Check out this little storage niche I saw at BHG.com!

Can I Say Cute?

I know I’m supposed to be a big contractor man, but I might as well be honest… this made me say

“How cute is that!?”

Nobody tell my Dad.

But seriously! Isn’t this awesome? I totally thought about running out and getting my tools! I have all the materials right in the shop, even the bead-board.

You can build something like this in a few hours if you’re properly prepared.

You can either build the whole thing right in-place, or you can build it in the shop and just pop it in in one peice. The shop option would allow for cleaner attachment of the shelf, but building it in-place would be easier for someone with less experience.

There are 10 small pieces of wood in this little unit. It’s not rocket science!

To Build-It In Place:

1. Use a stud-finder to locate your wall studs.
2. Mark the opening you want to cut-out so you can build your unit between the existing studs.
3. Cut out the drywall or plaster (tools depend on what your wall type is)
4. Install a short piece of framing at the top and bottom of the opening, between the existing studs… you now have an opening with framing on four sides.
5. Cut a peice of bead-board paneling to fit the opening and just hold in place by cutting it tight, or use some glue…it just goes against the backside of the opposite side of the wall.
6. Cut the “sill” including the little “returns” that go out to the side. You can see more examples of this at my post on Windows, Casing, & Sills.
7. Install the sill and use small nails or screws to hold it in place. Put your nails near the edges where they will be covered-up by the side jambs.
8. Cut and install the top of the frame (jamb), you can nail this to the short framing peice you installed in step 4.
9. Install the side fames on either side of the opening, between the sill and the peice you just installed in step 8. All of the frame (jamb) peices should be cut (ripped) to be the correct depth so that the front edge is even with the wall face.
10. Install the casing and the apron as seen in the picture. It’s easier than it sounds.
11. A shelf can be added, but it will either need exposed support, such as a peice of quarter round, or you’ll have to toe-nail it or screw it using the same method.

I threw together a little 3-D model for you to get an idea of the parts involved. Both the model and the directions above are just to get you going… they’re not perfect at all and won’t cover every contingency…

In this view, you can see how the parts go together…

The computer shows the corners of the casing doubled up. You would want to cut a mitered joint in the top corners.

Have fun! And don’t worry if it’s not perfect! A little caulking or putty and some paint can work wonders!

~ RG

Do you want to make an absolutely stunning difference in any room of your home in less than two days, start to finish? I love big differences made quickly! And this project will do it for sure!

Look at this:

Isn’t this room amazing!

Wonderful Moulding Ideas

I could probably write a whole book about this picture! I love this room. But when I saw it today, it reminded me of something I mentioned in a post early this month at the main Remodeling Guy Blog on Chair Rail and Wainscoting. That being the idea of covering more of the wall, going up to eye level or a little higher with the wainscoting.

One of the most commonly asked questions from people looking for chair rail ideas is “what is the proper chair rail height?”. I answered in the previous post that the best height is around 30″ – 34″ above the floor for most rooms, but that there isn’t a widely accepted “correct” height. But what if you put it higher? What if you move way up the wall, say to 60″ – 64″ off the floor?

Here is another picture:

Beautiful isn’t it?

Let’s Do It!

I want to demonstrate just how dramatically the act of changing out some baseboards and door casings and installing simple bead-board wainscoting will change any room of your house. Let’s get started!

Above, we have a standard room. It has a couple of nice features already with some hardwood floors and a pair of French doors, but other than that it’s bare bones. (Don’t you wish you’re room were just as empty! Moving all the stuff is half the job!)

If you want to do a very quick job, you could do only what I’ve done here in this image. Ive replaced the baseboard with a 5.25″ Primed Base, and added a 2.25″ Chair Rail installed at a height of 33″ above the floor (to the top).

This room has 8′ ceilings. If you have higher ceilings you might raise the chair a little bit, but not much. I also replaced the door and window casing with something with a little bit more detail in the profile. These things made a huge difference! Wouldn’t you agree? Let’s kick it up another notch:

Now I’ve gone from a 2.25″ Chair Rail to a custom moulding which combines a standard profile “Howe” casing with a rounded off peice of 1X2 on top of it to create a little shelf (only about 1.5″ deep) at the top of the chair.

