Month: June 2015

Creating a Meaningful Home: Rooms For Rent

Written by Jenna on June 29, 2015. Posted in Creating a Meaningful Home. 2 Comments on Creating a Meaningful Home: Rooms For Rent

Todayâ€™s guest post for Creating a Meaningful Home blog series: Year 3 is Bre of Rooms For Rent. Welcome Breâ€¦

I am so thrilled to be here with all of you today! I was honored Jenna asked me to join her series, it is one that I could totally relate with, and close to my heart. If you haven’t popped by my corner of the blog sphere yet, I’m Bre and I blog over at Rooms FOR Rent! Sharing my passion for interior decor, and most importantly inspiring others to Love the space they Live in!

Long before I blogged, or even knew about blogs, creating a meaningful home was always on the forefront of my mind. As a child I dreamed about being an interior decorator, but it wasn’t until I had my very own place, as a young, newly married bride, that I was able to really put into practice putting thought behind the items I decorated with. It was so much more than just filling a room with pretty things. I wanted our home to be inviting and welcoming, not only to guests, but to my husband as well. Establishing a retreat from the rest of the world that was personable to just us. Once we had kids, and I was home full time, it was time to shake off the dust of that dormant dream of being an interior decorator.

Our home is layered with items of great meaning to us. I love covering our walls with family photos, it’s like a warm hug with happy memories of the family we’ve started. Our kids love to see pictures of themselves as chubby babies, and wobbly toddlers, and pictures of our wedding. To them it’s like looking through a photo album everyday around the house.

As newlyweds starting off we had very little furniture of our own. We inherited furniture pieces from our families that have become staples for us, and remind us of where we’ve come from. The cedar chest you see in the photo above, has played many roles in each place we’ve lived. Last year I sanded it down and re-stained it to give it new life, my husbands grandfather made it back in the 50’s, and my husband has fond memories of it as a boy, and always wished that one day he could be the rightful owner. When we see it, we think fondly of his grandfather and his fine craftsmanship.

Another hand-me-down that adds meaning for us, is this dresser I use as a buffet in our dining room. It was a hand me down from my mother, her first furniture set when she married my dad, and I used in my bedroom as a teenager. It was the first DIY the hubby and I did together 10 years ago, and recently, last year, I sanded it down again and re-stained it, but it’s one of my most asked about pieces, and whenever I look at it, I think of my mom, and when she first acquired the dresser decorating her new home as a young bride.

I want our home to tell a story, Our story. While I love finding great buys at HomeGoods and Marshalls, my favorite things to decorate with are those that have a story. It’s a heritage that I get to pass onto my children. Repurposing items and giving them new life, shows that we care for the things around us, and take pride in where we came from. You can never go wrong when you decorate with items you truly love, and mean something to you. It’s the personal touches that create meaning in our lives, and touch those around us.

Stay in touch!

Instagram / Pinterest / Facebook

Have a design question? Visit Doucette Design Co. for all your design needs!

Thank you Bre for sharing your beautiful thoughts on how you’ve created a home that tells Your Story!

I love these words that Bre shared, “Our home is layered with items of great meaning to us. I love covering our walls with family photos, itâ€™s like a warm hug with happy memories of the family weâ€™ve started.” and “To them itâ€™s like looking through a photo album everyday around the house.” Absolutely!

Every project Bre creates is “her”. Bre’s style of relaxed with a farmhouse flair is spot on in what the rooms of her home evoke. One of my favorite parts of Bre’s home is her gray chalkboard wall in the kitchen. In this post, Bre shares a great tutorial on how to make chalkboard wall paint in any color.

Head on over to Rooms For Rent, and give Bre a BIG HELLO!

Check out all the Bloggers that have contributed to this series on
Creating a Meaningful Home

Plus donâ€™t miss out on all the previous Bloggers who contributed to this series in 2013 and 2014!

Creating a Meaningful Home: Ten June Blog

Written by Jenna on June 24, 2015. Posted in Creating a Meaningful Home.

