interior design Archives

How to Root a Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree

October 29, 2018November 26, 2018by alicefaggiLeave a Comment

I’ve always loved the look of a fiddle leaf fig tree so when it was time to redo our dining room (you can see the transformation here) I knew I wanted one in that room. This room is fiddle leaf fig magic – the perfect amount of sunlight for it to take off. Soon, my tree started to get a little out of control. I had heard about being able to propagate a fiddle leaf fig tree and thought my over grown tree was a perfect candidate.

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Trimming a Fiddle Leaf Fig

The first thing I did was fill up a couple large vases with tap water and let them sit over night. This allows the water to chlorine to evaporate. Don’t have that kind of patience? Use distilled water to fill up your vases and make sure to use a vase that can support your cutting so that it is upright.

I chose to trim the tallest stalk of my fiddle leaf fig tree with healthy leaves. It was the biggest and causing the tree to lean the most. I cut enough of the tree off so that it would be able to stand straight again and gave me enough of a stalk to put into the water, about 3 inches under the last leaf. Leave two or three stems on your cutting so that it has enough leaves to generate the energy it needs. Too many leaves left on the stem and it will take more energy than it can generate to grow roots.

Some people recommend using a rooting hormone like this one but I didn’t have one on hand and rooted mine without it.

Place the fiddle leaf fig cutting in the water in a bright spot without much direct sunlight. My fiddle leaf fig gets a little bit of direct morning sun and seems to like it. I placed my cuttings in the same room.

Periodically check the water. Make sure there is enough in the vase and that it’s clear, not cloudy. It took my cuttings about a month to sprout enough of a root system that I could place them in soil.

Plant your baby fiddle leaf fig trees in soil. Place them in a sunny spot and keep the water moist for the first month or so. It took a LONG time for my cutting to sprout any sort of growth. Of the two that I planted, the one with two leaves is the one that sprouted new growth. Don’t give up on them, even if the leaves start to brown and get ugly. Give it time, water and sunshine and you will be enjoying a new baby fiddle leaf fig tree in no time. It’s really easy, just not fast.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Care Tips

Plant your fiddle leaf fig in a container that has really good drainage in the bottom of it. Some people don’t repot their tree once they bring it home but I’ve always put mine in a container that is just a little bit bigger than what it comes in. If you don’t repot, you can line a basket like this one with a trash bag and place the fiddle leaf fig directly in it. Did I mention good drainage? That’s critical and helps avoid root rot.

Water once a month but when you do, soak it through thoroughly. Not giving it a good soak will cause the leaves to brown on the edges, especially if you live near salt water like we do.

Don’t move it. These plants prefer to be left alone in their indirectly sunny spot.

Keep your plant dusted and I wipe mine down occasionally with milk. Sounds super strange right? But, they love to be dusted and the protein in the milk helps them. Plus it makes them so pretty and shiny.

Use a good fertilizer like this one. Do you have a fiddle leaf fig tree? Any secrets to keeping yours happy?

Function

Reading Nook Under the Stairs

September 27, 2018August 22, 2019by alicefaggi7 Comments

When we first looked at this house, I always thought that the open space under the stairs would make the perfect reading nook for the kids. Fast forward three years and I finally made it happen.

Reading Nook Under the Stairs Before

When we bought this house, the lower stairs were open and wrapped in carpet. In fact, the banister was completely different, and completely dangerous for small children, you can see the before pictures here. This space served as a catch all of toys, random storage boxes and the only space for our large dog’s crate. That dog is crate trained and if left out while we are gone, will destroy a few of the kids toys as retribution. So the crate has to stay put. It’s only been recently that the girls have started playing under here which is what’s motivated me to finally make this space more intentional. And fun.

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Reading Nook Under the Stairs During

I’m actually surprised that the carpet was even able to be ripped off of these stairs since there were about 5,729 carpet staples under here. I removed them all, patched, sanded and caulked before I used my favorite primer.

I used leftover navy paint for the walls (mostly SW Naval with a touch of SW Salty Dog from our dining room makeover) and acrylic craft paint for the back of the stairs.

I used these cloud decals and put my kiddos to work. They were so excited to finally be able to help and it took every bit of restraint in my body to no go back and “fix” their cloud placement. It’s so fun to include them in the design and implementation of these house projects, especially in a space that is exclusively for them.

Since this is a fairly dark space, it needed a light and this wall scone was the perfect size. It wasn’t quite the right gold so I sprayed it with this and copied Nesting With Grace’s Magic Light Trick so that I wouldn’t have to hard wire the light. I used it in our laundry room makeover and it works so well. The rainbow photo holder I found for $2 in the Target Clearance section.

Reading Nook Under the Stairs After

I couldn’t be happier with the finished product and the girls absolutely love it. I let Big Nugget pick out what pillows she wanted (all from Home Goods). The rainbow curtain is tulle that I wrapped around a tension rod and tucked under the dog crate – you can see how I made it in this video.

No rainbow reading nook is complete without a rainbow unicorn.

Big Nugget also picked out this basket to hold her favorite books.

