Fire Truck Loft Bed

Isn't this great? I love this fire truck loft bed that was built by Jeff McClure using plans he found on AnaWhite.com. It's a fort AND a bed AND a nightstand AND a dresser all in one. 

According to Jeff, "The 'lights' & 'gril' are made of wood and just painted. I used chrome spray paint for the grill and the bumper. The "23" is Hut's birthday so went with that for the truck number. I also bought diamond plate tape on eBay to use as a pinstripe."

That diamond plate pinstrip really is the perfect touch all around the firetruck.

See the hinges on the stairs? Each stair opens for storage.

While the 'bucket' isn't built to hold a child, it makes a great nightstand. Or monkey-holder. Your choice. :)

Check out this Fire Station Boys Room featured on Design Dazzle.

DIY: Dance Floor for a Teen Party

 I love this idea of an inexpensive dance floor for the backyard. What a great way to let your kids party the way they want to party in your own backyard! Kristen from My Covered Bridge came up with this idea for her daughter's sweet sixteen celebration. She explains, "We looked into renting a floor - but it was about $300 just for a small one.  That seemed way too expensive.  So we started doing research on making our own.  We googled many homemade floors but couldn't really find anything we liked so we decided to just wing it." Apparently Kristen is very good at "winging it" because this dance floor looks terrific!

The dance floor was constructed from 8 1" sheets of flakeboard that were primed with a coat of Kilz oil based primer.  Then came a coat of Valspar Prom Pink (how perfect is that name?) in semi gloss. Kristen's daughter painted the circles using some of her favorite colors with a touch of glitter.

The dance floor was assembled using furring strips and deck screws.

An evening out dancing under the stars sounds magical and I sure it's a night Kristen's daughter will never forget. 

Thanks for sharing! You can this project and more on Kristen's blog, My Covered Bridge. 

Baby Nursery: Repurposed And Handmade

This fun little birdie nursery does a wonderful job bringing the joy of playing in the woods inside and also repurposing many items. Casey from Kidspired Creations finally was able to decorate for her little girl after having two boys!  I'm especially loving the burlap alphabet hanging. The crib is special being giving to Casey when she was a baby (from grandma) and now is serving her own baby. Check below for the details on the repurposed and handmade items.

Repurposed finds:

a.  PICTURE FRAMES turned ARTWORK:  30% off at Kirkland's:  scrapbook paper birds instead of pictures

b.  WOODEN FRAME turned WINDOW:  $13 from the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby!

     LETTERS:  50% off from Hobby Lobby:  wrapped in yarn with hand-made burlap flowers.

c.  1/2 of a WOODEN CHAIR turned SHELF:  Antique store find:  $4!  

Cashier:  "You do realize you're missing most of this chair?"  Why, yes.  Who needs a seat anyway?

d.  BIRD CAGE HOOK turned BOW HOLDER:  30% off at Hobby Lobby; hot glue + 3 ft. of ribbon = bow holder!

Handmade touches:

a.  BURLAP ALPHABET:  hand-stitched yarn letters on dark/natural burlap, then spray glued on a piece of cream burlap, hung by a branch found in our back yard

b.  GLIDER COVER:  Thanks to You Tube and several long-distance phone calls to my aunt, I learned to sew.  I recovered this glider that before had a very boy-specific cover.

c.  BLANKET:  Pinterest-inspired

d.  PAINTING:  I painted this months before I was even pregnant.  Perfect painting of a "seasoned tree" giving fruit to a new, spring tree... I think it represents me and my daughter.

e.  BURLAP CURTAINS:  Just cut and hang, pretty much!  The only hand-stitching I did was to re-enforce the holes for the tree branch rod so the burlap wouldn't fall apart there.

f.  BABY BUMPER:  Using the same materials as the blanket, I recovered the boys' old crib bumper to save money.
    PILLOW LETTERS:  Hand-made by my super talented Aunt Barbar.

Such a cute idea with the frame, branches and letters over the crib.For many more details on this baby nursery visit Kidspired Creations!

Headboard Ideas for Girls Rooms

This room shows that you never know where you will stumble upon inspiration for your next super sweet  room. The garden gate headboards decorated with large, adorable flowers really stand out from the pale grassy colored walls and the crisp white of the quilts. This room is simply charming.

The quote and shelf makes for a simple yet darling headboard look.

Sweet dreams ornate girls headboard

Chalkboard love.

Artwork directly above the headboard serves as a "headboard" look. The block of paint Benjamin Moore Deco Rose draws your eye to the beautiful artwork. More room photos showing the Robin's egg blue Sherwin Williams Cay paint color.

Boards painted to create a sweet simple darling headboard.

 Fabric and Diginet Cable (IKEA) create a unique headboard in this teen room.

Embroidered monogram headboard.

Silhouette headboard featured on a reality show.

DIY: Princess Castle Headboard.

Tutorial: Repurposed Dresser To Bench!

Do you remember this beauty... a refurbished dresser made into a bench? Can you see the possibilities... entryway bench, porch bench, playroom bench, bedroom bench, etc.  Paul Smith of Shabby Chic Dressers shares with us the step-by-step tutorial on how to make a bench from an old dresser.