Todayâ€™s guest post for Creating a Meaningful Home blog series: Year 3 is Michelle of Ten June Blog. Welcome Michelle…

Creating a meaningful home is a really important topic to me. No matter how many design magazines we browse through or DIY blogs we read, nothing matters more in your home than meaningful moments. It’s your home, right? So it needs to look like you and your family. What inspires you? What makes you smile? What reminds you of those special moments in your life? In my opinion, decorating with those types of things is what makes your home meaningful.

For years, my husband and I lived in our “dream home” that we renovated and put a lot of love, blood, sweat and tears into. We moved from that dream home a couple of years ago due to my husband’s job relocation and we’re actually in a rental house right now. It’s pretty crazy to go from a home that we painted every square inch of (like our son’s baby nursery room makeover, still my favorite room I’ve ever designed!), renovated portions of to the studs (like our amazing master bathroom renovation!) and really felt like we made “ours” to a home that we can’t even paint the walls or do anything permanent to without permission! Needless to say, making this rental home a “meaningful home” in small ways has become very important to us. Here are a few small things we’ve done around our little rental house to make this temporary space feel more like our special home.

Pull out your sentimental pieces to display.

The vintage fire truck and blue station wagon that sit on top of my son’s storage shelf in his bedroom were passed down to my husband from his grandfather. It’s such a fun reminder to have a piece of Pop in our little guy’s room and truly makes for a special reminder of our family every time we see the little cars. More on my son’s nursery/bedroom space here

Choose art that is special to your family.

Matt Redman’s “10,000 Reasons” song is really special to our family- in fact, it’s become our family anthem! I had this sign custom made to hang in our dining room. It’s so great that it sits as a backdrop to our family dinners, parties and other events. This sign truly makes this space more meaningful. For more on our dining room, head here.

If you want bold, go bold.

Don’t be afraid to stand out or make a bold design choice just because it’s not necessarily in style or a big trend. If it’s something that you and your family like, then go for it! That choice will make your space more personal, for sure. Take this patio makeover I did. While my neighbors might not have chosen a wild patterned red outdoor rug and bright turquoise chairs, they were the perfect fun additions to make our outdoor space more homey. More on this outdoor space here.

Add decor pieces that are important and functional to you.

While it’s a lot of fun to have pretty things on your nightstand, the typical magazine nightstand with it’s flowers and frilly decor pieces just won’t cut it for me. I’ve got to have my Bible and whatever book I’m reading within arm’s reach. So you make it work and take functional items like that, whether they’re pretty or not, and integrate them into your decor as I’ve done here with my nightstand. That trick might not work quite as well with your baby monitor, ha. Let’s be honest, mine is being hidden in that top drawer.

The ideas I shared are certainly not mind-blowing new ideas for decorating your home, but they are really great small touches that have truly made my home meaningful for me. I’m sure the concept of a “meaningful home” means something different to everyone- what do you bring into your home to truly personalize your space?

What a great story, thanks Michelle for sharing! I can’t imagine getting uprooted from a dream home to a rental, but if it’s what has to happen, then you make the most of it – and Michelle has. No matter the style or size of your home (whether you own it or rent it), there is always a way to introduce meaning & purpose. Little ways make a big impact.

One favorite project that Michelle created is this bamboo stick mirror. Sunburst mirrors have been all-the-rage for a while and this do it yourself creation is so beautiful + bold AND looks great on the black wall of her dining room (in her previous house)…

Head on over to Ten June Blog, and give Michelle a BIG HELLO!

Check out all the Bloggers that have contributed to this series on
Creating a Meaningful Home

Plus donâ€™t miss out on all the previous Bloggers who contributed to this series in 2013 and 2014!

Creating a Meaningful Home: Year 3

Written by Jenna on June 22, 2015. Posted in Creating a Meaningful Home.

Ever since the beginning of time with cavemen writing on the walls of caves depicting their adventures and stories, we’ve communicated how we live by the things we surround ourselves with. Yes, ‘home is where the heart is’, but creating a home with meaning that reflects YOU and YOUR STORY is just as important to honor where you’ve been, what you love, and what’s most valuable to you.

