For my next few posts, I hope to make them a mini-series. Because what better way to force yourself to be productive than to tell the world you are working on a big project with a lot of moving parts that requires weeks worth of determination and hard work? I can only hope that my self-proclamation proves constructive. 

I've been talking about a garage makeover for a long time. As you can see from my photo below, and probably most of the other photos in my blog posts, our garage is a mess. I have all my future projects, currents projects, and some of my failed past projects jumbled together in heaps.

I decided it was time to organize things. I started with a little Pinterest research on "Garage Makeovers" and came up with a lot of really good ideas. So as soon as I got home from a week long vacation this weekend, I started bugging my husband about starting on the garage. The last thing he wanted to do after being away from the house all week was start a labor-intensive project that he knew would consume a lot of our free time. But he did admit that some of my proposed ideas were intriguing. So he humored me and accompanied me to the hardware store for some research.

I decided that Step 1 needed to be drywall. For some reason, the prior owners put up drywall on half of the garage. The rest they left open with visible studs sticking out. It didn't really bother me when we bought the house.  After all, it was our first home and we were just happy to have a garage at all. But after a while, it really started to get to me. It just made everything look incomplete. And with all my crap just sitting in the middle of the space, it really made me despise my own garage. Not cool.

Once I started doing measurements and trying to figure out how to cover the rest of the open space, I realized that the prior owners may have just put drywall on the areas that were connected to other walls in the house. I suppose that made sense from an insulation standpoint. But it didn't change my plans to finish the rest of the space. My mind was already set.

As for the one side of the garage that was already partially finished, I noticed that there was another layer of something under the actual drywall. I did some research and figured out that it was a cement board put into place to prevent water damage and mold. So instead of just purchasing the drywall, we decided to purchase the cement boards. We wanted the extra layer of protection and we wanted to make sure we could make the drywall match up with what was currently installed.

I measured all the open spaces and drew the walls in my sketch book.  I took my measurements with me to the hardware store with hubby and we got to work on our research. We figured out that the actual drywall boards were not going to fit into my car. However, the cement boards were much smaller and able to fit.  So I did some quick calculations and figured out how many boards I would need to fill the empty spaces. We purchased the very heavy cement boards and special screws while we were there and made the trek back home.

Once we got home the real fun began. Cement boards are heavy! 

We started by clearing out the side of the garage that we wanted to start with. I insisted that we complete the side that was already partially covered. It was a smaller space and would be good practice. We moved everything out of the way, removed loose screws and nails from the studs, and swept out all the spiderwebs.

Next we started putting up the cement boards. I'd measured out the space and determined how to place them that would require the least amount of cutting. The first few went in with no cutting necessary. We lined up the boards with the existing ones and I used a level and a sharpie to mark where the studs were underneath the boards. This is a very important step. Trying to guess where to put screws is much harder than you think. I tried to eyeball the first few and it just didn't work out very well.

Once the studs were marked, we used a power drill to drill the screws through the cement boards and into the studs. We made sure to get all four corners of each board as best as possible. Then we put screws approximately a foot apart on each of the studs. The more screws the better. This is only the bottom layer. Another layer of drywall needs to go on top so it is important to make sure this layer is as sturdy as possible.

Because of the way our garage was built, there were a few places that had metal placed on the wood. I made sure to mark on the boards where any metal existed underneath. Drilling screws into metal would have been a disaster.

As for the corners that did not have studs under them, I put some pieces of wood in place that acted as a "fake stud". I wanted to be sure that the corners were secure. For those specific corners, I made sure to mark with a sharpie that there were no studs.

Once the first four boards were secure, we got to the point where we needed to start cutting boards in order to fit them into the remaining spaces.

I measured the spaces with a tape measure and used a pencil to draw cut lines on the cement boards. The boards have a specified side for cutting. It displays which side it is in big block letters. That side is easier to write on. I used a drywall knife to cut along the lines I drew.

Once the boards were cut, we used the same process to install them. We needed a ladder for most of them because we were placing them above the already installed boards. This step is best suited for two people. The boards are very heavy, and ladders are not always reliable. Hubby had to do most of the heavy lifting. I did the cutting and measuring.

Once we finished the install on the one wall, we rounded the corner and finished off a small space between the wall and the garage door. Then I took lots of pictures. It looked better already!

So our initial Step 1 turned into "Cement Board Installation". So now Step 2 will have to be "Drywall Installation".' And though I mentioned at the start of this post that the next few posts will be part of a mini-series, I am already thinking that Step 2 might not be complete by next week. I am going to have to rent a truck to purchase and transport the drywall to our garage, and we are out of town for part of this weekend. I'm already making excuses. Not promising...

