Choosing a wallpaper that evokes your ideal mood (mine is warm and cozy) is key. In this post, I will share photos of my wallpapered dining room, tips for choosing the right wallpaper for your space, and everything you need to know about getting wallpaper installed.

Related posts: 5 Creative Uses for Peel and Stick Wallpaper, The Best Floral Wallpaper, Affordable DIY Wallpaper Hack, Wallpaper Removing Tips, Painted Daisy Wallpaper, and Removable Wallpaper on Etsy.

Transforming Our Dining Room with Wallpaper

When we purchased this home, we instantly fell in love with this little nook that features original built-ins. It’s such a joyful, sunny space and I couldn’t wait to decorate it!

The room was previously wallpapered with a quirky, modern wallpaper featuring monkeys. When I shared it in my empty house tour video, many people commented that we should keep the monkey wallpaper. To me, that is the beautiful thing about wallpaper—it can be so wildly personal and expressive!

I knew I wanted a wallpaper that felt warm and cozy— almost an autumn-year-round kind of vibe. I also wanted a paper that could be from the era when our home was built, in 1904.

I considered a lot of different papers, careful to envision each one decorated with Halloween, Christmas, or kids birthday party decorations. I ended up choosing this Medlar pattern. The floral pattern felt the perfect mix of cozy, inviting and historic.

What to Consider When Choosing Wallpaper for Your Dining Room

• Always buy wallpaper samples. Wallpapers can be different in person than they appear online. If you are purchasing from a place like Anthropologie that doesn’t have samples, find the wallpaper somewhere else that does offer them. It’s always worth the extra $5-$10 per sample to see them in person. I keep a collection of samples because sometimes I find a home for a certain pattern later on as well.

• Consider the size and features of your home. Large scale prints look nicer in big open rooms, while super tight repeats can look nicer in smaller rooms. I always ask the advice of my wallpaper installer for whether or not they think a pattern will look good in a space. Rooms with a lot of angles need more forgiving patterns so that it’s less noticeable.

• Consider the era of your home. For my historic home, I want to use patterns that could have existed at the time it was built. More modern and funky patterns I think are a better fit for newer or mid-century homes. It’s worth considering if you can find a wallpaper option you love that suits the era of your home. Of course, it’s your home and the final call is yours—so choose what speaks to you and what you know you will enjoy for a long time.

• I always use a professional installer. In my experience, the price of the wallpaper is often about equal to the price of the installer’s labor. So, a large room with lots of angles might cost several thousand dollars for installation and a small room, like this breakfast nook, is typically under $1,000 for installation. The reason I always use a professional is because I am not a perfectionist and this job requires precision and skill. To me, it is worth it to hire a professional for this job.

• Many wallpaper installers will not install peel and stick wallpaper, so be sure to check. I strongly prefer traditional wallpaper over peel and stick unless it is for a very small space (maybe lining shelves or a closet). I have had a lot of issues with peel and stick wallpaper through the years that I have not experienced with traditional wallpaper.

Here’s how the wallpaper turned out in our breakfast nook. I love how it accents the original built-ins and big windows. It’s such a warm and friendly space!

Wallpapers I Considered for This Room

• Pirum Pear Wallpaper
• Blackthorn Wallpaper
• Maeve Marella Wallpaper
• Melograno Wallpaper

Elsie’s Dining Room Sources

• Floral Wallpaper (also available here)
• Round Dining Table
• Green Dining Chairs
• Beautiful Faux Roses
• Lantern Light Fixture

Thanks so much for reading! I am so excited to take you along with me as I slowly decorate our historic home. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments section. Love, Elsie

If you’d like to see more peeks of rooms, sign up to receive our newsletter.

When we first moved in, our home was bare, beige and sterile (see before photos here). Adding built-ins made a huge positive difference in the feel of our rooms, as well as how we use our home on a daily basis!

The best compliment we receive on our remodel is that it looks like it was built this way. I love that we took it back in time by imitating historic homes rather than reaching for newer trends. Built-ins add instant coziness!

Related: 10 Inspiring Home Decor Books and My Used Book Collection.

When deciding how to decorate our dining room, I was torn between built-in bookshelves and wallpaper. Both had the potential to add a lot of personality to the room. I chose built-ins because I love to collect books, and I knew it could be styled endless ways.

Here’s a link to my dress. It comes in lots of colors. I recommend sizing down one size.

The light fixture is one of my favorite details in the room. It is called the Meme Tulip Drop Chandelier, and it was gifted to me from Stray Dog Designs. It is a true work of art, as it is hand sculpted.

Room sources: Table and Chairs / Article, Chandelier / Stray Dog Designs, Sconce Lights / Etsy, Tablecloth / Amazon, Rug / Apple & Oak Nashville.

