Lighter & Brighter...

Progress on the bathroom makeover is s-l-o-w going, at best!

Projects normally happen at a pretty rapid pace around here, but this summer has been different.

With Will flying up in Anchorage so much, and the kids home on summer break, it means projects fall by the wayside and summer fun takes a front seat.

And I'm not complaining! That's exactly as it should be!

(The summer fun, I mean. Not about Will being gone so much. We miss him!)

But I have been wanting to give the bathroom across from our kitchen a makeover for quite some time now, and when I finally convinced Will to cut some wood for me, I had to jump on the opportunity!

The goal:

To make this bathroom fit in with the part of the house that it is most closely connected to - the Family Room and Kitchen. If you have read my blog for any length of time, you probably know that quite a while back we gave our Family Room and Kitchen a big makeover by adding Board & Batten throughout the entire space. A decision that I don't regret and have yet to grow tired of.

The bathroom across from our kitchen has spent the past few years looking like this...

I wouldn't say it's terrible, but just not very special either.

This teeny, tiny 3 & 1/2 by 7 & 1/2 foot space receives no natural light whatsoever.

Not a bit.

If I had my way, a Solatube would find it's way into the ceiling, but Will assures me that this won't be happening anytime soon.

(Bummer!)

So, to tie this bathroom to the Family Room and Kitchen and bring in the feeling of "light & bright", we put up more Board & Batten...




Here is the Before:


And the...Almost-After:

(like I said, this summer has kept projects from happening quickly! It's not quite done.)

One of my favorite parts of this B&B treatment is that we added something at the back that is perfect for this space. You can't even tell that it's there currently, but once the space is painted and decorated, it will be the perfect addition to make the space more functional.

Can you tell what it is?

It's a shelf at the back, integrated right into the B&B!

A simple 6 &1/2" shelf is just what I need for propping up a frame or two, a scented reed diffuser and a few pieces of decor to bring the room together...

We just ran a piece of trim in front of the shelf, that perfectly matches the rest of the trim and it blends in seamlessly.

I love it and I cannot wait to decorate!

But first, the B&B needs a 2nd coat of paint as well as all of the existing trim and the door.

I'll finish it all one of these days.

If nothing else, school starts in 3 weeks and the projects can commence!

The passion for decorating is a pretty big motivator and I can't do that until everything else is finished.

Stay tuned...


**To see our take on Board & Batten and how we do it, click here.**

*And to see the follow-up to that post, click here.*

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Board And Batten: Part Of The Workshop Series...

Have you been following the Workshop Series?

Donna from Funky Junk Interiors...

and Miss Mustard Seed from Mustard Seed Creations...

are the founders of this fantastic idea!


This week, I am happy to be a part of it.

Why me?

Because this week, Donna is talking all about Board and Batten.

M-hmm...right up my alley!


It's been just over a year since we wrapped our lack-luster family room and kitchen in our own version of character building Board and Batten. And just over a year since we won Apartment Therapy's February 2009 Jump Start Project for "Best In Decor". We had written a "How To" for our Board and Batten treatment and we were thrilled to receive the recognition...



So how do we feel about it now that we've been living with it for more than a year?

Exactly the same as we did when we first put it up.

No regrets!


As you will see, the layout from our room has changed (several times, to be honest), but the Board and Batten remains...

Around the family room we added a ledge with a groove cut through it, kind of like a plate rail. It's the perfect place to prop up star fish and sea shells...

We kept our spacing at 12 inches...for the most part. When it came to areas like under the windows, it was really important to me that the vertical strips fall evenly underneath the window sills. Will wasn't so sure. He was convinced that if we didn't keep the strips evenly spaced all the way around the family room and kitchen that, surely, people would notice. I am happy to say, that no one has ever noticed that our strips on this particular wall are spaced specifically to accommodate the windows, and not a number on the measuring tape.

:)

It was the right decision. There are just certain spots where symmetry is key!

On our longest wall we had to take into consideration our large switch plate. I didn't want to have to cut a vertical strip to go around the switch plate, so we placed a strip directly against it and then measured for all of our other strips off of that line. In this case, it was the best way to avoid drawing more attention to a very large (and poorly placed, if you ask me) bank of switches...

To see our full tutorial on How To: Board And Batten, click here.

