DIY IKEA Hemnes Pantry Cabinet

How to turn an IKEA Hemnes cabinet in a pantry and give it a custom high-end look with antique mirror window film.

Kitchen Pantry 2.0

That should really be the title of this post.  I know the minimalist lifestyle is cool and all.  And half of the world lives with probably a quarter of the size of our kitchen with no problem.

But y’all!  I don’t know how they do it.  Our kitchen was in dire need of better pantry storage, so I decided on a do-over.

Maybe it’s because we entertain a lot and cook 95% of our meals at home.  We’ve made it work up until this point by stuffing chip bags, canned goods, and ingredients on two little shelves in our laundry room cabinet.  I even came up with a handy dandy storage system in an upper kitchen cabinet.

After a year, it still wasn’t working.

And the more we thought about it, the more we realized this coffee bar on the far wall of our kitchen really wasn’t being utilized to its full potential.

So… plot twist!  We hauled that baby outta here.

Also, spoiler alert: If something isn’t functioning well for you and your family in your home, don’t be afraid to change it.  What’s so great about something looking pretty if it’s wasting space?

On to Plan B, which entailed putting together a bajillion and a half IKEA pieces to build two IKEA Hemnes cabinets.

DIY IKEA Hemnes Pantry Cabinet

Supplies Used:

(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)

• 2 IKEA Hemnes glass front cabinets
• Kilz Adhesion Primer
• Cabinet/trim enamel paint in color of choice (We used Behr Marquee enamel satin paint in the color Sherwin Williams Billiard to match our lower kitchen cabinets.)
• Paint brush (I prefer 1 1/5″ angled Purdy brushes)
• Masking liquid (optional but highly recommend)
• Antique mirror window film
• Spray bottle with water and 8 drops of dish soap
• Scissors
• Sharpie
• Credit card or squeegee
• X-acto knife
• Paper towels or clean, dry rags

The Steps:

1. Find someone who will geek out at putting the cabinet together for you. Just kidding.  Kind of.  Robert loves putting together IKEA furniture, and I think he’s a total weirdo for it.    According to him, they’re like giant LEGO.  Whatever you gotta tell yourself, man.

2. Follow these steps for painting IKEA furniture to prevent scuffs and chips.  Laminate is tricky business to paint.

The key is definitely a good primer like Kilz Adhesion.

3. Once the primer and paint dried on the cabinet, I did the same thing on the glass front cabinet doors.

BUT little tip that I wish I hadn’t skipped:  Brush masking liquid on the glass before painting.  I’ve used it for painting French doors before (you can see the how-to here) and it makes painting around glass so much easier and faster.  Just peel the masking liquid off of the glass once it’s dry, and the paint pulls right up with it.

I painted the glass doors thinking I would just scrape up the paint on the glass with a razor later for a clean edge. Nope!  That stuff was on there.  (This is why I’m the guinea pig, y’all. Taking one for the team here. Welcome to life as a blogger making it up as we go.)

So I had to do the next step with dried paint still stuck on the glass, and it made the job a tad tricky.

4. To hide all of the food that will be stored in the cabinets later, I found this window film that looks so much like a real antique mirror finish!

I knew it would tie in our stainless steel appliance colors on the cabinet with the rest of the kitchen as well as bounce light from the window on the opposite side of the room to brighten up this dark interior wall.

You can follow this video to install the film if you need a better visual.

5. First, measure the width and height of the glass panel on the cabinet front and add 1 inch to each measurement.

6. Mark the measurements on the backside of the film with a Sharpie and cut with scissors.

7. Lay the film on a flat surface and slowly peel off the backing as you spritz the film with the spray bottle of water/soap solution.  Fully saturate the film.

8. Spray the glass on the cabinet door with the water/soap solution too.

9. Position your window film onto the glass and smooth out any air bubbles starting from the middle and working your way out to the edges with the credit card or squeegee.

10. Trim any excess film with a sharp X-acto knife.  And wipe up any residual water/soap solution with a towel.

Ta da! All done.

I’m still working on getting food moved over from various places all over the kitchen into these cabinets so that it’ll all be in one place.  And hopefully I’ll have a pretty organized system soon once I can wrap my brain around it.

It ties in with our kitchen cabinets so perfectly!  And I love that one day when we have the funds to replace this flooring that we won’t have to demo these cabinets since they aren’t built in.  They are anchored though (which you should always make sure you do).

