Birch Trees and a Decal Review

This past weekend was a very busy one. We have been trying to finish up some of the projects we have started over the last few months, but like it seems to happen over here, things get partially finished and then other things get started. I really should be more diligent about finishing one thing before starting the next, as it would make my to-do list much shorter and my stress levels much lower. But, getting back to this post, yesterday, while Dylan wasn’t feeling well, I took it upon myself to get some one-person work done - specifically, installing the vinyl decal in the guest bedroom.

If you remember back to the design plan that I showed you just over a year ago, I had plans to install a vinyl decal on the wall that the bed is going to be against. I had picked out the Birch Tree Vinyl Decal from Innovative Stencils and I finally got around to installing it yesterday. It had been sitting in the closet for just about a month because I had to wait for the best time to install it. That bedroom has no overhead lighting, and we haven’t purchased any lamps for the space yet, so the only light available in the room is from daylight through the windows. Unfortunately, when I get home from work at night, there isn’t enough light to install the decal, so I was lucky to be able to get it done this weekend.

When I finally opened the packaging, I read through the directions that Innovative Stencils included with my decal, and they seemed really straightforward, so I started with their first step.

As suggested, I took the two sheets of decal that I was shipped and began cutting them into separate sections. Since my Birch Tree Vinyl Decal could be installed using any pattern I wanted, I cut each tree into it’s own sheet and then I was able to arrange them against the wall so I could figure out the order that I wanted. Cutting each tree into its own sheet also made it very easy to install onto the wall later, since I could do smaller areas at a time versus one large sheet. 

Once I had the order laid out on the floor next to my wall, I used a few pieces of painter’s tape to hang them on the wall to figure out the perfect spacing. The sheets were very light, so I only ended up needing two small pieces at the top of each tree to hold them onto the wall. Thankfully, the painter’s tape came off easily too, because I did have to change the spacing a few times before I got it to look perfect on the wall.

With the trees in place, the next step was to actually adhere the decal to the wall. Per the instructions from Innovative Stencils, I added a horizontal piece of painter’s tape to each tree to hold it in place so I could work on one half of the stencil at a time. I worked from the top down in adhering the decal to the wall because I wanted to make sure that I had a perfect match at the seam of the wall and the ceiling and the leftovers would be towards the bottom. You may decide to work from the bottom of your stencil towards the top, depending on where most of the detail in the stencil lays. For the Birch Tree Vinyl Decal, most of the detail is at the top of each tree, so that’s the part that I wanted to keep in tact. You should also be aware that since my walls are divided by chair rail, I ordered the 5’ version of this stencil, and it was just a little too long for my space, but I would much rather have extra than not enough, wouldn’t you? Innovative Stencils has many different sizes for their vinyl decals, so make sure you measure your space and select the correct size decal when ordering.

Starting from the top, begin peeling the paper backing off of the backside of the decal. When you get to the point where your horizontal piece of tape is, carefully cut the paper backing away from the rest of the decal. Be sure not to cut the transfer paper or the decal itself.

Using a credit card, or in my case, a rewards card from a store that is going out of business (grrrr), I flattened the decal onto the wall, starting from the horizontal tape and working upwards towards the ceiling, smoothing from the middle to the sides. Be sure to work with small areas at a time, as you don’t want any air bubbles between the decal and the wall. If you do end up with air bubbles, wait until after the decal is completely up on the wall to try to fix them. Use the corner of your application card to move the bubbles towards the edge of the decal, and once they have been squeezed out, they will disappear for good. Don’t try to peel the decal off of the wall to fix the bubbles – you will risk stretching and warping the decal and it likely won’t stick to the wall again, as you will lose adhesive from pulling on it.

When you reach the top of the decal, make sure that you have pressed it up against and into the corner of your surface, be it the ceiling or a piece of molding. Once you have the top part adhered, it will be time to do the bottom.

