Ruffles are the New Pink?

I put a new white flat sheet on the bed yesterday. I got it for $2 from Goodwill (I know, ewww) but Rob shredded our last one. Don't worry I washed it with a cup of bleach on hot cycle, it's clean now. We desperately needed one but I didn't feel like committing to an expensive pair just yet. Putting it on the bed meant that I of course had to fluff the bed up and make it up (for once).

Right now we have one single pretty pillow for the bed:

Putting it on there made me wonder why it is that guys fear ruffles? 

It is a $12 pillow I bought from Marshall's a few months ago for our bed since it was lacking any pretty pillows. It's not very large, only about 18x18 inches but Rob hates it. He loathes it. I think he dreams of slashing it to bits. The pillow is even BLUE for heavens sakes. It's not pink and you can barely even call those ruffles-- I'd say they are more like pleats. 

Since then I've stopped looking at bed things, I was planning on some similarly patterned pillows and such but now I don't think they're manly enough. We were going good: buying yellow sheets (which Rob has since shredded), we bought the pinstripe duvet pictured from Ikea, and a small twin sized duvet for the extra comforter that I use at night since I get cold.

This is what we have right now. 

No headboard, bed frame, or good sheets and just one small pillow... and some wrinkles. The majority of those pillows are down and while they are super comfy and squishy they are hard to get stiff and rectangular for pictures! 

I think I've decided to hack apart that polka dot duvet at the foot of the bed and use them as curtains. The Henny Cirkel curtains in the same pattern are $40 at Ikea and the duvet was only $14. Much cheaper and they're the same length (96 in.) 

Ikea

I think the polka dots look a bit childish on the bed too. 

I'm also debating hacking apart that one little pillow pillow and adding some other fabrics to create one long lumbar pillow like the handmade home did:

I don't want it to look quite so much like Rainbow Stripe gum though.

I'm thinking the blues off the pillow and a few greens. Like the blue and green fabric used in hers. 

Of course all of this is a bit pointless to wonder about now since we're moving out of our current bed in a week and a half to live temporarily in my Nana's house while we wait to move into the new house. Oh well, maybe she can help me sew a lumbar pillow while there! 

An Introduction to Danish oil versus normal stain

When we originally bought our kitchen table and then stared at its fugly self for a few days trying to figure out what we would do, Rob's mom and another British friend kept recommending a Linseed/Danish oil treatment. I wanted to be like everyone else and just stain it "Dark Walnut" then follow it up with a coat of poly. Rob very much disliked this idea because he thought that the idea of making one wood look the color of another is cheap (Danish Oil complements a wood tone, it doesn't change it to look like another). And now I agree with him and am SO glad that we argued about it for a week because Dark Walnut stain would just have looked hum drum. 

So, after we sanded the top of the piece down and painted the base Honeymilk, we walked the aisles of Lowes and attempted to find the oil that Jane and Danyel kept nagging us about.

And here it is, we found it at both Lowes and Home Depot, next to the minwax:

Watco Danish Oil is actually a product of Rustoleum, which I only found out right now when I researched it, ha. 

Danish Oil is a penetrating oil, which is obviously oil based, that comes in various wood tones like stain does. It's NOT at all like stain though. Stain sits on the surface of the wood and forms a shellac almost. Danish Oil is absorbed into the wood and penetrates deep down (but not so deep down that you can't sand it away). Think of it like this: Stain is to cheap children's rub on tattoos as Danish Oil is to a good quality Henna. Henna gets into your skin better but it's still not indelible ink. 

Along with this, Danish Oil gives a warm hand rubbed glow to wood-- making it look well loved and antique-y:

Just like butta'

In contrast, staining is more of a sticky "new furniture" look. 

Walnut Stain via YHL

See the difference? My personal opinion is that Danish Oil looks much more hand crafted, wealthy, and less like a DIY job... even though it is. Does that make sense? It just makes wood look expensive, like that gorgeous antique that you drool over every time you go in the thrift store that no one can afford because it is in such perfect condition. So, if you want a piece of furniture to look hand rubbed and craftsmanlike, then use Danish Oil. If you're going for a more modern sleek look, then stain is probably better. 

A second Pro to using Danish Oil is that it doesn't highlight imperfections. Our coffee table was a banged up mess:

After the Danish Oil treatment and a mild sanding (believe me, we did NOT sand out those deep gouges or scratches, we sanded just enough to remove the existing finish and then moved on, no need to kill yourself):

What scratches?

See? Stain on the other hand, turns into this when you have bangs and scratches:

Our coffee table would have looked a hot MESS if we'd put stain on it. 

Via Thrifty Decor Chick

Thirdly, Danish Oil is completely fool proof. You simply soak the bare wood in it for 30 mins, then scrub the oil remaining on the surface away. Wood will only soak up so much oil; it does not really matter how long you leave the oil on, once it's "full" then it just stops soaking it up. Many carpenters soak carved wooden figures into a warm oil bath to coat it. 

Even oil job. 

With stain, you put some on and then wait some amount of time before rubbing it off. Depending on how long you leave the stain on, the darker the finish is. So you have to be fairly consistent to get a piece of furniture all one color of stain. 

Baaaad stain job. Via 

Lastly, Danish Oil is it's own protective top coat. So it treats and colors the wood, while also forming its own hard top coat. If you wish, you can coat it with poly or wax but it doesn't need it at all. Over time, like wax, the oil will break down and dry/fade out, so every few years you have to apply it again depending on the usage. With stain, you really need to apply a top coat of poly or wax as stain chips fairly easily (like a cheap rub on tattoo). 

