Do It Yourself Industrial Wooden Tray

I am a little into woodworking lately can you tell?  I made a mantle with my dad awhile back and I am unstoppable ever since.  I guess I got bitten by the woodworking bug. 

These little trays are fantastic to make with scrap wood.  Everything here came from my scrap pile and all were furring strips so even if you don't have wood scraps you will only have a couple bucks in a tray like this.  The most expensive thing about this tray was buying a can of black spray paint since I ran out of mine mid spray...grrr!

   To make your own simple tray you will need:

Scraps of wood-I used 1x3 inch furring strips and my tray is 18 inches long and 12 inches wide

Pocket Hole Jig or Wood Glue

Pocket hole screws

Drill

2 pieces of 4 inch plastic pipe in a 1/2 inch circumference.  I use plastic pipe in the underground sprinkler section and it's super cheap

1/2 inch galvanized clamps with screws

Black Spray paint

Saw or precut wood

Phillips head screwdriver 

 Start by deciding on how long and how wide you want your tray.  Once decided and wood is cut use your Pocket Hole Jig to drill a pocket hole on each end of the wood.  Always lay out your boards so you know which will need holes and which is top or bottom etc.  Once your holes are drilled use your pocket hole screws to attach the boards together.  Sand everything well and then flip it over and cut 2 small pieces the same width as your tray and attach those with a couple screws.  Since my boards are 1x3s I used 1 1/4 inch wood screws from the bottom of the tray into the little end pieces.  Whatever you do just be sure the screws won't come through the board.

  Once my tray was assembled I used Espresso wood stain by Minwax and let it dry well.  I then took my 2 4 inch pieces of pipe and sprayed them with the black spray paint.  Let that dry and then find the middle of your end boards and place them on there and wrap your 1/2 inch metal clamps around them and screw them into the board.  I used 1 inch #10 screws for this. When you add your clamps make sure your screw head is large enough to cover the hole in the clamp so it won't slip off. 

 This makes the perfect display tray.

After everything was assembled I used poly acrylic and coated the whole thing.  This helps with repelling dust and I highly recommend it!  I used a semi-gloss polyacrylic coating.  If you want a matte finish be sure to get satin in the polyacrylic.  I usually use satin but they were out when I went to pick up a new can so I just settled for the semi-gloss and it turned out that I liked it but not for all projects.

A very simple tray that doesn't look simple!  A perfect way to use up scrap wood.  I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!

Chandelier Makeover

 If you follow along with me on Instagram (and you should!) then you know I'm a tiny bit obsessed with Edison Bulbs!  I realize it's a trend that may not stick around long but I really wanted to change my light fixture above our dining room table to one that had Edison bulbs in it but didn't want to make a big investment for it since it is a trend that I may tire of.  So I started brainstorming and thought about just painting the one that is there and removing the glass globes and then adding Edison Bulbs.  It worked beautifully and now I love it.

I was never a real big fan of this chandelier but we bought it in a hurry because our previous chandelier started burning the ceramic little cup holder things (Makes no sense I know but believe me it was bad news).  This one was good enough for awhile but I grew tired of it pretty quickly.  I had been looking for some time to change it out to a prettier one but just didn't want to spend a fortune on a new chandelier.  That is where a little Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint comes in handy!

 To do this you will need:

A chandelier that you don't like anymore

Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint

Chandelier chain in oil rubbed bronze

a handy man to do the electrical or if you are lucky enough to know how to do it go for it!

Edison Bulbs or Vintage Bulbs

 I started out by removing all the glass globes and stuffing the light sockets with paper towels so no paint got into them.

 Spray several coats of Oil Rubbed Bronze on the entire chandelier.  I even sprayed the cord so it would all match.

 I picked up a chandelier chain so that I didn't have to paint our previous one because I knew it may chip and get yucky when we were hanging it and boy am I glad I did this.

 Thread the cord through the chain to prepare to hang it.  Ours always had a bunch of extra cord at the bottom so my husband shortened the cord before we put it back up and it looks so much better now!

 I picked up my bulbs at Marshall's for under 6 bucks and if you have shopped around for them you know that is a great price.  I wanted to have the bulbs that were a little more elongated but they have lots of different shapes you can choose from.  I have heard Amazon has a great selection of them for a reasonable price but I've never looked.

 That is it!  As long as you can remove it and reconnect it safely then you can makeover a chandelier too!  Please if you do change one make sure you turn off the power at the breaker box.  It's not enough to just switch the light off at the switch.

