Autumn: The Season of Change & Color

Welcome to Autumn, the third season of the year when crops and fruits are gathered and leaves fall in the northern hemisphere from September to November. I am back to school for my final semester at UW- Stout and Nate is still working every chance that the sun lets him at Circle M Nursery. We are loving our family, friends, and home a little more this time of year with weddings, birthdays, & the Packers.To add to all the chaos in our life right now, we also got engaged and have to start planning for a wedding of our own!
We have just enough new projects and pieces to show off that really accents the fall and the color that goes will the season.
Nate handcrafted a wooden bench out of beams for the legs and support and I love this piece. We decided to put it in our sun porch right before you come into our front door and I drool over it every time I come home. He did a great job crafting a unique bench that fits our style. Always ask us if we can do a project for you; Nate and I are always up for a challenge.

Inside I added Fall Accents here and there. I created a wreath out of a couple fall silks and layered it on top of a tobacco basket, on top of corrugated metal. By far one of my favorite creations. I also made a "Gather" sign using a stencil that we hung up in our living room.

Thanks for venturing to our blog and looking through our fall photos. We hope you find inspiration in our post! 

Nate and Madalen 

Loving & Working on Our New Home

We have been so busy that I have not blogged for almost 3 months! Time flies when you work constantly and try to squeeze out every bit of daylight that you can.Nate graduated in May from the Landscaping program at CVTC here in Eau Claire and has been working on average 50- 60 hours a work week! I am so proud of him and on top of that we have been so busy doing landscaping and other projects. I am working at Elite Realty Group here in Eau Claire on average 40-50 hours a week. We are crazy, we know.

We have been putting so much work into the outside of our home during the start of the summer and now there is something to show of it. I planted a bunch of flowers to make the house feel more homey. I picked out an old wash tub on a stand, a metal tin, and a small whisky barrel to plant some flowers in it. I used a lot of tropical plants like a Croton, Mother- In- Law Tongue (Snake Plant), and a Bromeliad to bring color to the pale outside of the house. I filled in with other annuals like purple queen, coleus, double impatiens, and wandering jew. I am obsessed with how the wandering jew looks hanging over my metal planters and I definitely think it makes the front of our home look stunning. I have an old, faded, blue chair that I set out by the front door to give it a little more color! I have some succulents that are inside to liven up the interior. I have one succulent in the middle of my dining table, and an air plant in my bathroom, and another succulent hanging in my kitchen.

 

 

Nate installed drain tile and put in rock and edging on the back side of our rental for our landlord! The water was running off straight into the back of our rental and Nate fixed it so the run off would go around.
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I found a new addiction as well. I downloaded the Etsy app and I have bought something almost everyday I have had the app. I love it! I recently bought a kitchen stencil that I used on an old piece of barn wood that I collected from somewhere and it turned out better than I thought it would. I hung it in the kitchen and every day that I come home I look at it and love it more and more. Most of our kitchen is copper and the wood piece gives it just enough of a farm- style touch! I have a large gather stencil that is coming in the mail next!

                          

Nate and I have been so busy, only because we make it that way. We try to both work full time, plus do projects around the house, plus hang out with our family, and sometimes its hard to say, "Let's relax and just sit on our butts, we deserve it!" I love him just because of how hard he works. We are trying to enjoy the summer rays as much as we can. Honestly, working as hard as we do makes every minute up on the Lake that more enjoyable.

We have a couple projects on our plate right now. I picked up an old and rusted drink cart that I already spray painted copper and Nate is building wood trays for it. I also have the gather stencil coming in the mail that I have to figure out what I am going to paint it on and where I am going to put it. The final project that I have in my head right now is redoing the old dresser knobs of our dresser and putting new metal handles on it. My family recently bought a new cabin on Lake Holcombe too! So I will most definitely be posting photos of decorating the new place!

