Uncategorized - Gray House Studio

The Couple That DIYs Together

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…

To see new videos in The Couple That DIYs Together series, subscribe here ⇾

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.

To stay up to date on the videos in this series, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

DIY Industrial Table Lamp

House, Lighting, Uncategorized Courtney & Brent

We have another super easy IKEA hack for you today. In this post we will show you how to take a SINNERLIG pot and a cord set from IKEA and turn it into a DIY industrial table lamp.

When Courtney and I brainstorm projects we usually underestimate how long a project is going to take. No matter how simple we think a project is, when we are making something for the first time we almost always run into some sort of problem we have to solve. This is especially the case when we have a short amount of time to work on it.

We wanted to make a DIY industrial table lamp based on a lamp we saw at Urban Outfitters for our library and figured what better time to experiment on making something for the first time than the night before you have to present it on live TV.

On the plus side, we worked out all the kinks and can now share with you the best way to approach this project.

VIDEO TUTORIAL

In the video below we will walk you through how to make an industrial table lamp using an IKEA pot plant and a light cord set.

To see new DIY videos on Thursdays, be sure to subscribe to our channel ⇾

SUPPLIES

MATERIALS

(1) SINNERLIG Pot of from IKEA
(1) Cord set
(2) Wire nuts
(1) Light bulb (Edison)

TOOLS

Drill
1-5/8″ Diamond coated hole saw
1-3/4″ Wood hole saw
5/8″ Glass and tile ceramic drill bit
Sander and 220 grit sand paper
Matte spray paint
Scrap wood
Wood clamps

*This post contains an affiliate link. You can read our disclosure policy here.

Here is an outline of our crazy day

— 10:00 AM —

Feeling optimistic, Courtney emailed me a detailed shopping list complete with pictures of the lamp she wanted to recreate and all the supplies need.

— 04:00 PM —

Off work and headed to Ikea before traffic gets bad.

— 04:05 PM —

Made it to Ikea and should be in and out super fast because I know all the secret passageways. Proud of myself for not even stopping for a cinnamon roll on the way in.

— 04:08 PM —

Oh no! They don’t have the cloth cord set we are looking for. Guess, I will try and find and employee in case I am missing them.

— 04:20 PM —

Slight setback, they are out of cloth cord sets but after talking to employee, they helped me find an alternative one that will work.

— 04:25 PM —

Okay, made it to the pots and plants section. I should be out of here in no time.

— 04:35 PM —

Oh no, took two laps around the pot and plants section but can’t find the pot on my list.

— 04:45 PM —

Spent five minutes trying to pronounce the name of the pot I am looking for to another employee because apparently, black pot isn’t descriptive enough. He asks me to type it into his computer to find the name.

— 04:55 PM —

The employee informs me that they don’t carry that pot. Panic is now officially setting in since our entire project is based around this particular pot. Contemplate getting a $1 hot dog to cheer me up but instead head back to the pots section to do one final walkthrough.

— 05:00 PM —

I can’t believe my eyes. Suddenly it as if a ray of light strikes those beautiful pots. I found the hidden stash behind the palm trees. Grateful that I don’t have to tell Courtney I couldn’t find them.

— 05:05 PM —

Well, that was another IKEA trip that took too long. Oh, hello Houston evening traffic.

— 07:00 PM —

Finally made it home after fighting rush hour traffic. On a positive note Courtney has dinner ready. On a negative note “It’s raining Ben” (The Bachelor) on TV starts tonight but we can’t watch because we need to knock this project out. I reassure Courtney we will be done in time for the “final rose”.

How We MADE a DIY Industrial Table Lamp

1. First we flipped over the pot and carefully removed the stickers and felt feet.

The fun thing about this project is we are using the SINNERLIG pot for the base which comes in a variety of shapes, giving us options when it came to the style of the light fixture. We purchased a few to test and chose the shape above for an industrial look.

2. To turn this pot into a lamp, we needed to drill a hole in the bottom of the pot with a 1-5/8″ diamond coated hole saw. To keep the hole saw centered as we drilled, we found it helpful to use a jig to hold the hole saw in place.

