Crafting and creating is even more fun when items are at our finger tips.

If you need help organizing your craft supplies, look no further. This craft room was organized by a creating genius for order and inspiration.

Organize your craft room for ultimate inspiration. Whether it be quilting, painting, jewelry or costumes, you’ll find easy and affordable organization that you’ll want to show off.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small percentage of the sale of items you may purchase at no additional cost to you.

Foam Board Fabric Organizers

These organizing game changers are inexpensive and versatile. Dollar store foam board turned fabric organizer. Cut with a ruler and exacto knife to the size that fits your needs.

Notice how there are taller boards in the back to store large pieces of fabric and shorter boards in the front. This helps make use of a deep shelf and still be able to see what you have.

And of course the fabric is color coded, because it would be wrong any other way.

Easy Accent Wall Shelving from Ikea

The shelving units fit perfectly and when you aren’t looking for the perfect piece for your next quilting project, the shelves make a cozy accent wall to your creative space.

Baby Food Containers, Perfect for Organizers

Baby food containers, collect these for easy, see through storage. Perfect for small beads, buttons etc. You’ll find these shallow drawers from Ikea. No more digging to get creating – it’s literally at your finger tips

Whether you’ve got a baby at home or have a friend at the baby food stage, there is someone in your life that has an over abundance of these. The shallow drawers from Ikea make it easy to quickly find what you need. Here are some other great ideas for using baby food containers.

Lunch Meat Container Storage

Deli meat containers in varrying sizes, with the same width, keep larger items in easy reach. The see through sides and labels are genius time savers. If you find you are always buying a certain product, consider saving the container for storage. They’ll match and stack easier. And you’ll be saving our little Earth with thrifty, cute, reusable organizers.

Each container is “filed” in a metal filing cabinet that was painted light pink. Making it easy to find what you’re looking for.

Organizing Shelves Door Storage Ideas: Wire Basket Catch All

One secret about having everything at your finger tips is using every bit of your craft room space. Transform your closet door into a thread storage shelf, scissors and Cricut supplies, or a gift wrapping station. There are so many options, what would you do with that extra space?

Organize craft supplies. Wire shelfing that can attach easily to doors can be found on Amazon.

Use Command Hooks for Affordable Craft Room Organization

There are endless ways to use Command Hooks in organizing your craft room and the best part? They’re insanely affordable and easy to move. Find a great selection to choose from here.

Cheese Puff Bin Storage

Again, if you like a product, hold onto the containers. Cheese Puff containers can hold a lot. If the material is light you can easily store above head and still use space in harder to reach areas

Hard to Store Quilting Frame Made Easy

Quilting frame too tall for the closet? Improvise. If you’re quilting rack seems to take up precious space, get creative. Here a small hole was cut in the closet ceiling to allow the quilting frame to stand upright and save more space

Craft Room Ideas: Beautify Your Creative Space

If you spend much of your time crafting, why not make it cute with a collection of dress stands. Keep an eye out at yard sales to perfect your collection. They can also be easily found online.

Add a fancy chandelier with an artistic flaire, this style was found at Costco or search for some fun ideas online.

Happy crafting! I hope you found some great take home ideas that will help you organize your craftroom. Comment below on your favorite organizing tips.

You might also enjoy

Follow me on Social Media

DIY Instagram and Pinterest

Cooking Instagram and Pinterest

Parenting Pinterest and Facebook

Contact me

ThisHomemadeHome@gmail.com

The post 8 Easy, Craftroom Organizing Tips appeared first on This Homemade Home.

When we bought our house it had been a rental which was bad in the aspect that we had alot of things to fix up, but really good in that we got the house for a killer deal.

The front yard had beenprofessionally landscaped, which was great. However many of the trees and shrubs had overgrown and killed lawn or taken over several feet of pavement.

I really didn’t like that you could see the downspout drain pipe from the front. There was also a vast space of nothing right by the front walk way.

And though I wanted to do this project along with 100 others right away, I knew I had to pace myself.

There were several projects we had to do first out of necessity. You can read more about that from my DIY tab. Some of my favorites, some easy, some labor intensive, each made a dramatic difference to the enjoyment of our home.

inground trampoline

the entryway makeover

loft bed

and

installing a paver edge

Finally it’s time for the dry creek bed pictures, how-to maintenance and all I’ve learned in making it the best.

How to Make a Dry Creek Bed For Drainage

One of the primary reasons for wanting to DIY a dry creek bed was for drainage. I wanted like nothing else to get rid of that big black drain tube.

What I found is the dry creek bed works amazing as a drainage canal for downspouts.

There are a few specific things that will help your dry creek bed work well to drain excess water.

Dry Creek Bed Cost and Materials

To keep the costs low and because I had them on hand. These are the materials I used for a 10 foot stretch.

3 Heavy duty plastic landscape bags

15 Large boulders football sized plus

30 Small boulders fist sized or less

2 bags River rock /pea gravel

First dig a canal in the ground. Make sure it is sloping away from your foundation. I used a level to make sure it was tilting as far as I wanted.