Thank you for reading, we appreciate it so much! Enjoy the summer rays while they are here!
Nate and Madalen xoxo

Barn Wood Headboard Project

The idea of this project came from our friend Angie herself! She had the idea of using some weathered and aged barn wood that she had saved from her barn on her property and making it into a headboard as seen on Pinterest. Nate and I accepted the challenge of making a large barn wood headboard that would sit from the floor to the where the ceiling peaks.
The head board is 53 inches tall and 78 inches wide. A foot of the headboard shows on each side of the bed as pictured below.  I think the foot on each side of the bed gives the piece more character and makes it a statement piece rather then just a headboard. Angie asked Nate specifically to cut the wood in that fashion, switching from dog ears to a straight cut on every other board. I personally love the look of the headboard and the uniqueness of the piece.

Recommendations
My recommendations is to get an even darker blue bedspread to really contrast off the headboard. Adding white and gray accent pillows with white or gray sheets would really provide a full effect and make the bed and headboard come together as one component. The grays and whites in the back will draw everyone's eyes to the headboard. Finally, I would suggest making the entire wall an accent wall by painting it a dark grey color to add depth and drama. With all of those design and color components, this room is exactly what I picture.

This was my favorite project that Nate and I have done so far. The project did take a very long time to construct, yet the final presentation to Angie was definitely worth the time we put into it. We hope that this gives Angie's home the perfect touch of farm and that it is savored by her as much as it is by us! We hope you all like the piece!

Thank you!
Nate and Madalen

Dining Space Furniture and Decor Project

WE MOVED 

This past month, Nate and I moved into a rental home of our own in Eau Claire. We are both ecstatic because this allows us to grow in our acquired project business and allows us to grow in our relationship.It gives us the chance to be creative and think up new ideas for Up North Projects. I love the feeling of being able to communicate with Nate and organize upcoming projects. We have a lot of work cut out for the summer with this new place. We have a cement patio in the back of the home, which we will be focused on a lot this summer! I want to be able to entertain and for visitors to feel the place has an inviting and homey feel. This is the first step of our lives that we are taking together and everything seems to be falling into place. This is one of the most rewarding feelings a person can feel. 

I have already started decorating. I come home in the afternoon and have so much to do, but the decor always distracts me and I cannot keep my hands off of it. Nate and I both say how nights go so fast, because of how much we do every night when we come home. This is now my chance to show you all what I like to do and what my finished products look like when they are designed and put together. You can tell that I like a lot of grays, tans, dark wood and creamy whites. I sometimes like throwing copper and galvanized metal into the mix as well to give a more industrial look. I can't pinpoint what I would call my type of style. I think it would be described best by a mix of a clean farm design with a little of an aged and rustic touch. Our home is filled with LOTS of wood and unfinished metal (I have an obsession).

Dining Area 
The dining area I kept clean and simple. I found this roman numeral metal clock at Target in their outdoor living area and I thought what better wall filler. I feel that the clock does justice for the whole wall and gives off a farm and industrial feel. The dining table was in the clearance section of Slumberland Furniture located right here in Eau Claire. It has a couple scrape marks on the table top and a couple wood cracks in the legs that I just painted over with white paint to cover. The chairs were my great grandma's dining chairs that she had in her farmhouse located in Stanley. My mom has had them and used them in her first home as well. I love the chairs. I was so concerned about getting white crossed back dining chairs to give it the modern farm table look, and now I feel that these chairs work and fit my style more than new ones would. The bench I bought from Shopko and it had wooden legs stained a cherry wood color and the padded seat was upholstered with brown leather. I went to Joann's Fabrics and picked up a grey tweed upholster and then painted the legs and base a creamy white to match the table. I love the look of the dining area; it all came together! I love it so much I had to get some fresh flowers to freshen it up even more!

