Category: DIY

DIY Electric Fireplace Build

I dreamed up this project a little under a year ago when we moved into our new space. This giant blank wall needed a statement piece and since our renters requested the pipe shelf entertainment center that Josh built stay with the old house, we didn’t have anything. Back then, there was really only one tutorial on how to do something like this, but dang it was a good one. Search for the “Whitney Hansen how to build a fireplace in one weekend” series on YouTube. But it’s a big project and a lot to think through. Over our nearly 7 years of marriage, I’ve learned that the more tutorials I send Josh, the more confident he is to start a project; but there really was only that one good tutorial for a long time. Thankfully for some reason, in the last few months, it seems like EVERYONE has been building out electric fireplaces, and I was able to send him three bloggers posts detailing their builds. Chris Loves Julia, Nesting with Grace, and The Blooming Nest. All three have excellent detailed posts about how to do this, so I’m not really going into a detailed “how to” here on this blog, just sharing our journey. Six months ago Josh took several of my chicken scratch drawings into sketch up, confirmed it was something we could pull off, and then we waited to save up for this project and finish a few others. But… then Jett learned how to (and learned that he LOVED to) turn the volume all the way down and the TV off several dozen times a day; because he realized he could reach the buttons and that sort of sped up our timeline. So, our thanksgiving break was spent with bit of time at Home Depot and a lot of time in the garage, but alas, it’s done. I love it even more than I thought I would.

In order to allow for a cable box (something we don’t plan on having, but doesn’t hurt to prepare for) or an XBOX1X (which the handy builder is getting for Christmas) we added an open box behind the tv that has power and cable run to it. It wouldn’t work well for something that you need access to frequently like a dvd player, but works great for what we have planned. Also, the baseboards were put back, I’m just impatient when it comes to taking pictures.

This is the fireplace that we ordered on Amazon, it’s really the expensive part of the whole project. The lumber, shiplap, lattice trim, and wood for the mantle is all from home depot. The whole project including the $600 fireplace came out to just around $1,000. It helped that we had all the tools we needed: Finish nail gun and air compressor, miter saw, table saw, etc.

xoxo,
Adora

Edit: Added pictures of the inset Box for commenter, Michael. Electrical is pigtailed off of an outlet below, hidden behind the fireplace structure the cable line is continued from below as well.

P.S. If you do end up building something like this, I would love to see it! Please tag me on Instagram: @adoramae

P.P.S. About 18 months later and this post is the most popular one on my blog by far and since we’re about to move out of this house, I wanted to post some updated photos. (Below) You can see it’s held up beautifully except for some paint touch up needed at the bottom where my kids are constantly scratching at and “vrooming” hot wheels cars across it. We added floating shelves on either side that are just 2×10 pine boards stained to match the mantel and farmhouse style brackets from Home Depot. A big comfortable chair on one side and ever affordable IKEA LÄTT kids table that we also stained and chalkboard painted to match. I’ve loved having this fireplace on everyday and I’ve LOVED seeing so many of the fireplaces y’all have built inspired by this one. Thank you for stopping by!

| Posted on Monday, the 3rd of December, in the year 2018 by Adora Mae

A Total Kitchen Renovation for less than $5500

We knew we needed a total kitchen renovation before we could move into this 20 year old neglected builder grade house. I love to cook and while I don’t love cleaning, I do love clean – if that makes sense.

We were working with a painfully small foot print here, so keep in mind, that naturally kept some of our costs lower. This house will eventually be a rental so I wanted to keep everything modern but neutral and give it as much mass appeal as possible while staying as cheap as possible. I wanted to keep in mind that the cabinet doors and countertops might need to be replaced if they take a bit of a beating that tends to come with being a rental unit, so those pieces specifically I really wanted to be affordable. This house is 5 minutes from IKEA. I mean door-to-door: 5 minutes. It’s a blessing and a curse. Mostly a blessing.

First off there was a builder grade pantry that they tried to make architecturally interesting by setting it at an angle and making the already tight kitchen feel even tighter. I knew replacing that framed out pantry with pantry cabinets would make the entire kitchen look larger and allow us to surround the fridge, so a few swings of a sledge hammer later – we were on our way.

