Outdoor Sofa with Hidden Storage | BUILDING PLANS

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

I know building outdoor furniture in September may sound crazy to you, but here in the desert, our weather is just starting to get nice. In fact, its a bit too warm for my taste during the day, but the evenings have started to cool down a little, which means it's time for grilling and entertaining outdoors again. Even though I built us a cool wood and glass outdoor table a couple years ago, we've never really had someone comfortable to sit on the patio. I figured it was time to build a outdoor sofa / couch, but I had a couple requirements. 

Let's think about it. Patio sofas are great, but what are the downsides? The cushions are ALWAYS dirty. No one wants to sit on dusty, or wet upholstery. Also, have you ever had an unexpected wind storm sweep in the blow your cushions into the pool? When I started to sketch up the sofa design, I knew it had to involve some hidden storage for the cushions and pillows. 

Epoxy Resin + Wood Live Edge Hair Comb | Video Tutorial

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

It's hard when your best friend lives on the opposite side of the country. But when your best friend is an insanely talented DIY blogger and YouTuber, you find excuses to go see her for a "collaboration". Somehow, this is actually the second collab Sam From DIY Huntress and I partnered on this summer. The first was that segmented round coffee table Foureyes Furniture helped us build. 

While I was on the east coast last month, Sam and I took a road trip down to Philadelphia to learn from woodshop master/ best teacher ever - Erik Curtis. Erik took Sam and I under his wing and showed us some more advanced woodworking techniques. We learned SO MUCH! It was awesome. All three of us created our own version of the same project, which I'll be sharing in a few weeks. So keep an eye out! 

EASY No Sew Tufted Bench Hack | Video Tutorial

*This post is sponsored by Arrow Fastener. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Remember 2013 and how everyone had to have a tufted headboard? That was back when I was building custom furniture for other people and I got a lot of practice making them. I wrote a Easy Tufting Tutorial years ago (I was a baby blogger back then. Don't judge the horrible photography!) but figured it was time to finally publish a video. 

Even though styles seem to be moving more into contemporary waves, I think tufting is classic and still has a place. I built a simple, modern upholstered bench from some leftover plywood and was able to incorporate a tufted cushion. Check out the video below for the full process or to see the pretty photos and get more info, keep scrolling. 

BLEACH + INK | Round Coffee Table | Foureyes Furniture & DIY Huntress

*This post is sponsored by DAP Products. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

What's better than hanging out with your best friend? Hanging out with your best friend, going on a road trip, and being able to create something awesome together!

A couple weeks ago, Sam from DIY Huntress came to visit me here in Arizona. The next morning, we loaded up the truck and drive to Whittier, California to meet up with our buddy Chris from Foureyes Furniture (if you follow me on Instagram, you got a sneak peak of some of the shenanigans). Chris is a pretty big deal in the YouTube woodworking community and I've been dying to get to work with him. He build some of the most stunning modern furniture and was kind enough to open his shop for a fun collaboration!

Father's Day Gift Guide - Tool Lover - 2019

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Father's day is just over a week away! I've shared several DIY gift ideas in the past, like the Cigar Dispenser that I shared yesterday or the Desktop Football game I made a couple years ago. If your rushed for time, or maybe just have an eye on some tools for yourself, this week is a fabulous time to hit up the sales The Home Depot has going. 

I've put together a list of some of my favorite tools and gadgets and broken them down by price. Most of the items are eligible for free shipping and everything on the website can be set-up for free store delivery. Keep scrolling to check them all out and make sure to click the links for for details. 

How to Make a Wood Cigar Dispenser | Video + Building Plans

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

These past couple months have been CRAZY friends! We are in the process of selling our current home so we can get ready to build our new custom house. Then there was the end of school, Mother's Day and my sons' birthday. In the next couple of weeks we have my birthday and Father's Day as well. Is this time of year equally busy for you as well? 

I've just barely caught my breath and had a few minutes to think about Father's Day gift ideas. My mind usually goes straight for tools, but if you're interested in creating something hand-made for your Dad, I have a fun little project you could have put together in time. A simple wood machine that dispenses cigars. 

How to Make a RELAXING Swinging Terrarium | Video Tutorial

*This post is sponsored by Kreg Tool. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

I get some crazy ideas from time to time. Like that one time I decided to pour epoxy resin over OSB sheathing and turn it into a dresser. Experiments are awesome things happen! Think about it, the first time a S'more was invented I bet someone in the room was thinking "you're going to stick that marshmallow where?". I've been itching to try two new techniques lately and finally thought up a cool idea to test them on. 

I've seen a few examples of bleached hardwood and knew that was a game I wanted in on. *Spoiler alert: it's ridiculously cool! I also have wanted to try my hand at drilling holes in glass. I know that sounds terrifying, but people do it all the time and after cutting the glass myself for my stacked cabinet kitchen remodel, I've discovered glass isn't nearly as intimidating as I once thought. 

