In this electrical outlet install tutorial, we demonstrate how we added an additional outlet in our garage and installed an electrical outlet inside a drawer to charge tool batteries.
This week we are excited to bring you our first project to kick off our garage makeover, adding electrical outlets. An electrical outlet install might seem like a small project, but having only one outlet in the entire garage/shop is inconvenient.
Currently, our solution for only having one outlet is to run an extension cord from inside the house which allows us to plug in one 15amp tool and a vacuum for dust collection. This is far from an ideal situation so an electrical outlet install was on the top of our to-do list for the garage.
The outlets in this tutorial are ran from the existing outlet but soon we will also be adding outlets from new breakers. Plus, while we are at it, we decided to add an outlet inside a drawer of one of our new cabinets to charge tool batteries so it keeps the counter clutter free.
Important: Use caution when working with exposed wires! Exposed wires can shock you. All tips below are based on our experience and if you use any of the techniques shown below, you are doing so at your own risk.
VIDEO TUTORIAL
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1. Before starting a project involving electrical outlets, I turn off the breaker that supplies power to the outlet. I double checked the power was off by using a voltage detector. The voltage detector beeps and turns on a light when it senses electrical current.
2. I used a stud finder to locate the wall stud and marked where to cut the hole in the wall with a pencil. I used a jab saw to cut the hole for the new outlet.
3. After removing the face plate, I double checked one more time that the power was off and removed the plug by unscrewing the top and bottom screws. Using a flat head screw driver and a mallet, I popped out the bottom tab in the existing electrical outlet.
4. To run the new romex cable for the bottom plug, I pushed a fish tape down through the hole in the bottom of the existing electrical box.
Once the end was pulled out of the hole cut in step 2, I taped the romex wire to the end of the fish tape and pulled the wire up through the top electrical box.
5. To strip the wire it is only necessary to cut the end of the cable 1/2″. The white plastic tears away from the inside wires. To remove all of the wires inserted in the back of the plug, I used a small flat head screwdriver and released the wire by pressing a tab next to each wire.
There are only two places to connect wires to the electrical outlet. The existing outlet already had two sets of wires connected so we couldn’t connect the third wire.
The diagram above illustrated how we used push connectors to combine the wires.
6. Using a wire push connector, I combined the two existing sets of wires making room for the new wire.
Install new electrical outlet
7. Before installing the bottom outlet, I cut the romex about a foot from the wall and fed it through the back of the box. The box attaches to the wall with tabs that clamp the drywall between the tab and box when each screw is tightened.
8. The bottom plug was installed by stripping each of the wires 1/2″ on the end, inserting the white and black wire into the back of the outlet, and securing the bare wire under the ground screw.
I turned the breaker back on and tested each plug with a light.
Install drawer electrical outlet
9. To allow us to charge our tools in a drawer and keep the work surfaces clutter free, we removed a drawer and marked where the outlet would go by tracing the outline of an electrical box.
10. I cut a hole for the electrical box by drilling holes in each corner and then cut the straight lines with a jigsaw.
11. Unlike the electrical box in the previous steps, this electrical box screwed through the front. The cable I used is recycled from an old computer. Since the wires are stranded I hooked up the outlet using the screws located on the side of the plug.
12. To prevent the cable from pulling away from the back of the electrical box, I used a plastic cable clamp to keep the cable in place.
13. Finally, I plugged in the drawer outlet. Now I could plug my battery chargers in the drawer and they are hidden out of the way.
Installing electrical outlets is oddly satisfying. It is a messy process but once all the faceplates are screwed back on, the results are really nice.
Let us know if you have any questions about our process.
Stylish upholstered rocking chairs can be expensive so for our son’s nursery we purchased an accent chair, removed the legs, and built a rocking chair base. In this DIY rocking chair base build tutorial, we will show you how we built a custom rocking base for the chair.
The rocking chair is a staple piece of furniture in a nursery. It has to be comfortable, functional but let’s face it, it has to look good too. Oh and if you are in rowing in the same boat as us, it has to be affordable. We put a lot of effort in the design of our nursery to blow it on a mismatched rocking chair or blow our whole budget on one we couldn’t really afford.
