Jake The Studio Cat busted out his party hat today because we have some really exciting news to celebrate!
Gray House Studio has been selected as one of the top ten DIY and decorating blogs in this year’s Better Homes & Gardens Blogger Awards. We are so grateful to be included in this group of amazing and talented bloggers that we ourselves have been following for quite some time now. We are still pinching ourselves hourly that THE Better Homes and Gardens magazine chose us!
We love getting to spend time together dreaming up projects and then making them come to life. We love being able to share them here and we especially love being able to connect with all of you! And to be recognized by Better Homes and Gardens is just the icing on an already pretty sweet cake. (As you can see I am still on the party thought train over here).
Thank you all for your support and for following along with Gray House Studio!
We would love for you to cast a vote Gray House Studio’s way in the DIY/decorating category. You can vote once a day from now through March 7 for your favorite blog. Vote Now →
We built a DIY headboard inspired by the Alexa bed from West Elm for under $50 for our guest bedroom makeover.
We are excited to share one of our latest DIY projects, the DIY headboard for under $50 we made for our guest room bed.
Courtney really liked the Alexa bed from West Elm but that bed was way over our budget for the entire room let alone just the bed. So in an effort to get the look we wanted without the price tag, we built our own version of the headboard on the Alexa bed for only $50.
Our comforter covers the bed frame so we didn’t find it necessary to build a new matching bed frame right away but the way we attached our new headboard to our existing frame leaves us open to building a new matching bed frame in the future.
Keep scrolling down to see the steps as well as the materials and tools necessary to make a DIY version of the headboard on the Alexa bed from West Elm for only $50.
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STEPS
1. To save money we glued two 2x4s together for the legs and top board of the frame instead of buying 4x4s.
Once the wood glue dried we cut the boards down to length with the miter saw. Then cut them to three inches square with the table saw.
2. With all the boards cut to the correct size, we set the table saw up to cut at a 22.5 degree angle which was the angle used to cut the angle on the face of the frame.
Our blade was not long enough to cut all the way though the board so we turned the board over to finish the other side of the cut.
3. The top of each leg and both sides of the top board were cut at a 45 degree angle to form a miter joint.
4. Next, we cut the supports and bottom leg pieces to allow the frame to attach to the bed.
The bottom leg pieces are cut from the excess board from the 22 1/2 degree cut.
This will offset the angle previously cut on the bottom of the legs so they are square with the bed frame when attaching.
5. Before cutting the braces we measured the inside of the top of the frame so we would know how long to make the braces.
6. For the center brace and six small braces we used a 1×4 inch pine furring strip and for the bottom brace we used a 2×4.
7. To attach all the boards together we used a drill and pocket hole screws and drilled pilot holes using a Kreg jig.
8. To start assembling the frame we secured the top corners of the frame with one pocket hole screw in the inside of each corner. Then added the bottom brace making sure all the pocket holes were on the back.
9. With the bottom brace attached, we stood the frame up and drilled pilot holes in the top of the headboard. Because the wood in the corner of each miter joint is thin, we couldn’t use pocket screws but since this headboard will be five and a half feet tall, these screws won’t be noticeable.
10. The 1×4 braces will be covered up so we were fine securing them to the frame with the pocket holes facing up. With the frame assembled we were ready to add the backing board to support the slats.
11. We chose to use pegboard as the backing board because it is cheap, durable and already has holes drilled in it.
We put wood glue on all the braces to attach the pegboard.
We used paint cans and various other heavy objects laying around the garage to hold the pegboard in place while the glue dried.
12. After the glue was dry we started laying out the 1×3 inch slats.
I worked on each quadrant separately and started by cutting the boards so they were slightly longer than needed and sat flush against the frame.
Then we used a measuring tape to mark the center of the headboard. We used a straight edge to draw a line where all the boards needed to be cut.
13. Then we did the same thing for the bottom of the boards. This made it very easy to make sure that all the boards were aligned perfect after being cut at a 45 degree angle on both sides.
14. While I worked on cutting all the boards Courtney was hard at work staining all the boards with our favorite stain and there were a ton of boards.
She has a great eye for varying the darkness of the stain so it looks balanced yet random.
15. After the stain dried we set the slats back on the pegboard and propped the headboard up on a chair to secure them through the back with 1/2 inch panhead screws.
This is where the pegboard came in handy because I could see the edge of each slat and make sure I put all the screws in the right place and didn’t miss a slat.
16 Finally, with everything attached, we carried the headboard into the guest room and attached it to the bed frame with two inch screws and large one inch washers.
