Thursday, October 27, 2016

Outdoor Side Table/Cat Cave

Hello Friends!

We are enjoying warm sunny days with lovely cool breezes here in the Carolinas and soon the weather will turn cold.

Our cat Buddy loves to spend his days out on the screened porch rather than being cooped up in the house. Knowing that cooler days are coming, I designed a "cat cave" for him so  he could keep warm on those cooler days. Mr. DIY loves building things and he got right to it. 


The screened porch also needed a side table to put our drinks on so it was designed it with more than one function.


As you can see, there's a hole in the back of the cat cave. The hole is for the cord to an outdoor heating mat made for this very purpose- to keep animals toasty warm outdoors during the winter. 

Here's Kitty checking out Buddy's new cat cave.



After Mr. DIY built the cat cave/side table, I finished the main part in Valspar's Blackstrap in a Satin Finish. The top is stained with Olympic Elite Mountain Cedar with some Polycrylic by MinWax on top of the stain. The Polycrylic helps seal the surface so things won't stick to it. 


Here, you can see that the top is hinged for easy cleaning. Mr. DIY made the cat cave/side table to fit the heating mat.




There's also a little place to store things. This photo was taken before the top was attached.






We'll be ready when the weather turns cold and Buddy will be able to stay warm in his new cat cave.


I'll share how Mr. DIY built the cat cave/side table next time.


Thanks for stopping by!

Pam

You can see how Mr. DIY made Buddy's Cat Cave HERE.

This is the heating pad I purchased for Buddy's Cat Cave. It is a really soft heat and doesn't get too hot.

*this is an Amazon affiliate link. I will make a small commission if you purchase something from this link, but it doesn't change your price. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

A Simple Fall Wreath

Hello Friends!

Hope your Fall is off to a great start and you are having making some specia Fall memories with your family. We're still busy working on getting the last of our belongings in the right place at our house.
The last of our storage that we previously kept in the basement of our last house was delivered at the end of last month. Last week our high crawl space was encapsulated and this week, Mr. DIY built some platforms so that all the storage totes can be set in there.  Currently,  all that storage is stacked up in our garage and I can't wait to get it moved to the crawl space so we can park 2 cars in there again.

Needless to say, the Fall decorating has been minimal this year. The front porch and the mantel are about all that says it's Fall around here. 

Which brings me to the simple Fall wreath.
I made this simple twig wreath 3 years ago after a windstorm at our last house. If you missed it, you can find it HERE.  I hung the wreath up on one of the posts in the screened porch, but the Command hook showed and it really needed something.


So, I shopped my craft room for a few things that said Fall and here's what I found:


I used my hot glue gun and created this:


I'm slowly working on getting a few more pieces of furniture for the screened porch, but even though it's not finished yet, it has become my favorite outdoor space. 



Thanks for stopping by!

 Let me know what fun things you've been doing this Fall.

Pam

Friday, October 7, 2016

Fall Tablescape In The New Breakfast Room

Hello friends!

Those of you who stop by regularly know that the Breakfast Room at our last house was my favorite room to decorate and to do a tablescape in. The shape of the room with the 3 windows and a door to the deck really brought in a lot of light, especially in the morning. The long white sheers on all the windows gave a dramatic feel to the space.

The Breakfast Room at our new house still has a ways to go and doesn't inspire me yet. That's probably why this is the first tablescape in our new house after living here for a couple of months. 
Of course some colorful flowers helps make any space feel pretty.



I bought a pair of the same Ikea Vivan sheers that we had at our last house. They are easy to clean and don't cost a lot if they need to be replaced. As you can see, Mr. DIY "jerry-rigged"  the chain on the chandelier. It was too low and we were always hitting our head on it. I'm still deciding on which chandelier I want to buy to replace our current one. We also have to decide where the new placement will be, which will be determined by the piece of furniture that I want Mr. DIY to build to hold some of my extra dishes, pitchers and plate stands.  



Sorry for the rabbit trail... back to the fall tablescape...
A vintage tablecloth is laid over a simple white one.


Mikasa Italian Countryside are my everyday dishes and some green salad plates that were purchased at HomeGoods several years ago were added to that. The glasses are vintage "Boopie" from Anchor Hocking.




I think the screened porch has replaced the Breakfast Room as my favorite space. I love spending time out there sitting in my mom's wicker rocking chair. The table is new and I'm working on adding a couple of pieces of furniture. These things take time.

Yesterday was Mr. DIY's birthday and our daughter brought home some little Bundt cakes from a little place nearby called Nothing But Bundts. They were delicious!




Thanks for stopping by to see the first tablescape in the Breakfast Room at our new house!

Have a great weekend!

Pam