Take off the horizontal piece of tape that was holding the decal onto the wall, and peel off the paper backing from the bottom of the decal. Repeat the process that you used for adhering the top part of the decal. 

After you have pressed the decals firmly onto your wall space, you are ready to remove the transfer paper. If you ended up with any overhang on the edges, like I did, you’ll want to cut that using something sharp, like a razor blade, a box cutter, or an X-Acto Knife. 

Once you have the edges trimmed, remove those pieces, and then starting from the top of your decal, gently peel back a corner of the transfer paper. Peel the transfer paper across the top, and then work your way down the length of the decal, folding the paper onto itself as you go. Remember to peel slowly and make sure that your decal is staying on the wall as you peel away the transfer paper. If it’s not sticking to the wall, use your application card to press the transfer paper back onto the decal to get the decal to stick better onto the surface of your wall. 

If you have more than one decal or different sections of one decal, repeat this step for the remaining pieces of transfer paper, and then when you are finished, stand back and admire your work.

All in all, the installation of this decal took me less than an hour working by myself. It was pain-free and not agonizing at all. In fact, once I had done a few of the sections of my decal, I had a routine set and I was able to do the second half of the tree application in less time than the first half. Innovative Stencils truly has created a great product, and I’m excited to see what other decals and stencils I could use in my home where walls may be too big for other art prints.

I am so happy to finally have this up on the wall, and Dylan and I are going to start working on putting some additional furniture into the room this week. I can't wait to get this room put together and then be ready to have guests spend the night!

Have you ever used a vinyl decal in your home? Has this post changed your mind about some of the options available?

Please Note: In exchange for a review of their product, I was able to purchase the Birch Tree Vinyl Decal free of charge from Innovative Stencils. All opinions are my own and are completely honest. I would recommend this company to anyone looking for a vinyl decal or stencil. I would like to thank Innovative Stencils for allowing me to review their product.

A Tale of a Bureau

When I was growing up, I remember sharing a bedroom with my younger sister, Emily. At times, it was great, and then again, like all siblings sharing a bedroom, there were times that it was horrible. We argued like all siblings do, but when we got along, things were great. One of the coolest parts of sharing a bedroom was that our beds could be made into bunk beds, giving us so much room for activities (Can you name that movie? Don't worry, they were made to be bunk beds - we didn't have to nail them together!). The other thing that I remember about our bedroom growing up was a bureau, which I have recently learned was a part of the bunk bed set. When we moved when I was in middle school, the bureau moved with us to our new house, and I had it in my bedroom since we each had our own rooms at that point.

When I went to college, the bureau stayed in my old bedroom and I used it to store clothes I only wore during the summer and items I didn't bring to college. When Dylan and I moved in together my senior year, the bureau finally made it's way into our new apartment. It has since traveled with us to every place we have lived since then - Indiana included. And turns out, that's not the only traveling it has done. This bureau was in the house that my mom's side of the family owned in Newport, RI.

The family owned house in Newport was purchased in the late 1800s, and then during the 1920's, was used as a boarding house, run by a close friend of the family. This bedroom set was purchased for one of the bedrooms in the house. Once my grandmother was married in the 1950s, the house was returned to single-family home status, and my grandmother lived there with my grandfather, my uncle, and my mom. The bureau traveled with them when they moved from the house to New Jersey and Washington, D.C., and then back to the same house in Newport again. When my mom married, she took the bedroom set, and that is how I ended up with it.

Now, since the bureau was built sometime around the 1940's, it was scratched up and had a lot of marks on it from it's years of moving. With it being in my possession now, I wanted to refinish it. It was a reddish-brown color, and I wanted it darker, so using my random orbital sander, I took off all of the polyurethane and all the stain, bringing it down to it's beautiful maple hardwood. Because of the detail, I actually used my Dremel to sand some of the more difficult parts of the bureau.

