How to Build a Coffee Table in a Matter of Seconds

The coffee table in my living room is often a topic of conversation for people who come to my home for the first time.  With it's original, aged wood appearance, and it's two-tiered design, it is not like anything most people are used to seeing.  This unique table is one of my favorite pieces in my home for the simple reason that it literally cost me nothing, and even better; took me less than a minute to assemble. With how simple it was to create, I almost feel sheepish accepting compliments on it. Let me show you just how easy it was!

All you will need is two wooden crates. I have seen wood boxes like this priced very reasonably at thrift and antique stores many times. I got lucky a few years back, when on a camping trip, hiking deep within the woods, I stumbled upon a wrecked and long abandoned camping trailer. The license plates years past expiration, the walls all but completely deteriorated, and most of the contents missing or weathered beyond use, it had obviously been long forgotten. Me, being the curious person I am, I decided to take a look around, which ended up being such a great idea! I found so many wonderful and interesting artifacts, many of which I display in my home to this day.  Having been deserted so long, most items were incredibly weathered and rusted, which gave them a very interesting and unique appearance. Two such items were the wooden crates pictured above. I excitedly made my way back to camp with my unexpected loot.

I wasn't entirely sure what I would do with it all, but after getting it home (and giving it all a good scrubbing down), I had the boxes sitting in my living room, and I kept thinking to myself how well they belonged in the room; how nicely they fit in with my decor. Then, suddenly it dawned on me! I had been needing a coffee table for some time, but hadn't been able to find one that I liked that also fit my price range, and my tiny living room. Light bulb! I loved the boxes so much, I decided to turn them into a coffee table, which made the perfect addition to my otherwise lacking front room.

I simply turned the long thin box up-side-down to create the table surface, and turned the smaller box on its side to create the base. I would like to tell you it took more skill on my part, but it really was as effortless as that! I loved the way that it came together; I love the texture of the wood, and the way that it blends so well with the many natural elements in my living room, and how the age of the wood somehow made it look both antique and modern.

To make it easier to transport (I was about a month away from moving into another home), and to keep future changes in design as an option, I chose not to attach the boxes together. Had I decided to  make it a more permanent piece, seconds with a hammer and a few nails would have done the trick!

Having the base of the table be made from an enclosed box brought another interesting design element to the table (no pun intended...okay...maybe a little intended); it created a built-in shelf. I love the versatility that lends to the table. At times I like to leave it open, or occasionally I will create simple vignettes on the bottom shelf to utilize the space and to add some variety to my living room decor.  

Voila! By thinking inside the box, I managed to think outside of the box. With only two materials, and practically no skill required, I was inspired to create a coffee table that I hope in turn inspires you.

How To Hang A Gallery Wall For Next To Nothing

One trend that we've been seeing a lot of lately is the gallery wall.  Reason being, simply stated, because they are FABULOUS. They fit in any space, any design aesthetic, and it wouldn't be us if we didn't mention; any budget. A wonderful way to fill a large wall without having to purchase large pieces of art, gallery walls are the perfect way to update any room and the options are endless! 

See?! This is why we can't get enough of them! Fabulous examples from Top left: Architectural Digest, top right: Southern Living, bottom left: Liz Marie Blog, and bottom right: Emily A. Clark

Another wonderful advantage to this trend is the fact that you can change, and improve them gradually; replacing old pieces with new, updating outdated photographs, and even expanding and adding on with time, and as budget allows. And they are PERFECT for indecisive people (such as myself). Can't settle on one piece for that main living room wall? No problem-try ten!

With so many pieces working together to create one final product though, it can be a little intimidating knowing where to begin. Achieving balance can be a challenge, so mapping them out properly is crucial. To make the task a little less daunting, we've put together an easy 3-step guide to implementing this stylish trend in your home. 

The first step is to determine the space you have to work with. You'll want to figure out the size of the wall(s) you will be working on, if you want things to be spaced out or clustered together, and approximately how many items you will need to fill that space. For me, I knew I wanted something to fill the relatively small wall behind my kitchen table. So, got the long roll of paper that my wonderful grandfather made for me as a kid and rolled out three very long sheets to fit the size of the wall I was wanting to fill (multiple pieces of computer paper or even posterboard would also work), and just scotch taped them together. This would give me a general guideline for scale while laying out my wall.  