We shopped around. We even went so far as to try out rocking chairs at Pottery Barn Kids. When the nice sales lady asked if we were interested, we played along knowing good and well we couldn’t drop over $1,000 on a chair. If we had the money, I would have taken the one I liked home in a heartbeat. But we don’t so we had to improvise.
I feel our DIY projects that turn out the best are ones where the price of a piece of furniture we like is way up here (picture my hand way above my head) and our budget is way down here (picture my other hand below my knees). It forces us to think of a solution that is a good compromise between style and price. That is what we did for our rocking chair base build and I think it was a home run.
We were able to take the exact style accent chair we liked (that was in our price range) and turn it into a rocking chair by building a custom rocking chair base. Watch the video tutorial or follow along with the steps below to see our rocking chair base build tutorial.
How to Turn an Upholstered Chair into a Rocking Chair
FYI: This post contains a few affiliate links to products we used to make this project. Gray House Studio does receive commissions for sales from these links but at no extra cost to you. We appreciate you supporting this site. Read our privacy and disclosure policy. You can also easily shop our recommended products here.
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STEPS
1. To start the rocking chair base build, we first tested the rocker radius on our upholstered chair by cutting a 38 inch radius from two scrap sheets of masonite and screwing the masonite rockers into the stock legs. We did quite a bit of research and used the formula below to determine the radius.
Seat Height(12″) x Pi(3.14) = Rocker Radius (38″)
After sitting in chair with the test rocking chair piece, we decided the seat height was a bit too high but the rocking motion was perfect. Our solution was to shorten the legs on the new rocking chair base.
Building the Chair Base2. The new legs for the rocking chair were cut from 2″x2″ pine boards with a miter saw. We matched the angle of the legs and shortened each leg by 2″.
The chair apron is made from 1″x3″ pine boards. The original legs screwed directly into the base of the chair but we attached the legs together using an apron design. This makes for a stronger base. Plus, we like the aesthetic.
3. We used a Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes. Then We connected the four 1″x3″ apron boards to each leg with two 1-1/4″ pocket hole screws and wood glue.
4. Pocket holes were drilled in the top of the left and right apron boards to allow the base to be attached to the underside of the chair.
5. Before moving on to the rocker rails, we test fit the rocking chair base with the upholstered chair and it fit great!
Making the Rocker Runner Template6. To trace the rocker runner radius we build a giant compass. Using a scrap piece of aluminum we drilled one hole to anchor one end of the compass and drilled two holes to draw through with a pencil. One hole was drilled at 36″ (top of runner) and 38″ (bottom of runner).
7. To measure where the ends of the rocker runners are, we used the chair base and traced around each leg to indicate where to cut the template to make the ends of each runner flush with the legs.
The rocker runner template fit perfectly!
Cutting the Rocker Runners8. We used select pine 1″x6″ boards for the rocker runners but needed to combine two boards together using wood glue and clamps to match width of the 2″x2″.
9. Once the shape of the rocker runner template is traced on the double thick 1″x6″ board we used a jigsaw to cut out each runner.
10. The runners were attached to the rocking chair base with wood glue and 2″ pocket hole screws after using our drill to drill holes to countersink the screw heads.
11. To finish up the base we coated it in a polycrylic protective finish to preserve the light tone of the pine.
12. Once the clear coat on the base was dry, we attached it to the upholstered chair using 2″ pocket hole screws, making sure they anchored into the wood substructure.
After rocking Connor for three months in this rocking chair, I can confirm that it is super comfortable. The fact that it does not have arms actually makes it more comfortable in my opinion to hold him and feed him because I can lay him on his pillow and it has more room across my lap.
In case you were wondering about the sturdiness, I tested it out by rocking Brent on my lap and while my legs felt like they were going to break, the rocking chair did not. It feels safe and secure.
It also gives off a smooth rocking motion. We have it on our laminate floor so we added felt strips to the bottom to keep it from scraping and moving too much.
Several people have asked where we purchased our rocking chair which makes us feel good that our accent chair to rocking chair transformation turned out just like we had in mind.
We are reflecting on this past year and looking back at our favorite 2016 DIY Projects and the highlights from a busy year.
It’s hard to believe that the year is already coming to an end today. 2016 marks the second full year for our DIY home renovation blog, Gray House Studio and it was one chalked full of room makeovers, large scale DIY project builds, exciting features, and one huge life changing event.
