Building Life Together One DIY at a Time
Where we make our home purdy. Often for the holidays.
Who doesn't love a good deal, amirite? Well, when I found this convex mirror in the back of the DC area West Elm, I HAD to buy it - at only $9! It had been in a display so it was 'used' and marked down $20! So I've been trying to figure out where to… Continue reading Bubble Wall
This one is ultra simple. And if you're a catalog hoarder, should be free for you too. Yes, that is the Christmas 2012 Crate&Barrel catalog. In the drinkware section there's this handy guide to different types of beers. Grab your favorite empty frame... ...Get to taping.... ...and there you have it! Now go hang it… Continue reading The Beer Diagram ~ Inexpensive Art
Yesterday we slapped some drawer liners in the old RASTafari nightstand and re-organized to make early-morning blind searches much easier. Now that the insides are spruced, it's high time to dress up the top a bit, and make it look a little more grown up. The artwork that has been on display since we unveiled… Continue reading Some RASTafari Re-styling
If you've been following along, you'll know we lovingly refer to our nightstand as RASTafari as it was built from an ikea hack using the RAST. Once we finished the outside, we just sorta tossed some things into it and left it alone. I had always planned to line the drawers with some pretty paper… Continue reading Some RASTafari Re-Organizing
Just a few months ago, we shared with you a handy little project where we put some baskets into our kitchen cabinet doors to store our spices and recapture space. It was a pretty good idea. The trouble was, we went the dollar store route to try and keep the overall cost low - a… Continue reading Spice Rack Re-boot – Got Gold?
One of the goals we've set around here is to dress up our walls more. So lets get started! Yup, that's the December 2012 issue of Real Simple magazine. And those are some simple frames leftover from my college-posters-look-classy-in-cheap-frames days. They aren't fancy frames, but their simplicity means they're easier to clean with a quick… Continue reading Inexpensive Art ~ Yummy Kitchen Frames
While on one of her near-daily trips to Target, Beth sent me this: Oh boy. Here goes. So this project seemed to require a thicker block of wood than anything I had laying around. A fortuitous trip to the ReStore allowed me to pick up a ~4 foot long piece of hardwood of some sort. … Continue reading A Little Woodworking JOY
As promised, here is your view of the other side of our living room, all decked out for Christmas. There's a slight seaside vibe with the use of a few starfish and seashells tucked in with the frames. And the cute little trees distributed throughout are all ReStore finds. Of course we had to use… Continue reading Seaside Christmas in Pittsburgh ~ Part Deux
I'm not shy about it. Pittsburgh is a lovely place, but it's WAYYYYY too far from the ocean for my tastes. This whole notion that a lake beach is just as good is nonsense. And one of the biggest things that gets me homesick is the simple fact that I cannot on a whim get… Continue reading Seaside Christmas in Pittsburgh
So we've got a small collection of Christmas cards stacking up....but sitting in a pile isn't very festive. We thought about putting them on our intercom pin board, but decided we had too many to really nicely display there. Then I found a red ribbon, already nicely cut and leftover from a gift I wrapped… Continue reading Minimalist Greeting Card Display
So the trend seems to be to take your favorite Christmas carol and use your favorite lyrics in some mantle artwork. Most of these have been in the form of chalkboard art. I decided to take a different direction to create an inexpensive piece of artwork to replace the somewhat creepy artwork that I had… Continue reading Jack Frost Swap ~ Inexpensive Art
December starts tomorrow. I think it's ok to break out the Christmas decorations now. Only that usually means starting with a mess like this. Sadly that was about halfway through me dragging everything out and deciding what I'd use. Most of it is a collection of hand-me-downs, save for the tube of ornaments (target dollar… Continue reading Merry Milk Glass Mantle
You know those moments. You're walking along minding your own business when BAAM you're hit with inspiration. Well while on a recent trip to the Pittsburgh Habitat ReStore I found this ugly old lamp. (At left in the 'before' part of the Pinterest worthy pic) We've all read in blogland about boob lights, right? Well… Continue reading From Ugly Lamp to Pretty Cloche
Yup, I've jumped on yet another DIY bandwagon - the COVER EVERYTHING IN SWEATERS! wagon. Only, I'm drawing the line. Soft fuzzy cozy sweater pillows? Sure! ....but why does my flower vase need to be cozy? It doesn't. But I found this super comfy sweater for under $4 at Goodwill and thought it would be… Continue reading Our Pillows Got Cold, So I Made Them Sweaters
Ever home has them. Wall zits. Or, like normal people call them, outlets, vents, radiators, light switches. These necessary things in our homes that are not always well placed, or pretty. The apartment is also a victim of these wall crimes. See for yourself. In trying to create a little drop zone using the antique… Continue reading Dressing Up the Intercom
B & B Build A Life 