Adios to the Purple Door

I don't know what it is about this house, but there are a few lingering projects that I was CERTAIN that we were going to take on immediately after moving in, but somehow are still holding out.  It took us well over two years to tackle the Cat Closet Door, and we are still himming and hawing on the Master Bedroom HolesWindows.  But the most shameful, should have done it sooner, project is our bright purple door.

So finally, on a nice day with the kiddos in bed for nap, it was door painting time.  I started by removing the hardware, washing and even lightly sanding the door where purple paint drips threatened my sanity. 

I like to first use a brush to fill in the details of the panels, and then immediately follow with a 4" microfiber roller on the spaces around it.  In this case, with 15 panels, I attacked a couple of rows at a time.

When it was done, maybe 20 minutes and $3 test pot later, I felt like an idiot for hating my front door for 3 years and not doing anything about it.

This wet paint looks a little more "I'm Really Not A Waitress Red" than it is in reality, but apparently I have a thing for houses with red doors.

Our First Home

Here's the finished (just-a-few-years-late) product:

Come on knock on my door...

And now this view of the stairs is much more palatable.

Anyone else tackle a long awaited project recently?  Am I the only one that stares at bad paint for 3 years without changing it?  Let's not dwell, it's pretty now.  Right?

Cover It Up

You'd think by my lack of posting lately that I've been on a break from projects.  No such luck- (right Hubs?)  It's true that we definitely slowed our pace to make time for work and holidays and book reading and puzzle assembling and kitchen dance parties, but we didn't hault projects all together.  Let's be honest- I have no idea how.  So let's spend a little time moving forward catching you up on some of the projects we've tackled, and then we'll get started on a bunch of fun projects we have planned for the cabin.  I can't even tell you guys how excited I am for cabin projects by the way.  I'm literally up at night, laying in bed planning layouts and sequence order! 

First things first- looking back through photos I realized I never updated you on the finished product of the Double Lounger!  Sure, I showed you this:

 But anyone that's seen a Minnesota winter knows that I couldn't stop there.  The next step was to create a outdoor cover for the whole thing to protect the piece from the elements.  I picked up 5 yards of outdoor vinyl at my fav discount fabric store Mill End Fabrics, and with coupon it was just $14.99.  

My plan was to use the same processes I used to create the crib skirt in the Nursery, except this time around I would need to sew the sides to each other as well, basically making a 5 sided box. The hardest part was trying to cut all of these big panels perfectly straight.  I used two T-Squares and a measuring tape.

  

 

If you're trying to make something like this at home, here's my cut list:

One (1) piece to cover full top- mine was 40" x 72"

Two (2) pieces to drop down from the top to the floor at the head and foot- mine were 40" x 12"

Two (2) pieces to drop down from the top to the floor on the sides- mine were 72" x 12".

Next I pinned them all together, (right sides together), and began what I though would be quick sewing.  It didn't go so well.  This thick and heavy fabric put up a fight.

I used a denim grade needle for extra strength, and nylon thread for longer tern durability.

The weight of the full fabric was super hard to navigate evenly through the machine though.  Sometimes it would slip and cause huge variations in my nice straight lines.

And sometimes the machine would have to pull so hard that the bobbin would get caught.  Which is the turds.

But finally, after a process that took twice as long as I expected, I had a cover.  And I was just in time.

 

PS- remember when we just started this project and they were building the house next door?

Bam- house. 

  

Here's hoping all that good tree cover comes back and sticks around come this spring.

I took in the cushion and stored it under our bed for the season, just so a family of mice don't start squatting, but the rest of the piece is ready to handle the Minnesota Winter.  And boy is it ever.

Looking at this pic I'm praying that I didn't make a huge mistake leaving the ceramic garden stool out there.  Does anyone know how they handle the cold?  Is my cute little side table margarita platform going to be in pieces this Spring?  Say it isn't so.

Super Swings!

It's been awhile since I've shown you this strange area outside of our house that we call Ryderland.  With the house being built into a hill, we've got an interesting series of levels, and in this photo you can see 4 different exterior doors:

 At the very bottom is the slider from the Family Room, the next step up, in the lower right corner of the photo is the Workout Room slider, directly above the Family Room patio is the Living Room Deck and slider, and directly above the Workout Room slider is the Screened In Porch and Kitchen slider.  Whew.

These are all pre-move in photos, but they give you a better look at those bottom two patios, surrounded in rock.

 

 The Family Room patio was the most awkward, as it's about a 4 foot drop, and there are no stairs, so the only way you could get in or out of it was from the Family Room.  It's like an adult playpen.

That is until my Dad built us these.

Which made a previously dead space super useable for us.  I even hung a swing for him up on the Workout Room patio.

But it's not just Ryderland any more, Bo just turned one and is ready to start playing out here with his brother.  The first step- get that little man a swing.

I started by drilling a couple of pilot holes into the rafters, and then twisting in my swing hardware.

 

Once I got it started, using a screwdriver gave me a nice, big handle to quickly twist this piece into place.

 
Then I just had to screw in the plate around it.

 And we're in business.

 I had some extra chain left over from the last swing install, so I swagged it first to see how much I would need.

Once I settled on the correct length, I just needed to cut off the excess and load in the babies.

The best part is that the Screened in Porch above keeps out the elements, so even on a rainy day we can get outside and play on the swings a bit to get the wiggles out. 

It's not a traditional playground, for sure, but it works for us.  With a pretty narrow backyard, this was our best option to create a play area for the boys, and I'm proud we were able to make good use of this previously dead space.  Ryder begs to head down to his playground every night after dinner, and with all the lighting in this area, we'll be able to even as the sun sets earlier and earlier.  We may just need to bundle up!