To see all of our Before & After photos, click here.


And be sure to make your way over to see Donna's post at Funky Junk Interiors. She's giving a full tutorial and showing you her own interpretation of Board and Batten on a feature wall in her bedroom and in her kitchen. Leave it to her to spin it in a whole new way!

And as an added bonus, she's hosting a Board and Batten Linky Party!
So link up those rooms - you know you want to!


Thanks for including me in your workshop, Donna! XO

Check It Out!!

A while back we entered our Board and Batten Project that we did in our family room into Apartment Therapy's Do It Now! Small Projects Contest.

We uploaded all of our photos, wrote out all of the instructions and after we hit the "submit" button we received an email telling us that we would receive yet another email letting us know if our entry was selected as a participant. Just because you entered, didn't automatically give you a spot in the contest. We didn't hear a peep. I was disappointed, but chalked it up to being a different kind of project than what they were looking for. No biggie. We'll try again another time.

I woke up this morning to find this email in my inbox:
(This email was sent to six of us that entered)

"Congratulations to all!! It is my pleasure to inform you that you are the six winners of our "Judge's Choice Awards" for Apartment Therapy’s second annual DIY small project contest. You have received Honorable Mention in your category. As with all our contests, every submission was a winner and had something valuable to offer. Still, your outstanding submissions really stood out to our panel of judges!

This year we posted about 80 amazing submissions across five categories that showed how inspirational and creative small DIY household projects can be. Thank you for your remarkable contribution.

Our six judges will each be awarding an honorary prize of their own, which is completely at their discretion...

Once again, thank you so much for being a part of our AT community."

YEAH!!!!!

Judge, Christina Batch-Lee (from Etsy) representing Apartment Therapy chose ours as her favorite project! Here is what she had to say:

Why Christina Chose It: "My pick for the best in decor is How To: Board and Batten. I'm still so impressed by this project! When I first came across the after photo, it took me a moment to "find" the project itself, because the finished results fit so seamlessly into the space and now defines the whole character of the room..."

"Karla and Will's thorough instructions really make this feel doable — and at such a low cost for materials — an easy investment with a big return.

I also love how they've interpreted a nautical theme for this room, with subtle details and material elements that add up to the experience of being in a cozy seaside cabin, or the berth of a ship."

Someone pinch me now!

Thank you so much, Christina! Your words mean more to me than you can know! I appreciate it so much!


How exciting!
I wish I would have known that we were in it!
But, lesson learned...when you enter a contest watch it like a hawk because you may, in fact, be a participant without even knowing it!

What an awesome way to start the day!

Here is the link to our submission:

How To: Board and Batten
Karla and Will's February Jumpstart Project 2009

and the link to what Christina had to say about it:

Christina's Favorite

I'm on Cloud 9...and I just might not come down...

Now we wait to see what our prize is!

How To: Board and Batten

I have received several questions about how exactly we achieved the Board and Batten look in our kitchen and family room, so I thought I would dedicate a post to it! Consider this a DIY: How To
...well, at least how we would do it!

The first thing I did was research any hard and fast rules about Board and Batten. I wanted to stay true to the look because the whole goal was to bring a sense of architecture to the room that would be mistaken for something that has always been here. I found a few sites that really helped. Here is how Board and Batten would be installed if you were doing an authentic installation. This site was helpful also!

What we wanted was "the look", for less. Meaning all of the bang for not a lot of buck! We wanted to have the vertical strips capped off by a horizontal band at the top and have our existing walls act as the "boards". We also decided to put a "cap" around the family room with a groove running through the top to act as a plate ledge to hold an occasional starfish.

Ok, down to the nitty gritty. This entire project was done using MDF. No reason to break the bank using real wood when it was going to be covered up with three coats of paint anyway! I decided on the height based off of the existing architecture in the rooms. My biggest issue with our family room had always been a long, narrow window that sits up at eye level. I had, sort of, a love/hate relationship with this window! It has a well defined purpose (acting as a frame for Mt. Rainier - stunning!), but it was never easy to incorporate into the room before. It always felt like it was floating. And since the skies are only clear *some* of the time up here in the Pacific Northwest, the window didn't make any sense on days where there wasn't a mountain to frame! I decided the height of the Board and Batten would be 65" which hits right in the middle of the window. This way the window would look supported instead of floating. I am happy to say that it worked!

