One of the projects we wanted to tackle for our dining room in the $100 Room Challenge was an upgraded dog gate. It wasn’t super high on the list of priorities, but it all just came together for only $3.75 so I couldn’t resist.

Update: I’ve gotten a couple irate comments on Pinterest over this gate (even an accusation that I created this so I could laugh when strangers children fell and injured themselves). People claimed that their dogs and/or children would climb it. First: if it’s not for you, you don’t have to do it! Second: we are dog sitters and had dozens of dogs of all ages and sizes while we had this gate and NOT ONE tried to climb it. Two of them put their front paws on top…and nothing happened. Third: if you have trouble with your child, you should clearly consider other options. Everyone else: please enjoy this very easy, cheap, and effective project.

We have a nice little entryway at the front door, but with the dog boarding business, we need a way to keep dogs back and safely inside when the front door is opened.

We have a really nice, fancy baby gate set up, but there are three annoyances with it:

1. A lot of people trip over it coming or going because it has a bottom piece that you don’t really notice, which is terrible (and the most important annoyance).
2. Guests also always have to ask how to get out, which is also silly to have to do, and unfortunately, they often get a little embarrassed.
3. It’s not pretty.
   I actually didn’t even notice how unattractive it was until I was taking the “before” picture for the challenge.

Here is the previous one:

And now:

As I like to do when I need to decorate on a budget, I started the project by browsing Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for free items. Usually I’m looking for things that could be given a cheap makeover, or taken apart for parts to build something else.

Knowing we wanted to DIY a gate, all I saw when I came across a free crib were tons of free gate parts.

This was the crib (originally):

We picked up it, and were super excited when we got home to find out that the side pieces were the perfect size for our doorways! We actually didn’t even have to take it apart for parts, just add hinges and a door latch. (I did trim down the two side pieces on top because they were too tall.)

So project breakdown for the new gate:

• Crib (FREE)
  If we needed to at this point, we would have cut down the parts to fit the doorway, or built it from scratch using the parts.
• Spray paint (FREE)
  We had white spray paint on hand. It wasn’t necessarily needed, it was a nice color, but this one had stickers that just would not come off cleanly, so it needed to be re-finished.
• Two hinges ($2.75 at Home Depot–similar here)
• One door latch ($1 at Home Depot —similar here)

A bonus of getting the whole crib is that we now also have a (free) headboard for our guest bed, another side piece that we’ll eventually use to add another matching gate to the hallway, and the whole front panel, which we’re not sure how we’ll use yet, but we’ll figure something out.

Oh, and if you happen to find a free or cheap crib online, many of them come with mattresses included, which make perfect large dog beds.

Here is a picture with the other side of the crib for reference. The left is the part “before.” So we just turned it on it’s side, trimmed the new “top” down and removed the drawer slide.

Another unexpected bonus is that the Roomba can now also vacuum the entryway. Which is very exciting for me.

Other updates we’ve made to the room so far are actual curtains(!) (also from FB Marketplace for $10), and we swapped out the light fixture.

The light fixture we had purchased a year-and-a-half ago for the family room and didn’t end up using it because the light it gave off wasn’t enough for the room, so it’s been sitting in a closet for all that time. (It’s this one from IKEA.)

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The dogs have been banished to the closet.  Our Golden boy isn’t a fan of confined spaces, but our Bernese girl loves them, so we thought she would love a bed in the closet and he wouldn’t be much of a fan.  Of course, it’s the exact opposite.  They both fit in the bed, and they’re both happier when they’re cuddling, so we’re sure once she gets used to it, she’ll love it as much as he does.

Moving them into the empty closet has freed up SO MUCH space in the bedroom.

Anyway…  The bed is made out of two 3/4″ MDF boards cut to fit right into the closet.  We wanted to do two boards instead of one so it would be easy to put into the closet, and easy to move if we need to.

There are 8 legs (4 on each board), they are the IKEA Capita legs (that’s a link to the 4″ because apparently, they don’t sell the 6″ ones that we used anymore–there are some 6″ available on Amazon though.  They are the same legs that are on the shelf on the other side of the closet.

