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Baby Changing Table

Brent built a baby changing table that has a printmaker cabinet aesthetic but with a modern design to match the crib in the nursery. Behind the doors with faux drawers, we are hiding all the necessary changing table supplies including a diaper pail.

We have somewhere around three weeks (or sooner…eek!) until our little Gray House intern makes his arrival and we have been scrambling to get his nursery ready.

Back in July we thought we had ALL the time in the world to get projects finished but when you are trying to DIY 90% of the nursery and only have the weekends to work on it, time runs out REALLY fast.

We had to start prioritizing our DIY nursery projects and the first and most important project on the list was to build a baby changing table since it is an essential part of the nursery.

When it comes to designing furniture for our home we like to create pieces that fit the aesthetic of the room but are functional as well. For the changing table / cabinet we spent a lot of time focusing on the design.

We really wanted it to match the Hudson crib from Babyletto that my parents gave us so all the large pieces in the nursery would have a cohesive look and feel.

But we also needed it to have plenty of storage space to hide the items we didn’t want sitting out in the open.

We designed the baby changing table to look like a modern printmakers cabinet with the large amount of drawers but they are actually all fake! In reality there are two doors.

Behind the wider door is a shelf with large baskets where we are storing extra diapers, nursing supplies, lotions, burp cloths, etc.

Behind the narrow door is a diaper pail. What is great about custom made pieces is you can build them the exact dimensions to fit the items you need to store, such as a diaper pail. Because really, who wants an unattractive diaper pail out in the open?

The only hiccup can be if you get the measurements for a diaper pail online instead of buying it first and on the website instead of giving the dimensions of the product, they give you the dimensions of the box the product comes (not assembled) in.

But you don’t realize that so you build the entire cabinet around the dimensions of the box the diaper pail comes in only to realize when you go to buy it that it is taller than the website said and therefore will not fit in the custom spot that you built for it.

Luckily, we were able to find a different diaper pail that fit perfectly and will work just fine. That was a close one! Ah! Lesson learned, buy the diaper pail first.

How to Build a Baby Changing Table

SUPPLIES

1″x2″ Select Pine Boards
Plywood
Masonite
Miter saw
Table saw
Wood Glue
Drill
Kreg Jig
Nail gun
1 ½ inch finishing nails
Router
Sherwin-Williams ProClassic® Waterbased Paint in Dovetail
Metallic Dark Steel Spray Paint
Label Drawer Pulls

FYI: This post contains affiliate links to products we used and liked for our baby changing table. 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.

TUTORIAL VIDEO

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STEPS

1. To start the baby changing table Brent cut the 1″x2″ select pine boards on the miter saw and cut multiple boards at the same time if they needed to be the same length.

He used the table saw to cut the boards to the correct width.

2. Then he cut all the plywood for the project down to size on the table saw.

3. To inset the two side panels made of plywood into the top and bottom rails, he cut a slot in each of the rails the same thickness as the plywood side and 1 inch from the bottom of the rail.

4. To start assembling the baby changing table Brent glued the slotted rails to the plywood sides with wood glue and used clamps to hold the boards together until everything dried.

He used a measuring tape to straighten the rails to the plywood to make sure it was square before he tightened the clamps down.

5. While the two sides dried, he drilled pocket hole screws in the boards using a drill and Kreg Jig that would go together to make up the front and back frames of the baby changing table.

6. Then he glued and screwed the pieces for the front and back frames together.

7. Once the sides and base were put together, he used a nail gun, 1 ½ inch finishing nails and wood glue to assemble the shell of the baby changing table.

8. Since we wanted the legs of the changing table to match our crib, Brent made a paper template of the crib legs and traced the legs onto the boards that would be the legs of the changing table.

Once those pieces were traced, he used a miter saw to cut the angle at the top of the legs so that the legs would mount to the changing table at the same angle.

