Evolution of the Garage

Slowly but surely.

The idea started with turning our garage into living space + laundry room.

(our washer and dryer were already down there).

It has been a year since we started this process...

yes, we are taking our sweet time.

Right now we have a mess, but the concrete walls have finally drywall on it.

We had already done electrical and connected heat and air to this room.

The next couple of weeks will be finishing the walls, with second mudding, priming and paiting...

and floors???

Then the fun part of actually putting the room together.

When I say the next couple of weeks...

it does not really mean exactly that. 

It will probably take me longer...

much longer.

Remember when I said we are taking our sweet time?

don't worry. This has since been covered with plastic until further notice :)

But this is the mess in that room right now, 

so I am going to do my best to get this room in presentable conditions ASAP.

Here is the slow process in fast motion.

First of all I applied 2 coats

Cleaning a Wooden Deck (naturally and easily)

Do you have a wooden deck that is covered with green gunk?

Algae, mold, will grow on decks that are in the shade.

Our deck has been in need of some cleaning...

but I am happy to report that our deck is looking like new again.

I spent just a little over $1 to clean the entire deck.

I am not a fan of chemical cleaners, 

not inside nor outside the home.

So my quest for cleaning the deck came down to 

Decor Updates on a Dime (or less)

Most times the decor in our home is very simple...

original window frame from our Italian farm house, built by my great grandfather

but ALL the times, the decor is very inexpensive. 

books wrapped in brown paper and cotton twine
and
vinegar stain aged clothes pins (in 3 minutes, project HERE)

Most time free and/or handmade.

free pallet frame I built (HERE)

I haven't been able to keep up with the blog the last several months.

But that does not means that I haven't been doing things.

Beside working on the house, 

the garage transformation into a rec room (remember that?),

getting the 2 veggie garden areas prepared for Spring planting,

homeschooling the children,

feeding family and friends (my parents came from Italy to visit us pretty much the entire month of March)

...

I am also currently at week 13 (of 16 weeks) of my Spring Marathon Training.

This year I am doing an advance training plan,

which means I have ran about 550 miles in the last 3 months.

That has meant running 6 days a week (averaging 35 to 55 miles weekly),

early, early morning runs and early bedtime.

The blog has taken the backseat BIG time.

Here are some updated pictures of the kitchen and sunroom.

vintage olive jars and ceramic garlic/onions keeper

Most of the things were very inexpensive finds,

Italian farm family decor,

and things that I built myself.

wine glasses' rack (project HERE)

Needless to say,

It has been a BUSY year so far.

Looking forward to get back to "normal" life after my 26.2 miles race at the end of April.

...or maybe this has now become my new normal.

And I am ok with that.

Stay Frugal,

Daniela

How to clean a pallet

I love pallets.

When I get "new" ones, I usually leave them outside to naturally age the wood.

I am in the process of making shelves for our laundry room,

so I went outside to cut down the pallet I choose for my project.

Every time, before using pallet wood,

I like to clean them up really good.

Coffee Station

I like both coffee and hot teas.

You would think that I had a coffee and tea station all my life.

Not so, not so.

But I had been thinking about having one in our home for quite a while.

Our kitchen has a limited space, 

and I didn't want to cram too much stuff so not to be able to walk in there.

But I finally came up with an idea...

the day before Thanksgiving.

Because you know,

when creativity strikes,

then you must act...immediately.

So I moved the microwave station to the side of the fridge, 

took the pantry door down (to make room for microwave cart thingy),

sewn a curtain to replace the door,

disassembled a sewing machine table,

Fall and the Garage to Rec Room makeover

Definitely fall is in the air.

Cool breeze, shorter days and chilly mornings/evenings.

I honestly have only decorated a few things around the house...

I am mainly a Christmas decorator. 

Lol

I also have been working on our garage project. 

But Summer has ended and I am not done.

I knew I wouldn't.

But we made progress. 

The old (exposed) insulation was taken down, and I am pretty sure we will leave the

Garage to Rec Room

After much deliberation,  

my husband and I have decided to turn our garage into a rec room.

Lots of different reasons.

I know there are different opinions on 

"garage or not garage".

I get it.

Although the garage door openings will not be closed up with a wall.

I am planning on replacing the overhead doors,

with true carriage style doors,

aka that swing out.

That will give us the option of converting the garage back if we ever want to.

I know those carriage style doors are neither cheap nor frugal,

but I am planning on building it.

So it's all good.

Can't wait to start. 

To check out some of my inspiration pictures, here is the link to my

pinterest garage board

source

So here how our 500sq feet looks like right

Tufted Headboard Restoration Hardware Inspired

One of my friends really wanted to redo her bedroom.

And of course I offered to help.

First because it's really fun to be around her (she is the reason why I started running).

Second because I like to build stuff.

