Planning a Backyard DIY Redwood Pergola and Entertainment Space

It’s finally feeling like spring around here, all of the blossoms are budding on the trees. Which means its time to get outside and work on a few projects in my backyard. For years I’ve been stumped on what to do in the back corner of my yard. My yard is an odd shape, being on an inside corner of the neighborhood, the yard is in a bit of a pie shape. I’ve had a playset back there, but that corner is in a low spot for my yard and my neighborhood. Often times it is super soggy or even has standing water and my kids don’t like that on their feet. I’ve decided on a DIY Redwood Pergola to create a beautiful shaded entertainment space with an adjacent fire pit. I’ll move the kid’s playset to right a ways.

Continue reading →

DIY Tile Boot Tray

The Tile Boot Tray with Dremel tool review is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product (tools). Jeffrey Court provided the tile. All ideas and opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

I have been working on remodeling my entryway – you can check it out here. To accomplish the look I wanted, I had to remove the only coat closet in the house (it was small and awkward so I won’t miss it.) To give a place for guests to hang their coats and drop their shoes, I made a coat rack and a boot tray. The boot tray is inspired by a cute one from LL Bean with a few mods. For the main surface of the boot tray I used Hudson Basalt mosaic tile, it’s in a parquet pattern that reminds me of the home I grew up in!

Continue reading →

Husky Mobile Office and Tool Organizer Tote Review

This Husky Tool Organizer Tote review post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with the saw. All ideas and opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

This spring I have been tackling my Entryway (check it out here). The list of To-Do’s on that project include rearranging some walls, moving doorways, electrical work, tiling, building a transom, drywall, molding and trim, and painting.

With the amount of work, going down to subfloor and studs in some areas, I needed a lot of various tools. Let’s face it, I didn’t want to go back and forth to the garage to get needed tools all of the time. However, if I keep most of the tools by the work area, messes and piles quickly get out of control. I know Husky tool organizer totes are mainly built for construction workers on the go, but they really help me corral my tools and supplies when working home renovations.

Continue reading →

Entryway Remodel – Spring Renovation Challenge – Week 5 Trim & Paint

This week I got back to my woodworking roots and it feels so good!

I am participating in a Spring Renovation Challenge hosted by Jeffrey Court Tile <– Check out all the DIY’ers and Designers

I would love your vote, click here. You can vote once/week. Thanks so much

As a reminder, this is what my entryway looked like before…

You can check out Week 1 before pics and the plan here.

Week 2 – Demo

Week 3 Wall Construction

and Week 4 Tiling

Continue reading →

Spring Yard Clean-Up with Milwaukee Battery M18 Tools

The Milwaukee Battery String Trimmer review is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product (tools). All ideas and opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Spring has sprung in Utah, which means 50’s one day, snow the next day and back to 50’s. Snow or not, it’s time to get the yard cleaned up for the new growth! I slacked in the Fall, so I have quite a bit to trim back. 🙁 As part of the Home Depot Tool Prospective program, I get the chance to try out some of Milwaukee’s battery yard tools. I prefer to have battery operated yard tools. Then I don’t have to worry about maintenance of the gas/oil engines, pull strings, chokes, etc! The only drawback of battery tools is the run time of the battery and how long it takes to recharge if you don’t have a backup battery. That’s one area I’ll definitely be looking at for these tools.