To make a jig, we drilled a hole with the 1-3/4″ hole saw in a board larger than the base of the pot. Then used clamps to hold pieces of scrap wood around the base of the pot to hold the top board with the hole in it center on the pot.

3. The diamond coated hole saw leaves a smooth finish but exposes the clay center which is why we needed to paint it. When we pulled off the sticker and felt feet from the bottom, it left three squares of exposed clay.

4. Through a frustrating and unsuccessful trial run, we found that the red clay absorbs the spray paint more leaving those areas a different color.

To make sure the entire bottom of the pot is a consistent texture, we found it necessary to sand the entire bottom of the pot before spray painting it. For this step we used a sander and 220 grit sand paper.

5. Before painting, we drilled a hole with a 5/8″ glass and tile drill bit in the side of the pot towards the bottom for the cord to go through. This step will also expose some of the red clay but it will also be covered up by the spray paint.

6. We wanted to give our industrial table lamp a matte finish so we spray painted the entire pot with black matte spray paint.

7. In order to thread the wire through the pot, we cut the cord six inches from the light fixture. Then we stripped the wires exposing half an inch of copper on both the white wires and both the black wires.

8. Then we threaded the stripped ends of the long side of the cord through the small hole in the pot.

9. We pushed the fixture through the large hole and screwed the threaded flange tight.

10. Finally, we twisted the copper parts of the black and white wires together and then screwed the wire nuts on each wire to hold them together. Our DIY industrial table lamp is finished!

— 10:30 PM —

Now for the moment of truth, we plugged the light in, flipped the switch and we have light! It was the wonderful sign that our DIY industrial table lamp is complete and it’s bedtime! Oh wait, we still have to make our DIY tiered stand.

— 01:30 AM —

After prepping that project, it is finally time for bed.

— 05:30 AM —

Rise and Shine Courtney! Its time to get ready for Great Day Houston.

— 07:30 AM —

As we are on our way to the studio we ponder why we procrastinate on these projects. Is it all really worth it? Sometimes they are so much work and stress.

— 10:00 AM —

The show went great. At brunch Courtney and I discuss how much fun that was and how much we love how the projects turned out and look in the room. We agree we should do it again and start brainstorming our next project. Omelets really do wonders for morale.

Don’t let our crazy day deter you from making this DIY industrial table lamp. It is a great weekend project that turns out awesome. We are growing quite fond of these quick and easy (now that we have the process figured out) IKEA hacks.

PROJECT FEATURED ON GREAT DAY HOUSTON

Out DIY industrial table lamp was one of the repurposing ceramic projects we shared on the local live morning show, Great Day Houston. In case you missed it (or don’t live in Houston) you can watch our DIY segment here.

PIN THIS PROJECT

Pumpkin Carving Contest {Winner}

Uncategorized Courtney & Brent

UPDATE 11/01/15: Thank you to everyone who took the time to stop by our blog and cast your vote for your favorite pumpkin this year. We had a great response and it was a very tight race.

No, I’m just kidding it wasn’t even close. The pumpkin that won this year pretty much blew all the others out of the water as the overwhelming favorite.

The 2015 Pumpkin Carving Contest Winning Pumpkin is…

Pumpkin #2 // Grumpy Minion

Which was carved by….

Brent!

Congratulations Brent you win bragging rights for the year (but don’t let it go to your head). Second place went to Doc Brown carved by my dad and third place went to Darth Vader carved by my brother. My hipster cat pumpkin and my mom’s Linus pumpkin followed behind.

Thanks again to everyone who participated in our family pumpkin carving contest. It was really fun and we can’t wait to do it again next year.

I mentioned a few posts ago that my (Courtney) family takes pumpkin carving very seriously. We are a family that enjoys making a friendly competition out of just about anything. Thus, eight years ago this fun little pumpkin carving contest was born.

Each year we look forward to gathering together, picking out pumpkins and spending a fall afternoon outside together drinking apple cider and carving.

