Gray House Studio

Choosing the Right Drill Bit

In this tool tip tutorial we are explaining why choosing the right drill bit for the project is important.

FYI: This post contains affiliate links to drill bits we use. 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.

One thing we have learned so far while working on home renovation projects is that having the right tools for the job is key to a successful outcome.

Today we are talking specifically about choosing the right drill bit. If you asked me a year ago I would have told you a drill bit is just a drill bit.

They are all the same, right? But the past few projects (and Brent) have taught me that is not true at all. Not all drill bits are the same and they do not all produce the same results.

Below we are highlighting three drill bits that we have used for our latest projects.

Choosing the Right Drill Bit

Below we are highlighting three drill bits that we have used for our latest projects.

1. Paddle Bit/Spade Drill Bit

What it looks like: The paddle bit bit has a long point in the middle to keep the blade from walking as it spins. The flat parts next to the tip bore a hole the size labeled on the bit.

When to use this bit: This bit is great for drilling large holes all the way through a material especially if the hole needs to be deeper than one or two inches.

Pros: The main reason to use a paddle bit over other types of bits is the price point. You can get a set of these bits for the price of one of the other bits.

Cons: They are not great for boring holes partially through a board. Another downside with this type of drill bit has to do with safety. If the drill is not kept level while drilling a hole and the bit digs into the wood unevenly or hits a knot, it can catch the work piece and whip the drill from your hand.

Real Project Use: We used a paddle bit when drilling the hole in the ceiling to run the wire for the light fixture in the reading nook. It was the only bit that could make a 6 inch deep cut. Read more about how we built our reading nook.

> shop the paddle bit set we use

2. Forstner Bit

What it looks like: The forstner bit has a small point in the middle just long enough to help center the bit and two blades that span the radius. The outside of the bit has teeth to clean up the outside of the cut.

When to use this bit: This bit is great for drilling holes that need to be a specific depth.

Pros: With two blades running along the radius of the cutting surface, the bit shaves off small layers of wood at a time and allows for a very precise cut.

Cons: These bits are more on the expensive side.

Real Project Use: We used a forstner bit to drill out a hole for the hinge on our bathroom cabinet door. Read more about how we added shelves to our bathroom cabinets.

> shop the forstner bit set we use

3. Hole Cutter / Hole Saw

What it looks like:The hole saw has a central drill bit that attaches to the drill and extends through the middle of a circular saw.

When to use this bit: The most common use for this bit is for cutting holes for door knobs. The quality of the cut does not usually matter because the plate behind the knob completely covers the hole.

Pros: The saw can be removed from the central bit allowing you to have multiple saw diameters with only one bit that connects to the drill.

Cons: There is a limit on the thickness of material that this bit can cut. The drill bit can only cut as deep as the cup of the saw.

Real Project Use: We used the hole cutter to make six holes for the wood light fixture in our master bathroom. Read more about how we built our wood light fixture.

> shop the hole saw set we use

We chose to highlight these three drill bits because they all do the same thing but with slightly different outcomes making each one better suited for certain tasks and certain projects.

If you have any questions about choosing the right drill bit for your next project, feel free to leave them below.

PIN IT FOR LATER

Adding Shelves in Bathroom Cabinets

House, Organization, Uncategorized Courtney & Brent

Check how this quick home DIY tutorial for adding shelves in bathroom cabinets. This simple update creates more storage space to organize all your bathroom essentials.

This morning Brent and I worked on a quick little organization project that really made me happy! Our project was adding shelves in the bathroom cabinets.

I don’t have a ton of beauty products but I do have the typical necessities and not a lot of places to store them. Don’t most bathroom cabinets seem to have so much wasted space at the top?

All of my stuff was just stacked on top of each other in one big pile on the bottom and if stuff got pushed to the back of the cabinet…well…it might as well have been lost forever as far as I was concerned.