Dining Nook
Directly to the left of the table our hallway cuts back, leaving an open cornered nook. I knew I had to do something to fill the corner and make the entire room flow. I actually got the open buffet like table from my mom. I love the character that this piece holds. It has aged grey wood that is encased with rustic metal. I knew it would be the perfect table top space to put my favorite photos of our life on. Above the table, we hung an old window I got at a flee market for around $10! I have a stash of old windows ranging in size but I thought that this one was the perfect fit. My idea is to find a small silk wreath of either magnolia leaves or some other type of greenery to place in the center to really emphasize the wall filler and to have it be a focal point of the area. I think the white wood of the window balances out the metal clock being both so different and pairing so well together. The small items are items that Nate and I have just accumulated. The tractor was a gift he got when he was little from his grandparents and I thought what better place to throw in some color then in the nook. I also had the idea of putting a picture of us both when we were little. Nate chose a picture of him holding his puppy and I chose a picture of me standing by the lake up at my cabin. This little nook is the heart of our home.

What is on the Agenda
We have a lot more projects that we want to accomplish in these coming weeks and this summer. Right now we are working on our back patio area making flower beds that are going to be surrounded by large field rocks. I'll be doing some planting and coordinating a patio table with chairs. We are also going to be trying to grow a garden out of a homemade garden box. Nate is going to try and construct a box and hopefully we are successful with some good veggies.
We have two indoor projects that we are going to have our hands full with to throw in the mix. One project is to paint "Gather" in a casual and cursive font on a piece of weathered and thick barn board and then hang it it the living room behind the couch. I am extremely excited about this project and hopefully I can get to it soon. The other project is creating our own head board out of a wooded shipping crate. The material shipped pottery and the outer shell was perfectly intact.
We are loving coming home and doing new things every day to our very own first place. Nate now realizes how much "junk" and antiques I actually have and how much I accumulate.

Take care and thank you for reading!
Nate and Madalen

Metal Siding Entertainment Center

Together, Nate and I created an awesome entertainment center for ourselves. The idea came about when we started to talk about up coming projects that we both wanted to do. I started talking about metal siding and corrugated metal and I had a vision of metal on the sides and back encased with dark stained wood. What I love about this project is that this project is the first project that I thought of and Nate brought to life. How blessed am I? I told him my ideas and what I was envisioning in my head and he made it.

Materials and The Make
Nate used pine to make the center. He cut all the pieces to length with his skill saw and made it a decent size. I wanted it big and I am sure he could of made it smaller, but I like that it is a statement piece for the living room. When people walk into the living room, their eye will be instantly drawn to the beautiful piece of furniture. I sanded it down and put on about 4 coats of a dark walnut stain. I want it darker so I think I am going to try a gel stain to give it more of a professional look, so the metal really contrasts with the wood. I love this piece of furniture. A big thank you to Nate for making my vision come to life!

Projects Update
Right now I am in the process of refurbishing a large dining bench and painting the legs white. I went to Joann Fabrics and picked out a grey upholster patterned fabric to complement my 2 toned dining table with a dark grey wood top and white legs. I wanted the leg color to match and I think the grey patterned fabric is going to look great. Nate and I are planning on getting a place that we can call home in the next week or so, so fingers crossed to moving out and moving in with my bestfriend. I cannot wait to decorate and start posting more projects that we are up to!
We are also still working on the barnwood headboard for one of our friends. I promise you, that project reveal will be coming soon.

Thank you for reading!
Nate and Madalen

Log Light Project

Nate has recently gotten a Pinterest account, and it is dangerous. He found this idea of a log light scrolling through woodworking projects. Realistically, this log light could be as high as you wanted it. The one that Nate constructed is 1 foot and 6 inches tall! This log light would be a perfect fit in a cabin living room for added decor. It definitely would have to go in a woodsy type of style home.