The jade pottery is a DIY (I thrifted glass and ceramic vases and painted them).

When it came to filling the shelves, I wrote a post about my used book collection. The majority of the books filling these shelves are books I purchased used.

I am very proud of my spooky book collection. Whatever type of books you are passionate about, a home full of books is my favorite type of home.

Let’s talk about the fireplace for a moment. I had a fixation on adding as many fireplaces to our home as possible (we started with one and ended with three).

We added this non-functional fireplace (also called a “candle fireplace”) to the dining room. I love that you can add some glow and twinkle to the space.

I found an antique mantle at the flea market and we used it as the base for this fireplace. I had to source more corbels and design around it. I love how it makes the whole room feel more antique.

Thank you so much for reading. If you’re interested in more room tours and home content, here are a few of my personal favorites from this home:

• When an Open Floor Plan is Too Open
• My Movie Room Tour
• Art Studio Tour
• Narnia Hidden Library
• Green Living Room

I think the wavy wallpaper and textiles that are part of the classic ’70s look are really fun, but I didn’t want to overdo it to where you feel a bit dizzy when you look at it, so I decided to do a large scale version in a more organic shape to get that groovy ’70s vibe in a more modern color scheme. It’s actually pretty simple how it all came together—I’ll show you!

So, while you can totally eyeball this and wing it, I like to plan out my designs a bit first so I know I’ll be happy with the final placement.

And since I was doing this wallpaper in an entire room, I really needed the wave to feel balanced from each angle and connect back at the right place so it felt like a continuous line.

Related: Rainbow Corner Accent Wall DIY and 10 Statement Wall Ideas

First, I took a picture of each wall in the room and printed them out so they were side by side on paper (I just made them all the same size in a Photoshop document). Then I drew out some ideas with a pencil of a general idea where I wanted the wave to be on each wall.

Once I had that blueprint, I used painter’s tape to rough out where the wave would actually be on each wall. It is kind of a bit of time to do this part, but I’m so glad that I did because once I was standing in the space it was easy to see that my waves needed to be tweaked some to feel balanced in the space, so I would just keep moving the tape higher/lower until it felt right.

I was making my four colors pretty even for the stripes, so I just focused on outlining the top and bottom edge of the wave. It can get a little tricky in the corners to continue the wave so that it looks continuous, but keep playing with the tape and the angles until it looks good when you step away from it.

It was also important to have big furniture pieces where they should go on the wall during the taping so you could see how the waves would sit in relation to the furniture.

Once my tape felt like a good size and balance, I took light colored pencils that were close to the paint color I was using and I traced just inside of the painter’s tape lines so I would have an outline to follow with my paint.

If you like to tape off lines when you paint them, you could tape each color off and tape and paint them one at a time like I did on this rainbow wall. But I will say that taping off curves is not my favorite thing, so I just decided to paint them freehand.

I divided up the wave into four sections (relatively equal but I left some areas not equal for a more organic look) with the colored pencil lines and then set about filling in the lines with paint!

The colors I used (top to bottom) are: Valspar Simply Coral, Warm Cider, Pale Satin Peach, and Golden Chime.

It took 2-3 coats of each color to fill in the wave (I like to use angled brushes like this for this type of painting) and I definitely wondered a few times if I was insane for doing this pattern in the process.

But when it was all dry, the furniture was in place, and the art was hung, I could see how fun and special the room now felt. It totally has a ’70s vibe but the organic pattern of the wave and the colors give it a modern twist that makes it feel fresh.

You could totally just do this on one wall as an accent, or across two walls to highlight the corner of a room—just adjust the wave and colors to fit your style and I think you’ll end up loving it as well too!! xo. Laura

Print

Striped Wave Wallpaper DIY

Author Laura Gummerman

Ingredients

• paint colors of choice
• painter's tape
• paint brush

Instructions

• First, I took a picture of each wall in the room and printed them out so they were side by side on paper (I just made them all the same size in a Photoshop document). Then I drew out some ideas with a pencil of a general idea where I wanted the wave to be on each wall.
• Once I had that blueprint, I used painter’s tape to rough out where the wave would actually be on each wall. It was also important to have big furniture pieces where they should go on the wall during the taping so you could see how the waves would sit in relation to the furniture.
• Once my tape felt like a good size and balance, I took light colored pencils that were close to the paint color I was using and traced just inside of the painter’s tape lines so I would have an outline to follow with my paint. If you like to tape off lines when you paint them, you could tape each color off and tape and paint them one at a time like I did on this rainbow wall. But I will say that taping off curves is not my favorite thing, so I just decided to paint them freehand.
• I divided up the wave into four sections (relatively equal but I left some areas not equal for a more organic look) with the colored pencil lines and then set about filling in the lines with each color of paint!