I’ve tried to organize this area multiple times but I have found that without the proper set up, such as a designated space for each item, it doesn’t matter how many times you organize it, it quickly turns into a big messy pile again.

I am kind of embarrassed to be sharing this photo but for the sake of showing the drastic difference I feel like the shelves made, I’ll do it. Below is the disorganized mess it looked like before.

Brent built me two shelves in my cabinet using stuff we already had in our garage. Score! He built me one on the bottom and one at the top.

We decided to take the faux drawer above the cabinet door and add hinges to it so it could open up to a shelf we would install behind it where I could store my hair dryer and curling iron.

We have seen a few photos of this floating around on the internet but wanted to attempt to figure out our own Gray House style of making it happen.

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

Adding Shelves in Bathroom Cabinets

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. First we popped off the faux drawer. It came off really easy.

2. Then using pliers we removed the brackets and staples from the drawer face and the cabinet.

3. The 5/8″ cabinet hinges we bought came with instructions saying that the center of the hole should be 2 centimeters from the edge of the board and the diameter of the hole should be 35 millimeters.

So Brent measured where he needed to drill and then used this forstner bit and drill to drill the holes for the hinges.

4. Brent marked a hole for the plastic screw anchor.

5. Then he used a piece of tape to mark the depth of the cut so he would know when to stop drilling.

This would prevent the drill bit from going all the way through the drawer face.

6. With a soft faced mallet, Brent hammered in the plastic screw anchors and then attached the hinge to the drawer face with the screws.

7. After centering the drawer face on the cabinet, he attached the other side of the hinge to the cabinet frame to make it a functioning door.

8. Then Brent started building the shallow shelf that would sit behind the hinged door.

He used a piece of scrap wood that came from a shelf we tore down in our garage. We found this white laminate shelf that you could use that is very similar.

Bonus: it was already painted white! That was a huge time saver. He measured the width the shelf needed to be to fit in the cabinet in front of the sink.

9. Next, he cut the shelf to size using a miter saw.

10. He flipped the shelf over and clamped a Pocket-Hole Kreg Jig to the board and then used it to drill a pocket-hole on the bottom of the board.

A close up of what the pocket-hole looks like.

11. Finally, he installed the top shelf behind the hinged door. He used the same steps above for the bottom shelf as well.

I am now storing my hair dryer and curling iron behind this secret little door. I like having these items up higher and within reach so they don’t fall towards the back of the cabinet.

After Brent installed the bottom shelf, I finally got to organize this area like I have always wanted! I was able to add another inexpensive baskets now that I had two shelves.

As you may be able to see, I found another use for my chalkboard tape!

I found these little glass containers left over from our wedding and added some chalkboard tape labels to them and am now using them to store all my hair ties and bobby pins that were laying all over the place.

Hopefully by adding shelves in bathroom cabinets and having a place to store these things will keep them from getting lost and me having to buy new ones all the time.

It was a small project with a transformation that has a huge impact on that space. I am so happy with the results of adding shelves in bathroom cabinets and grateful Brent took the time to work on this with me. I love that each item has a designated spot to be put back and that all the space in the cabinet is now being utilized to it’s max capacity.

If you have any questions about adding shelves in bathroom cabinets, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.

PIN IT FOR LATER

Organizing a Pantry with Chalkboard Tape

House, Organization Courtney & Brent

How we went about organizing our prantry with chalkboard tape

One of my Christmas presents from my parents this year was a roll of chalkboard tape and a chalk marker. I was so pumped. My parents know and understand my love of office supplies so well. I’m not sure if this stuff is fairly new or I have just been oblivious to it in the stores but I am going to guess it is the former because I’m usually pretty on top of the latest tape craze. I’m not ashamed to admit I have bought decorative duck tape before for no real reason other than it had Super Mario on it (I ended up giving it to my brother) and impulsively buy washi tape just about every time I got to Target. Because you know, you can never have too much of that stuff for projects.