Since the boards we were using were only ¾ inch thick, and we wanted the legs to be an inch and a half thick, he glued two boards together per leg.

Then he used a router to round off the bottom edges of the legs and then used a sander to prep the legs for paint.

9. Once sanded and ready for paint, Brent attached the legs to the bottom of the changing table with finishing nails.

10. Next, Brent attached the back piece of masonite and the bottom piece of plywood on the inside of the changing table,

11. To support the weight of the top of the cabinet, he attached little blocks of wood inside the changing table.

12. Then, Brent used finishing nails and wood glue to attach the top to the baby changing table.

13. The divider that separates the space between the changing pad and the area to store other items was nailed and glued to the top board.

14. After the main part of the cabinet was assembled, he moved on to the doors and started by cutting each of the slats that would serve as fake drawers on the face of the doors.

By taping all the boards together it was easier to cut all the pieces at once on the miter saw and make sure they were all the exact same length.

15. After all the fake drawer pieces were cut, he glued and clamped the slats to the piece of plywood that was cut to the right size for the door. He did this for both the wide door and the narrow door.

16. Finally, with the baby changing table built, it was time to paint the entire cabinet. We used ProClassic® interior waterbased paint from Sherwin-Williams that was leftover from when we built our office cabinets. The color (Dovetail) matched very closely to our gray crib.

We went back and forth on what color to make the knobs but finally decided to paint them a dark metal color using Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic Dark Steel spray paint.

We also painted the label drawer pulls the same color to match the knobs and sticking with our outdoor theme and just to make it more fun, we labeled the faux drawers with rock climbing and camping gear supplies.

Being pregnant in the 100 degree Houston weather is no fun, I’m just saying. However, Brent argues that building furniture in a 100+ degree garage is no fun either which I can definitely understand because I have been avoiding being in the garage or outside as much as possible this summer (unless I am submerged in a pool).

This has left poor Brent working on building the majority of the nursery projects by himself in the heat.

I really do appreciate his dedication to making our son’s room awesome (this is seriously my favorite room in our home now) and bringing our vision for an outdoor modern nursery to life. He is awesome like that.

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5 DIY Lighting Projects

House, Lighting Courtney & Brent

We have rounded up five of our favorite DIY lighting projects that we have made. These weekend lighting projects are easy to make, cost effective and have made a big difference in our home.

Light fixtures, pendant lights, and table lamps can be expensive depending on the style you like. For some reason the style we like is always out of our price range. That is why DIY lighting projects are some of our favorites to tackle here at Gray House.

Brent and I love finding lighting options that we like and then figuring out a way to make our own in a similar style but for way cheaper. We have created knockoff versions of a pendant light from Rejuvenation and a table lamp from Urban Outfitters.

We have had to create DIY lighting projects as solutions to lighting problems we were facing. And then sometimes we work on lighting projects just to create a fun atmosphere. Whatever the reason, we love creating our own DIY lighting projects and today we are sharing five of our favorites we have worked on so far.

Our 5 Favorite DIY Lighting Projects

#1. Canopy of String Lights

By far one of my favorite lighting projects and one of our most popular Gray House Studio projects to date is our canopy of string lights we created in our backyard. It is just as dreamy and magical as I had hoped. We love spending summer nights under these lights that were inspired by the backyard in Parenthood.

Our neighbors even created their own canopy of string lights in their backyard after seeing ours so at night when both backyards are lit up it looks awesome and is REALLY bright. Ha. We like our string lights so much that we also hung them around our family boat dock for our fall party last year.

☆ Check out our full tutorial on creating a canopy of string lights.

#2. schoolhouse pendant light

When it came to creating our home library, we knew the old light fixture had to go and a schoolhouse pendant light was the perfect replacement. But the prices at the store were out of our budget. We couldn’t even really afford one let alone the two that we needed.

So we bought two vintage schoolhouse globes off of E-bay and got to work DIY-ing our own version of the one we had been eyeing at Rejuvenation. We were so happy with how they turned out and that we could make two for less than it cost to purchase one. They are the perfect addition to our home library.

