I’ve been on a blogging hiatus for a while now – we moved out of our house in mid-July for our big renovation project, and that’s been consuming all of my mental energy since. To be honest, it’s been a totalnightmare and I’m sure our families and close friends are tired of hearing us talk about it. We hired the wrong builder, and our 3 month project that’s now going on 7 MONTHS has been a valuable (albeit painful) learning experience. If you’re in southeast Michigan and are considering a renovation, please message me so I can tell you who to avoid – you’ll thank me later.
This was right after they let it rain INSIDE our house.
Fortunately, the project should hopefully be wrapping up in the next month – Jeremy and I have a TON to share about our experience, and tips for anyone looking for build or renovate. We’ll definitely be blogging (and maybe vlogging!) about it once the project is finally done, and we’ve been able to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe also have a spa day and find a therapist. The PTSD is real.
In the meantime, I wanted to check in and say Happy (?) 2022! We’ve been staying with my mom this entire time, and the kids loved having Christmas at her house – I think my mom might have loved it just a little bit, too. We are ready to get back in our house though, be done with our builder, and make it ourhome again.
Jeremy is going to be helping me with content and posts about what’s happening with our little family, so hopefully we’ll have lots of great things to share with you soon. I’ll also be posting some highlights from the last year as well, I can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to! With 2 kids 5 and under, working remotely, managing a renovation, and living away from home – life has been a lot to handle, to say the least.
You probably read that title and thought that meant baby, didn’t you. Although Isla keeps asking for a “chubby brother” (no idea where this came from), I’m talking about our actual house – not my belly.
The real news: We’re renovating!
We’ve gone back and forth between moving and adding on for the better part of 2 years. After running some numbers, looking at the (crazy) housing market, and considering our 5 year plans, it was clear that renovating would is the best option for us.
So, here we are! We finally pulled the trigger last fall and started working with an architect, and it’s been really exciting!
We’re adding a master suite, and a few bumpouts. In the second phase, we’ll be gutting the kitchen, and taking down some walls to make our boxy 1900 layout more open. Seeing the sketches of what our place is going to turn into, makes me so excited – even more so, I’m excited to be a part of this house’s story, leaving it in better shape than we found it. Always be a good steward of your spaces.
The plans are about 60% done – we just got through the initial design phases and are moving on to the construction drawings soon. We’re enjoying the process, and will update here with our progress.
The end of summer is approaching and I’m 100% ready for fall. I was still enjoying the warm weather until Jeremy’s grandparents gifted us some mums.
Then suddenly, I was ready for sweaters, boots, bonfires, and cider. Like right now. Yes, I know it’s Labor Day weekend. I’m a little ahead of schedule.
But before that cooler weather comes through, I wanted to get at least one more outdoor project finished. This one was a biggie, as we replaced something that has been bothering me for YEARS: our shutters!
yuck.
Not only is the purple color faded and dated, but yellow jackets have taken a liking to building their nests in the slat openings. It got out of control this year, to the point where they were EVERYWHERE and it was difficult to even enjoy time outside with the baby. So, they had to go. Both of them.
I wanted shutters that were more proportional, as our current ones were too skinny/tall, and just didn’t look right on the windows. I was really inspired by the shutters that Chip and Joanna put together at the “Overgrown Ranch” on Fixer Upper.
Source: HGTV
I priced out pre-made shutters, and the least expensive ones I could find for our nearly 6 foot tall windows were $80 EACH. With 6 windows, we’re talking almost $2000. No thank you! So, after a little bit of research, we figured out that we could easily build these ourselves.
To measure for the correct size shutters, we followed this guide.
Our windows averaged around 42″, so we decided on 3 1×6 boards side by side. Since 1×6 boards are actually 1×5.5, this gave us a 16.5″ width which was perfect. We opted for rough sawn, untreated pine boards. The rough cut is only on one side, so it isn’t visible, and we didn’t need the boards treated since they were going to be painted over.
We ended up replacing 12 aluminum shutters, all 14×72″.
MATERIALS
24 1x6x12 rough cut pine boards (untreated)
Chop Saw – our favorite here
Nail Gun – our favorite here
1 1/2″ Finishing NailsÂ
3″ Deck Screws
2 cans of Interior/Exterior Liquid Nail
Primer: Benjamin Moore Interior/Exterior Primer (tinted gray)
Paint: Benjamin Moore Exterior in Onyx (Soft Gloss Finish)
Paint Brush
Paint Roller
Dropcloth
STEPS:
1. Â Boards: Â 18 of the 12′ boards were cut in half to make our 6′ tall boards.