They look downright fancy for IKEA, huh?

If you’re new around these parts and want to see more of our kitchen refresh from last year, you can check it out here.

Or if you’re an IKEA fanatic like we are, you can check out this post for all kinds of ideas to make IKEA items look designer-y.

So I’m curious, what do y’all do for your pantry situation?  Got any great organizing solutions that work for you?  The inside of these cabinets aren’t nearly as pretty as the outside at the moment, but we’ll get there.

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6 Tips to Decorate a Boring Hallway

DIY and decorating ideas to add interest to a boring window-less hallway + thrifting project tutorials and free printables to pull it off inexpensively.

Here’s the reality:  When we first moved into this house and toured it during the home search process, our upstairs hallway wasn’t exactly on my list of priorities.

I mean… it’s a hallway.  It gets us from A to B.  Nothing to write home about.  (Har har… accidental pun.)

But we walk through our hallway roughly 80 billion times a day (only a sliiiiight exaggeration), so why wouldn’t we give it some love?

This is where it started when we first moved in two years ago.

A whole lotta womp-womp nada happening.  And also a whole lotta beige.

Now, it’s rockin’ this look:

This was the other side of the hallway.

And now:

Isn’t it so much better?!  I can’t get over the difference!  The paint alone makes this space feel so much more airy and bright.

And it really didn’t take that much of an effort to get it all jazzed up.  If you’re suffering from boring-hallway-itis, here’s how to deal…

6 Ways to Decorate a Boring Hallway:

(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)

1. Add interesting lighting

If you’ve never heard of the Magic Light Trick from Nesting With Grace, go do it now!  It makes adding a little wall sconce accent without electricity so easy when you need to brighten up a dark corner of your home.

Swapping out boring ceiling lights with a fancier flush mount helps a bit too.

2. Throw in a plant or two

I have a self-proclaimed black thumb, so I go the fake plant route, but this list of house plants has lots of ideas for ones you can put in your hallway that require little to no sunlight at all.

I swiped this artificial fiddle leaf fig from our living room because it felt more at home in this corner.  And this artificial potted plant I stuck on my DIY piano stool plant stand looks like the real thing even up close.

3. Paint your doors for contrast

Ever since we painted all of our interior doors Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron, I haven’t regretted it for one second!  It makes all of our rooms so much more high end for just the cost of paint.

This hallway has a va-va-voom factor just because of the door color change.

4. Hang large-scale art

The larger your art, the less cluttered your hallway will feel.  Ever since we hung up these free architectural prints, it has made this side of our hallway seem pulled together.

5. Roll out a runner

We added this runner the other day to add some texture and pattern to this space, and it feels so cozy in here now!  I put this rug pad underneath to keep it from slipping and sliding on our hardwood floor.  So far, so good!

6. Go super light or super dark with paint.

Choose a paint color that is very light for a bright, open feel or choose one that is very dark if you want your hallway to feel cozy.  I like picking either the very top or very bottom colors on paint sample strips for a clean, dramatic effect.  Choosing medium shades can sometimes make window-less spaces feel a bit ho-hum.

For our walls this go-round, we painted them Benjamin Moore Classic Gray.  It’s a very light warm gray and looks beautiful in all kinds of lighting without any odd purple or green undertones.

If you want to know about any of the sources in this space, you can see them all here:

• Wall color: Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
• Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron
• Hardwood floor stain: Minwax Provincial
• Runner rug
• Wall sconce
• Semi-flush mount light
• DIY antique brass mirror (tutorial)
• DIY piano stool plant stand (tutorial)
• Vintage Shakespeare book cover art (free printable)
• Architecture art (free printable set)
• Matted frames
• Artificial fiddle leaf fig plant
• Handled seagrass basket
• Artificial potted plant

We still plan to deal with our ceiling a bit more in order to remove our attic fan that likely hasn’t been used in decades, but we’ll cross that bridge eventually.

And that bathroom hidden behind that closed door smack in the middle of this hallway?  It’s looking SO CRAZY ADORABLE I CAN’T STAND IT!  More about that later though.  For now, you can see the progress of that big reno here.

Do y’all have any other hallway decorating ideas you’ve used that you absolutely love?  Share ’em below! I want to know!

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Kids’ Bathroom Renovation Progress

This post is written in partnership with American Standard. Full disclosure here.

