Back To My DIY Roots (And Deciding Which Nightstands I Want To Build For Our Bedroom)
I’ve been thinking a lot about that final estimated cost of our original plan for our house that I shared on Friday, and how ridiculously absurd that plan would have been. Of course, a big portion of that cost was for a contractor. That’s money I can save right off the top. But there were some pretty big chunks of money in there for things that I could certainly do myself and save money.
I’ve caught myself with this mindset lately (for the last few months, actually) of, “Just pay someone else do it and get it over with faster,” or, “Just buy what you want and move on.” But I don’t think that’s why people started following my blog. People started following me because I was DIYing my way through projects on my own. I was building and remodeling and sewing and upholstering and doing pretty much everything myself.
As Matt and I have gotten more financial freedom over the past decade, the tendency is to DIY less and just pay others to do more. Or instead of building something to save money, just buy the thing ready-made. And as I prepare to move forward with our new plan, which requires redoing several rooms in our home, I’ve noticed my mind steering more and more towards those thoughts of, “Just pay what needs to be paid, and get it done as fast as possible.” It’s nice to have more freedom to do that these days, but as far as the blog goes, it’s almost a bait and switch.
I kind of feel that bait and switch when I read other blogs that I’ve been reading for almost as long as I’ve been blogging that started out as DIY blogs, but have now morphed into something far different. Those first couple of DIY homes they had have long been fixed up and sold at big profits, and those profits have now allowed those bloggers to live in multi-million dollar homes (in states that are not New York or California 😀 ). Those interesting money-saving DIY projects have been swapped for posts about their new $1200 lamp along with an affiliate link where you can also purchase their $1200 lamp. Their blog that used to seem so relatable now seems unattainable for most people. And the DIY projects that used to fill their blogs now only appear once in a great while.
I don’t really have a problem with what other people do with their blogs. Maybe that was their goal all along, and that’s wonderful for them. As long as I’m interested, I’ll keep following. If I ever lose interest, I can always unfollow. It’s not a big deal, and they’re certainly not required to keep DIYing just for my entertainment. 😀
But my goal was never to start a DIY blog and then morph it into something different. And this past weekend, as I was looking for new bedside tables for our soon-to-be new bedroom, I had to remind myself of this. When I started looking for bedside tables, my thought was, “I’ll Just go ahead and buy them so that they’ll be here and be ready when I’m ready to start putting the room together.” Basically, I was planning to just buy everything, have it here (probably stored in my workshop for now) until the floor is finished, and then I can just move all of my newly purchased furniture into the room, call it good, and move on to the next room as quickly as possible.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. That’s what most people do. But most people aren’t DIY bloggers. 😀 I had to stop myself when I realized that I was looking at bedside tables that were as much as $1800 each, and I was actually giving them a serious consideration. As in, saying to myself, “Well, if that’s what you really want, just buy two of them, and get on with the next decision. Just get this done!“
There was a time when purchasing two $1800 bedside tables would have been laughable to me. The idea of spending that kind of money on bedside tables would have seemed like an absurdity to me. I would have found a way to make what I wanted for a fraction of the price. And that was the whole idea behind my blog. That’s what I wanted to share with other people. I wanted to demonstrate to others how you can actually achieve a champagne look on a beer budget. And yet, just yesterday, I was seriously considering paying $3600 on two bedside tables for the sake of convenience.
That is a long distance from my DIY roots. That’s a completely different mindset from the one that started this blog. And that seems like a complete betrayal of my mission statement for my blog that you can read on my About page, and that states, “…my goal is to inspire YOU to put aside fear and self-doubt, pick up those power tools, and dive into your home-related DIY projects so that you can turn your house into the home of your dreams without spending a fortune having others do the work that you could do yourself.“
So what does all of this mean? Well, it means that I’m going to get off of IKEA’s website and close the browser tabs I’ve had open for weeks with their PAX and kitchen design tools. It means there won’t be any more IKEA cabinets in my future. It means I’ll be purchasing a lot of sheets of plywood for the closet/laundry room project (but I have so much to share with you on that topic later). It means I’ll be purchasing even more plywood for the kitchen remodel. It means I’m going to be getting my money’s worth out of my new workshop we just paid a chunk of money for. And it means that when I said, “Challenge accepted,” at the end of Friday’s post about seeing just how much money I can save, I’m going to take that challenge very seriously. And it means I’m going to get back to my DIY roots, and I’m going to keep my vision and mission for my blog in my mind as my guide for all future decisions.