The MDF base is currently topped with 5 layers of egg crate foam that used to be our mattress topper.  I’m still waffling on whether to keep that or try something different.  It’s nice and cushy, (maybe too cushy, as you can see) but the layers will have to be sewn together.  The edges aren’t perfect either, and it shows.  I’m planning on sewing a cover for it out of the fabric that’s laid on top of it now (it’s actually a rug from Five Below, they don’t have it online but it’s just a different pattern of this one).

And we have one shelf up above the bed for extra storage.  I’m considering another faceout for my blouses like we have for the Hubs’ suits on the left, but I’m still waffling on that too.  2 more weeks of the One Room Challenge to make the decisions and get it done!

And yes, the dogs get pillows.  The Roscoe LOVES pillows.  This is how excited he has always gotten over pillows:

A post shared by Christina Orleans (@christinaleans) on Aug 18, 2014 at 2:23pm PDT

Click here to browse all the other One Room Challenge participants!

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There have been people sharing this on the internet for years.  The first time I heard of someone putting contact paper on a countertop, I simultaneously thought it was an awesome and horrible idea.  There seemed to be no way it would last or look decent.  But it was so cheap and crafty it also sounded great.

When we rented the 1920s house a few months ago, it was the PERFECT time to give it a try myself though.  Not only would it just cost a few dollars, but there was no way I could use the countertops in our rental as they were.

Here is half of the kitchen for reference (these are the only countertops in the kitchen):

Why we put contact paper on our countertops

Get ready for some gross:

Now, technically, they were “clean,” I suppose.  They had been scrubbed before we moved in and I sure scrubbed them again after we moved in.  Still, there was absolutely no way I was preparing food on them.

Since this was just a temporary rental and I needed a very quick fix, I didn’t go with the higher quality contact paper that I would if it were my own house or a longer-term rental.  I picked up Con-Tact brand blue granite. (affiliate links)

How to apply it

It was so easy to cover the counters.  As you can see in the pictures, the tiles were REALLY uneven and several of them were broken.

I cut a piece to fit and then notched out around all of the supports.  The paper wasn’t deep enough to go all the way to the back of the counter, but the great part about the granite pattern was that you couldn’t even see the seams when you were looking for them.  So I just cut long strips to cover the back.

Then I just peeled a portion of the backing off and started placing it.  I did get the placement slightly off the first time or two, and I was afraid that the paper wouldn’t stick as well if I peeled it back up, but it did great.  It peeled up easily and stayed in place when I re-stuck it in a better position.  This would have gone a little easier with two people (and pictures would have been better too).

Here was the first third covered:

You can see how uneven the tiles are under the contact paper, but I imagine for 90% + of rentals, the countertops aren’t this bad. 

Because the tiles hung over the edge of the countertop by wildly varying amounts, I ended up not wrapping the contact paper around the front.  It just never would have stuck.

Here is the finished product:

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Covering the countertops with contact paper took about 30 minutes from start to finish, and only cost $6.  So, SO worth it!

We lived with it for three months and were not gentle with it.  Even with all the bumps and gaps between the tiles, there was no peeling at all.

When we were moving out, it peeled off very easily too and left no residue behind.  It couldn’t have been easier.

So…I highly recommend covering your countertops with contact paper if you need a quick fix.

The higher quality is great for longer-term fixes or a pricier look, but it is more expensive and takes a little more time and care to apply.

The less expensive is really affordable, and perfect if there’s a pattern that matches your kitchen or bathroom. It’s super fast to install and remove.

Or search for your own look here:

Happy countertop fixing!

Update: I ended up doing this 2 more times, once as a more permanent solution with the high-quality DC Fix brand paper, and again in our current home with the cheap stuff. You just can’t go wrong.
If you have any questions, just ask below!

FAQs about contact paper on tile countertops:

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Sometime around 2 years ago, I picked up two pretty little Moroccan lanterns for $15 each from Home Goods.  I had visions of them being real, hanging lights instead of just candle holders.