☆ Check out our full tutorial on making a schoolhouse pendant light.

#3. DIY wooden wall sconce

We haven’t worked on very many projects in our master bedroom yet but due to mismatched lamps that Jake the studio cat was constantly knocking over and putting holes in the lamp shades, we decided to try our hand at making our own wall sconces we could mount on the wall.

We wanted them to look modern and found that inexpensive ceramic IKEA pots made for the perfect lamp shades and all we had to do was drill a hole in the bottom of the pot for the light cord set to go through. Now we have matching lamps and they are safe from being knocked over by the cat.

☆ Check out more details on building a DIY wooden wall sconce.

#4. DIY wooden light fixture

Who likes those silver builder’s grade light fixtures in the bathroom? Anyone? We hated ours and wanted to replace it with something more our style in our master bathroom. However, after taking it down off the wall we found that the electrical box was off centered.

We were forced to come up with a solution other than hanging two new light fixtures over each mirror like we had originally planned. Thus, the idea for a custom wooden light fixture was born. We were easily able to transform the old silver light fixture into a wooden one that matched our mirrors and even added some new Edison light bulbs for a fun touch.

☆ Check out our full tutorial on making a DIY wooden light fixture.

#5. DIY industrial table lamp

Once we got the hang of drilling holes in ceramic pots, we came up with the idea to make a table lamp out of another type of pot from IKEA that had an industrial style to go in our home library. This one looked very similar to a lamp I liked from Urban Outfitters.

This project was inexpensive and only took a couple of hours to make but looks awesome sitting on our industrial shelves. It is probably the least complicated and fastest DIY lighting project we have done but was fun to make.

☆ Check out our full tutorial (including a video) on how to make our DIY industrial table lamp.

I’m sure there are many more lighting projects in our future and we can’t wait to come up with new ideas for our gym, dining room, kitchen and guest bathroom.

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DIY Nursery Camera Mobile

Decor, House, Uncategorized Courtney & Brent

Check out how to make a felt woodland DIY nursery camera mobile and how our nursery camera integrates with our home security system app for easy monitoring. This post is sponsored by Reliant but as always all opinions and content are 100% our own.

We have a fun DIY decor project to share with you today that combines crafting, sewing, power tools and technology.

Our latest project was to make a mobile for our baby’s modern outdoor nursery to hang above the crib.

We didn’t make just any mobile, we took it a step further and made a mobile with a camera built into it! Fun, right!?

Follow along as we show how we made our DIY nursery camera monitor mobile.

We wanted to make a whimsical mobile with little felt mountains, trees and clouds to fit with our outdoor/adventure nursery and it turns out a wood slice is the perfect place to hide a camera!

We recently upgraded the security system in our home to a Security by Reliant system and one of the products we got in our package was an indoor security camera.

We knew we wanted to use it as a nursery camera but we didn’t want to just mount the camera to the wall, we wanted to try and find a unique solution to incorporate it into the decor.

Brent came up with the idea to hide the camera into the mobile that we already planned on making.

What we love about using a camera that is tied into our security system is we can use the same Reliant Connect App to monitor our nursery as we use to monitor and control the rest of our home making it really convenient.

If you are interested in making a DIY nursery camera mobile or are just curious to see how we made ours, we have a video tutorial and step by step guide below for you to check out.

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

HOW TO MAKE A DIY Nursery Camera Mobile

SUPPLIES

Wool Blend Felt Sheets (green, yellow, white, gray, and brown)
Shape templates
Scissors
(1) bag of low loft batting
Embroidery needles
Embroidery floss (green, yellow, white, gray, and brown)
Clear string
Cording
1-5/8 inch piece of round basswood
Indoor security camera
Drill
Router

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.