We share photos of our creations and invite our friends and family to vote for their favorite. That is when the competition (and trash talking) begins. The carver with the pumpkin that gets the most votes wins bragging rights. It has become a fun family tradition that we look forward to every year.

We have been polling the opinions of our extended family and close friends for years but since starting the blog we have made so many great friends and have such supportive readers that we thought it would be fun to get your thoughts too! Thank you for taking the time to participate in our fun!

Browse through the entries below and the scroll to the bottom to cast your vote. (voting for this year is now over)

2015 Pumpkin Carving Contest Entries:

Gray House Studio Pumpkin Carving Contest 2015

Pumpkin #1 // Doc Brown

Pumpkin #2 // Grumpy Minion

Pumpkin #3 // Linus

Pumpkin #4 // Hipster Cat

Pumpkin #5 // Darth Vader

Better Homes and Gardens {I Did It} Feature

House, Uncategorized Courtney & Brent

If you had asked me a year ago if I thought Brent and I would be standing in the checkout line of the grocery store looking at ourselves and one of our favorite Gray House Studio projects, our industrial shelves, in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine I would have asked you, “What the heck is Gray House Studio?” Yes, it is true but hard to believe that this time last year our home renovation blog did not even exist.

But since we started in December we have poured so much of our energy and free time into our DIY projects and our blog so to see our hard work in such a well known and loved magazine this week has been incredibly surreal and overwhelming (in the best of ways).

So much so that we totally played it uncool and when we heard the issue was out, we rushed to the grocery store and had my brother take lots of photos of us posing with it in front of the magazine rack while shoppers looked at us like we were total goofballs. But we were just so happy and excited to see our Better Homes and Gardens {I Did It} Feature! There was no way you could wipe the smiles off our faces that day.

Behind the Scenes of our Photo Shoot

It is crazy to believe but this awesome adventure started all the way back in February of this year. A few weeks after finishing and posting our industrial shelves we received an email from Kit Selzer saying she thought our industrial shelves looked amazing.

To hear that kind of encouraging feedback felt outstanding. I mean sure our parents tell us our projects look great all the time but they also said that about the macaroni art we did in Kindergarten so their biased positive response doesn’t hold quite the same weight as an unbiased opinion that comes from a senior editor at Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Sorry Mom and Dad. We are still appreciative you are our biggest fans.

That wasn’t even the best part. She wanted to feature the shelves in an upcoming issue of the magazine in the I Did It! section and send a team to our house to photograph them and us. After reading the e-mail I immediately called Brent at work and started talking in my “super excited, high pitch voice” that somehow only my easygoing husband and dogs can comprehend. He was equally as enthusiastic.

The photo shoot was scheduled for the last week of April and when two large boxes filled with the magazine files and stationery boxes ordered for the shoot were delivered two weeks prior, it started to sink in that this was really happening. And then panic set in that while our shelves might be ready for BHG, the rest of our house…umm not so much. I’m just going to keep it real and say we needed to do some MAJOR cleaning.

But what did we do first? Create an even bigger mess as we built our entire coffee bar in a week. It was an insane idea but how often do you have Better Homes & Gardens come to your house? We wanted to impress.

We managed to get our whole house looking cleaner than it has ever been since we moved in because of all our renovation projects just in time for Monday morning when Shelley, the art director and Janna, the photo stylist arrived to preview our space and our wardrobe for Thursday’s shoot.

Once we got talking about outfits and I admitted to having pretty much zero fashion sense outside of shorts and solid colored tank tops (my uniform of choice in Houston for spring, summer and fall) they asked to see our closet to get a sense of my style. While I was more than happy to show them my wardrobe, I cringed at the thought of them seeing our less than organized closet.

Because what do you do when visitors are on their way and you are in a hurry to clean up? You shove random junk you don’t know what to do with in the closet, right? Am I right? Anyone? Our closet is normally pretty straightened because Brent and I don’t have enough clothes to fill it up but at the last minute I stuck a bunch of random things in there to clean up some areas of our house. I was slightly embarrassed by the mess which we worked so hard to clean, get rid of and then at the last minute “hide”. But they were the sweetest ladies who were kind enough to focus on the clothes and not the environment where they were located.

