Easy DIY Book Rails

In our daughter's small bedroom, space is at a premium.  We try hard to make the most of the space and keep the floor as open as possible to help the room feel a little bigger and give her more area to play.  On one wall of her room, there is a very shallow nook I wasn't sure what to do with but wanted to make it an efficient use of space.  After some thought, I decided building some custom book storage would be the perfect solution.  

Materials:  

• 1x3 boards

• 1x2 boards

• screws

• wood glue

• spackle

• level

• painters tape

How-To:  

1.  Cut the wood the desired length of the rail shelf.  You will need two 1x3 boards and one 1x2 board for each rail.  

2.  Line up the boards as shown below (the wide ones on the bottom and back, and the narrow one at the front).  Pre-drill, then glue the edges, and secure with wood screws.  

3.  Once it's dried and secure, spackle the screw holes, let dry, and then apply 3 coats of paint (I used semi-gloss trim paint).  

4.  Next mark the location of the studs and the approximate spacing of the book rails.  I could have easily put three rails in this space but I didn't want our toddler trying to climb it like a ladder, so I decided to only do two.  

5.  Center the book rails in the space and use a level to hang the book rails, pre-drilling and screwing the book rails into the wall studs.  

6.  Decorate and add your books!  While these are pretty sturdy, I would recommend being mindful of the weight put on the rails - don't put too many books or large, heavy books on them, especially since your little one will be reaching up to pull books off and you don't want anything heavy to topple off.  

And finally I decided to build a simple, sturdy narrow crate to hold our daughter's bigger, heavier books.  

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Other posts you might enjoy from Birch Landing Home:  

• Cape Cod Inspired Toddler Room

• DIY Learning Tower / Kitchen Helper, Based on Plans by Ana White

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Give Back Box

Give Back Box, has started a new initiative that couldn't make it any easier to give back!  Just put your unwanted items in a participating retailer's box (Amazon is a participating one), print out a free pre-paid label, and then it gets sent to your local Goodwill as a donation.  You never even have to leave your house!  

Start tackling those New Year's Resolutions - clean out your closet and give back to your community at the same time.  It's win-win for everyone.  

You can get more info and print your your label at GiveBackBox.com

Simple Door Monogram

How's this for a super-easy project?  I love the idea of a monogram on the door of our little girl's room, but wanted to keep it simple and subtle and easy to take down if we decide to change things up.  

This project really couldn't be easier.  The letter I bought was a pre-painted small white one from Hobby Lobby because I wanted it to be subtle, but it could easily be repainted another color if you wanted it to stand out more.  

To hang it, I used some light-weight Command strips so it can easily be removed later if we decide to do something different on the door.  

Just love the finishing touch it adds!  

Cape Cod Inspired Toddler Room

It's been a long time coming, but we've finally moved our little one up to her "big girl room"!  Decorating and organizing this space has been a challenge since it's such a tiny room.  And while arrows, deer, and gold polka dots are all the rage right now, we wanted to get the biggest bang for our buck and go with a timeless, classic theme that our daughter can grow into.  | This post contains affiliate links |

We decided to go with a blue, white, and yellow color scheme (which always reminds me of Cape Cod) and just a few decorative touches that can easily be changed out as our little one grows and tastes change.  Keeping everything pretty light in the room helps make it feel just a little bit bigger too.  

The bed and dresser came from Ikea and were very reasonably priced. In fact, these were my first purchases from Ikea EVER (gasp) and I was very impressed with the quality and sturdiness of them. While not shown in these photos, we have under-mattress bedrails that are typically on the bed so she doesn't roll out.

The bedding was one of the most reasonably priced quilt sets I could find and came from Amazon (*at the moment it's listed for double what I had paid, but Amazon pricing can change often so hopefully the price will come down again soon). I just love all the different blues, greens, and creams in the bedspread! It keeps with the Cape Cod color scheme and adds a country touch.

The "love you to the moon & back" sign was made by me and will be coming to our Etsy shop soon ;)  

This little dormer was the perfect spot to tuck the dresser in as well as some decorative touches like the wooden oar, which was a freebie find. The custom name puzzle is from Amazon, and both the lamp and the curtains are from Wal-Mart.

We also added this Personalized Alphabet Printable from my Etsy shop as well, and our daughter loves finding the letters from her name in it.  

This Moon Bed was a custom creation from my brother and sister-in-law as a gift for our baby shower - it makes the perfect spot for snuggling up with a good book and some stuffed animals. The starfish watercolor painting is by New England artist Jen Scully of Mack & Ro. I love how it compliments this corner with the "moon and stars" theme but also fits in perfectly with the overall coastal vibe of the room.