Here’s a before and after:

I’m thrilled with how this came out. Since it was something we’ve never done before, we weren’t sure if we could pull it off, but we had an easy backup plan of adding some bookshelves. It’s always good to have a backup plan!

This is not a DIY post and we don’t have step-by-step photos for each part of the process. It was more of a semi-DIY because we were learning everything for the first time as well as hiring two steps out (more on that ahead). I will do my best to explain the steps we took to complete this project. The cost of the project was around $2,500, which included the drywall work, the quartz counter and the oversized hardware. Me for scale Here’s a link to this comfy striped set.

The first step was removing the stone shelf. It was set into the drywall and permanently attached, so there was no clean or simple way to remove it. Collin demoed it with a sledgehammer. It left damage to the wall, which we anticipated, and were OK with since we already had plans to hire a drywall professional.

After the stone shelf was gone, Collin added the three built-in drawers. It was his first time to build inset drawers and also custom drawers. The opening was really large or I would have purchased pre-made drawers. But in this case, custom looked way better than the options I found online. It was fun practice for Collin, too.

Next, we added a temporary plywood counter.

Next, Collin did the framing for the arch. We drew a basic shape of the arch we wanted and he did the framing by looking at DIYs and YouTube videos online (the best way to learn basically anything).

Next, we had our drywall appointment and they did an incredible job.

After that, Collin added the two wood shelves. Last, we had the countertop appointment and we were done!

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments section!

Vase links:

Speckled Cream / Crock Stoneware (here’s the smaller version) / Ribbed Porcelain / Round Textured / Mod Bud Vase / Ceramic Bud Vase / Speckled Cup

I love these salt & pepper grinders. Thanks so much for reading! xx- Elsie

Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Project Assistant: Collin DuPree. Photography: Amber Kelly. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

I’ve been wanting to make a simple waterproof cover for our breakfast nook table for a while now so we could paint/craft in that space with less worrying about mess and I finally made one! I even added some large piping to the edge of the table cover as a lip to keep paintbrushes and markers from rolling off the table constantly, which keeps me from having to fetch a crayon or marker every 20 seconds as they just naturally seem to want to roll onto the floor (and keeps the floor cleaner as well!). While it is a large item to sew, it’s still a pretty easy thing to make—I’ll show you how to make one, whatever shape table you have!

Supplies:
-waterproof fabric* (I used this as I was looking for a more natural waterproof fabric)
-sewing machine
-straight pins
-large piping (I bought 4 yards of this piping)
-fabric scissors

*The yardage you’ll need will depend on how big your table is! My table is 42″ round and I did a 6″ tall side and had plenty with the two yards I ordered, but not all fabric is the same width so make sure you think about that too.

First, you’ll want to measure the table you’ll be covering and add a 1/2″ to each side so you have a 1/2″ seam allowance all around. I added a tiny bit more to my top panel measurement just to make sure it wouldn’t be too small for the table, so I would suggest doing that as well. Cut out a piece of cloth those dimensions. My table is relatively small so I just turned it upside down and placed it on top to trace and add 1/2″ around—haha! Then, cut two long strips of fabric to make the side panel that were 7″ wide. You can get a good idea of how long you need your side strip to be by adding up all four side measurements of your square or rectangle table (with that 1/2″ seam allowance included). For a circular table like mine, you can measure the diameter of the table (add 1″ for the 1/2″ seam allowance on both sides) and then multiply that number by 3.14 to find the circumference. Remember that from math class!? I would add 2-3″ to that number to have a little extra and that’s how long your side strip will need to be. Since it’s a long strip, you’ll probably have to join more than one strip together to get your total length. So just face the right sides together of two strip ends, sew them together with 1/2″ seam allowance, and flatten the seam allowance and top stitch the flaps down for a more finished look. Once your top is cut and your side piece is long enough, take your top piece and pin your piping 1/2″ in from the edge all along the top of the fabric (so you want the rope part of the piping to hang over that 1/2″ mark … my piping had a 1/2″ fabric allowance on the other side of the rope so I could just line it up with the edge exactly). To finish your trim when you get back to where you started, just cross over the ends and you’ll just sew over the hump of where they cross. You can buy a special piping foot for your sewing machine (just look into which fits your make and model of machine if you want to get one), but I usually just use a zipper foot as that’s what already comes with most machines and it works well enough. Load your zipper foot onto your machine and position your needle so you are sewing just on the outside of the rope part of the piping and sew all the way around (you’ll have to help it a little as it goes over the crossed ends hump at the end). Once the piping is in place, pin your side panel to your top panel, right sides together with the piping in the middle. To find the exact length your side panel should be to go all the way around perfectly, pin it all the way around and when you get back to the beginning again, pin the panel together where it should close so you can sew it together with a 1/2″ seam allowance on both ends and trim any excess fabric. Then sew the two ends together (with that 1/2″ seam allowance), push the seams flat and topstitch them down to have one long connected side panel. You can unpin a few inches of the side panel from the top piece if you need a little slack to sew the panels together, just re-pin it back on when the two panels are attached. Sew all the way around with your zipper foot taking care to sew just on the outside of the piping rope sandwiched between your fabric (you should be able to feel where it is with your fingers pretty easily). Once finished, you can trim your 1/2″ seam allowance to a 1/4″ one if you would like for a little less bulk.
And now you have your piping at the connecting point for your top and side panels!
To finish your cover, fold under the bottom 1/2″ of your side panel and sew the folded edge all the way around. That’s all! Now your table cover is ready to use!