TUTORIAL VIDEO

STEPS

1. To begin we put two pieces of felt together and cut a square out of the felt the same size as our shape template.

This made it easier to cut the shape out. Once we cut the shape out of our colored felt sheet, these pieces became the front and back of our object.

2. For each object we cut out two layers of low loft batting in the same shape as each of our templates to go between the felt pieces.

To prevent the batting from sticking out of the felt pieces, we trimmed a small amount off the edge to make the batting pieces smaller than the felt pieces. We did this for all of our shapes.

3. For the mountain shape we cut the top half of the template off and then cut that shape out of two pieces of white felt to create the snow on each side.

4. We repeated the steps above for each of our mobile objects. We made mountains, clouds, trees, and a moon.

5. To sew each felt object we used a blanket stitch.

To do this we used an embroidery needle and embroidery floss.

We pushed the needle through the back piece of felt because we were sewing two pieces of felt together, the knot needed to go between the two pieces of felt.

Finally, we brought the needle back down through the loop we made. We repeated this process all the way around the object.

Here are what our mobile pieces looked like once they were all stitched up, so cute and whimsical. Now that I learned how to blanket stitch I want to make all sorts of cute little things for the nursery.

6. Once all the objects were sewn, we connected the shapes together using clear string.

We used a needle to thread the string through each object and tied a knot securing the string to each object. We left about 5 inches of string at the top to attach everything together.

We attached two objects to two of the strings and three objects to two of the strings.

7. Before attaching anything to the wood slice, we needed to make a few holes in the wood. We used the camera mount that came with the camera to trace the size of the hole for the camera.

8. Then used a router with a plunge mount and cutting bit to make the hole for the camera.

We test fit the security camera and it fit perfectly inside the wood slice.

We used a slice of wood the same thickness as the camera so that when the mobile is suspended you will not be able to see the camera from the side view.

We should also point out that on the piece of wood we purchased the bark was flaking off a little. To make sure nothing fell off the wood into the crib, we sealed the wood slice before putting in the camera for good.

9. To make the holes for the clear string to suspend the objects, we used our drill to drill 1/16” holes spaced 1” from the edge.

10. We used an equilateral triangle template to mark the holes where the ropes needed to go to hang the mobile and used a drill to drill ¼ inch holes for the rope.

11. To prevent the cording from fraying we wrapped it in tape before cutting it to length.

Once cut to the length, we poked the cording through the large holes and tied a knot to keep it from pulling back through the hole.

12. By holding the cording all at once we could level the wood so it would hang straight and then taped all the ropes together to temporarily keep everything in place.

13. Using white embroidery floss, we wrapped the ropes up and tied a knot to permanently hold everything together.

14. After putting the camera in the center hole and tying the camera’s power cable to the ropes, we were ready to suspend the objects from the wood slice to complete the mobile.

We did this by threading the clear line through the 1/16” holes and tying a knot in the top side of the wood to prevent the line from pulling through the hole.

Once our DIY nursery camera mobile was finished, we hung it over the crib from an eye hook in a ceiling joist.

There is something really fun and satisfying about incorporating technology into things that you design and build. This DIY nursery camera mobile was not only enjoyable to make but I am sure we will get a lot of use out of what would otherwise have been just a decor piece.

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Tree Stump Side Table DIY

Decor, House Courtney & Brent

Our latest nursery project was to make an inexpensive DIY log side table that looks similar to the tree stump side table sold at West Elm.

One Saturday morning several weeks ago Brent and I jumped in the car and made our way across Houston looking for the perfect log. What makes for a perfect log you might ask? One that is large enough to make a side table out of and one that is of course FREE.

Brent saw on good ol’ Craigslist that someone was giving away free logs but when we arrived to the location we were quickly disappointed because the pieces were tiny. The picture online was very misleading making them look way bigger than they actually were. Go figure.