Then lay down the landscape bags. As seen in the picture I started the bag 6 inches up the side of the foundation and held it in place with rocks.

With each new bag I made sure it overlapped by 6 inches with the new bag going underneath the previous bag.

Each bag also had a 1′ to a 1 1/2′ of space on either side of the canal. Here I made sure to push back the landscape rock. Place large, then small boulders and then put the landscape rock back around to cover the plastic.

At the downspout I had a pile of rocks to help hide the plastic and to lead the water away from the house and down the canal.

How to Keep River Rock in Place on a Slope

After the first rain storm I found I had a problem. The water would rush out from the drain pipe so quickly that it would wash away all my river rock as well.

I actually went and studied the river by my house – I’m pretty committed to this dry creek bed by now.

I noticed two things. A natural river has most of its large boulders on the outside edge, followed by smaller boulders and then river rock. A natural river curves and winds and that is where it slows down.

To create this natural slowing process I had to put rocks sticking out into the “river.” It was difficult, because my brain kept saying it should be uniform, but nature is not uniform and looks better with curves and displaced rocks anyhow.

As you can see in the picture below the rocks slow the water enough that even the tree seeds gather and don’t wash all the way down, but the water still moves away from the house.

I strategically placed one rock on one side and then a foot later a rock on the other side so it would hit a rock, show down, hit another rock and slow down more.

I no longer have river rock washing away.

With a view of the whole creek you can also see that I only did two major rocks, strategically placed to slow the water flow.

The rest of the creek curves a bit for aesthetic and water control purposes.

Dry Creek Bed Landscape Plants

When the landscape was originally planned there was no water run to this section. It gets too dry for regular plants to grow, so I tried native plants, as you can kind of see in this picture.

They all died, probably because of my limited plant knowledge.

I tried again with Chick and Hen Succulents and they thrived. First off succulents love rocky terrain for their little roots to wrap around. They also do great with large amounts of water during rainy season. The thick leaves allow them to store up water for dry spells.

Watch your succulents. If the leaves start to get thin, give them a good long drink of water. I have found they can go several weeks in hot dry weather before needing water.

Keep in mind, not all succulents can survive outside in all growing zones. We are zone 5b-7a. I have also successfully grown these in zone 4 where it got pretty cold for 6 months. Check for the particular succulent you are looking to plant before you put it permanently outside.

Depending on your rain fall, hostas would also do well near a dry creek bed. Keep in mind that they like a moderate amount of water and do well in shade.

Dry Creek Bed Maintenance

Once you’ve got the water flow under control and plants that grow well there is not alot of maintenance.

A few times a year I use a leaf blower to blow away any trees seeds, leaves and plant residue.

Every so often I adjust a rock or redistribute river rock that has fallen. In general its a nice, low maintenance landscaping.

It’s added interest to our yard. Provided an attractive way to move rain water away from our house and acts as an occasional balancing exercise for our children.

The Succulents have taken off and at they grow will also help hold the smaller rocks in place.

Thank you for stopping by. Please share your thoughts – which of your projects have had the greatest effect on your curb appeal?

Have a wonderful day!

Natalie

To get more great DIY please subscribe.

Follow me on social media

For DIY Instagram and Pinterest

For Cooking Instagram and Pinterest

For Parenting Pinterest and Facebook

The post 5 Steps to Make a Dry River Bed appeared first on This Homemade Home.

So you want to make an inground Trampoline?

You are in luck, we just did it and are here to share what we learned. Some people may wonder, can you put an above ground trampoline in the ground?

The answer is yes!

There are several options. Here’s how we did ours for under $100.

Definitely the easiest way to get the pit is to hire the digging out to someone with equipment or rent the equipment like a backhoe or a mini excavator. Depending on where you live, this can cost $200 – $500 to rent.

DIY Trampoline Pit

If you’re really determined and very much into saving money and DIY you can dig it by hand.

My husband dug this completely by hand. He’s amazing right? I thought it was a little crazy and not possible, but he treated it like his workout and did it every day for about two weeks.

He then used the extra dirt to create a greater slope away from the foundation of our house and make a hill to build a fish pond and waterfall for a later project.

So it is possible by hand and you can do it even with hard desert ground, just know what you’re getting into.

Sunken trampoline problems

The ground seemed so hard we decided not to put up a Trampoline retaining wall. Then a few months later, our neighbor’s water main broke and all the water drained into this pit. The sides weakened and then collapsed.

We knew we had to put up a retaining wall of some sort, but left it for the next spring.

Building a Retaining Wall for a Trampoline Pit

This article is on how to create a retaining wall using corrugated metal, because it’s cheap and easy. At the end of the article I will share all the other ways we considered before we began.

How Corrugated Metal Can be Used as a DIY Inground Trampoline Pit

Pros it’s inexpensive, the curved horizontal lines create a strong surface for a retaining wall.

