Things have been pretty busy around the house lately. Greg has been occupied with his “day job”, I’ve been doing busy with graphic design clients, and we’ve both been pretty focused on Christmas shopping and gearing up for our Christmas party in a few weeks. Despite our busy schedule, we managed to squeeze in a quick and simple project before all of the cooking, hustle and bustle and tablescaping begins.

Here’s the deal… I hate clutter. Scratch that… I loathe clutter. Yes, we’re human, and our house gets messy every now and then. Though, I love having a place for everything. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re working toward the goal of “a place for everything heaven”. The thought of it totally makes my heart go pitter patter. One of my pet peeves about the laundry room has been that the chest of drawers constantly has “stuff” on it. Though I’ve yet to “decorate” it, it’s perfect for mail and keys, but every now and then we wind up putting our jackets on top of it when we walk in the back door. We have a coat closet in the front foyer where we keep our not-worn-that-often coats and hang guests’ coats, so long term coat/jacket storage is good to go. Basically, we desperately needed a place to hang everyday jackets, the farmer’s market bag, my purse, etc. The problem is unused wall space in the laundry room near the door is limited, so behind the door seemed like the perfect place. It’s out of the way and still convenient enough to grab a jacket while heading out the door in a hurry.

By the way, we hung the roman shade on the door months ago and totally forgot to mention it here on the blog. At the time, it just seemed too small of an update to make a whole post about. Regardless, here it is now! We’re actually planning on replacing it sometime soon because we don’t care for the rod used to roll it up and down. We’ve realized after living with it for a while that we prefer something with a cord. We’re still waiting for the roman shade for the kitchen to come in (I guess custom orders take a while), so we’re waiting to see if we like that one before we order a new one for this door, the half bath and the window over the washer and dryer. But anyway… back to the project at hand!

First and foremost, we wanted something practical – three hooks would do. We also wanted something rustic to bring in some warmth and tie in with the whole “modern rustic” vibe we are gearing toward. We thought that just hanging hooks in a line on the wall alone would look a little too simple, so Greg came up with the idea to mount some hooks on a board then hang the board on the wall – kind of like this (which I LOVE). We needed it to be half the size as the one in the link and if it was a fraction of the price, we wouldn’t complain.

First, the board. We went to Lowe’s and bought a 1″ x 8″ board and had it cut down to 24″ long. We ended up with three pieces, which gave us some security in case things went wrong and we had to start over. We’re baby DIY’ers. We also picked up two small cans of stain – Minwax’s Special Walnut and Dark Walnut.

Now the hooks. In my head, a “catchall hook” had three requirements… 1) Extra sturdy to hold a lot of “stuff”. 2) Oil-rubbed bronze or black to stand out from the board and tie in with the door hardware. 3) Something with a bit of personality. Then, I saw these hooks at Pottery Barn. They are made of cast iron and have a painted schoolhouse-style number on each hook. Score!

To take the wood from shiny and new to rustic and distressed, we started out by simply beating it with a hammer. Then we scuffed it up on the brick wall in the carport. At one point, Greg even tossed the board across the asphalt on the driveway. He also sanded all of the corners to make them look worn down from years of use. It still wasn’t rustic looking enough for me, though, so I beat the edges of the board with a hammer in a few places.

Once we thought the board was beaten up enough, Greg began the staining process. We weren’t going for perfection. After all, we wanted a rustic, worn look, so Greg just used an old flour sack cloth to put the stain on.

The board soaked up the stain pretty fast, but as soon as Greg wiped the stain on the board, he immediately rubbed it right back off. We actually ended up using only the Special Walnut because we liked the color so much. To make sure all of the new dents and crevices were stained well, I went behind him with a tiny paint brush. I also added a little extra stain in some places to make it darker.

The sun was shining full force in this photo, so the board looks lighter than it actually was. After the first coat of stain, I still didn’t think the board looked old enough. Greg had the bright idea of using his drill to drive a screw through the edge of the board to splinter it and create a couple of gouges on the front. I also ended up using the claw side of the hammer to make some interesting marks. There’s no rhyme or reason to this process. Just beat it up until you think it looks good.

After the final dents had been made, we touched up the stain with a very light coat, then we let it dry for two days. This was mainly due to the fact that we were really busy, but it also gave the board time to dry completely. We decided to skip the polyurethane because we thought it would make the board look too new. We rubbed our hands and some cloth on the board to make sure stain wouldn’t come off on our coats, and it seems like we’re in the clear.

The second round of distressing with the drill and the hammer really paid off and made a big difference. I love, love, love the way it turned out – especially the drill action on the edges. It definitely came a long way form the nice new board of wood.

