I can’t believe the overwhelming response on the floating book shelves that we did in the nursery!  I have been obsessed with that thought of these ever since I saw them in my inspiration room and I am so glad to see that I am not the only one loving the idea. 

So how can you get this look in your space?  Well here is what you will need.  The measurements below are to do this on a wall of a similar size to ours – you will need to adjust if you want to do a larger/smaller space. 

Supplies Needed

• 6 – 1’ x 4’ x 6’ Poplar Boards Pre Cut Boards
• 6 – 1’ x 8’ Poplar Trim Pieces
• 20 – 1/4” x 4” Flat Head Hanger Bolts
• 2 – 1/4” nuts
• Chalk Line or Level
• Stud Finder
• Wood Glue
• Finishing Nails
• Paint

1. Measure your space and determine layout

We had an extremely scientific method for laying out the shelves.  It consisted of me standing back and saying “I think I want six, with the first one starting about this far from the ceiling and the last one right above the outlet.”  Seriously – that is how we got started.  But it worked and from there we were able to decide that we wanted 13 inches between each shelf and that would give us a total of six. 

We also had to determine length.  Again – it was extremely practical.  “I want it to be this far from the window and this far from the other wall.”  (I know you guys can see me all pregnant directing my poor hubby around with the ruler.  The man has so much patience to put up with me!)  We marked those lengths and were able to figure out that we would only have cut down a 6’ board by a minor amount to make that length work.

2.  Find the studs and mark your lines

Once we had the layout figured out – we used a stud finder and a chalk line to mark each shelf.  You will want to find the stud on either end of your shelf and mark those at how far apart you want them height-wise.  Then you line up your chalk line on the two ends and snap it to get a level line.  Once you have that line – you can mark the studs in between your two ends. 

3.  Install hanger bolts

Now if you haven’t ever worked with a hanger bolt – this is what they look like.  See how they are threaded tight on one side and looser on the other?  The tightly threaded side is called the machine threaded side.  The loosely threaded side is called the wood threaded side.  You are going to install the wood threaded side into the wall and leave the rest of it out to mount the shelf on.

To install them, you need to find the center of the stud along the line for your shelf.  Pre-drill a hole for the hanger bolt.  Then thread the 2 1/4 inch nuts on the machine thread side of the hanger bolt.  Tighten the two nuts against one another using two wrenches to make a place on the hanger bolt that you can use a socket on.  Then use either a deep socket with a ratchet OR deep socket on a drill with an adapter.  Slide the socket over the two tightened nuts and screw into the wall up to the end of the wood thread.   It is critical that you keep them as straight and centered as possible.  As you install them – they will look a little like the picture below. 

4.  Cut your boards and trim to length and attach trim pieces

Next you need to cut your boards down to the length you have determined you want for your wall.  If you want to have trim on the ends of the boards then you also need to account for that in your measurement.  Use either a miter box or a miter saw to make the corners of your trim all pretty!   Below is a close up of what our trim looks like – I didn’t get pictures the day the hubby was working on it!  (Bad blogger!)

Once your trim is cut – attach onto the shelves with a little wood glue and some finishing nails.  A nail gun makes quick work out of this but isn’t a necessity.

5.  Mark where hanger bolts will line up and drill holes into shelves

Once you have your shelves constructed you will need to take them into the room and line them up against your hanger bolts based on where you want the shelf to start and end.  Mark the center of where each hanger bolt will line up and make sure your marks are centered on your shelf.  (NOTE:  Make sure you have your shelf flipped the right way when you are marking it!  We had one that we had to redo because it was upside down when we marked it.)  Once those are marked you want to drill a slightly larger hole (either a 3/8” or 5/16”) into the shelf.   Test fit shelf on wall by sliding over hanger bolts – make any adjustments necessary to get a snug and secure fit. 

6.  Paint shelves

Once your shelves are all ready to roll – all you have left to do is paint them.  We ended up painting the same color as our trim in the room, but you could get really creative with these. 

7.  Mount and make pretty

Finally – all you have to do is slide the finished shelf over the hanger bolts and you are ready to decorate.  I think shelves like this would also look amazing as a gallery ledge with lots of pictures or artwork. 