This renovation train is chuggin’ right along, y’all!  I never knew I could get so giddy about walls.

We are SO excited to be teaming up with American Standard on this bathroom that has had several issues for a while.  You can see our full plan and vision board in this post.

If you saw our last update, you know we had 60 year old pipes that we discovered were overdue for a full replace, so this project is happening at the perfect time.

Now, this is our view.

We’ve been able to waterproof this entire bathroom to prevent any water issues down the road.  And we’ve now spliced the plumbing from one sink to two, so that we can accommodate for our two little girls. (The eventual resale value perk helps too.)

By the way, pardon the contractor mess.

We are usually all about DIY, but we called in a pro for this one to make sure all of the technical details are done correctly since replacing several feet of pipe and rewiring a room is beyond our comfort zone.

There is still a long way to go, but seeing that gorgeous handmade subway tile already on the wall makes my heart skip a beat!  Love!  It catches the light so beautifully and makes the entire bathroom sparkle.

The project that has me really doing a victory dance though is this shower / tub combo.  It’s from the American Standard Passage Collection, and it is absolutely gorgeous!

I can’t believe it’s not real marble, but I’m really glad we won’t have to worry about the high maintenance aspect of the real stuff later.  I’m pretty sure those shower walls are going to see glitter bath bombs and bathtub markers galore.

We’ll be able to let the girls make their usual messes and won’t even bat an eye.

This is the powder marble pattern, but there are four other natural texture patterns too.

The process of putting it in has been so much faster than the tile in here since they’re just four pre-measured panels installed with adhesive.

For the tub, we used this American Standard Ovation tub for the curved design so that bath time would be extra roomy without stealing too much space from this already narrow bathroom.

In a few days, we’ll be finishing it with grout and installing the faucet trim kit and shower shelf, followed by a whole long list for the rest of the space.

Here is what we still have left to do:

• Floor tile
• Grout
• Vanity table
• Sink
• Toilet
• Crown molding
• Faucets
• Sanding
• Caulking
• Painting
• Light fixtures
• Mirrors
• Art
• Decor

We still have a long way to go, but it’ll be totally worth the wait.

If y’all need us, we’ll be over here dancing (or posing awkwardly?) in the shower.  What? You don’t make spirit fingers in your shower? Weird.

It’s a hot mess around here, and the entire house has basically imploded, but it’s absolutely exhilarating making these big changes finally happen.

I’ll share more progress on my Instagram Stories as well, so keep a lookout!

In the meantime, have you ever lived through a major renovation and learned some helpful tips for survival while your home is turned upside-down?  I’m thinking that would be a great post for later on in case any of you need advice for survival.

Bath time has gotten really interesting for us with the kiddos lately.  Our kitchen sink has been working overtime for the last couple of weeks.

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The Trick to Paint Laminate IKEA Furniture

A 3 step tutorial for painting laminate IKEA furniture to prevent peeling and scuffs and to make your painted finish last for a custom look.

This is one of those the-more-you-know kind of moments.  The post that preaches do-what-I-say-and-not-what-I-do after learning it from the school of hard knocks.

If you’ve hung around this blog for a while, you’re probably fully aware that we have a straight up Stage 5 clinger infatuation with IKEA.

Like these built-in bookcases:

And this dresser:

And this massive shelving system:

And this plate rack:

You get the picture.

I frolic through the mouse maze of build-it-yourself furniture and make corny puns at all of the Swedish names I can’t pronounce.  Good times.

But besides putting your inner-child’s past LEGO building skills to work to put together a basic dresser, there’s one thing they don’t warn you about… painting it.

We’re currently working on a pretty big kitchen project that involves an IKEA cabinet to implement pantry storage that we so desperately need.  (More on that later.)

And I realized I’m asked quite a bit from some of y’all how to paint IKEA furniture without it peeling off of the laminate finish.  So DUN DA DA DUUUUUUN (sung in my best super hero voice)… here we are to save the daaaaaaay!

How to Paint Laminate IKEA Furniture:

Supplies:

(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)

• Liquid Deglosser
• Kilz Adhesion primer
• Benjamin Moore Advance paint (or your preferred brand of enamel-based paint formulated for cabinets/trim)
• A clean, dry rag
• Paint brush and/or mini roller (or a paint sprayer if you want a super smooth, professional looking finish)

The Steps:

1. It’s best to paint all of the pieces before assembly, but that’s up to you really, since it will prolong drying time. Wipe down your pieces with liquid deglosser on a clean rag first and let air dry for about 10-15 minutes.