Yes, 2016 was a busy one for Brent and I. We started the year chugging along at our relatively fast pace pace, by the middle of the year we went into overdrive with our projects working warp speed to make sure we finished all of our scheduled projects on time for a certain someone’s arrival and then we ended the year slowing way down as DIY projects took a backseat to family life.
Today we are looking back at some of the highlights from this busy year and our favorite DIY home renovation projects.
January
GRAY HOUSE STUDIO ON GREAT DAY HOUSTON
COURTNEY: We started off the year by appearing on Houston’s local morning show Great Day Houston. This was our second time on the live show so we weren’t nearly as nervous as the first time. We demonstrated some of our favorite ways to transform ceramic items into DIY tiered stands and DIY table lamps. Although, it felt like our old college days because we were wrapping up these projects just hours before we went on air. Oops.
BRENT: From my perspective we gave a flawless performance. I even really stepped up my game and brought the energy. Unfortunately, my 120% can still seem a bit, how should I say this, dull.
Courtney found a comment where someone watching the show asked, “Who is that dope head drilling a hole in a pot.” She thought it was hilarious and now sings, Who’s that dope head? Who’s that dope head? It’s Brent! (to the tune of the New Girl theme song).
February
GUEST ROOM MAKEOVER
COURTNEY: In February we did a complete makeover of our guest bedroom. When we received news that Brent’s mom would need to undergo treatment at MD Anderson for a few days every month starting in February, we knew we wanted them to stay with us to make the process a little easier.
It was our goal to transform our mismatched spare room into a relaxing oasis guest bedroom where they could rest and feel comfortable every time they came to Houston.
We put this room together in just two weeks and it was our first complete room transformation. I loved designing this room around the tropical duvet cover. Our favorite DIY project has to be the DIY headboard we built for under $50.
BRENT: I knew my parents wouldn’t care what room they stayed in or what it looked like, but it was fun to surprise them on their first visit. It’s like I always say, “When you are at a loss for words, decorate.”
In this course we taught a course on how to make DIY wall sconces like the one next to Brent’s side of the bed. Somehow life got in the way and we have yet to make the matching sconce. I am hoping 2017 brings a little light to my side of the bed.
BRENT: It was a dream come true getting to virtually rub elbows with THE Bob Vila. As a kid I found great humor watching the classic rivalry between Tim and Bob on the sitcom Home Improvement. Of course Courtney didn’t even realize Bob Vila was on the show because she was too consumed by Johnathan Taylor Thomas.
COURTNEY: I was convinced I was going to marry JTT.
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS BLOGGER AWARDS
COURTNEY: February was a big month for Gray House Studio. We found out we were selected as one of the top ten DIY and decorating blogs in this year’s Better Homes & Gardens Blogger Awards. While we didn’t win, we felt over the moon excited and honor to be included in a group of talented DIY bloggers.
With our blog just a little over a year old at the time, it was encouraging to get awesome feedback from Better Homes and Gardens.
BRENT: She said what I was going to say.
March
GRAY HOUSE STUDIO INTERN
COURTNEY: In March we announced our big news that we had been holding onto for two months, we were expecting a baby and that the Gray House Studio intern was set to join the team in September! We were so excited for the good news and knew some big changes were about to go down for Gray House including my limited ability to help with DIY projects as the months rolled on.
BRENT: I don’t think we could have been more excited to know that Courtney was pregnant. We immediately began brainstorming nursery ideas even though I found great joy pretending like we hadn’t given any thought. I liked to tell friends, “We will probably get a crib and pick some diapers up on the way home from the hospital.”
April
PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING
COURTNEY: We have been trying to grow our family for two years and when it wasn’t happening, we decided to go ahead and make the spare back room a gym (which we love) rather than let it just sit collecting junk. We figured that if or when the time came, we would make the second back bedroom the nursery, but in January we needed the second back bedroom to be a guest room.
Since we had JUST finished the guest room makeover when we found out we were pregnant, we didn’t want to have to redo this room quite yet. This led to the great room reshuffle of 2016. April was the month of planning. We needed to move the office across the hall to where the work table was (the work table got bumped to the garage) so we could use the room that I was using for the office for the nursery.