Before staining the bureau, I actually contemplated making a slight modification to it. The detailed rounded pieces along the bottom of the bureau are not exactly the style that I am drawn to, and since they are just decorative pieces that frame out the bottom and hide the legs of the bureau, cutting away some of the wood wouldn't compromise the structure of the bureau. I measured out the squared shape that I wanted and had my Dremel saw ready to cut, but realized that not only was my blade not long enough to go through the wood, but I didn't really want to make it look different after hearing about it's history in the family. Even though it's not my style, I figured that keeping it's original skeleton was important in a piece with so much history.

Therefore, not making the cuts to the bureau led me straight into refinishing it. The raw wood was absolutely beautiful and in great shape, but to help it accept the new stain, I put on a coat of Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner and let it sit for fifteen minutes. It's funny too, because the color of the wood with the conditioner on it was just slightly lighter than the original color. I wish I had a better before photo, but the one I took was super blurry and I don't have my picture backup drive unpacked yet.

I wiped the excess off and then applied my first coat of Minwax Jacobean stain. You can see that the last coat of poly on the top was so shiny that it was reflecting the drop ceiling grid onto the surface! Aside from that though, this bureau looks absolutely beautiful now!

Two coats of stain, and three coats of polyurethane later, and the bureau was finished! Dylan helped me put it in the guest bedroom this morning, and it's the first piece of furniture in the room! I'm so excited to finally get the house put together, and I'm so excited that this piece of family history has a new place and a new look. I really love the dark tones of the wood and even though Dylan and I just spent hours painting the moulding in this room white, I think I like the way it stands out against the white beadboard and trim.

I just need to find some cool hardware for the drawers and then it's all set. Oh, and it will need a lamp and some books too, just to finish it off.

I've got a few more pieces to refinish, which should take me a about a week each, since I don't have a lot of time after work to get these projects done, and then we'll be at the point where we can actually look like we live in this house!

Have you been refinishing furniture lately? What's your favorite stain color?

The Power of Paint

This has to be one of the most exciting transformations that I have completed so far using just paint! Are you ready for it? Great, because I can't wait to show you!

Remember the corner bedroom that was the only room in the house that had natural wood-tone trim in it? Well, it's gone! Forever! The same weekend that we painted the small bedroom/craft room, we also tackled this room. With the help of a family friend (Thanks Again!!!) we were able to actually paint two rooms completely, one of which was the craft room that I already showed you. The other, I haven't yet - I'm not quite finished with some non-paint things, so that's on hold for right now.

But, this room. The transformation is amazing, guys! So let's get to it, right?

Here's the before. Please ignore the large rolled-up rug and the box of crap in the middle of the room.  The rug weighs over 100 pounds, and I just didn't feel like moving it.

Boring, right? I mean the wood is nice and all if you like stained wood, even though it's just bead-board, but it wasn't working for me.  So, we changed it. And now? I think it looks fabulous!

Huge difference, right? The power of paint, right there folks.  I am so in love with it and can't wait to start adding in the furniture I have planned for the space!

Now, while you may think that was just too easy, let me tell you that it wasn't as easy as it looked. It took two coats of green paint, two coats of primer on the wood, and then four coats of white paint in order to get the coverage we needed.  And not only that, but I had to do a lot of caulking where the seams on the bead-board were showing and the nail holes were never sealed.  

Also, you might not have noticed from the before pictures above, but the quarter round along the base of the moulding wasn't actually quarter round. It was concave, ugly, broken in some spots, and the worst thing I found was that whoever installed the moulding nailed it into the hardwood floors! I couldn't have been more furious when I found that out.  But, that explains the giant gaps between the moulding and the bead-board - it wasn't even attached!  

Instead of just working with it, however, I decided to replace it. A few 8' sections of quarter round wasn't going to be too much for me to handle, especially when it makes such a big difference in the way the room looks. So, I kept the old molding in place so that I could protect the floors when we were painting, and since the new quarter round I was buying was going to be slightly taller, I didn't have to worry about being neat down there at the bottom.  