Now, time for hanging. I love large purses and tend to carry around a lot of stuff, so these hooks needed to be able to carry a pretty considerable amount of weight. After going through a bunch of scenarios in our heads, we decided the best option was to screw the board directly to the wall. Since we’re going for the whole “rustic” look with this, we didn’t mind the idea of possibly seeing the screws. Plus, the board is dark in color, so the chances of noticing them were slim anyway. If we decide to take it down or move it down the road, we can just patch up the holes. We’re pretty handy with drywall mud at this point, haha.

To hang the board, we simply leveled it out on the wall, then Greg put a screw in each corner of the board. Since we weren’t able to hit a stud with the screw placement we came up with, Greg drove four drywall anchors into the wall, then reattached the board. They’re rated for 79 lbs apiece, so we’re pretty sure they’ll stand up to anything we throw up there.

I love the rustic wood and the fun numbers on each hook. Even though it’s such a small addition to the laundry room, it definitely cuts down on the clutter at the back door – which makes me a very happy camper.

The details in the “faux distressed” wood are great, and they go perfectly with the schoolhouse-style numbered hooks. I’m a big fan. And so is Greg, so that makes me happy.

Now, as for the rest of the laundry room… ugh…

The laundry room would be an easy room to put on our “done list” if we just had a plan for it, but we don’t actually have one yet. Something keeps blocking me from being able to come up with a plan of action, and I think it might be the wall color. I love the blue – I really do! -but I’m wondering if a moody neutral gray would look more refined. There’s a lot of sunlight in here, so we could even get away with a dark moody neutral gray. Honestly, I think I could be perfectly happy if every room in our house were a different shade of gray. Gray is sophisticated and modern, and it lets you get creative when it comes to using color in the room’s decor – which is something we’re aiming towards in the long run. Adding topic to list of things to blog about later. BUT I could go in another direction entirely…? Maybe I’m just looking at it too hard. I’m pretty certain that’s Greg’s opinion. But, painting isn’t his favorite thing to do, haha. What do you guys think? To paint or not to paint?!

Growing up, my mom had a small chalkboard that sat on the kitchen counter next to the coffee maker. She’d always write little messages for me and my brother – like encouraging words on math test days (Both me and my brother are artsy, and therefore, bad at math.) and the annual birthday and Christmas countdowns. Therein lies my love of chalkboards.

For the past few months, Greg and I’ve been keeping an eye out for something to turn into a chalkboard to go in the utility room. For a while, I thought about maybe using an old single-panel door and painting the inside of the panel with chalkboard paint. Then I could put a doorknob on it to serve as a hook for Bentley’s leash. That would be a really cool idea if only I could find a door that didn’t cost $180+. Plus, when I tried to picture it in my head, it seemed kinda bulky. So then I moved to plan B: a frame. I searched for literally months for an old frame that was long enough. Finding one wide enough was never a problem – it was the length that fell short. Then, it happened. I was at a local thrift store, The Love of Jesus Thrift Store for your Richmonders, and lo and behold there it was: a huge, slightly distressed (which was a good thing!), 28″ x 52″ wood frame. It was perfect. And, get this… it was only $1! Yes. One. Dollar. Uno denero. Even though there were only like five other people in the store, I went after it like a Mom on Black Friday 1996 diving for a Tickle Me Elmo.

The night I brought it home, my dad came over to say hi. Btw, if I haven’t mentioned it before, my parents live just across the street. When he saw this big beauty leaning against the wall, he said, “What is that?”. “Potiental, Dad. Potiental,” I responded. I explained to him what we were going to do with it and all he said was, “Uhh… okay.” Little did he know, I had plans. Big plans!

After going back and forth several times, we decided to not paint the frame. The original wood color was very close to the floors, and it really popped against the blue walls. Plus, we’ve already got the green dresser, and we didn’t want to add a crazy-colored frame for it to compete with. As for the chalkboard part, we thought about just painting over the artwork. The backing was nice and sturdy, but it had a lot of really deep scratches that would have shown up even after several layers of paint, so that was a no go. Instead, we decided to buy a piece of wainscoting, have it cut to size, then apply a few coats of magnetic primer followed by chalkboard paint. Then we got smart! We realized it would be really easy to just skip the magnetic primer step, buy a piece of sheet metal, and paint it with the chalkboard paint. Duh! So that’s what we did.

Lowe’s, Ace, True Value and Home Depot all sold sheet metal, but only up to 2 x 3 feet. We needed something more along the lines of 2 x 4 feet. Luckily, my dad “knows a guy” for just about every situation, and this was no different. Being in the access control business, he gets to know a lot of people in the construction industry, and he just happened to “know a guy” who supplies sheet metal to construction companies. As it turns out, they end up with a decent amount of scrap metal that they sell for a pretty reasonable price. We were able to get a sheet of steel for $20 and even had it cut to the exact size we needed! How cool is that?!