â€œWe love that our belongings honor where we are from and where we have been. Our home houses our story.â€

Photo Credit: home of Hanni Liliedahl and Jesse Silacci, featured on Design Sponge

I am over-the-moon happy to announce the start of Year 3 for the CREATING A MEANINGFUL HOME blog series which will feature fellow bloggers over the coming 2-3 months who will open their homes and share the story they’ve created on the walls + in the spaces of their homes.

I am thrilled to have created a platform to inspire and share my thoughts on design and decorating a home. With this blog series, even more great ideas + personal stories are shared about how a meaningful home can be created. Whether a thrift store treasure, a garage sale find, or hand-me-down ‘something’, anything that catches the eye and reflects YOU is something that should be incorporated in your space.

Can you believe it is YEAR 3 of this special series?!

Check out the past Bloggers who contributed to the series in 2013 + 2014

The talented Blogger and now Author (of the fantastic book Love the Home You Have), Melissa of The Inspired Room, kicked off last years blog series with her beautiful story.

This year, the equally incredible Blogger + Designer Mandi Gubler of Vintage Revivials is kicking off the series. I am so thankful to her for taking the time to share her homes story with us. Mandi has impeccable style and was voted one of Better Homes and Gardens Top 10 DIY Bloggers this year. She’s been on Nate Berkus, has had countless magazine features, has a huge blog following of DIY enthusiasts, and is just fun + fearless.

Here is a picture of her and I when we met at a blogging conference a few years back…

Without further ado, here’s Mandi’s story…

Oh my gosh you guys, I am so excited to be here today! I am Mandi from Vintage Revivals and I am thrilled to chat with you about something that is so near and dear to my heart! Creating a meaningful home.

| Buttoned Up Boho Bedroom Makeover

I have a story for you about a girl. For some reason this girl had this preconceived notion that creating a meaningful beautiful space required 2 things, money and an interior designer. One random day 5 years ago she stumbled upon the world of DIY blogging and was BLOWN AWAY. It shattered every idea that she had about decorating. And even though she had literally no idea how to do any of it, she jumped in with both feet. That is how Vintage Revivals was born. The undaunted motivation of a spray paint virgin.

Along the way Iâ€™ve found that while there are a million different ways execute making your space feel like home, that feeling that we are all trying to capture is the same. Safety, comfort, a place that we can feel like ourselves.

| Loft Living Room Makeover

For me this means that I can be creative, wherever the mood strikes.

It means that my kids have bedrooms that feel like childhood.

| Dylanâ€™s Dream Room

And the biggest thing is that it is always changing and feeling different.

I feel like there is this gaping chasm between the beautiful images that we see on the internet and the boring beige, boob light infested places we deal with in real life because they are good enough.

| S-W Color of the Year 2015

Get inspired and do something exciting to your house, I know you wont regret it!

And have you checked out Mandi’s latest love… The Nugget. A complete trailor renovation filled with DIY inspiration + creations! Goodness, my wheels are spinning with love & ideas.

“Safety, comfort, a place that we can feel like ourselves.” … That’s it, that captures what WE ALL WANT. No matter our style or size, we are all trying to capture the same essence of home. It’s truly about the feeling that is conveyed on the walls of our home + the things in our home. Iâ€™m always in awe of what Mandi creates and I am overjoyed that she is kicking off this annual series of Creating a Meaningful Home.

A home should tell the story of who you are and what’s in the home should have purpose.

Later this week and continuing over the next few months, I have an amazing lineup of inspirational friends / Bloggers who will be opening up their homes to share ideas and show you how theyâ€™ve created a meaningful home.

Same as in 2013 + 2014, once a Blogger has shared their story, a snippet to the post will be added below. I encourage you to check back often to find new Bloggers and to learn about their storyâ€¦

Letâ€™s get started!

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Publication Features + Happenings on the Homestead

Written by Jenna on June 17, 2015. Posted in Happenings on the Homestead, Publication Features.