I immediately started to look for a place I could use my chalkboard tape in our home. I think I was scaring Brent with some of my suggestions. Then it hit me. I could use it for labels on my OXO food storage container set that Brent got me for Valentine’s Day last year. I was only kind of utilizing them but had not really taken the time to actually migrate all our food from packages to storage containers because I was still trying to figure out how to label them. Chalkboard tape was my answer.

How I Organized our Pantry with Chalkboard Tape

SUPPLIES

plastic storage container
chalkboard tape
chalk marker

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

To organize our pantry I used: food storage containers, a roll of chalkboard tape and a chalk marker, that’s it! Well, besides all the other storage stuff I swiped from my mom when she was purging her own pantry. Score! I realize this concept of using food storage containers with chalkboard labels in the pantry is nothing new or even remotely unique. What really made the difference for me is using the chalkboard tape. There are a lot of chalkboard labels out there but they were so small and too decorative in appearance. I had a hard time writing on them and fitting in everything I needed to write. Plus they didn’t cover much of the container and I could never get them to erase very well.

^^^ I loved that the chalkboard tape was already the perfect height. All I had to do was cut it to the width of the container. Plus, it offers a modern appearance and a realistic writing surface size. I also found that it wipes off really easy.

^^^ Let me just say using a chalk marker also makes the world of difference. Have you ever tried to write with chalk on a very tiny surface? It’s hard. There was almost no point in me even bothering writing with the chalk on those tiny chalkboard labels because half the time Brent couldn’t even read what I wrote anyway.

^^^ My mom gave me this idea, which I think is brilliant! Her suggestion was to use the chalk marker and write on the back of the storage container the date I bought the food and the date it expires. Which is a really good point because once you transfer the food to the storage container and throw away the package, you no longer have the reference. And I don’t know about you but I have enough to remember besides when I bought a package of rolls. I just made a little note on the back of the container with a B and the date I bought it and an E and the date it will expire. The chalk marker works really well for this because it writes on smoothly and wipes off really easily once you reload the container with new food. Note: I would like to mention that the photo above is from when I organized my pantry about a month ago. I promise we are not still eating rolls that are about a month past their expiration date.

We don’t have a lot of food in our pantry right now because there are just two of us and we usually only buy food for a week at a time. Plus, I am a little obsessive about throwing out expired food every week on trash day. So the whole organizing the pantry process only took a few hours one afternoon.

Both Brent and I agree it feels nice to have an organized pantry. Below is what it looks like now.

A Canopy of String Lights in our Backyard

House, Lighting Courtney & Brent

Our backyard is an ongoing project. But at least we have string lights! Check out how we created a canopy of string lights in our backyard.

If you have ever seen the show Parenthood (I am obsessed) you may remember the part in the opening sequence or in the show itself where the family is gathered around the table eating dinner outside with these gorgeous string lights hanging above them. When I saw that scene I fell in love with those string lights.

I kept dropping subtle or maybe not so subtle hints to Brent about wanting lights strung up across our backyard. I wished for a canopy of lights. I believe my description to him was I want our backyard to be “dreamy”.

I have been talking about these lights for awhile now but was still completely caught off guard when Brent surprised me and for Christmas gave me this HUGE box filled with 200 feet of string lights and 200 round light bulbs.

He said he promised to make our backyard dreamy. He knows the way to my heart, I tell you.

This weekend was the first weekend in Houston since Christmas that it hasn’t rained. Since it was in the high 60’s and sunny we decided it would be a great day to create the canopy of string lights in our backyard.

It was a full day of work believe it or not to hang all those lights and Brent got them all wired up just minutes before dusk. It was down to the wire. There were a few mishaps throughout the day but as Brent always says “It’s not a Gray House Studio project if you don’t end up at some point frustrated and bleeding”. (More on that later in the post).

We obviously still have a ways to go to get out backyard completed, but for now I am one happy girl snuggling in my hammock under my canopy of lights.