She knew what she wanted, but the price tag of some items was pretty high.

Starting from the bed,

this Restoration Hardware bed is about $2000+tax (last time I checked).

She wanted to charcoal fabric and the "wings".

Although she didn't care for the foot board and the diamond pattern of the buttons.

We did the straight rows.

We got to work with about

$100 cost for the 

Creative Inexpensive Frame(s)

I am always excited when I can use something that was either free or practically free.

Today I turned this old window into a frame display for my map.

The window is original to our home.

It is one of two windows that were taken down when we turned them into doors to access

Pergola Carport

It has been a few weeks since we added a pergola carport to our backyard.

We decided on having someone building this.

At this time I am not able to tackle another big outdoor project.

(although I just added and plowed a 15x10 veggie garden area, in addition to our current 16x8 garden area)

The reason behind this addition is the possibility of converting our garage into a rec room.

Maybe even close off the laundry area, 

which is already located in the garage.

I am budgeting the upgrades and researching the best solution for us.

This garage transformation would be a DIY project, and it would take some time from start to finish.

Back to the carport.

We wanted a carport that didn't look like a carport.

Make sense, right?

I like the

Barstools and chairs

Today's post is about bars tools and chairs.

Actually counter stools, not barstool.

Counter stools sit approx 24-25" high, and barstools sit approx 29-30".

Anyway, I have been looking for a couple of backless stools.

Since our kitchen is not big, I wanted backless stool, to visually open up the space.

Thing is, I really liked how comfortable our stools were.

I didn't want to get rid of them.

So I got out the measuring tape, skill saw and hand sander.

In less than 10 minutes 

How to change a shower head

Good morning blogland!

I know I have been "gone" for few weeks, but life has been busy. 

Good but busy.

With homeschool and marathon training in full force, life is not slowing down anytime soon.

Today I am going to show you how to change your shower head.

There are many women out there that are very handy, but some of you might find this helpful.

This is what you will need:

Backsplash extended

Over a year ago I added a backsplash to my kitchen.

A few days ago I was cleaning up the garage, and found

the rest of the material used back then.

I have seen backsplashes going the entire height of the ceiling, and I thought it would nice a little extra detail to add this to the back of the open kitchen shelf...

Make your house, your home

When people want to remodel part of their home, 

the question most of us ask first (or should) is: 

what can we afford?

I think it's harder for some to have a vision for their space, but truly, it all starts with a vision.

If you are not a visionary, then you probably know one. 

Ask them.

When my husband and I bought our first (and current) home, he could not fully see the potential. 

I, on the other hand, was planning a remodeling as soon as we bid on it. 

Started to rip off the carpet as soon as we signed and were

Storage Area Reveal...Then and Now

On December 10, 2013, we started our sunroom addition.

This is what looked like then.

It has now been a year, and this is how it

Bedroom Set Revamp

A couple of months ago I was about to start building a wooden bed frame for our son.

A few days later, a friend of mine called me asking me if I had any use for a twin size bed with 2 smaller dressers.

Well, of course. 

I was ok with the bed and dresser being mostly white, but the blue drawers needed to be toned down a bit.

I got my homemade mod podge and this "pallet wood" paper 

The Shed Project

I am getting really excited about finishing up the shed under our sunroom.

My plan is to have it finished in the next week. 

I can't believe that almost a year ago (December 10, 2013)

we started the actual sunroon project.

The picture shows one of the "walls" that are already finished.

I am working on the door frames...

Let the shed project begin

Truthfully, I am always busy doing something...

but when my husband is out of town for work (which is not very often),

I start tackling those projects that have been on the list for months.

Maybe because my brain and body is already exhausted,

so I think... "might as well..."

This week has been one of those weeks.

I headed to Lowe's to get my supplies,

with the children in tow

(yes we got many "looks" as I piled wood, screws...)

and started the 

Fire pit area

It's about time I finished this fire pit area,

built right next to the diy floating deck I built a few months ago.

I have used pavers we bought at Lowes 7-8 years ago, 

when we I made a pathway to get from the driveway to the sidewalk that takes us to the front of our house.

The walkway had become partially overgrown and just needed to be redone...

which I will show you soon what I ended up doing there.

So, back tot he fire pit area.

I dug up all the pavers to the backyard, and used free rocks found on craigslist.

I decided to work on the fire pit area with material I already had.

Here is what I did.

First of all, 

Chain Link Fence Project

Do you have a chain link fence that could use a face lift?

Do you need to add privacy to your yard?

This project is cheaper than replacing the entire fence and only require basic skills.

About 6-7 years ago, I had to do something about our chain link fence. 

At 4ft tall, one of our dogs would clear it and get out all the time.

We weighted our options, but nothing was fitting in our budget. 

Replacing was not an option, either wood or vinyl was too expensive.

But I found this