The Dog Condo

One of the first projects that needed to get done before baby was to build a better doghouse for our two pups. The dogs usually sleep in our room -- and I've always hated it. One is okay. Two? Is a snoring, stinking mess, especially when you have a male bassett hound. Our carpet is a disaster, and there was NO way I was having baby sleep in there too without doing something.

We didn't feel right leaving the pups outside since we only had a small igloo doghouse, which is pretty useless in the cold and pouring rain. So, J spent some time in the backyard thinking and drawing up plans. What I love about this man is that he can't do anything half-assed. Simple doghouse? Nope...

Several trips to Home Depot later, the frame was up.

He found a spot under the trees so that it'll be shaded in summer. See the igloo house on the right? After we saw the new house go up, we realized how pitiful it was that both dogs shared it.

We had several threats of rain, so J wanted to get the roof on ASAP. The neighbors kept peeking over the fence to see what the heck we were up to. I'm sure they appreciated the late-night hammering!

Once the roof was dried in, shingles went on...

Then the front and porch...

We did the porch for our husky, who likes to keep an eye on the yard but needs shade from the summer heat. And, of course, only fine cedar posts for our pups :)

And, luckily it was complete before our first snow.

Last weekend, we found this metal star at our local trade days. Nice touch, don't you think? :)

It still needs a few touch-ups, a coat of paint and a rug for the porch. We joke that it's the mother-in-law suite ... my mom didn't find it funny.

Now, we just need to replace the carpet in our bedroom before baby arrives!

Linking up to these fabulous parties:

DIY Project Parade @ The DIY Show Off

Remodelaholic's Anonymous @ Remodelaholic

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Inspiration Party @ At the Picket Fence

Show Off Your Stuff Party @ Fireflies & Jellybeans

Mudroom Part 2...ummm, Part 3?

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!! Some of you may remember my last post on my mudroom bench cushion dilemma. Well, I've been wrestling with cushions again. And still not in love with any of them, though I think I'm getting closer ... maybe?

First, found this green paisley cushion at Home Depot. It's actually an outdoor cushion, but it works well since J's always throwing his wet fishing jackets up there. My biggest problem is that it's too short on the sides. But, the color would tie in with the color I want to paint the laundry room. But maybe it's a little blah?

Not quite satisfied, I made another trip to Pier 1. And I actually measured this time! They had a greyish-blue cushion online, but the store only had the brown. Love the shape and size, just not sure about the color. {And ignore the pillows, they're definitely going back!}

Blah. Maybe if it was a darker brown or a different fabric, I'd like it better. {On a side note, Taylor Swift has that exact brown flower pillow on her tour bus. Should I care that I know that? Maybe...}

So, once again, the bench sits cushion-less.

Take 4?

A {Slight} Bathroom Update

Well, so I thought I'd found the perfect color {Cappuccino White, Home Depot} for my guest bathroom upstairs. J loves it -- I think it turned out kind of bland. It's hard to tell the difference between the before and after, especially in photos.

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

Ohwell, it's still better than builder white, right? We also bought a cool light fixture at Home Depot ... only to realize that we had a huge hole in the wall behind the existing light. Guess we'll either have to patch the wall or find something the same size as the existing.

And I just {heart} the windows above the bath. They were one of the first things I did when we moved in, and it was super easy -- I just applied some decorative window film and viola! Pretty privacy.

I'd like to frame out the mirror at some point, so if you have any tips & tricks (or a great tutorial!) let me know -- I have several mirrors to do!

Cute & Simple DIY Bulletin Board

Well, this post is looong overdue. But, I think this project turned out too cute {and too easy!} not to share.

I'd been looking for a bulletin board of some sort to hang in the pantry for notes, grocery lists, etc. I just could never find one that wasn't too plain or wasn't waaay overpriced. I just wanted simple.

I was at IKEA before the holidays and found cork bulletin boards for $5. Too plain and boring, I thought. And then it hit me -- just paint it! {Don't laugh. I'm sure you more creative folks are 10 steps ahead of me with this!} When I got home, I went through the paint samples I had bought when I was deciding on wall colors for the house. I tell ya, I have quite the collection as I'm so indecisive. One of my favorites is Organic Garden from Home Depot -- so I used a foamy paintbrush and it went from this ...

To this ...

I love how the color turned out! I tried to make the edges look like aged wood with different shades of brown acrylic paint.

I still thought it looked a bit plain, so I started painting swirls using a small brush and white acrylic paint.

I love how the little swirls came out! But, the bigger ones look a bit ... odd ...

Ohwell. It came with small metal rings that I sprayed bronze, then screwed in to the top. A little brown ribbon and a bow, and this project was done!

I hung it on the inside of the pantry door with one of those bronze removable hooks. Seriously, the project took no time once I figured out what I wanted to do. So, I made one for my mom, too. For her board, I used a spray paint from Hobby Lobby {color: Oregano}. Honestly, hand painting was waaay easier and surprisingly faster as I had to do several coats with the spray paint. But I think hers turned out cute, too.

I finished it off with a bow like mine, and it's now hanging on her pantry door. So simple ... yet so darn handy!

{Linked to the DIY Showoff Project Parade -- check out the other awesome DIY links too!}