I’m not entirely sure, but I think I originally wanted them to be in the bathroom over the sinks.  (Since we’ll be moving, I’m glad we didn’t end up hardwiring them in there.)  I started waffling around a year ago and wanted them in the bedroom instead.  Regardless, that’s where they are now!

You might remember my post about how to turn a plug-in light into a hardwired one.  We used the $5 IKEA Hemma cord set as usual to turn these candle lanterns into actual pendants.  It was as simple as drilling a hole in the top of the lantern for the cord to fit through, and then snipping the plug end off so the cord can be threaded through the hole.

To hardwire the light, that’s all you’ll need to do, you have yourself a pretty Moroccan pendant for $20.  If we weren’t moving, I would have hardwired these lights into the bedroom ceiling, but because I want to take them with me (and I don’t know if they’ll be the next owner’s taste), we turned them back into plug-in lights by just putting the plugs back on.  We also added switches to the cords so we could turn them off without unplugging them.

I also picked up the chain at the home improvement store.  The shape of this chain was perfect, but it was BRIGHT brass-colored, so I did a couple very light coats of dark brown spray paint.  I didn’t want to cover the color, I just wanted to add spots of the brown to make it look old like the lanterns.  It worked pretty well!  The chain was under $1 a foot.

The shadows they cast on the walls and ceiling are really pretty.

I went to look for a similar lantern to link to, but there were SO MANY lanterns that would make gorgeous hanging lights that I put together several that would work well.  They are all under $20.  Now I want more of them.

(Affiliate links above)

PS: You may have noticed by the Instagram feed over there –> that we’re off at some beautiful place.  We are (or will be soon, as I’m writing this before we leave) on an amazing trip.  Ireland, Switzerland, and France more specifically.  (And please don’t worry about any lack of character on our part–this trip was saved for, planned and paid for in-full before the Hubs lost his job.)

One thing I (mostly) finished before we left was a simple change in the kitchen that made a huge difference.  Come back next Monday to check it out!

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We’ve had this little peel-and-stick chalkboard in the mud room/hallway/weird spot by the kitchen for years, and it was actually used all the time.  Every week, when I plan our meals, they get listed on the “Menu.”

But after 3 or 4 years, not only was I tired of the shape, the corners began constantly peeling up.  On Friday, I decided it was time for something different, so I stared at it and tried to think of what to replace it with.

I’m a slightly indecisive person.  Worse than just being indecisive though, is when I have trouble deciding on something, I’ll often just do nothing instead of making a decision.  (This is part of the reason for all the half-finished projects.)

As I looked at the curling-up chalkboard and couldn’t decide what to do, just the thought of having more indecisiveness and inaction hanging over my head was enough for me to copy our week’s menu to a piece of paper, rip the brittle chalkboard off the wall and paint the whole wall with chalkboard paint.  Right then.

Problem solved.  And as you can see, the house is kind of a disaster from all the projects we have going on right now.

I didn’t try to be too careful with the paint around the baseboard and upper wall since the baseboard is about to be replaced with taller stuff to match the rest of the house and the whole mud room area is also going to be repainted.

Side note: We actually had a pretty cool plan (I think it was pretty cool anyway) for this wall before we learned we’d probably be moving.  I think what I’ll do before we leave the little house is have a before-and-after post for each room and then share what our planned projects were for each space.

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In my last post about our situation, selling the house was a possibility.  Now it’s pretty much a sure thing.  I’ll talk more about it in the coming weeks.  But for now, I’m going to show you our bedroom decor progress.  It’s not at all what I wanted for the space…my taste is too specific and I’m decorating for the general public now.  Starting with a really easy DIY headboard.

I’ve been on the look-out for the perfect headboard for quite some time.  And I haven’t found a thing.  Right now, that’s okay with me though–it’s one less thing we’ll have to move.