As the Summer approaches, my plan was to *try* to slow down since the kids will be out of school in less than a week, but once the warm weather hit this year, everyone & their moms seemed to come out of the woodwork wanting to revamp their homes. To say the last weeks have been busy, is an understatement. Certainly no complaints though – busy is good in my book.

Before I share more news on what’s been happening on the homestead, I am excited to tell you that there a few publications currently on newsstands that I am featured in…

NATIONAL PUBLICATION FEATURE

First up, the June issue of This Old House magazine has an article on E-design and since I offer virtual design services to anyone in the US of A, they reached out to me a few months back gathering some insight on how it works and it’s success.

My “feature” is small (3 lines on page 28), but a quote or 2 in a national publication is pretty rad! The whole article is about a homeowner in California who worked with an E-Designer to create a new kitchen space, which in my opinion came out gorgeous.

I loved this thought by the homeowner…

“I didn’t need a full-service designer to hold my hand, but I did need someone experienced to give me good, solid answers.”

YES! That’s it. I’ve worked with many folks around the country through email, skype, and phone that share the same thoughts on working with me. I love pointing homeowners in the right direction to get them on track to revamp their space.

[Learn more about my E-Design services here]

LOCAL PUBLICATION FEATURES

Onto the next 2 features, which are in local (to me) publications… Saratoga Mama + Simply Saratoga

Both of these magazine features are articles I wrote.

In Saratoga Mama, I shared my DIY Kids Tent tutorial that I made for my kiddos a few Summers back. The entire issue is based on Summer Unplugged, so these fun & simple-to-make tents seemed like the perfect addition. And they really are easy to make!

If you’re local, definitely snag a copy of this Summer staple.

[click to check out the full tutorial on making these DIY Kids Tents]

For Simply Saratoga magazine, I wrote a feature on Creating an Outdoor Oasis, which is similar to the post I shared a few weeks back here on the blog.

About a month ago, I was full-steam ahead with getting the outdoors spruced up for the Summer and creating an outdoor living space on the patio, porch, and deck. I’ve calmed a bit since…

[Check out more ideas on Creating an Outdoor Living Space]

It’s always amazing to me and such a blessing to be featured in a magazine!

onto other things…

HAPPENINGS ON THE HOMESTEAD

What’s on the boards? I am working on a slew of exciting projects – more for clients than myself.

I just finished up 3 teen rooms (all siblings), which was a first for me. Their parents wanted to give them the opportunity to create a space that truly reflects them & their unique style. Before our initial meeting, I took pictures + measurements of the 3 rooms, and each teen wrote a list of wants / needs. I met with each of them to discuss their vision and then created these mood boards…

Teen Room 1

Teen Room 2

Teen Room 3

They’re going to do most of the “shopping” so I am excited to see how it’ll come together!

Along with those 3 rooms, I am also working on 2 kitchens, one of which is almost done – countertop is being installed tomorrow!

So crisp + fresh with new white and gray. It’s a whole lot different than the dated look of the wood in the “before” space.

Here was the vision board I created for the kitchen…

Plus I have an exciting restaurant project I am working on – pinch me – with a rustic industrial aesthetic… It’s going to be awesome. More on that in the near future

As you can see, a lot is happening! All good things which is wonderful.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

One more bit of “what’s happening”, Year 3 of the Creating a Meaningful Home Series starts next Monday the 22nd! I’m screaming from the rooftops with excitement. Can you believe this is the 3rd year of the series?!

Photo Credit: home of Hanni Liliedahl and Jesse Silacci, featured on Design Sponge

â€œWe love that our belongings honor where we are from and where we have been. Our home houses our story.â€

If you haven’t been following along with the blog for that long (shame, shame, lol), the CAMH blog series is a 2-3 month long series that I host where other Home + Design Bloggers share a guest post on my blog featuring their homes and how they’ve created meaning in their space! It’s a wonderful series on a subject near & dear to my heart. This years lineup of guest bloggers is pretty awesome.

