Sharpies, and crayons on the middle shelf}

I installed some cork on the inside of one cabinet door — which is a great place to store business cards, phone numbers, schedules, and other mics. information we reference on a regular basis.

Office Closet:

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We have a very large closet in our office {right next to the desk} and it goes under our staircase to maximize every inch of available storage space.

Not only is there enough room for our filing cabinet, wireless printer, shredder, and fire-proof safe. We also have plenty of room for a bookcase that stores our computers, my sewing supplies, and Dave’s school text books.

I hung a clear plastic shoe organizer on the left wall of the closet and we keep all our “cord clutter”, chargers, and other small electronics organized and easily accessible {I did label each pocket so everyone knows where everything goes!}

Then I hung peg board on the right wall and organized all the tools we use on a regular basis.

If you turn the corner to go under the stairs, I have all my gift wrap and packaging supplies shoved back there {but still organized!}

I am thrilled with how we were able to maximize the storage in this closet — especially since old farmhouses aren’t exactly known for their vast amounts of storage!

Office Shelves:

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I posted a picture of our new offices shelves on Facebook the other day — and I’m just SOOO happy with how they turned out. They are actually 120 year old barn beams that we cut down to fit perfectly along the west wall.

Of course, I immediately filled them with all my fun decorations… now we just need to find a piano or a sewing table for under the shelves.

We even made enough room for a smaller chair and side table for when we just want to relax and watch a little TV {or rock a sleeping baby!}

The natural light in this room is simply fabulous and even on gloomy days {like when I took these pictures} There is still plenty plenty of light.

So that’s it — our new home office!

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It’s so nice to have one place to keep all our office things and not have to work on the couch or the kitchen table all the time. It’s also wonderful that my desk is only about 12 steps away from our bedroom and the kitchen… and right off the living room. I still feel totally “connected” even if I’m working!

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It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any pictures of our bathroom renovations. We’ve made TONS of progress, but after working on projects all day long, I really don’t feel like taking pictures and blogging about them all night long!

However, I’m super excited to show you a few pictures of the brand new, walk-in shower in our master bathroom… and to share a few more of my homemade shower products {they are SO SIMPLE to make!}

Ok, so let’s start with the shower…

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This is the entrance to our shower {the trim is all Bright White and the wall color is Antique White by Behr}.

You can read about what I’m storing in these baskets and other creative bathroom storage ideas here.

And here’s a look at the inside of our shower. I’ve ALWAYS wanted a completely white subway tile shower…so I’m thrilled with how it turned out! You can’t really see the floors, but they are small white hexagon tiles that look really old fashion.

Even though I went with all white tiles {yes, I love neutrals} I think the monotone pallet allows the detailed tile-work to really pop.

Do you see that cubbie hole next to the shower lever? That’s where we keep our shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, and facewash — it’s probably one of my favorite features of our shower  because it means that all of our shower “clutter” is concealed!

However, you might notice that those don’t look like traditional bottles of shampoo, conditioner, facewash, etc. — and that’s because they aren’t traditional.

They are my “homemade shower products”!

1  = Homemade {oil} Facewash — you can read all about that here

2 = Homemade Conditioning Rinse — just half water, half vinegar

3 = Homemade Shampoo Wash — nope, it’s not dish soap — just baking soda and water!

**We still have a couple bottles of store-bought body wash left, but after that’s gone, we’ll be switching over to Dr. Bronners soap for our bodywash/shaving cream. I’d also be open to making body wash, but I’m not really sure where to start with that one!

My Homemade Shower Kit:

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Ok, let me go into a little bit more details about these homemade products.

I’ve been using them instead of traditional store-bought products since the beginning of 2011 and have absolutely NO desire to switch back {yes, Dave uses them too}.

1. FACEWASH:

I can’t even tell you how much Dave and I both love the oil cleansing method for washing our face. We’ve both seen our skin improve since we started using this method at the beginning of the year, and my dry skin issues are nearly gone! Plus, now I only wash my face at night and just splash a little water on it in the morning.

You can read all about how I make my oil cleansing facewash here but it’s just a mixture of caster oil and sunflower or olive oil!

2. CONDITIONING RINSE:

I’ve already shared many of the different uses for vinegar — but I really want you to know how much I love using vinegar as an extremely simple, effective, and practically free hair rinse.

All you have to do is find some sort of bottle {I used a small dish soap bottle so it would squeeze out nicely} and fill it half full with water and half full with white or apple cider vinegar {no it’s not an exact science}. Then, after you shampoo your hair {or use my baking soda hair wash} simply squeeze a little  over your wet hair and scalp — then rinse well.

And I personally guarantee your hair will NOT smell like vinegar at all!!

3. HAIR WASH:

Ok, I’ll admit that this one was the most difficult for me to comprehend when I read about it over at Simple Mom. I didn’t think it could possibly work — but it does, and Dave and I have both been “converted” to washing our hair with this simple baking soda mixture.