That doesn’t mean that everything will be DIYed. In fact, something pretty huge is happening at the beginning of next week, and there’s no way I’d ever DIY such a thing. I’d only ever let a pro do that project. (More on that as we get closer.) But if I’m capable and have the know-how (or can learn as I go), I’ll probably be doing it myself.
So the first project after I finish the floor in the new bedroom will probably be building new bedside tables. Here are the ones I had bookmarked when I was still in the “just buy something” mindset. I’ll probably use one of these (or a combination) as my inspiration when I build ours.
On this one, I love everything except the feet. Y’all know I love some turned wood legs and feet, so I’d use some round turned feet instead. (Arthelia 3-drawer nightstand, $349.99)
And here it is. This is my favorite one. I love everything about this one down to the hardware. (Newport Wood Nightstand, $1829)
I really like the drawers on this one. I like the frames around the drawers, and how the drawers are kind of inset. I also like the wood tone, and think it would look phenomenal against white wainscoting and below teal grasscloth. I’d like it to be a little wider, though. (Rosalie nightstand, $1199)
This one is too dark for my taste, but I love the simple style, the shape, the size, and the overall design. (Soline wood nightstand, $799)
This one is very similar in style except that it has an added shelf at the bottom, along with a very simple, subtle detail around the edges of the drawers. This would be so easy to build! (Rosalie nightstand, $1049)
This is another one that is similar in style, but with an open shelf at the top. (Celine 2-drawer nightstand, $529)
But then there’s this, with the turned legs and the one continuous frame around the drawers. (Stacy nightstand, $419.99)
I also love this style with the three bigger drawers that look like six drawers. (Aisja 3-drawer nightstand, $989.99)
I love the whole design of this one with the top drawer that looks like two smaller drawers, the trim around the middle, and the trim accent around the bottom. The color is a little too orange for my taste, though. (Agnis 3-drawer side table, $559.99)
And finally, there’s this two-tone design. The whole top portion is covered in some sort of raffia texture, which I wouldn’t do. If I were going to do a two-tone, I’d just do a stained wood base and then paint the top portion an accent color. Hakana 2-drawer nightstand, $1393
So those are all of the bedside tables I had saved when I was still planning on just buying some, and I’ll admit that the second one (the $1829 Newport Wood nightstand) was the frontrunner. But now that I’m going to build my own, I can really decide which features are my favorite, and possibly do a combination of a few favorites.
One of my problems, which has been something I’ve struggled with for years now, is that continual pull between more traditional style with the turned legs and pretty trim, and the more contemporary style with the straight legs and no (or far less) trim. My taste has always been torn between those two. When people ask me what my style is, I always say that it’s colorful traditional with modern (sometimes contemporary) touches. The traditional generally wins out, but I don’t like everything to be traditional because then I think a room looks a bit stuffy. So I do try to add some modern touches to keep things interesting.
Perhaps the bedside tables will be the modern touch for the bedroom. I know that the headboard won’t be. I’ll be doing a fully upholstered headboard for the room. And the wainscoting won’t be. That will be very traditional. And grasscloth generally isn’t one specific style on its own. It depends on what you put with it. So I’m not 100% sure about the direction I’ll go, but if I had to choose right this minute, I’d go with the second bedside table — the $1829 Newport Wood nightstand. That one was a favorite the moment I saw it.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
The darkest night stand reminded me of your studio desk before you put your own touch on it.
Many, including myself, cannot justify spending those large amounts of money.
I can’t justify it either. That’s why I had to stop and ask myself, “Why are you doing this? Just to get it done faster? Why?” Fast has never been my goal, so I don’t know why I started thinking that way now. Making things with my own hands, taking pride in my own work, and teaching others how to do these things have always been my goals, and I was starting to lose sight of that.
Don’t be too hard on yourself – you still DIY so much!
i imagine, probably in your thinking was also a little bit of – “well i’m saving SO MUCH money i can splurge a bit here and there and we will still be ahead”…
And you have so much to do – showing us a little balance of sometimes spending some to help speed up the process and making rooms not completely overwhelming – is ok – (i’m looking at you Ikea pax) 😉
xx
Very excited for all of this! I’m pretty sure I know which blog you’re referencing and I’ve been following for a long time as well. You are spot on saying that they just aren’t relatable anymore – I feel the same. I love the DIY stuff – makes me feel like I could do it too! Keep up all the good work and inspiration!
And really, I don’t mean any disrespect towards them (if we’re thinking of the same blog). I still find their home to be very inspirational, which is why I still follow. I enjoy seeing what they’re up to and what changes they’re making to their home. But they definitely went from champagne taste on a beer budget to champagne taste on a Dom Pérignon budget. 😀 And that’s totally fine for them!! I just sometimes can’t relate at all.