I think both of the girls are happy with their rainbow reading nook and I have a feeling lots of memories will be made under the stairs.

Function

9 Things to Know Before Painting Cabinets

July 28, 2018January 7, 2020by alicefaggiLeave a Comment

When we did our laundry room makeover, I thought that building the shelf or hanging the wallpaper would be the most challenging part of the design plan. I was surprised that painting the cabinets was actually the part that gave me the biggest headaches.

I love the look of painted cabinets and now that I’ve learned some lessons, I’m ready to tackle the rest of the painted cabinets we have in this house. That is, as soon as I finish our front door makeover.

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you!

9 Things I Learned Painting My Cabinets

Buy some sawhorses – This is a garage/workshop must-have if you like doing any sort of home projects or even crafting. They are perfect to stage your cabinets on when you are prepping them and painting them. I use these on my projects, I love the lower table.

Before and after painted cabinet transformation. This easy DIY project, with or without sanding, can take old drap cabinets into a high impact statement. Ideas for your kitchen, bathroom or laundry room. 9 things to know when you are painting cabinets with with a sprayer or with brushes. #beforeandafter #DIY #kitchen #bathroom #laundryroom #colors #interiordesign #farmhouse

Scrape off excess paint – If you have old or layered paint on your cabinets, take the time to scrape it off. It will make your finished product look great and help your primer and paint stick.

Sand them down – Also another important step that shouldn’t be skipped. I sand them really well before I put on primer and then gently with a fine sandpaper once the primer is dry.

Use a good primer, maybe twice – I love Killz primer. It’s worth it to put a layer of this on even if your paint includes a primer in it. Especially on cabinets that are going to get a lot of use.

Invest in paint – This was my biggest mistake in our laundry room makeover, I used crappy paint. If I had to do it over again, I would have had my paint store color match the crappy paint and used a higher-quality brand. It’s worth the time and money.

Use foam brushes – On cabinets, if you are hand painting them, you want to use foam brushes so you eliminate brush marks. I like having a few different sizes, like in this package. If you want to get super fancy, use a sprayer. This is ideal for bigger projects but for the four doors in my laundry room, brushes were fine.

Have a small bowl or cup nearby to keep all the loose screws – Painting your cabinets isn’t a one day project so it’s nice to be able to keep all the screws and hardware in one central location so you have it once you are ready to reinstall.

Painters tape is your friend – Use painters tape to mark off what cabinet door go where (very important thing to keep track of) and it to measure and mark drill holes for the new pulls. Very important to GO SLOW when you are drilling into your doors. Using light pressure and taking your time will make sure that your doors don’t split or crack when you drill through them.

Load up on patience – Take your time and do it right. Trust me it will be worth it.

Function

How to Build a Laundry Shelf

May 17, 2018July 13, 2018by alicefaggi10 Comments

Our laundry room makeover is complete and the project that I’m most proud of has to be the DIY laundry shelf over the washer and dryer.

When I was pulling together the design board for this room, I knew that I wanted something over the washer and dryer. We had already used that space as a landing area, the laundry shelf would make it feel more intentional. It would also help muffle the sound of the washer and dryer a bit.

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you! I never link to anything that I haven’t actually used.

DIY Laundry Shelf

The plan was fairly simple. Line the surrounding walls with 1×2 boards and lay common boards on top to make the shelf. Here are my tips for creating a DIY laundry shelf.

1. Invest in sawhorses. If you don’t already have them, get some. They will make staining and cutting infinitely easier.

2. Measure obsessively. I was so worried that I was going to mess this part up that I probably would have finished the project a lot faster if I only measured twice. Labeling the back of each wood piece helped me keep track of what went where. Leave room for any hoses or cords that are above the shelf.

3. Cut everything first. We had the large boards cut at Home Depot. The wall supports and the hose cutout I did with a jigsaw. Be picky when you are buying your wood. Make sure your 1×2’s are straight and that your common boards are not warped and have some character to them.

4. Sand down the edges – it will give everything a more finished look.

5. Stain last. Follow the directions on the stain container and stain the edges and under parts if there is any chance it can be seen. I used the Minwax Polyshade in Espresso.

6. Use a good level and stud finder. All of the support boards were mounted at 30 inches high using either stud screws or drywall anchors/screws.

7. Connect the boards underneath to prevent sagging. Attaching a small piece of 1×2 across the boards will help support them. Pre-drill the hole through the support and be careful not to go too far into the common board.

See more pictures of the finished room here.

Function

Laundry Room Update – The Reveal

April 25, 2018August 22, 2019by alicefaggi22 Comments

The laundry room is finally done and you guys, I am so beyond thrilled with how it turned out. Is it possible that the smallest room in our house is now my favorite space to be in?

It all started with a post on Nesting with Grace about a $20 light she found. I literally looked up from reading that and looked right at my laundry room light. From there, the laundry room plan came together pretty quick, I just needed that one little bit of inspiration. Funny how those things work.

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you! I never link to anything that I haven’t actually used.

Laundry Room Before

This is where we started. A small space that can barely be considered a room but with high traffic and high visibility. My plan was fairly simple – paint the cabinets, change out the lighting and hooks and build a shelf. Easy peasy right?