How legit does that look? I love that I can throw something on the table that won’t slide around (like when I just try to put a piece of cardboard under projects), it’s waterproof, wipeable, and the piping lip is great for catching items before they roll to the ground. If you wanted to make piping out of your waterproof fabric so it was all waterproof/wipeable you could do that too! I think it’s great for kids to be able to get messy and do lots of creative projects, but I also like easy cleanup and less chores on my long to-do list, so this is a win for everyone (and waterproof smocks like this one help save laundry too!). So far this has been a huge hit for watercolor painting and wipes off really easily when we’re done—let’s get messy! xo. Laura

Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with ACS for Desktop Actions.

It’s as easy as you’d imagine to put one together and there are just as many ways to customize your own according to your minimalist, maximalist, bohemian, or farmhouse needs.

I first got to work on a 12″ hoop before realizing my finished piece would fan out to a size no longer conducive to opening and closing a standard-sized front door. Ha!

So, use a 10″ hoop for a large wreath that will still work on a single door and a larger hoop if you’re wanting to use it on a wall and have a bit more space to fill.

I love the texture and simplicity of pampas grass and it’s perfect for the fall and harvest season home decor.

Looking for more wreath DIYs? Check out How to Make a Wreath (For Any Season)!

Supplies
-15 or more pampas grass stalk heads of similar size (similar to these)
–10″ metal hoop
-floral wire or 24″ gauge wire
-wire cutters
-scissors
-aerosol hair spray (to keep it from shedding)
-silk or cotton ribbon

Note: There are many varieties of pampas grass available for purchase online. Some are fluffier than others so keep that in mind when ordering. The pampas grass I used was about 3″-4″ wide at the widest point and about 14″ of plume each.

If you’re lucky enough to know someone that has a pampas grass bush growing on their property, see if they’ll let you prune it. Win-win!

Step One: Before getting started on your wreath, you’ll want to generously spray your pampas grass plumes with aerosol hair spray to keep them from shedding bits of seed all over your floors. Do so in a well ventilated place and let them dry before handling them.

Next, trim your pampas grass stem so that you have a 3″-4″ stalk. Cut 2′ or so of wire and wrap it around the first stalk several times close to the bottom of the plume. Then wrap it around both the stalk and the hoop several times to secure it.

Step Two: Cut the second stalk and lay it over the first stalk. If you tuck the bottom of the second stalk just under the hoop, it will stay in place much better than just laying it on the top of the hoop. Wrap your wire a few times around the stalk and hoop together.

Step Three: Continue placing your next stalk over the previous stalk so that the stalks are covered up by the plumes. Once you run out of wire, cut another 2′ length (for ease of use) and twist it together with the end of your previous wire before continuing on.

Step Four: Continue adding so that there is no gap left in the wreath. You may have to lift up the first plume to attach the last plume to the hoop.

Then, gently fluff the sprayed plumes on the areas around the inner part of the hoop to ensure they cover the stalks and wire. Attach a 4″ length of wire around the hoop and twist the ends together to make a loop. This will be your hanger.

You can announce it finished or you can add another layer of dried grasses, flowers, ribbons, etc., to add a little more flair or you can enjoy it in its simplicity.

I added a folded length of ochre colored cotton cord to mine. The perfect shade of golden yellow, I think!

It’s a perfectly delicious wreath for the kitchen, dining room, or front door. It satisfies my attraction to natural, organic materials, but will save well for next year, too.

Umm … did you know that pink pampas grass is a thing? I used to think it was all just spray painted or dyed somehow, but it grows that way! Soft pink and orange and white pumpkins would be really pretty together, wouldn’t they? Enjoy! -Rachel

P.S. Check out 15 Easy Fall Decor DIYs (Budget-Friendly) for more ideas!