If you lack inspiration on how to properly utilize the space on your wall, have no fear! There are plenty of awesome guidelines online, like these ones from Hubpages (left), and The Sun Shines Blue (right).

 

Then you'll need to gather pieces you would like to feature in your gallery wall. This can be the fun part, but finding an assortment of individual pieces can be incredibly challenging if you are looking to keep things affordable. When you are using multiple pieces on one wall, things tend to add up fast! I knew I wanted to do a collage on my wall, however, I also knew that I did not have the budget to do so. I decided not to let that stop me (I've never been good at being told no anyways!); I would just have to do what I do best-fake it 'till I make it! So I hit my favorite thrift store; one nearby that does all you can fit in a cart for $10 one day a week! It can get pretty packed on these "cart sale" days, so things get picked over fairly fast (not to mention a little competitive and sometimes downright scary!), so I didn't have cream of the crop choices but I was on a mission! One thing they did have a surplus of were aged wood frames. These would do just fine! My kitchen is by far the "girliest" room in my house (floral table cloth, frilly antiques, flowers on the windowsill-the whole nine yards!), so the aged wood would flow with the vintage feel, and the brown color of the frames introduced a nice neutral in my otherwise brightly decorated room, and allowed for me to fill the frames with bright pieces without the whole thing becoming overwhelming. Amazingly, I was able to pick up all of the frames I needed for my wall in one trip (along with a cart packed full of other great finds), and spent next to nothing.

Once I had all of my frames together, I laid them on the floor on top of my guide for the wall, moving them around until I found an arrangement that was balanced in both the finish on the wood, and the size and shape of the frames. When I was happy with the composition, I took a marker and carefully outlined each frame where it laid on the paper.

You will not want to hang each piece one at a time. The pounding of the nails for the next frames you hang can cause the pieces to fall off of the wall (I may or may not have found this out the hard way). So since I needed all of the nails to go into the wall before I actually started hanging the frames, I then drew a tiny dot in each shape that directly lined up with where the nail would need to be in order for the frame to hang in its outline. 

Then, I taped it flush to the wall in the exact position I wanted my collage to hang.  

I hammered nails exactly into the dots in each shape (through the paper), and in a matter of minutes I had all of the nails hung. Then I just ripped the sheet of paper down, leaving the nails in place and the wall ready to start coming together.

Since I had the same budget for filling the frames as I did acquiring them, I kept my eye out at the cart sale for things I could use. I found the clock in the center (which was a little obnoxious at first but as you'll learn there is NOTHING that spray paint can't fix!), along with the dried flowers in the small barnwood frame to the center right, and a children's book with illustrations of woodland creatures and flowers that I was able to cut pictures out of. The rest of the things I found by shopping my house. Fabric scraps make wonderful fillers for picture frames, or backing for pictures. Most frames contain a cardboard insert cut to the exact size of the frame, which fabric can be fit to, or that can be painted and either used alone, or as the backing for a smaller picture, eliminating expensive matting costs. Also, there is an abundance of free graphics online that are absolutely wonderful, and with resources like pinterest, even easier to find than ever! Even if you don't have a printer (like me!), they can be printed very affordably in a number of sizes at any local store with a photo department. 

Eventually I would love to be able to transition my gallery wall into being a little more polished and modern, like some of the above examples. I plan on adding and updating pictures and frames with time, and as I can afford to. For the time being though, I was able to get one assembled for almost no money out of my pocket, which was the only way I would be able to make it work. And as I mentioned before, one of the biggest perks is that they can be updated gradually, growing and ever-evolving, like our homes and lives should always be.

Entertainment Center Makeover - Paper Backed Shelves

I have had a major urge to lighten up my home and bring a little bit of Spring inside. My entertainment center is a dark espresso color with deep cabinets and I felt like much of my decor got lost on it. I really wanted to give the shelves some depth and make my decor pop. Cue the singing angels when the heavens parted and I came across this lovely faux wood paper at Hobby Lobby. This was just what I was looking for to transform  the back panel of my dark and drab entertainment center! I love how it brightens up the room and that when I decide I'm ready for a change, I can just take it right back down again! Do I have your attention? Read on to learn all the details of this easy afternoon DIY project!


Let's start with a little before picture, shall we?

