Outside mount bamboo shades

Hello hello! I’m back today to share a quick DIY project and a couple new tools I’ve started using lately. It’s been Christmas decor 24/7 around here and I gotta be honest, it was great to get something off the DIY list and use a tool for a change. (Insert tool man (woman?) grunt here.)

If you’ve read for a while you know I’m a lover of bamboo shades. Over the years I’ve switched over from our blinds to the bamboo and I just love them. I think they offer more privacy and light filtering (depending on the kind you get), they let more light in (when you want it) and they are just pretty. :) I told you more about our bamboo shades here.

I mentioned the privacy/light thing, and there are some that are a lot more tightly weaved than others. I recently replaced a couple on our main level that weren’t as tightly woven (less privacy) so I had one of the old ones available to install in our guest room upstairs:

This window has been nekked forever and I always feel bad for our guests who sleep in here. This is easily the brightest room in our house – which I’m sure is just lovely first thing in the morning for those who sleep in here. :)

And yes, the walls are still blue, pink and purple. At least there’s a bed in here, OK?

Because this shade is 72 inches long, for our longer, main level windows, it’s way too long for the upstairs window, which is shorter. This allowed me to do one of my new favorite fixes – hang the shade outside the window instead of inside the window frame.

I gathered my tools:

I did end up needing a drill too, more on that in a bit. If you install a shade inside your window frame, you probably won’t need any anchors – just screws. The framing around the window is enough for the screws to bite into.

And if you decide to do an outside mount, like this one, if you go right above the window you’ll probably catch something. Because my shade is so long, I went way up, and luckily caught a stud up near the ceiling:

I used my stud finder to find out where my studs were. Just for fun, stick one on your husband and let it beep. Hilarious. ;)

Once I knew where I could safely hang the brackets (without them eventually crashing down), I marked where the holes needed to go:

If you like to have extra peace of mind, you can put all four screws in. Anymore I only do two or three and they hold up fine.

You’ll want to drill in with a bit to give yourself a good start for your screw:

This also helps to determine if you’ve hit a stud or not. If the bit goes right through the drywall, you’ve missed the stud and will need an anchor. If not you’ll feel the resistance of the wood as you drill.

Here’s where my first new “tool” comes in – I found this at my True Value months ago and I LOVE IT:

It’s this magnetic arm band thing and you wrap it around your arm with the Velcro. This True Value has an end cap with all this “as seen on TV” stuff on it and this was there. I think it was $20? Twenty bucks of awesome, I tell you what. Especially on jobs like this, I am ALWAYS dropping screws or wing nuts or whatever. This keeps them right where I can reach them and they don’t go anywhere.

And it’s soooo fashionable too, be sure to let all the cool people see you in it:

That’s my attempt at a tough face. Failing.

I have a thing with as seen on TV stuff by the way. I have an odd fascination with all of it. No snuggie here yet. You? :)

Next up, you’ll need to drill your brackets into the wall. For this I used my next new tool, the Master Mechanic Swift Driver Ratcheting Screwdriver (say that three times fast):

The True Value folks sent me one to try out earlier this year and I have thoroughly enjoyed using it. It is SO much easer than a screwdriver people! I actually find it easier to use than a power drill sometimes – it’s hard to get control of a drill at times -- even I still have it skip out and I dent the wall with the bit. Once or ten times.

This one is a great in between the power drill and a screwdriver – you use your hand to just ratchet it so it turns the screw for you. It’s hard to explain so I took a quick video:

 

Master Mechanic is the brand name for True Value and I have at least three tools from this line and love them all. Really pleased. The only thing is I wish this screwdriver was magnetic so the screws stuck on it on like my drill.

It made quick work of putting those brackets up:

I hope you can see from this picture how the brackets are on the wall for an outside mount installation – you want the the metal part that the nut screws on to to be pointing down. Much like an inside mount, but facing out. (For an inside mount I put them sideways.)

Once the brackets are up it’s easy! Just slide your shade on them and use the wing nuts to secure them:

And there you have it – a shade on the window, finally!:

Here’s the thing about hanging window treatments and shades really high – I love doing it because it gives the illusion the window is taller than it is. And I wanted this one high because this particular shade is still pretty thick at the top, even when pulled all the way up. So if it’s hung inside the window frame, it blocks a fair amount of sunlight. This way it doesn’t block any.

But I find that when just drapes are hung SUPER high, like to the ceiling, and the shades (if there are any) are hung lower, it can look kind of off. Like you’re trying to make the window look bigger and you can tell. You shouldn’t be able to tell. ;)

Once I get drapes up here it will really make that window look much taller than it is and will block out even more light for my lovely guests. :)

One more thing off the HUGE to do list, it feels good! The list for just this room is a page long…2013 is the year of the guest room, I can FEEL it.

