DIY Campaign Style Kitchen Island

I was really happy to use an antique dresser as a kitchen island in our apartment for the last year and a half. It's worked really well. My only complaints were that the dresser was a couple inches too high and the drawers were a little sticky. When I found some replacement dressers for our bedroom, so it was time to try the DIY I had been dreaming of for months and I wanted to do the project for as little money as possible.

So to begin with I had a pair of campaign chests that were 31.5" tall and 30 wide. I used a power drill and a handful of drywall screws (which are really sharp) to screw the two dressers together from the inside.

I had my local hardware store (Metropolitan Lumber) cut me a big piece of smooth plywood to fit the back of the connected dressers and also six 4" tall legs from a 3" wide post, all for less than $20. I asked them to be really exact with the measuring, which they really were. I did a little bit of wood filling and sanding to the legs first.

Then I attached the plywood and counter-sunk the screws so I could fill the holes and have a more seamless finish. The plywood backing helped the dressers to fit my marble top a little better and also helped keep the dressers better together structurally. Once the plywood was screwed on, I attached the legs using mending plates (a combination of corner and flat plates). I tried to sink these in as flat with the wood as possible.

I started out with the plan to paint the new island white because I was sort of sick of having a dark colored island and thought white would be nice and bright in the space. I only had a chance to get one coat of white on the frame before I changed my mind. It was just too vanilla and boring.

And I couldn't get this image out of my head:

So I pulled out the Smoke Gray oil based paint from this project.

When I paint furniture, I always use a white foam roller and I do a sort of dry coat first and then I do a thicker second coat that really covers the old color. Sometimes you'll need to do a light sanding between coats.

While the paint was drying I cleaned the pulls and plaques with Brass-O and discovered my mini nail head love.

Since I didn't want to spend any money on this project, I just worked with the hardware that I had from the dressers and the bookshelves (which have been recycled). I made the plaques stretch and put a little less on the front so there could be at least eight plaques on the back of the island.

It's not perfect, but I'm really loving it! I love the color with my black cabinets and white floors. And the glossy oil based enamel finish has been a dream to clean. Everything wipes right off. (It's way more glossy than these photos show. You can see though in the picture above I'm wearing a hot pink shirt. Super glossy!)

I might go back and order a few plaques for the sides, but I sort of like it a little more sparse. I don't want to go overboard with the brass.

I sort of think the more substantial nail heads make the plaques a little chunkier anyway, so it's okay there are less plaques.

Not only do I love the new look and color, but I LOVE the functionality. The much deeper drawers open and shut as smooth as buttah. And the top of the marble hits at exactly 36" (standard counter height).

Do you have a unique kitchen island? I'm a big fan of islands.

Like LGN on Facebook

Follow Jenny on Twitter

Sneak Peek: Campaign Style Kitchen Island

I'm racing around like crazy this week trying to get some big jobs wrapped before the weekend. But all I really want to do is stay home and take photos in the daylight of my kitchen island to share with you guys! This DIY is finally done and I think my favorite part was discovering just how much I like the look of these mini brass furniture nails in campaign hardware. The nails cost just a couple bucks for six packs of 25. I have a whole stash in my "garage" (aka my pantry) and I have a feeling they're going to keep coming in handy!

My Cleaning Process and a $500 Give Away!

This post is sponsored by the makers of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, the quick and easy way to clean and disinfect your home!

I get a lot of emails asking about my cleaning schedule after I wrote about my typical day on Joanna's blog. I truly do not love cleaning, but I know that I'm so much happier with life when my house is clean. Don't you feel the same way?

A couple years ago, right after I had Claire and when Gracie was old enough to really start doing some damage, I was feeling like I would never have a clean house again. (I also thought there was a good chance I would never get to sleep through the night again. :) good times) I was picking up the house all week long it felt like, and then I would do all my laundry and deep cleaning on the weekends. That meant my Saturday was completely gone and that the house was totally dirty again by Monday morning. Stresses me out just thinking about it.