The Double Lounger Reveal

Let me introduce you to my skyline paradise.

And by skyline of course I mean the gorgeous, old trees that surround our home.  This little third floor getaway is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots.

I found the garden stool on sale at HomeGoods, and it's the perfect little spot to set a cocktail and a snack.  Who am I kidding, it was a Sunday afternoon and I was home with the kiddos.  It was a lemonade and some cheddar bunnies.  Keepin' it real.

 

The problem with using cheddar bunnies as props- snack bandits!

Those cheeks.  Those toes.

 This shot actually gives you a little glimpse of our new view lately. See the construction in the back?

 Way, waaaaay back to some of my first posts, we wrote how Ryder was passing the time watching the big trucks demolish the home next door while the Hubs and I pulled up the old tile floors.  (Back before I realized the importance of a good camera and blog photos apparently.)

Oh my gosh look at how little he was!

Wearing his big boots to protect his feet from the floor demo! (Tear)

Two years later they have finally started construction on a new home.  The boys love to pass the time now watching the construction in action (my boys!) and talking about what our new neighbors will be like.  I have to admit I also love my eagle-eye perch in the sky to watch the progress. I can't help it, I just can't shut it off.

Buzz kill-  this photo just reminds me how much work we still have to do up here.  The deck has never been treated or stained, and that's going to be a big project for us to tackle in 2014. 

But anytime I get bummin' about how much work we still have to do, I have to remind myself how far we've come.  Just a couple of weeks ago, this was the only piece of furniture we had on this deck.

What a sad, sad little chair.

And now we have this awesome little set up.

I've already spent some great quality time up here, blogging during nap time and hanging with the boys.  The Hubs and I laid out here under the stars the other night before bed and I wish I could have captured for you how beautiful the sky was.  The cool fall air had us cuddled together under a blanket, but the stars literally looked like they were going to fall on top of us.  It was breath taking.  And worth every single second of varnish application.

What do you think? All in this project came in just under $130, which is more than a $1300 savings from this similar Pottery Barn version.  I still have a cover to sew for it to keep it protected over the winter, but all I want to think about right now is cool autumn nights. 

Just joining us and want to see how it was built?  Here's the 3 step process:

Build the Lounger

Stain and Protect the Lounger

Sew a Cushion for the Longer

Sewing Chase Lounge Cushions

My West Elm style double lounger, built with the fantastic plans from Ms. Ana White is now complete!

The only thing standing in my way of maximum relaxation is a comfy cushion.  Of course I did an online search first to see if I could save myself some work, but with this double chaise cushion pushin' $450 at Pottery Barn, I knew I was going to have to find a better way.  

First I had to find the foam.  I waited for the perfect combination of sale and coupon code for free shipping to swoop up this outdoor foam from JoAnn Fabrics.  It cost $54 all in, which was by far the single biggest purchase of this whole piece of furniture.

Ana's plans call for a 24" wide standard cushion, because she's smart like that.  I found that a 10' roll allowed me to get three 24" x 40" sections.  Perfect.

With the perfect foam purchased, I was on the hunt for the perfect fabric.  I found this at my favorite local discount fabric haunt- Mill End Fabrics.  Guess which one I chose:

I needed 4 1/4 yards of fabric total, but on sale for $4.50 a yard, this Sunbrella outdoor fabric cost me just shy of $20.  I win.

For those trying to create the same thing- here is my layout and cut plan:

I won't give an exhaustive step-by-step process here, because I appreciate that most of you all aren't interested in creating a double lounger cushion.  So here's the quick overview, and if you do have further questions on the process, feel free to ask them in the comments below. 

Step 1- Sew a 22" zipper, (of which I still had a bunch left over from this project), in between 2 Short Side Zipper pieces.  Once put together, lay a Short Side piece on top and trim so they are the exact width.  I find this way to be much easier than trying to cut your zipper pieces perfectly the first time.  Repeat 2 more time for 3 total zipper sides.

Step 2- Sew a Short Side and a Short Side Zipper piece between 2 Long Side pieces (right sides together, 1/4" seam) to create a full outside box- like this

Step 3- Pin the outside box to a Cushion Top piece and attach (again, right sides together, 1/4" seam).

Step 4- Make the straps that connect the cushions together by folding a strap piece in half and sewing together the 2 short sides (you know the drill- right sides together, 1/4" seam.)  Pull to right side out.  Repeat 5 more times for 6 total straps.

Step 5-  Pin 3 straps onto the edge of a Cushion Bottom piece.  Then pin your Cushion Top and Sides piece (which you connected together in Step 3) to the Cushion Bottom piece and sew- 1/4" seam, right sides together. 

It helps to leave your zipper slightly open so that you can easily turn your cover right side out.  When you do, and struggle to squeeze it onto your cushion like I struggle into a pair of skinny jeans, you have this:

 

See how those straps hang out of the bottom seam?  We'll get back to those.

Here's the fun part.  Do it again.

And again.  But the third time is a little tricky.  Instead of pinning in 3 loose straps, you need to pin on the straps from the other 2 cushions.  This requires you take the covers back off the cushions, (or don't put them on to begin with, I just wanted to make sure I was happy with them first) and pin the 3 straps from each cushion to opposite sides of your last remaining Cushion Bottom piece.  It's just takes a little care here as you're essentially sewing the two outside pieces inside of your center cushion.  Once completed though, you flip your cushion right side out and all 3 are magically attached.

BA-BAM!

I owe you all a big reveal of it all together in the space, but we're already a dozen photos deep in this post, and I'm getting a little long winded, so I'll give you all a break for the day.  More to come soon!