Are you a bamboo shades person like me? Inside or outside mount? Or are you loving your blinds?

 

I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

DIY nautical oar art

HEY there! Thanks SO much for all the lovely comments on the powder room post! I’m working on answering your questions so stay tuned if I haven’t gotten back to you yet!

I wanted to show you how I made over one of my favorite parts of the room (there are a lot of them) – the boat oar I found at a vintage mart a few months ago:

I first showed it to you in this post and as of a few days ago it still looked like that. :) This little redo seriously took about 20 minutes, and that was with paint drying!

I started out by wiping it down to prep it for paint:

I let it dry and then mixed some white paint (I used my CeCe Caldwell stuff, but regular white paint would do just fine. Flat may work better for this particular look.) with a little bit of water:

I didn’t want the oar to be covered completely – I wanted it to have a “wash” kind of look and this did it:

The nice thing is when it’s watered down a bit it takes even less time to dry. :)

I let it dry about ten minutes, and then used my delicate FrogTape to start marking where I wanted my stripes:

That one was on the handle -- I just searched striped boat oar images and kind of winged the design.

I taped off each section, painted and took the tape off immediately. I did that just because I knew even though the paint was dry to the touch it wasn’t cured and the tape may remove it. I take my tape off right away whenever I do stripes anyway so I get a really sharp line.

I moved on to the wider part and did a little stripe first:

When I pulled off that tape it did pull up a little bit of the paint, but I actually liked the look so I didn’t worry about it. I didn’t want it to look perfect anyway. ;)

Then I made a wider one in the middle:

You can see there that I cut the FrogTape down the middle for skinnier pieces. Since I was working so fast I didn’t want to put the tape down over the red paint I had just done – this allowed me to keep working quickly. :)

I did all the red stripes, hung the oar in the bathroom and then realized I wanted to pull in some of that blue tone in the room. I had it over at the vanity/sink, but everything around the toilet was red.

So I grabbed the blue paint I used on this post (it worked perfectly!) and added a few more skinny stripes:

I gotta be honest…I squealed a little when I saw how it all finished. ;) It was so stinkin’ cute!:

I think adding that little bit of blue was a good call – it ties the whole room together!

To hang it I just nailed a picture hanger thing to the back of the handle at the top.

In the real life you can see much more of the bottom of the oar because you see it from higher up than in the pics:

So that’s how the cutest little oar art came to be! It was super fast and I used paint I already had – the oar itself was $10. Love it!

The room isn’t exactly nautical themed but I think it still works – you don’t need to follow a specific theme to make something you love work in a room!

Thanks again for all the sweet comments my friends! Have a GREAT weekend!

Is this your dream house?

Hey hey! How are ya? I’ve been dealing with some computer problems this morning, hence the late post. I thought those weren’t supposed to happen on a Mac?? ;)

Anyhoo, the other day I caught the last few minutes of the HGTV dream house special and was pleasantly surprised with the bits I saw. Every year there are definitely parts I love and some I not-so-love. I found a little of both when I went to the site to see more of the house.

Have you seen it yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts too!

It’s absolutely beautiful from the outside, looks like a tree house to me:

The front porch is amazing, and those shingles look like cedar but are really made of PVC:

Wild huh?

And you KNOW I love that front door with the glass! (We discussed the potential for glass in our front door in here – so many of you had opinions on that!)

I love that they created a little relaxing nook in the entry here:

I don’t imagine I would lay down for a nap in the foyer, but whatever, it’s cute! ;)

I have mixed thoughts on the family room space:

I LOVE the tall ceilings, all the windows, the floors!

But the fireplace feels out of place to me with the contemporary look and I’m not a fan of the sofa fabric…like, at all:

It just looks so heavy and out of place to me for this room. I expected something a bit lighter. And there is a TON of green in this house. Lots. Some pops of a few more colors would be beautiful!

I LOVE this console, with it’s paneled glass doors:

Love the simple accessorizing too – I’m kind of obsessed with that huge crane. Duck?

But take a look at this photo – is it me or are there two of those consoles in this pic?:

Am I losing it? There’s one in one pic, two in another right? Oh well, I love them both. ;)

The kitchen I’m not digging as much as some of the other spaces. This house looks like it would have such a lovely, traditional kitchen, and this one leans more modern -- it surprised me (maybe that’s the point!):

I love the base cabinets, even love the color. And I’m a fan of painted ceilings (I’ve painted most of ours, the blue one in my office is my fave), but that saturated green feels SO heavy to me:

I do love that they used the open shelving in what would be an awkward spot for cabinets next to the fridge!

The dining area was more of the same tones – I think a different color for the chairs would be lovely but I love those rattan ones at the ends of the table! I dig the lights too:

Love that rug too!

The powder room showcases how the green continues through the house:

I guess I’m just surprised – I expected a bit lighter color palette for a “beachy” type of home like this.

