DIY Tray Ceiling

Now that the holidays are over we decided to get moving on a few winter projects since its too cold to be outside, the first is adding a tray ceiling to our dining room. This is a $1000 add-on with RH which believe it or not, we're completing for about $75--that is not a typo.

Of course you do need to already have a few things to keep the cost low:

Drill
Drywall Screws
Air Brad Nailer speeds the job up immensly
Drywall Compound
Paint
Stud Finder
Miter Saw/Box



After much debating we decided to go with a 6"h x 15" deep tray in the dining room. The casing on the DR entryways left us with 1' above the door, so we stopped the tray halfway, leaving room for the 3" crown that will be added later.

For the framing, we went with 2x2s instead of 2x4s as well as 3/8" sheetrock to keep the weight down and this also directly lowered the cost. Our DR is about 12x14 so this meant a length of (2) 2x2x8 for each course of framing. In total we used (24) 2x2s with a total cost of $40.

Once you determine how tall you want your tray, run a first course around the perimeter of the room at that height. It is the single piece of wood on the wall shown in the picture below. Some people use chalk lines around the room but we just marked the height every few feet. There is no need to miter since all joints will be hidden by drywall.

Always screw into studs and joists when creating any structural additions!
We accept no liability as to the validity or completeness of these instructions!

Next you will need to build some mini-ladder-ish structures to hold what will be the wall of your tray. Make sure you have determined where your ceiling joists are, as this also affects how deep your tray is to become.

If you are missing joists at prime locations, one option is to cut a hole in the ceiling (the part that will be hidden by the tray) and nail in your own cross members. Another option is to buy toggle bolts which have small arms that grab onto the top-side of the drywall to hang things.

These sections are small and will weigh about 10-15lbs each with the sheetrock attached and can easily be supported by either method

Since we decided on 6" height, each long 2x2 is 1.5" high, so 1.5 + 1.5 = 3 and in order to reach 6" we created 3" mini studs to end up with 6". Brad nail them together and also use wood glue or liquid nails.

We went with a 15" deep tray as we think much deeper than that makes the room feel smaller. Mark or chalk that width on your ceiling and attach the mini-ladders at those marks.

Continue adding the "ladders" around the room. We did the shorter walls first so that would cut down on the amount of wood needed for the long walls since they will be butting up against each other.

The last step is to add some 45deg mitered angle pieces to create the octagonal effect, these can be sized to taste but aesthetically the same length as the depth of the tray seemed to work best for us.

Updated 1/1
Happy New Year!!

The drywall went up and dried yesterday and since we typically stay home on 12/31, we brought in the new year doing our favorite things...drinking and painting (not a recommended blend but it was so much fun!) It turned out great and we LOVE our new tray ceiling, which again ran us exactly $76.24, talk about a score! Adding the crown will really make it pop. We also ran some electrical in the tray just in case we decide on some small recessed at a later date.

Next up: Crown Molding, Custom Built-in Shelving and some basement re-vamping with a wet bar & media room, and more...stay tuned :)

-- Ericka

even though the right side looks skewed in the photo, it is perfectly straight! just a weird perspective

DIY Decorative Wall Boxes

We've gotten a few private messages about the wall boxes showing in our last project update about the Custom Window Valances and decided to throw a quickie tutorial together.

The ones we have are 20" square, to make 3 of them you will need 3 pieces of 1x2x8' pine that run a few dollars each. Being that we wanted 2 alternating colors, we bought 1 yard of the blue and 1 yd of the brown. If the fabric roll is at least 48" long, you can get 2 of them out of one yard at the size we wanted.

You will need:
(3) 1x2x8' pine pieces
Box of 2" brad/finishing nails
Quilt Batting (optional, but will create a smoother surface)
Staple Gun
Fabric

Total cost per box depending on source/quality of fabric: $5-10

Cut your wood pieces to size, needing 4 pieces per box at 20" each.