And while we were moving the office, we might as well make it exactly how we want so before we started the nursery we started planning how to makeover the office.
Oh and as if we didn’t have enough on our plate, we thought, “What the heck, let’s plan a back patio makeover as well!”. It’s like we find great excitement in getting in over our heads.
BRENT: Well, Courtney and I had been playing paper rock scissors to determine whether to redo her office or the garage but once the nursery was on the table, we knew we had to redo Courtney’s office. I declare 2017 as the “year of the garage”.
They turned out awesome and really allow me to keep all of my paperwork and office supplies neatly organized and hidden which is important because the office is in the front of our house in a room that has no doors.
The cabinets were one of our largest projects to date and unfortunately coincided with when I really stepped up my napping game leaving Brent to shoulder the majority of the work which would become a trend for the remaining large DIY projects throughout the rest of the year.
BRENT: I tried to play it cool but these cabinets were a big project. We rolled the dice on a few design ideas and Courtney left me to make all the final building decisions. Luckily, I didn’t stray too far from our design conversations as I built the cabinets and we love the results.
May
IT’S A BOY!
COURTNEY: In May we found out the Gray House Studio intern would be a boy! We were so happy to find out that we were having a healthy baby boy. I did have to remind Brent that it would be quite awhile before Connor could join him in the garage and use the power tools. Once we found out we were having a boy, we started brainstorming ideas for his nursery.
BRENT: I said all along I thought we were having a girl, but secretly I was very happy to know we were having a son. What dad wouldn’t be? Plus, I felt like I had more useful ideas when it came to a boy nursery as opposed to a girl nursery.
It made a huge difference in the space and we couldn’t wait to sit out on the back patio and enjoy our hard work. But dang if we don’t live in Houston and by the time the end of May rolled around it was already too hot and humid to enjoy sitting outside for longer than five minutes. So we will have to wait until the spring to reap the benefits of our hard work.
BRENT: This must be our most colorful project to date. Courtney’s right, its way too hot to enjoy a beautiful patio but I have sweated it out a few times on the patio just to pretend to enjoy the space.
Brent built me a brand new two-level desk based on a display stand I liked at Restoration Hardware. I believe the desk was the DIY last project I was able to work on. A garage in Houston during the summertime is no place for a pregnant Courtney.
BRENT: We dodged a bullet with the desk. Since I was the only one in the garage for most of this build, I moved as quickly as possible. Plus, it is hard to think while your trying to avoid a heat stroke.
I never considered measuring the width of our front door and it wasn’t until move-in day that Courtney asked if it would fit through the front door. Luckily, the desk was not one inch deeper. There was just enough room to move the desk in as long as you didn’t hold it by the sides.
LIFE WITHOUT A SMART HOME SECURITY SYSTEM
COURTNEY: June was also the month that we partnered with Security by Reliant to show what life is like without a smart home security system. While we were making this silly video, our new neighbor was moving into the house next door. I am pretty sure she thought we were absolutely crawling under the garage door. I promise we are usually very quiet neighbors.
I don’t know if anyone else thought we were as funny as we think we were, but it was a blast putting together since every part of it was based on true events. If you missed it, watch the video here..
BRENT: Bucket list item 126: Successfully crawl under a garage door (without a helmet). CHECK!
July
STARTING THE NURSERY
COURTNEY: T minus three months until the Gray House intern was set to make his arrival and we finally began working on the room that would be the nursery. We started the room makeover from the ground up Literally, the foundation was a mess. It took almost a month just to get the carpet pulled up, the foundation corrected and to lay the new laminate flooring.
BRENT: When we pulled up the carpet I was optimistic about finishing the nursery in plenty of time but after seeing the state of the foundation hidden by the carpet, I was a bit worried. The laminate floor turned out great it just took longer than we though do to the concrete slab repair.
AUGUST
NURSERY PROJECTS
COURTNEY: August was all about the nursery. We decided on a theme, a modern outdoor nursery, and were working fast and furious to get all of our DIY nursery projects completed on time. We made a log side table as well as a mobile with a nursery camera built into it.
BRENT: I definitely have a few hoarder tendencies, like surfing the FREE section on Craigslist.org, but this time it paid off. We scored the perfect log for out DIY Log Side Table for nothing!