Cons it may rust, it is sharp on the edges.

First you’ll want to dig out enough dirt for the metal sheet to slide into place.

This is what it looked like digging out the collapsed walls.

Fit Corrugated Sheets Around the sides of the Inground Trampoline Pit

We used 4’x10′ corrugated metal sheets. This allowed just enough room to bend around the middle poll while both edges fit behind the first and last poll. They run about $10 a sheet bringing the cost to just under a $100 for materials.

Tip : wear working gloves. As you are fitting the metal into place you will need to push down on the edges, which are sharp.

Bending Corrugated Metal For a Trampoline Pit

We tried two methods. Bending it before we put it in and bending it while we put it in. Both had successes and failures.

Both bends highlighted below were done by bending while we put them in place. As you can see sometimes it worked very well. However our worst bend job also came from bending while putting it in the pit.

We then tried bending it before by having our kids stand where we wanted it to bend while we pushed the sheet up. We got mediocre bends.

Ultimately we decided to just chance it and bend as we went.

A long metal pipe may work better, we just decided to wing it.

How to Avoid Sharp Edges on Trampoline Retaining Walls and How to Create Air Flow

As has been noted, corrugated metal is sharp on the edges. A friend’s daughter slipped on their tramp while jumping and cut her leg. Not a bad cut, but still not desirable.

We decided to combat this by having the metal sit well below the edge of the trampoline and have the earth slope down to the metal.

Eventually grass will grow towards the metal retaining wall and slightly cover the metal edge.

The added bonus of having this slope is it will also allow air to escape which creates a greater bounce. If the trampoline comes flush to the ground the air won’t move out of the way and will create a belly flop, hard bounce.

In ground trampoline drainage

We don’t have a nifty drain in the middle, that would be really smart and we may do that one day. But we do have a down spout draining field right in the trampoline pit.

My husband discovered it while digging. It’s basically a pile of rocks, to prevent erosion, covered with dirt.

We left the whole thing where it was. Eventually we will put up some 2x4s to reinforce the sides where the drain field is.

It also works as a handy slope to get in and out of the pit.

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but I came through with a rake and built up the sides with a slight decline towards the middle.

This will help reinforce the bottom edge of the corrugated metal and any water that does make it in can drain to the middle and evaporate.

How Well Does a Trampoline Retaining Wall Hold up?

We came up with a corrugated retaining wall out of necessity. After the walls caved in, the erosion kept going. Our other neighbor’s garden irrigation was slowly eating away at one side.

If you have alot of erosion from water first put up the wall, then fill with gravel then dirt. The gravel will help filter the water and reduce the erosion effect.

The section I have circled here has been up over a year and is still going strong. No bulging or signs of giving way.

Alternative Spring Covers for an Inground Trampoline Pit

The heat and wind desinegrated our trampoline pad. We wanted something that wouldn’t blow away, but would also protect our kids from spring pinches.

Pool noodles were the thing we needed. They fit the spring with just enough room to slide.

Fitting Pool Noodles for Trampoline Springs

First get these on clearance at the end of summer. This measures the whole inground trampoline package really come to under $100

Next cut noodles with a serrated knife about 5″ or the length of the spring stretch section leaving the metal loops exposed.

This will make for easier assembly onto the frame.

Slide the springs into each pool noodle section.

Put all the springs onto the frame, then begin to put the trampoline mat in place.

How to Assemble a Trampoline

The trampoline mat can be difficult to get on the frame. You will want to have these cool tools that grip the spring and allow you to pull it onto the trampoline mat ring.

Towards the end when it’s really difficult, we found it worked best for me to pull the ring of the trampoline mat while my husband used a long flathead screw driver from the loop on the spring and connected the two together.

And it’s done!

The kids love jumping, we love them getting the exercise and being outside. The longer we’ve had the trampoline the more comfortable and daring our children have become.

So we’re coming up with rules to keep kids heads in place.

What are go – to rules that have kept your kids safe on the trampoline?

Here are some other inground trampoline ideas we also considered

Buying a Trampoline Retaining Wall Kit

They will run you $800 at Trampolines Down Under.

Pros it’s all set up meant to fit your trampoline.

Cons I’ve still seen these bulging, they’re not fail safe. But to be fair to Trampolines down under its possible they weren’t installed correctly.

Check out this design from their company. The curved sides give it added security.

Using a Cut Off End to a Grain Silo for an Inground Trampoline Retaining Wall

Runs you a few hundred. The idea is you buy the whole silo and cut them into sections. You can get 4-5 out of one silo, sell off the rest to pay for it.

Pros it’s one big, heavy duty circle. No bulging from dirt, no rust.

Cons it’s hard to find one.

Build a Trampoline Retaining Wall Out of Brick

The only version I saw of this had a huge 1′ gap all the way around. Which was built that way on purpose so kids could climb under and get things that had fallen. All I saw was my toddler tripping on it and face planting on the springs. It also is a lot of money for brick.

