Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Fabulous Floral Centerpiece

Last week,  I shared the Bridal Shower our daughter (and a friend) hosted for a friend at our home a few Saturdays ago.
It was so nice to celebrate a happy occasion in our home.
I really had fun with the flowers and they were simple and relatively inexpensive to do.


flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com

When Jenny and I went to Trader Joes to pick up the flowers the day before the shower,  half of the flower section was empty as they were having their 50 year celebration - 11 years in Charlotte. I was a little worried.

Even with less to chose from, Jenny found some really pretty bouquets and they were only $2.99 and 3.99 each. She picked out 2 Stock, 2 bouquets of Eucalyptus branches, 2 mini bouquets of roses, and one bouquet of pink carnations.

I thought simple bouquets in white pitchers would look great on the food and dessert tables and would be quick and easy to do.
This is the bouquet for the food table...
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com

...and here's the bouquet for the dessert table.
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com


I wanted a fabulous centerpiece for the Dining Room. Since the dining room table was extended to 9 1/2 ft, so the centerpiece needed to be rectangular.

The metal container I use to hold art supplies in my office was the right size, but it was painted black.  I've been wanting to paint it white for a long time and this was the perfect time for a new paint job. 
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com


When I first bought it, the metal container looked like this:
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com


I used a  Valspar Interior Latex Ultra white in satin. This would be the 2nd time this container was painted.
Once painted, I set four - One Quart Mason jars in the container and cut the flower stems so they looked good in the jars.
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com




A photo just doesn't describe how gorgeous this centerpiece is and the smell is divine!
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com

Here, you can see the Mason jars with the moss pulled away.
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com




flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com


It took about 4 small bouquets to fill the 4 jars...1 Stock (tall white flowers), 1 Eucalyptus, 2 mini bouquets ($13.96 total) and some green Spanish moss. A custom arrangement this size could have easily cost $200 or more.
flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com






flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com


flowers, floral centerpiece, Mason jars, white pitcher, bridal shower, wedding shower, shower decorations,  farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com

She spent a total of $23.93 (I already had the moss, the jars and the containers) for all of the flowers for the shower. I always love the flowers at Trader Joe's, especially the low price.
Do you have a favorite place where you like to buy flowers?
Please share!

Pam


You can find the post on Hosting A  Bridal Shower HERE
You can find the post on the tablescape in the Breakfast Area HERE

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Post Bridal Shower Tablescape

Pretty flowers are grea inspiration for a tablescape in the Breakfast Area. 
The day after the bridal shower, there were so many beautiful flowers in the house, I just had to take advantage of them and set the breakfast table.
flowers, tablescape, cottage style, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


flowers, tablescape, cottage style, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


I kept the white tablecloth, burlap overlay, votives and wood round made from a tree trunk that Mr. DIY cut down at the Mountain Cottage. The woven placemats, dishes, napkins, utensils were shopped from the house.
flowers, tablescape, cottage style, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

flowers, tablescape, cottage style, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

flowers, tablescape, cottage style, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com


flowers, tablescape, cottage style, farmhouse style, diyDesignFanatic.com

Because of the beautiful flower arrangement in the Dining Room, I couldn't help setting that table, as well.  But, I'll save that tablescape for another time.


Pam

These are affiliate links. If you purchase something from one of these links, I'll make a small commission.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Hosting A Bridal Shower

This past Sunday, our daughter and her friend hosted a bridal shower for their friend Emily. 

This was only the first second party we've had in our home since Jenny's graduation party in 2011 and the first  second event we've had in our new house. (I forgot we hosted a Christmas Party the last two years for our newly married group- how could I forget them???)

The girls planned out everything. I just helped with the decorations.
bridal shower, wedding shower, bride banner, shower decorations, dessert table, pom poms, farmhouse, cottage, diyDesignFanatic.com


Saturday, August 19, 2017

How To Design A Gallery Wall

We've been working in our office lately and we had one empty wall that would be perfect for a gallery wall. Rather than just winging it and nailing holes in the wall randomly, I decided it would be far better to plan things out.
gallery wall, farmhouse style, cottage, office, diy, diyDesignFanatic.com


I've had a large roll of pattern paper for 30 years, so I used some of it. You can use a roll of brown paper. If you order from Amazon, sometimes they crumple up some brown paper when packing boxes and I've been known to recycle those for when I do small painting projects on my work table.

Whatever paper you decide to use, just lay out your frames on the paper how you like it.

