Weekend D.I.Y.

A weekend D.I.Y. project can be fun, frustrating and rewarding all at the same time. This weekend we worked on a project that has taken months to prepare.

For those who don’t know us, we have spent years working on completing our first floor. Hauling in beams, drywall, ceiling, bar and workout room has taken us years. Last year we finished my workout room or “Zen Den”. This has brought the big projects on the first floor to an end.

A few years ago we started working on the upstairs. Carpet was torn up and hardwood went down. The living room became the dining room. Slowly but surely we have been renovating our second floor.

This weekend we wanted to replace some more modern lights over our kitchen island with a more rustic lighting fixture. We spent months gathering the items we wanted to use. This weekend we finally had everything we needed.

Weekend D.I.Y. Before

In the picture above you can see our island with our modern silver pendant lights. It is at this island that the Country Fox Blog is often written. I am sitting there right now in fact.

The lights are nice and functional, but they do clash with the style of the rest of the upstairs. As you will see in later pictures we use beams, barn wood, old doors and antiques in much or our decor.

The Prep Phase

The beam is old barn wood. The ladder was found at an antique store. It is an old painters ladder, paint and all. Antique pulleys we purchased off Ebay. Insulators from old telephone poles that were found twenty or so years ago. A set of old hooks and rope (not shown) were provided by my in-laws. New lighting kits and light bulbs were purchased at Lowe’s.

Weekend D.I.Y. Project Start

We began by finding the correct breaker in the breaker box. This step is super important if you don’t want to be electrocuted. Since electrocution was not on our to-do list, we flipped the beaker and began removing the original lights. These lights will be stored and may be repurposed.

Next we had to find the joist so that we could attach the barn wood board. Attaching this securely will help displace the weight of the rest of the project.

Why are joists so hard to find….

The project started out smoothly until one of the joists seemed to disappear. The board was attached at one end, but the other end was another problem. A few choice curse words were used. Then out of desperation, we began drilling holes in the ceiling to find the joist. This will require patch work, but not much.

The board was completely removed from the ceiling. Many more holes were drilled and I do believe I caught sight of a few sailors blushing at the fluent use of foul language. Eventually, some good joists were found and the barn wood went into place.

Hook and Pulley

After a quick lunch, we were back at the project. The insulators were the next item. We drilled a hole and screwed in the insulators. The hooks slid into place. The pulleys were placed on the hooks.

Hanging the Ladder

Pulleys in place meant it was time for the ladder. First, we needed to spend some time deciding how to knot the rope on to the ladder. After a few practice runs we found a knot that worked. I held the ladder and Jason tied the knots. We used a level to make sure that the ladder wasn’t going to be wonky.

And then there was light.

The lighting wasn’t too bad, but a little time consuming. We wrapped the pendant lights around the ladder and spaced the lights appropriately. Where the wiring comes together a small wooden box will be placed over it. This will help keep things tidy and nice.

Weekend D.I.Y. Project End

This project took most of the day to complete. However, we are thrilled with how it turned out. While we used a few new items, it was lots of fun to incorporate old and antique items.

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Interested in finding items that can be repurposed in your own weekend D.I.Y. projects? You can visit: Mayberry Woodshed, Frye’s Antiques, Sun-Kissed Country, or Nomadic Trading.