2. Using your application method (paint, roller, or sprayer) apply a coat of Kilz Adhesion primer.  If you are painting your pieces prior to assembly, flip your pieces to the other side and repeat.

3. Once the primer coat is dry, paint/roll/spray your enamel-based paint onto the primed surfaces.  Depending on your color choice, you might need to apply a second coat.

That’s it!  I know it’s a total pain to go through the prep steps, but it’s so totally worth it.  And I only know this because we’ve skipped the prep work before on some of our previous IKEA makeovers and lived to regret it.

I cannot WAIT to show y’all this kitchen wall pantry cabinet once it’s all finished because it’s looking sooooo good over here. See that little bit of green I’ve started painting on?  Eeeeek!  Dying already!

But until then, I hope this helps!

If you want to save this post to reference later, you can pin it here:

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How to Dress to Hide Mom Belly Pooch

7 fashion tips for hiding postpartum mom bod and belly pooch without looking frumpy along with budget-friendly places to buy them.

Major disclaimer: I am so not a fashion blogger.  If you visit our house unannounced, you will catch me in paint splattered yoga pants and old T-shirts. That’s just a fact.

I won’t even pretend like I’m a fashionista every day. But after you have a baby, there’s just nothing that can make you feel good about your postpartum body again quite like a good ol’ fashion refresh.  That’s the case for me, at least.

My body and I have had a love/hate journey the last 6 years since my first born came along.  You can lose all of the baby weight, but that belly pooch and those widened hips that pushed an 8 pound bowling ball between them aren’t going anywhere.

I had such a hard time loving my body after our first kiddo, but over the years I’ve become so thankful that it was able to carry 2 healthy babes.  I earned my stretch mark tiger stripes, and it’s so easy to take that for granted when I know so many women would give anything for that.

I’ve learned what works in ye ole wardrobe, and now this time around, after having Regan 6 months ago, I feel so much more comfortable in my skin.

After polling you guys on my Instagram Stories a few weeks back, roughly 90% of you wanted a post like this, so I thought I’d share some of my tips for any of y’all who maybe struggle with the same thing… whether you had your baby 6 months ago or 26 years ago or you just aren’t comfortable wearing tummy-skimming clothing, I hope this gives you a little help.

My sizing stats:

5’7″ 160 lbs

Tops – Size M

Pants – Size 8

Shoes – Size 8 1/2 or 9

And pardon the fuzzy cell phone shots.

7 Tips to Dress Postpartum Belly Pooch:

(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)

1. Tie Waist Tops

I love that tie waist is a big trend currently because it is so good at hiding all of the bumps and pooches! Woo to the hoo!

TOP: I got this shirt on Amazon for $19 and got so many compliments when I wore it on Easter.  The subtle print and flowy sleeves make it breezy for spring/summer too.  Wearing a Medium.

JEANS: These jeans are my new favorites for sucking in all of the mom fluff. And I really like the button fly detail. Wearing my usual size 8.

BLOCK HEELS: I am so not a heel wearing girl anymore, but these are so comfy that I was able to wear them even when I was in my last trimester of pregnancy. The block heel makes them feel very sturdy and stable.  Wearing size 8.5 (true to size).

 

2. Maxi Dresses

I lived in maxi dresses during both of my pregnancies, but they’re perfect for transitioning to postpartum too.

DRESS:  I love that this one has vertical stripes and buttons down the front to create the illusion of a long, lean figure. And little bonus: it’s nursing friendly.   It does shrink a bit after washing, so be aware before hemming.  Wearing a Medium.

PEEP TOE HEELS:  These along with the black heels above are really the only two I wear anymore.  They’re so incredibly comfy.  I’ve walked miles in these before without a problem.

 

3. Rouching

Rouched details on dresses and tops rock at hiding midsection fluffiness.

DRESS: This dress was $24 on Amazon and it’s my new favorite for date nights with the hubby!  I love the tie waist to look hourglass-y.  Wearing a Medium.

HEELS: See above.

 

4. Dark Colors

I lived in black and navy for a month solid after having both of my babies since it hides belly bump shadows… and spit-up, breast milk, baby poop.  Ya know, all of that glamorousness.