Not hideous or anything but dark and B.O.R.I.N.G. (Excuse the glare. SO hard to take a picture without it.)

And here my friends is the after.......

Okay, in full disclosure I must admit there may be a few new pieces of decor on the shelves in the after photo. Just a few. The decor has always been a hodge podge of thrift store finds and make-do kind of items, so I hit my local thrift store and added a few pieces to finish it off a bit while still staying in budget. It's still not perfect. I need to find just the right pot for my little plant on the right. But it's okay because I saved so much on the makeover! ;)


This is a very easy project and you may be able to skip the tutorial and move right on to the pretty pictures and still get the idea. However, if you're one who likes a detailed tutorial, read on to learn how to make this magic happen. Let's get started.....


The first step is to look for paper you would like to use in your project. As I mentioned before, I chose a fantastic faux wood paper carried at Hobby Lobby. It is thick & sturdy, has a nice matte sheen that will not cause a glare, and comes in a 4ft x 12ft roll. It was so nice and large I only used one roll for the entire project. Go me!

Sidenote: If you want to look around for other types of papers I have some suggestions for you.
Tip #1 Look for traditional wrapping paper. I have seen fantastic geometric patterned wrapping paper in the Dollar Spot at Target that would look lovely on a cabinet, but sadly there were none at the time I got the urge to do this little project. I also love to buy my gift wrap at Home Goods for $2.99 a roll. They usually carry bright fun patterns that follow current trends. Just keep in mind this paper may be thinner, shinier and may differ in width and have less paper per roll lengthwise than the large roll at Hobby Lobby. Tip #2: You could look at places like Dollar Tree for shelf liner. I have found some really cute patterned shelf liner at Dollar Tree but it was never quite right for the colors or style in my room, but you may find something you love! They even had a faux wood liner recently when I went in but it was more of an oak or pine look and not the weathered wood I was looking for. If you're not as picky as I am or oak matches your home, you may find a roll that's just right for you for only a dollar! AND with it's own sticky back! Score!

However, if you decide to go the same route as I did, get the Hobby Lobby app on your phone or print up a 40% off coupon off their website and buy one of these babies. At $5.39 after coupon, you will not be sad you did. This my friends, is what you want to look for.......

You will find this lovely paper in the hobby section of Hobby Lobby across from large rolls of photography backgrounds (and interestingly enough, the faux wood photography background was $4 more for almost the same thing.....go figure).

Now lets take a look at our other supplies:

Once you have your paper, you will need:

1. Poster Board or cardboard - I will be honest because we're besties and tell you that 90% of what I used was free cardboard that had been given to me and was just sitting out in our garage. I was a tad short, so I bought one Tri-Fold display board from the dollar store (seen in the lovely photo above).
2. Measuring tape - to measure your cabinets and the distance between your shelves. You will also use this later to mark your paper (if you do not have an edge ruler mentioned below).
3. Exacto Knife - Once you have measured your shelves and marked off your cardboard, you will need your exacto knife to cut your cardboard pieces to fit.
4. Scissors -  Once your paper has been measured and marked off, you will need to cut your paper with your scissors. Be sure to allow a slight overhang for wrapping around the pieces of cardboard.
5. Scotch Tape - Another honest disclosure here. I think it would be wise and easiest to use double stick tape for this project but alas our roll had disappeared when it hit go time and well....frankly I'm just too impatient to go to the store and wanted to get started. Regular scotch tape worked fine.
6. Glue Stick - In all honestly, this was grasping at straws and would not be needed if I had the double stick tape (I'll explain later).
7. Edge Ruler (optional) - Although this didn't make it into the photo above, I used an edge ruler to measure and mark my cardboard (see photo below).

Step by step instructions:

1.) Measure the height and width of each shelf back. Most of my shelves were removable, so I removed all the ones that I could to give myself the least amount of cuts. Mark off each measurement on your cardboard and cut. I moved my edge ruler every few inches and made another mark, then connected the marks with my straight edge.

2. Test your cut piece in the space to make sure it fits correctly. Results are best when the cardboard is a tight fit. I trimmed a piece that was a little too big and now it is slightly too small. The slight gap is visible if you look close and it grates on my OCD. Tip: I did however learn the hard way to not just stick that baby in there when testing size without a way to get it out. See exhibit A:

Do you see a gap where one could fit their finger (or even fingernail) to remove said cardboard? No. me neither. Great fit = mangling your piece of cardboard to get it out. I may or may not know that from experience. SO, I designed this very complex cardboard removal system:

Yeah, when my crazy life from being a famous blogger dies down, I may just have to patent this thing. In the meantime, feel free to use at your leisure. Your're welcome. 