[Click here to see & read all the Blogger stories from Year 1]

[Click here to see & read all the Blogger stories from Year 2]

Last year, the incredibly talented Melissa of The Inspired Room (not only a fellow Blogger, but Author of the beautiful book, Love The Home You Have ) kicked off the series and this year I have a very different, but equally talented friend who will be starting the series.

SO DON’T MISS IT! The series kickoff will be next Monday, the 22nd!

Well that’s just a bit of what’s happening on the ole’s homestead, along with a million other things…

What’s happening in your neck of the woods?

How-To Make a Laminate Bookcase Look Like a Built-In Bookshelf

Written by Jenna on June 10, 2015. Posted in DIY. 5 Comments on How-To Make a Laminate Bookcase Look Like a Built-In Bookshelf

Now that the outdoor spaces are pretty much complete for the Summer season, today I want to jump back indoors to share a project with you that I worked on when revamping the living room earlier this year. This DIY endeavour was something I had always dreamt about, but never had the ~~guts~~ courage to tackle. If you remember back just a day ago… being afraid of failure can put a hinderness on creating something really great. There’s no reward without risk!

When the time came to jazz up the wall of the fireplace, I knew it had to be built-ins. But custom built-ins are major money! Believe me, I’ve designed many for my design clients and they can cost thousands… I had seen other blogger friends give the very affordable Ikea Billy bookcases a custom look, so I thought I’d give it a try myself. Thus the creation of how I made this laminate bookcase look like a custom built-in bookshelf… times 2.

I’m forewarning you… this is a long tutorial (not difficult, just lengthy), but if you’ve ever dreamt of having custom built-ins for your office, living room, or bedroom, then it’ll be worth reading from start to finish.

WHAT I BOUGHT

> 5-shelf laminate bookcase (no Ikea near me, so I purchased this bookcase @ Lowe’s for about $90)

> Multipurpose Tool Kit or small cutting saw (this will be used to cut the existing base moulding)

> Hammer & Crow Bar

> Decorative Moulding for base and crown

> Compound Miter Saw (or miter box)

> Primed lattice slats (1.5″ w X 1/4″ thick)

> Wood glue

> Basic tools

ASSEMBLING + INSTALLING THE BOOKCASE

I ordered the (2) 5-shelf bookcases from Lowe’s and about a week later they arrived. Assembly was very easy – with just 5 parts, there wasn’t too much that could go wrong. Once the top, bottom, and sides were put together, we attached the back so they were ready to set in place.

I’m going to pass right on over my major project fail of installing grasscloth wallpaper to the backs. If you want to read more on that DIY blunder, check out yesterday’s post…

Once the bookshelves were assembled, they were ready to attach to the wall – permanently like a custom bookcase!

I measured the side of the bookcase (11.5 deep) and the width (30.75 wide). Then I measured & marked those measurements on the wall. Using a multipurpose tool (like a dremel), I made a clean cut in the existing moulding and with the help of a hammer and crow bar, the moulding came right off the wall.

Soon the bookcase would be freestanding no more! We set the bookcase in place, and using the “L” brackets that came with the piece, we installed /attached them to the top of the bookcase with a cordless drill. This baby is going no where!

This is what the bookcase looked like installed and totally bare…

Not bad, but very plain and typical!

Here comes the good part…

ADDING MOULDING TO THE BOOKCASE

I thought it would be best to go from the bottom up, so the Mister and I started with installing the base moulding first. I measured and cut the moulding for the length of the bookcase (the left side had a straight cut, the right side was a 45 degree angle as it wraps around the side).

I added wood glue to the back of the moulding, then using finishing nails, I lightly tapped the base into place.

That was followed by cutting the other leg for the base moulding and fitting it into place. To “drive home” the finishing nails, I recommend using a nail punch set. This will allow the head of the nail to be deeper than the moulding, which then can be filled in with wood putty before painting.