This year, we are working with ALDI for our Friendsgiving. I bought basically all my groceries (including wine!) for our meal from ALDI and I love the great selection, high-quality options, (including a lot of organic items), and affordable prices. I have been a big fan of ALDI for years (always keep a quarter in my car that I call my “ALDI quarter” for the carts) and it was super easy to get our Friendsgiving meal groceries from them this year. You can find your local ALDI at this link!

In addition to just showing you how we decorated and what our meal looked like this year, I am also (as always!) sharing a few new recipes in case you are still planning your menu. Today, I’ll share the turkey brine we used and later next week we have a green bean and macaroni casserole (my favorite dish this year!) as well as a pumpkin swirl slab pie I’ll be posting.

For our turkey this year, I pretty much stuck to my foolproof turkey and gravy method, but I changed up the brine. I’m calling this one spiced wine turkey brine because that’s exactly what it is (see the recipe card at the end for the full recipe).

I used a 10-14 pound frozen Butterball turkey, and loved that they had thawing instructions on the side of the packaging. I don’t always use a frozen turkey, so this was helpful! ALDI has a lot of other sizes available too, all at affordable prices, just in case you need a different amount for your event. The brine is a mix of Simply Nature Organic Vegetable Broth, spices, fresh fruit and citrus rinds, and a whole bottle of Crystal Creek Cellars Riesling. I sampled some of the Riesling before adding to the brine and it was delicious! We ended up serving the William Wright Chardonnay with our meal and everyone kept commenting on how good it was (plus it was super affordable—my favorite kind of wine. Ha!).

Along with the turkey and side dishes I already mentioned, I also served Caesar salad, mashed sweet potatoes, and then I bought brioche rolls and a box of stuffing mix too. My secret to any big meal like this is I don’t make everything from scratch, just most of it.

Elsie and our niece, Penny, set the table and made everything extra pretty. We were excited to host our Friendsgiving at the holiday house this year as this is basically the first big meal that has been served in this dining room. So we kept the decor pretty minimal since it was already an extra special spot.

We had a kiddo table this year, using the picnic table from the playroom. I am normally a big fan of kids eating at the same table with adults, but we just didn’t have enough chairs/space. I think a kiddo table worked out though as the cousins had a lot of fun sitting together.

Oh, in case you’re curious, the turkey was the biggest hit with the kids. Go figure!

I am immensely grateful for my family this season and I’m so happy we all got to get together already this year and spend some time together. Wishing you all the best whatever you are celebrating this season! xo. Emma

Print

Spiced Wine Turkey Brine

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Thankgiving Turkey, Turkey

Ingredients

• 32 ounces Simply Nature Organic Vegetable Broth
• 1 bottle Crystal Creek Cellars Riesling
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon Simply Nature Organic Ground Cayenne
• 1 teaspoon Simply Nature Organic Ground Cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons Simply Nature Organic Thyme Leaves
• 2 pears chopped
• 2 oranges rinds only
• 4-6 cups water

Instructions

• In a large pot over medium heat, stir together the broth, sugar, salt, and spices until the sugar and salt dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the wine as well as the chopped fruit and citrus rinds.
• In a brining bag or container that fits your turkey, add the brining liquid plus enough water to fully (or as close as possible) submerge the turkey. Brine overnight in the refrigerator. Remove liquid before roasting the turkey.

Notes

The turkey should already be thawed before brining. Also, make sure to remove any extra pieces, like if your turkey came with the innards or the neck left inside.

Recently, Collin and I were working on another project, a bench for the holiday house and I loved it SO much. You might remember Collin made a built-in breakfast table in this style a couple years back and it seemed like the right time to take on a more ambitious project: a DIY farmhouse table with whitewash stain.

It turned out SO gorgeous. The total cost to build the table was around $250—and it looks so much more expensive. I was thinking of getting some new chairs, but when I saw them with the new table even the chairs looked nicer, so I kept them for now. Let me know if you think they are too casual or just right … I’m curious!

OK, let’s get into the full DIY! I hope some of you use this tutorial to make your own.