But the real difference is the addition of some color! Nothing sets off a design like white painted chair rail moulding against a nice deep wall color. I’ve shown a taupe-ish color, but it looks great with blues, reds, yellows, you name it! (at this point I started thinking the floor needed to be darker, but never got a round tuit) This is getting fun! Let’s add some wainscoting:

Now we’re cooking with fire! The type of bead-board wainscot paneling I’m showing here is so easy to install it’s not even funny! I’ve shown this with 4″ wide planks, but something with the lines a little closer or a little more spread out would still look fantastic!

If you paint everything with at least one coat of good primer and give it a light sanding before you install it, this can be done in a couple of days easily (depending on room size of course!).

To keep things simple, I would install the paneling first and then install the baseboards and chair rail over it. The extra peice of 1X2 at the top of the chair rail will cover the top edge of the paneling. The only thing to really watch out for is the overall thickness. If it gets too thick it can cause issues around your doors and windows.

To avoid this, I would use thin 1/4″ paneling, a relatively thin baseboard (standard stuff is fine), and a casing with a good wide “back band” type detail, such as the aforementioned “Howe” casing. If you don’t want to change your casing completely, you can just add a “back-band”. I’ll have to get into that in another post.

Now for the Grand Finale:

Whooooo Hoooooo! Isn’t she georgeous! I really like the way this looks! Now, you need to invoke your imagination a little and see it with pictures on the top shelf (which I would make deeper, about 4″ or 5″) and with a little furniture in the room…but this is a showstopper now!

I ran the wainscot up to 63″ in this picture and I think it’s just about perfect for the 8′ room. I also added a very simple and relatively small (3″) crown molding which really caps it off. I tried it at first with a larger, more standard shaped crown and it looked funny. The bead board look just didn’t go with the frilly curves of standard crown. The crown shown here is a simple “cove” molding.

There you go! A quick, project that can make you feel like you’re living in a new house in no time flat and for not more than a few hundred dollars. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

So,what do you think? Ready to add this to the to-do list? Or maybe the same idea with the panels like in the second photo at the top?

This one is a perfect 10 if you ask me. I found the picture at one of my favorite haunts Houzz.com, and the kitchen is by Valerie Pedersen who works in the SF Bay Area.

Wow! I love, love, love it! I was searching for window seats and I came across this shot. I really love the built-in seating (storage inside would be cool). And while we’re talking seating… I love that bench seat too! The whole thing just works for me.

A Closer Look

I see much more than just the seating here though. One great thing about this kitchen is that it’s timeless. not much here is going to be outdated in five years. The white cabinets and black granite look awesome with that white subway tile wall splash.

(trivial info: traditionally, the “backsplash” was only a few inches above the counter. When the whole wall between the upper and lower cabinet was done it was referred to as a “wall splash”… not so much nowadays)

I also love the farm sink in this kitchen. To me, the whole kitchen almost has to be designed around a farm sink for it to look right. This one looks great! Great faucet too.

Great Trimwork Too

One of the other things that make this room look great is the use of “normal” but beautiful trimwork.

• Standard 5.25″ Crown
• Simple window casing
• Upgraded, but simple, baseboards
• Small Crown on upper cabinets

Some Great DIY Ideas Here

When I look at this picture, I see a list of individual projects that most beginners can handle.

• Painting – the biggest thing in this picture almost gets missed. That is a great contrast between wall color and cabinet and trim color. You can do that right now in your house!
• Light Fixture – the next step-up the DIY difficulty ladder is installing a cool light fixture. Installing a fixture is something you can learn to do with a Google Video search. It makes a huge difference (just don’t skip the “turn off the breaker” step)
• Cabinet Hardware – Maybe easier than the light fixture is to change out your pulls, knobs, and hinges. Heck, once all that is off, maybe you want to spray paint your cabinets!
• Run that trim! You can so do this! Start with the easiest thing, probably the window casing; maybe the baseboard. When you want to try crown molding, do that little crown on the cabinets first so you can figure out how to hold it upright in your saw for easy angle cuts.
• Build A Window Seat! – Once you get your skills to the point where you can run that crown, you can tackle the window seat. Then you’ll be in high-style!

Have fun!