How about one more shot of these in the room!  Ahhh… I love them so much!

So there you go!  Those are all the steps you need to make these fantastic shelves for yourself.  They really aren’t that challenging to make!  Now that you have seen the how to – are you going to try it?  I wanna know!

P.S.  Make sure you check out the full nursery post for a recap on the design and the how to for all the great projects that went into the room!

Linking this up to

Metamorphosis Monday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

With the upcoming arrival of our new Lil Man coming any day now, I have been surrounded with all things boys love!  Blues, greens, sports, fishing, cars … you name it – I have washed and folded it!  So I decided I wanted to spend a little time looking at some things that were very girly and these pink rooms were just the ticket! 

Now – pink is very risky in home decor – and very polarizing.  You risk it looking like a.) a Barbie Dream house, b.) a nightclub, or c.) like the room was dipped in pepto!  However, in the rooms I found below – I don’t think they ended up with any of those common pitfalls. 

Using pink with a bright orange across all whites here help to create some dramatic pops of color in what would otherwise be an overly sterile space.  Though I would have liked to see the chandi without shades!

Image via BHG

Here is another example of using a bright pink in a white room.  I love the idea of painting a tub this color. 

Photo via House to Home

Bright pink, black and turquoise sounds very late 80’s or early 90’s – but this space looks adorable with these pink bookshelves.

Photo via Caitlin Wilson Design

Using a sophisticated fabric, like the tweed in these drapes, helps to elevate the style and texture of the room.  It ends up feeling classically elegant, like a chic Chenille suit. 

Photo via Design Sponge

Mixing shades of pink is another great way to add some pops of color.  Using the lighter shade on the walls and a darker accent shade (like in the roses) really helps to add another layer of depth into the design.

eclectic dining room design by boston interior designer Amanda L. Reid

This bedroom is another great way of showcasing how to use different layers of pink to create a ton of texture and visual interest.  Love the panels around the bed!

contemporary kids design by amsterdam home staging HUISSTYLING

Finally – don’t be afraid to make girly spaces extra girly with a pop of color like this chair and vanity!

contemporary bedroom design by new york photographer Alexander Johnson Photography

So there you go!  Pink and girly all the way!  Now I wanna know – which room is your favorite?  Would you do a bright pink like that in your home?  Or do you leave pink to others?  Lemme know!

Have you heard about Pinterest?  Pinterest is a virtual pin board that lets you collect and share inspirational ideas and pictures. 

First, it lets you organize all the great stuff you find online into your own “boards” so you can keep track of the things you love.  But the best part is that you can share these boards and your finds with everyone else!  Which means they share their finds with you too!  And let’s face it some of the best ideas out there are the ones that other people turn us on to! 

So what have I found on Pinterest recently?   How about this beautiful room – one of many in my Inspirational Spaces board.

Photo via Country Living

Or you might enjoy my collection of Great Ideas – like this one to cut the lid off old salt containers and use it with a mason jar!

I have also found tons of DIY ideas – like these rosemary planters.

Photo via 3 Meadow Lake Cottage – originally from BHG

Or this Ikea hack coffee table – a little wallpaper and some nail heads and you could have something beautiful here! 

Photo via Pretty City Things

People also share all kinds of food ideas and recipes – like these yummy slow cooker Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos.  Those are totally going on my “To Try” list.

Photo via Can You Stay for Dinner?

And there are also all kinds of fashion and style ideas – like this one on 12 different ways to wear a scarf! 

Photo via Tip Junkie

Love what your seeing – there are tons more ideas like this out on Pinterest!  Normally, you have to be invited by someone else who is already a member to join.  But Beth @ Home Stories A2Z got us all the hook up with an invite on her site!  She also has a great tutorial video posted if you want to learn more about how to use it! 

Oh and if that wasn’t enough Michele @ The Scrap Shoppe and Tammy @ Not Just Paper and Glue – two of my favorite people – are hosting a Pinterest Party on Friday!  Everyone is welcome to come and link up their Pinterest profile and find new fun people to follow!  So make sure you are all set up and ready to link up by Friday!

Hope to see you Pinning soon!