Then at the last minute there was talk of a ladder and how great a ladder would look in our library and Brent suggested he could build one in two days. We surprised them when they came back on the day of the shoot with a brand new custom built ladder that turned out to be essential to the day because they were able to use it to reach the top shelves to style and we could stand on it for the actual photo.

Thursday morning Shelley and Janna returned and brought lots of fun items for our shelves. They also brought some really cool plants that sadly are not still around because I can’t keep a plant alive to save my life. The first thing they did was to start pulling items off our shelves so they could rearrange things to look best for the camera.

It was so much fun to watch Janna and her assistant Becki style our shelves. She is an expert in this field and obviously has way more experience then me so while I probably should have been spending more time taming my hair, I couldn’t help but want to watch the entire time and take mental notes of how she arranged and styled items.

A little while later the photographer Brian McWeeney and his assistant/wife, Carolyn came and set up their equipment. They made the lighting in the room look incredible. They were a hilarious couple and always kept us laughing. Brian was kind enough to answer all of Brent’s photography questions and Carolyn was a lifesaver in helping me control my “super fine” baby hair that refused to lay down and became a running joke of the day.

Since we are used to being behind the camera, I found the process of how these magazine pages come together fascinating. Shelley definitely had the eye for noticing every little aspect that might look off in the photo or make it feel unbalanced. I really learned from her how to pay more attention to the tiny details when photographing our projects.

^^^ Thanks so much to Brian for taking this awesome group shot! ^^^

We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with. We enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them. They were all so personable, encouraging and funny. We had a lot of laughs that day. I’m sure it was a lot of work on their part because those are some big shelves but they made the whole process feel effortless. We are so thankful for them for making this an amazing and unforgettable experience.

The best part of all is Jake (the cat) made it into the photo too! Which is pretty spectacular. I was planning on taking him over to my parents’ house for the day so he would be out of the way but when it was brought up that they might try and work him into the photo I wasn’t sure how it would go. On the first attempt he wouldn’t sit still and proceeded to very slowly walk out of frame. The key words here are very slowly. It was as if he was stalking prey or moving in slow motion. Everyone thought it was so humorous because they had never seen a cat move so slow before. The second time around he just plopped himself down and didn’t move one bit but just looked like a big ball of white fur laying on the ground. He eventually had to be removed from the scene because he refused to leave.

We are so appreciative of this opportunity because when you put yourself out there it can be a scary feeling but to have positive feedback like this gives us the drive to keep dreaming, keep making and keep creating. This just shows us that even our wildest dreams are possible. You never know what is around the corner when you take that leap and put yourself and your work out there.

Your kind e-mails, words of encouragement on social media and in our comment section mean the world to us as well, so thank you for supporting Gray House Studio.

The October 2015 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine is on stands now! Check out our I Did It! feature on the last page.

You can view our original Industrial Shelves Project post here.

Fall Crate Display

House, Seasonal, Uncategorized Courtney & Brent

Create a fall crate display to decorate your front porch for the Fall season.

Even though you can’t tell by the weather here in Houston (Is it sad that when it gets to be about 96 degrees we say it feels good outside?) fall is fast approaching.

This year we decided to get a jump on the season and create a few DIY fall decor projects for our front porch. So when those cooler temperatures finally reach us way down here in Houston, we will be ready.

The first project we are going to share with you today is our Fall Crate Display. This is a really simple decor project to create and customize and can be set up anywhere from on your porch to in front of your fireplace.

Plus, it transitions well with the seasons so with just a little switching out it can become a winter crate display.

*** Thanks so much for supporting our small shop – Moon Rock Prints – this holiday season! ***

How to Create a Fall Crate Display

SUPPLIES

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.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE

1. We bought three wooden crates. The ones we were made of unfinished pine.

You can have as many crates as you like in your display depending on the amount of decor pieces you intend to add. You can even incorporate different sizes of crate to create interesting shapes.