Once I had three coats of white paint on, I removed the existing foot moulding.  And it was so easy. In fact, after I had done one wall, I had to video the removal of the moulding on one of the others, because despite it being nailed into the hardwood floors, it came up like it was just installed with double-sided tape!

Next, I figured out the measurements of the amount of quarter round I needed, and then began cutting, using my miter box.  I ended up purchasing PVC quarter round because it was cheaper than wood and was already primed, so it made the project just a little easier for me.  Using the existing pieces of moulding as a guide, I was able to figure out the cuts that I would need to join the pieces together.  If you are not working with existing quarter round, figuring out the cuts is a lot easier than you would think. For a perfect 90 degree angle, which is what you will typically have in a room, you will need opposite 45 degree cuts on your two intersecting pieces. You want the cuts to be so that the back of the moulding is the longer side, which you can see in the picture below - that is a picture of the right side of a corner piece being cut.  

For long walls that you need to add additional straight pieces to, think about the cuts like you accidentally cut a piece into two when you didn't mean to. Those two pieces will go back together perfectly, if you just put them back the same way you cut them. In other words, make sure that the pieces of moulding are facing the direction that you want them to, then do one of the cuts on one of the pieces, and then the same cut on the other.  Don't over-think the cuts - they will work out!

Make sure to dry-fit all of your pieces first, that way you can make any changes that you need to with additional cuts or even sanding. You want the pieces to fit tightly, but not too tight, as you don't want them to warp or bend.  

After you have your pieces cut perfectly, you are ready for install. I was so excited for this part, because I had just bought myself a pneumatic nail gun! I got it on sale at Sears, and after using some of my points from previous purchases, I only paid $60! Talk about a great deal, right?

I already had my moulding pieces in place from the dry-fit, so I just moved around the room with my nail gun, putting one nail in the center of each piece, and then every 10 or so inches to each side, including one towards the end of each piece. After each piece was in, I tested to make sure that it was attached securely by gently pulling at it and then I added some extra nails when necessary.

Please ignore the gross painting/cleaning/tool-using clothes.  I was a stylish DIY'er until I ruined my favorite pair of jeans. 

Once all the moulding was installed, I caulked the seam between it and the baseboard, and put a little dab on all of the nail holes, and then put one last coat of paint on everything to blend it all in.

After I was done, I was so proud and amazed at the way the room looked.  It's such a dramatic difference in the look, and it is so much brighter with all of the white paint! Now to add some furniture! Woohoo!

Do you have a pneumatic nail gun? Ever installed moulding before? I can't wait to do more!

The Epic IKEA Shopping List

I told you earlier this week that I was going to be taking an epic trip to IKEA to purchase some furniture and accessories for our house.  I have been making a spreadsheet of all the purchases we will be needing to make in the next few months, and for each room, there is at least one thing from IKEA.  I figured that I would give you a tour of all of the things that I have on my IKEA shopping list, and how they will be used in our home.  

Our first stop is the Family Room, which I know I have already explained most of it to you, but just for the sake of keeping everything together in one place, I will include here again.

So, as far as the IKEA items go, from this room, you'll see the most obvious piece, the Expedit, which will be our TV stand.  I will be getting it in the High-Gloss White color, and I will be hacking it to add four or five Capita Legs so that it sits just a little higher up off the floor.

The next piece you see in the design plan above is the coffee table, which is part of the Vittsjo Nesting Tables Set. I haven't decided what I will use the taller table for yet, but that can always go in a different room if it turns out there isn't enough space in this room.  Also part of the same collection is the Vittsjo Tall Shelving Unit, which actually isn't pictured above in the design plan, but it will go next to the television and the Expedit.  

And what you may not have noticed in the background of the design plan are the white Merete curtains for the windows.  I love that they are grommet curtains that I can use with the DIY curtain rods I have made out of electrical conduit.  