I have a difficult time even affording DIY projects, never mind looking at night tables at that price range.
Dear Kristi, it’s ok to purchase some of those things that you love. Your life is a bit more complicated than many. To simplify and have more time with your sweet Matt is a very honorable and perhaps a necessary goal. Go easy. Your followers will still be here. After all these years it’s not just about the DIY projects. We, or at least I, feel like you are a friend/sister and I love to check in on you and your family.
Life is short. I repeat, be easy on yourself. 🩷
I will. But I also love DIYing and building things. 🙂 It’s my roots because it’s my passion, and it’s the reason we spent so much money on my studio and workshop. Now I need to get my money’s worth out of those spaces. 😀
Best answer ever…thank you for your blog and I look forward to reading your next blog to see what you are up to.
This is an exciting decision! I think your projects are amazing, and while I almost always default to paying someone else to get stuff done (I have never been handy or even very crafty), your skill and willingness to learn are absolutely inspirational. So I’m so glad you’re going to go back to basics, even if it means we will all be waiting for the final reveal for that much longer.
I don’t look at any other blogs for DIY or decorating. I just love watching you create
I liked the Soline and the Rosalie night stands but can’t wait to see what you create.
You inspire me Kristi! I’m a retired widow and money is tight. So a few years ago I started asking myself, before I purchase anything, if it’s a need or a want. And if it’s a need, then I ask, how can I get the look I want on the smallest possible budget. It a fun challenge!
I do still treat myself now and then but overall my financial situation has improved enough that I can now travel a bit!
I loved and appreciated reading this post, it was very captivating and honest.
I’m so excited for all the good DIY to come! I pull so much inspiration from your blog even if I have far fewer skills. Your DIY encourages me to try things that seem impossible (custom drawers – I’m coming for you next!)
Thank you for taking us on this journey!
This is very exciting news. I cannot wait to see the design you will create. I am retired and on a budget. Not able to build stuff but I can paint or refinish. I buy quality used pieces and redo with paint etc. And new hardware. It’s fun and works for me. I love the pieces that you design and build so I am excited to see what happens!!!
There is one other answer to this that may or may not be available to you in your area. My sister and I have found some great bargains on really good older furniture at Habitat stores.
You might find matching nightstands that are solidly built that you could use and perhaps change up the drawers and legs to suit your style.
Many times older folks have furniture in their guest rooms that has rarely been used and when they down size that furniture has to go somewhere.
No matter what I am so glad you decided not to spend $1800 on something that you can make for far less and it will no doubt be far better
because of your attention to detail.
Looking forward to seeing your new bedroom come to life.
So true! i almost always check FB marketplace for anything i need before i go shopping – it’s utterly incredible what you can find on there! Searching for actual brands and names of things … searching for a shop name with my dress size etc. amazing what you can find for a fraction of the cost xx
I agree on Habitat purchasing. We got a very nice sofa for $149.⁰⁰ and it looked brand new. We are preparing a redo this entire winter and did not want to buy new till we were done. It will be our last purchases for our home. We are retired and both of us have health challenges. After pinching pennies for 50 years we can not break that habit. We have shopped new, we have bought furniture at discount places and a lot used. I have loved taking a piece of furniture, refinish it and see it shine in our home. We have always received compliments on our home. Everyone says it is very welcoming and cheerful. I love color and my favorite is the traditional classic blues and whites. Adding pops of color help bring in a modern touch.
We have donated furniture to Habitat that we no long need or want any longer. The pieces are clean and seem popular for younger people. We have seen amazing pieces when we browse the store on occasion. Check them out near you. The money is so helpful for the building and providing items for new homeowners. Consignment shops are another wonderful source and you may find pieces you see new that other do not want after they purchase them.
Please keep doing your amazing creative furniture, your followers love your gift to make pieces from scratch. Please remember, sometimes rewarding yourself with a purchase that is an amazing choice for your home. It is when you remind yourself that at times it can be that final item to finish your space. You have afterall saved thousands by DIYing more than not.
I have to remind my husband of that with his clothing. He has worked since ge was 12, retired at 65 and got stage 4a metastisized prostate cancer. He endured 42 days of radiation, takes 3 cancer drugs daily, gets injections every quarter to keep his progesterone at 0. He deals with all the crummy side effects and still does so much for me and our sons families with no complaints. So now he finally buys the bikes he likes, the best jeans that make him feel comfortable day long and nice sweats for days he feels not so good. He deserves that for the rest of his life. We can afford it now, which is nice to reach that point in our senior season. The cancer came on so fast and for a man who rarely got ill and has been such a strong healthy man. Agent orange attacked so many men and women while in the Vietnam War, representing our country. Now they have cancers, heart conditions, brain disorders, and more. It is hard to see my love since I met him at 18 been such a strong man. I so wish I can carry this for him, sadly I can not. I can love him, support him always and pray. We keep a positive view and know God has his back. We embrace our lives and enjoy it until God calls us home. Life is good and after 50 years next month we have been each other’s home base and will continue to do it with God’s help and love.