JUMPSUIT: I never ever thought I’d actually like wearing a jumpsuit, but I’m totally in love with this one I found at Old Navy.  It’s now out of stock, but I’ll link one similar. The tie waist helps accentuate the waist and hide fluffiness.

HEELS:  My tried and true faves again. See above.

 

5. Front Tuck

This little trick is my new best friend. Front tuck eeeeeeverything!  If you want to make long-ish flowy shirts look a little more polished while hiding your tummy, tuck just the front into a pair of mid-waist jeans or shorts.  It makes such a huge difference to camouflage your middle and make you feel less frumpy.

BUTTON-DOWN TUNIC:  I love how breezy and light this tunic feels for warmer weather.  (And it’s nursing/pumping-friendly… woot!) Wearing a Medium.

SHORTS:  Pretty sure I’ll be wearing these green striped shorts all summer. Wearing a size 8, but the pockets bulge on me a little bit and they’re a tad snug, so I would size up.

SANDALS: These flats are so comfy and the metallic detail is fun. Wearing a size 9 (from when I had swollen preggo feet)… they fit true to size but might be too wide if your feet are narrow.

 

6. Wraps/Kimonos/Cardigans

Kimonos paired with basic tees was one of my go-to outfits during my pregnancy, and it’s still my favorite thing postpartum for warmer months.  And in fall/winter, I just layered with thicker long length cardigans instead.

KIMONO: This one is 2 years old and no longer stocked, but I’ll link a similar one.

TEE: I looooove all of the Luxe tees from Old Navy.  They’re so soft, wash well, and fit just loose enough around the middle without being frumpy. Wearing a Medium but size up if you don’t want tummy skimming.  This one is just barely big enough for me.

JEANS: I’m a big fan of high waist Old Navy Rockstar skinnies to suck in all of the mom pooch.  Wearing an 8 but runs a tad large.  I could likely fit into a 6 in these.

HEELS: Old faithful black block heels. See above.

 

7.  Loose tops

Total no-brainer, but I’m a big fan of loose fitting tops and am a sucker for ones that have some sort of fun detail around the bottom hem.

TOP: This one was $18 on Amazon.

JEANS:  Favorites! See tip #1.

SANDALS: See tip #5.

 

How’s that for a totally random, never thought I’d ever share kind of post? Ha!  I’m all for whatever will help y’all though.  And I wish I’d known some of this back in the day when I felt so uncomfortable adjusting to my new #MomBod.

Love that body of yours, mama.  It worked hard to carry those sweet babes, and don’t you ever doubt its beauty for a second.

Would you want to see more budget-friendly fashion type posts in the future?  Just curious.  I can’t decide if this should be a one time thing or not.

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Weekend Sales

Happy Easter weekend, y’all!

The girls have been on spring break all week, and this momma is totally wiped out after a 2 day staycation trip around Charlotte visiting a museum, a zoo, an aquarium, an arcade, taking a quick hike in the woods, along with working on bathroom projects, and visiting friends.

It was worth every second.

At this point, I’m ready to spend these next few days to slow down and soak up all of the family time I can as we thank God for the greatest blessing of all.  And I hope y’all get some restoration this weekend too.

But in case you find yourself sprawled out on the couch scrolling through the Easter weekend sales after a big Sunday dinner, I thought I’d round up a bunch of them for you.  There are some good ones, if you’ve been holding out lately.

I scored through a bunch of them already and picked a few of my favorite home items with some of the best deals for each.  I hope it helps!

(Affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)

Macy’s

• Extra 20% off home and bed & bath sale/clearance items with promo code SALE

 

Anthropologie

• Extra 50% off sale items

 

Joss & Main

• Spring rug sale up to 65% off
• Tax Refund Sale – decor under $20, rugs under $100, beds under $500
• Decor and wall art up to 65% off

 

Walmart

• Up to 35% off home improvement, patio & garden, tools, outdoor power equipment

 

Wayfair

• Up to 70% off outdoor, rugs, and kitchen items

 

Nordstrom

• Up to 50% off home

 

Pottery Barn

• Up to 40% off everything + free shipping with promo code FREESHIP

 

PB Teen

• Up to 50% off furniture, bedding, decor, and more+ free shipping with promo code FREESHIP

 

PB Kids

• 20%-60% off bedroom furniture

 

West Elm

• Up to 40% off bedding & bath, outdoor, coffee & side tables

 

Overstock

• Up to 70% off + free shipping

 

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