We are really happy with how this project turned out. Our DIY headboard knockoff looks very similar to its much more expensive counterpart but it didn’t blow the budget and we were able to customize it and use our favorite color stain so it matches the other projects in the room and house. Plus, it really upgrades our existing bed and was fun piece of furniture to build.
If you are interested in making your own DIY wooden wall sconce like the one below, we would love for you to enroll in our Bob Vila Academy course.We appreciate your support!
We have a cat. A cat that likes to knock over every last thing on my nightstand to try and wake me up when he is hungry at 5:00 in the morning. He knows no boundaries. Recently, he knocked my lamp off and then proceeded to fall off the nightstand with the lamp and land in the lamp shade. This resulted in a Jake’s paw sized hole in my lamp shade. He has no grace or balance either. I proceeded to scold him in my half asleep state, “This is why we can’t have nice things!” He meowed and walked away. He apologizes to no one.
The lamp and lamp shade were from my college days and while I hate to see anything get ruined, they were old and it was at least an excuse to finally begin a lighting project we have been wanting to work on in our master bedroom for awhile now, a DIY wooden wall sconce for each side of the bed.
I was really excited about this project, one because the DIY wooden wall sconce we were going to build for each side would look much nicer than the mismatched lamps and lamp shades we currently had and unless Jake possesses some cat hulk strength I don’t know about and could rip them from the wall, they were safe from being knocked over.
Building our DIY Wooden Wall Sconce
We made the modern accordion DIY wooden wall sconce base for each side of the bed out of oak. We were not sure what we were going to do for the lamp shade but then while browsing around IKEA for a cloth light cord set we stumbled upon these ceramic white plant pots and it was as if a lightbulb went off in my head (I am not sure if I intended that to be a pun or not) and it turned out to be the perfect choice. I love repurposing items for other uses. It is a fun challenge that Brent and I like to tackle together.
Brent worked really hard planning and drawing out the wood wall sconce base so that we knew the exact measurements we needed to cut so it would come together perfectly. He rocked it, I am so impressed. I love the added touch of painting the head of the carriage bolts white to match the lamp shade.
Having a DIY wooden wall sconce on each side of our bed makes our bedroom already feel more grown-up and less college mismatch. We are one step closer to our overall design goal for our master bedroom. I am also happy to say they are completely hungry cat resistant.
Project Featured in Bob Villa Academy
Brent and I are 90’s kids. And what was one of the staple family television shows for 90’s kids? Home Improvement. Brent aspired to be the host of his own tool show like Tim “The Toolman” Taylor and I, well, I dreamed of dating Randy Taylor (Jonathan Taylor Thomas). And didn’t we all wish we could just walk into our backyard and our neighbor would peek over and give us all the answers to life? That was the dream.
One of our favorite reoccurring story lines was Tim’s rivalry with Bob Vila. That hot rod race between the two is a classic. We are feeling all nostalgic just thinking about it.
Growing up Bob Vila was the real life go to guy for us when it came to home improvement. I think DIY home renovation was Brent and I’s destiny because we both grew up watching Bob Vila and helping our dads with home improvement projects, you know, typical kid stuff. So you can imagine our excitement when we got an email asking if we would be interested in being professors in the Bob Vila Academy. It is cool to see that the Bob Vila brand continues to grow and morph with the ways we approach DIY projects these days offering in-depth video e-courses to get hands-on experience.
Which brings us back to our DIY wooden wall sconce. The e-course we are teaching in the Bob Vila Academy is how to make a modern wooden wall sconce, just like ours. We will show you what tools and materials you need as well as break down all the steps and demonstrate how to make this affordable lighting solution.
The benefit of this e-course is instead of just one video, we break up the project into a series of videos so we can cover each and every step in great detail allowing you to follow along and build your very own wall sconce with us as we make it.
If you are interested in making your own DIY wooden wall sconce, we would love for you to enroll in our Bob Vila Academy course. As always, we appreciate your support!
The Couple That DIYs Together – “The Weekend Project”
What happens when you just can’t quite get on the same page when it comes to that weekend side table DIY project and when that perfect idea in your head doesn’t quite translate to the paper…
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A Little Bit of a Backstory
You may know by now that Brent and I met in high school. But what you may not know is long before (10 years ago) we were a married couple tackling home renovation projects together we were just a couple of teenagers working on website and video projects together in high school.