Just find another squeeze bottle {I used a larger dish soap bottle for this since we use it more often} and fill it with 1 T. of baking soda for every 1 c. of water. I have short, thick hair {see picture}, so if you have really long, curly, or extremely thick hair, you might want to add more baking soda.

I can fit 4 cups of water in my dish soap bottle so I add 4 T of baking soda and shake it up until it dissolves. This mixture will last us a few weeks {and we both use it every day}.

Why I’m Using Homemade:

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I’m actually NOT a huge “green” freak — and even though I have absolutely nothing against going green, I definitely don’t go out of my way to live an overly “green” life. Yes we recycle, we reuse, we try to limit our trash, we make lots of food from scratch, I can and freeze almost all our fruits and vegetables, etc. etc.

However, the main reasons I make our own facewash, shampoo, and hair rinse are not because it’s “green”, it’s because…

• They are WAY cheaper — like practically free! A box of baking soda will probably last you over a year if you made your own shampoo — and I can find boxes of baking soda for $0.50 or less! Vinegar and caster oil aren’t much more.

• They are SO quick and easy to make. I was shocked at how simple all three of these products were to make. It takes me less than 30 seconds to whip up a new batch, and one batch lasts several weeks/months.

• They don’t have strong chemical smells. I’ve always had a pretty sensitive nose, but being pregnant has made it even more sensitive. So the smells of traditional toiletries really started to bother me. My homemade products don’t have any smell, besides the vinegar, but that rinses right out.

• They are better for our shower and our drain. Since I clean my shower with vinegar and I clean our drains with baking soda and vinegar,  I figure these products will be great for our shower and drain! They don’t leave soap scum like regular products so I honestly don’t have to clean the shower as often.

• I know I’m doing something good for my body. I’m sure you’ve all heard how putting chemicals on your skin isn’t great for you. Well, even though I’m not totally organic and natural, I feel like this is one simple, inexpensive way I can do something great for my skin, my body, and my health.

So that’s it — our new shower and my super simple homemade shower products!

Do any of you have a great “recipe” for homemade beauty products — especially body wash???

If you do, please share!!

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Dave, my dad, and I have been working hard to finish “round one” of our renovation projects before Dave starts school and before our two international students arrive {in about 3 weeks!}

And one of the main projects we HAD to finish was our new hardwood floors — but they aren’t just any hardwood floors; they are reclaimed barn wood – which basically means the wood we used for our floors was taken out of old barns and milled down into 3/4″ tounge-and-groove hardwood floor planks.

This is what it looked like when they delivered it to our house a few months ago!

We purchased our reclaimed barn wood from Creation Woodwork, which is mill right here in Michigan. The mill is owned by a husband and wife team and they have all their mills, buildings, and equiptment right on their own property. So when I went to pick out my wood, I got to see all the gorgeous reclaimed barn wood in their house too! {You can read more about my trip to their saw mill here.}

We used yellow pine from a barn over 100 years old {so it fits the period of our 120 year old house} and we got it in varied widths — 4″, 5″, and 7″ wide planks — which gives the floors a really cool look.

This is what the floors looked like before any stain or polyurethane.

After LOTS of debate, we chose Minwax stain in “Special Walnut” 224 — and I am absolutely THRILLED with the color results.

It’s dark, but not too dark, and there really aren’t any strong “black” or “red” tones either.

You can see the amazing color transformation in our hallway after just one coat of stain!

Even though my doctor said it would be fine for me to do the staining, Dave actually had some extra time — and after he started, we realized how intense the smell really was!

He had a really heavy-duty mask on the whole time and made me stay upstairs or out of the house!

Here’s a close-up shot of the floors after Dave finished the stain — just waiting for a few coats of polyurethane now.

For the polyurethane, we used Varathane brand Floor Finish in “satin” because we didn’t want super shinny floors, just a nice sheen. We also used water based because the smell of of the oil based Varathane was out of control — and it took way longer to dry between coats.

The photo below is after FIVE coats of polyurethane! {thanks Dave!} You can see the subtle “sheen” of the floors — and they are actually pretty slippery!  You can also see the detail of the thresholds my dad put between each room. I just LOVE the look of a threshold. I feel like it creates a grand entrance to a room and it makes it easier to lay the floors because you can stop and start with each different room.

I think the dark floors nicely compliment the rest of my very neutrally colored house! They are definitely a focal point.

Here’s a peek into our master bedroom — which isn’t totally finished yet, but at least you can see how the floor looks with some of our furniture.  Very “Farmhouse” I think!

It was a pretty long process and lots of hard work, but we are so happy with the results — and it looks much better than any hardwood floor we could have purchased from a big-box store.

Our floors are filled with 100 years of character, imperfections, and flaws… they honestly look like they could have been the original floors of our 120  year old farm house.

And that’s exactly the look we were going for!

What do you think? Have you ever worked with reclaimed wood before? Do you have any tips for keeping hardwood clean?

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