The bunk room was more along the lines of what I expected -- I LOVE the combo of blues and green:

How FUN!

This room was more serene and more monotone:

I wonder if they just put the dining room rug in here for the shot? ;) Although this one looks like it has some more green to it.

I thought the guest room was just lovely:

The posters on that bed are amazing!

I’m obsessed with that deep blue/grey color on the armoire right now:

It’s similar to what I used on the backs of our built ins.

The rafters in the loft are AMAZING:

And I love that deep blue color on the walls!

I think my favorite room in the house is the master bedroom:

I’m toying around with replacing our four poster bed and this makes me rethink it.

Love the rug and the pattern on this chair too:

I also like that the two sides of the bed aren’t identical. There’s a small dresser on one side and a desk on the other:

Really love that! This year I’m going to try to to break of out of my need to have everything symmetrical – it hurts me a little but I want to try. :)

There were a few more little things that I noticed in the house as well. This bright green vanity in a light blue bathroom was one:

Love that they installed the vanity lights right into the molding around the mirror in that bathroom and this one:

I like the addition of a towel rod at the end of the cabinets in the dining area:

It’s the little things for sure. :)

I adore the fluffy blooms on this plant!:

They called it a pandanus – I don’t think I’ve heard of this or seen one before!

I love that they used a long floating shelf in place of a console or dresser in a hallway:

If you don’t have enough room for a piece of furniture, this would be a great option! My only question would be how do you hide the cords?? ;)

The pantry wasn’t your typical food closet, but I love how they made skirts out of some fun fabric to hide the stuff underneath:

And really? A wine fridge in the pantry wouldn’t suck. ;)

I was so taken with these pretty ice cream cups in there too:

Could be because I could eat a waffle cone for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Could just be cause they’re cute. ;)

What do you think of this year’s dream home? Do you enter every year? I stopped trying a few years back. And then every year when they announce the winner I get a tad excited that maybe it could be me and remember I never entered. Dang. ;)

All photos were taken from the HGTV site here and you can see details about paint colors and the products there too.

**Don’t forget the first Before and After Party of 2013 will be this Monday! I’ll be back to DIY and normal posting next week! Have a great weekend!

Indy girls

Hello all! First of all, I am sending out love and prayers to those in Boston this week. I am at a loss for words regarding what happened – I just don’t understand the evil.

I’m glued to the TV as I prepare for my presentation at the SNAP! Conference in Utah this week – I’m looking forward to meeting some of my west coast blogging friends while I’m there! (I’m only there for a day so I can get home to an event Friday morning – flying all night long Thursday night!)

The conference got me thinking – there are SO many talented bloggers in Utah, it’s crazy. Up till a few years ago I felt like there’s only a handful of bloggers here in Indiana, but now you are coming out of the woodwork and I LOVE it!

Today I decided I would show off a few of the Indiana bloggers I know of – I’m sure I’m missing some. Give props to my fellow Hoosiers, yo.

First up is Laurie at Laurie Jones Home. Her house is just beautiful, I especially loved her recent dining room update: 

Isn’t that gorgeous? Looks like a magazine! I love that deep color on the walls.

Chelsea at Two Twenty One is an IU girl (I’m a fan by osmosis – I’m a Ball State grad but my sis, bff and hubby are IU alums) and her recent home office makeover is one of my favorites:

So darn pretty and bright! Love it!

Of course, I have to include my girl Beckie – we met years ago and have been friends since. She’s a crafty goddess and her new craft room is fantastic:

All that storage is glorious! Did I mention she built it herself?

Jessie at Imperfectly Polished shares some great projects but I think her foyer is my favorite:

It’s unusual that you see color on the trim and white walls – it’s exactly what I’m planning for the mud room and I love it!

Prepare yourself for the gorgeous master bath over at Sweet Chaos:

I met Carolyn and her friend Valerie years ago at Home Goods – she tells the story well here. ;) Turns out we go way back and didn’t realize it, and the weirdness keeps happening cause one of her friends is now the Bub’s teacher. We were MEANT to connect, obviously.

I met Kerry at Home Crush Blog a few weeks ago at the vintage mart meet up – it’s SO nice to meet local bloggers and readers! She does an amazing job at accessorizing – check out her beautiful built ins:

She also shares some really yummy recipes here.

Liz from Hoosier Homemade is the queen of beautiful cupcakes:

She makes me want to bake, seriously. Look at how adorable they are!

I met Julia at Sunbeam Yellow at the vintage mart too – she’s taking a break from blogging right now but I loved her video makeup reviews. She shares some DIY and crafty goodness too!

I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch of Hoosier bloggers, so if you are one, feel free to share a link in the comments! I apologize if I missed you! I’m off to try to finish up a DIY project before I start packing (at midnight tonight – procrastinate is my middle name.)