SEPTEMBER
MORE NURSERY PROJECTS
COURTNEY: September was due date month and my doctor said she thought he could come any day starting the second week of September. Which left poor Brent scrambling to finish the nursery. There were some days where I honestly didn’t think we would finish.
September was only a few months ago but it seems like a blur. Waiting on pins and needles to have a baby that could come any day keeps you on your toes and lights a fire under you to finish a room.
BRENT: We had the essential items in the nursery, crib and changing table, but it didn’t feel complete. Although I tried to keep my composure I was in full panic mode. It felt good to get a few more functional decor pieces finished before Connor was born.
OCTOBER
READING NOOK TENT
COURTNEY: Since the Gray House intern was taking his sweet time to make his way into the world, we managed to squeeze in one more large bonus DIY project, a kid’s reading nook tent! This is another project where we got our inspiration from a store display and I am so glad we were able to add this piece to the room. It adds a lot of character.
BRENT: I’m glad Connor held out because this is the project I looked forward to the most. To this day our cat, Jake, is the only one that has taken advantage of the tent reading nook but soon I’m sure Connor will enjoy spending time under the tent.
THE GRAY HOUSE STUDIO INTERN ARRIVES
COURTNEY: On October 1, 2016 at 5:12pm, Connor Jack Richardson was born weighing 9lbs. 6oz.! A week late, we finally got to meet our little Gray House intern face to face. It was the most painful few hours (I decided to forgo the epidural to see if I could because I am stubborn and like a challenge) but also the best day of the year and our lives.
We had been planning for him for months and months and to finally have him here in our arms was surreal.
BRENT: After ghosting my phone for several weeks expecting “the phone call” any minute and then planning to speed off to the hospital, wouldn’t you know Connor was a week late and Courtney had to be induced. It was well worth the wait, although I am still looking for an excuse to drive somewhere fast.
November
OUTDOOR THEMED NURSERY
COURTNEY: By November our modern outdoor nursery was finished! This was the first room in our home that was completed floor to ceiling. I am so in love with how this room turned out and it feels magical getting to hang out in this space with our little guy.
I had this idea in my head that we might keep our same pace with the DIY projects and blog after Connor was born. Ha. I was so young, so naive three months ago. Taking care of a newborn is a full time job and is exhausting so the Gray House Studio projects have slowed down significantly these last few months of the year. But that’s okay because our lives have changed for the better and this is a new but short season and I want to be present and enjoy every second of it.
BRENT: We only thought it would be just the cat that kept us up at night. Caring for a baby is on a new level of being tired but worth all the work. We are excited to keep making more DIY projects but have has to adjust our expectations of what is possible to get done.
December
RUSTIC CHRISTMAS TREE MANTLE
COURTNEY: I was NOT on my Christmas decor game this year. I guess having a new baby will do that to you. But we did get our Christmas tree up and spruced up our fireplace mantel. Brent built a mantel cover and cut out cute wooden trees to create a simple rustic Christmas mantel which rounded out our last DIY project for the year.
BRENT: When we first shared our reading nook, we received some negative comments about how the reading nook was cool but the mantle was ugly and didn’t match. Well, I hope whoever felt that way is reading this because now they do match and we agree it looks much better. Boom!
When Brent and I were looking back through all of our projects from this year to write this post we kept saying, “Wow, that was this year!?” Three room makeovers + a back patio makeover, a tv appearance, lots and lots of large but fun DIY projects, oh and having a kid made 2016 quite a busy year for Gray House Studio and our DIY home renovation blog.
It was fun to look back and reflect on this year as we look forward to what is in store for us in 2017. Things will probably start off slow this year as we are still adjusting to life as a family of three (plus Jake the studio cat). I am excited to focus on some organization projects, master closet I am coming for you! Brent is excited to transform the garage into a more legit shop.
We are working on a complete overhaul of the website, which we can’t wait to launch soon. We are also hoping to make more videos, including behind the scenes videos so be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to follow along!
This holiday season we are sharing our simple rustic Christmas mantle with greenery, berries and DIY wood trees we cut out of pine and cedar.
We welcomed our son a little over two months ago so we have been living in baby town for the past 10 weeks. We are happy to report that while the blogging has been a little slow the past couple weeks, we are not only surviving but thriving with our new baby centered schedule.
