Saturday, August 30, 2014

Building A Woodshed

*this post contains affiliate links

While I was in Southern California last week helping my dad, Mr. DIY went to the Mountain Cottage and built a big woodshed on the weekend for all the firewood we have. It took a lot of wood to build the woodshed and he had to make several trips to get it all up there.
As I've said before, PLANNING IS KEY. It's best to draw out your building project to scale before you set out to buy your supplies.
Mountain Cottage, building a wood shed, build a wood shed, diy, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com



Monday, August 18, 2014

How To Make A Liner For A Basket


In between doing projects for the Mountain Cottage, I've also been trying to keep up with projects that need to be done at home. 
Painting the Laundry Room has been on our project list for a lonnnnngggg time.  The paint was purchased last March, hangs head in shame.  
Well, about a month ago,  Mr. DIY came home from work one day and was surprised that I had already started. One morning I just couldn't take it anymore and decided to open the can of paint. There was no going back once I cut in the corners! 
I still have one more project to do before the new Laundry Room is revealed. 

If you remember, the Laundry Room looked like this...



The new paint color is lighter and brighter and the old baskets that I keep Laundry Room essentials in didn't look good with the new paint. 


So, just like the wall art I painted (you can click HERE if you missed it), I used a couple of cans of Rust-Oleum Paint and Primer to paint the baskets white. 



Here's how I made the liners:
The old basket liners were taken out of the baskets and I started to measure them, but found it so much easier to measure one of the baskets. 


I measured height, width and the bottom, then made a pattern  for each side and added 1/2" for seam allowance all the way around. I also added 3" for the fold over on the top. The 3" also included 1" for a seam allowance. 



Since the pattern was very large and wanted the pattern in a specific place, I placed the pattern paper over the fabric until it looked good, then I cut out the fabric.





You can either sew the top finished edge first like this- fold under 1" and fold 1/2" of that under and sew or...


...you can sew the all the sides together first, then fold the top finished edge over the side seams and sew the top edge last. 
I always have to remind myself...right sides together!
I had to rip out one seem on this project because I wasn't paying attention! This is why when I sew, the seam ripper is my best friend. 

On the first basket liner, I sewed the top edge first. 


On the 2nd and 3rd basket, I sewed the side seams first then sewed the top last. 
I think I like the top seam sewn last. 


Once you sew the sides together and the top seam, then sew the bottom to the top.


Place the liner in the basket to see how it fits.





Here's a look at the baskets all finished. 


This could also be done as a no sew project if you don't know how to sew, just follow the same steps above. 


In the last photo, you see the wall paint(although it's more minty than gray) and you see a peek of the final project on my list for the Laundry Room.

Looking forward to showing you the finished Laundry Room...hopefully in a couple of weeks.
I'm off to SoCal for a week again, (by myself this time) to help my dad with cleaning and organizing his home.
Follow me on Instagram for what's happening behind the scenes.

Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite sewing project (or no sew project) is!


Pam

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

A Custom Wood Countertop For The World's Smallest Half Bath

A few days ago, the Worlds Smallest Half Bath was finally revealed. 
If you missed it, you can find it HERE.
Today I want to share how we made the custom wood (butcherblock) countertop for our tiny bathroom. 
I am amazed at how much planning and detail went into such a small space.
Every detail was a project in itself and the countertop was no exception!
Here's how we made ours...

custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


Because the ceiling was angled and we wanted to put in a pocket door to the bathroom to save space, we were working with  a wall that was only 13 1/2 inches on the left side once the door casing was installed. That didn't leave us much depth for the countertop and to install a sink.
But, we turned a negative into a design feature by curving the countertop.

We purchased some wood countertops for the kitchen and knew we would have enough left over for the bathroom countertop, since it was only 32" wide.
The first thing we did was make a template out of cardboard and set it into the space to see if we liked it and if it would fit.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


Once we determined we liked the shape and that it fit, we made another template out of some rolls of wallpaper that had been left at the house. Since we already had the sink, Mr. DIY laid the sink on the wallpaper and drew the outline. He then added 1 1/8" to cover the lip of the sink with a little overhang.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style



Even though we measured and calculated multiple times, it was still scary to cut the shape of the countertop and the hole for the sink.
Mr. DIY used a jigsaw to do the cutting and then sanded the edges.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


Once everything was cut, the countertop was dry fit in the space.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


There were a few little holes that needed to be filled, so I used some MinWax wood filler.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style




I found some MinWax Provincial stain in the workshop at the mountain cottage and it was the perfect color.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


I took a photo after  the first coat of stain was applied.  It took several coats of stain (top and bottom) until I thought it looked perfect. I sanded between coats of stain.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


I applied several coats of MinWax Wipe On Poly, sanding with fine sandpaper between coats.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style



Once the countertop had several days to dry, Mr. DIY mounted the sink to the countertop.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


Mr. DIY screwed a wood cleat to the wall to support the countertop.


We were so excited to get the countertop in, the faucet installed and the plumbing complete!


custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style

custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style

custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style

custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style


As good as the countertop looked, we still had to make the wood apron to cover a little of the front part of the sink.
custom wood countertop, Mountain cottage, Mountain Cottage Upstair Bathroom, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style

That little design detail is another project in itself, which I will show you in another post. Hope you will stop by to see it!


Pam

Here's the link again to the World's Smallest Halfbath Reveal

Cost for supplies for the countertop:
$0.00 Wood countertop- used leftover from another project
             (we purchased butcherblock countertops from                             Lumber Liquidators. 
$0.00 wood for the cleat- used scrap wood from another project 
$ 4.97  Wood Filler
$11.97  Wipe On Poly
$16.94 Total spent for the countertop*

*Mr. DIY spent a couple of dollars to buy a new blade for his jigsaw for this project, as well, but will be able to use it for another projects. 