Laundry Room Makeover After

Let me preface all of this with this – I love doing DIY projects but honestly, I’m not that good at it. So tackling this kind of project was a bit daunting. But I did it. It’s not perfect, but I did it. My husband helped with the shelf a little bit but really, this was all done during my kid’s nap times.

And I have all the heart eyes for this room.

The light that inspired it all.

I painted the cabinets and added some new hardware – I’ll have a post soon about all the things I learned with that little project. Sign up for my email updates on the side of the page so you don’t miss a post (promise, it’s just for new posts).

These are the puck lights that I used – another inspiration from Nesting with Grace. (Search her site for her magic light trick – mind blowing). They are stick on and battery operated. Amazing. Affordable. And I’ll be putting them all over the house.

I used this temporary wallpaper from Target and the corresponding color for the cabinets. While I LOVE how it turned out, you can read my full review of the experience here.

The clothesline adds a bit more functionality to the space. I bought it from Amazon and spray painted it gold to match the pulls on the cabinets.

The shelf was a labor of love deserving of it’s own how-to blog post but aside from a few minor hiccups, it was fairly easy to build and install. It would have gone in a lot faster but I obsessively measured. All the DIY details coming soon.

Another functional part of the space were the hooks behind the garage door. These alphabet hooks worked perfectly and I hung the kids lower so they were easy to reach. Sure, I wanted a beautiful space but it has to be functional for our everyday life or else it’s just a waste of time and money.

The rest of the accessories are from Home Goods and Target. I love the candles from Hearth and Hand, they smell so good.

There are a lot of imperfections but I did it. There just isn’t anything like that feeling of doing a big project like this for yourself. Which makes this beautiful space, even more special.

Function

Laundry Room Update – The Plan

March 22, 2018June 29, 2018by alicefaggi17 Comments

Calling this a laundry room makeover is generous. We don’t really have a room per se. It’s more like a walkway from our garage entrance to the main living area. So when I saw this post on Nesting with Grace about this $20 light, I got inspired to do something about this eye sore of a space.

Laundry Room Makeover Before

This is where we are starting with the laundry room, these are unedited and exactly how this space looks on any given day. It’s a high traffic area and it goes without saying that it gets a lot of use. And I look at it every time I sit on my couch….

There are great (original) cabinets above the washer and dryer that provide critical storage. Given my short stature, they are hard to reach so I’m going to paint them and add some pulls to modernize the cabinets and make them easier to reach.

Also needed in this space is a countertop. We tend to pile things up in here on top of the machines and then items fall off during the spin cycle. I’m also hoping that installing a countertop will muffle a little bit of the sound when the machines are running.

There is also a small bathroom here – we’re gonna leave that alone…for now. I’m sure this design will dictate what I do with that little powder room when it comes around time to update it. And no, the baby didn’t get into the toilet. She tried to sit on it to read her book. HA!

Probably one of my most important tasks with this project is moving our growth chart. I started to record the girls growth when we moved in 3 years ago. I will transfer this to a ruler growth chart that I’ll install on the back of a closet door.

This is the view when you come in from the garage.

That’s where we are starting with this room and I’m hoping to do this entire makeover for under $300.

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you! I never link to anything that I haven’t actually used.

The Laundry Room Makeover Design Plan

Target has a line of removable wallpaper that is peel and stick. It’s $30 per roll and if I don’t like it, then it’s easy to take off. I’ve always loved the large palm leaf wallpaper at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and this pattern reminded me of that but in more muted beachy tones. I found this print online but our local store had a few limited patterns in stock. Lots of options online though.

The wallpaper comes with a few corresponding paint colors so I went with the greenish gray for the cabinets. This I picked up at my local Target once I had decided on the wall pattern. The gold pulls I found on clearance at Target as well and the hooks are from Anthropologie and are my splurge item.

If you read about our dining room or our stair remodel, then you know that we are not DIY people but I think this wood countertop is doable for us.

We have family coming into town so I don’t think we’re going to get this project started until after Easter but I’m really happy with our plan.

UPDATE! The laundry room makeover is done and I couldn’t be more thrilled….or shocked….by the transformation. See it here.

Tag: interior design

How to Root a Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you!

Trimming a Fiddle Leaf Fig

Fiddle Leaf Fig Care Tips

Reading Nook Under the Stairs

Reading Nook Under the Stairs Before

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you!

Reading Nook Under the Stairs During

Reading Nook Under the Stairs After

9 Things to Know Before Painting Cabinets

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you!

9 Things I Learned Painting My Cabinets

How to Build a Laundry Shelf

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you! I never link to anything that I haven’t actually used.

DIY Laundry Shelf

Laundry Room Update – The Reveal

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you! I never link to anything that I haven’t actually used.

Laundry Room Before

Laundry Room Makeover After

Laundry Room Update – The Plan

Laundry Room Makeover Before

This post contains some affiliate links – meaning if you click through the links and buy anything, the retailer will pay me a small commission at no additional cost to you! I never link to anything that I haven’t actually used.

The Laundry Room Makeover Design Plan

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