Ha! Just kidding, we’re just barely surviving but we can’t complain. Life is hectic but awesome. We are so in love with our little Gray House intern. Boy, does he keep us busy!
I applaud those moms out there who have babies near Christmas and still manage to decorate a house full of beautiful Christmas decor and do all the normal Christmas time activities. I am unfortunately not that mom. Oh well, there is always next year.
We put up our Christmas tree in our library and decided to focus on our mantel this year. Our goal was to keep it very simple. We wanted to pick out and make a few new pieces to give our mantel a makeover for Christmas.
Our first step was to build a fireplace mantel cover to go over our existing white mantel. We wanted one that would better match the wood plank wall in our reading nook. We purchased a 48″ wreath to hang above the mantel.
We bought the greenery from Hobby Lobby. We then added in strands of berries and little string lights to the garland.
We had been eyeing marble trees at Target to use on the fireplace mantel but we wanted quite a few. We couldn’t afford to buy eleven of the marble trees so we decided to make them out of wood instead. I am so glad we went in this direction because it fits with the rustic aesthetic much better and hardly cost us anything at all.
We have become big fans of cedar fence planks as a material for projects. Sometimes it takes a while to sort through the pile of cedar fence planks at the hardware store to find nice planks, but the color variation looks great and you can’t beat the price.
We made templates for the three different sized trees (download our template below) and cut them out using a jigsaw.
We might not have went all out this year when it came to Christmas decor but sometimes shopping for Christmas decor overwhelms me so it was much easier to focus on one area of our home. A rustic Christmas mantel makeover was the perfect way to add a little coziness to our living room this winter.
In this tutorial we will show how to shorten string Christmas lights.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation while decorating for Christmas where you need a shorter string of Christmas lights?
Maybe you need to finish a small section on your roof or you would like to add lights to your fireplace mantle but don’t need 30 feet to get the job done.
Today we are sharing how to shorten string Christmas lights to the exact length you need.
Follow the simple steps and the second diagram below and you will be able to shorten string Christmas lights in no time.
Important: Use caution when working with exposed wires! Exposed wires can shock you. Don’t plug in the lights until you have all the exposed wires covered with wire connectors and always use outdoor/waterproof wire connectors if your lights will be outdoors. All tips below are based on our experience and if you use any of the techniques shown below, you are doing so at your own risk.
FYI: This post contains a few affiliate links to products we used to make this project. Gray House Studio does receive commissions for sales from these links but at no extra cost to you. We appreciate you supporting this site. Read our privacy and disclosure policy. You can also easily shop our recommended products here.
Like our video? Subscribe and help us reach our goal of 100k subscribers.
Steps
One way to determine how the lights are wired is to completely remove one of the bulbs.
If all or a section of lights turns off than the lights are wired in series. If all the lights remain on then most likely the strand is wired in parallel.
Start by locating both sides of each series section of lights that turn off when a bulb is removed. You should see that the Christmas lights change from having 3 wires to 2 wires then changes back to 3 wires.
The best way to shorten lights wired in series is to remove an entire series section of lights by cutting lights apart where there are only has two wires, with the lights unplugged.
Risk of removing individual lights from lights wired in series
If your goal is to remove one or two lights off a strand wired in series it is possible but not ideal.
Christmas lights wired in series spread 120 volts coming out of the plug across all the lights.
Each light that is removed increases the voltage to all the remaining bulbs.
As you can see, removing a few bulbs isn’t a huge deal but remove too many and risk burning out all the lights.
Notice as the bulbs are removed and the volts/light increase the lights get brighter
120 volt / 40 bulbs in series = 3 volts/bulb
120 volt / 35 bulbs in series = 3.4 volts/bulb
120 volt / 10 bulbs in series = 12 volts/bulb
How to remove individual lights from lights wired in series
1. With the lights unplugged, cut the two wires that enter the last light in the series strand with wire cutters.
2. Use wire cutters to strip the ends of the two wires cut in the previous step. Twist the two bare wire ends together.
3. After twisting the wires together secure with a wires connector. Then, cut the third wire to match the length of the other two wires and cap it with a wire connector.
Wire diagram for series Christmas lights
This diagram shows how Christmas lights wired in series are wired. There are three different wires.