And this is the result of the base moulding…

Working our way up to customizing this bookcase, we added sides to the shelf to give it a more bolder, prominent look. I had intended on using 1 x 2’s but was concerned that they would stick out too much. My savior of a husband, found white primed (that saved a step) fencing lattice. THEY WERE PERFECT. The depth is only 1/4″ and the width is about 1.5″ – perfect for the sides!

Because the lattice is thin, we predrilled the holes before nailing them into place – This avoided possible splitting of the wood because it’s thin. Once the holes were drilled, we added wood glue to the back, and nailed them home!

Once the sides were complete, this is what it looked like…

Last moulding steps… The Crown.

For the crown moulding on the built-in bookshelf, we used the same base moulding but inverted it (flipped it around) and also added an additional piece of moulding to make it stand out more.

The “crown” (actually base moulding) isn’t a true crown moulding so there are no special angles to figure out – thank goodness! After measuring the length, we simply had to cut the moulding on a 45 degree angle using the compound miter saw.

Again when it came to installing, we first predrilled the holes using a cordless drill, then nailed it into place.

Adding this crown moulding also made the bookcase even taller = bonus!

It looked like a mess after installing, but it’s amazing what wood filler + sanding + painting can do!

For the paint, I chose a color that was very close to the laminate, so I only painted the new moulding + trim, not the entire built-in. That would have been A LOT OF WORK and you can not even tell there are differing materials (laminate and wood).

Sidenote: If you are interested in painting an existing laminate piece of furniture, you should take a look at this tutorial of mine…

THE RESULT

We didn’t build just one. There’s 2.

Check out the completed living room {reveal}

I certainly don’t want to downplay the work of a true millworker / cabinet maker. Their work far exceeds what I created, but since my option was nothing or DIYing a bookshelf (a $1000 bookshelf is not within my budget), I went with the latter.

Want to save this project for later? Pin It!

I am very happy with the result of my built-in version! It certainly isn’t perfect. There are mistakes (remember failures happen), but it’s only something my eyes can see. I hope I’ve inspired you with this do it yourself project.

If you’ve never thought a built-in was possible in your home due to budget constraints, think again!

DISCLOSURE: I am part of the Loweâ€™s Creative Team and was provided with a Loweâ€™s gift card to purchase items for my project. I was also compensated for my time to use the products. No one told me what to create, what to buy, how to use the product, or what to write. All opinions are 100% mine!

Lessons Learned from a Failed DIY Project

Written by Jenna on June 9, 2015. Posted in DIY. 2 Comments on Lessons Learned from a Failed DIY Project

My blog is based on sharing DIY projects and creative decorating solutions. I document and share many of my do-it-yourself creations / projects from around my homestead in hopes to inspire and empower YOU! But let me set reality straight… not every project is a success. And to be 100% honest, many projects along the way have been failures. A few I’ve shared, but most I just walk away from in complete annoyance – the sooner I forget, the better…

Yes, the failures are frustrating – time + money + energy are wasted! And I won’t even disclose to you the choice words I’ve used when something doesn’t result how I intended… BUT, with every fail is a learning experience. AND with every fail, in some way, a success is the result. Maybe not the successful result of a great project, but the success from trying something new and the knowledge gained. The true outcome more often than not, is something even better! In the moment it’s difficult to comprehend and deal with, but it’s important to remember without trying there is nothing gained.

Hence a DIY project I tackled a few months ago… An amazing, genius wallpaper idea that developed into a project and resulted in a complete FAIL, with a capital F.

Who records pulling off wallpaper? I do (raising my hand in embarassment)… Seems silly, I know, but at least it felt liberating. So what am I referring to? Let me take a step back and start from the beginning.

When I was in the midst of revamping the living room earlier this year and had finally decided to add built-in bookcases flanking the fireplace, I thought it would be a very smart idea to add the wallpaper to the backs of the built-in BEFORE installing them. At the time, I thought it would save time and be easy to do before it was all in place.