Being that we're doing this tutorial after the fact, we are missing a couple of photos of the steps but inserted graphic examples or related pictures to help you along. Check out the Valances post for more insight.

Assemble them with your nails in a roundabout joint with one piece overlapping the other and continue overlapping as you go around. This will help you get a perfect square without mitering the corners.

Lay the frame on your uncut fabric or batting and position it at least 2" from the corner of the fabric to make sure that you have enough to wrap around to the inside edges of the frame and staple. Cut the fabric only after you have the two corner edges secured.

If you did use batting, repeat the last step with your fabric.

We spaced them with 4" between each piece so to center on whichever wall youre using compute xx to be the remainder of inches divided by 2:

----------------------------------------
|  xx...20 - 4 - 20 - 4 - 20...xx   |
----------------------------------------

DIY Custom Window Valances

The model here has some nice cornices and we took advantage of that idea for our master. We've been breezing through projects and always forget to take pictures and document, but did remember with this one.

All you really need is a a sheet of 1/2" plywood (or assorted pieces of pine but it may cost more), some brackets, staple gun, hammer, screws, screwdriver, quilt batting, fabric and a saw of some type.

The windows here in VA are 35" x 60", and we've found that an extra 2" on the width and a 12" height (mounted 6" above the window) gives us the look were into. One of the walls has a cluster of two so we will create a valance doubled in size to cover both.

Things you'll need for each single window...

• (1) 37" x 12" piece for front or 1'x12"x8' pine (good for 2 windows)
• (2) 3" x 12" for the sides or 1'x4"x8' pine (good for sides and top)
• (1) 3" x 36" for the top
• (3) 1" L-brackets
• (2) 2" L-brackets
• (2) corner brackets
• 1/2" wood screws

Depending on the quality/source of the fabric it should run about $25/window

Place the brackets as shown and assemble, make sure youre holding whichever seam you are working on and watch for shifting closely before you attach the screws.

Quilt Batting 36X45 - you can get enough for 2 windows from this pack, it does stretch a little so its easy to force a fit

Place 4" from a corner to be sure you have enough to wrap around the sides and to the back edges

On the long sides, keep your staples around 2" apart or you will see buckles and lumps and stretch as you go.

Same goes for the fabric. We bought a 21-piece bedding set that came with curtains & bed skirt. We will be using neither and have re-purposed the skirt for the valances.

Use the 2" L-brackets to mount the valance to the wall, resting the top side against the brackets.

Voila! Were still working on the master so better pics to follow

We're floored!

PM said that the flooring guys had an opening and if we wanted them to move forward a week early and we agreed, but specified that the floor had to be 100% covered to keep it from getting damaged and it was with a thick foam type layer. Waiting for tile backsplash, carpet, staircase stain, driveway (been too rainy) & the punch list drill down to be completed which mainly consists of drywall & trim touch up. It looks like the gas line people hit some water pvc pipe that will now need to be replaced and will delay the sod...booo! --Ericka

Tuesday 5/1

Had some off and on rain so that kept the driveway from being done, but that didnt stop the deck/garage stairs, irrigation people, columns and coach lights from going up. The PM is waiting until the last week to do the flooring, which is a great idea.

Wasnt expecting a recessed light here but we like the clean look so...score!

My first (or so) job is to customize this guy (12x14) with a cedar stain, lights, and a siding matched accent color

Something like this but with a darker stain

The stone patio probably wont be done until next year, too many other things to handle

Irrigation Control

Irrigation Zone Connections

Here is the opener RH installs. I see a lot of people talking about quiet belt-driven openers. 
This one is chain driven and isnt that noisy. Why wouldnt I want to hear my garage opening anyway?

. 

default thermostat, not sure how programmable this one is, but will definitely change it out if its not flexible

Someone has a bun in the oven...

And its our fireplace!

Gutters, hvac on stilts, air vent covers, bathroom fans and our PM's loooong punch list

Someone had asked about lazy susan in the corner, this is what we received by default