A friend of my wife sent me this link from here of a dresser that was repurposed into an entry-way bench. I was then asked to make a bench for my wife… The photos just showed the before and after. I had no idea what to do, so I learned as I went. This tutorial should save you some time. Or at least give you a game plan… 

Step 1: Locate a 6 drawer dresser about 50-54 inches wide. You don’t want to go much wider.  You also want it to be decorative on the bottom. 

Step 2: Remove all of the drawers and set them aside. You will need to replace 2 on the bottom later. The other four can be repurposed. Carefully remove the top of the dresser. There will be screws that can be accessed from the inside where the top two drawers were. Carefully set the top aside. You will use it later as the bench seat. 

Step 3: Cut away the interior framework for the top four drawers. This will be the future seating area. In the photo below you will notice the existing board running horizontal above the bottom drawers and a vertical board in the center. I took the photo before trimming the vertical board flush with the horizontal board (so the bench seat will sit flush).

  Step 4: Remove the flimsy back of the dresser and replace it with ¼” plywood. 

Step 5: Attach 1” x 4” pine boards along the back on the bottom to the existing board that was visible in the photo in step 4. Also notice the 2 x 4 section added to each side. (See photos above and below). 

Step 6: Create 4 “L” shapes out of 2 x 4’s and attach them under the existing horizontal board. 

 The “L” 2 x 4’s rest on both the existing and added 1 x 4’s along the bottom and attach to the underside of the existing horizontal board. Put in screws through the plywood into the vertical 2 x 4’s from the back. Then attach 2 “L” brackets on each vertical and horizontal 2 x 4 intersection to provide more strength. See example below.

  
Step 7: Attach 2 “L” brackets on each of the back corners of the bench. 

Step 8: After trimming the former dresser top, place it onto the seat support.  
Then run screws through the existing seat support into the bench seat from the bottom up. 4 screws should be sufficient to hold the bench seat in place. 

Step 9: Because 2 x 4’s were added, the original bottom drawers did not fit. For the dresser I worked on, the 2 original top drawers were shallower than the other 4 drawers. So I used the top 2 drawers as the bottom drawers. But first I had to take the small drawer fronts off the top drawers and replace them with the larger fronts from the other drawers.

  
We chose to create upholstered cushions to go around the sides and back of the bench. Cut sections of plywood left over from the back of the bench to make supports for the foam and fabric.

  

I marked 'up' arrows on the back of each cushion because the clean uncut edges of the foam were at the top of each cushion. I used an electric staple gun. If you don’t have one, borrow one. It’s hard enough getting the staples into plywood with the electric gun… 


Step 10: Step back and enjoy the finished bench! 

Thank you Paul for the great step-by-step instructions. 

Here is another fun repurposing project I featured a couple of years ago: a headboard turned into a bench.

Pinterest Contest: $500 for YOU & $500 for ME!

Design Dazzle is partnering with Homes.com to participate in a contest called Spring Into The Dream Pinterest Contest. And guess what??? If I win, one of my readers who creates a pinboard with the Spring into the Dream theme will win a $500 visa gift card. So, $500 for You and $500 for ME!!
Several other fabulous bloggers are also participating. Make sure to visit them and enter your Pinterest board in their comment section for more chances to win!

I was asked the question, "What does Spring into the Dream mean to you?" 

It means...

 

 Keeping the "ing" in Spring...

"Spring into the Dream" means to refine, bring order, warmth, comfort, tending and love into my home, surroundings and outdoors during a favorite time of year...Spring!!

AND to DREAM BIG While I'M AT IT!!! (isn't that what Pinterest is for?)

Source

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 Cleaning: Spring is synonymous with cleaning. You will most likely never find my home with completely dust-free baseboards or always sparkling windows but it's a great time of year to do spring cleaning.

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  Organizing: Hhhmmmm let's just say I'm working on it ; ) This would be a BIG dream, a VERY big dream.

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Homekeeping: keeping your home looking its best (presentation). Paint touch ups or completely new paint for a fresh look keeps your home at its best. Basic home repairs such as sealing stone counters or floors keep your home looking spot on. It's always an ongoing process.

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 Decorating: Doesn't need to be a major overhaul for spring. But, flowers, new pillows, artwork or curtains can certainly add some oommpphh!  COLOR never hurt anyone! Loving the painted floors.

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Gardening: Pure beauty! Does this get anymore spring?

 

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Cooking: Pink pretzels SCREAM spring. So do spring vegetables and fruits : ) 

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Partying: The dilema I have is... do I throw a party after the cleaning or do I clean, organize, homekeep, decorate, garden and then PARTY?? Spring time is for family and friends to come over for entertainment and fun! 

Party + Spring = Partying

Take a look at my Spring into the Dream pinboard

See how much fun it is to create your own Spring Dream? 

Here is what you need to do to enter...

1. Create a “Homes.com Spring into the Dream” pinboard on Pinterest. On this board you need to do the following...

•   Two repins from Homes.com’s “Spring into the Dream” board
•   Two pins from articles on Homes.com blog. And any other pins you would like to include       related to the “Spring into the Dream” theme 
•   Be sure to include the hashtag #springintothedream on all pins on your Pinterest board 

2. Follow Homes.com on Pinterest

3. Provide a link to YOUR "Spring into the Dream" pinboard below in the comment section. How else will we know you entered unless you do this step???

4. Have fun and pin whatever Spring into the Dream means to you!

 The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 25, 2012. I did not receive any compensation for this post.

Happy Pinning!!