Ok ok – I know I have been talking about it for months.  But I am finally ready to share with you guys the Lil Man’s nursery.  There was a lot of inspiration for this room.  It started with a key card from a hotel and ended with what you guys see here today.  Part of making this room what it is was this blog – and it helped me find and solidify my major themes and fabric choices to take the base nursery into this!  (Warning – picture intensive post to follow!)

Ack!!  I love it!  Let’s take a spin around the rest of the room.  Here is a shot of the dresser/changing table.

And in the other corner – my super comfy chair (that I am sitting in right now!).  Of course I had to make a pillow to match.  Those are also blackout shades back there in the window – which will come in handy for nap time since this room gets pretty bright!

So – let’s be honest here.  The most awesome feature of this whole room are the floating book shelves.  I think I did a good job talking the hubby into recreating them from my inspiration room!

How do I love them?  Oh I could go on and on – they helped add that pop of bright colors I was looking for while providing functional storage AND hopefully instilling a love of books into the Lil Man’s life for years to come.

Oh let’s throw in one more shot of them – just for fun!  I will be back with a tutorial on how to knock these off yourself in the near future!  (UPDATE: Tutorial for the floating book shelves is live!  Check it out!)

And if you can drag your eyes away from the book wall – I also want to show off our crib! 

I am so pleased with how our bedding came out!  I made the bumper and the crib skirt myself.  And the cute little name sign (which says his real name here at the house – I just put up the blog safe version here!)

If you want to do the same you can see the crib skirt tutorial and I will be back with a bumper tutorial soon!  And before I get any haters on the bumper – we aren’t planning on using it until he is actually big enough to be rolling around and “bumping” into things.  So don’t stress over that!

And my fantastically crafty MIL Lynn made us this beautiful quilt to match!

And of course – you can’t have a crib without a mobile.  Ours happen to be some oversized tissue poms.  I love the way they look and I think the Lil Man will appreciate this view!  I found tissue paper to match the color scheme at Hobby Lobby.  Each one was only 99 cents each to make!

Next to the crib I have my little nightstand that got the makeover last weekend.  Perfect for us to put the sound machine and Scentcy nightlight on and stash diapers and other necessities in and under!

And then the changing table!  First off – I love how the dresser came out that we stripped and restained – if you haven’t seen the “before and after” you have to check it out.  I still can’t believe we got it too look as close as we did to our Restoration Hardware inspiration piece and did it for about $50!

Oh and let me give you a little close up of our “gallery wall”.  I am going to be back with a tutorial on how you can make the cute alphabet and owl prints yourself!  I also framed some of the fabric from the bumper and found that cute little giraffe at Hobby Lobby in the clearance bin!  Of course he didn’t match at first – but a little spray paint and that was taken care of!  A matching clock from Target was the perfect final touch!  The green in their RE style line of products is the perfect green! 

Ok so there are a ton of projects here that you may want to try out yourself.  So here is a concise list of each one.  If they are missing links – stay tuned – I have a tutorial coming soon.  Just make sure you subscribe in email, Google Friend Connect, or a reader so you don’t miss one you are interested in!

- Custom Nursery Name Art

- How to Strip and Restain a Dresser

- How to Make a Crib Skirt

- How to Make a Crib Bumper

- Nightstand Makeover

- Making Nursery Accents match your Color Scheme

- How to Make Your Own Custom Graphic Prints

- How to Make Floating Book Shelves

- Making Tissue Poms (link to Martha Stewart for great directions!)

I hope you have enjoyed the room tour as much as I enjoyed putting it together.  It has been a labor of love over the last 4 months – and I adore how it came out.  Now that the nursery is all together I am ok with the Lil Man showing up whenever he would like!  Which since we are almost under 2 weeks to go is about perfect timing!!  :)

So – what do you think?  Have a favorite element?  Want to know about something that I didn’t detail in the post?  Lemme know your thoughts and questions!  I will do my best to answer them!