When you get everything where it looks good to you, trace around them.
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Take the frames off and mark where the hook will go.
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Tape the paper on the wall where you like it.
I used a level to make sure it was straight.
gallery wall, farmhouse style, cottage, office, diy, diyDesignFanatic.com


Adjust any frame you think needs adjusting.Once the paper was on the wall, I felt that my bulletin board needed to be a little lower so I could reach the top better. 
gallery wall, farmhouse style, cottage, office, diy, diyDesignFanatic.com


Nail or place the hooks where you've marked.
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Hang your frames on the hooks and you're finished!
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gallery wall, farmhouse style, cottage, office, diy, diyDesignFanatic.com


It's as simple as that!

Pam

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Distressed Finish Farmhouse Bed

The Farmhouse Bed is finished and our daughter is enjoying sleeping in it in her new apartment!!!

If you remember, our daughter asked Mr. DIY to make her a queen sized bed. He made one for her in 4 days and it took me at least 10 days to finish it. 

We have dinner with our daughter once a week and take turns between her place and ours. It's pretty awesome having a grown up daughter who invites you over for dinner. 
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Friday, August 4, 2017

How To Create A Distressed Finish On A Farmhouse Bed

Mr. DIY built our daughter's Farmhouse bed in 4 days. I wish I could say it only took me finishing it! Even though I started on the finish the day after Mr. DIY finished the bed, it took me a good 10 days to get it the way I wanted it.

Getting the perfect distressed finish takes a lot longer than just painting it. There are so many distressed finishes out there, so I thought I'd finish a few samples and let our daughter choose one.


Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


I started out with two different wood stains. The one on the left is Minwax Jacobean. The one on the right is Rustoleum Driftwood with a little Jacobean mixed in. One of these would be the base coat.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


Once the base coat dried, I applied a thin, watered down paint (Lowe's Signature Ultra White in Satin). The sample of the right doesn't have any stain under it. I was hoping our daughter would pick that one since it would be a lot easier. I used some fine grit sandpaper to distress the samples. 
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style

 I thought I'd do one more  sample. The sample on the right is full strength paint over Jacobean stain. It looked a little more chippy.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style

I was surprised when she chose the left one.


The funny thing is, (and I didn't realize it until just now) that I should have stained it with Jacobean and instead, I stained it with Driftwood, mixed with Jacobean. Oops!

The first thing I did was stain the back of the headboard...
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


Then, the front.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


I didn't take a photo of it, but despite applying the wrong stain, I managed to finish the back side of the bottom of the headboard (the brace) and it turned our pretty close to the sample she picked. 
I don't think she liked the finish on the headboard though. When she saw the finish on the headboard, she said that she could always paint it white at another time.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style

I took that to mean she'd like the paint to be whiter. So, I applied 2 thin coats of watered down paint, plus a dry brush coat. I applied this to the frame of the headboard and what I call the brace (below the headboard)
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style




The frame has 2+ coats and the center has only 1.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style

It almost looks like the headboard has just been painted at this point, but the grain of the wood still shows through a bit.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style

Once I got the right brightness, I started distressing with fine grit sandpaper.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


After sanding and removing all the sanded bits, I applied more stain to the sanded spots.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style

Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


I didn't like the stain on the paint, so I sanded a bit more, 
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


Then, applied more paint over those spots using a very small amount of watered down paint and with a dry brush.
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


Perfect!
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style

I finished the headboard with a coat of clear Polycrylic Satin.

I applied the same technique to the side and foot rails. The whole process took about 10 days. 
Even though the finish on the bed was a little different than the sample, it turned out great!
Farmhouse bed, distressed headboard, distressed finish, Farmhouse style, cottage style


Hope you'll stop by next time to see how the bed looks in our daughter's apartment!

UPDATE: you can see the finished bed HERE.

Pam
these are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through these links, I will make a small commission. 

Disclaimer: The above post is about how we built our farmhouse bed. We don't take any responsibility for any errors or results obtained from using this information. Using power tools can result in injury. When using power tools, use safety equipment.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

How To Make A Farmhouse Bed

*this post contains affiliate links...

Our youngest daughter moved into her own apartment in June and asked Mr. DIY to make her a Queen size Farmhouse bed.
He stopped everything and got right on it. 
This bed requires a moderate level of skill to make and not for beginners.
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This Farmhouse bed is a platform bed, which means you only need a mattress and don't need a box spring. We also built this bed higher than usual because our daughter wanted to store containers underneath.