You keep being you. If anyone understand life challenges you and Matt do. Your love and faith get you through the good and not so good life together. You both deserve all the best you ate creating one space at a time. I’m so excited to see the
creative things you add to your home.
You got this. Like all the things you do, take the best of what you like and run with it. You’ve got mad crazy skills, and you will be able to make them exactly the size you need them to be, and the exact color you want. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Cheers!
I have enjoyed your posts since the condo days. Your DIT is what drew me in. Now we are both retired & repurposing pieces to chg things up. I keep thinking about your pantry & kitchen cabinets. I know there are some that are not deep enough but others are just right w organized drawers. Will you be able to repurpose any of those in the new kitchen or pantry or laundry room? I would love to see more of your ideas about repurposing/adapting items. For example, my laundry room is small & includes a half bath. It needs storage that doesn’t compromise the room with towering shelves on the wall. FB marketplace occasionally has cabinets that might work but I feel daunted. Thank you for such an educational blog!
I’m looking forward to seeing everything you create, but would say if you want to use ikea or something else as a base in future, please don’t feel that you can’t because of us. Your posts on how to transform these units etc into something more bespoke are equally useful. I will never build a wardrobe from scratch due to time and space, but do have some pax in my future and your studio cabinets have given me inspiration and hope that I can make them look more me and less IKEA. So thank you for that.
I wanted to comment to say (1) I appreciate the insight into your thinking process Kristi! And (2) that I agree with Tabi; I draw inspiration from seeing i.e. customization of Ikea cabinets b/c that’s something I can (and plan to) do versus building cabinets from scratch, which is interesting to see but is not applicable to my life.
Looking forward to all the new projects that’ll be coming with the addition 🙂
This is one thing I wanted to say, and thank you for saying it!
Also, what Karen said, about refinishing/repurposing. I have done this several times, after hiring it done (refinishing and repairing old furniture). Now I do it myself and get my sister’s help if I get stuck, confused, or something doesn’t go right.
Add to that, I’ve purchased some used soft furniture (love seat and chairs) that I’ve bought and had reupholstered, although I just had the love seat slipcovered. (Note “had” done, not that I did those myself). But I did refinish the arms of the chairs before having them re-done.
This blog is so empowering for me, as a small-ish female with weak (arthritic) hands! I can do so much, in small doses, and even more with Kristi showing the way.
MKH
If the IKEA really did fit my needs, I’d use it in a heartbeat and customize it for my style. But this past weekend, I realized that the reason I was having such a hard time with the closet/laundry room, and couldn’t settle on a decision, is because they really didn’t fit my needs like I had hoped. I was just trying to make them work for the sake of convenience and expediency. But I love my IKEA cabinets in my studio! I don’t regret using them for one single second, and I hope that anyone who wants to use IKEA but wants a custom look can look back to those posts and get lots of inspiration. I love my IKEA cabinets, and highly recommend them if they work for your space.
I am so happy for me! I get to continue to be inspired by your work. While I understand the desire to buy something and be finished, I am so glad you are going to be doing more DIY! I am so awed by your accomplishments and look forward to seeing many more.
I’m not gonna lie, that $1800 nightstand is pretty gorgeous! Still, I very much appreciate your scrappy DIY resurgence. I feel so disconnected with those types of blogs you mention, where it was once creative and budget conscious, but now everything is purchased and non-budget-friendly. As my husband and I begin our 40s we have still not reached that Easy Street level of finances, lol. Keep some skin in the game, Kristi! Don’t overwork your body, but don’t just buy it all and get it finished in a couple weeks either. Personally I’m more of a hunt it down thrifting, than build it type, but I appreciate any creative road to a beautiful end result without full retail outlay.
How does that saying go? Good, fast, and cheap: you can have any two.
So you can buy your nightstands to have them right now, but they won’t be cheap, or you can DIY them but they won’t be fast. Luckily you have the talent and skills to make them good! (Along with all your other projects!) I’m sure if anyone can take on this kind of major home renovation project, it’s you. Good luck!
Getting back to the nightstands. What do you plan to store in the lower drawers? If you kept the top drawer only, it would be easier to clean under and much more simple to make. Make it more like your desk. Just a thought.