My husband Josh is a master at SketchUp so that allowed us to really mess around with the cabinet layout and figure out what would work best in that space while not moving any plumbing or electric around to avoid having to pull permits. SketchUp also let us realize that we would absolutely need a cabinet depth fridge, any regular fridge would stick out so far into the tiny kitchen that you’d have to step around it. No bueno. SketchUp also helped us decide to not do open shelving to the right of the window and I think that decision makes the kitchen look bigger.
I mean look at that render! It looks like a picture! He’s amazing, y’all.

Once we had a layout finalized, Josh got to work. I did not join him. I had a 3 month old baby that I stayed home with but I got text updates as Josh spent his nights and weekends 45 minutes away from us, getting our new home ready.

And I don’t mind telling y’all, he did an AMAZING job. This kitchen was a labor of love and I now enjoy being in it more than I can say. Thank you to my wonderful husband for my wonderful kitchen.

When I’ve read blog posts about remodeling, they never really have their prices laid out and specified so I want to do that here. Now, there are probably tools that were bought for this project that I’m not accounting for here, but for the most part – these are the numbers.

Links to all the finishes we used:
Discontinued Tile Floors: $50
We found these on clearance at Lowes for 38 cents per square foot. We bought all they had and got three other Lowe’s to price match. This tile runs from the front door into the eat-in-kitchen/dining space and into the kitchen itself. I added the entire cost for the tile into the kitchen budget even though it goes through other rooms. What was there before is the cheapest laminate you can buy that specifically says not to use it in kitchens and bathrooms. It was in both. Not the best scenario.

Ikea Cabinets & Haggeby Doors: $2224
These little doors catch a lot of crap online. I still don’t know why other than people just shy away from the cheapest option. These are the cheapest cabinet doors IKEA sells by a mile and 6 months in so far, they’re holding up just fine. More importantly, as a rental, it will be easy on the wallet to replace damaged doors. I even added them into the laundry room above the machines and play room for storage so I’m on the bandwagon. Also, this price could have been lower if we didn’t get all drawers (and soft close hinges and drawer hardware) but man, it’s worth it! The most efficient lower cabinet storage I’ve ever had and no slammed baby fingers.

Cabinet Pulls: $100
I went back and forth on these guys between stainless and black. I still randomly declare I’m going to order the black and replace them all. I might, but I love the shape of them. All are the same sixe (6.25″ except for our large pantry doors, I ordered 12-3/5″ pulls for those.)

Backsplash: $200
This tile is priced at just under $3/sf. The rest of the cost was thinset and grout.
We added standard size white subway tiles to both bathrooms so these slightly smaller tiles tie into the rest of the house while making the kitchen feel bigger while carrying the tile to the ceiling on the small wall where we didn’t add uppers, and around the window really adds a modern vibe.

Sink: $186
IKEA farm sink, by far the cheapest farm sink you can buy. Now that I’ve had both, I have to say that stainless sinks are SOOO much easier to keep clean, but this one is a beauty. This link goes to their new style which doesn’t have the faucet mount incorporated. I am glad we bought it when we did because I like the faucet being incorporated since we have laminate countertops. Speaking of which…

Countertops: $178
Ekbacken: The faux concrete look. Real concrete countertops take a lot of sealing and upkeep. With this being a rental eventually we either needed quartz (too expensive – our quote was $2200) or laminate. I WAS-THIS-CLOSE to going with the faux butcherblock from IKEA, but am happy with this look. For now. I threaten to change these as often as I threaten to change the cabinet pulls.

Faucet: $60
Amazon is a Mecca for inexpensive finishes like this.

Light: $70
We had awful florescent lights in this kitchen. I obviously want all LED’s everywhere and I liked bringing something round into this very straight lined space.

Samsung Fridge: $2325 for the entire suite
I am not brand loyal here. Lowe’s was having a sale and this was the cheapest stainless steel suite. Getting the counter depth sets you back more than you’d expect and is such a tight squeeze inside the fridge. If your kitchen can handle a full depth fridge, stick with that. Or add an old backup fridge in the garage. Like we did.

Stove: See total cost above
Really regretting having the knobs in the front with a tall baby/toddler who is learning to love grabbing things.

Dishwasher: See total cost above
Makes a weird noise when it first starts running but whatever.

Venting Microwave: See total cost above
We mounted this pretty high up. There’s no chance of kids using it any time soon, but I love having vertical space to work with on my stove top. Also, we vented this directly out the back so I still have the entire cabinet above the microwave for storage.