So I got this pretty grasscloth paper and adhered it to the back of the laminate bookcase using wallpaper paste. Basically, gluing paper on paper. Perfect! I’ve wallpapered before, it shouldn’t be too difficult. The result has always been great and so will this project (NOT I found out later)…

As it started drying, the paper started to buckle, but I still went with it (no one would be able to see the bubbles). I finished putting the laminate bookcases together and installed the newly wallpapered back, then installed the new permanent built-in to the wall.

A few days later as the wallpaper cured onto the bookcase back, the center seam (the only seam where the two widths joined together) started to separate A LOT. Yikes. So the white beyond was very apparent. Again, ignorance is bliss and I tried to ignore it.

A few more days went by and the seam space was really bugging me. Thinking about ways to fix it, I realized the wallpaper wasn’t even adhered to the backing anymore. WHAT?! How?! Glue on paper to paper, why wouldn’t it stick? Anyway, long story short, one day I just pulled off all the wallpaper.

Now if you remember back, I adhered the paper BEFORE installing the back panel, so not-so-smart me had to use an sharp blade to get all the wallpaper pieces off. IT WAS A MESS. And especially since they were BUILT-IN, yes permanent!

Thankfully the back panel is just a backdrop and many books + accessories are layered in front.

A frustrating learned lesson, absolutely! BUT it could have also been a really good idea if I did it different.

THE TAKEAWAY? No reward without the risk. I get myself backed into a corner many times with do it yourself projects and have to think of savvy solutions to get the result I had hoped for.

After thinking about my wallpaper project gone wrong, it really was a foolish endeavour from the beginning. Not every project is picture-perfect worthy. And for all the beauty that’s out there on the web, in magazines, and in friends homes, it couldn’t have been achieved without thinking outside the box and encountering failures along the way. No one or nothing is perfect and we all need WHAT WAS I THINKING? moments in our lives!

My friend Melissa wrote about a project failure awhile back and I loved these words…

No one can be skilled in everything, but all of us can be pretty good at what we need to do or choose to do â€” and what we put our minds to. You can achieve your goals and enjoy almost every hardworking minute of it, as long as you are going after goals you are passionate about.

Yes, love that! If you have the drive + passion, you can get it done somehow, someway.

I’ve marked this project in the books as a fail and I am moving on to bigger and better. Tomorrow, I am going to show you the result of my built-in bookcases and I can confidently say I am in love with them. Again without the attempt, I’d still only be dreaming about them. Be sure to come back to check out how I made laminate bookcases into built-in bookshelves – a $1000 look for just about $100!

Have you ever had a DIY fail?

Adding Stone Veneer to a Concrete Foundation Wall

Written by Jenna on June 2, 2015. Posted in Outdoor Ideas. 3 Comments on Adding Stone Veneer to a Concrete Foundation Wall

May was A-MAY-zing (hehe, corny but true)! Really though, it was a wonderful month of sunshine + warmer temps for us in the North Country of New York – June not so much as of yet…

Anyway, with the warm, beautiful days last month we were able to tackle most of our yearly outdoor maintenance work + had some time to fit in a few new projects. While the Mister worked on the grass, I spruced up the front porch (which I shared last week), then we both came together to tackle the new stone garden border + the DIY project featured today of adding stone veneer to the concrete foundation wall...

It’s typically for many homes – new and old – to have a bare, “naked” foundation wall at the gap between where the siding stops and the ground starts. Depending on the grade of the land, as little as a few inches or as much as 2’+ may be exposed giving an unattractive, unfinished appearance.

One way to make the plain wall look more finished is to add stone veneer to the foundation walls surface.

Stone veneer products, which are made from concrete, come in a range of colors + shapes and can be used for a variety of projects. Their ‘pro’ is that they are lighter weight than real stone, less expensive, and only about 1″ – 2″ thick. And the best part of all… You really don’t need ANY EXPERIENCE to apply / install them.

Check out the before & after on the far side of our front facade where over 2 feet of bare foundation wall was previously exposed. What a difference!

The stone veneer I chose is StoneCraft Pennsylvania Ledgestone Flats from Lowe’s. The coloring has touches of grays & blues, with a medium-range stone size in a horizontal, linear pattern.