Similarities between Danish Oil and Stain:

- Price - both are around $8 for a quart (although considering you need some poly or wax to go with stain, Danish Oil is actually cheaper)

 - Mixing capabilities - both can be mixed to form varying shades

 - Both can be applied over existing paint as a way to darken the paint (similar to dark wax). 

Personally I think stain is a bit of a money making gimmick considering that stain by itself isn't a very durable surface. Wood workers have been using Danish Oil (and variations of it) for hundreds (and probably a lot longer) of years. It's smooth buttery texture feels better than a wax or poly finish, and the dull sheen is so warm and rich. I'm not saying there is no market for stain, because there is, but I definitely Danish Oil needs some more lovin' considering how lovely a finish it produces. 

Who knows, maybe Miss Mustard Seed will make it a hit in a few months like she did chalk paint. Then I can gloat. :)

I was going to include a tutorial in this, but I think I'll save that for another day. Enough words!

An Ode to an Oiled Coffee Table

We have been looking for a square coffee table for our two couches for MONTHS! I have stalked the awesome Goodwill next to us every week since January when we got our two leather couches from my aunt. And the table had to be square so that both couches could use the coffee table equally. The thought of a rectangular one bothered me because one couch would have all the room to put their drinks on but the other would just have a small nub of sadness. This epic piece of art explains:

We cannot condone couch inequality. 

So square table we needed. Or circular I suppose. 

Therefore I was very excited when I finally found one! I mentioned that we got it in the recent goodwill post for $4.50:

We desperately need a rug too.

It was filthy, had deep scratches all over it, faded varnish and several chunks of it were missing. I can see why they priced it so low. 

But, I was desperate  enlightened and could see the loveliness within. Hopefully. 

So I sanded back all of the varnish with a block sander, then went over the top with our mouse sander to smooth out the deep gouges and chunks. When I went to wipe off the dust from it with a damp cloth I was greeted with this promising sight!

What? You don't do your furniture on a penguin fluffy christmas blanket?

Again, this is just the results of a wet rag.

Next, we oiled it up using Natural Danish Oil and that's it! It took 3 saturating coats but I think it looks 100x better now, don't you?

Flash shot - shows off the buttery sheen the oil gives it. 

I LOVE the wood grain. The legs still need a little work. They are a different, lighter, wood than the top (which is walnut I think according to some internet comparisons). 

Just ignore the clashing wood tones and imagine we have a rug between the table and floors.

I love the table now. I do worry it doesn't really "fit" in since most of our furniture is more cottage-y. Oh well, if I find another square one with a better shape then I can just sell this. So long as I get more than $5 for it then I've made a profit!

I've got a tutorial ready to show how to even use danish oil so I'll post that sometime tomorrow. It's completely fool proof don't worry. AND you can usually do it inside too. :)

We're going to be the best neighbors ever.

The title might be a bit sarcastic. 

I think Old Greg* is using the weeds around the A/C as his hideout. 

And no, that's not a tree in front of the grill, it's just a really tall weed. It might be taller than I am. We might have only cut our grass once since this winter. 

What!? No one could see it but us thanks to the fence ;)

*Old Greg is a Mighty Boosh character (British skit). Rob forced me to watch a load of their videos and they only confused me/ scarred me for life so I won't link to it. Feel free to youtube but don't hate me when you do. The mirror world skit is better in my opinion. 

House Tour!

This post is chock full of photos. Enjoy my sneaky photo taking. Sorry for the bad lighting in some, a lot of the bulbs are burnt out. This was the first time for me seeing the house lit up with electricity (and hearing the lack of a functioning HVAC!)

It is 7 years old and is around 1300 square feet.

As a reminder, this is the outside:

I would have taken a new picture but SOMEONE dug up the front beds to expose some ventilation wells and it's a hot mess now. Vandalism is just awful. Ha.

So, here also is the floor plan of the house so you can acquaint yourselves. 

First Floor

Second Floor

When you walk in the front door, you see this:

Living Room:

Glorious ceiling fan! Not! 

It's a large square room. This is the corner we're debating putting the couches in.

And this side would have the dining table? Who knows, tetris will tell us. 

Looking back at the front door. 

Stairwell:

The handrail is wobbly, and ugly. I've been kicking the treads and pushing on the carpet too... I think there are proper treads on it. Might be a DIY?

Laundry closet:

Harry Potter's closet under the stairs:

This closet is much more roomy than his first!

Hallway from living room leading to the kitchen:

Kitchen:

Dark grout, worn out linoleum counters, and builders grade oak. 

Grainy, but it shows the appliances shut. 

Eating nook and pantry. Not quite big enough :(

Nook and the doors leading to the bathroom and mancave.

Mancave:

This is a tiny bedroom that is weirdly placed for sleeping, so Rob has claimed it as his gaming room. 

Looking back to the kitchen and bathroom doors. There is a large number of doors right in that one spot. Kind of awkward. You can also see the walk in closet. 

View of the back deck from the mancave. 

Downstairs full bathroom:

Master Bedroom upstairs and to the right:

It's vaguely L shaped, with the top of the L having a cute pitched roof!

Tons of closet space (3). 

Upstairs hallway:

Stairs to the left, linen closet, bathroom to the right and guest bedroom straight ahead.

Upstairs bathroom:

Same as the first floor.

Guest bedroom:

It has a pitched roof as well, and 2 walk in closets. 

Stairs again:

Ugly light fixture.

Outside damage to the siding (this should be fixed next week):

That is the broken A/C unit too. Evil thing. Don't mind the warped deck either, it will be fixed by Rob and his friends. 

Whew. Done. I need a nap and an arm rub now. I think this little tree house has a lot of potential though once you look past the drab walls, dirty carpet and outdated fixtures. We're excited anyways :)