Pros it can look really classy

Cons it can be a hard place to fall.

Well that’s the inground trampoline pit info. We ultimately chose the corrugated metal because we tested it and saw it was working.

I hope this helped as you make your inground pit.

Please like, comment and subscribe this helps us to continue to bring you great articles.

And have a great day!

Natalie

The post How to Make a Trampoline Pit for Under $100 appeared first on This Homemade Home.

If you have used wood blind slats or faux wood slats laying around, don’t throw them out. Sometimes these thin, flexible slats can work better than trim you find at the store

Not only can you remove those extra blind slats that sit constantly at the bottom of your window blinds, but you can do insanely awesome things with the left overs.

Use Faux Wood Blind Slats to Dress Up a Boring Door

One of my favorite uses for faux wood blinds is to dress up a flat boring door. To trim out and add a touch of farmhouse style, simply outline your doors (and walls if you want) with trim. Then caulk in the seams and paint. It’s that easy.

The faux wood blinds used here, had holes in them. To fix that, first glue the blind slat to your desired surface. Then come back through with drywall mud and fill in all the holes. Let the mud dry, then sand smooth.

After a coat of primer you are ready to paint.

If you look here, you will see I actually added trim to create the visual effect of wider doors. I cut the window blinds so that it ran across the accordian style door. This gave the visual perception of two wider doors instead of 4 narrow ones.

I also used this pallet of colors to create height. You can read more about how to do this in my article How to Make a Room Seem Larger Than It Is.

Upcycle Window Blinds Slats to Add Character to a Kitchen Island

Sometimes you want bigger, boxy trim and sometimes you want sleek and subtle highlights.

Used window blinds work perfect here. Being thin helps add interest without the bulk as shown in my desk to kitchen island.

As the tilt out trash can and storage were added, several gaps needed to be covered. The window blinds did a great job and added an element of elegance once complete.

To see the whole transformation and how-to click here.

Repurpose Faux Wood Blind Slats to Cover Up Outdated Designs

Old window blinds came in handy with this upcycle project. There was so little room to add trim. Faux wood slats would work best because they were so thin.

I attached the trim with an automatic air nailer. Then caulked over the holes.

So seamless, once painted, you will never know about the outdated scalloped edge.

I use recycled, upcycled, repurposed material in my designs because I love to bring value back to something that would just end up in a landfill. We consume so much as a society and so many materials are needlessly tossed.

It’s a good feeling to recycle and have your home even more beautiful.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this article. Please feel free to subscribe for more cost effective, environmentally friendly ways to update your home.

See you next time.

Natalie

The post 3 Cool Things to do with Extra Window Blinds appeared first on This Homemade Home.

How to hang hooks and faux wainscoting to increase the use of your space and make your entry feel more welcoming.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small percentage of the sale of items you may purchase at no increased price to you.

The entryway is the first and often only place many people see of your home. By making it welcoming and spacious you give an impression of what you’re whole home looks like.

There are different techniques to use whether you have a small, narrow space or large space that needs focus. Today I am writing about how we gave a larger entry focus. Read here for tips on a smaller space.

The reason for the project

I found that when people arrived at our home they had no convenient place to put their jackets. Though we do have a small coat closet, people usually chose to just lay them on the floor. I wanted there to be an attractive and useful spot to quickly put visitors items and help them feel welcome.

I also hated the orange peel texture, so you can see in my before picture that the project is already underway…And I forgot to take a picture before I had started .

If you would like to see how to change the texture of your walls, check out my YouTube channel.

Patch Walls / Smooth-out Texture

This can be done (as demonstrated on my YouTube channel) with a skim coat of dry wall mud. You can buy this in powder form and mix to the desired consistency or pre mixed.

Tip:

Bumps on the wall are more concerning than dips in the wall. You can always come back and fill in a hole. It’s much harder to scrape off a poorly filled hole that sticks up and is now painted.

Space Vertical Trim

When I first started doing faux wainscoting, someone had suggested to use a computer program to decide where to put each piece of vertical slat. I don’t have the patience for that.

I place the piece where it looks normal up close, then I back up to see if it looks good.

After it visually looks good, I measure between each piece and make slight adjustments. You may have light switches, plugs or door frames to maneuver around.

The slats are pine, 1/4 inch by 2 inches, found in the buy-by-the-foot trim section at the Home Depot. I believe they are lattice slats.

Tape Each Slat in Place

Once I am sure of the location of each slat, I tape it in place with painters tape. It is also a good idea to use a level as you tape them down. It may look perfectly vertical when you are up close, but when you move away the slight slants really stick out.

Secure the slates in place with either finish nails and a hammer or an automatic finish nailer. We bought the Porter – Cable combo pack nailers and upholstery stapler with an air compressor. It had the best price and highest reviews.