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO

Constructing the log light is super simple! Nate bought only a 6 foot strand of clear rope light and an 8 foot piece of 2x2 spindle board. He first cut 7 logs to 2 inches with a chainsaw (more or less could obviously be used to your liking). He then marked out the middle on each of the 7 log pieces and traced an outline. of the spindle on the center of the log pieces. Next he drilled holes on the perimeter of the outlined square, cut the outline out with a jig saw, and finally used a ball pin hammer to hit out the cut section. He drilled a wide enough hole to run the light strand through it's entirety. As you add the light, place each log piece on as you work up keeping a 2 inch space between each. As he added each log piece, he then screwed them to the spindle. Finally, he placed a log without a cut in the center.

UPDATE ON US: What We Are Up To 

Just yesterday, we went to our friend Angie Klemp's home out in Elk Mound and picked up some old, barn wood that she has saved. She just recently resided her barn and has a lot of left over, unique wood that has a weathered and used look to it. The wood is weathered with some red and white paint still on. The character of these pieces of barn wood are close to her heart, so we are making a barn wood head board for her spare bedroom in her farmhouse. I think this project excites me more than it does our friend Angie, because this project is right up Nate and I's alley (especially mine)!

The idea of a barn wood headboard from your own farm is an awesome idea and in the next couple weeks we are going to have a finished product. I am sure once Nate makes this for our friend, I am going to want one terribly(sorry Nate).

 

Nate and I also are planning on signing a lease in the next couple of weeks at a place that we can tweak with and put our touches on. This was obviously really important for us when looking for a place to live, because of how much we enjoy making and creating things. I cannot imagine us living in a place that we couldn't tinker and tweak with. The small home that we found is an L shaped, one story home right here in Eau Claire, WI. We can paint, add shelving, hang decor, landscape outside and make it feel like home. I already have so many ideas for this place, including adding new shelving in the kitchen with barn wood from Angie's savings. My idea is to have open shelving of about 3 shelves in the kitchen. I do not want to go into too much detail until we are able to sign the lease, but if we do get this place be prepared for a large array of blog posts!

Thanks for checking us out!

Nate and Madalen 

Our American Dream Starting Point

Nate and I (Madalen) are creating this blog named, "Up North Projects," to share all of our creative DIY projects and other inspiring thoughts we come up with together to influence and help others get creative insight. Additionally, we both want to further our skills in the fields of construction, landscaping and designing to become successful entrepreneurs together. A true American dream story. We want to share the building process of our journey with anyone and everyone that it intrigues and interests.

My passion is decorating. From refurbishing and painting to placing furniture in the right places with the coordinated colors is what I love to do. I am always up for a challenge and love organizing a project's final touches to make it look appealing and attractive. I have gone to the Atlanta Mart twice now and have been exposed to new and exciting ideas. Personality pairing is key for my projects while still having it appeal as a whole to outsiders at the same time. I am the dreamer and idealist. I love creating big ideas in my head, plotting them out and then letting Nate take a hammer and nails to make my dreams come to life.

Nate's passion is woodworking. He always stops me while were driving running errands or eating out and tells me that woodworking is what he truly loves to do. He likes when his hands are dirty and his mind is moving. He is smart with measurements and running numbers through his head. Sometimes he talks me through the process and I usually just nod because my brain does not work that way. I'm getting better though being around Nate so much though. 

Together we are motivated and want to become hard working entrepreneurs who work side by side. As challenging as that sounds we work well together. We have the type of personalities that bounce of one another. I'll say, "What if you do this instead?" And he'll say, "Or, I can do this," and then we meet at a content medium. It's all about trust. Trusting that his idea will help the project go further than it would have with only my idea.

As of now, we have only done baby projects. Nate built me a pallet light box for my birthday and he built himself a pallet desk. This Christmas we did some pallet Christmas trees towering at 8 feet tall. We did some Birch log deer projects in various sizes and also some rope birch Christmas trees. Around Christmas time this year I will send out a project post.

We will be posting many projects we are working on, especially this coming summer of 2017! Check back in every so often to see what we are up to and how our journey is coming.

Thanks so much,
Nate and Madalen