Then one time I was visiting a friend's house who had three rambunctious toddler boys. I walked into her house for the first time and my jaw dropped. Her house was CLEAN. Like, I'm not talking about tidy - tidy is not always possible during the day with kids, but it was clean. She is one of those amazing mothers who is really active with her kids, so I knew she didn't spend all day neglecting her boys to clean the house. I was surprised and a little jealous of her sparkly floors so I begged her to share her secret. She laughed and said she kept a chore chart, which I thought was hilarious! What grown woman has a chore chart?! Suddenly I had to have one!

I copied her chart and have been using a slightly tweaked version ever since. I can't say that I'm always following through here, but when I do, my house is practically spotless and best of all, I don't feel like I am cleaning all the time - which honestly was the hardest part for me of being a stay at home mom in the early years.

It looks like a lot, but I think even on the most intense days I'm only spending 30 or 40 minutes in aggregate cleaning (though we live in a 1500 sq ft apartment, so your home might require a little more time). I've listed the chart here below, and here's a simple printable version.

So the basic idea is this: there are daily chores - easy things you should take care of almost habitually in the morning and in the night, and then there is a single special chore of the day. Most of these chores end up getting done once a week (for example, every Monday I do a deep vacuuming of all our rugs. I took only one interior design class in college and I only remember a handful of things from that class. One of them was a tangential comment my professor made about vacuuming. She said that you should go over the same area on a rug SEVEN times super slowly to get it clean. Isn't that just nuts? I don't do that, but I do try to do a slow vacuuming on Mondays.). Friday though is the swing day, where you rotate in chores that need to be done less frequently, like scrubbing the microwave.

I'll walk you through today's cleaning schedule. It's Tuesday. I wake up and make our bed. It won't get done unless I make it as soon as I get up. The girls are getting good about making their beds too. After I finish getting ready I wipe down the bathroom counters and the sink. While I'm making the kids breakfast I empty out the dishwasher.

Then life happens and the house sort of falls apart during the day.

Then at night the girls help me clear the table and load the dishwasher. Michael does the trashes. Once the kids are in bed I quickly sweep or vacuum the kitchen and dining room and I might pop into the living room too. I keep a wet rag with me and as I go I'll spot clean the floor. My goal is fast and furious cleaning!

And here's where my baskets come into play. I keep them everywhere. I really love this basket that I posted about yesterday because it is super sturdy and holds its shape. I zip through my house every night with this basket, throwing in every misplaced item, then going back to each room once and put the things back where they belong. It takes me just a few minutes to pick up a day's worth of clutter this way. No more running back and forth and back and forth from room to room putting things away. Try the basket method - you'll never go back!

Plus - another bonus of having your pretty baskets out in every room? If you have a friend coming over right away, you can just corral everything in the basket super fast and no one's the wiser.

Once the house has been de-cluttered, I do my chore of the day (today was cleaning the mirrors and windows), and then I'm done! It might sound like a lot, but I promise it isn't. When I'm consistent with this schedule, I never have to do one of those marathon cleaning days to get back to ground zero. The house never has a chance to get really dirty, so the cleaning never feels like a true chore. It feels easy and, dare I say it? Pleasant?

So that's my approach to cleaning in a nutshell. I know we all have our special tricks, and I'd LOVE to hear yours!

Today's super-sized give away is $350 to Target AND $150 to the Container Store and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment sharing your favorite cleaning or organization tip. I can't wait to see what you guys do to keep your spaces sparkling! Any other crazies out there with a chore chart? :)

Contest ends March 22. Winner will be announced on the 23rd. Contest rules can be read in full here. Good luck!!

DIY Ombre Basket

I have a fun post scheduled for tomorrow all about cleaning, where I'll also be professing my love for baskets. I have them all over the house and this one has been a favorite. It's sturdy and it holds its shape really well.

I've always wanted to experiment with painting one of my baskets. I thought about doing a big stripe, but decided on doing an ombre wash with some white latex paint I had. I think I would avoid using a glossy paint on this project - I used eggshell finish here.

The first step is to dry brush the whole area you want to paint.