Add Boards for a Shelf

Two 6″ X 1″ pine boards make a narrow shelf and a great support to add coat hooks. You can also add a piece of decorative trim where the boards come together, for extra support and detail.

Secure in place with finish nails and a few screws. I used my awesome magnetic stud finder and placed the screws into studs. The shelf isn’t meant to hold much weight, but it will be holding several hooks and weight from coats.

Caulk All Joints

Use paintable caulk along all joints. This is what gives a finished, professional look.

Friends have told me before that they were intimidated by all the caulk choices. See my caulk choosing guide here.

For this project I went with DAP paintable caulk.

Fill in any nail or screw holes with caulk.

Choose Your Paint Color

Paint can dramatically change the feel of a room. I went with a light blue on the upper wall to help soften my crazy horizontal lines along the ceiling.

As you can see in the image below the diagonal wall painted in blue draws less attention to the strange angle, than the brown.

It works because the wall color comes closer to matching the ceiling. It blend in instead of sticking out. In this case I really wanted that effect.

I painted the faux wainscoting the same color as my baseboards and trim. This created continuity and gave the impression of more space.

Add Coat Hooks

I searched everywhere for hooks that looked nice and weren’t too big or expensive. Many were too tall to fit under the shelf and leave enough head room to fit a coat over the hook. Many looked cheap.

Eventually I chose these. They had good shape, good reviews, they held your attention, but didn’t draw away from the rest of the design.

Our home immediately looked elevated. I recieved complements from people who were seeing the home for the first time as well as old friends.

I thought it, “worked! The entry really does speak for the whole home.” It’s worth investing in.

I hope you liked this little tutorial today. What is something you want to upgrade in your home? What do you wish you knew how to do (maybe I’ll make a tutorial ).

Take care,

Have a great day,

Natalie

The post Easy Entryway Makeover appeared first on This Homemade Home.

Who doesn’t want clean tile? Either you’ve already got it or you give it a real mean glare from the couch.

The easiest way to keep your tile clean is to seal it in the first place. If you inherited your dirty grout lines like I did the only way out is to get down and clean them.

You’ve got a few options that I will cover in this article.

Scrub with adhesive

Steam

Paint the grout lines

Chemicals

In the before picture of my tile. The floor doesn’t look too bad – but I think I’d grown used to it. I hated it when we bought the house and off and on hated it while we finished the basement, put in a back yard and built a loft bed. See what I did there .

We weren’t sitting around, staring at a horrible floor. We were working our tails off, occasionally noticing the floor. Then a well meaning family member mentioned it and I had a 40 year birthday bash coming.

(I know I finally made the big 4-0 )

Which meant it was time for the real deal. It was time to clean that floor and seal it.

Before the grout was cleaned

After the grout was cleaned

Baking Soda and Vinegar Meathod

I had scrubbed the floor before with baking soda – it worked, but took several washes to get the residue off. I had done a 4’x5′ section to see how it went. Didn’t seal it because the rest of the floor needed to be done first. Within a few weeks the tile was back to normal – ugh!

This time, my 40th birthday try, I decided to get it all done in one blow and rented a really expensive tile steamer.

I was hoping for a magical experience, where I pointed the steam and simply wiped away any leftover mist. The truth is, I worked up a sweat scrubbing the tile – just like I’d hoped not too.

The good news? I figured out how to do it for free with no harsh chemicals, annoying residue or expensive rental machines.

The steamer by itself left light lines, but in no way got the whole floor clean.

Grout lines cleaned with just a steamer and no scrubbing

I found I had to steam and then scrub. I was also in a rush because I only had the rented steamer for 4 hours. It was too pricey to do a thorough job.

Here my floor was cleaner, but still had dark lines and I had to return the steamer.

I was annoyed because of the price I had paid and time restraints – and it still wasn’t clean.

However I had noticed something, I was cleaning up alot of water. Steam after all is a gas from really hot water…

Why was I paying all this money for hot water??

Hot Water No Chemicals or Adhesives

I came home and tried again. This time with no time restraints. How good can boiling hot water do at cleaning grout?

This is the amount of dirt I got up with just hot water and a metal bristle brush. For just the cost of boiled water, I was able to get the exact same result as a rented steamer.

Or better because it didn’t cost me $50.

The good news is not only was it cheaper, but it also left no residue behind. No harsh chemicals to breath in while cleaning or to expose my children to.

Boiling water and a metal bristle brush worked just as well as any other method I’ve tried – and it was free.

After your floor is clean, be sure to seal it. I used 511 Impregnator Sealer. Hoping this works to the tune of never having to clean tile grout again.

Paint Grout Lines

Another option is to “paint” the grout with Grout Refresh. You can see instructions on how to get that look here.

Chemicals

You can clean with chemicals. As time has gone on I’ve become more weary of the chemicals we use. My youngest was diagnosed with asthma at one year of age so I personally have started looking for options that don’t require chemicals.

That being said, sometimes chemicals are just easier. There are a few options out there and people claim ut makes your life easier and will get the job done quickly.