Supplies:
-two 4″x4″ x 8′ douglas fir boards (x brace)
-six 2’x4 ‘x 8’ boards
-six 3/4″x 8″ x 8′ poplar boards (table top)
-three 3/4″ x 2.5″ x 8″ poplar boards (table top trim)
-white flat paint
-paint brush
–satin polyurethane 
-wood glue
-rubber gloves
-2″ wood screws
-1 3/4″ wood screws
–kreg square drive 1 1/4″ screws 
-felt furniture pads (optional)

Tools:
-drill
-miter saw
-nail gun & 1.5″ nail brands
-electric sander & 220 grit sand paper
-400 grit sandpaper
-chisel
-tape measure
-safety glasses
-dust mask
–kreg pocket hole kit
–kreg clamp

Before i start, i just want to say that i used poplar boards for this project because i knew we were going to white wash it and poplar is a lot prettier wood and won’t yellow over time (where as typical pine boards yellow pretty bad after only a few weeks with the white washing style.) Poplar is slightly more expensive than pine, but if you’re going with any sort of natural finish i highly recommend spending the extra money! If you’re going to be staining your table a dark color or painting it, then you can use the same size boards but all in pine to save a few dollars.

First, you’re going to need to build the base of the table! Start by cutting your 4″x4″x 8′ boards with your miter saw to 40″ with 50° angle cuts on both ends. The boards should be 40″ point to point as shown in the picture below.
Next, you’re going to need to cut chunks out of the center of the boards so that they interlock into each other and make one x shape. To do this, find the center of each board, which if you’re following this exactly, will be 20″ because our boards are 40″. Once you have the center of the boards marked with a pencil, lay them on the ground, one on top of the other until the middles of each board are lined up perfectly. Double and triple check by measuring that they are perfectly even and then with a pencil trace where the two boards meet together on each board. Always remember to wear your safety glasses and dust mask!

Next, lay your board on your miter saw and adjust the blade to match the angle you traced on your board. Most miter saws let you adjust the depth to which it will let you cut. If your miter saw has this feature, then set it to exactly half of the 4″ board at 2″ deep and make a bunch of little cuts where you traced. Once you make a bunch of small cuts, you can break the slices of the board out and use a chisel to clean up whatever didn’t break out as shown above. Repeat the process with the other board. If your miter saw doesn’t have the depth adjustment feature, you can mark the 2″ on your board and make the cuts very carefully, making sure you don’t cut past your mark.

Using wood glue and 2″ wood screws, screw the two pieces together with the screws on the side that will face the inside of the table (you can pick whichever side looks best to face the outside).

Next, cut two 2″x4″x8′ boards for the top and bottom with the same 50° angle on each as well as two 8″ pieces for the feet. Attach the 2″x4″ pieces you cut to the x brace with glue and wood screws. Repeat this whole process to make the second leg for the table. Take your electric sander with 220 grit sandpaper and give both of your legs a good sanding to smooth them out and make them look nicer because these boards can tend to be kind of rough. You won’t regret this process! it will make your table look a lot more expensive in the end. Definitely don’t forget your safety glasses and dust mask! Whenever i get impatient and forget them i always regret it.

Next, cut three of your 2″x4″x8′ boards down to 5′ and using a kreg pocket hole kit, drill four pocket holes on each side of each 5′ board, two pocket holes per side of each board. In addition, cut three 2.5′ pieces from the same 2’x4′ boards. The 2.5′ pieces do not need pocket holes in them. Sand all of these pieces with your electric sander.

Attach the three 5′ boards to each leg as shown in the picture above. One attached in the middle of each x and the other two on either side of the top of each leg, 2.5′ apart and flush with the top. Next, attach your smaller 2.5′ boards in between the two top 5′ boards, but attach them horizontally instead of vertically. Screw in each board from the outside 5′ boards into the ends of the smaller 2.5′ boards as shown above. The 2.5′ boards will act as braces for your table top boards. Now the base of the table is done!

Next, build the table top! Take all six of your 3/4″x 8″x 8″ boards and cut them all down from 96″ to 90″, making sure they are all exactly the same length! Now take a good look at each side of each board and decide which side you will want to be the top of the table and lay each board face down so the top of the table is facing the floor. Cut two 4′ pieces of your 2’x4′ boards and place them on either end of your 6 table top boards and using some wood glue and screws, attach the them to each end. Flip your table top over so the top side is facing upwards.Next, with your miter saw cut two of your three 3/4″x2.5″x 8′ boards to 90″ with 45° angles at each end and attach them to each of the long sides of the table top using wood glue and a nail gun with 1.5″ nail brands. Cut the other 3/4″x 2.5″x 8″ board to two 48″ pieces with 45° cuts and attach them to the ends of the table the same way. Take your electric sander and give the table top a good even sanding, making sure to round the edges slightly so they aren’t so sharp. Place the table top onto the table base and position it so there is an even amount of distance on all sides of the table and screw the table top onto the base by using 1 3/4″ screws and screwing them through the 1.5′ horizontal brace pieces that are a part of the base, up into the table top. It’s important to use the correct length screw because you don’t want them to be too long and come out the top of the table!