Anyway, whenever I do get around to writing the next "Garage Makeover Series" post, it will be on the installation of drywall. In fact, just so I have a a record of it, I've provided a proposed list of steps for the complete garage makeover below. It might change as the process progresses, but at least you will get the idea.

Garage Makeover Series
Part 1 - Preparing for Drywall (Cement Board Installation)
Part 2 - Installing Drywall
Part 3 - Building Custom Shelves
Part 4 - Organizing Shelves 
Part 5 - Installing Peg Boards
Part 6 - Organizing Peg Boards
Part 7 - Building a Work Bench
Part 8 - Installing an Outdoor Sink (I might need a professional for this)

As for the completion of Step 1, I have provided a list of materials I used for the process and a quick step recap.

And of course, no makeover project is complete without the before and after shot...

Today's post is another quick furniture makeover. 

I'd been looking for a table that I could put in the kitchen to decorate an awkward corner. With the space being dominated by floor to ceiling windows, there wasn't much I could really do with it. More storage would have been great, but I couldn't put anything solid in front of the windows without it looking weird. So I decided to go with a small table that I could eat at or work on some of my cake projects.

I was actually in search of a cocktail table. I wanted something tall and round that wouldn't take up a lot of space. Of course, what I initially picture, and what I generally end up with, often vastly differ. As is the case with this project.  

I found this particular table at, surprise!, a thrift store. It was a little beat up, and not the color I wanted, but it had good bones and fit quite nicely into the space.

Since I already had two stools sitting in the corner of my garage that would fit perfectly under the table, I decided that even though it wasn't the shape and size I originally wanted, it would probably end up working out even better in terms of functionality. 

I started by separating the top of the table from the bottom. The black portion was too dark for my kitchen, and the light wood tabletop color clashed with my dark hardwood floors.  

After hubby and I sanded the bottom, I used two layers of primer. I covered that with two layers of white paint. I used the same paint I bought for the cabinets and the hutch so it would all match nicely. I don't experiment with too many crazy colors. I really like my neutrals. I prefer to bring the color in with decorations.

For the top portion, I decided to stain the wood. This step proved A LOT harder than I thought it would be. The existing tabletop had a thick clear coat on it. It was very waxy, and after many attempts, I was not able to sand it with any luck. So I turned to the pro stripper. Yup, that's right, I used a pro stripper to help me get the job done.

I sprayed the stripper onto the tabletop and spread it as evenly as possible. I allowed it to set for 15 minutes, and then I used a drywall scraper to remove the layer of gunk from the wood. It took several tries and it was messy, exhausting, and frankly, a pain.

However, once it was done, most of the scratches and marks from the original tabletop were gone. My next step was to stain it a darker color. That is where I made my first mistake. I didn't leave enough time in between steps for the wood to fully dry out, and I didn't sand it at all either. I wish I had done both of those things. Lesson learned.

I used a sponge brush to start brushing layers of stain onto the surface. I used the same walnut stain that I used for the tabletop on my kitchen hutch. And here's where my mistake made my job a little tough. Since the surface didn't seem to be dry enough, and I hadn't sanded it at all, the stain did not soak into the wood like I was expecting it to. Instead, it separated and bubbled up a little. Kind of like rain rolling off your windshield. I panicked a little. Ok, I panicked a lot. I should have just wiped it all off and waited for it to dry, but I was not thinking clearly. So I just kept applying more and more layers of stain until it finally started soaking in a little. But by then my lines were crooked and everything just looked a little off. The good news was that this particular piece was going in the corner of my kitchen and would be decorated with items. So I really wasn't all that concerned if it didn't look perfect. 

After I let the stain dry, I applied a few layers of polyurethane. It wasn't the perfect tabletop, but at least I learned from my mistake, and so can you!

I reassembled the table. Once I had it all screwed back on, I started in on the stools. They were just your basic wooden stools. I decided to just paint them white and call it a day. I wanted to stain the tops of them the same color as the top of the table. But after the fiasco with the pro stripper and the not ideal staining situation, I opted for the easier route.

I used two layers of primer and one layer of white paint. At one point, I tried to get creative and paint the top a different color, but then I hated it and covered it up with white again. It's all about the neutrals.

After everything was dry, I placed my "new" furniture in the kitchen. I'm always so much happier with my projects when they've been placed in the house. For some reason, the flaws just don't look as significant when they are surrounded by the rest of my possessions. Out in the garage and driveway with the sun shining directly on them, they always seem less impressive. Remember that if you tend to be to hard on yourself.

I've included a materials list and quick step recap below for those of you who want to try something similar.