One option is Clorox toilet bowl cleaner you can view the how to here. Though I haven’t tried this personally I would suggest you clean your floor very well after since it is meant to be kept within a toilet bowl.

There are also options to use Oxiclean or Resolve to clean your tile.

Whichever option you choose, best wishes. I am so glad I got it done and that I sealed the grout afterwards. I’m not going to do this every month.

What have you found helps in cleaning grout?

Until next time,

Natalie

The post How to Clean Tile, Without Harsh Chemicals or Residue appeared first on This Homemade Home.

The only thing worse than a room being small is actually feeling small. Thankfully there are plenty of things to do to not only increase the look, but also the feel by adding attractive, inconspicuous storage, well placed accent walls and choosing color than enhances the space.

I’ve compiled amazing tips for decorating small spaces for the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and home, that will help you meet your goals.

Small Bathrooms

Sometimes there is just not a cost effective way to increase the size of a bathroom. If you have a small bathroom all is not lost. At Trend4Homey you will find a variety of truly small bathrooms with inspiring decorating ideas.

The following rooms all increase their storage with the use of shelves and make the room feel more homey.

I love this pallet wall, see this and other pallet projects at AllThingsHeartandHome.Com.

If pallet wood is not your style you can also try some white washed faux brick, tongue and groove pine or shiplap.

Small Bedrooms

Small spaces can be great. Less to clean, less to own, but it also has its draw backs, namely storage.
One of the most effective ways to create space in a small bedroom or apartment is to add storage in attractive and efficient ways. Like this storage added under a loft bed. See how to make your own loft bed and immediately have more space.

This bedroom has been given an airy feel by adding curtains around the bed to create a sense of privacy. The curtains, though thin, give the feeling of separate rooms. See it here along with 37 other small bedroom ideas.

Small Kitchens

Check out Architectural Digest for an amazing tour of small kitchens. These are my favorites.

Many kitchens (and homes for that matter) are going all white. With the right decore and texture through fabric, wall covering etc. An all white space can be pulled off well. It also increases the effect of space and is wonderful in small rooms, but check out this kitchen!

I love it so much. Using a light grey paint, they created height and still kept the spacial feeling by painting the walls and cabinets the same color. While this wouldn’t work in all situations it works here because there is a good balance of smooth and lined texture. The shiplap helps break up the monotony and the smooth cabinets help separate them from the wall.

The bright window is set high on the wall which pulls your eyes upward and increases the spacial feeling.

The live plants add interest and also pull your eyes upward, creating an inviting and calm space. Imagine this room without plants – it would feel kind of blah and the grey would likely become overpowering.

And of course these amazing counters and floor. They are the highlight. The final touch. They would easily be “too much” in an otherwise busy kitchen with alot of texture and color, but with the grey throughout and the green plants up high, they have nothing to compete with – they just get to shine.

Beautiful light coming in from a window that can’t even be seen. Technically you could add lighting to mimic natural light and get the same effect. The cabinets go to the ceiling creating both storage and bringing attention to the height of the ceiling. They were even able to squeeze in room for a mini breakfast bar.

The all white kitchen helps it feel larger than it is while the wood counters bring in warmth. White subway tile add to the brightness of the room while also adding subtle texture. Though it doesn’t seem to stick out, this kitchen would look much different if it had plain painted walls.

Small Homes

At designertrapped.Com you’ll find 7 tips for making a room seem larger than it is using furniture and decorating tips.

Among her designer tips – adding curtains that go to the ceiling to make the window feel larger than it is.

Try thishomemadehome.com tips on using paint, color, texture and mirrors to trick the eye. Creating a spatial feeling without knocking down any walls.

That is my quick and simple guide to making a room feel larger. If you have other ideas that have worked for you, please share in the comments below.

If you liked what you read and want to keep up on the latest posts from This Homemade Home, please subscribe.

Best wishes,

Natalie

The post Small Spaces Guide : How to make a room look and feel larger than it is appeared first on This Homemade Home.

There are several situations where a loft bed becomes a great alternative to traditional beds.

Small Apartment Living

This style is simple and looks great for small apartment spaces. Built in a deck like fashion.

You will find free plans here.

College Dorm

This style is simple and can be removed when you leave.

Creating Study or Play Space

We found ourselves trying to build a bedroom in a narrow portion of the basement. With the placement of the hot water heater and window it was impossible to avoid a narrow space.

Building a Wall to Wall Loft Bed

We made up for it with a large walk in closet and a loft bed. Now our daughter is in 7th Heaven and has loved organizing all her stuff on the book shelf and cubby wall.

Bolt Supports Into the Wall

Create a firm bed that won’t creak or move by first building a good support system. I used 1/4″ diameter bolts and ratcheted a bolt into each stud in the wall. With this being a wall-to-wall loft I was able to bolt into the walls on three sides.