But then just as we were leaving it was as if a glorious spotlight shone down from above on the perfect log sitting off by itself next to the tree that was being cut down. It was super heavy which was probably why it hadn’t made it to the other pile. But Brent was a beast and carried that thing all the way to the Jeep while I cheered him on and filmed from the air conditioned car.

We snagged the PERFECT log to make our DIY log side table!

One of the must have items on our list for our outdoor modern nursery was a log side table but holy cow the prices of those pieces were costly at the stores. Since we have so many projects for this nursery and couldn’t afford to drop a few hundred bucks on just one tiny table, Brent convinced me we could make one ourselves.

We were able to get the same tree stump side table look for a fraction of the cost by doing it ourselves and it only cost us a little bit of blood, a lot of sweat, (did we mention it is HOT in Houston in the summer?) and the cost of the varnish to seal the log.

We are so happy with the results and actually like it better than the ones sold in stores and we customized the height to be the perfect height to go next to our rocking chair.

Make A DIY Version of the West Elm Tree Stump Side Table

SUPPLIES

Large Log (we found ours free on Craigslist)
Sherwin-Williams Waterborne Polyurethane Varnish in Satin Clear
White Paint
Chisel
Mallet
Yard Stick
Chainsaw
Hand Planer
Electric Sander
80 Grit and 120 Grit Sanding Discs
Paintbrush

TUTORIAL VIDEO

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Tree Stump Side Table STEPS

We let the log sit for several weeks in our garage to dry out before we started working on it.

1. To turn the log into a side table we first needed to remove the bark using a sharp chisel and mallet.

We could see that there was a slight color variation between the bark and the solid wood.

Brent used the chisel to go along the line where the color changed and the bark peeled easily off the trunk.

2. Once all the bark was removed, Brent used a yard stick and a little bit of white paint to mark a line around the base of the trunk to mark where to cut the stump to make it stand straight.

3. Next, he used a chainsaw to cut through the log along the white line he marked in the previous step.

He had to make several passes because the oak was so dense.

4. He used a hand planer to flatten the top of the log.

5. Then he used an electric sander and sanded all the surfaces of the stump with 80 grit sanding disc.

6. He followed up with a 120 grit sanding disc to make it nice and smooth.

7. We really loved the light color of the wood and did not want to change the appearance in any way. We didn’t want the sealer we used to turn the log yellow.

We found the key to avoiding a yellow finish is to not use an oil based sealer. Instead we brushed on a few coats of a waterborne polyurethane varnish in satin clear with a paintbrush which sealed the stump nicely and left it looking true to the original color.

I have to give major props to Brent for working his butt off on this project. While it didn’t cost us much in terms of money, this project did require a lot of manual labor. He spent hours on his feet chiseling the bark away in 100 degree weather.

His hands were blistered and tired and he never complained. Every project he completes I am always amazed at his mad woodworking skills, his determination and how his completed work always turns out exactly how we intended.

We were so excited to put our tree stump side table in the nursery. It really covers the modern and outdoor theme perfectly. We loved the unique knots and grains this piece of wood has and I am sure it will be a favorite piece of ours for years to come.

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Nursery Flooring | Selection + Installation

Flooring, House Courtney & Brent

Check out how we chose and installed our new nursery flooring and follow along as we share how we pulled up gross old carpet and replaced it with nice laminate flooring.

Just a heads up, be prepared for tons of nursery project posts coming up soon as we furiously work to finish all the projects on our list for our nursery before the end of September.

It seemed like we had plenty of time to get the nursery together and now as I am entering into my eighth month of being pregnant, it feels as if time is speeding up and things are starting to get real. Our little Gray House intern will be here before we know it and we still have quite a few projects to get done.

Every time someone asks Brent if we are ready he always smiles and says, “Well, we have a crib and we will just pick up a few diapers on the way home from the hospital.” The typical reaction is one of panic for us which he gets great enjoyment out of teasing them and seeing their concerned faces.

