Garage Makeover Reveal With Care

It's finally here, the day I get to share our garage makeover reveal with you. This project took a lot longer than we anticipated due to delays with materials and summer plans, but in the end it has all come together beautifully. Check out this before and after to see a truly amazing transformation. 

Some things I learned doing this reno:

1. Renos ALWAYS take longer than anticipated. Even small projects have delays, so you just have to roll with it. I try to remind myself that we are incredibly fortunate to have a place to renovate, and the means to do so. 

2. Making reno choices is really hard. Who knew? As someone who hasn't done much of this stuff I found it really tough. There are so many choices for finishes, colours, textures...plus the budget! I was so happy to be able to bounce ideas off of our friend Krista of KMSalter Design & Diana at The Garage Door Depot. I now know why people hire designers, especially on big projects. Thanks ladies!

Here is my original inspiration from earlier this spring:

Looking out on our backyard now brings me the biggest smile. The garage turned out better than I ever could have imagined.

Not only is the garage beautiful and totally changes the look of our yard, but the garage door actually works! Like really really works. It's almost effortless to open and close, which makes it way easier to clean up the kids toys and bikes at the end of a long day. I know I sound like a nerd, but I love this door. I was so impressed by The Garage Door Depot's customer service from start to finish. The way they helped me design, measure and tailor the door to suit our needs was amazing.

Originally I was thinking of a pretty basic door, but after looking at the options and chatting with Diana I decided on a gorgeous carriage style door (Acadia North Hatley by Garaga). I figured it's an investment and something we will be looking at for a long time (comes with a limited lifetime warranty after all), so we should go with one that we love. I'm obsessed with all the little details on this door. The windows, iron handles and hinges give it such a classic look. Plus I love that it's Canadian made.

I usually enjoy a good DIY, but our new garage door was one thing I definitely wanted professionally installed. There is something about a large piece of metal suspended from the ceiling that makes me vote for a pro. The installers with Garage Door Depot were incredibly knowledgeable and worked efficiently to get our door installed and ready to use.  Plus they cleaned up the area before leaving. I know that sounds silly, but as a busy mama who is always cleaning up after someone, I aways appreciate when in-home service providers leave the space as they found it. *If you're in need of a new garage door mention With Care for 10% off Insulated Garage Doors with The Garage Door Depot Toronto

We debated simply painting the metal siding on the garage, but after learning how much work was involved for a short term fix, we decided to change up the siding and go for something eco-friendly and local. We chose Canadian-made stained wood siding from Maibec. We eventually want to refinish our screened in porch at the front of our house to match and wanted the classic look of wood, without all the the upkeep. This stuff is warranted for rot for 50 years, and the stains are warrantied for anywhere from 8-15 years depending on what you choose. I absolutely love this natural tone charcoal grey that we picked to compliment the existing brick facade of our home.

Please note that we installed the siding ourselves because of our budget, and because we're those kind of people ; ), but if it's in your budget, I would always recommend hiring someone for large jobs like this. Especially with kids under foot. If you are someone who likes a challenge, is handy, has the right tools, a little help, and some extra time, it's doable (make sure you choose the em+ installation system if you're going DIY and read through the whole installation guide so you can plan your project). We hope to do the front of our house next year (ahh it would look gorgeous!), so maybe I'll write out a little DIY guide if we do.  

For now I'm just excited to enjoy time in our backyard and smile at this beauty of a garage...and maybe start dreaming up ways to make the inside prettier and more functional. I can already hear Brian (my partner) rolling his eyes from here ; )

If you're planning a garage makeover don't hesitate to get in touch, or check out some of the amazing products and services I used below. 

Care

In this Post:

Garage Door Depot Toronto (Mention With Care for 10% off Insulated Doors): Acadia North Hatley Garage Door by Garaga     |     Maibec: Coastal Charcoal URBAHN Brushed Wood Siding in Rabbeted Bevel     |     Plant World: Hay Bail, Planters, Pumpkins + Wreath     |     Wayfair: Goosneck Light Fixtures

*This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I only partner with products and services that I genuinely love and want to recommend. 

Simple DIY Raised Garden Beds

With planting season upon us it seems like the perfect time to share a post that I've been meaning to write for 3 years! I've had tons of requests by readers and friends for a DIY of our raised garden beds, so here it is. Better late than never...right? Some of these photos are really old, so don't get confused. That's little Lucy!  These pics are making me so excited for our Garage Makeover on a Budget, coming this summer! 

These raised beds are so simple to make and such a great addition to any garden. You can make them in whatever size and shape works best for your individual space. Keep in mind that it's ideal to be able to crouch, kneel or sit by each side of your garden bed, and be able to reach at least half way across, so you don't have to hurt your back while caring for and harvesting your plants. 

Why use raised beds?

• You can grow a lot of high quality produce in a small area

• They prevent soil compaction a.k.a. keep your kids from falling onto your plants and on the soil ...most of the time ;)

• They provide a space to top up with high quality soil which helps your plants grow (Especially important in big cities like Toronto where our soil has been depleted of many minerals and nutrients and filled with many heavy metals and toxins)

• The soil warms up faster than than in the ground, so most plants can be added earlier

• They keep weeds out of your growing area, and are a barrier for slugs and snails

• They provide good drainage. Most vegetables need lots of sun, lots of water, and good drainage with loosely packed soil to grow optimally. *Keep in mind that raised beds will dry out quicker than the ground, but this is good for vegetable crops. Consider a rain barrel to help with your water needs. See my post from a few years ago for 3 Must Haves for Veggie Gardening Success.