Mark where each wall stud is on the wall. Hold a 2×4 up on the wall and mark on the 2×4 where each stud is located. Drill 1/4″ pilot holes where you have marked for the bolt to fit.

To get an truly flat bed, use a level when attaching 2x4s to ensure the support is horizontal.

For the large “doorway” under the bed use 2x4s as shown in the picture below, resting on vertical 2x4s.

Build Shelves Under the Loft Bed

To make the most of the space under the bed you can create deep shelves for cubbies and a book shelf.

Use a level here as well to ensure the shelves are straight. I would hold the shelf level, then measure the vertical support beam.

When finishing the shelves, paint the support boards to match the wall color. As you can see here the supports almost blend into the wall.

Place Supports Under the Bed

Putting supports under the bed also help with making a solid immovable bed. I used one 2×4 length wise and cut notches out for two 2x2s then reinforced each board with metal brackets.

The floor of the bed was made using 3/4 inch plywood.

Build Loft Railing

The railing was a little difficult since the bed was longer. I wanted it to be sturdy and withstand heavy use. First I put a bolt in each rung. I screwed the top railing in place and found it still shook a bit.

I then installed an A frame support on the end of the railing. This worked beautifully and took care of any slight movement.

Smooth Out the Finish

Next I sanded down all the joints. Then I caulked in all the screws, joints and imperfections in the wood. There were still a few problem areas so I mixed up a batch of drywall mud and applied it to the wood, let dry and sanded smooth.

Paint or Stain Loft Bed

My daughter and I decided to use white wash on the bed since the room already had some deep blues and we wanted the bed to stand out.

You can buy whitewash stain or you can make your own whitewash. I used 2 parts water to 1 part paint. The nice thing about making your own is you can use paint you already have on hand. It also made it easy to match our trim since it was the same shade.

At first it looks pretty opaque, but the paint soaks into the wood and quickly gets that beach wood look. You can also wipe part of it away with a rag if you want a lighter effect.

Add a Carpet Landing

We had left over carpet scraps that I used for a comfy loft landing. First put down the padding and secure in place with staples. Then screw the carpet into place on the underside onto the landing. Once you flip the carpet over it gives a nice carpeted edge.

Enjoy Your New Space

You’ve arrived, pull out your organization skills and use those cubbies. I plan on installing some sort of material for privacy between the railing rung. I’m thinking corrugated metal, antique rulers or plain-boring-flat wood.

What would you put in between rungs for more privacy and still have it look nice?

Well until next time, have a great day and keep creating!

Natalie

The post How to Build a Loft Bed appeared first on This Homemade Home.

When we bought our first home, we had a lot of dreams. One thing that I couldn’t really change though was the entrance size. It was narrow and tight and the previous owners had painted it a tan color which seemed to magnify the smallness of the space.

Here’s a poorly taken picture to magnify the awfulness of the space.

Because of the floor layout, we couldn’t knock down walls and open up the entrance. One because there was a bedroom on the right and on the left a small weird partial wall which would then create a gap in the beautiful hardwood. I decided I needed to trick the eye and convince people they were seeing a larger area.

Choose the Right Paint Color and Sheen for the Space

The first plan was to lighten the room with paint. The colors you pick can make a dramatic impact on the look of a home. Warm colors do make a room feel – well warm, but they can also make it feel small. If you don’t have a lot of room to start with, warm and/or dark colors might not be the choice for you.

Dark colors, can add a dramatic effect. Add pops of contrasting color, like a large painting or wide trim in a light color, can still trick the eye into not noticing a small space. In general though, lighter colors and natural light help increase the feeling of openness.

Play with different paint sheens. Flat paint absorbes light and is good for theater or bedrooms. Eggshell, satin, semi gloss and, gloss reflect light at a range of levels and hold up to washing better the glossier it gets. Usually people use a higher sheen on trim, like satin or semigloss and a lower sheen on walls like eggshell.

For more paint sheen information click here.

Use Texture to Create Height

I threw in some texture to lift the eyes and create a feeling of height. To accomplish this I created faux wainscoting that came slightly above 5 feet.

When you entered the home the height of the trim made you feel like there was alot of head room.

It also made the perfect height for a small hook rack for purses, jackets etc.

Use Texture to Keep the Eye Focused

I trimmed out my flat, boring accordion closet doors to create interest and pull attention away from the narrow entrance.

The trim was cut to span more than one door, creating the effect of two larger doors instead of four small ones.

Then I painted the trim, doors and walls of my new fake wainscoting up to the top rail in a nice creamy Apple Core from Behr in a satin sheen. Above the wainscoting I picked a gray blue paint in eggshell.

Use Contrast to Pull the Eye Upward

You’ll notice I put the darker color above the light color. You would think this creates a heavy feeling making it seem small, but actually it’s the opposite.

By creating something eye catching up high, it causes you to look up and makes the room seem larger than it is.

Create a Focal Area that Might Otherwise be Ignored

Another trick is to pull your gaze through the room with a focal point.