2. The next step was to stain the crates to give them a more high end feel. We used our favorite Kona color stain.

Staining these crates was kind of a pain and time consuming. It is not a hard task, just a tedious one.

3. Once I was done it was worth it. We didn’t bother to stain the bottom of the crates and I will explain why in the next step.

Depending on the look you are going for you can rough up and weather the wood or even add a graphic or text to make it look like a vintage crate.

4. We decided to take it a step further. To transform the crates into a cohesive display and add in more color to this set up.

We used scrap pieces of wood but you could also use plywood to cover the bottom of the crates.

When we flipped the crates on their sides these boards would be the background. There are endless possibilities in what you can do to create cool backgrounds.

5. We decided to stick with simple backgrounds and paint them with mute fall colors. We used some sample paint colors we had left over from another project.

We used a high-density foam paint roller to paint the plywood boards Cavern Clay Sample Paint, Baguette Sample Paint, and Fiery Hue Sample Paint.

You won’t need much paint for these boards so inexpensive cans of sample paint are the way to go. I just poured some paint onto a piece of cardboard and rolled in onto my scrap pieces of wood that would become my crate back.

6. Once the painted pieces of wood dried, we secured them to the bottom of the crate with foam tape.

7. Next, we arranged and rearranged them until we found the best combination that would fit our decor pieces.

I tilted the crate that sits on top of the other crate at a slight angle to allow for more surface space so the items could spill out of the bottom of top crate onto the top of the bottom crate.

8. The last part is the fun part! To decorate our fall crate display we mixed traditional fall decor items such as pumpkins and a burlap banner with natural elements such as pine cones, acorns and leaves (which depending on your location you can find just laying around outside).

Adding flowers and plants to our front porch is always fun so we paired pretty colored mums with the more unique looking Croton plant.

Adding some hay to the bottom of the crates adds some texture, defines the bottom of the crate, breaks up the dark color of the crates and definitely gives it that authentic barn feel (and smell).

We have a lot of warm tones going on so we mixed in some contrasting color like shades of blue in the flower pot and tins to really make them pop. We have learned you don’t always have to buy a bunch of new pieces but can re-purpose things you may have sitting around somewhere else.

For this display we incorporated a lantern and tin we had sitting around inside to give it a rustic/barn feeling. When styling the crates we always try to pair taller items with shorter pieces to maximize space without making it look overcrowded.

What we love about this fall crate display is it creates a purposeful space for arranging and showcasing fall decor pieces on our front porch. The beauty of it is with just a switch of the back piece of wood and decor items it can effortlessly transition from a rustic fall look to a rustic winter look come December.

Looking for more fall inspiration? Check out these easy DIY fall porch decor projects or how to throw a fall party!

PIN IT FOR LATER

Planning Our Home Gym

Uncategorized Courtney & Brent

When we moved in every room in the house was painted a neutral off white color except one room. One of the bedrooms in the back of the house was the greenest room we have ever seen. We liked to imagine it was what walking into a Leprechaun’s house might feel like. Three walls were a darker green and there was an accent wall that was a pastel green. It was an interesting design choice.

Anyway, it was a little too bright for us so the first thing we did was paint over it with one of our favorite neutral “greige” colors, Utterly Beige. After that we pretty much ignored this room. On our floor plan page we have generously been calling it our home gym but the truth is the only thing that even remotely resembled anything work out related in that room was a few old Wii-Fit Discs (that were collecting dust) and a jump rope.

But it was inevitable, as we continued to work on other projects throughout the house, our empty back room somehow developed a gravitational pull and collected all the various left over supplies from other projects, tools we had been missing for months and an unusual amount of cardboard. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think its one of Newton’s lost laws that if a space sits empty, junk will move to fill it.

We finally had enough of the current situation and sat down two weeks ago and had our “dream big” talk about what we would like to do with this space to make it have a purpose. We both agreed a home gym would be the best use of the space for us during this time of our life.