While it is true, we don’t have any diapers yet and very few other baby supplies (don’t worry, we will get there soon I promise), our nursery does have brand new floors that turned out awesome so that is progress! Priorities, right?!

Nursery Flooring Video

In the video below we show how we removed the carpet, leveled the concrete slab, pulled up the baseboards and laid down the new laminate flooring to transform our nursery flooring.

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Nursery Floor Transformation

We started our first project of replacing the nursery floors the first week of July but it was quite time consuming and labor intensive so it took about three weeks to complete which meant no other nursery projects could really take place during that time.

We have been wanting to replace the tan carpet and tan tile in our house FOR FOREVER. But due to the large amount of work or large amount of money it would take to pay someone else to do the work, we are waiting to go down that road at a later time.

However, I did not want to have old carpet in the nursery for cleanliness and design reasons so we decided that the nursery would be our test room for laying down new floors. In a perfect house we would just pull up the carpet and lay down the new flooring, easy peasy, right? Not in our house.

The slab in our house is far from perfect so we had a few obstacles to get through along the way. This is one of those projects where you wish you could just snap your fingers and it be done immediately but all the hard work paid off because the nursery flooring turned out great and these new floors will make a huge difference in how the room turns out.

STEP 1: PULL UP OLD CARPET

First things first we needed to pull up the old carpet. I’m not sure why but I get super nervous when it comes to pulling up the carpet because there is not turning back even though we had already purchased the laminate flooring so we had technically already committed.

It’s always a ~~nice~~ gross surprise to find old stains that you have no idea what they are from because they were there before you moved in. Just another reason why we were super glad to say goodbye to the carpet in this room.

Out with the old! Brent cut the carpet down the middle to create two rolls that would be easier to move out of the room. We timed it with trash day so the old carpet would be out of our way immediately. It was so nice to say goodbye to that old tan carpet. See ya never!

We knew that the slab under the carpet was going to be uneven because we could feel a dip when we walked in the door but we had no idea exactly what was waiting for us under the carpet. After we pulled it up we were greeted by this monstrosity that would have to be leveled before we could lay the floors.

The final step was to pull up all of the carpet tack strips which is time consuming, boring, and probably Brent’s least favorite aspect of working on the floor. We also swept the floor to get rid of remaining debris.

STEP 2: GRIND THE CONCRETE SLAB

Once the carpet was out and gone, it was time to deal with the concrete slab underneath. The flooring in this room was far from level due to foundation work that was done before we moved into the house.

They didn’t exactly do a top notch job of making sure the concrete was level before they put the new flooring back down.

Which left a mess for us to try and repair because we wanted it to be as level as possible to make sure the new flooring we put down was as flat and would not feel like it was moving under your feet.

The large, obvious spot in the front of the room was too low.

There was also an area in the back of the room that was too high.

Brent needed to grind down the concrete in the high spots. To do this he used an angle grinder with a diamond blade.

To try and keep the concrete dust to a minimum, he created his own DIY grinder vacuum attachment for under $5. Check out the video below to see how he made it.

Make a DIY Grinder Vacuum Attachment for Concrete Grinding

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As Brent went to work grinding the high spots of the concrete, his DIY grinder vacuum attachment worked perfectly. It suctioned to the ground eliminating the amount of dust floating around.

However, while I watched him work through the doors I noticed that the room was getting foggier and foggier which meant the concrete dust was escaping.

When he was done the room looked like this, exactly what we DIDN’T want to happen. Oops.

It turns out that his DIY grinder vacuum attachment worked just fine. The problem was with the shop vacuum.

The filter got clogged which lead to all the dust getting stuck in the hose which meant everything that got sucked up was coming right back out once he lifted the grinder.

We learned to stop mid way and clean out the vacuum. Even though this step didn’t go as smoothly as hoped, Brent still did collect a large majority of the concrete dust. DIY-ing is all about trial and error.

STEP 3: LEVEL THE CONCRETE

After the concrete was level in the back, it was time to tackle the low spot in the front. To do this we first rolled down an indoor primer. We used MAPEI White Indoor Primer.

Next, we mixed up a bag of self-leveler. We choose to go with MAPEI Gray and Silver Indoor Leveler.

We used a plastic cup to spread the leveler out over the low spots. But we both thought it looked REALLY thin and the consistency was watery.

It was supposed to take 24 hours to level but it took about a day or two. And while it did even out pretty well considering how bad the concrete was in this area, it still needed a little more help.

Brent mixed up another batch and that is when he realized that he got the ratio of water to mix incorrect the first time because he misread quart for gallon. Ha. Oops.

It wasn’t a big deal but it should not look as thin as it does in the photos above. The second batch was the correct consistency and worked like a charm to get our concrete level and ready for the new nursery flooring.

We still waited a few more days to make sure it was completely dry.

STEP 4: REMOVE THE BASEBOARDS

We went back and forth on what to do with the baseboards. After watching some reassuring tutorials on YouTube, we decided that it would be easy enough to remove them in a way that we could reuse them.

Brent was able to remove all of our baseboards in perfect condition which meant we would save money by using our same baseboards and not have to add quarter round.

While they were off from the wall, thanks to my dad’s help, we were able to give the baseboards a complete refresh. Brent sanded them down and my dad put a fresh coat of white paint on them making them look brand new once they went back up on the wall.

STEP 5: INSTALL THE NEW FLOORING

When it came time to choose the nursery flooring we decided to give laminate flooring a try. We wanted the look of real hardwood floors but for the price of well, laminate.

We did a lot of comparing and contrasting of different types and brands of laminate flooring.

Ultimately, we chose Select Surfaces Laminate Flooring in Brazilian Coffee*. What we like about this particular flooring is the color, texture, that the pieces click together for an easy install, and the thick padding underneath that helps prevent it from feeling hollow. Plus, the cost fit our budget.

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

Finally, the day came to lay down our new flooring! First, we laid down a 6 mm flooring underlayment to act as a moisture barrier for the concrete subfloor. We overlapped each row by at least a foot.

A huge thanks to my dad for coming to help with the nursery flooring. I feel bad when I can’t contribute to a project as much as I would like.

Being eight months pregnant and recently finding out I am anemic, my energy levels are pretty low these days so I am very grateful my dad stepped in and was able to assist Brent.

The flooring when down really easily. The only thing they had to do was to cut the first and last piece of each row and then click it all together.

They got in a rhythm and knocked out the whole room in one day, including having to run back across town and get one more package of flooring.

Another lesson we learned, always get one more package than suggested. This room was a little tricky because of the angles of the back wall.

STEP 6: PUT BACK BASEBOARDS

After the baseboards were painted and dried, we used two inch finishing nails to secure the baseboards back to the wall studs.

Before & After

Above is our nursery flooring transformation. We said goodbye to tan carpet and hello to dark laminate flooring. You may also have noticed that the back wall color changed as well.

After we pulled the carpet up but before we installed the floors, we took the opportunity to paint the accent wall with chalkboard paint.

Brent is working on an AMAZING chalk art mural for this wall so we will share more about this project soon.

We are extremely pleased with our flooring choice and how everything came together. It was a lot of labor intensive work and required trial and error and patience but having new nursery flooring is definitely worth it.

I have a big fluffy rug that I plan on laying down in the middle of the room and our gray crib really pops against the floors.

This project was the largest nursery project on our list and having it done is a big accomplishment and step towards finishing the nursery. Having this step done will get the ball rolling faster on all of our other projects as well.

The only downside is now we want this flooring throughout the whole house. But that is another project for a much later day.

Install a Smart Wireless Door Lock

House Courtney & Brent

A simple tutorial showing how to install a smart wireless door lock. Plus, we are sharing a few thoughts about getting our Security by Reliant smart home security system installed and an offer code for our readers. This post is sponsored by Reliant but as always all opinions and content are 100% our own.