3.) Mark your height and width on your paper and add an additional 2 inches or more extra on each side to wrap the paper around the cardboard. I drew arrows to show which direction faced up to save time when fitting into place (see photo below).

4.) Tightly wrap your paper around your cut piece of cardboard. This is where double stick tape would've been lovely. Since I was too impatient to make a trip to the store, I used my glue stick. I applied a small amount every 6 inches or so then pulled the paper tightly and smoothed it out with my ghetto tool (also not pictured in photo above).....

Yeah, that's a very well loved paint guard. You're welcome again. It really did work to smooth the paper out and over the glued areas to keep the paper tight. Again, with double stick tape placed every few inches this step likely wouldn't have been necessary. See how we like to teach you not only what to do, but what not to do? Besties do that for one another.

This is a finished section. Easy Peasy! Now rinse and repeat!

5.) Place all your covered cardboard pieces in place and stand back and admire your work!

6.) Now for the fun part......Accessorize!!! 

Now let's inundate you with photos, shall we? Enjoy.

Not bad for under $10 right?

So what do you think? What are you doing to brighten up your home and bring a little Spring inside? We'd love to hear from you in the comments and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates, tips and sneak peaks.

Fall Mantle

Happy fall ya'll! I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather and changing colors. I love so many things about fall! The cool brisk air, a warm cup of cocoa, the changing colors and falling leaves, football season and of course another opportunity to change up the decor a little bit.

Although we hadn't planned on posting anymore until our "real" blog is officially ready to be unveiled, I just had to give you a little sneak peak at what I've been up to around here.

Enter my fall mantle.

Isn't the chalkboard printable fabulous? This beauty is from one of my very favorite sources, the Caravan Shoppe. It's part of a Thanksgiving set called 'All Chalked Up'. This set comes with everything you need to decorate your home and host a stylish Thanksgiving fete. It comes with 3 large quote posters, a large 'Gobble, Gobble Turkey' poster, printable placemats and circle art that could be used for napkin adorning, stickers for take home boxes or anything else your heart desires. It's adorable and I had to have it. The entire set costs $5 and the digital file is sent to your email address immediately after purchasing. Purchase once and print off as many times as you want. Although there are many free printables available on the internet and all over Pinterest, with items from the Caravan Shoppe I know the quality is incredible and the file size is specially made for printing extra large prints so I won't have to worry about quality at that size. Plus, I just love their style! I can spend hours perusing Pinterest for just the right fall print or I can hop on over to The Caravan Shoppe and likely find just what I'm looking for in the click of a button. The print above is the medium size engineer print that I previously posted about here. I printed it at Staples for $3.69 and placed it in one of my favorite thrift store frames (Isn't she a beauty too? For $15.00 she was all mine. After a little happy dance in the aisle). Look for a future post on all the in's and out's of engineer prints coming soon.

Here's a little close up of this not so little beauty.

Swoon.

Sigh.

Moving on.......

Here is a closer look of my fall mantle.

You may notice several items from my Halloween decor post here making a reappearance in my fall mantle. The yarn bottles, wrapped books and white vase are all being re-purposed for this vignette. That's what we're all about here at Like Mother Like Daughter Blog. We believe that good design doesn't have to be expensive. Shopping your own home, re-purposing items from other rooms and carefully selecting thrift store finds can achieve a designer look for a fraction of the cost! Look for a future post on how to decorate a mantle or side table with lots of tips on how to achieve balance and visual interest. For today I will just give you the basics of what I did for this particular mantle. First off,  start out with something that you love....your focal point. You will build your mantle around this key item. For me it was obviously the 'Give Thanks' print. Next I began to place other items in fall colors that complimented one other. I used items of varying heights to create balance. 

Next to the yarn covered wine bottles is a small wooden bowl I found at a thrift store. I dry brushed it with a mustard yellow craft paint and lightly sanded in some places for that chippy, distressed look.