How to Hang a Canopy of String Lights

SUPPLIES

We used lots of light bulbs. We had eight boxes just like this one. And we didn’t even break one.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE

1. We utilized the large pine tree that sits right along our fence line as the support for one side of the lights. Brent used our drill to make a small hole in the tree and screwed a stainless steel eye hook into the tree.

2. Even though Brent was sure there would be a wood header above the windows along the back of the house he double checked with a stud finder on the inside.

When drilling for the eye hook on the house you can see wood shavings came out indicating he was indeed drilling into wood.

3. Brent measured how much of the galvanized steel rope we needed and then we cut off the excess with a wire rope cutter.

We chose to use galvanized steel rope to bare the load of the string lights.

This should extend the life of the string lights drastically because the cable won’t stretch or break.

4. It is also easier to attach the steel cable to an eye hook than attaching the string lights to an anchor would be.

To attach the cable to the eye hook we threaded the galvanized steel rope through a ferrule.

5. Once the wire was in place we took a wire rope cutter and crimped the ferrule to make the wire secure.

6. Next, we attached the string lights to the cable. Brent uses zip ties to tie the cable and string lights together and I followed behind him and screwed in the light bulbs.

7. After we got all the lights zip tied and bulbs screwed in, Brent attached the other side of the cable to the eye hook suspending the string lights at the correct height.

8. We initially planned to have five runs of string lights from the house to the tree but realized after completing two entire runs that the odd number of runs would leave one of the two plugs at the tree instead of the house.

That was a “Doh!” moment for us. Both strings needed to plug in at the house and we recognized that wasn’t going to happen the way we were doing it so panic set in until we calmed down and had to rethink our game plan.

The solution turned out not to be too difficult. We removed one of the eye hooks and relocated the two inner eye hooks so they were spaced evenly, giving us four runs instead of five.

The one challenging part was after cutting down the second cable we had no slack cable left making it really hard to handle getting it back wrapped around the eye hook through the ferrule.

The cut wire kept poking Brent in the hands and his arms got really tired as he tried to work with the cable above his head. But he was a trooper and made it happen.

9. Because we ended up only making four runs instead of five, we had excess string light.

Brent was able to take the light on the end of the string, which caps the wires, and move it to the spot where we needed and then cut off the left over string lights.

There you have it, our canopy of string lights in our backyard!

Our backyard still has a ways to go until it is up to the Parenthood backyard standards but this is a great start and we are excited to tackle more projects for this space.

PIN IT FOR LATER

How to Cut a Bathroom Mirror in Half

House, Tips + Tricks Courtney & Brent

In this home DIY tutorial we will show a simple way to cut a bathroom mirror in half. If you are trying to save money, you can cut an existing large unframed bathroom mirror to the size you need.

Do you have a large unframed mirror in your bathroom that you find is an eyesore?

We did. We had one in each bathroom.

Our solution was to take our large unframed mirror that spanned the whole vanity and recycle it by cutting it in half to create two separate more narrow mirrors that we framed and hung over each sink.

We took down the large mirror and initially went on the hunt for two tall and narrow mirrors that we could hang over each sink.

After lots of window shopping we kept coming up short on finding affordable, tall and thin mirrors that would be the exact dimensions we desired.

We decided we would cut our existing bathroom mirror down to the two identical sizes we wanted. This was a great solution for us because it was already the height we needed and of course it saved us money because we are using what we already had.

If you think this approach might be a solution for you and your bathroom mirror dilemma, follow along and watch the video below as we show you how we cut a bathroom mirror down to the size or sizes needed.

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

How to Cut a Bathroom Mirror

SUPPLIES

Shop the products we used for this project in one place.

Sharpie
Yard Stick
C-Clamp
Straight Edge (we used a board)
Glass Cutting Oil
Glass Cutter
Heavy Object to hold straight edge down (we used a paint can)

TUTORIAL VIDEO

STEPS

1. To begin we set the mirror on a large flat surface. We took a yard stick and marked with a Sharpie the measurements of the new mirror where we would need to make our cut.