Make a mixture of equal parts white flat paint and water and mix thoroughly and wearing some rubber gloves, take a rag and dip it in your paint and water mixture and rub evenly into the entirety of the table to create a white washed look. Repeat this if the first coat isn’t quite white enough. Once the paint and water mixture is dry, take satin polyurethane and paint it onto the entire table and let dry for the brands recommended time and then do one or two more coats on the table top just to give it a the maximum chance of avoiding staining from the inevitable spilled glass of wine. Once completely dry, take your 400 grit sandpaper and by hand, lightly sand the whole table to smooth out the rough polyurethane. This will give your table a perfectly smooth finish that feels very expensive! if your table is going to be on hardwood or tile and not carpet or a rug, put some felt furniture pads on the bottom of the feet. That’s it, your table is done!

If you use our DIY to build a table, we’d LOVE TO see it! Please tag us in a photo on Instagram! This is a large project, but it’s well worth it for the huge savings and chance to customize it with your perfect stain color.

Sources: Mirror/Rejuvenation, White Chairs/Amazon, Teak Wood Chair/Lulu & Georgia,Wallpaper/Juju Papers, Console Table/West Elm.

xx! Elsie + Collin

I’ve gotta say—this project was not as difficult as I had built it up to be in my mind. Whew! Such a relief at how straightforward it was. It’s even a project you can do in one day! However, I also must say, I didn’t do it perfectly, which is a bit of a bummer for a detail-oriented person such as myself. But I think it turned out pretty well for my first try at this type of upholstery. I certainly learned a few things along the way that will help me next time, and help you your first time! Read on to learn how to make your own upholstered waterfall bench.

Materials:
-2 pieces of 2x8x7 lumber (I used poplar) to make a 55″ long bench. Use shorter pieces of wood for a shorter bench.
-3″ construction screws (I used 12 of these)
–Wood glue
-2 1/2 yards of heavyweight upholstery fabric
-2 1/3 yards of 16″ wide 2″ thick foam (this is a standard piece of foam that can be trimmed to fit)
–3/8″ T50 staples
-Chipboard tack strip
-Metal tack strip
-Furniture glides (I used 6 of this type)

Tools:
–Chop saw
-2 Long clamps (able to span at least 15″)
–Carpenter’s square
–Power Drill
-Staple gun (this electric one is so handy and easy to use!)
–Electric carving knife
-Rubber mallet

Tool Workarounds

Don’t have a chop saw? Don’t worry! You can still complete this project without one. Most lumber yards or hardware stores will make cuts for you, and sometimes without a charge. Likewise, if you don’t have long clamps, you can do what I used to do before I invested in clamps—simply use duct tape stretched tightly to hold your wood while the glue dries.

Step One: To make a 55″ long bench (like mine), you will need each of your two 2×8 boards cut into the following lengths: two 13.5″ long pieces; one 55″ long piece. That will give you a total of four 13.5″ long pieces and two 55″ long pieces of wood.

Step Two: Right now your pieces of wood are only 7.5″ wide. You will want to edge glue the pieces together so they become 14.5″ wide. Squeeze wood glue onto the edge of one 13.5″ board and connect it to another piece of the same size. Clamp them together for at least 10 minutes, allowing the wood to dry. It’s a good idea to wipe away any seeping wood glue before it dries. Repeat this for another pair of 13.5″ pieces as well as the pair of 55″ pieces.

After this step is complete, you will have two 14.5″x13.5″ pieces of wood for the legs of your bench and one 14.5″x55″ piece of wood for the top of your bench.

Step Three: Apply wood glue to the top of your bench legs and attach them to the bench top. As you clamp the pieces together, make sure that the legs are perfectly square with the top. Use a carpenter’s square to verify this as you tighten the clamps.

Step Four: Make sure the legs are clamped for about 10 minutes before removing clamps. Next, drill pilot holes and countersink the holes so the screws will be recessed into the wood as they’re drilled into place. In the top right image, you can see that I have countersunk the top two holes.

You can drill the holes while the wood is clamped or after the clamps have been removed. But I do recommend screwing together the wood before the glue has completely dried.

Step Five: Drive the screws into place before the glue from step three has cured. If you countersunk the holes, the screws should not stick out proud of the bench top. If they’re sticking up, take them out immediately and countersink the holes.

Step Six: Lay out your foam across the top of the wood bench and trim the foam to fit the width and length of the bench. Use an electric carving knife along the edge of the bench to trim the foam. My parents only get out their carving knife when it’s Thanksgiving or when I’m doing an upholstery project!

Step Seven: Cut a 30″ wide strip of your upholstery fabric to staple across the top of your bench. Begin by stapling it to the bottom of one leg as shown above left. Then stretch it super tight and staple to the other leg. I used a piece of quilt batting between the foam and fabric, because I happened to have extra quilt batting on hand. But I don’t think it’s necessary for this project as long as you’re using heavyweight fabric.