2.  Battens:  6 of the 12′ boards were cut into 16.5″ lengths to make our battens. If you prefer a narrower batten, buy 1x4x12 boards for this instead.
3.  Prime, then Paint*.  We gave all sides a good coat of primer, followed by two coats of paint. I went with my favorite black paint: Benjamin Moore Onyx, in soft gloss. The glossier finish adds a nice sheen.
*This step will feel like it takes forever. Â Be patient, throw on some late 90’s early 00’s jams, and just power through it. Â We actually did this and alternated painting and dance-offs to NSYNC.
4.  Assemble! Lay your three boards next to each other. Place your battens where you’d like them. I recommend placing them at least the width of one board (6″) from the end.
5. Â Once you’ve decided on placement, put down a good amount of liquid nail down. Â Place your batten on top, and press down to get a good bond.
6.  Then finish with your nail gun. We did about 6 nails in each batten.
7.  Hang the shutters. We used deck screws (2 at each end) to hold them in place. Not only are they secure, but the end of deck screws are so much easier to drive in – and when you’re on an extension ladder working on the second floor shutters, you’ll be happy you used these.  Be sure to look for deck screws with a square or hex head.
That’s it! Â 7 steps.
Our cost was $170 for the wood and finishing nails, and $78 for the paint and primer – for a total of $248. At $20.67 per shutter, we saved 87% of the cost doing this ourselves…over $1600! Plus, they give a completely fresh look to the house.
I’ll call it a win!
What do you think? Â Have you ever considered making your own shutters?
Our old farmhouse was built around 1900 – when people were apparently very skinny (our stairway is only 33″ wide) and short. The staircase is so narrow that it left us stumped for the last few years on how to add a handrail to bring it up to code, and more recently to make sure neither of us took a tumble with the baby.
Then I saw this photo on pinterest and was SO inspired:
Source: Houzz
Since we live in an older farmhouse, we like to use a combination of aged wood, tile/stone, and different metals in our decor. It gives the home a rustic feel, and fits with the age and style of our house. So a metal handrail felt like the perfect choice, and would also sit much closer to the wall than a traditional handrail. We didn’t have a ton of room to work with here, so this was the perfect choice.  Not to mention, inexpensive!
The first step is to measure where you want to hang your railing. To follow our local building code, the rail needed to be mounted 34-38″ above the front edge of the stairs. We decided on going right in the middle, at 36″.
First, we used some Goo Gone to remove any stickers on the pipes. Â Next, it was time to assemble. Â We did the attachments first. Â Thread your tee fitting into a pipe nipple fitting, which then threads into the floor flange – this will be the middle. Â For the two ends, thread your 90 degree elbow fitting into a pipe nipple fitting, then into a floor flange.
Second, screw in your galvanized pipes in between the fittings.  At this point you should take your assembled rail and dry fit it on the wall to make sure that all threads are equidistant from the wall.  We learned that the middle tee fitting needed a little more tightening during this step, so don’t skip it!  Use a pair of channel locks to tighten everything until it looks even.
Third, we wanted an oil-rubbed bronze finish for this handrail, so it was time to paint! Â We used rustoleum oil rubbed bronze and did two coats. Â It leaves such a nice finish!
This is Kyle. Â He also helped on our Pottery Barn Bed project. Hi, Kyle!
Finally, we hung it! This is a two person job as the entire railing assembled weighs over 20 lbs., so you’ll need some extra hands to stabilize while one person hangs it.  Since we live in an old house with non-standard stud spacing, the flanges didn’t match up exactly to a stud.  To work around this, we had to use drywall anchors at two of the three attachment points.  I was fortunate enough to have a load bearing wall at the bottom of my stairs which guaranteed a solid anchor point.  One end was held there while Kyle went up the stairs to hold the opposite end.
As it worked out, it was the perfect length! One end butted up against the window sill perfectly.  I’m not going to lie, installing a railing on plaster and lath walls took some finesse, but it was worth the effort.
Here is the finished product. Rustic, eclectic, safe, and perfect for this little old farmhouse.
Here is the finished product. Rustic, eclectic, safe, and perfect for this little old farmhouse.
