kitchen Re-Do

I hated my kitchen.  We had put in a new floor...again.  The cabinets were pressboard covered with a vinyl.  Standard issue for a manufactured home."Oh I can do that" I said to myself.  So I started collecting ingredients.  That's the way I approach most projects.  I scrounge and "score' before I buy it and sometimes takes a while.  My first find were cabinets from a 60's ranch house that were on Craigslist for $60.  The owner was taking them out to put in cabinets from Home Depot.  How is that and upgrade from Maple to pressboard?

These are the before photos.

left side - pantry door

right side - missing cupboard doors

King Size!

Recently we upgraded from a full to a king size mattress.  One thing I didn't take into consideration when I chose a "king" was that everything associated with king sized beds are king sized in price.  I ordered a bargain priced "hollywood" frame on with our Amazon Prime account.  Got my moneys worth on that free delivery!   Having a frame made the bed useable, but we really need a headboard I've scoured Craigslist....nothing.  I'm a little picky and broke.....since I'm handy with wood....I'll make one.  I've got interesting wood, but I did have to buy a nice 2x4 and some 1x3's.  So far I've spent $11.   I chose my desired height and cut the 2x4 legs to that length. I had scraps of plywood that was purchased for the hollywood frame. I used that as the main base for the wood that I will add so it doesn't need to be pretty. Attach with screws (they'll be hidden.)

I got this far and still didn't really know what I was going to create.  I contemplated using 4 cabinet doors I had stashed away but it wasn't quite the look I wanted.  I had built Ana White's Farmhouse headboard a while back so I knew I want a 1x4 flat on top so I made sure the plywood is flush with the top of the 2x4 leg. Always use wood glue at every joint.  My rule is you can never have too much glue.  Next I cut a 1x4 for each end.  Glue, square and clamp.....then nail with whatever you choose to use.  I have a 16 gauge Porter Cable Nail Gun.

Don't slack when it come to square-ing EVERYTHING! Make sure you have legs line up with the frame.  You should measure your frame but also do research about standard sizes. I found out you should add 3" to the width of a frame.  That was one websites theory. Sounds good to me....  continued tomorrow. 

Reuse Recycle.....be creative with what you have.

This is a hall tree I made 3 years ago.  It was one of the last doors I had salvaged.....Now people have figured out that they are amazing sources of wood and I have to buy them....



















We went to the beach this summer and parked on a residential street around the corner from Mo's restaurant and found this.  First of all - I LOVE METAL! I even have a Pinterest board with fun metal reuse ideas.  I am big into reusing things for a new creation.  If you can't see...this is a fountain! ( I should of taken a video...dang it ) Super cool!  They also had a great fence made of this metal siding/roofing (seen on either side of the fountain.  I love it that people are getting original I'm so tired of houses painted taupe and looking all exactly the same.

This is a great fence.....Totally original.
Be original.....don't be taupe.