A Eugene Photoshoot

 

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!  I wasn't feeling the best prior to the weekend, but forced myself out of the house on Saturday with Josh, Eugene & Cali in tow.  Our intent was to get a cheap lawnmower from a coworker who was selling 3 of them at his rummage sale.  En route to rummaging we got sidetracked by an estate sale.  We entered in a giddy manner & left a bit disappointed as it turned out to be more of a junk sale than anything.  As we were trying to find the "lawnmower sale" we passed under a rusty train bridge juxtaposed from an old salt factory.  I instantly felt inspired by all the architecture, the blue & brown paint splotches & the rusty exposed frames of the bridge.  All I could think about was going back to this street for a photoshoot while Josh was laughing & telling me to look at the huge lawnmower sale.  I looked & all that sat before us was a very empty driveway/garage/yard with not a sign, lawnmower or person for miles.  We doubled checked the address & the quiet looking lot for any sign of a sale.  How strange.  Well, we never did find a lawnmower, however we did have a successful photoshoot.  I hope you enjoy it!  I am off to find a grass-eating animal to help with our 2 foot tall grass issue. 

 

Xoxo,

Heather

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our DIY Wood Headboard

 

I want to share with you a very simple, DIY headboard project that my husband & I did together to celebrate the warm weather & sunshine. 

 

 

We started by gathering a total of 6 pieces of wood from Home Depot.  We used 5 longer boards for the actual visible part of the headboard that each measured 8' x 1&3/4".  Our bed is a king & measures 76" in length.  We realized that the headboard would be about 10" longer than the bed on each side, but wanted this grand, over-scaled look.  The hope is to one day put lighting or hang plants on each side of the bed, utilizing the extra length & space of the headboard.  We also purchased a 108" thicker piece of wood that we cut in half to use as the support/legs of the headboard.

 

Next we cleaned & stained all the wood using a Polyurethane stain in Espresso.  We gave the wood 2 coats of stain & 2 coats of a clear Polyurethane finish, letting each coat dry for at least 2 hours in a well ventilated area (outside).  With the finished sides facing down we put the 5 boards together vertically on a clean surface & measured in 24" from both ends.  We then positioned the legs horizontally on the back of the headboard at the 24" mark.  Each leg, which acted as a brace, got 5 long wood screws screwed in directly over the center of each of the vertical boards. That was it.  We let the piece dry outside overnight & then excitedly put it behind our bed. The final look is rustic chic & we love it.  I painted a whimsical field of flowers on a large canvas & hung that above the bed.  

 

 

To complete the look I threw a variety of fun, colorful pillows on the bed. 

 

 

 

Everyone in the McDonald house seems to be enjoying the new space!  It was such a fun, simple project which has inspired us to try making a coffee table next.  Stay tuned...

 

Xoxo,

Heather