Board & Batten Staircase- Part 1

I absolutely love wainscoting!  It adds so much to a room that may otherwise be plain and simple.  Don't get me wrong, I actually love simple.  I am not much for decorations, though I love how other people's houses are decorated.  I just don't "buy" decorations to outfit my own home.  Our decor consists of family photos & momentos and "souvenirs" that the Laird gets when we travel.  In our previous house, our living room was affectionately called "the Jungle Room".  Painted bright green, the Laird's dream was to have every inch of wall space covered with cool pieces from our travels.  Redwoodshire does not currently have a great place to designate as "the Jungle Room", though we have a corner of our dining room that will be designated as the "Jungle corner".  As our family grows, we do hope to add on to this house, in which case we will add a room/ den to be the real Jungle Room.  For now the "Jungle Corner" will do.  One reason I love the wainscoting is that it is a built in stand alone decoration- there's no need for more.  Though decorations always make things look even better.  

Back to wainscoting.  During our kitchen renovation, we installed a PVC wainscot back splash.  It turned out great.  After that experience, I discovered that "wainscoting" is a broad term covering many different styles- bead board.... board & batten...etc.  And of course, they are all beautiful.  It mad me want to do wainscoting throughout every room of my house! Unfortunately, wainscoting comes at a price- both monetarily and time.  Thankfully, the Laird also loves the look. 

Wainscot project #2: Board & Batten along the staircase

We had to finish trimming/ enclosing the ledge of the new stairwell, so this project fit into the job at hand.

When we bought Redwoodshire, the stairs were quite different.  Check out Farmhouse Stair Renovation Part 1  and Farmhouse Stair Renovation Part 2 for the whole story.  We love our new stairs- they completely functional (not too steep & narrow) and cute!  After installing Bead board Wainscoting as a back splash in our kitchen, I discovered there are many different styles of wainscot.  The Board & Batten looked fairly simple, yet it adds so much to visual appeal.  I thought of just the place to test it out- our stairs!

BEFORE:



















There are a number of ways to do Board and Batten.  Our method involves using the wall without adding a board.  

Materials include:  MDF 1 x 4 (for both the headers, footers, and battens), cove moulding, Liquid Nails, & nail gun

Tools included:  Compound miter saw, level, angle finder (not sure what it's called), pencil, nail gun


The Laird attached base and head boards first.  He used Liquid Nails & a nail gun to attach each board/ batten. Our battens are 15-16 inches apart.  Along one wall, there was already a built in ledge.  We added a shelf and trim to finish the ledge.




MID-PROJECT:

At the moment, the board & battens are all installed. The caulking process is underway.  And we have yet to finish the job with paint.   There is 1 final batten to install at the bottom of the stairs- unfortunately the thermostat is placed in such a way that we would have to cut around it to install that batten.  After brainstorming ideas to get around the thermostat, without making it look terrible, our friend, suggested simply moving the thermostat over an inch.  Genius!  He instilled confidence that this was a job the Laird would do easily.  Trimming the stair ledge was last weekend's project.  The Board & Batten was mostly done this weekend- minus painting.   Board & Batten Staircase- Part 2 will include that final batten installed and finishing paint!  

The angle at the base of the rising battens was a bit tricky, but after a few trials, the Laird figured out the trick (they are all the same angle).  Despite the mini-challenges and that we haven't finished the job yet, we absolutely love how much it has already added to our stairs.  We love it so much, that we plan to do it around our dining room when it comes time for that renovation.

"I'm Dreaming Of a White C-abinet"

So I found a primitive cabinet on Craigslist.  The seller says it likely dates between 1890 to 1910.  The dimensions are perfect for 2 possible places in our kitchen: a sideboard along a window wall, or as a kitchen island.



I have been in search of a sideboard cabinet to go along a wall, under a window- so height matters.  We do not currently have a pantry, and are in desperate need of a food storage space.  We have ideas in mind of what we would like, but so far the search has been difficult, primarily because we only have 30" width of space, and we want to maximize storage potential.  This cabinet could possibly help with storage until we find the perfect pantry piece.  The other idea I have is to convert it into a Breakfast Island.                        

If you've ever been in antique shop, you may have noticed that some of the most beat up pieces (like the one pictured above), with peeling and cracked paint, cost way more than you'd ever imagine.  I am not heavy into antiques, however I have gathered this much- it's because they are really old- which goes far in the antique world.  I love the primitive simple farmhouse look, and we're hoping to find some unique pieces for Redwoodshire.