In the center of the mantle are my little thrift store books covered with painters paper. For my fall mantle I changed them up a little by wrapping with twine and threading a few tares of wheat through the twine. Nested on top and to the side of the books are one of my favorite thrift store finds of the month. I picked up these little babies for $.65 each. I adore them. They make me giddy.

The right side of the mantle displays a white vase filled with small sticks and fall leaves. I pulled these from my yard but I will be honest, they have to be changed about every 3-5 days or they start looking a little........well........dead. I have plenty of leaves and branches in my yard that need to be trimmed so I will be supplied throughout the fall, but you may want to take the easy route and go fake. Shhh! Don't tell the decor police that I'm encouraging fake foliage. I hear it's a cardinal sin, but I'm a rebel like that.

Once all my larger items were in place I filled in the gaps with natural elements and textures. With the exception of the pine cone from my yard and the one squash in the last photo, all the other small elements were purchased together in a wicker cornucopia from a thrift store. I knew I likely wouldn't use the cornucopia but $1.50 for all the dried fall accents was a deal I couldn't pass up. I seem to have a lot of those deals I can't pass up don't I? Don't answer that. It was a rhetorical question. 

One last look.

Thanks for stopping by! 

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Friday Faves!

Happy Friday! I hope you have had a great week that and your weekend will be even better! My husband almost always has to work on Saturdays so the weekend isn’t so thrilling anymore. Don’t get me wrong.....weekends are glorious if only for the sleeping in part. No alarm? That’s good stuff right there. But after the hubs is off to work, the teens are off to “hang out”, and the cleaning is done, it tends to get a little boring around here. Okay, I just lied. Twice. First off, the cleaning is never done. I repeat, never. I have these things called teenagers. Not only are they teenagers, but they are the boy kind. And they seem to multiply. Therefore the cleaning is never done. However, the absence of the smell of a boy’s locker room is good enough for me. Lie number two: It is never boring around here. I repeat, never. I have these things called teenagers. Not only are they teenagers, but they are the boy kind. And they seem to multiply. AND feed off each other. Therefore I am never bored. But when I can possibly justify it and my house is imaginary clean, I love to go onto Pinterest, a favorite DIY blog or scan the pages of a magazine. I love looking at pretty things, finding new tips or tricks, discovering a new recipe, or reading a review of a product I’ve been dying to try. It makes me happy. And my friends, I want YOU to be happy! So I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favorite things I have found this week. Sound like fun? Let’s call it Friday Faves. Feel free to clap and shout with glee.

The Cottage Mix

Seriously? I die.  What's there not to love? All the white! Those floors! Those wood beams! The light fixtures! All of them! Perfection.

Favorite quote I needed to hear this week. 

Favorite website I'm excited to share  Here

Ladies, if you are not familiar with Jenny Bevlin, you're in for a treat. Her new website features all of her free, printable, customizable, monogram designs in one convenient place. This is gonna rock your world. Customize your own binder covers, phone chargers, calendars, luggage tags, etc. I love my monogrammed phone charger!

Favorite Sweatshirt  Here

I need this sweatshirt in my life. Like for reals. This makes me want to curl up under a blanket, in an imaginary clean house, when I am imaginary "bored" and read a good book. Heaven.   

Favorite Bathroom  Here

I died again. I'm in love with the planked walls, the gorgeous tile, the light fixture, the fantasy of leisurely soaking in that tub. With the blinds closed. Very closed. 

Favorite Afternoon Craft  Here

Who doesn't love a project you can finish in one afternoon and likely have all the supplies on hand for? These powdered sugar and cinnamon & sugar shakers are adorable and super easy! Score!

Last but not least....... 

Drum roll please.........

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balms  Here

Yes, I realize these might look like a gift for my 10 year old niece, but trust me you'll be hooked. I love these babies! I literally have like 10 of them. They're really moisturizing (Shea Butter, Jojoba & avocado oil) while providing just a hint of shine and color. Check out all the colors at the link above. Color 350 - Blushing Golden is my very favorite - but I warn you it has a touch of shimmer. If that's not your thing and you're looking more for a great nude (wait....that didn't come out right.....) color 351 - Caramel Apple is what I'd recommend. Heck! At $2.59 - $2.99 each - Get 'em both! Remember, I want you to be happy!!! 

What are some of your favorite things? I'd love to hear in the comments!

Have a great weekend!