What's New England without a farm? This little Pottery Barn table was a yard sale find (score!) and makes the perfect spot for a barnyard scene. The wooden barn is from Melissa and Doug but the animals are Little People (all yard sale finds again). The woven rope basket to hold accessories for the farm adds a coastal touch. This rope basket is old, but I've linked a very similar one here.

This room has a very shallow alcove and to make the most of the space I built custom book rails in it for storage and display.  I debated on putting one more rail down lower but decided against it since I know our toddler would try to climb it like a ladder.  Instead, I made a custom narrow wooden crate to sit on the floor and hold her heavier books that I didn't want to put up on the wall.  

The book rails make for great storage that doesn't take up a lot of room, as well as gives us a chance to show of some of our current favorite books (including some fun New England-themed ones).  

And last but not least, possibly the most important addition to our daughter's big girl room, the Ready to Wake Clock! I was a bit skeptical at first, but this clock really has been a lifesaver (and no, this is not a sponsored endorsement). Our daughter used to get up between 4-5AM everyday, but once she learned that she needs to stay in bed until the clock turns green she now sleeps to the decent hour (6:45AM) that we set her clock to (thank goodness!).

I've tried to link all my sources for the room but if there's anything I'm missing that you have a question on, please send me a message.  

Easy No-Hardware Valance for Blinds

Wooden blinds are a great window treatment option, but finishing them off can be tricky, especially if you don't want to hang curtains too.  Today I'm sharing my easy, no hardware-needed solution for dressing up the blinds.  

All you need is a thin piece of wood or trim (about 1/4" thick) painted to match your blinds and adhesive velcro - that's it!  I cut down our trim board myself, but if you don't have a saw you could ask your hardware store to cut it to the width of your blinds when you purchase it.  

For velcro I used Scotch Indoor Velcro Squares.  They have a 3 lb weight limit which is more than enough needed for our project, but I made sure to use three velcro tabs per window for a secure hold.

To hang, I just put the adhesive velcro tabs along the top assembly of the blinds and pressed the trim board on top securely.  That's it!  

This makes for a quick and professional finish to the blinds but still allows you to easily take it down to access the mounts for the blinds for window maintenance and cleaning.  

Pumpkin Porch Decor Roundup

Fall is here and that means decorating up your front porch with, you guessed it - pumpkins!  I've rounded up 15 very different pumpkin-themed decor ideas for you.  Just click on the author's name to be brought to the original post for the how-to details.  Enjoy!  

Pumpkin Porch Decor Roundup

5 Minute Monogramed Pumpkin 

By Salvage Sister & Mister

Gourds in an Obelisk

By The Stylish Nest

Teal Pumpkin Project

By Birch Landing Home

Wooden Pumpkin Fall Sign

By The Kolb Corner

Nail Head Pumpkins

By Designers Sweet Spot

Shabby Chic Door Hanger

By Where the Smiles Have Been

Painted Pumpkins and DIY Stems

By 2 Bees in a Pod

DIY White Pumpkin Fall Wreath

By Paint Yourself a Smile

Pink Fall Decor for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By The Magic Brush

How to Build a Rustic Pumpkin Stand

By Modge Podge Rocks

DIY Fall Wreaths

By Hey Fitzy

DIY Pretty Porch Pumpkins

By This is Our Bliss

DIY Wood Pallet Pumpkins

By Our House Now a Home

Fall Porch & Courtyard Home Decor

By FrugElegance

Pumpkin Wreath Tutorial with Burlap

By Grillo Designs

All images and links are used with permission from the authors.  

Shop Fall Fashion

Give Back When You Can

Just a little reminder to give back when you are able, even if it's something small.  

Over the course of the summer we've been blessed with a lot of produce from our garden - we enjoyed it, shared with family and friends, and froze quite a bit for future use.  Last week we picked the last of the veggies and pulled out the rest of our vining plants to get ready for winter.  We ended up with quite a few squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes and rather than try to squeeze them into the freezer we opted to bring them to our local food pantry where we know the donation will be greatly appreciated.  

Giving back doesn't always have to mean volunteering a day of your time or making a large monetary donation - it can be giving back in small ways everyday to help your neighbor and those around you.  We all need to remember this more (myself included), and next year we'll make a point to share even more of our produce with the food pantry all summer long.  

Sneak Peek: Kids Book Rails

Making over our daughter's room has been slow-going to say the least.   We had a busy, wonderful summer and now I'm already deep into Christmas ornament orders so finding time to work on the whole makeover has been tricky. 

View fullsize

In progress

Today I finally hung the book rails I made in this tiny nook and I think it will help make this space functional.  Now I need to make something to hold the large, heavy books on the floor - and finish the rest of the room - and then I will share the whole project!  ;)