The Family Room design plan shows two lamps, one table and one floor, but those have since been removed from the actual plan - I just didn't update the visual I made in Photoshop.  

The next room is the small bedroom, which will be my Craft Room. I haven't previously shared my design plan for this room, so this will be the first chance you get to seeing how I am hoping it will turn out. I will make a full design plan though, because there are some other really cool items that I will be adding to the space, including my new library card catalog!

The first thing for the space is the Morum rug. It's a flat-weave rug that I am thinking will vacuum really well, which is important since there will be fabric scraps and thread clippings likely falling onto the floor.  

The next thing that I will be getting for this room will be opposite of the rug - the Fuga ceiling light. Currently, the space has one of those old globe lights that has probably been in place since the house was built, so I am really looking forward to switching this light out. I think it's the perfect mix of modern with functional, since the spotlights can be pointed wherever they are needed. 

Dylan and I used to have one of these Linnmon/Adils tables in the last apartment we had together, and it held up really well considering we were using it for food prep. So I put two of these tables on my shopping list, hoping that I am able to put them together in the center of the room to give me enough space to spread out large pieces of fabric.  

A while back, I shared the design plan for the Guest Bedroom, but like the Family Room, I wanted to include the IKEA items in this post.  There aren't too many for this room, because I have since removed the two nightstands and all the lamps in the room, and I already have the bureau, and the IKEA chair has been replaced by one that belonged to my grandmother before she passed away earlier this year.  

So, that only leaves us with two items from IKEA for this space: the Hampen Rug and the Werna Curtains.  I really love the green rug and hope that despite its small size, it will really help to bring some comfort into the space without overloading the room on the green color.  The curtains though, are dark, so I'm hoping that they will help to block the light when we have guests staying over, while at the same time, bringing some dimension to the room with that pop of dark color along the wall.  

The Living/Dining Room doesn't have a full design plan at this point.  I've been really struggling with it, since we have two functions planned - a Dining Room and a Living Room.  I have been debating building our table, but I'm not sure if that cost will be worth it in the end. I have to price out some wood from a lumber yard, because the types offered from the hardware stores are too soft to build a sturdy table.  If I don't end up building the table as planned, I will likely be purchasing the Stornas table from IKEA, which is made of solid wood.  To go along with the table, regardless of if it's built or bought, I will be purchasing ten of the Borje chairs in the Brown finish and the Gobo White seats.

I also thought that some white Lack shelves would look good along one of the walls to show off some of the little chotchkies that we have.  And then on the other side of the table, I was thinking of some sort of sideboard, and I have fallen in love with The IKEA Bjursta Sideboard.  However, I am having a really hard time justifying the price tag, especially since this isn't one of IKEA's solid wood pieces.

There is only one piece for the Master Bedroom that we will be purchasing, and that is this Expedit Workstation so that we can setup our office in our bedroom. With it being as big as it is, we will have more than enough space to set up an office area, especially since the futon currently in our bedroom will be moving to the craft room for additional guest sleeping when necessary.  

Aside from these bigger items, we will be purchasing some decor items, like picture frames for my favorite digital art prints, vases, and fake flowers, and some succulents and actual plants and the cute little tabletop Socker greenhouse you see below.  The venue that we got married at, the Roger Williams Botanical Center, has a few of these plants in the greenhouses, so I thought that this would be the perfect way to remind us of the absolutely beautiful wedding day that we had.  

So, that concludes the bulk of my IKEA shopping list. To make sure that I don't bore you, I didn't include too many of the little things that we will be getting, like some additional accessories for my craft room and some sets of sheets for the guest bedroom and the futon.

But, that's my list! What do you think? What are your favorite pieces above? What about the pieces you have in your home - which are your favorites? Any suggestions on must-have items from IKEA?

All images except the Family Room and Guest Bedroom Design Plans courtesy of IKEA.