Our home also came with a narrow kitchen surprise, surprise. We were able to knock out a partial wall to open up the kitchen a bit over the stairway, but it still needed help. I decided to add texture to my trouble wall and make it the focal point.

This was accomplished by stenciling the wall with a light gray semi-gloss over a misty darker blue/gray in eggshell.

This wall became my favorite and went above and beyond what I was hoping. Friends always commented on the wall and with it being right at the entrance from our garage it was a nice welcome home after a long day.

Use Reflection to Imitate Space

Another trick is to add a large mirror in a prominent location, over the fireplace or as a focal point of a room. It’s a great way to elongate a small space and create the effect of a larger space.

In this case the mirror looks like a window and reflects what looks like another room. Though logically we know it’s a mirror it still create a larger, spacial feeling.

A well placed mirror can also reflect natural light creating the feeling of several windows when the room may only have one.

What have you done to make a room seem larger?

Which room in your house do you want to use these tricks on?

The post How to Make A Room Seem Larger Than It Is appeared first on This Homemade Home.

Few things motivate me more than comfort and saving money. When we bought our 40 year old home we didn’t realize how important those two things would become.

Why We Bought an Old House

We bought an old house because we were fresh out of school and had a very small down payment. But, the home had good bones and was free of musty smells. I had checked out the utility bills of the previous owners and found the electric bill was $300 in August…

$300!!

And.. we still bought the house, we just knew we had to hit energy efficiency quick. Which the previous owners had made easy because the water heater was broken and they had stolen the fridge – did I mention it was a foreclosure?

That my friends, is how I became nuts about saving energy.

Saving energy became my ultimate challenge. Within three years we had lowered the high utility bill dramatically. It was now half, not just our original bill, half of the average home our size. We were also more comfortable because the heated or cooled air wasn’t streaming out of our house.

How We Cut the Energy Bill

First, we did all the little things found here in my Saving Energy for $10 or less. Do these first. It will help you get comfortable faster and it doesn’t cost a lot.

We Took Advantage of Energy Rebates

Here are the 5 biggest energy company rebate programs.

Duke Energy

Southern Company

Dominion Energy

Exelon

Rocky Mountain Power

To find your particular rebate program ever your energy company name and “rebate program” into the search bar.

Refrigerator

We love our Whirlpool refrigerator and it’s an Energy Star. The old units use so much energy. If you have a fridge going out, upgrade to an Energy Star model. It will work better and save energy.

Thermostat

The Nest thermostats are all the rage right now and many times there is a rebate for them. So far we haven’t made the plunge because they are still pretty expensive.

However a regular programmable thermostat can still save you a good amount of money. Allowing you to automatically turn down the thermostat during hours you aren’t at home.

Energy Home Audit –

This is where I found out how much heat we were losing through our floor joists in the unfinished basement and ceiling joists in the attic. We were also reminded of how much heat we were losing through our windows. Again check out my previous post for inexpensive fixes that paid off big time.

If your energy company offers an energy audit rebate I would highly recommend them.

We Bought a High Rated Energy Star Water Heater

This made a big difference in saving us energy it was also awesome for our 6 member family. We never ran out of hot water, it was able to heat water so fast. When family was in town one summer we had 6 adults and 4 kids shower or bath back – to – back and no one had a cold shower. It was amazing. I would suggest shopping around, but this water heater is close to what we installed.

We Invested in Water Conservation

Low Flow faucets aerators and shower heads, may not look fancy, but they feel just as great. They help you get the feel of more water by aerating and spreading the water over a larger surface. They use much less water and are definitely worth investing in sooner than later.

Water Conserving toilets, I hate to admit, I didn’t even know these existed until we were forced to buy a new toilet. They are amazing and use so much less water than the original designs.

We installed a Rain Barrel (which was also a rebate) and used it for watering our garden when the summer rains had dried up.

Plant native foliage that work well with the natural water flow of the area.

Did Energy and Water Conservation Pay off financially?

Well yes. Actually a big yes.

We were careful to get quotes and decide how much time it would take us to actually save money after it had paid for its self. There were things we didn’t end up doing because we wouldn’t benefit from the investment.

We didn’t get new windows. We didn’t blow more insulation into the roof. But we did find things we could do to still improve the windows and attic without spending a fortune – refer to the previous post.

The bulk of the money we made, which ultimately paid for everything, was advertising our energy savings report when we sold. We had people coming out of the woodwork, writing us letters, begging us to chose them. We ultimately accepted an offer above asking price and well above what we paid for it.

The home also sold well because of the cosmetic updates we carefully chose. Which will have to be for another post.

I am still an avid energy and water conservationist. I’ve personally experienced the financial gain and physical comfort from a conserving home and I’ll keep doing it all my life.

What are things you have done to conserve? What would you recommend for big ticket improvements versus doing a cheaper repair?

The post How We Cut Our Energy and Water Bill in Half appeared first on This Homemade Home.