Each colored line represents a different wire. The blue line connects all the lights together in series and supplies power to the light bulbs.
The yellow and red wires are both connected to the blue line on either side of the light bulbs.
The diagram above shows the CORRECT way to connect the spliced wires. By connecting the wires this way, the lights will turn on when you plug it in.
As you can see the blue wire (the wire connecting the lights) must always be connected to one of the loose wires.
The diagram above shows another possible way to connect the wires. If you connect the wires this way the light bulbs are only connected to one side of the power and they will not turn on.
As you can see in the diagram, the red wire is not connected at all. You must switch the wire coming from the light bulb to connect to the other loose wire.
This diagram shows that if you connect the wires this way it will short circuit and throw the breaker for the outlet.
Don’t attach the two loose wires together. Only one loose wire and the wire coming from the light bulbs should be connected together.
Shortening Christmas lights wired in parallel
The lights are designed so each bulb receives all 120 volts and each bulb has a direct route to power, meaning they can be cut to any length without overpowering and burning out bulbs.
With the lights unplugged cut wires with wire cutters between the bulbs and cap each end with wire connectors.
We hope this helps you adjust the length of your Christmas lights so you can now you hang up you custom length string Christmas lights!
Now that you know how to shorten string Christmas lights, you can fill in any small gaps of lights on your roof or create custom length string lights to decorate with in your home.
Take a tour of our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery. Complete with a hand drawn chalkboard wall and whimsical woodland watercolor prints. Our woodland nursery design features mountains and black, white, and gray nursery elements. We designed a monochromatic nursery that is a gender neutral nursery perfect for a child who loves exploring the outdoors.
We are excited to finally reveal our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery.
All of the DIY projects we had planned are finished and it came together exactly how we had imagined, maybe even better.
Before we began our modern outdoor themed nursery makeover, the room was a blank canvas.
We had big plans for the room but didn’t get started working on it until the end of July. Luckily, our son stayed put until a week past his due date so we were able to get everything done, just in time for his arrival.
When we found out we were having a boy, Brent and I started brainstorming what we wanted his nursery to look like.
We were on the same page wanting it to be an outdoor themed nursery that wasn’t too cutesy or too rustic. Our vision was to design a modern outdoor nurser.
We liked the idea of a neutral color scheme so this theme is gender neutral.
We incorporated woodland animals into the room as well through the wall art and pillows.
First we made some large changes to the room. We painted the walls gray and replaced the doorknobs. We also pulled up the carpet and installed laminate flooring. The flooring project took a few weeks to complete and turned out to be a labor intensive process due to the uneven concrete below the carpet. Thanks goodness I was pregnant and had a good excuse to get out of that one!
To add privacy to the room Brent put decorative window film on the glass panes in the doors.
After our son was born, we quickly learned middle of the night diaper changes are a bit difficult in the dark. To solve this issue we added a huge light bulb over the changing table. It is perfect because it is just bright enough to see what you are doing without blinding you when you are half asleep at 2:00 in the morning. Plus, it is a crazy giant light bulb which makes it a fun addition to the room.
The room was dark because we replaced the old light fixture in the room with a two-blade ceiling fan. We chose this particular ceiling fan because it resembled a plane propeller.
I feel like our biggest challenge was making sure we were keeping a cohesive look throughout the whole room. With each DIY project we started and each new decorative piece we added to the outdoor themed nursery, we spent a lot of time beforehand planning and probably over analyzing.
We wanted to make sure all the elements fit the aesthetic we were going for, matched the other pieces in the room but weren’t too “matchy-matchy”. Like I said, we probably totally over analyzed our kid’s room but we love the end result. It turned out looking clean but still fun and whimsical.
2 YEARS LATER UPDATE: I’ll go ahead and read your mind and put it at ease and let you know, yes, we removed the fragile vase and the giant marquee light and moved it up high once he was mobile.
We love a good focal wall so we decided for our outdoor themed nursery we would try a chalkboard art wall. My dad was kind enough to lend his time and talent to paint the wall with chalkboard paint.
He is really good at painting lines freehand and the thought of trying to paint the lines that separated the gray wall and black wall scared me!
Then, Brent being the crazy talented artist that he is, drew the mountains and landscape scene in chalk.