Monday, August 11, 2014

World's Smallest Half Bath Reveal

This post contains affiliate links*


Adding a bathroom, no matter how small adds value to any house. Here at the Mountain Cottage, more than adding house value, the World's Smallest Halfbath added much needed storage space in a very small bathroom.

It's probably not actually the world's smallest halfbath, but
but it is pretty small at only 17 square feet with an angled wall to boot!

Even though we knew it was going to be small,  we still needed it to function like a big bathroom, as far as storage goes. Plus, planning a tiny half bath is difficult because EVERY inch, no every half inch, counted and affected every other detail in the room.
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com



Here's our inspiration photo:
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com
Source

I can't stress enough that Planning is Key

Here's how we planned out the bathroom. Our little half bath is 17 square feet if measured on the floor and the wall that the toilet is on was 39 1/2" high and angled up.
Mr. DIY had to build out the wall so that we would meet code for the 6 foot 8 inch ceiling height in front of the toilet. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

Here's our before photo of the space. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

We removed the wallpaper in the room and painted and then realized that we needed a bath upstairs so we didn't have to stumble down the stairs in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. After planning it all out, the first thing we did was rip out the drywall and framing. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


Here's the new framing. You can see why the toilet wall had to be built out. Mr. DIY reused a lot of the old 2 x 4's. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


Next came the roughed in plumbing. Mr. DIY had a plumber friend come and help out for a day to get things moving.
It's best to get help with electrical and plumbing  and then save money by diying the finishing of the projects.
And ALWAYS get a permit if your project requires you to do so.
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

The plumbing had to go somewhere to get out of the house, so we took up some space in the downstairs closet. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com



Since you won't see it, Mr. DIY covered up the plumbing with a drop ceiling, which provides  access should we need to fix something. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


Once the plumbing and electrical were finished, the sheetrock went up. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


This photo was taken from the outside looking  through the hole for the medicine cabinet into the bathroom towards where the toilet would eventually go. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


One thing Mr. DIY had to do was cut out one of the layers of the subfloor, since there were two and the tile would bring up the floor to match the existing vinyl. 
I can't tell you how excited we were to get to this point. Getting past the messy mudding of the drywall and sanding was such a big relief. 


After painting the walls and trim, Mr. DIY installed the floor. He used a 24" x 12" tile and cut it in half lengthwise because the bathroom was only 32" wide.


Once the tile was grouted, the toilet went in. 
Yay! 
Progress!
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


The Pottery Barn Inspired Medicine Cabinet was installed right before the Faux Plank Wall. The countertop at this point was dry fit, but still had to be taken out to be stained. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com



A small exhaust fan and light was installed on the only part of the ceiling that is 8 feet high. You can see on the left wall that the light and faux plank wall are finished. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


After staining, the countertop was installed with the sink, then the faucet and drains and the  front apron.
The bathroom is so small, I had to take this photo with my cell phone, with me facing the toilet and the camera turned around. 
It was the only way I could take a photo of the sink wall without having me show in the mirror!
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


I love how well the countertop turned out. You can see how we made it HERE. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


We chose a toilet paper holder that we could slip the roll of tp easily... If you have children, you  need to have this kind!
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


...and a coordinating robe hook to put a hand towel on. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com



A simple fabric skirt is attached  with velcro to the back side of the countertop apron. Making the apron for the countertop was an adventure in itself because it's curved -- we'll tell you about it another time. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

Adding a couple of big baskets underneath the counter adds storage to hold tp and other stuff.
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com



I will  be purchasing some hand towels from Ikea  that have a loop on the edge so that it will hang closer to the wall. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


Here's how the bathroom looks from the bedroom. So glad we chose a pocket door to save space. 
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com



You remember the before...
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


...and here's the after.
small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com



small bathroom, adding a small bathroom, storage in a small bathroom,  mountain cottage reno, half bath, cottage, cottage style, farmhouse, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


 We are almost finished with the closet and the storage shelves on the left side of the bathroom. We are also finished with the Pottery Barn Storage bed. 
Can't wait to show all of it to you. 
Hope you enjoyed the tour!
UPDATE: see how we built the closet HERE.
see how we built the shelves HERE.
see the Pottery Barn Storage Bed HERE.

Leave me a comment to me know what you think or if we left anything out!

Pam


Here are the details of the bathroom:
Wall and Trim Paint: Benjamin Moore Decorator white in eggshell finish (walls) and semi-gloss(trim)
Faux Wall and Countertop Apron Paint- Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist (same as walls in bedroom)
Floor Tile: Style Selections Galvano Charcoal Glazed Porcelain from Lowe's
Toilet: AquaSource elongated dual flush 2 pc comfort height 
Faucet: Delta Nura Chrome 1 handle 
Sink: Kohler Caxton K-2209 in white
Toilet Paper Holder: Delta Cassidy Single Post TP Holder
Countertop: 1 1/2" maple butcher block from Lumber Liquidators
Stain for Countertop: MinWax Provincial with MinWax Wipe on Poly
Stain for Medicine Cabinet: Minwax Provincial under Rust-Oleum Driftwood...Wipe on Poly over that
Baskets and Soap Dish: HomeGoods
Light over sink and Exhaust Fan HERE




*Disclosure: we purchased the light over the sink and the exhaust fan from Amazon.
If you purchase from these links, Amazon will give me a small commission.



Here are the links to the other projects in this bathroom: