Friday Favorites: Reader Features and Signs of Spring

It’s time for another Friday Favorites and Remodelaholics Anonymous! We love seeing your awesome projects, and we have some fun things in the works for future Fridays.. so stay tuned and keep DIYing, Remodelaholics! This week we have some great reader features for you (including some really awesome barn door window coverings) plus some beautiful signs of spring… is spring showing where you are? I saw this on Facebook and it describes our weather lately PERFECTLY, plus it made me laugh.

Enjoy this week’s picks and show off your projects at the link party below, tag #imaremodelaholic on Instagram, or drop us a line here.

Friday Favorites

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Favorite before and after: This laundry room renovation by Timeless Creations is a testament to the power of a few boards and a bit of paint! And did you notice that they kept the same super-functional but NOT cute utility sink and dressed it up? I love rocking what ya got!

Favorite white kitchen: I know there are mixed feelings about white kitchens, but I personally am a big fan — and yes, I have had a white kitchen before 🙂 and @househaven‘s kitchen has me ready to create a white kitchen again!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgKejo0hX36/?taken-by=remodelaholic

Favorite hearth: A fireplace update (like these) can make a huge difference… but it’s usually also a BIG job. This concrete hearth tweak by Single Girls DIY updated their fireplace without requiring a sledgehammer or a huge budget.

Favorite barn doors: Our reader Denise sent in these photos of her barn door window coverings — don’t the look amazing! (See more barn door ideas here and affordable barn door hardware here.)

From Denise: “These indoor sliding barn door shutters are something I tried to purchase for a year . Online shutter companies show them in their products now however they don’t have them when you call. 40 years ago in my 20s I built similar shutters fir my family room. When I moved I figured my building days were done and I’d sold all my tools. It took a year to find Keith Denig who is a wood artist. He was excited about the project.

This barn door hardware kit came with everything necessary. I saved 100$each purchasing them online. I found for my home I needed to purchase longer bolts because if the way the headers we’re built above my windows. I purchased HeadLOK wood screws that were 6″ long. They came with the necessary bit. It was necessary to drill extra holes in the bar because my studs are 20 inches apart. It was not difficult to drill through the bar at all. Putting the bars up was not difficult and we got extra support by putting them into the studs. Otherwise your doors will come crashing down. The rollers must be attached toward the center of the shutters enough so they don’t hit each other at the top. Otherwise you will have a gap between the shutters. Something we did and had to fix. don’t do this. Just move the rollers more to the center a little to avoid it.

Denise, Double Window Barn Door Covering Roller Placement

I had a friend named Keith Denig who is a wood God. I showed him some drawings and photos of what I wanted the shutter doors to look like. His garage is a wood workers wonderland.He used alder wood on the framing and since I was going to paint the shutters he used pine for the center portion. The shutters overhang the windows by 2 inches on each side. I wanted to block out as much sun as possible.

Denise Window Covering Barn Doors Unfinished

The long doors I purchased at an overstock supply house for 78$ each. They are two different sizes because I wanted to open only one side and leave the other stationary. The backside is covered with pine boards that Keith ripped, planed,and sanded. The back or Street side is painted white to reflect as much possible heat away from the inside of the home.

The inside portion is painted a blue color (Behr English Channel) that really warmed the room up. I debated about staining vs painting and was pleased with my choice if paint. It took 1/2gallon of paint of each color to complete the project. There are 3 coats on each side.The entire project was around 700$ for all the windows they can be done for less with old barn wood or even wood from pallets. I ordered hardware handles online for 6$ for 10. I haven’t get decided if I want to put them on yet or not. I’m so pleased with the way these turned out. “

Favorite daily reminder: We found this and fell in love — I think every home could use a reminder to be a little more loving! You can purchase it here.

Favorite you-can-do-it: Our amazing reader Bridget sent in her story of renovating a vacant fixer upper alongside her husband — all while living with Parkinson’s disease. Beautiful work, and so inspiring <3

From Bridget: “My husband and I raised our 4 children in a larger home and when the fourth went off to college and me having Parkinson’s disease we thought it would be a good idea to downsize. HGTV and “This Old House” gave me the desire to buy a fixer upper. I have always enjoyed fixing things up, my husband doesn’t. Much to my surprise he was on board. I found the house by driving down a street that I liked the name of the road it was on: Homestead. There, at the end of the street, sat a vacant block house with a for sale sign. It reminded me of a clipping I had from the cover of a Poplar Mechanic Magazine from 1951. I peeked into the windows. I loved the windows, the crank open type. I let myself in the wooden gate leading to the back yard. I fell in love. Well, not with the pink carpet and pink kitchen tile or the dilapidated oak cabinets. My mom thought I had lost my mind. But the important thing was my husband saw its potential. We purchased the home and began the 10 month renovation.

For the most part my husband and I got along pretty well considering we only had weekends and a few hours after work to work on this project. We enjoyed starting off Saturday morning at 6 am at the local hardware store (they know us by name). I would have to say our biggest surprise is when we were going to tear down the wall between the two bedrooms to make 1 larger bedroom. As we punched through the dry wall we heard glass breaking. Apparently it had been an exterior block wall at one time. This exterior block wall had a window. Instead of punching through a wall, we punched through glass. My advice, don’t be afraid to change the plan midway through. We cut the window into a 5 foot opening and the flow through the house works very well for us.

I am very pleased with how the house turned out. The floors posed a problem as well. When we pulled up the carpet we found the concrete crumbling. we would vacuum it up and it would create a huge pot hole. We had never heard of spawling concrete. We are experts on it now. We had to pour a sub floor in all rooms. It was costly and we had to make changes in the budget. A hidden blessing because we were forced to find an inexpensive Ikea kitchen off craigslist. Turns out it is my favorite room in the house. The kitchen set the stage for the rest of the house. We went with a desert industrial theme. That allowed me to use some elements like old door knobs, flattened corrugated rusty tin, barnwood, an old rusty locker, and old garage light fixtures. I feel that it connects us to the desert town we live in.

It is always a good idea to hire a home inspector before your purchase. We did that. We also went to the city building department and checked building records. There you will find out when the house was built (in our case 1952) and the size, if that size doesn’t match with what you see that indicates they added square footage with out a permit. We are settled in and love our little home in the desert.”

See more photos of Bridget’s renovation (including the beautiful finishing details) here.

Favorite sign of spring: It snowed here AGAIN this week. I know it’s only mid-March, but after a warm winter, we’ve gotten late snow, then beautiful spring weather, and then back to typical “spring” weather — rain, turning to hail, and later snow… so I need to pull out my spring decor and make it spring inside no matter what the weather forecast brings! This simple but beautiful mantel by A Nod to Navy is lovely — and be sure to read her tips for decorating a mantel.

Favorite sign of spring: I mentioned the snow, right? So I’m picking TWO favorite signs of spring to make up for it 😉 This book page spring art by Refresh Living is so cute on her vintage farmhouse mantel.

Favorite big kitchen: Not everyone wants or needs a big kitchen, but just look at all this countertop space! (Utah Valley Home Show, home built by Split Rock Fine Homes, designed by Hamilton Park Interiors)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgJTBGqhtr5/?taken-by=remodelaholic

Favorite you did it: Another reader feature, from Noreen, who made this bathroom renovation a whole family project — the helpful princesses are so precious! Here’s the before:

From Noreen: “We wanted to update our old and tired looking bathroom without breaking the bank! It is a very small space with the vanity separate from the toilet and shower. We used basic white subway tile with grey grout with an accent glass tile. The shower head is a double manifold with a tall extension for a rain shower head, with the other outlet providing for a hand-held shower. For the floors, we used a light wood-look tile and we added radiant heat floors.

Since it was such a small space, it was a budget friendly splurge and worth the extra expense. For storage, we put wood shelves resting on black pipes that made the space look rustic. We replaced the toilet with a water efficient one that also has hidden plumbing, and an extra deep white tub to finish the space.

For our vanity, we added red cedar wood planks to the wall to add extra dimension to the space, and adjustable oval mirrors with dimmer light fixtures to both inside the bathroom and for the vanity area. We also added crown molding to finish the space. Our total renovation budget was $2,200.00

As far as tips and recommendation we used “Gold Bond eXP tile backer” boards from home depot for the walls, having previously utilized other cement boards as tile backers this one appeared durable and was much easier to work with since cutting was done with a razor knife. We also used “redguard” roll on water proofer as an extra layer of protection.

Another tip is having your 3 year old girls help with every step, it is a fun age and they love it (Princess dresses are optional though!)

Favorite vignette: I spied this vignette and saw a familiar looking project… don’t those corbels look just like this vintage set that we shared the DIY building plan and template for? I love the whole setup, from the herringbone wood sign to the perfect aged finish on the shelf. I couldn’t track down the original creator, though, so if you know, please let me know because I’d love to give them credit!