Getting the House Ready to Sell

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

I know it seems like forever since I announced that we will be building a custom house. Trust me my friends when I say it's definitely felt longer to us! We thought we would have the house sold, be living with my in-laws, and hopefully broken ground by now. Don't worry! We're still moving forward with the plan. We've just been delayed a few months, but we're finally making progress! Here's what we've been up to:

Simple Metal Leg Beam Bench | Video + Plans

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

I love the look of metal and wood together, and I know I'm not alone. Not only does steel allow you to create shapes and profiles that aren't always possible with wood, I dig the clean and simple lines. I've done a couple steel projects in the past, like Faux-Brass Leg Media Console and my Hairpin Kitchen Table.  

Plywood Dresser with Dowel Legs | Video + Building Plans

*This post is sponsored by DAP Products and The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

I thought I was pretty much done building furniture for my house and then the other day I went to put away some of my twin boys' laundry. I built them their modern dresser/bookshelf combo a couple years ago and it's still going strong! (one of my favorite builds to date btw). But, I had totally forgotten that we placed a crappy little particle board 3-drawer unit in the closet for a little extra storage. It was an inexpensive hand-me-down and as you can imagine, after 9 years of abuse from two very active little boys, that little piece of junk was on it's last legs. 

How to Make an Outdoor Folding Table - Video Tutorial

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

PVC pipe is some pretty cool stuff.  I know you're thinking of sprinklers and dryer vents right now, but I've been stalking Pinterest and came across the most amazing stuff built from PVC and ABS pipe! 

The weather up north is getting nice and it's almost time to start camping again. We LOVE to forget our cell phones from time to time and venture into the woods (I even wrote a blog post about my favorite tools to take camping). I've been wanting to build a folding table for a little while I'm in the throws of my PVC obsession, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to incorporate some off-the-shelf pipe into a build. 

Stair Tread Arm Chair - Building Plans

*This post is sponsored by Kreg Tool. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

So building chairs is scary. There are so many factors you have to keep in mind, like angles and balance, which don't come to play with straight forward builds like tables and even beds. If a chair isn't the right height it doesn't function and if the back isn't angled properly, it becomes uncomfortable to use. 

I actually built a wood and leather sling chair like 5 years ago (which has been sitting in my back yard and is miraculously still holding together), but sling chairs don't have to take into account all those tricky factors. The seat I normally use to put my shoes on everyday broke recently, so I decided it was time to woman-up and tackle a modern arm chair build. 

WOOD Speaker Screen | How to Build Record Console Pt. 2

*This post is sponsored by DAP Products. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Like most of my DIY furniture builder friends, I started out building things we needed. Before long, I had friends and family members asking for custom pieces. Before long I was building full time, advertising on Craigslist and taking custom orders from strangers. Custom work it hard guys! My hat goes off to all of you guys who work with customers. I'm so glad there are talented people who love designing and building for clients.  Luckily, I never had any nightmare experiences, but constantly worrying and second guessing myself was super stressful. 

Another thing I discovered when I was taking orders was how hard it was to build the same thing twice. I love the learning and creativity of putting a piece of furniture together, but trying to duplicate the exact same thing is huge challenge. So admittedly, I've avoided going back to old projects, even just to update them. But, I want to be a better builder and that includes fixing my mistakes (or less than ideal design choices). For example...

How Many Teeth to Cut Plywood - Circular Saw Showdown

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Plywood is tricky stuff. I would say I get more questions about plywood than any other material I use, many of them about cutting. Knowing the right saw blade to use seems to be one of the biggest pain points. What do those numbers mean? What's the difference between a "framing" blade and one for trim? I figured I'd do a very unscientific test and show multiple 6-1/2" circular saw blades with different tooth counts and the cuts they make. 

*I tested all the 6-1/2" circular saw blades currently available through The Home Depot*

We're Building a Custom House + Champion Generator Review

 

*This post is sponsored by Champion Power Equipment. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

I want to tell you guys about a dream come true. Are you ready for a story?

First I should tell you I was a weird kid. My mom worked full time so my brother and I spent most of the summer wandering around the neighborhood, fighting each other, and watching basic cable. As anyone who has had a sick day knows, daytime TV is the worst. Especially back in the early 90's, choices were limited. My daily routine would consist of waking up, catch the end of The Price Is Right, then I would click over to PBS and settle in. I was raised on  Bob Ross, This Old House, and New Yankee Workshop. I'm not exaggerating when I say, I have dreamed of building a custom house since I was probably 8 or 9 years old.

DIY Modern Master Bath Remodel: Part 6: The REVEAL!

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot, Schluter Systems, and The Builder Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Better late than never, right? I didn't realize until I looked back today, but I first told you guys about our DIY master bathroom remodel back in October 2017! I published the "Before and Inspiration" 15 months ago! 

If you haven't been following along this whole time, basically we remodeled most of our house when we moved in three years ago (my favorite room is the kitchen) but our master bathroom was the last space left untouched. Picture a sea of off-white cultured marble and honey oak. In order to get everything we wanted within a pretty modest budget, my husband and I committed to do almost all of the work ourselves. 

Check out the full series: 

• Before and Inspiration
• Part 1: Demo and Building New Walls
• Part 2: Modern Double Bathroom Vanity
• Part 3: Custom Tiled Shower
• Part 4: Barn Door Medicine Cabinet
• Part 5: Built-In Linen Closet