But if you have learned anything about Brent and I, we can’t just have a home gym; we have to completely transform the room so it feels like you are transported to another place entirely. If our breakfast nook takes us to a coffee shop, we want our home gym to take us, stay with me here, to an old warehouse. My inspiration is a boxing gym with worn leather equipment set in a warehouse.

Sources: 1 | 2 | 3

I want it to have a vintage and industrial feel but also incorporate a few modern elements. Before we begin sharing our projects for this room, we wanted to give you a look at what we are planning.

Brick Accent Wall | Brick Harboard Wall Panels from Lowe’s (which we will be painting to match the brick pictured above)
The largest project we are planning is to create a worn brick accent wall. This feature will be essential in creating the industrial loft/old warehouse look. We will be purchasing harboard wall panels that look like brick and then painting over them to create a more realistic old brick appearance. We have wanted to do a brick wall somewhere in the house and this room is perfect because it makes the most sense in terms of design.

Gym Flooring | Mats from Lowe’s
We had initially planned to use one type of mat and then changed our minds and decided to instead use these foam mats instead. We like the gray color, how easy they are to assemble, fit together nicely for a clean appearance and would be a snap to pull up in the future if we decide to go with different flooring down the road.

Wall Fan | Faraday 14-in Wall Fan from ATG Stores
How awesome is this wall fan? It fits perfectly with the style we are going for in this room. This room currently doesn’t have a ceiling fan so our first thought was to add one but the ceiling is pretty low and we didn’t want anything to hang down low enough where we could possibly hit it while working out. We will instead go with a unique lighting solution. But a work out room without a fan circulating air seems like a bad idea, so having this large wall fan is the perfect solution.

Lockers | Vintage Locker 3-Door Perforated Cabinet from Restoration Hardware
These lockers from Restoration Hardware have a great vintage vibe. I’ll be honest this is one area we won’t be splurging and will definitely be DIY-ing. We are going to be making our own lockers that fit inside the closet in the room so we can customize them. But these lockers provide great inspiration for the direction we want to go.

Rug | Catalina Area Rug from ATG Stores
The overall color palette of the room will be extremely neutral so we wanted to work in a bit of color in our designated yoga area where we plan to place this rug and have a few colorful yoga mats on a yoga mat holder we will be building. I like this blue color because it is different than what we typically use in our house and the material of the rug gives it a relaxed feel that makes it perfect for a gym.

Clock | Industrial Clock from Restoration Hardware
Another DIY project we have planned is to makeover a modern clock into one that looks like it belonged in a gymnasium in the 1940’s like this one from Restoration Hardware. I love the cage and metal that is on this clock. It screams vintage gym. We are hoping to incorporate these elements into our DIY clock project to give it a similar appearance.

Floor Mirror | Baxton Studio Daffodil Floor Mirror from Wayfair
Most gyms have mirrors hanging on the walls and while it was tempting to create a mirror wall, just kidding, we decided that having a large framed floor mirror leaning against the brick wall would be a stylish way to incorporate a mirror into the room without straying from our design concept.

Treadmill
What’s a gym without a treadmill? This will be the large piece of workout equipment in our gym.

Leather Medicine Ball | from eBay
One aspect of making over this room that I am looking forward to is decorating it with unique vintage pieces. We got this old leather medicine ball off eBay that I am excited about because it really completes my vision for this room. We will also have a few more DIY projects planned such as wall art made from old photographs that I am looking forward to working on to round out the room.

We were so excited to begin this room transformation that we actually started before we had time to post what we were planning on the blog. We are already making great progress on it. If you have been following along with us on Periscope you maybe have already seen a sneak peek or two. If you missed it you can catch it below.

Just a reminder we will be sharing our progress Thursday nights at 8PM CST on Periscope. You can find us @grayhousestudio as we share sneak peaks of the updates we are making to our room to transform it into our home gym. It is great fun to meet all of you and hear what you are up to as well so I hope you can join us!

If you miss any of our scopes, you can watch them on our Periscope playlist on our YouTube channel.

In our next post we will be sharing more about the flooring we chose for the room that will be in our home gym so be sure to come back and check that out!