A few posts back we shared what life was like without a smart home security system. Sure, most of our issues were first world problems but they drove us crazy nonetheless. That is why the day the Security by Reliant installation team showed up to our home it was like Christmas morning.

We were so excited to finally integrate several of their innovative products into our home to not only make life easier but to finally have the peace of mind that our home is now fully protected and monitored.

One perk of choosing Reliant to install all of your smart home products is that you don’t have to worry about setting up any of the equipment. The only piece of the puzzle we were in charge of was to install a smart wireless door lock.

To avoid having to pay a locksmith, we installed the wireless door lock ourselves. It is actually really easy. Follow along below as we show you how to install a smart wireless door lock yourself in just a few simple steps.

In this DIY tutorial we are using a Kwikset SmartCode touchpad electronic deadbolt lock (which comes in the advanced Security by Reliant package or can be added to the premium package). Before we installed the deadbolt lock, the security installer pre-paired it with our Security by Reliant system.

How to Install a Smart Wireless Door Lock

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DIY Tutorial Video: Wireless Door Lock Install

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Before we could install a smart wireless door lock, we needed to take off the old lock by removing the two screws next to the deadbolt and the two screws next to the thumbturn.

To rekey a Kwikset lock, first we inserted the key that came with the lock and turned it 90 degrees clockwise. Then we inserted the smart key tool into the hole above the key and removed the key.

Next, we inserted our new key and turned the key half a turn counterclockwise. We pulled the key out and tested the original key to double check it no longer works.

With the lock re-keyed the first thing we needed to install was the deadbolt. The cam slot should be in the center of the hole in the door.

If it isn’t, you can adjust the length of the deadbolt by twisting it to make it longer or shorter.

Then we attached the screws to either side of the deadbolt.

Once installed, we tested the deadbolt by twisting the cam slot with a screwdriver.

After inserting the cylinder into the keypad, we fed the wire through the housing ring. To do this we slid the wire under the deadbolt and passed the metal bar through the cam slot.

Next, we slid the cable through the hole in the mounting plate and pushed the cable down the small hole in the mounting plate.

Once the cable was in the small hole, we attached the plate with the two screws. Finally, we pluged the wire into the back of the thumbturn box and attached the mounting plate with two tiny screws.

Before we inserted the batteries, we held down the lock button and kept it pressed while we inserted the batteries until the lock finished calibrating.

The best part about this smart lock is it connects with our smart home security system and can be controlled by the Reliant Connect App.

Smart Home Security System Installation Day

Installation day was exciting and a breeze. Whether you love technology or are a little on the hesitant side, the installation team does a great job of making you feel comfortable implementing a smart home security system into your home.

They took as much time as we needed to walk us through the features of each product, explain how they all connect and demonstrate using the Reliant Connect App and security panel to properly control all the equipment.

We had the following products installed in our home:

Security system (window and door sensor, motion detector, control panel)
Garage door opener
Smart plug
Smart bulb
2 Indoor cameras
1 Outdoor camera
Wireless door locks with keypad
Doorbell with camera

We are DIYers by nature and will do as much as we can ourselves around the house but sometimes it is nice to sit back and let the experts do their thing, especially when it comes to security. The friendly, hardworking and knowledgeable team that came to our home made getting our security system set up extremely easy on us.

We have been using our smart home security system for about a month now and LOVE it. Being able to turn on lights, open your front door, shut your garage door all from one app on your phone is as amazing as it sounds. Brent and I now compete to see who can log into the Reliant Connect App first and turn on the light or check the door bell camera.

Stay tuned because in the next few weeks we will share how we have integrated the system into our daily routine and what life is like now with a smart home security system. Spoiler Alert: life is much easier and our home is safer.

GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!
If you are interested in signing up for your own Security by Reliant package, use the offer code “STUDIO” and get your first month of service FREE!