This week, I came up with a temporary faux DIY headboard just to make the bedroom look finished and well-staged.  Of course, this could work as a permanent faux headboard too, if it’s the look you’re going for.

Technically, it’s actually no work at all: just buy it and set it behind your bed.

So, it only cost $36.  It’s a desktop from IKEA.  I didn’t even have to do any installation! It’s a cheap and easy DIY headboard. I would like it higher though, so we’ll see if there is some simple way I can raise it up without putting big holes in the wall.  (I’m thinking several of the velcro Command Strips?)

Queen size beds are 5 feet wide, which makes finding faux headboards pretty easy, just grab anything that’s 5′ across (which is the standard width of a desk).

The other update in the room are nightstands.  I had planned to do simple wall-shelves. But because of the fact that we built the open closet, we know prospective buyers are going to need to see some closed storage.  Apparently, we have simplified so much that we now have to buy furniture to try to sell the house. 

They are the IKEA Rast dressers.  It was SO HARD not to hack them, they are so simple and full of possibilities.  But I’m in a hurry to get the rooms finished, so I just stained them black and put different knobs on them.

Up next are bedside lamps that I made probably a year ago now, but had yet to set up, side-table styling and pillow covers.

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When we moved in, the house had a dreaded boob light in the hallway.  (Update: see the hallway makeover here.) We quickly replaced it with this light:

It was only a few dollars at an architectural salvage store.  (It’s not old though, they are still selling it at the home improvement store for about $75.)  We picked it up because it was only a few dollars and it was better than the builder-grade ugly thing.

I’ve been wanting to replace it for a couple years with something that’s more our style, but haven’t…lighting is expensive! And finding one that’s your style second-hand can take years, literally. 

To tide us over until then, I sanded off the dull, dirty yellow finish it had.

I was hopeful that it was just paint, and it was! So with a very coarse sanding block, I sanded the paint right off the glass fixture.

The sanding took a while, but it was easy of course, and it was a free upper body workout.  That glass piece is a lot bigger than it looks when you’re trying to hold it and sand it.

Just put on a podcast and sand away.

If you test this on your light fixture and find that it isn’t a flat-finish paint as ours was, you can always spray paint the outside of it. Of course, depending on your fixture, you could lose a little of the light that comes through the fixture, but it might be worth it!

Once the sanding was done, I gave it a good wash in the kitchen sink and it looked like it had always been white.

To our surprise, we actually like it now.  As in, we are totally fine with giving up the search for a new one and keeping it. It was subtle, but removing the paint from the light fixture made such a big difference.

We have a thing for making over or making lighting, check out or other ideas here.

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I’m short.  Really short.  5 feet even, actually.  With 20+ years of practice, I can get around just find in a world built for people significantly taller than me (unless there’s a glass item I need on the top shelf at the grocery store–I still haven’t figured that one out).

But there is a disadvantage to my lack-of-height when it comes to homekeeping: I can’t see the tops of shelves.  I can reach the tops, I just can’t see them.  They do all get dusted regularly, but if I miss something, I won’t have any idea.

So because I can’t see the piles of salt and pepper our salt and pepper grinders were leaving behind on the shelf, I didn’t realize we needed some sort of tray under them all this time.  I thought for a couple days about how to get/make an itty bitty tray to put under the shakers, but I was blank until we went to Crate and Barrel for some rug shopping.  They had these pretty slate trays.  But I didn’t need to buy one, because we have piles of slate slabs and fractions of slabs that we’ve been pulling out of the dirt in our yard for the last 4 years.

Why is our yard filled with pretty, ready-made slate trays?

This house originally had a slate roof, and when the previous owners put a new roof on, they just tossed all the slate tiles into the yard where the ground swallowed them up.  Every once in a while, the yard regurgitates one for us.  I’ve been saving them because I knew there had to be something cool they could be used for.  Finally, after 4 years, I realized they could be used as cheese plates, platters, trays, or to save our shelf from the salt and pepper.

PS: If you don’t have a front yard that spits out free slate tiles for you, you can get them cheaper on Amazon than at Crate and Barrel.

