Vintage Edison Hanging Bedroom Lights

When we upgraded to a king sized-bed, we had to give up our existing nightstands. This was fine as they tend to fill up with junk anyway, but it did present a problem for bedside lighting.

Out of necessity, we bought some parts from Ikea and the Home Depot, and we made these lovely wall mounted lights with vintage filament bulbs.

EKBY VALTER Bracket, black, 11" $5.00
SEKOND Cord set with LED bulb, black, white textile $13.00
Feed-through cord switch (available anywhere) $3.99
Adamax Metal Lamp Guard $4.97
Feit 60-Watt Vintage Style Incandescent Light Bulb $4.94


Total for one lamp: $31.90







I'll show off the shelving soon.

DIY Vinyl LP Record Album Floating Wall Shelves

Here's a simple and inexpensive shelving idea for displaying your LP 12" records! These come out and go in easily, and the shelf only needs to be cut down to the size you need. It's made out of vinyl so it is already white (or whichever color you choose) and will be super easy to keep clean.

Here's the finished product:

The two floating record shelves you see in this picture are approximately 88" long. The vinyl comes in 8' sections.

What you'll need for one 8' shelf:

• 1 White Vinyl Lattice U Cap (Item #94468 at Lowe's)
• 4 #8 x 0.5-in Flat-Head Zinc-Plated Screws (100/pack) (Item #57224 at Lowe's)
• 8 #8 x 7/16-in Zinc-Plated Standard Flat Washers (36/pack) (Item #58122 at Lowe's)
• 4 0.5-in x 2-in Zinc-Plated Flat Braces (4/pack) (Item #315712 at Lowe's) 
• Screws for mounting to the wall (we used drywall screws we had already)

Cut U cap with a jigsaw or something similar, if needed.

U cap lattice moulding.

This groove accommodates records perfectly.

 Looking at the back of your U cap, stack 2 washers together and then add a brace, and screw all 3 into the cap with a #8 x 0.5 flat head screw, making sure the screw does not protrude into the U cap channel. Repeat this process at equal distances along the length of the U cap. This goes U cap - 2 washers - flat head screw.

Hardware.

Back of the U cap shelf, 2 washers, 1 brace, 1 screw.

Grab a level and mount your shelves on the wall. Use the top hole on the brace and attach to the wall using drywall screws (or whatever you have). It's best to begin in the center of your shelf and work your way towards the ends, maintaining level as you go.

Records will slide in from either side (again, make sure none of those little flat head screws poked through) or you can place them into the groove.

Total cost for two 8' vinyl "vinyl" shelves was only $22!

Our Dresser - The Unveiling!

Our $20.00 thrift store dresser is finished! Let's refresh your memory... before...

Dresser - Before

We cleaned it with water and mild detergent, sanded only where necessary, and used Minwax Gel Stain in Hickory to deepen the color. We replaced the knobs and spray painted the stiletto tips with silver spray paint.

Look at it now!

The Demise of the Natural Woodwork, Continued

You don't realize just how much square footage you have until you choose to paint every inch of the baseboards in the house. I'm just concentrating on the first floor for now, although the upstairs will also need to be done. So my assault on the old, natural oak continues.

How did we do it? Sanding (more like scruffing, really), priming and painting.

Supplies:

• Sanding blocks (you can get these anywhere, even Dollar Tree)
• Rags or a vacuum to suck up all the dust
• A mask, so you don't breathe all that gunk in
• Primer (Zoom Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 1-Gal. Water-Based White Primer/Sealer)
• Paint (BEHR Premium Plus Ultra Pure White Hi-Gloss Enamel Interior/Exterior Paint)
• A small roller (hello, again, Dollar Tree)
• A quality brush
• Hammer
• Screwdriver

Begin by removing the door. Use a hammer and screwdriver or hammer and nail to remove the hinge pins. Throw your hinges, pins, and screws in a baggie and mark them. Whisk your door off to a luxurious location where it can be painted, and scuff up the frame with a sanding block.

You're gonna get to know each other

Remove the shine to the best of your ability using your sanding block without removing any color. This step is for adhesion, nothing else. It's a lot of elbow grease and boredom, but think about having chipping paint. That'll help you get through doing it right the first time.

Repeat the same on the door. I removed the hardware because I was replacing it, but feel free to tape it off or aluminum foil it up or whatever.

A once shiny door.

Once you're scuffed, paint the frame and the door with 1 or 2 coats of primer. Pretty Handy Girl has the correct way to paint doors, it's worth a read before you get going. Remember, use a quality brush! Roll where you can and pay close attention to keeping your brush strokes neat. It WILL make a difference!

Per the directions on the primer, wait until your door and frame is dry enough, then apply your paint. I always use 2 coats of the Behr paint, giving each coat ample time to dry. It's a brilliant, glossy white, and it looks gorgeous. It's super fresh and bright.

Give the paint plenty of time to harden. We gave the doors a few days of sitting before we'd attempt to bang them around while getting them hung back up :)

Unmask your hardware or install new, hang and enjoy! Your natural woodwork is a thing of the past. And with all the sanding and carrying doors... I just have to say... your pythons look sick.

Here's some picporn so you can enjoy seeing how awesome white woodwork looks compared to oak. Suffer, oak woodwork, suffer.

Bathroom: Probably the only piece of hardware I like

Sand me and paint me, the 70's are over