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Posts Tagged ‘cost conscious decorating’
DIY FRIDAY: Garden Arbor
If you know me at all, you know I’m a fanatic about our garden. Seriously. I probably spend 2-3 hours out there every day enjoying watching the vegetables, flowers and now grapes grow.
One thing that my husband and I recently added was an arbor entrance that will allow the grapevines to climb and cover the top. Although we purchased ours, it would be fairly simple to create your own for much less if you have a decent collection of tools (or know someone who would be willing to lend them), and scant materials. Maybe you even have leftover boards from a previous project!
The following instructions are from www.grampasworkshop.net and the more conversational instructions, written by Don Firth, can be found here, including reasoning for particular materials and inspiration for his design. I have attempted to convert this into more DIY-friendly instructions.
MATERIALS
- (2) 2 x 8 pressure treated boards for top
- (4) 2 X 2 x 10 pressure treated posts
- Several 1 x 4 pressure treated boards, to be ripped into 1″ strips, depending on your desired detail
- brass screws
- Jigsaw
- circular saw
MAKING THE TOP
Make a template and trace the design onto the ends of two 2 x 8′s, and then cut it out with a jigsaw, finishing it off by sanding smooth the edges if desired.
Using 2 x 2′s for the uprights, cut notches into the bottom of the top pieces into which the 4 uprights would fit. Secure these at the top by sinking 4″ brass screws down through the tops and into the tops of the uprights. 1″ strips (ripped when making the sides) should be added to the top to allow for more stability to the unit and to give more area for your vines to attach to, or to be threaded amongst.
THE SIDES
The sides were made by ripping 1x’s into 1″ wide strips with a circular saw. From those many 1″ strips, make 2 matching side assemblies…the cross members of which protruded by the thickness of the uprights – for a 2 x 2 that’s usually about 1 1/2″. Attach these protrusions with brass screws to the uprights of the unit – the means of attaching the side assemblies to the uprights.
When ripping the lengths of 1x for the side pieces, decide on the width you wish them to be, and rip a whole bunch of strips the same width from some 1x boards you have purchased for this purpose. Then cut them to length, based on your design for the sides. Remember that the cross members of the sides will have to protrude by the thickness of the uprights, to be later screwed to the uprights as a means of attaching the sides to the assembly.
Decide how much clearance you want from the ground and from the top and build it accordingly. Regarding the spacing of the pieces, you probably want about 4″ horizontally and perhaps 8″ to 10″ vertically, to allow for easy threading of your vines through your “trellis type” sides. The spacing is not at all critical. It’s purely a matter of personal preference, as long as you allow the cross members to protrude appropriately, for a nice neat fit to the uprights.
In the drawing, you can see how I made my side pieces, however the actual design is a matter of personal preference, as long as you allow the cross member pieces of your sides to protrude by the thickness of the main uprights of your unit. When they are screwed to those uprights during final assembly, your arbor will have a much neater look to it if they fit properly.
THE POSTS
The clearance for this example is 7 feet, therefore cut the 2 x 2 x 10′ pieces to 9′ long. Dig two 1/2′ deep holes in the ground for each upright, and fill each hole at the bottom with 6″ of gravel to allow for drainage so the bottoms would not be sitting in overly moist earth. If desired, coat the length of the uprights which would be in the ground with end cut preservative to protect against wood rot.
The unit was assembled completely before inserting in the holes. Upon insertion into the ground, fill the holes with earth or Quikrete making it reasonably square to the ground.
Photo from www.luxinteriordesigns.com
It’s officially summer today, although it has felt like it for quite some time here in my neck of the woods. Every weekend I (am tormented by) enthusiastically view friends’ photos on Facebook of their lake adventures either on boats or at vacation cottages. There’s still a lot of the warm weather left to enjoy these laid back retreats, and if you spend much time at your cabin, condo, or weekend home chances are there are things that you would like to update.
It is possible to have a professionally-designed plan, without the expense of inviting a designer to your private get-away. eDECORATING will allow you to take photos and measurements at your leisure (perhaps during a pop-up rain shower…), submit a design questionnaire online, and receive a full plan for you to implement at your time and at your budget. You can plug away at it during the summer while you’re there, or consider it an off-season project for next year’s visits. Either way, the eDECORATING plan is a cost-effective way to achieve an overall game plan for you to use whenever you choose.
Color floor plans help you know that you can make the most of your space with the furniture you already have, or have room to bring in a new piece of furniture or two. Color elevations of key areas will allow you to see what you can expect of your space once it’s all completed for those of you who have a hard time visualizing change or color. Combining all of these with pricing on the comprehensive shopping list (which includes discount and big-box stores) makes eDECORATING very “husband-friendly.” Pretty easy!
All of this without my setting foot in your home. Although, I’d be open to a visit once it’s completed…but just for fun!
My most recent client for an eDECORATING plan has been myself. I just haven’t been able to put my mind together on where I wanted our master bedroom to go for nearly 6 years now, so an eDECORATING plan seemed appropriate.
In previous posts, we began this journey of how an eDECORATING Plan works.
The first phase of any eDECORATING project is discovering that you need a plan. I determined that I was getting nowhere picking up things here and there, returning them, selling others, and ending up frustrated because our room was so BLAH!
The second phase is purchasing and starting the online design questionnaire. In the previous “A Dose of my Own Medicine”, I showed a sad, beige-beige-beige photo of our bedroom. I listed some strengths/weakness of the space, items that we are keeping, and where I hoped the room would go.
The last phase is receiving the eDECORATING Plan: The Color Floorplan, Inspiration Board, Shopping Guide and Instructions/Advice. After completing this process and showing it to my husband, he was much more excited about the prospect of updating our bedroom (i.e. spending a little money on it! HA!) Sometimes when needing to get a spouse on board, it helps to have a visual, a road map, and a little bit of cost structure when presented with a redecorating project. Now we know what each phase of our implementation of the plan should cost (barring any sales, or “gotta have it!” changes) and can budget accordingly.
If you have a room in your home that has been frustrating you about how to make it the incredible space you desire, click here to begin your very own eDECORATING experience. In about 2 weeks, YOU can have a professionally designed room that you can complete it in your time frame and according to your budget.
BEFORE
AFTER
Each eDECORATING Plan will include a Color Inspiration Board, Detailed Color Floor Plan, Shopping Guide, and Instructions & Advice to help you implement your new professionally designed room!
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