Once we had the sheet metal, we gave it a few good coats of primer on both sides to prevent rust. Then we coated the front side with chalkboard spray paint. After about three coats, we realized it wasn’t going to cut it. It was really splotchy and even after three coats, didn’t seem to be covering the metal very well – even with primer. We switched gears and picked up some Valspar Matte Chalkboard paint. Simply put, this stuff is the bomb dot com. I painted it right over the splotchy spray paint with a small foam roller. After just one coat, the board looked so much better and as smooth as butter. Even though one coat looked like it was enough, I ended up doing three coats for good measure.

Now came the fun part: finding a way to secure a 20-pound piece of sheet metal into a 20- to 30-year-old frame that was made for a 2-pound piece of artwork!

Enter our best friend: Liquid Nails. We prepped the frame by taking out the artwork, removing all the staples, and unscrewing the lightweight picture hanging hooks from the back of the frame. After checking the fit of the sheet metal in the frame  - It was a very tight fit, thanks to my dad’s ninja-like measuring skills – we put a bead of liquid nails on the lip of the frame, pressed the metal into place, set some heavy stacks of books on top of it, and let it sit.

Twenty four hours later, we put a second layer of Liquid Nails on the back side of the metal (we applied it like you would a caulk line) just for extra security. At that point, we had done all we could. Either the frame was going to fall apart under the weight, or it was going to be rock solid. I have to admit, when Greg picked it up the first time after the glue had dried, I was a little nervous, but it was absolutely, 100% rock-solid. This baby ‘aint going anywhere!

Greg attached two small (yet reasonably heavy-duty) D-shaped rings to the back of the frame with screws, adding a little bit of our BFF Liquid Nails to each screw. Then it was ready for hanging and chalking…

This entire project only cost 36 bucks. The frame was $1, the sheet metal was $20, and the roll-on chalkboard paint was $15. We already had the roller, primer (and the chalkboard spray paint that didn’t work out) left over from another project, and Liquid Nails is a staple around here… kinda like Cholula hot sauce.

Greg and I are both crazy in love with it! The texture of the Valspar paint is what I consider to be “perfect chalkboard texture” and our Crayola chalk writes on it really well and, just as importantly, erases like a dream with a damp paper towel.

For a bit of a quirky touch, we left the art plaque on the frame. It’s a cool way to remember where the frame came from.

I hate how my wide angle lens makes everything look grainy and the walls look bowed — the walls are straight. Promise. We really like how it helps fill up the laundry room a bit more. But the best perk… Christmas countdown! ; )

The day we bought our house, our tool arsenal, or lack thereof, was very slim. We owned one hammer, a set of screwdrivers, a wrench or two, and a picture hanging kit. That’s pretty much all you need when you live in an apartment complex that provided 24-hour maintenance service. Since starting the renovations the day we got the keys, we’ve borrowed a lot from my Dad’s extensive tool collection, but we’ve also begun to collect a small conglomeration of tools of our own. We keep the “big guys” (like the circular saw, pry bar, etc.) in the attached shed, and until a few weeks ago, it seemed like all of the smaller “everyday tools” (screwdrivers, pliers, nails, screws, etc.) were scattered all over the house. So we set out to start keeping them in one of the drawers in the laundry room….

Hey, I didn’t say it was organized. It’s probably the messiest tool drawer in all the land. Even though we like things to be neat and organized (a place for everything and everything in it’s place!), it clearly wasn’t quite happening here. Last night, I decided to do something about it! With a little help from my label maker, four plastic bins and five minutes of organization, here’s what the tool drawer looks like now…

Now that’s more like it! First off, I moved all of the tools down one drawer because the bottom drawers are a bit deeper than the top drawer. After taking out everything that didn’t belong (like the gum and flashlights) I divided everything in the drawer in four categories: hardware (nails, screws, anchors, hooks, etc), adhesives (caulk, wood glue, liquid nails, etc), tools (pliers, screwdrivers, hammers, a box cutter, etc), and future DIY projects (things we’re saving for a particular project, like casters and that deer hook I’m anxious to use somewhere).

I love how the baskets keep everything in place so things don’t fly around the drawer when it’s opened and closed. In the front of the the baskets are odds and ends like a container of spackle (for quick hole-filling jobs), painter’s tape, duct tape, a measuring tape and sanding block.

In the right corner is a small wooden bowl that I bought (and three more like it) at the thrift store for $1. This is where we keep random odds and ends that we find around the house and have no idea what they go to. I call it the “Doodad Bowl”. Fancy, right? It’s really nice to have around because, if we ever realize a piece of something is missing, we’ll just go to the bowl and see if it’s there. As of right now, there are only two little doodads in the bowl.

So that’s the current state of our indoor tool storage. I’m sure that as our tool collection grows, the storage will be reconfigured here and there, but this is a good start – and not to mention better for my semi-OCD self!

Where do you keep your “everyday tools”? Any particular tools you can’t live without? Share your tool tails with us…