Blinds over Sink: $35
Nothing special, blocks the sun since the window looks full west. No cords to get tangled up in. Impulse buy when I was grocery shopping one day.

New Marble Window Sill: $28
The old window sill was made of wood but the position of the window to the sink just begs you to place something wet from your hand onto the window sill. So, a natural stone won’t get water damage or mold and it looks so pretty.

Paint – BEHR Premium Plus Interior Eggshell in “Subtle Touch”: $30
I’m adding the entire cost of a gallon of paint even though we used much less than that in this room. This is the color that we used throughout the house and you can see it on the ceiling.

Total Cost: $5486

I’m not including the cost of trash disposal in the reno budget because that’s going to vary wildly but want to include info here about what we did.

Trash: Bagster Bag $180
$30 for the bag and $150 for the pickup which was fun to show a baby the big crane on the truck.
When you buy new appliances they come with free removal and disposal of old appliances. Everything that can be donated to habitat restore should be (like your old sink) and the rest gets bagstered.

And now, for everyone’s favorite part: progress photos and more before and afters.

This last side by side photo might be my favorite part of the kitchen. Normally when a dishwasher is at the end of a cabinet row, they just use a filler panel, but I knew if we could get a SUPER skinny cabinet in there then it could store cutting boards and wire racks beautifully. Obviously IKEA doesn’t sell super skinny cabinets but Josh figured out how to cut down a 12″ cabinet and shelf so I could have my storage. But we both wanted it to look like a filler panel so we used this hidden drawer pull that IKEA sells and you often see used on flat front cabinet doors. You have to know it’s there to know it’s there and it’s just the cutest little thing. There are a bunch of tutorials on YouTube on how to cut down IKEA cabinets and we used those to get this little cutie in place.

Thanks for following along and I hope this motivates you to DIY your own space! With Youtube tutorials and determination, you’re capable of so much more than you think you are. Until next time…

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Wednesday, the 4th of July, in the year 2018 by Adora Mae

Yeah, I’m this crazy

One aspect of my 2016 focus on health has been taking supplements every night before bed. I currently take 3 in addition to my daily vitamin. What’s bothered me for a while now is how messy those pill bottles make my nightstand look. So for a few weeks i’ve looked online for a way to display pills within easy reach in a prettier way (I know, I’m crazy). I can’t just keep them in the bathroom or kitchen because I will legitimately forget about them. Then a few weekends ago, I was at Anthro and came across this beauty and it was like the lightbulb went on, the clouds parted, my wallet opened and I was coming home with a plan. I have to say, it’s working out really well. I don’t have to open 3 bottles every night and to the unsuspecting eye, it’s just a jewelry case. Obviously this wouldn’t be a good plan for a household with babies, but until that day comes – welcome to my pharmacy. Josh said it looks like a drug dealing grandma, and he’s probably right; I just choose to believe that’s really hot right now.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Tuesday, the 26th of July, in the year 2016 by Adora Mae

wood & vinegar

Along with most women who spend a considerable amount of time pinteresting (that shouldn’t be a word, but I’m pretending it is), I have heard that vinegar and steel wool can combine their home cleaning powers and actually become a wood stain alternative. This week, I finally had a reason to test it out. A friend of ours asked Josh to build a little stand to put cupcakes on at her wedding. For germ reasons, we wanted to start with new wood, not scrap wood. I added the steel wool to a glass bowl, poured white vinegar over that until it was covered and then dumped a scoop of coffee grounds in for good measure. Then I covered that bowl with a plate, because vinegar smells horrible.

So, Josh rubbed the vinegar mix on with the steel wool and about an hour later, we had this awesome antique look! It worked as well as everyone has been saying it would, but word to the wise: give it time to dry. This was a late night project for us and the house smelled like vinegar for a whole day while the wood dried.

Anyway, give it a try, we love the way it turned out!
xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Saturday, the 10th of October, in the year 2015 by Adora Mae

Succulent Moscow

The next time you’re near a Trader Joe’s stop in and pick up an adorable succulent that comes in a tiny terra-cotta pot for just a few bucks. Then, the next time you’re near Walmart, pick up their two pack of Moscow Mule Mugs for around $12. The terra-cotta planter fits right into the mug and you’re left with a super cute little plant addition for your shelf.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Friday, the 9th of October, in the year 2015 by Adora Mae

Photo Ledge === Wall Art

I wont sport with your intelligence by telling you how to screw two 1×2’s together at a 90° angle. It’s pretty straight forward, but then again, I didn’t actually have do it. Handy handsome husband perks, you know?
Anyway, for about $20 of wood (we had the stain & screws on hand) we made two 7 ft. long frame ledges to go above our standing desk.