I shelf at the top is a convenient place to put things, rather than all that stuff on the top of the nightstand. SBut…a shelf on the bottom of everything just leads to dust…
I don’t mind when a DIY blogger wants to buy something rather than do it themselves – as long as they are transparent about it. What I really hate is when I click on a blog post expecting to see detailed instructions on how to build something and it turns out that they hired it out. For example, I was trying to figure out how to build a fireplace surround. I saw a picture of a gorgeous fireplace surround on Pinterest and the title of the blog post was “See How We Built This Cozy Fireplace Surround”. I clicked on the post and they just told about how they hired a carpenter to build it along with a few more pictures of the finished surround. Not only did they not build it but they didn’t even show how their carpenter built it. Those type of posts with misleading titles piss me off.
My pet peeve is when a blogger says they made something for like $5, but it’s because they had every kind of scrap material and leftover paint already. Just be honest and say this would cost x, but I had most of it on hand so it only cost me y. When I first started DIYing, I didn’t have any scrap or leftover anything. It takes time to build that up. I’ve never seen Kristi do this, so this isn’t about her! But another blogger I follow has posts titled “Do this for only $15” when the truth is it’s more like $60-100 most of the time. That doesn’t break the bank for me by any stretch, but I do think it’s misleading for people who plan to DIY something and have limited means for it.
Personally I’m glad Ikea is out. Just can’t get on board with the particleboard.
It has it’s place. 🙂 I call MDF “glorified particleboard”, and I love MDF. 😀
Bravo! I’m posting for the first time (shy DIYer) to cheer you on for this— truly admirable and reflective of the depth of character you must have. Thank you!
Happy! I tried to write a bunch of stuff, but it sounds stupid so I’ll just say…thank you for sticking with your roots.
I LOVE that you have done so much on your own and have learned so much from you. You and I are the same age and as I get older I am tired lol. Sometimes it’s good to just pay for it, but that is a lot of money for side tables. Your blog is the only one I read daily and have for well over 14 years. You are amazing and not scared to scrap things that didn’t work or redo things. It has made me realize it’s okay to change things after I am “done.” Thank you for sharing your work.
I am so glad that you will be building your nightstands. I got into wood-working because of you. I was so impressed that with some fortitude and talent a woman could do what you do! I am of the generation where women were nurses or secretaries! I bought a table saw, a miter saw and a band saw along with hand-held saws and had years of fun! Last year we needed to downsize and I could only bring a few of my saws with me. My projects are small but I still love working with wood…….all because I found your blog!
IKEA or other flat pack cabinets *are* the maximum DIY some people can/ want to do. So you aren’t letting down the the DIY mantle with those.
Good for you in going back to your DIY! But – that doesn’t mean you have to have so many projects that it takes you a year to complete something! You need to do enough projects to keep things interesting, but maybe still utilize ready made to get the project rooms finished. IDK how long it’s been since you started the studio, but it is still not totally finished, and for me, I would love to see it done before you attack something else. And I can’t recall when you first said you wanted to get the front yard finished, and yet it hasn’t been touched. I love following you, so I am understanding of your need to do some fun things in between the necessary things that may not be fun. (I’m the same way, but I don’t blog!) I would prefer to see you do a new project, and not a repeat of the same things you’ve already shown us. Perhaps you could show us new tools or other products we may not know about that you can use to do a project!
Thank you for sticking with DIY even though your visions take longer to accomplish!
I am happy for this decision as I like to learn from your solutions of creating something all by yourself! When you started buying Ikea products, I was a bit disappointed at first; but have to say that I learned a lot from what you did to the cupboards in your studio, so it was still very interesting.
But what I like about your designing is this “I can do that” attitude – and that by doing so you show us that we don’t have to buy 1800 $ nightstands or have to give in to consumerism that is always getting more (and ridiculously) expensive. So I’m really happy for this change of mind and looking forward to seeing all that you are creating in the future. Thank you as always for taking us on your journey with you!
Lots of really good choices with common elements in your nightstand picks. A few have the pullout shelf right at the top. We had those in a vacation house and absolutely love them. Didn’t use them all the time, but when you needed to set something out, like A piece of equipment, or maybe a morning cup of coffee, they were so convenient. And then you just shove them back in place when you don’t need them.
Lots of beautiful choices.
I’m excited to watch as you pull more magical woodworking out of your new workspace hats. 😄 You are my DIYing hero. There’s a time and a place to just buy something and get it done, but boy is it satisfying to make a better quality, totally personalized, money-saving DIY! …or to watch Kristi do it and inspire MY next dive into the crazy! Go Kristi!!!