Brent and I went to the same high school for four years but didn’t actually cross paths until the last semester of our senior year of high school when our web design teacher selected each of us to be the school’s web interns. The first day I met him was the first day of the internship. I remember feeling nervous walking to the room where we would be working because I had no idea who Brent Richardson was and the idea of having to collaborate with someone you have never met is a bit intimidating.
However, the minute I walked into the room and was greeted by his smile, I was instantly won over. Brent is charming that way. For the next five months we worked together on making websites, videos, and logos but mostly we talked and looked at magazines, ran errands together and genuinely became friends. It is rare to find someone that you get along and work with so well, especially on creative projects but Brent and I always just meshed from the first day.
Inspiration for this Video Series
Fast forward eight years from when we turned in our intern badges, we were married and bought a house and about to embark on our largest creative collaboration yet, renovating our home (and documenting it here on the Gray House Studio blog). We worked so well together in high school so we thought this was going to be so easy. And in a way it was because we have a similar design style and were on the same page for how we want our house to look.
The complicated part was actually the execution. We found that when two people who make their living doing creative things try and come together and work on projects that they are both very passionate about, there is bound to be a battle of control and a difference of opinions. And let’s face it, we are much more invested in our projects now as 27 year olds than we were at 17.
We both have our areas of expertise, but neither of us wanted to be stuck in doing just “the part we were good at”. I desperately wanted to be the one that sketched up my furniture ideas and to be able to work with my hands building things since my full time job is working on the computer on websites. Let’s just say there were some disagreements about our process, collaboration roles and miscommunication. And also, no matter how hard I try, I am horrible at drawing. I just am.
Lessons Learned
When it comes to working on DIY home renovation projects now, Brent and I have really found our sweet spot. Our communication has improved greatly, we let each other shine where our strengths are but also teach and support each other when it comes to tackling the areas we didn’t feel as comfortable in before.
Brent has been showing me techniques for using the miter saw so the past couple projects I have been the one making the cuts on the miter saw and now I know why they are called power tools, they make you feel so powerful! I have been encouraging him to write more here on the blog so you can get to know his hilarious personality.
This past weekend we thought it would be fun to make a new video series poking fun and exaggerating what our early project process looked like that other couples might be able to relate to. Because let’s face it when couples DIY together, there is bound to be some passive aggressiveness, miscommunication, disagreements and mishaps and we look back and laugh at it now.
Believe me when I say we still have our mishaps, miscommunication and DIY fails but we tend to laugh a lot more about them these days and take it all in stride because when a couple DIYs together, you never know what is going to happen.
We hope you enjoy this little video as much as we enjoyed making it and if you can relate, feel free to share!
If you have had a funny mishap while working on a DIY project together, please share them in the comment section and we might incorporate them into our next The Couple That DIYs Together video.
I am so excited to share what Brent and I have been up to that past two weeks, a guest room makeover! First, because this is the first room we have completely finished in our house. Secondly, because we have been trying to keep it a secret so we could surprise our first guests who would be staying in the new room (Brent’s parents) when they came to Houston last week. Finally, because that means we get to share our first room tour!
The timing for this room makeover came about because this room was quickly starting to look like a storage unit that might be auctioned off on Storage Wars. All the random stuff we moved out of the room next door to work on our home gym was scattered all over the room and if there was ever an object that didn’t have a place in the house, it most likely wound up on the floor of the “guest room”.
Above is a photo of what the room looked like before we moved in, really plain, outdated light fixture, old beige paint on the wall, etc. I just realized I never actually took of a photo of what the room looked like once we moved in but it wasn’t much to look at.
The guest room already had a mismatch of furniture from my apartment before we got married that didn’t have a place anywhere else in our home which didn’t make the space feel put together at all but slowly over time it got a bit out of control with what we were storing in there. We were really taking a risk that a guest wouldn’t just pop in at the last minute needing a place to stay because otherwise they might have been out of luck.
Time and time again I have learned in our home that if a space or room doesn’t have a purpose than it will create it’s own by holding a bunch of junk. And even though the guest room was supposed to have a purpose, the lack of organization in that room made it difficult to comprehend that purpose and thus, keep it neat and tidy.
Brent’s parents will be visiting us more often these next few months, so I got it in my head that I didn’t just want to clean the space up but I wanted to really take the time to transform it into a guest room that was charming, cohesive, cozy, and comfortable for our guests. So Brent and I got to work.
Tour Our Guest Room Makeover
In this video we will take you on a tour of our newly made over guest bedroom! For our guest room makeover we were going for a subtle tropical theme. We used neutral colors on the walls and for the furniture and brought in bright pops of green in the accent pieces and decor.