MATERIALS + COST

For the front facade only, I calculated about 45 square feet would be needed. All the stone veneers at Lowe’s are special order and I ordered 6 boxes (@ 9 sq.ft. /per box), which gave me quite a bit extra for mistakes. In the end, I had a full box and a half leftover. Additionally, I ordered one box with corner pieces only. Each of those boxes covers 7 linear feet, but I only needed about 3′-4′ linear feet.

Each box (which covered 9 sq. ft. + the corners which covered 7 linear ft.) was about $72, so the total was about $630

Other materials needed:

> Circular Saw

> Masonry Blade

> Trowel (same as when tiling)

> Large bucket (to mix mortar)

> Type S mortar (this is similar to what I purchased)

> Water (to mix mortar)

CREATING A PATTERN

The most ~~difficult~~ challenging part of this entire project wasn’t the actual install, but instead creating a pattern with an even mix of sizes & colors. There was no tutorial or “how-to” for this so it took some thinking, looking, and analyzing along the way.

It’s important to vary the colors (in our case there was a mix of grays, taupes, blues, and blacks) and to vary the size + shapes of the stones. With the pattern we chose, we stuck with a linear, horizontal direction, but it was kind of like a jigsaw puzzle.

As we worked along from one end to the other, we would “dry install” a few stones, confirm we liked how it looked, then removed them to add the mortar.

Important note: If you have corners, start with them first, then work your way over!

MIXING MORTAR

Using a large bucket (I used a 5 gallon bucket), add the mortar “powder”, then the water to make a mix that is pasty and that stays on the trowel without falling off when vertical. If there is not enough water in the mix, the mortar will not join the stone to the wall, but if it’s too watery, the mix will run right off.

Sorry that I can’t be more specific or share an exact ratio, but it’ really trial and error. There is a mixing ratio on the back of the bag, but it’s for the entire bag at one time and I don’t recommend doing that unless you work fast, have a large area to cover, and plan on using it all at one time.

This is a picture of the mortar mix just as I was about to begin the install of the stone…

Once the mortar mix is ready, take a trowel and add a good amount to the back of the stone (the beauty of veneer is that the back is completely flat).

Spread out the mortar so the entire stones back is covered, then run the grooved section of the trowel over the mortar to create “ridges” which gives the stone a better adhesion to the foundation wall.

Then stick the stone in place…

If you’ve ever tiled before, it’s a very similar process! [tutorial on How-To Tile + Grout a Bathroom]

CUTTING STONE VENEER

Just as with tiling a bathroom, it’s inevitable that some stones will need to be altered / cut.

We used a Circular Saw (see my favorites tools) with a new Masonry Blade (it has an abrasive edge with no teeth) to cut the stones. It was fairly easy to do and took little time to make cuts. Be sure to clamp the stone down so it’s secure and slowly make the cut.

A Masons Chisel also comes in handy to cut small edges and/or make minor alternations.

Check out the difference with part of the stone installed & the other side with the bare foundation wall…

The total project took about 6 hours. At times it was tiring being on the ground so long + our backs and knees were quite sore the next day, but it was really all worth the effort!

THE RESULT

This was a 2 thumbs up project in our book. Curb appeal is so important to how it ‘speaks’ to those visiting your home (and of course to those that live there). Yes for many, $700 is a lot of money, but in the long term the addition of the stone veneer to the front of our home has made a big impact on the overall look.

The new stone veneer absolutely enhances the front facade of our home and looks like it’s always been there. It’s a beautiful complimentary addition to the other changes we’ve made!

BEFORE + AFTER

In just a few years, here’s the progress…

one more…

Can I say, ‘I think we’re done outdoors?’… Not quite yet. All the big + more involved outdoor projects we wanted to tackle this year are finished, but I do have a few ideas that I want to focus on for the deck in the back of our house. That will be a in a few weeks. For now, I just need to put my feet up & take a breather so I can truly enjoy what’s been accomplished.

I hope I’ve inspired you to look at what you have and enhance it to make it even more beautiful! Curb appeal at it’s finest…