Then really coat the bottom fourth. You want the paint to be really thick so that none of the basket shows through.

Then you just fill in the middle section and blend so that the white paint runs smoothly from thick to very thin.

My only tip is to not overdo it on the light parts. If you spend more than 5 or 10 minutes painting the whole basket, you're overdoing it. Then you just leave it to dry overnight and that's it! I was worried the thick coat of paint on the bottom might seep through to the inside of the basket, but it didn't.

There's such a great texture to woven baskets. It brings a beachy element to a room, which I like. But I really love the modern edge the white paint adds!

Sponsored Post: Electrolux

This post is written and sponsored by Electrolux "I Heart Induction". Join the conversation on Facebook!

Induction Technology: Power and Precision Meet Sleek Style

In prepping for a party, the last thing you want is to wait for the water to boil or the chocolate to melt as you juggle a zillion other tasks. That's why busy home chefs love induction technology.

Using electromagnets to create heat in metal-based pots or pans, induction heats up cookware faster than gas or electric cooktops -- and uses less energy, to boot. In fact, cooking with induction is 70 percent more energy efficient than gas and 20 percent more efficient than electric. Plus, you get the cooking power of gas paired with the sleek appearance of an electric cooktop, which should make any design-lover's heart sing.

With the Power Assist function on Electrolux Induction Hybrid Cooktops, you can bring water to a boil in just 90 seconds1, freeing you up to greet guests, tidy up the living room, or steal a few precious minutes to yourself. You can also adjust the temperature with a whole lot more accuracy than on gas and electric cooktops, giving you added control to simmer that sauce or melt those chocolates to delicious perfection.

And when you're done, the cooktop stays cooler to the touch so there's less cleanup, making your kitchen party-ready in record time. Visit Facebook.com/Electrolux to hear why Chef Johnny Iuzzini “hearts” induction and to find out more great benefits about induction technology.

This post is sponsored by Electrolux.

Terrariums at West Elm

So, just like my preserved boxwoods, I love terrariums for their easy maintenance. You don't have to do much to keep terrariums alive other than give them lots of sun and a spray of water every month or so.

I was excited when last month West Elm invited me to come and make a terrarium along with a few other NYC bloggers, led by their star designer, Shane Powers. He is a garden and plant extraordinaire (he works a lot with Martha).

We used these huge glass terrariums for potting cacti and succulents in special cactus soil mix and black sand.

That was one of Shane's tricks that I loved - using layers of colored sand to cover the potting soil. Look how pretty the layers look here:

It was such a fun night, chatting with blog/industry friends while getting our hands dirty. I loved sitting next to Mat Sanders and getting the scoop about the new Domino. Did you hear there is a special issue coming to news stands April 17? Mat is the new Market Editor and from what I could coerce out of him it sounds like they have a lot of great things in store for us Domino fans. :)

Do you have any exciting weekend plans? Michael gets home tomorrow (thank heaven above)! I missed that guy.

xx

Like LGN on Facebook

Follow Jenny on Twitter

Hungry Prints and Art in the Kitchen

My darling and talented friend, Abbey (of Design Scouting fame!), has a great etsy shop called Hungry Prints. Check out these gorgeous, graphic letterpressed prints Abbey and her shop partner printed themselves in Williamsburg. I've seen these in person and they are really beautiful - bright, vivid colors on super thick high quality paper!

Lots of people don't think about putting art in their kitchen, but I think it adds personality and life to an otherwise pretty sterile, functional space.

Those little nooks in kitchens or the empty space on the sides of our cabinets or appliances? Perfect little spots for a piece of interesting art or two!

Design*Sponge

Country Living

If you have absolutely no hanging space, try leaning your art on the counter or open shelving, or layer it behind you sugar jar!

A Country Farmhouse

BHG

O at Home

We have some dead space above our refrigerator that's just screaming for fun art! I think I'm going to order this one. The fun part will be figuring out how to fill in the blank! I love the pancake idea Abbey shows here, and of course there's tons of family inside joke potential!

How would you fill in the blank? :)

Like LGN on Facebook

Follow Jenny on Twitter