Wondering if this chalkboard is still intact now that we have a toddler on our hands? Yep! It still looks as good as the day Brent finished it. I don’t know if it is because the crib is in front of it or what but our son has shown no interest in trying to wipe away his dad’s art.
DIY Nursery Camera Mobile
For this simple DIY project, we killed two birds with one stone. We made a playful mobile using a wood slice and felt pieces and hid our nursery camera in the wood slice so we can watch our son sleeping but don’t have a bulky camera out in the open.
We could not find a rocking chair in the style and color we liked that was in our price range. Nursery rocking chairs are expensive. To solve this dilemma, we purchased a normal chair in the color and style we liked and Brent removed the old legs. Then he built and attached his own rocking base. It turned out awesome.
Our log side table was another “we can’t afford to buy one so we will make one ourselves” project. We found a stump for free and for only $16 and calloused hands, we were able to make our own stump side table that was just the right height to match our rocking chair.
The baby changing table was a big DIY project but it was worth it to us to have complete control over the design and functionality of this important piece of furniture.
Brent designed this beautiful piece to match our crib but have an old printmakers cabinet vibe as well.
We added labels to give the appearance that camping gear is being stored in the drawers to match with the outdoor themed nursery but the truth is those drawers are fake! They are actually doors hiding all of the diaper changing necessities including a diaper pail.
The changing table is the project in the room that is currently getting the most use for sure.
When you have a newborn it feels like you need to have at least eight arms to successfully do everything you need to do. To make things easier during diaper changing time we created this simple wall storage solution.
We attached a dowel rod to the wall using leather straps and hung baskets filled with diapers, wipes and burp cloths so there is very little effort needed to grab the essentials.
The room we are using for the nursery is actually a bonus room so it does not have a closet. We were faced with the challenge of where and how to store baby clothes.
We didn’t want a bulky piece of furniture so we opted not to use a dresser and instead made use of an empty wall by building a vertical baby clothes rack.
2 YEARS LATER UPDATE: Where there were blankets on the bottom shelf there are now toddler shoes and a basket for hats but other than that this piece is still going strong! I love how the limited space forces me to stay on top of his clothes and make sure I only have the size that currently fits folded in the baskets.
These super easy to build bookshelves were the perfect afternoon DIY project. We built them so they would be the exact length to fit on the angled wall and we could store and display all of Connor’s book next to his reading nook.
The reading nook tent was the last project we built for the room. We wanted to include a playful piece that could be a cozy place for Connor to curl up and read once he gets older. What is an outdoor themed nursery without a tent?
For now we use it as a seat to watch him while he plays on his play mat. We added a few vintage and whimsical decor pieces on the shelf to complete the look.
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The room may look unconventional as far as nurseries go, but we love how our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery turned out. It is fun, clean and cozy and a room we think he can really grow into. We hope to spend a lot of time in this space reading and playing together.
I love turning on the twinkle lights and the little lantern at night when the house is quite and rocking him to sleep. It feels dreamy in this room, like we are transported to another land that is just our own, far out in the middle of nowhere.
Looking for More Woodland Nursery Inspiration?
Check out this whimsical woodland nursery we designed for our nephew!
The rocking chair is a staple piece of furniture in a nursery. It has to be comfortable, functional but let’s face it, it has to look good too. Oh and if you are in rowing in the same boat as us, it has to be affordable. We put a lot of effort in the design of our nursery to blow it on a mismatched rocking chair or blow our whole budget on one we couldn’t really afford.
We shopped around. We even went so far as to try out rocking chairs at Pottery Barn Kids. When the nice sales lady asked if we were interested, we played along knowing good and well we couldn’t drop over $1,000 on a chair. If we had the money, I would have taken the one I liked home in a heartbeat. But we don’t so we had to improvise.
I feel our DIY projects that turn out the best are ones where the price of a piece of furniture we like is way up here (picture my hand way above my head) and our budget is way down here (picture my other hand below my knees). It forces us to think of a solution that is a good compromise between style and price. That is what we did for our rocking chair base build and I think it was a home run.
We were able to take the exact style accent chair we liked (that was in our price range) and turn it into a rocking chair by building a custom rocking chair base. Watch the video tutorial or follow along with the steps below to see our rocking chair base build tutorial.
The rocker runner template fit perfectly!