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Our 5 Ways to Create a Comfortable Guest Room
1. Welcome Box/Basket for Guests
When guests first walk into the room we want them to feel welcomed! Brent created a custom welcome sign for us to hang above our crate display that turned our great. If these crates look familiar that is because they are the same ones I used for our fall crate display. They matched perfectly with the room and we didn’t have to spend money on a storage piece or shelving for this corner.
Because I wanted to have the guest room and guest bathroom flow together with the same style, I was super pumped when I was able to find a larger version of the same wood vase at Target that I already had in the guest bathroom. I also used the same faux plants so it would tie in together nicely.
I found this vintage style suitcase at HomeGoods and immediately bought it before I knew what I was going to do with it because you know, I am obsessed with vintage suitcases. That is a rare occurrence for me because I usually never buy anything on a whim but as it turned out it works perfectly as a unique box to fill welcome items for our guests.
In the box we store water bottles, snacks, chocolates, a guest book, the remote for the TV so it is easy to find and the WI-FI password. I made the little WI-FI sign and then displayed it on the metal photo holder that we got at Magnolia Market a few weeks back.
I also found this basket at HomeGoods and thought it made a great basket to store magazine and books for guests to read. I made and attached the little tag to the basket to draw guests attention to where they can find reading material.
2. Extra Seating
We didn’t really have any seating in the guest room before so I wanted to created a seating area where guests could sit down to put on their shoes or relax and read a magazine. So we created this cute little corner. We kept our yarn and branch hanging in this room, just moved it over to this corner. It works perfectly because the branch brings in the natural element and the colors pop against the neutral chair.
I also bought this really soft blanket (my weakness) at Target. I love the color and by draping it over the chair, it is easily accessible for guests to grab and cozy up in case they get cold.
3. Open Shelving Nightstands
We really like the idea of showing guests everything they have available to them out in the open when it comes to our guest room and bathroom. That is why we chose to go with open shelving for the nightstands. Plus, they allow us to display more items. We got these stands second hand from my mom (thanks mom!) but they originally came from Kohls. I like them because guests don’t have to feel awkward about opening any drawers.
On one side we have tissues and these old library books my grandmother gave my mom and then my mom gave me that were overdue in 1978 (but in the perfect color palette I might add) that are now decor pieces and on the other side we have a USB port for guests to plug in all their electronic devices in one central spot so they don’t have to hunt and fight over plugs. We also have our DIY tiered stand for guests to store jewelry or smaller items so they won’t forget them when they leave.
We really splurged in this room. We got two matching lamps! Ha. We have never had matching lamps in a room before so this really felt like this room was legit. I love these white and wood lamps I got from Target. Target is really stepping up their lamp game.
4. A Cozy Bed
My inspiration for this guest room makeover was this duvet cover I purchased from West Elm two years ago before we even moved into this house. I love the green-blue colors since the majority of our house is neutral and I like that it has a subtle tropical vibe. You see, Brent is not big on themed rooms but I, I grew up in a jungle room. We are talking oversized stuffed animal tigers, leopard print comforter and fake vines and twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling. I was all about the themed room growing up.
Obviously, we had to give and take a little and I think this room turned out to be a good compromise of a tasteful room with tropical elements (see what I did there Brent, I didn’t say it had a theme).
I really wanted a headboard in this room. A cozy bed just doesn’t feel complete without a nice looking headboard and Brent knocked it out of the park with this one he built based on one we liked from West Elm for a fraction of the cost. I would like to add I did contribute by staining the entire thing, which was a job for sure but this one was all Brent’s brilliant mind making it come together. Check out our full tutorial on how we built this headboard.
While out shopping I stumbled upon this fun furry pillow that was a great addition to the bed because the texture added a nice contrast against the headboard. It was the right color and I was so excited to show Brent but all he could say was it looked like it was made from the fur of Sully from Monster Inc. Oh… Brent. At least he didn’t say he hated it. So I am counting that as a win.
5. Mirrors
One thing I found I appreciated about other guest rooms I have stayed in is when there is a mirror in the room. That way if another guest is in the bathroom, you can still brush your hair, put on your make-up, etc.
A last minute addition to the room were these geometric mirrors that Brent custom made. They are like a two for one because the room now has a mirror, well many mirrors, but with the shape and pattern they also act as wall art for what was an empty wall.
We also painted the walls, put a bench at the foot of the bed, hung new drapes, added a new TV on a wall mount we built, and replaced the old light fixture with a new ceiling fan.
