DIY veneer stair treads
This post contains affiliate links.
Stairs are a difficult thing to figure out how to finish when installing laminate flooring throughout your home. Do you leave them carpeted? Do you use the overlap stair nose and use laminate on the steps? How about the “retread” option that sits on top of the existing treads? Or, do you shell out the big bucks and use the new aluminum sub-profiles that allow for a flush nose with laminate? What we found was the best option, for our budget of course, was to only use the sub-profile option at the landings and on the two steps leading into our living room and kitchen. On the actual staircase we went a different route, to save $1,500.
I didn’t want the steps to be bare wood, as we have dogs and kids that run up and down the stairs all day, and I wasn’t keen on the injuries that would ensue from having no carpet. When I worked for a custom home builder back in the day, many homeowners would do a faux wood tread look. Having only the stained wood portion for about 5 inches on either side of the step, and then carpet would be attached down the middle like a runner, but it was not wood underneath, just the particle board. I figured I could do something like this for our steps. I looked for a way to use the retro-fit treads and cut them down to be 5 inches wide. However, then we would have to hire our someone to carpet the middle, because a runner possibly wouldn’t have been thick enough to fill the depth. Then, I had a brilliant idea! I could use pressure sensitive veneer to wrap the treads!
I needed extremely thin veneer to be able to bend the veneer around the bullnose of the tread. After much research, I ended up purchasing three rolls of this veneer and a rubber roller. (Sorry, I don’t have the before pics with the carpet. I ALWAYS forget to take them because I am eager to get to work!) Once the carpet was torn up and all the staples were removed, I checked for any bumps or holes that would need fixing before the veneer could go on. After those were addressed, it was time to clean the steps and remove all the debris and fine particulates that could cause problems with the adhesion of the veneer. Crazy as this sounds, each staircase section was a different width; we have U-shaped stairs. So, each section required different widths of veneer to be cut.
The veneer comes in rolls, so I would unroll it and cut my strips, using sharp scissors, perpendicular to the grain of the veneer so that it could bend around the bullnose. The riser was a separate piece from the tread. For instance, I would cut a strip 6 inches wide off the roll, then cut that piece into two pieces one for the tread and one for the riser. This ensured that each piece was the exact width to match the treads and risers where they met. This stuff won’t move around once it touches the step, so I had to be very careful there were no gaps when lining it up against the stair stinger. Then I used the rubber roller to press it down firmly to the tread and riser. When I wrapped the bullnose, I would start from the edge of the tread and then use my hand to press the veneer against the bullnose as it wrapped around, to get a tight fit with no air bubbles or gaps. The grain of the veneer would just barely split on the curves, and I mean, just barely, so I gently hit them with a 120grit sandpaper and smoothed out the edges. Worked like a charm!
Once the veneer was down, all I had to do was give a delicate sanding before staining and sealing with a satin polyurethane. I used an extra fine sanding block, so I wouldn’t accidently remove too much of the veneer surface. Here’s what it looked like after being stained:
Faux Arteriors DIY Chandelier
This post contains affiliate links
You know the feeling when you find a picture of something online and you just have to have it? But, then you go searching to find it, and learn you will NEVER own said item because it cost more than you car (well, mine, maybe not yours). This is exactly what happened to me while scouring the net to find a chandelier for my living room. I had found this Prescott Arteriors Chandelier, and my heart swooned.
I was in love with the dramatic, sculptural style it offered. I loved the glitzy gold, yet it wasn’t overly refined and typical like most lighting. The sad part came when I learned it wasn’t wide enough, only 21″ in diameter… oh, and it cost a cool $1,600. I think my heart stopped when I saw that hefty price tag, as it is literally more than I spent for my car. But, I knew I could still figure out a way to make it! I just needed to devise a plan on how to make it not look like something that was obviously homemade.