 I just love on these vintage bulbs how the filament shows.  I originally were going to cover the threaded part that holds the bulb but then I decided I kind of liked it so I left it as it is.

It is hard to get a photo of the light when the bulbs are turned on so you may not be able to tell there are lots of little filaments showing and I just love that.

Super cheap way to make over a dining room chandelier and I now love it but won't feel too bad if I decide I no longer want the vintage bulbs and switch it out because I didn't spend much on this transformation.

DIY Industrial Towel Bar and Shelf

I have plenty of towel holders in my house so it wasn't like I needed anymore but what I did need was a project.  Home Depot is always my go to place, so much so that the sales staff is always telling me that they are going to put me to work since I'm there so much.

I picked up the wood I needed and the pipe pieces and came home and got to work and knocked the shelf portion out in just about 30 minutes.  If you have a few tools I bet you can make these too!

You will need:

Saw or get wood cut at store

Drill

Sand Paper

1x3x8 board

1 piece of 1/2 inch square dowel rod found in the moulding section at Home Depot

1 1/4 inch wood screws

Wood Glue—I didn’t use this  but you can

Wood Conditioner

Wood Stain

1 12 inch metal nipple (love that name they use)

2 Flanges to fit the size pipe you go with width wise  They have them in several sizes so be sure to put the pipe together before you leave to make sure you have a good fit.  I used 1/2 inch for all of my pieces

2 PVC pipe angles or curved pieces as you’ll see below.  Not sure there exact name

2 PVC pipe risers or "connectors" that are threaded on both ends to attach the curved piece to the flange

Black Spray Paint

 

Start by cutting your boards to the size you’d like your shelf.  I did mine 16 inches wide so you will cut 2 pieces of the 1x3 board into the size you need and then cut your square dowel to size.

 Sand all the boards before putting them together

You are basically going to lay one board flat on a table and then but the other board in a standing position right behind that board and then screw the two boards together from the back.  I didn’t use wood glue but you could on this step but I’d be sure to use nails or screws after the wood glue if you are going to sit things on the shelf that might have some weight to them. 

I know these photos aren't the best but it was hard to get them at the right angle

 Once the boards are attached together you will then place your square dowel right at the edge of the ledge portion of your shelf and flip it over and screw it in from the bottom or again you can use wood glue and nails if need be.

I gave mine a quick sanding again after I got them put together and then I used wood conditioner to ensure an even staining job.  This stuff will make you a believer and a little goes a long way so unless you spill the whole can (I’m not saying this happened to me wink wink) then it will last you a good long time.  Once that has been wiped off apply the stain color of your choice or you could even paint them.

Seal them with polyurethane before attaching the pipe towel holder portion

 

I started my pipe portion in the store to make sure they all fit together well.  I did the plastic pieces because it was much cheaper and I knew they'd be spray painted anyway and no one would ever know so why spend the money on the metal when it wasn't necessary.  I found that my curved piece didn't seat well to the nipple or bar so I added just a little E6000 glue around the rim of the pipe so it would grip well and it worked perfectly.

I chose to use black semi-gloss spray paint but you could use whatever color or finish you like.  I think Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint would be beautiful! I gave them a good couple coats and then flipped them over and did the underside

Let them dry completely and then flip your shelf upside down and attach them to the bottom of your shelf with wood screws making sure you use screws that won't break through your shelf portion.  I also counter sunk all my screws so they didn't stick out anywhere.  If you don't have a countersink tool you can use a slightly larger drill bit than the original hole and just drill into the hole a very little bit and then when you screw them together the screws will sink just slightly so they aren't sticking out.

 
Once everything is put together you can attach it to the wall.  I ended up drilling right through the face of the back board in 2 places so I would hit 2 studs.  If you can't hit studs be sure to buy heavy duty dry wall anchors so they won't wiggle.  Once you've screwed them to the wall you can use stained wood putty to match the color of your stain to fill the holes.  You will need to countersink the screws again so you have a little divet to fill in with the putty.

I couldn't be happier.  After I made the first one we all liked it so much I ended up making a few more for our other bathrooms.  It is so nice to have a little extra space to put some things that we use daily.  In our half bath I used the shelf to add some home decor items to instead of items we use everyday.  It makes a great spot for something small to add a little pop of color in the room.

I know you will love these if you make them!

 I tried to get a photo so you can see the flanges attached to the bottom.  One thing to mention is to make sure your screw heads are big enough to not slip through the holes of the flanges.  I always use #8 or #10 size screws.

Enjoy!