Walls: Utterly Beige from Sherwin Williams Headboard:DIY Project Duvet Cover: West Elm Chair:Target Outside Curtains:Target Inner Curtains: Target (old) TV Wall Mount:DIY Project Bench:Target Nightstands: Donated by my mom Table Lamps: Target Blanket on Chair: Target Suitcase: HomeGoods Wooden Crates:DIY Project Fuzzy Pillow:Target Magazine Basket: HomeGoods Wood Vase:Target Welcome Sign: custom made by Brent Geometric Mirrors: custom made by Brent Plant in Concrete Planter HomeGoods Branch & Yarn Hanging:DIY Project
We love how this room turned out and hope our guests find their stay here comfortable and cozy. My anxiety about this room being a disaster is gone and now I really wish this was my room. The guest room makeover was a really fun project to work on with Brent and forced us to fill up a car of unwanted stuff to take to donate because there is no where else we have left to move the junk to.
Brent’s parents arrived late Tuesday night last week and we just about missed their reaction to the surprise because we were in our bedroom when they arrived. I knew I should have had a large picture of what the room looked like before printed on canvas so I could hang it in front of the door to do a Fixer Upper style reveal. Dang. But they loved it and we are so glad we took the time to focus on this project and make it a nice space for our guests to enjoy.
Check out how to build a tv wall mount out of wood.
It seems as though every year TVs are getting lighter and less expensive so when we were working on our guest bedroom makeover we decided to say goodbye to my 10 year old monster of a 32″ silver TV from college that was sitting in that room and replace it with a new lighter model.
We didn’t have enough space for a TV console in the bedroom so we knew we were going to have to mount the TV on the wall and now that TVs are thinner and lighter, it actually makes it easier and less stressful to get them up on the wall.
We thought it would be fun to try our hand at building our own tv wall mount of wood. After thinking about it, what goes into a TV mount isn’t that complicated, so we decided to make our own out of wood for way cheaper and are sharing how to build a TV wall mount.
In this tutorial Brent shows how to make one for a 32″ TV since that is the size of the TV we were mounting. If you decide to build you own, you might have to adjust the sizes of the pieces you cut, accordingly.
FYI: This post contains affiliate links to products we used and liked for our wood tv wall mount. As an Amazon Associate Gray House Studio earns from qualifying purchases. This is at no extra cost to you. We appreciate you supporting this site. Read our privacy and disclosure policy.
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STEPS
1. Our TV came with screws in the mounting holes so the first thing we did was to remove the screws with a screwdriver.
2. We used a piece of paper and pen to poke holes in the paper to make a template for transferring the mounting holes to a block of wood.
3. Once the holes were poked in the paper for each mounting hole, we marked the hole positions on a piece of plywood. We used a piece of 3/4 inch plywood.
4. The mounting bracket has two hinges comprised of four identical semicircular pieces with a hole in the center.
We made this template and then traced these pieces on another piece of plywood like the one we used in the previous step.
But as you can see in the second picture, the square neck prevents the head of the bolt from sitting flush with the surface of the hinge.
9. To fix that issue, we used a 1/4 inch chisel to square off each hole on the side of the hinge with the head of the bolt.
10. Next, we mounted the two hinge pieces located on the head side of the bolt to the mounting plate with the four holes in it. We added wood glue and clamps to hold both pieces centered between the holes.
11. First, we use our drill pilot holes for each screw.
12. Then we secured the hinge pieces with the screws.
13. To help align the other side of the hinges, we slid the other pieces over the carriage bolts and tightened them with wing nuts.
14. Then we marked the center point of each side of the hinges on the wide mounting board that we were going to screw into the wall.
15. We used those marks to drill pilot holes for the mounting screws.
16. We added wood glue to the hinges and clamped them to the large board.
18. We removed the two carriage bolts and separated the two sides of the mount.
We then attached the mount to the TV using 1 1/2 inch screws. Our TV uses M8 screws.
19. Before mounting the TV, we located the studs with a stud finder.
20. Then we anchored the mount to at least two studs with 2 1/2 inch screws.
We used a level to make sure our mount was straight.
21. Finally, we mounted the TV by lining up the holes in the hinge and securing them with the carriage bolts and wing nuts.
We are really happy with how our mount turned out and how it securely holds the TV to the wall. Plus, you can hardly tell the mount is even there. I love how little this project cost us so I could use the money on more important things for our guest bedroom makeover, like lamps and a new chair.
If you have any questions on how to build a TV wall mount, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
