Fungshwe.... shway... shueeeeee?

I do not pretend to be an expert in the art of "fungshwe" (or even how to spell it)... honestly, I just like to rearrange furniture.

This morning I woke up and was staring at the wall to my left, thinking, "I really should put something on that empty wall"... less than 30 minutes later I was moving a dresser, pulling a couch out of the nursery, switching dressers around and constructing a "reading tent" equipped with "fairy reading lights"... per the instruction of my little dreamer.

One of the things I love most about "fungshwe" (aka moving furniture/decor around), is how fresh it makes everything feel.

It's substantially cheaper to move stuff around than it is to just go buy new furniture every time you get bored. So here is what I suggest. When you feel it's time for a "change"... Move things around, switch things from one room to another. There is no rule that says "this night stand belongs in here and can never be moved or repurposed". Isn't it great being the boss of all the things!? :D

Before:

After:

This room is still not done. We are going to do an accent wall on the headboard wall, just haven't decided if I'm going to stencil it, wall paper it, or batten board. And it still needs a few things here and there, and I'd really like to replace the light. We will also be removing the carpet and putting in the same wood we did down stairs. 

Before:

After:

Painted the room white (obviously). Moved stuff around, added some things, and took the dresser (not pictured above) out of the room, and into the baby's room. Also, another side note: I LOVE putting dressers IN closets. It free's up the room so much! I will be bringing the dresser from the other room into this room and putting it in her 2nd closet! 

These lights are temporary. I have ordered some white "fairy" lights to put in the netting, but she was to impatient to wait the 5-7 business days!

Before:

Apparently I don't have any before pictures of the baby's room. But I will just tell you. There was no dresser... NO decorations, and the couch that is in the master bedroom was in there. The glider was where the dresser is now, and there was no end table... I pulled that in from the guest bedroom. 

Anyway... That was my fungshwe for the day... Now I'm off to fold a mountain of laundry I've been avoiding all day!  

Kitchen Makeover - Floors Finished

Since this blog has been put on the back burner... I haven't really posted much about what we've been doing around the house lately. This Before and After however was too good not to share. We finally finished the floor in the kitchen, and aside from the finishing moulding and the new backsplash, our kitchen is done! I am in love with the way it turned out! It is so crisp and clean, and just a really great place to be and to gather loved ones! 

Enjoy!

Even just the difference between having the floor done and not done is incredible...

DIY Farmhouse Table

This project has been one I have been itching to do for so SO long.  Until this house, I have never had a "formal" dining room OR a dining room big enough for a table this size. The moment our offer was accepted on this home, I knew exactly what was going to fill that room. But first, I had to paint it, and we had to replace the floor. (there was carpet in there, I did not want carpet in my dining room). So we put ourselves to work.

The week before Easter the table still wasn't done, which was beginning to panic me a little. I was hosting Easter dinner. For the first time EVER. Without this table being built, all I had was a small, square, 4 person table in our breakfast nook. My husband sensed my anxiety and panic and he set to work each night after the girls would go to sleep.

We originally wanted to use the plans from decorandthedog.net, you can see the plans here. However, it wasn't quite as large as I was hoping for, and the legs were WAY more expensive than I wanted to spend. We ended up spending less that $150 total for the entire table, including the stain, instead of spending $77-$115+ PER LEG.

These are our adapted plans for the table, a little larger table and a substantially cheaper option.

Material List
**Everything except the legs were purchased at Home Depot.

4 Table legs (We used these from Lowes, we did have to cut the bottom 4-5” off because the table was too high, but it was a substantially cheaper option at just $25 per leg, literally a fraction of the cost.)

3 - 1"x4"x8'

3 - 2"x4"x8'

5 - 2"x8"x8' (Their plans originally called for 1”x7”x8” but we wanted a thicker table top.)

Clamps

Wood Glue

1 1/4 - inch pocket hole screws

1 5/8" Brad nails (if using ship lap barn boards)

Cut List

- 1"x4" (Apron boards)

- 2 @ 30.25"

- 2 @ 82"

- 2"x4"

- 5 @ 38"

Instructions

Attach the 1"x4"s to the legs using pocket hole screws and wood glue, offsetting 3/8" back from the front/sides of the leg tops. 

Assembling the table is easiest done on the floor or work bench if you have one large enough (we used our garage)  it is easiest to assemble it upside down.  Starting from the leg, mark 10.5", 25.5", 40.5", 55.5" and 70.5" on the long 1"x4". Using these marks, attach the 2"x4"s to the 1"x4".

On the first board you are attaching the tabletop, determine the top of the board and then flip it over.  Mark the board using the drawing below.  You need a mark 2" from the end and 1" from the side.  Flip board back over and place it on top of the table matching up the marks with the top corner of the table legs. We used screws to just screw the top of the table on, the original plans said to use a brad nailer, it really is up to you. 

Sand down the top of your table until it is a nice and smooth surface. Once this was done, we (called a friend, because I’m a weakling) moved the table into the dining room and placed it on some drop cloths. We decided to paint it IN the dining room to save the table from being dented or scratched during moving it that might remove paint or stain. 

We used Benjamin Moore Advance in Pure White for the base/legs and then we used Midwax PolyShades in Espresso for the top. We actually ended up only doing one coat on the top because the color was exactly what we wanted after that, and we didn't want to risk it getting too dark. 

It took about 3 nights (working on it after the kids went to sleep) to cut/assemble/paint the table. Some of this was because we would realize we didn’t have enough screws or something, and stores were closed. 

I am in LOVE with my new farmhouse table, and the possibilities for decorating are endless. I have included a few pictures of the table decorated for Easter dinner, and I am just itching to be able to decorate it for Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS. Sorry, got a little excited there. 

Above everything, I would just say, DON’T be afraid of this project. I am probably in the minority here, but home projects do not scare me. However, this one in particular was not difficult, and it is so fun being able to showcase a custom piece of furniture in our home that we will love and cherish forever. In fact, for our anniversary this year, my husband is getting a piece of wood for the table engraved with our name and anniversary on it.

The dinner table is so much more than just a place to stuff your face. It is where the family comes together, memories are made, stories are shared, and love is the main course. This custom made, with love, table is the perfect addition.

Also the chairs I purchased at Wayfair on Black Friday sales for 50% off. They no longer have these chairs, but they have some pretty similar here. 

I wish you all the luck, and as always, please do not hesitate to ask me questions. XOXO,