Michelle Hinckley

New Roman Window Shade.

August 28, 2019 by Michelle Hinckley Leave a Comment

You may not think what you put on your windows is a big deal but it makes a huge impact when you read a room. Window coverings are not only functional when it comes to light control and privacy but it’s an opportunity to really put an exclamation point on the style of a room that so many people miss.

5 years ago we installed a natural woven shade from Smith & Noble in our kitchen window. It was perfect because it let light through while giving privacy when pulled down. (Perfect since I can look right into my neighbor’s backyard and home and they in to mine). The other thing I ADORE about this shade is that it was cord free. To maneuver it up or down, you simply pull it down anywhere on the bottom of the shade or lift it up without any cords. I kid you not, I could lift the whole shade up by using just one finger. Simple and no strings to get tangled.

I believe it’s very important for us bloggers to be honest and truthful when we use products in our homes and you’ve probably noticed I do quite a number of reviews months and/or years later on how those things have held up. Admittedly the shade malfunctioned after 5 years. Somehow the uppy/downy mechanism (for lack of the correct terminology) popped and it stayed in the downy position (no more uppy). I immediately called Smith & Noble customer service and they were extremely helpful. They were eager to fix the problem and replace the shade at no cost. In fact, life got chaotic for me this summer with my kiddos where I dropped the ball and they stayed in touch by consistently following up with me. Unfortunately, they no longer had the same material in stock to make a new one, but fortunately, I was able to pick a new shade. (Great because you know how much I like to change out and update things in my home).

I went with a fabric Roman shade in the “Traffic/Dove” material.

All the samples are free so you can see and feel how they really are in person. This material ended up being a little darker in person which I actually loved even better.

To maneuver it up/down you simply pull the ring cleverly hidden on the back of the shade. It has a mechanism similar to those spring-loaded rolling maps your teacher used to fight with in class. The only difference is this actually works and works WELL! It really is so easy to use and again, no hanging cords to get in the way or tangle up.

I’m not exaggerating when I say, “I LOVE HOW IT TURNED OUT”! Not only does it provide privacy and light control, but it’s just dang pretty. It’s like lipstick for the window. And now that it’s up, all my other rooms’ windows look pretty sad and frumpy.

Smith & Noble does everything from blinds, shutters and shades to curtains and pillows. They really are a one-stop-shop for everything windows. They’ve also partnered up savvy designers like the Property Brothers, Wendy Bellissimo and the Madcap Gents to bring their exclusive lines of window coverings which will leave you swooning. Definitely check them out!

Tween to Teen Bedroom Makeover

February 26, 2019 by Michelle Hinckley

This room has gone through quite the transformation.
When we first moved in 7 years ago it was the room where we threw everything misc while we got settled in. AKA “the junk room.”
It stayed “the junk room” for way longer than anticipated (and way longer than I care to fess up to).
Slowly but surely it became a guest room.

Then my oldest son decided he wanted to take it over so we fixed it up for real (see here).

(See the full details of the first room makeover here).

Now that my son is officially in his teen years and the size of a full grown man this room needed to go through another transition.
For this makeover the room needed to be 1) functional (bye-bye twin sized bed) and 2) “lit” as the young-ins say these days.

The first thing we did was get a new full size bed. The teen is over 6′ and probably would have been more comfortable in a queen sized bed but unfortunately, the room is small. We’re talking 9×14′ small. So a queen bed would have truly been a “bed”room and nothing else. With the addition of the new full size bed the teen had to choose between getting rid of his dresser or his desk. He said “adios” to the dresser and all his clothes moved to his closet.

Next, I painted the wall a two tone effect. Sherwin Williams Pure White on top and Clark + Kensington’s Weathervane (almost black) on the bottom.

We then made some DIY peg boards. We’ve done pegboards in the past for our basement apartment (here). Not only are the lit (my son’s words) but they are one of the most functional things you can put on your wall. They allow you to move the pegs around so art, decor or collections can be moved around at anytime.

We bought a 4×8′ birch veneer plywood board at Home Depot for around $50. There are less expensive board but I loved the birch veneer look. Home Depot then cut the board in half for free to create 2 – 4’x4′ boards. At home, we measured and drilled 3/4″ holes with a Forstner Drill Bit every six inches.

My plan was to keep the birch peg boards in their beautiful raw state, however, we noticed we drilled the wrong side of the board where there was a large blemish on the front of the board. It’s not bad in the picture but in real life it was ugly. Grr. So I ended up painting the boards the same two-tone effect as the wall. It ended up being a happy accident because afterwards I thought they looked way more “lit” painted then raw.

Another detail I experimented with was the pegs. You can buy wooden dowels at the hardware store and cut them down in varied lengths to create your pegs. However, since, I ended up painting the boards I didn’t want the pegs to stick out like a sore thumb. Instead I opted for acrylic dowels and ordered some from Acme Plastics for about $2.00 each.

We bought the bed from Wayfair. I’m not usually a fan of bed without headboards but we needed every inch of space possible and this one fit the bill. I love that you don’t need a box spring with it and my son hides all his shoes underneath. I may paint it black or white when the weather warms up but for now it works great and very sturdy.

Bedding: Bed: Wayfair
Pillow Cases: Serena & Lily
Black and white grid blanket: Target
Cross Pillow: Target (I sewed on the red cross)
Gray wool blanket: Faribault

Make sure to follow more of our project and stories on instagram at: @4men1ladyblog

DIY Floating Corner Shelves.

November 13, 2018 by Michelle Hinckley

One of our most pinned and re-posted projects are the corner shelves we installed in my son’s room.
A linen closet on the other side of this wall is the reason there is this awkward little nook.
We were able to turn this annoying detail in to one of the best additions in the room with some DIY corner shelves.

I almost wish they would have just made the linen closet bigger on the other side of the wall in order to keep the whole wall in this room flush. There’s just barely enough room for a twin sized bed. If I wanted to put a night stand next to the bed it would be floating in the middle of the room in front of that nook. Not exactly ideal.
My solution…when life gives you lemons make floating shelves.

Making them is not as difficult as one might think. The wonderful carpenter I found on HomeAdvisor (who also installed the wall planks) whipped these up in no time. First, put up two pieces of 1×1 (which will be the main support for the shelves). Make sure to nail directly in to the studs behind the wall.

Next, cut a board so it aligns with your two walls. Nail directly in to the top of the board so it hits the 1×1 support underneath.

For the bottom of the shelf, cut an identical board as the top one and nail through the board directly in to the underside of the 1×1.

Measure a face board that will cover the gap and nail to the top and the bottom boards.

As before, make sure you are nailing the face board in to the top and bottom boards.

I filled all the nails holes with stainable wood filler. It you look closely you can probably see where the wood filler is. Because the wood filler wasn’t the same color as the boards it also stained up differently. In hindsight I wish I would have not filled the nail holes and just left the holes undone for a more rustic look.

I used Frog Tape to protect the wall which worked great on top but staining the underneath was a different story. Applying the stain without having it drip was really tricky. Save yourself from having to do paint touch up and use two rows of tape or wider tape when staining the underneath.

Now that the shelves are up I really love the odd little nook.
And that, my friends, is how we turn lemons in to lemonade (or rather floating corner shelves).

The shelves are going to provide some much needed storage for that little bedroom.

See the whole room reveal here.