After securing each end, work your way around until all of the fabric is tightly stapled onto the underside of the bench. Use the weight of your body on the upside-down bench to squish the foam down, allowing for a tighter upholstery job. At the corners, try to make neat folds as the fabric wraps around the foam.

Step Eight: Cut a 16″ wide strip of fabric for the underside of the bench. Laying the fabric face-down, staple the kraft upholstery tack strip right up to the edge of your bench. This will make a nice, crisp edge for the underside of the bench upholstery (as seen below left). Attach the middle section (not the legs) and stop. Complete the next step before doing the tack strips on the legs.

Step Nine: Flip the fabric so that the nice side is now positioned up. Look how nice that edge is, thanks to the tack strip! This next part is the trickiest. You’ll need to take your metal (or spiked kraft strips, in my case) tacking strips and poke the spikes through your fabric that slightly overhands the edge of your bench, as shown above right. If you leave any slack in your fabric (as I accidentally did), then you’ll end up with wrinkles in the fabric.

Step Ten: Flip the tack strip under and gently begin pounding along its length with a rubber mallet until all of the staples are punched into the wood bench.

Repeat steps 8-10 for the legs of the bench as well. When you get to the bottom of the legs, use another spiked tack strip to tuck under the raw edges of the fabric at the feet.

Step Eleven: Finish the feet of the bench with some plastic furniture gliders. I thought three for each side seemed to do the trick nicely.

You can see in the above image that I didn’t quite stretch my fabric tightly enough when attaching the spiked tack strips in step nine. Next time, I’ll be more careful in this step. But overall I think it looks pretty good for my first time doing a completely finished upholstery project!

This bench makes a great entryway seat, coffee table, or resting spot for the foot of a bed. And by resting spot, I mean resting spot for clothes that didn’t quite make it to the hamper, right?! If you don’t have space for a 55″ wide bench, simply use shorter boards for the middle, and save money on lumber! I think it would also be nice to make a set of two small, matching benches. What color would you choose for your fabric? – Mandi

Credits//Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

Sometimes it can be frustrating when a style you like begins to trend, because it often leads to an over-saturation thanks to places like Target, and, well … people like us bloggers!

But you’ve got to admit—having so many options available that align with your personal style sure is convenient. Sometimes, though, I still feel the need to get crafty and make my own furniture and home accessories, like these easy caned candle holders.

Caning is the flat reed material (from the rattan family) that is cut into thin strips and woven into an intricate webbing like you see here, or sometimes done in a simpler webbing like a basic mesh.

You can buy caning at most fabric shops and at many online retailers like Amazon or caning specialty shops. I happen to have a set of vintage Cesca chairs with caned seats that have somehow withstood the test of toddler knees, but I’m still leery of using the material anywhere that will see a lot of wear and tear.

Caning is a fragile material that will give way after repeated direct pressure, so I thought layering the caning over glass would be a great way to keep it from getting beat up.

Related: How to Make Candles – Beginner’s Guide

Supplies:
-Glass hurricane candle holders (like this or this)
–Hot glue gun + hot glue sticks
–Caning in style of your choice
–Flat oval reed in 1/4″ width
-Sharp scissors

Step One: Cut a section of the caning to fit the circumference of your hurricane. My caning came rolled up, so it very easily wrapped around my hurricanes without my having to hold it in place.

Step Two: After the width of the caning is cut, trim each piece to the height of each hurricane.

Step Three: Use a hot glue gun to attach the caning at the seam. Don’t overdo it on the glue, or it will seep out and become visible.

Step Four: Trim pieces of flat reed to wrap around the top, bottom, and along the seam of the caning.

You’ll need three pieces for each hurricane. Trim them a bit longer than what you think you’ll need at first. You can trim them more precisely in the next step.

Step Five: Use hot glue to attach the flat reed across the top and bottom of the hurricanes as well as along the seam. As you get to the end of each strip, trim the edges to fit perfectly in place.

You may want to use masking tape to hold the glue in place as you work your way around the perimeter of the hurricane.

I love the texture and warmth that these candle holders add to my coffee table display! I think it would be really fun to utilize the rest of my caning to make an entire set. They’d make a dramatic dining table centerpiece, don’t you think?

You didn’t think I’d finish this post without dubbing this project with the most obvious pun ever, did you?

These hurri-caned candle holders are so easy to make, and would be a great craft night with friends. Everyone bring your own jars and cane puns! – Mandi

P.S. Check out 15 Easy Fall Decor DIYs (Budget-Friendly) for more ideas!