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Back in the bedroom, I finally finished another itty bitty project that’s been waiting for months: DIY tie storage for The Hubs on our closet wall.

Until now, his many ties have been hanging precariously on one hanger.  But I fixed it, now they’re hanging on a toilet paper holder.  They don’t show it online, but it’s in IKEA’s Bygel series, it’s the same one my dresses hang from and it’s only a couple dollars (as are the rails that all of our clothes are hanging on).

Usually, I’m finding full-size items to use in the dollhouse, but this time, I found miniatures to use in the full-size house.  Aren’t those little hangers adorable?  I was considering buying the plastic tie hangers they use in retail stores–but those are ugly.  Then, likely because of my miniatures hobby, doll clothes hangers came to mind.  These are handmade by PaWoods, and they are perfect.  Very well made, nice and sturdy with no sharp edges that would snag anything.

(Affiliate links above)

This would be great for so many things.  I might hang some of my scarves on them as well, or The Hubs’ belts.  And they would be so cute as a jewelry display too–you could hang single hangers on finishing nails and then hang necklaces from them.  That could be the cutest little jewelry gallery wall.

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We seriously needed to update the bathroom vanity. It had been bothering me for quite a while…the bathroom was the first room we started remodeling when we moved in, and we went with a sink set from IKEA. 

They don’t sell it anymore, but it was everything you needed: sink base, sinks, faucets, and a great big mirror/shelf unit, and it was really inexpensive.  So that’s what we got.

I changed out the handles a while back, and while it helped, I still was dissatisfied with the look of the cabinet as a whole.  So I did this:

Just adding simple trim to the front was a serious update for the vanity.

This is how it was before:

The trim was made with 1/4″ x 2″ poplar trim pieces from the home improvement store.  The pieces were measured, and each end was cut at a 45-degree angle for a more professional look.  The cuts were made with a small miter box.

If you have a miter saw (highly recommend this one if you’re doing small projects), that is the best and fastest way to cut the pieces. If not, a miter box makes it quicker and easier.

Make the cuts one at a time to be sure they all fit snugly.  To make sure I had the proper lengths, I held each piece in its place on the vanity with double-sided tape after I cut them. 

Once they were all good, I removed them one-by-one and put them back up with super-strength glue.

After applying the glue, just press hard down the board to make sure the glue is spread out and it will be a tight fit. Hold for about 30 seconds.

After gluing the trim on, caulk all the seams and corners, and then fill any holes left from previous handles or knobs. 

Since this vanity is laminate, it got 2 coats of primer.  Then paint.  Then the handles.  And now we like it much better.

The handles got moved up to fit on top of the new trim.

The trim pieces only cost $12, and the quart of paint cost $10, so it was a really inexpensive vanity update too. (The handles were purchased previously, for just a few dollars from IKEA.)

Print

Add shaker trim to cheap bathroom vanity

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Dry time 1 day day

Total Time 1 day day 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Cost $22

Equipment

• 1/4" x 2" poplar trim pieces Measure for the lengths you need
• Miter box If not using a miter saw
• Construction glue
• Paintable caulk
• Wood filler

Instructions

• Remove handles/pulls/knobs from your vanity.
• Measure your trim boards. The easiest way is to line up each piece where it will go on the cabinet, starting in one corner, then make a pencil mark on the back where it overhangs so you know where to cut it off. Do that for each piece now.
• Using the miter box (or a miter saw if you have one), cut the corners of each piece at a 45 degree angle.
• Use construction glue to glue each piece of trim to the face of the drawers or doors, following the instructions for your glue.
• Use wood filler to fill in any holes from the previous hardware (if applicablle).
• Using paintable caulk, put a thin bead of caulk everywhere the new trim pieces meet the door/drawer. (So, along each edge.) Dip your finger in water and smooth out the bead of caulk. Let it dry according to the package instructions.
• Prime and paint your cabinet as needed. If it's laminate, I recommend 2 coats of primer.
• Add new pulls/knobs/handles.

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