Supplies:

• Cedar Lumber to make up the 4 sides of your beds

  • You needs 2 boards per side for a stacked box like ours. We used 1"x6" boards and made 10' long beds, so we used 12' long boards for the sides and cut them down to size. Our beds are 3' wide so we used a 6' board for each end and cut it in half to make 2 perfect size boards. You will have to choose the appropriate length and width for your space and plan accordingly. Please note that lumber isn't actually the width it says, which is so weird. A 1"x6" board is typically more like 5.25" - 5.5" wide, so keep this in mind with any projects. You could also do 1"x8" boards, or a single board instead of stacking 2 boards. That's the best part about these, you can totally customize them.

• 2"x2"x8' Framing Lumber

  • To be cut down to lengths for corner and side supports. We used a support in each corner and then 2 more evenly spaced along each long side. We cut our supports down to about 11.5" in length and constructed our beds upside down so we could offset the stakes (not level with top and bottom of the main boards). This means that when you turn your beds the right way the stakes go down into the ground creating stability and keeping your beds in place. We were able to get all 8 stakes for each bed out of one 8' long piece of framing. You lose a little length when you make your cuts, so we just cut 8 equal pieces and ended up with pieces approximately 11.5" long.

• 8x2" Deck Screws

• Soil & Plants to fill beds

Tools:

• Saw (or get the hardware store to cut it for you)

• Drill and bits

• Square

• Rubber Mallet

Instructions: *It's best to have 2 people for assembly

• Plan your raised bed(s) and size of all lumber needed (Measurements for our 10'x3' beds are included in the supplies section)

• Cut all lumber to size (or have them do it for you at the lumber area of the hardware store)

• Lay bed out and ensure all pieces are ready

• Begin assembly by having one person hold the top long board upright in place (this board will be siting on the ground as we're working upside down).

• Have the 2nd person screw one of the measured support stakes into the end of the board, flush with the end of the support stake. *Remember to offset the stake a few inches so they will be sunken down when you turn your beds over to install them. This means your stakes should be about 1.5" off the ground. *See photos

• Next, attach the short board to the same stake to create your first corner. Use your square to get an even corner each time.

• Continue to work your way around your bed screwing in each corner support to your 4 top boards

• Then add your 4 bottom boards (which are on top right now). *Your support stakes should be sticking up above the top of this 2nd row of boards

• Screw in additional support stakes spaced evenly along the long sides of beds. We did 2 extra supports on each long side at just over 3' apart each. Depending on the size of your beds you may use more or less.

• To reinforce the corners and keep the boards flush together go around the planters and screw through the end of each long board directly into the short end board from the outside in.

• When all of your support stakes and boards are screwed into place you'll need to till up the earth where they are to be placed. This is the most time consuming and tiring parts of the project.

• Once area is all prepped, flip beds over and set in place. Tap down each corner and edge gently with a rubber mallet to stabilize.

• Fill with fresh soil, add plants & water.

We love using our raised beds with our favourite Garden Covers from Lee Valley. 

Hope this gives you a little garden inspiration. Remember you can make these to fit any space, big or small. Don't hesitate to send along questions or projects you would like to see featured. 

Care 

Simple DIY Floor Cushions

If your kids are anything like mine, they probably don't actually sit on furniture the way it's intended. Mine seem to sit on the floor most of the time, so I decided to make them some oversized floor pillows to make a cozy spot for reading books or watching a movie. 

I searched high and low on the good old internet for some appropriate cushions, but the prices were ridiculous. $150-$300 for a big cushion with cover! Not exactly what I wanted to spend on cushions that I knew would be covered in peanut butter and apple juice within hours. I wanted something that I could machine wash and toss on the floor without concern for ruining them. I even looked at dog beds, but turns out people spend A LOT on their dogs. Not that I don't love my kids, but seriously, I just couldn't justify that kind of money on floor cushions. So I decided I would make them myself. 

I found an amazing textile place in West Toronto, Nusso Textiles, that has an incredible selection of pillows and cushions, as well as options for custom orders. If you oder more than $100 at a time it's considered wholesale and much cheaper. I ordered a dozen throw pillows of various sizes for our screened in porch bench seats and 4 giant 32" x 32" pillows for the kids. I opted to upgrade to the polycotton covering so they would stand up to any necessary laundering. They came to $22 each and were ready to pick up in about 4 days. 

Next I wanted to make covers for the pillows, but again wanted to keep it simple and affordable. I chose some durable cotton canvas fabric (I recommend a cotton canvas or cotton twill, something with a little more strength than a soft quilting or craft cotton) from my favourite local fabric store Fabric Fabric. This place might seem a little rough around the edges, but I promise it has great fabrics and even better prices. I find I get my best deals from the ladies there when I'm pregnant or toting around a cute baby. Just a tip ;) 

I found this dead simple envelope pillow case tutorial online and set to work. This is definitely a project appropriate for a beginner, and can be adapted to fit any cushion size. The project involves:

1. cutting one piece of fabric
2. ironing said fabric
3. hemming two ends of the fabric
4. folding the fabric into the appropriate shape &
5. sewing a straight edge along 2 sides.

For each of my 32" cushions I needed 2 meters of fabric, which left me with extra fabric for smaller cushion covers or other projects. I cut 1 piece of fabric 32" x 72" (32"x2 +8" for overlap and seam allowance) and created my cover. Once I figured out my measurements each pillow case only took about 20 kid free minutes to make...if a baby or child is around this could be extended to several days ;) 

As you can see the kids are loving the finished project. The best part is that they cost about $40 each to make. A huge savings from the original ones I found on Etsy and other sites, not to mention you can customize them to suit your style. Hope this inspires you to make some cozy floor cushions for your family. 

Care