My first thought was to buy a large drum shade and put a pendant light inside it. Easy enough, right? However, needing an extra large drum shade made things much more difficult to source and way more expensive when I would find an option that could work. The minimum width I would look for was 32 inches, because I wanted the chandelier to be dramatic and take up some space of the high ceiling. Being a penny pincher, my next idea was to use a round Vittsjo Ikea coffee table I found on Craigslist, cut down the legs to make it shorter, and then drill holes through the legs for chain to hang the light. It totally think this idea would have worked, but thankfully I didn’t have to go that route because I found an oversized 34″ drum pendant light on Craigslist for $40. Made by CB2, it was practically brand new and exactly what I needed. Here is the one I got:
It is $199 brand new, so I was thrilled to get it a more than 75% off. There were a few things to do before it could work for what I needed. 1. The cord and stainless cable had to go- way too modern for what I was going for. 2. It didn’t produce enough light with just a single lightbulb- I’d have to find a way to add lights.
I stripped off the pleated linen outer shell from the drum shade, but I left the diffusing lens at the bottom of the light so you wouldn’t be able to see the inner workings of the light when I was done. I ended up buying another pendant light off Craigslist for $20 to use as the actual light fixture. It had three lights and had hooks where it attached to the bowl, so I could use those to attach to the shade frame. It was similar to this:
After attaching the fixture to the shade, it was ready for the rods that would line the outside of the drum shade. I bought 100 of these 48 inch dowels from Amazon for $55. I decided to cut five different lengths, 20″, 18″, 16″, 14″, and 12″, to make the random staggered pattern. From one stick I would make groups of lengths so I would have the least amount of waste. For instance I could get four 12″ pieces from one stick, one 20″ and two 14″ pieces on one, three 16″ on one, and two 18″ with one 12″. Once I had my cuts made, I affixed them to the shade using hot glue. I had to be careful not to go overboard with the glue or each stick wouldn’t sit flat next to each other. One tip, if you decide to make this, you need far less 20″ pieces compared to the other sizes. I used the 20″ piece once every 15 sticks or so. They were the absolute heights up and down 5″ from the 10″ shade, that way it didn’t get wonky and lopsided. There was no real pattern, I just eyeballed what I thought looked good and went freeform. Here’s how it looked after all the dowels were attached:
Is this the real life? Part 3
This is a four part post. If you need to read part 1 first click here. To read Part 2 click here, or Part 4 click here.
Day 6 After leaving Sweetwaters, we headed out to our next destination of Lake Elementaita, and watched as Mt. Kenya faded from view. One thing to keep in mind when traveling from place to place is that nothing is quick, even for seemingly short distances, unless you are flying. This day we drove for 5 hours or more. We made a lunch stop at Thompson Falls Lodge. When we got out of the van, we saw chameleons on the trees, and our drivers grabbed them and handed them to us to hold! The wait to order took FOREVER, and I should probably be called the Hangry Traveler (trademark coming…haha), because I don’t do well going a long time without food. To pass the time we walked down to the waterfall to snap some photos, but there was a caveat to our plan of keeping me distracted. This is where being hangry did me in. To get to the platform so you can see the waterfall, you have to pay a fee. It wasn’t cheap, I wasn’t happy. Then, we start taking pictures, and some faux Maasai street swindlers walked up with chameleons at put them in my boys’ hands. Then they asked if they wanted us to take a picture with them, to which we said yes, of course, not knowing their sneaky plan. Afterward, they asked for money, they had my camera, what were we to do? My husband started to get out some money, and he had a stack of cash to pull from to find a nominal amout to give them to be fair. Instead they grabbed to whole lot right from his hand. I was fuming mad, but when you are in a foreign country, what can you do? It put a HUGE damper on my day, and ate into our travel budget, for a mere 5 minutes to look at a waterfall. Now you know, so you don’t get taken. Travel tip: Don’t think anyone won’t take you for all you have for their little street act. Just say no.
Is this the real life? Part 2
This is a four part post. If you need to read part 1 first, click here. To read Part 3 click here, or Part 4 click here.
