Sunday, August 15, 2010

Sneak Peak

With just a couple of last minute additions left, Evan's big boy room is almost complete.  But I wanted to go ahead a give a little sneak peak to show off my two favorite aspects of the room - the first being the book shelves using vinyl house gutters.  This was a project that I had read about on a few different blogs and I always loved how they turned out.  Not only do they save space, but they look so much more attractive because the books are positioned with the covers facing forward rather than the bindings.  Supposedly studies have proven that this positioning also encourages reading for the little ones.

Materials:  1 10' gutter cut in half to make 2 5' shelves, 6 brackets (3 per shelf), 2 right end caps and 2 left end caps, sheet rock screws - you simply mount the shelves where ever you want them and screw in the brackets - Done!  I followed the tutorial from this blog via Little Green Notebook.


The second project I absolutely love is the chalkboard wall.  Evan's new room is rather large leaving a lot of wall space to fill.  Because the room has slanted ceilings towards the front I thought one side would be a perfect place for a chalkboard wall - and I was right.  It turned out great!  I mounted another gutter shelf to use for chalk and erasers which has proven to be a great decision.  I also purchased two magnetic boards from Ikea and hung them at one end of the wall to add another option of activity.  Evan LOVES it so far.

Materials:  1 pint of moonbeam chalkboard paint (applied two coats)


I will reveal the completed room in another week or so.  I'm in the midst of painting a bed (craigslist find) and waiting on the arrival of a table and chairs.  It's gonna be lovely.  Can't wait.

5 comments:

Score said...

Love it! I can't wait to see it in person. you're quite the diy-er.

Sarah said...

Excellent work! The gutter DIY certainly has made the rounds.Can't wait to see the finished product and I can see that DIY silhouette on the far wall!

Kylie said...

Looks great!! I also had plans for that bookcase - ha!

Amanda said...

Kylie - I will say that it's not nearly as cheap to do as you would think. The gutters are about $6 each at Lowes but the brackets and end caps are about $2.50 a piece. I bought two gutters with 6 brackets per gutter and 8 end caps and it cost me about $70. The expedit bookcase I bought from Ikea for the nursery was $70 and obviously has a lot more space - but it's the aesthetic appeal I like so I was ok with the cost and of course doing it yourself is always rewarding :)

Daniel, Stephanie, Micah, Elijah, and JJ Dias said...

Way cool! Nice idea...unfortunately nobody uses gutters here in Senegal :( They certainly have a lot of chalkboards though!!