If you received yesterday’s Remodeling Guy Newsletter, then you probably already read that I’ve decided to get a little more in-depth with some teaching and detailed “How-To’s”. I’m going to tackle one skill area at a time and get more in-depth with it.

For the first skill, we’re going to work on carpentry and I thought some pics showing you just a few of the amazing things you can do with carpentry might get the mood right before we start!

Everybody Loves Wainscot

Something like you see in this picture can be done with the carpentry skills we’re going to work over the next thirty days! Isn’t it beautiful?

Re-Purpose A Great Find

If you have the skills and you can count on them, you’ll be much more able to imagine how you can use that banged-up mantel they have on clearance! Check out the door in that picture…the one on the right. Nice!

Install a Wide Sill

A wide window sill can really be a great carpentry project. I’ll show you how easy it is. Or something like that…

Do Some Built-In’s

I actually already did a little directional post on how to build this over at RG:Express. Great Looking Storage in Less Than A Day I’ll show you more over the next few weeks!

So Stay Tuned

I’ll be mixing in more of the detailed how-to’s over the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to showing-off my carpentry work! I hope you’re looking forward to learning some!

Other Stuff…

The Newsletter went out yesterday! It’s a great free resource and I think you’d enjoy it! You can sign-up right here. When you do, you’ll get a download link for my free e-book, The Power Of Remodeling.

The Forums are going strong. The forums are only a couple of days old and we already have more than twenty members! I’ve responded to a number of great questions and there is a place to show-off your own work. Come join the forums.

Round-Up Winners. Have you looked through all the great work included in the Remodeling Guy Round-Up? There are 44 links there to projects of all sorts and they are all worth the visit to go see. It’s downright inspiring!

There were two prizes to be given away in the Round-Up and here are the winners.

First, a Pink Toolbelt from Girlgear Industries…

Entry number one is none other than the wonderful Julia @ Hooked On Houses Congratulations Julia!

Second, a giftcard from either Home Depot or Lowe’s…

Entry number ten was Cheryl @ A Touch Of Reality. Congratulations Cheryl!! Let me know which store you prefer!

The Remodeling Guy General Store

I’ve not taken a second yet and pointed you to the store. It’s kind of like a little tiny Remodeling Guy corner of Amazon.com. The items there are picked by me and you can read my comments on each right in my store. This might be especially useful for you when buying tools or other home related items. Please visit the RG store!

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Have a great week!

Hey! Big announcement! I’ve talked for at least two months about setting up a Forum for all of the great discussions we have here at Remodeling Guy!

Well… I did it! It’s a technical work-in-progress, so please come back and let me know if you can’t register or see anything on your screen!

The point is this… I have over twenty years of knowledge as a general remodeling contractor and I know that all of you have a combined knowledge many times greater than mine! We need a place to ask questions, get answers, and discuss ideas, amongst friends where we feel comfortable!

The Forums have been up and running for almost 24 hours now and it seems like everything works!  I’ve answered a number of questions already and I think I’m going to wonder why I didn’t do this long ago!  I can’t really promise you that I’ll be able to answer every question, or that the ones I can answer will get answered immediately. But I’ll do my best, and I hope you know by now that I really do care about your project, your home, and your life! So I’ll help if I can.

We’ll see how it goes… here is the link Remodeling Guy Forums

Many categories have no threads yet…start ‘em up!

Please offer feedback, both in the forums, and the comments!

I’ve searched high and low on the internet to find you a great video.   Truth be told, there is not much out there on this subject that I was very impressed with!  I might have to break down and do a real video showing you first hand how to do this.

In the meantime, you can probably glean plenty of knowledge from what is out there and what I’ve provided here.  The way you learn is by doing anyway, so I suggest you just buy a little extra and go for it.  If you cut a couple of boards  wrong, the world won’t end!  Just keep trying and remember, there is always the caulking gun!

First, a video I did on the various cuts involved:

Of the videos I found, here are a couple of the most helpful:

How to do a “Coped” joint

How to Install Baseboard

How to remove and replace baseboard

If you get into it and have some questions, let me know in the comments and I’ll answer them there ASAP!!  Have a great weekend and be sure to check back on Monday for the continuation of the series on Home Staging I’m doing with The Nester!