There were no "rules" followed on this! We adjusted the information that we found online to work for our real life rooms and what was aesthetically pleasing to us. Ok, I should say "to me". My Handyman just wanted to know what cuts to make and where to point the nail gun!

The horizontal strip on top is 3 & 1/2" tall. The vertical strips are 1 & 1/2" wide. The spacing between the strips is 12". We did adjust the spacing when necessary! I wasn't happy with some of the spots where the strips would stand if we followed the 12" spacing rule every time. And I can tell you that if you're not working on a long span of wall, then feel free to adjust! You can't tell where we switched up the spacing at all! But to the eye, it looks a whole lot better than if we had done 12" spacing everywhere! The other thing to consider before you start attaching the strips to the wall is where light switches and outlets fall. It's best to tackle each wall individually and begin where the most issues could possibly arise! To make it easier on ourselves we cut a 12" scrap piece of MDF to use as a spacer. That way we weren't having to measure out 12" each time.

The biggest issue was how we were going to tie this into our existing base boards and window trim. We decided to cut each vertical piece off at an angle at the bottom, and each horizontal piece off at an angle on the sides where it met a window so that the depth of the MDF would not be greater than the depth of the trim molding.

TRUE Board and Batten would have flat panels of wood 12" wide lining the walls and then the strips would serve as seam covers. We were not about to cover all of our walls entirely in wood (goal: inexpensive, remember?) so by putting up only the strips and painting it all out in white we trick your eye into thinking that it really is paneled walls. And I can tell you that until someone gets right up close to it or touches it, they do not realize that in between the strips is normal textured wall!

The whole thing had to be primed and then get painted out with two coats of semi-gloss paint. My husband was nervous about our walls being glossy, but if this was the real thing (all wood!) it would be painted in glossy paint just like the rest of the molding throughout our house. And I think that has a lot to do with people believing that we have actually paneled our walls in wood!

Here you can see where the height of the board and batten meets the long, narrow picture window.

And here you can see the two vertical strips falling evenly under the kitchen window. This was one of the spots where we adjusted some of the spacing. I like the result!

Now that all is said and done and we've been living with it for about a month, I can undoubtedly say that this project was worth it! It did disrupt our home life for a few days (the kitchen and family room were pretty much unaccesable), but the kids actually thought it was fun to eat in the dining room instead of the kitchen for a few days! The most time consuming part was all of the painting that had to be done. We finished the install (including all of the cuts) in about 5 hours. It took 2 full days to do the 3 coats of paint. I wanted each coat to get adequate drying time.

If you have any more questions, I would be happy to answer them!

We have a few friends that have expressed interest in doing Board and Batten on their walls. As well as a nursery for a sweet baby boy that will be arriving in May! I am excited to see how it all turns out! There is no shortage of inspiration out there! Take it and use it to your advantage!

Before and After...

The family room and kitchen before...

And how it all looks now...

with freshly painted walls and Board and Batten surrounding the space.

The cardinal points of the compass is an idea that I have had for a while, but with the holidays it was just to busy to turn it into a reality.

This is the reproduction map of our town that we got while in the city for our anniversary. My Handy Man (my husband) framed it in a beautiful piece of poplar. I love how it fits into the room and has meaning behind it...

We framed one of my husband's aeronautical maps of the Puget Sound in fence paneling. I love that it has a rustic feel to it. The map provided the perfect color, so it was a must for the room!

Adding the latitude, longitude and elevation was my husband's idea!

Our son loves to plant his apple seeds every time that he eats an apple. The amazing thing is that they actually grow!

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I'm very happy with how it all turned out! The space is comfortable and cozy while still being fresh and bright. We were able to try something new for us by installing the board and batten and my vision for the compass turned out just as I had hoped. The family room and kitchen now feel like they actually fit in with the rest of the house. The disjointed feeling that the rooms had before wasn't something that I was willing to settle for. I think I accomplished a theme without it being "in your face" or over the top. This room acts as a true "family room" on a daily basis, so I needed to achieve the balance of functioning for my kids while still being a beautiful space for me! It was very time consuming and exhausting since I had to paint almost non-stop to get it done, but in the end the hard work is always worth the effort! And now I can finally say that this room is done!