2. Then we took a board which acts a straight edge for scoring the mirror and lined it up with the marks we made with the Sharpie.

Next we used a c-clamp to hold the board and the mirror to the table to make sure that it didn’t move once we started to make our cut.

On the side of the board that could not be clamped, we used a paint can as a weight to hold the board down.

3. Once everything was in place we squirted a few drops of glass cutting oil on the mirror where the cut would begin.

4. We grabbed the glass cutter and prepared to make our cut.

When starting the cut it is important to apply a good amount of pressure to force the blade down to score the glass.

Once you begin scoring, continue all the way across the mirror with out stopping. It is imperative to make one continuous score.

Any overlap in scores will result in an uneven cut.

5. After we made our cut, we lifted the mirror up slightly and then took the other side of the glass cutter (the end with the heavy metal ball) and tapped directly under the beginning of the score.

Once you start a crack the weight of the mirror will force the crack to run the entire length of the score. The result is the mirror breaks in two pieces.

After the mirror is cut, be careful handling the side that was scored. It will be sharp. We used fine grit sandpaper to smooth the edge making it safer to handle when we started framing it.

6. Once we cut the mirror into two pieces, the sizes we needed, we framed them, stained the frames and hung them back up in our bathroom.

Voila! Our one large mirror is now like two brand new mirrors! And that is how we cut a bathroom mirror.

PIN IT FOR LATER

Choosing Gray Paint Colors

House, Painting Courtney & Brent

Choosing gray paint colors can be a tricky task. He is how we went about picking a neutral gray.

Today we just finished painting the sixth room in our home gray. As I was up on the ladder practically doing a back bend to paint the top of the arches in what will soon be our library, I couldn’t help but think how pleased I am with our gray paint colors that we have chosen so far for our house.

No longer are gray walls viewed as drab, dull and dreary but now in my opinion a stylish neutral that is cozy and modern.

My love for gray walls began several years ago. I was in college and out window-shopping in an upscale shopping mall that included stores with merchandise that was infinitely out of my price range then (and now). I walked into one store that was designed to have the look of walking into an expensive home. It had dark wood floors, white trim and gorgeous gray walls. I was mesmerized by how cozy it felt.

I never thought about gray walls in a home before. I was a green walls type of girl. But I just couldn’t get over how inviting that combination felt. I don’t remember anything they actually sold there; I just adored the interior design of the store. I do remember I had to eventually be shook from fantasizing, dragged out of the store and reminded I did not actually live there.

From that moment I wanted my own gray house, on a much smaller scale of course. Hey, I may have dreams but I am a realist too.

When the time to came to actually pick gray paint colors for our home I realized that gray paint is not just gray paint there are so many brands, shades and variations out there.

Choosing gray paint colors became a tricky and overwhelming task. How do you go about selecting the right gray color for your wall? While there is no magical color that works for everyone’s home, here is what we learned about choosing the right gray paint colors for our walls.

For the majority of our home we ended up choosing Mindful Gray from Sherwin-Williams. After comparing all of our gray paint options we found that this shade was the most neutral gray which is what we wanted.

Since we knew we wanted the most neutral gray color as possible, the challenge was that we did not end up selecting a color that made the room look even a little purple, blue or green. When we looked at each swatch individually, it appeared the color was neutral but the key we found was to compare numerous gray swatches to each other in the room we would be painting under the exact lighting.

By doing this we were able to see the spectrum of grays available and pick the one that was most neutral in relation to all of the other grays. The gray shades can appear very close so we looked at the darkest and lightest shades on the swatch to see a more dramatic difference.

The gray colors we chose are below. We selected colors for the rooms that were on the same swatch or one swatch over to keep a cohesive and neutral look throughout the house.