Day 3 began with an air of excitement. We were headed to our first safari camp in Nanyuki, which is located on the equator. Unfortunately, it was a three hour drive, so our excitement had to wait. I snapped some photos as we drove along the highway. Historically, Nairobi grew overnight, from a swamp to a major city, due to a railway being built through it to connect Mombasa to Uganda. It had very little time to set up good government, infrastructure, and buildings, considering this rapid growth rate. It is a peculiar city, where 1st world and 3rd world collide. I talked a lot with our driver, Shadrack, or Shaddy, as he preferred to be called, on these long days of driving. He told me how the police were not always trustworthy and could stop you to give you a ticket for any reason, but then extort you into giving them cash so they don’t send you to jail. Shaddy said they especially target tourist vans, because they know they are an easy target for a lot of money. Along with dealing with police stops, people stood in the middle of the highway and sold their wares and produce to travelers. It was absolutely a culture shock for me.
Is this the real life? Part 1
This post is broken up into 4 parts. Read part 2 here, part 3 here, or part 4 here.
If you had told me as a child that I would go to Africa one day, I probably would have believed you. Ok, so not a good example. Let me try that again. If you had told me as a child I would marry my life-long crush (since 5yrs old), and years later head off on a sixteen day excursion to Kenya to see where his dad grew up, with our entire family in tow, I probably would have thought you were crazy. But that is exactly what happened in October of 2017!
As you may know, we live in Colorado, so Kenya is quite literally on the other side of the world. It took 20+hours over 3 flights to arrive in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. We arrived late in the evening, which made it a bit easier to get settled in and get some sleep.
Day 1 supplied no time to rest and relax, as we took a small AIM charter plane from Nairobi to Kisumu. I am actually terrified of flying, so heading out on this small piece of machinery, whilst jet-lagged, didn’t sit well with me. Our pilot, Chris, told me if I sat co-pilot, it would be the best for my uneasiness, so I enjoyed the best views and least bumpiest flight from my seat.
Kisumu is the closest airport to Nyakach, the village of my dad-in-love’s family home. During the time we were there, major riots and protests were happening all over due to a corrupt election that had occurred. It was dangerous to be out in the major city areas where these riots were taking place, and I was thankful for our drivers who came out to take us anyway. The drive took about 2 hours, on a small two lane highway, and bumpy dirt roads. This gave me lots of time to soak in the sites, smells, and sounds of this new land all around me. The first thing to strike me was Maasai herdsmen driving their cattle or goats right along the sides of the highway. At one point, we had to stop for a herd of cattle to cross the road. I learned quickly that in Kenya vehicles stop for livestock. A sheep resting out in the road caused traffic to come to a total halt at one point. No one really seemed put off, this was just daily life for them. The next thing that caught my eye was how people got around. Motorcycles were loaded up to the max; goats in the crate strapped behind the rider, along with his passengers, or a full size sofa tied on the back of another. There rarely were the SUVs or full size trucks we see everywhere in the States. When people saw us in the car, they would shout, “Mzungu!”, meaning “white man”, as it is not a normal site to see fair-skinned people in these places.
A Visit to the Oregon Coast
For our 10th anniversary, in September of 2015, my husband and I traveled to the Oregon coast. I had been planning this trip for months, feverishly scouring all the tourist attractions and destinations to figure out what we would definitely not want to miss. We almost missed our flight out from Denver, and so the trip had started off on a bad note, but we were not going to let this dampen our spirits. It was our first real trip away, sans kids, and we were very excited to enjoy our time alone, soaking in the quietness and solitude you don’t often find with two boys wrestling around and ravaging our home. Don’t get me wrong, their vigor for life is great, but you know it is necessary to press pause on the routines of daily life, and get away to be refreshed, from time to time. And, it seemed like after ten years, it was about time! Ha!
A bit of history
For those of you who are new to this site, I am so glad you are here! I want to share a bit about myself so you can get to know a little about me. I am a born and bred Colorado native, and yes, we do still exist! In fact, my husband is one as well. We live in Parker, Colorado, an old country town turned rapidly expanding suburbia, just southeast of Denver. I am a mom to two handsome fellas that keep me humble and make me proud all at the same time. I homeschool them, which gives us a lot of freedom to travel, do projects, and experience the world around us during the school year. It isn’t always a walk in the park here; we know life brings storms as well as sunshine. We are held together by our faith in Jesus, and he will never let us down. I hope you enjoy your time here on 31 Downing Street!
31 Downing Street 