Kitchen Table redo

I was gifted an great round table.  Unfortunately after its many years of usage it had yellowed and worn.  I tried originally to sand down the legs but there were too many little spaces and grooves.  I chose to paint the legs in a complimentary color to my kitchen. 

Once the tops of the chairs and table were sanded down I taped and primed the legs with wood primer.  I then used a tan spray paint on the legs.  It took three light coats to cover the legs.  You want light coats so you don't get drips.
After it was painted I then varnished the tops of the chairs and table.  I put many light coats of clear varnish on both.

Bed Frame with Storage

I build both my daughter and I beds with storage underneath.  I bought the baskets first and made sure the openings were big enough to fit.  There are end compartments that are both slightly bigger and smaller but work well for other storage.  I had to build it in pieces to get them into the house.  My daughter's bed was a full size and mine is queen.

Once I got the three pieces into the bedroom I covered the whole thing by sheets of plywood to make it more sturdy.  Ensure you use both glue and small nails to hold the pieces together.

Along with three pieces for my frame I created a headboard using a large door.  I cut the door in half and then inserted polyvinyl used for lighting in the open spaces.  I secured the PVC with small framing.

 Before I placed the mattress on I secured all the pieces together with sheets of plywood.

I secured the headboard to the bed frame once it was secured.

Backyard Landscaping

 This was my backyard before.  I had already taken out the flower beds that were at the front of the yard.  I had also taken out the 4 patio blocks from the center of the yard which is where the firepit was located.  I found the yard was very broken up and didn't flow well.

This was the view from the back to the front BEFORE.  The grass is so brown because I killed it all.  It was also full
of weeds.











After the grass all died I rented a sod lifter and cut all of it out.  You can somewhat see the rows of pulled up grass and the sod lifter to the right.  I rented mine from Home Depot.  It was the smaller version and I had no issue using it on my own.

 My first flower bed created was along the fence.  I had a lot of river rocks in my yard when I bought the house.  They were randomly placed so I moved them to create a border.  Before the rocks were placed I used the black bed border which I had to dig down to place in.


















 It turned out quite nice.



My next step was leveling out the yard.  I ordered 5 yards of top soil and used a wheel barrow to haul it in.  The back left corner of the yard was really low.










Once the yard was leveled out I layed down the sod.  It was still a little low in the corner and I did end up adding more soil.  I left the spaces on the left open because that is where I am putting patios and flower beds.  I left the sod undisturbed and watered it for a week.










Next, I placed in the edging for the flower beds and then the patios.

 Once the borders for the flower beds were in place and measured out, I layed down the gravel.  I rented a tamper from Home Depot to really pack it down.













Now that the gravel mix was well tamped down I put in the brick border and decided on the pattern I wanted for my patio.  Looking back I should have dug down a little deeper so that I could have layed another layer of gravel down on top of the border.



I then put down a layer of sand and placed the bricks in the pattern I had chosen.  I used sand to get them as even as I could.  As you can tell it wasn't perfect but it worked for me.















I filled in the empty space behind the patios with gravel.  On the second patio I used a few of the large paving stones.  It allowed a space for my daughter to use her sidewalk chalk.
 I also placed bricks to add to the edging of the flower beds.  I used some of the top soil for the flower beds.

 I absolutely love the outcome!!!

Pallet Ottoman

After building my bench I needed an ottoman to sit in front of it!  I used the remainder of the wider pallet.  I added legs to the center and the sides.  I braced the leg in the middle with square brackets.

 The "top" of the pallet was the underside of the ottoman.  I left the spaces open on the top of the ottoman to fit the cushions that I purchased for it.

Pallet Bench

 To make my pallet bench I used two different sized pallets.  The seat was made of a sturdier pallet and the pallet for the back was slightly wider.  For the legs of the bench I used a 2x8 treated scrap piece of wood.  I placed the back of the bench on top of the legs of the bench.

 I secured the sides and the back of the bench with some 1x4s.  I sanded it a LOT and then applied a coat of waterproofing.  I also added some cushions to make it more comfy to sit on.  I secured everything with screws and not nails.

Pallet BBQ Table

I started off with a simple, FREE, pallet.  I first decided how wide I wanted the top o the table and cut it at that point.

 I then placed the remaining parts of the pallet upright and secured it with screws.  I then reinforced the joints with another piece of 2x4.  I added legs made of scrap posts and other 2x4s.

I  added braces between the legs of the table.  I then cut a piece of plywood and created a shelf on the bottom.

After a lot of sanding and a coat with a weather protector I have a nice BBQ table.