Josh got 4 – 8ft 1″x2″ pieces and cut a foot off of each, stained, sealed, and screwed them together. Then, he screwed those into the wall above the desk.

I’m so pumped about how this turned out. I love the way the letters shadow the wall when the overhead light is off and our work lamps are on.

This whole project ended up costing about $65. $45 for the letters (found on clearance at Joann’s for $3 each) and $20 for the wood. Not bad given how much wall it covers.

Just like that, this has become my mantra for my work life and really, many other aspects of my life as well. I’ve messed with the spacing on the letter a few times a day for many many days. Probably will continue to do so. World without end.

Work hard & be nice, little babies. Until next time…

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Tuesday, the 8th of September, in the year 2015 by Adora Mae

The Apartment 3 months later: music wall

I actually saw a piece of art with this song reference before I ever heard the old crow medicine show song, Wagon Wheel and I was immediately intrigued. I “play” the guitar the way that all girls in high-school played guitar. I know major chords and that was enough to play every worship song from the late 90’s, so I never learned any more. While Josh, just recently got a banjo and is planning on taking lessons. We both said we wanted to hang the instruments up rather than have them in their cases in a closet, so this wall idea was born. I worked with a lovely woman on Etsy to get the vinyl, and at the last second, we decided to add the letters at a 90 degree angle to better fill the wall space. I think it worked out SO well. I’m finding that I play more, if I can just take the guitar down from the wall and then put it back there.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Friday, the 3rd of October, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

The Apartment 3 months later: Swings

Well, I made a promise and I have certainly tarried with the deliver of it, but now here it is. This post is part of a series on what we did to the apartment. View all the posts here. You remember the apartment when we moved in. And we spent the first two months really setting up shop. One of our very best friends moved to Austin shortly after we did, and was looking for a short term and affordable place to rent; the perfect answer was our second bedroom. So, our “formal dining” room became my new office, we always have our friend around and it’s worked out perfectly. On today’s edition of “The Apartment 3 Months Later” we are taking a look at our porch swings.

Our “back porch” is about 10 square feet of cement and doesn’t have much going on. We tried keeping some things out there, but sadly, they were stolen. The only storage space out there is where the washer and dryer hook up. We weren’t really sure what we wanted to do. I didn’t want to risk buying some cute patio furniture and having it stolen. So, I decided I wanted classic swings, so we could sit out there and gently rock on our two swings and talk about our day. We got about 45 feet of rope and a 2 x 10 board and then I sat inside fanning myself and being fed grapes while Josh labored away (okay not really, but I feel that way when he’s working hard and I’m not). Like everything Josh does, it came out perfectly. So now, we swing – and it’s the cutest darn thing you’ve ever seen.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Sunday, the 28th of September, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

Top 10 things to put in an Easter Basket

1. Start with the basket itself. Make it a multiple meaning Easter basket. (A plant pot for the gardener, a mixing bowl for the baker, a helmet for the jock)
2. Chocolate candy (in the shape of a bunny, a cross, an egg, etc.)
3. Non-chocolate candy (I highly recommend starburst jelly beans or sweet tarts)
4. A fun little toy (water gun, play dough, whistle)
5. eggs eggs eggs (this is where you stuff the candy)
6. Green green fake grass (or green tissue paper)
7. A favorite DVD (think of the $5 bin at Walmart)
8. A pair of Easter themed panties or socks
9. An additional mini chocolate (say a yummy hello to mini snickers or butterfingers)
10. A funny shaped (over sized) Easter egg like a Darth Vader head.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Saturday, the 19th of April, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

nailed it

So I officially tried that whole nail polish on scotch tape and then sticking it to your nail and I got to say…it works VERY well! A cuticle clipper is essential and as long as you do a thick clear coat on the top, you’re good to go. Time to break out my old scrap-booking scissors and have some fun!
xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Wednesday, the 6th of November, in the year 2013 by Adora Mae