The other day I happened upon this primitive cabinet as I was browsing Craigslist.  It is located about an hour away, but the seller said he'd meet me.  And the price seems right.  Of course it will need some TLC, but that is the fun part.

And so, that is why "I'm dreaming of a white C-abinet."  Hoping to get on the road to go see it tomorrow!  We will see what happens.  And of course if we do become the proud owners of this old primitive, you will be sure to hear about it.  Until then...

Trimming Another Window

Almost 1 year after major renovations (raising the 2nd floor ceilings) and 10 months of living here at Redwoodshire, we finally have a nicely trimmed window at the top of our stairs.  Not a difficult task, but when added to the list of many projects to be done, this one did not make the top of the list.  Hence, it took a while to get around to it.  But the Laird and I both agree that it feels great not to see that unfinished window(and insulation sticking out) every day- each and every time we went down the stairs.  After a while, you don't notice it.  But every now and then, when lady genevieve tried to look out the window, we were reminded how badly this task needed to be completed.

We chose to match this window trim with the windows in the 2 small bedrooms.  The trim was purchased and painted months ago.  The hang up was that we could not find the original window sill, and had to purchase and cut a new one to fit.  I like the detail of this trim, and the cream matches our stair spindles and the square shape matches the newel posts.

It only took a few hours to install (nothing in our house is square or even, and therefore making things a little more difficult and time consuming than necessary.)   This is our newly trimmed window.

BEFORE:

BEFORE

AFTER

One nice thing about installing this style window/ door trim, is that you only have to cut straight edges.  Unlike trim that meets in the corner and has to be mitered (cut at an angle), the square rosette pieces sit in the upper corners, where the top and side trim pieces meet.  Straight cuts!  Easy Peasy!

CURRENT PROJECT:
We are currently in the process of trimming the lower landing, and adding a board and batten wainscot to the stair walls.  These are before photos.  In the lower photo:  There is a ledge below the photo collage- we will be doing the board & batten from the ledge down to the stairs/ landing.

Storybook Themed Party

A couple years ago, I helped plan and organize a Baby Shower for my sister.  I saw a super-cute Storybook Themed Baby Shower online and decided that would be a great way to celebrate my sister and the new baby.  I recently did the same online search that I did in 2012, in order to include a link to the blog that helped inspire the idea, and there is now a ton of different photos out there of the same idea.  So this post may not be novel, but for some readers of this blog, it may be inspiring.

 So basically everything had a Children's book/ story theme, from the food, to the drinks, cake, favors, and games.  Here are a few photos from our spread.

FOOD LABELS:

 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
Meatballs in Sauce, with french bread & butter.

GREEN EGGS & HAM
My sister's friend made the deviled eggs.  If I had made them, I would have definitely used food coloring to make the filling green!






























THE 3 LITTLE PIGS
Pigs in a Blanket, a.k.a. Mini hot dogs, wrapped in crescent rolls

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
Fruit Salad

CURIOUS GEORGE, CHICKEN LITTLE & HUMPTY DUMPTY
Finger Sandwiches- Peanut Butter and Banana (CURIOUS GEORGE)
Chicken Salad (CHICKEN LITTLE)
Egg Salad (HUMPTY DUMPTY)

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE
Chocolate Chip Cookies with milk & a straw





FAVORS:
Bookmarks-  I collected a bunch of paint chips from Home Depot & Lowes (over many trips).  We photo copied some pages out of a book that had simple black and white pictures (like the old Winnie the Pooh).  Cut strips of the photo copies to fit the paint chip.  Pasted 2 pieces together.  Punched a hole and added ribbon.

NOAH'S ARK- The Cake

My mom made a super cute 2 layered cake.  Each of the animals are made of out painted chocolate ganache.  I don't know enough about that process to offer tips!  

So if you're looking for a fun theme for a baby shower or young children's birthday party, this is a theme to explore.  There are so many avenues to take, and lots of ways to get creative.  We played a storybook trivia game- which I would include, but I cannot find!  If I find it, I will post here.  Also each person was encouraged to bring a book to give to the new baby. 

Though this idea seems pretty popular at the moment, I ran across my photos from our shower and decided to post about it.  Enjoy!