Linking this up to

Metamorphosis Monday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch
Get Your Craft On with Kim @ Today’s Creative Blog
Tutorials and Tips with Beth @ Home Stories A2Z
Transformation Thursday with Gina @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Show and Share Day with Chris @ Just a Girl
Weekend Wrap Up Party with Jen @ Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Night Special with Donna @ Funky Junk Interiors
Before and After Party with Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chic

Who doesn’t love a good summer BBQ?  With Father’s Day this weekend and the 4th of July around the corner you may be planning a summer party of your own.  If you are – let me share some great entertaining finds that I have seen browsing online!  All of these are under $25 so you don’t have to break the bank while keeping your party looking good.  And as always – I am not being compensated at all for sharing these – this is just me finding great deals for you!

I think having one of these great drink dispensers is always handy during a party – it keeps you from having to refill a pitcher multiple times and the built in ice tray is perfect for keep it cool!

Drink Dispenser from World Market – $19.99

I am loving this next set of ketchup and mustard bottles!  So vintage and cute!!!  And you can’t beat the price!

Ketchup and Mustard Bottle Set from World Market – $3.99

You need a good serving tray and this bright Melamine one is the perfect touch!

Multi Floral Melamine Serving Tray from Target – $9.99

Love these Stars and Strips placemats and napkins!  The placemats are cork!  How cute are those! 

Stars and Stripes Napkins and Placemats from World Market – $5.98-9.99

Love this vintage print on this green melamine dining set.  Very groovy!

Green Geometric 12 pc Melamine Dinnerware Set from Target – $21.99

I adore the print on this Party Tub!  Such a pretty pallet!

Summer Goddess Print Party Bucket from World Market – $19.99

Another handy cute item would be this steel utensil caddy!  Perfect for keeping all your flatware organized!

Steel Blue Utensil Caddy from Target – $9.99

Finally – having a couple of these mesh food guards are a godsend when you have an abundance of pesky critters that also want to enjoy your tasty treats.  And for a set of three – you can’t beat the price!

Set of Three Collapsible Mesh Food Tents from World Market – $8.98

So there you go – eight great summer entertaining essentials!  Find anything you had to have?  What is your must have accessory for a good BBQ?  I wanna know!

Update: The Nursery is finally finished!  Hop over and check out the full reveal!

was everyone’s weekend?  I hope it was great!  Ours was fantastic – we made a LOT of progress on the nursery!  I should be able to show you the final reveal next weekend!  I only have two projects left to finish and it will be ready to show off! 

One of the nursery projects I did this weekend was to makeover a nightstand I found at Goodwill for $15.  Here she is below.  I loved the iron work on the sides and the fact that it had a nice open shelf.  But the gold on white was just not working for me.

So I decided that I would try something that I haven’t done before.  I decided to spray paint a piece of furniture.  Now – I have sprayed tons of stuff – but I have never tried it out on a piece of furniture.  I did learn a few things so I will share my tips. 

First, I decided to prime the piece.  Now I normally don’t use a spray primer – but this piece had a really smooth finish that didn’t seem to budge much when I first sanded it.  So I used Krylon’s spray primer to give it a nice even coat and then sanded that down to make it smooth.  Here is what the piece looked like primed.

Now on this little piece – I used a whole can of primer.  It can take a little bit to get a good finish so be prepared and have an extra can.  Next – I sprayed the metal work on the nightstand with a little ORB (Oil Rubbed Bronze).  Once that was dry – I taped it off and layered on my first coat of color.  Now, my color of choice is Krylon’s Ivy Leaf.  This was the perfect color to pick up on the green accents that we have going on in the nursery.  While using the primer did help to give the piece a nice finish – but it also took almost 2 cans of spray paint to get a nice even coat of color on. 

The last touch was to add a little detailing and a touch of brown paint to the grooves.  Ready to see the final result?  Check it out!

I love it!  It is going to be the perfect touch in the nursery!  I know that green looks a little extreme – but trust me – once you see it in the room you will agree that it is the perfect color!  What do you think?  Love the green or waiting to reserve judgment for when you see the full room?  I wanna know!

 

Linking this up to

Metamorphosis Monday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch
Thrifty Treasures with Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality
Get Your Craft On with Kim @ Today’s Creative Blog
Tip Me Tuesday with Laurie @ Tip Junkie
Tips and Tutorials with Beth @ Home Stories A to Z
Power of Paint Party with Maryann @ Domestically Speaking
Transformation Thursday with Gina @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

Hooking up with HOH with Allison @ House of Hepworths