DIY Clothes Rack for your Wee One

So obviously I love a bit of vintage. And that definitely extends to my wardrobe. When we found out we were having a wee girl, the clear progression was vintage baby clothes. And lordy, have you seen vintage baby clothes? They are just gorgeous. And they just cry out to be shown off and displayed. The old saying, they don't make them like they used to is so, so true.

When we were planning how the nursery might end up looking, one of the things I wanted to really have (if we had the space) was a wee clothing rack for all her little dresses - especially if there was no wardrobe in the room. ANd, wouldn't you know it, we ended up in a house with no wardrobe in the nursery. So suddenly the clothes rack became a priority for me. I couldn't find any stores which sold a rack that was appropirate for the size I was needing. Like, I know it won't be ages till she is walking, but when she is old enough, I want her to be able to see and play with her dresses. And maybe even use the rack to play dress ups.

Cue Pinterest research (like everything else I do right?). I found there were heaps of beautiful wooden ones, some really lovely ones made of steel piping, and all sorts made of PVC piping. The issue was, that any tutorial I looked at confused the shit out of me. And when I went to the store to buy a list of pipe bits I got even more confused. Then when I went to build it, I found that none of the methods I found, actually made it stable. And I don't want it all to fall down on Sophie. In the end, I bought a bunch of stuff, didn't use it all, and ended up just building it the way that made sense to me...

Note:
I have a feeling, that at Lowes or Home Depot, you can have your PVC piping cut to length for you. If this is true, that would make things a little easier. Here in Australia, I went to Bunno's. The thinner pipe (15 mm width) comes in 1 m lengths. So, I did the cutting at home with a saw. Yep, I'm awesome. Rob was a little worried so came and supervised me.

Also note, I am back in the land of metric measurements (woohoo) but will list the imperial numbers at the bottom of the page to keep everyone happy : )

Anyway, here is what I bought (and actually used).
4 x 1 m lengths of PVC piping (15 mm width)
6 x elbow joints (15 mm width)
4 x T section joints (15 mm width)


And here is what ended up working (there were a few fails on the road to this win).

Decide the height you want. I didn't want mine to tower over wee one, and the legs will give it a little extra height. I decided on the following measurement scheme:

Some notes with lengths of the sections.

Cut your pipe to size.
So, I cut 2 x 70 cm lengths. I then cut the remaining 30 cm lengths down to 20 cm.
This means, out of the 1 m length, I ended up with 1 x 70 cm, 1 x 20 cm, and 1 x 10 cm sections.
I did the same to get 2 x 80 cm sections and 2 x 20 cm sections.

This is the sets of measurements I used to get the most out of the 4 sections of PVC.

I found it helped to lay all the pipe out like a 2D image, and start putting it together that way.

Excuse the messiness, these are just some notes I scribbled to help me build.

Stability comes from the following aspects of this rack:
- The elbow joints as legs seemed to increase the stability of the base, giving them more of a grip to the floor.
- By using an extra piece of pipe to connect the two T sections, it strengthens the base instead of leaving it with just a connecting joint (this was a lesson I learned).
- The length of the feet of the rack seem to be just long enough to provide balance, to stop it tipping over, without making it cumbersome or a trip hazard.
- The base bar provides the most stability across the rack, and is essential.
- And of course a tight fit between all the joints and pipe sections. Make sure you don't accidentally grab stuff in the wrong size. It wasn't until I got to the counter to pay that I noticed some of the joints were in larger sizes. Which is a reminder to everyone to put things back in the right spots in stores haha.

Hmmm... I like it, but it's a little plain. Help?
So, I appreciate that at this point it is just a bunch of pipes. I plan to keep it just as white piping for now, but may change it later. For now I like that the pipe colour doesn't take away from the patterns in the dresses and rompers. Or my lovely dividers by Lucy Darling Shop. But, if you wanted to make it a little prettier, here are some ideas I have been tossing around..
- Spray paint it the same color as your nursery theme, or your wee ones favorite color.
- Apply a bunch of small round stickers along the rack, spray paint with your favorite color and then peel off the stickers - instant super cute polka dot clothes rack.
- Go nuts with washi tape. This seems to totally lend itself to a neat pattern of washi tape.

What do you think? Have you tried a similar project? Are the instructions clear, let me know if anything needs clarifying. This took me a few different attempts to get it stable and just so.

Travel Thursday: Sunrise along the Seine

Oh how I want to go back to Paris... I have said so many times on this blog. I just love Paris.

A lot of people don't rate travel to Paris in November. But, I love Paris in November. It's a bit cold and grey. But it just feels so much more Parisian that way. Does that make sense? I love the crisp mornings and the Autumn leaves whipping past. The chilly mornings, warmed up with chocolat and mittens. Seeing your breath in front of you as you watch the currents in the Seine swish by and crunch into that baguette.

Here are some shots from a particularly crisp, beautiful and clear Autumn morning in Paris.

Voila!

Travel Thursday - 2014 in a Suitcase

Well it was a big year.. I'm not sure if there were more or less miles clocked up than 2014 but it sure felt like we did a lot. Here are some highlights!

In January we were in New Zealand, finishing off our Christmas trip with family. We saw some beautiful spots - some new to us which made for some super fun exploring, and some that were familiar and lovely - which going home should be all about.

The view down to West End, Ohope.

February was our first (and unfortunately) only trip to New Orleans. But it was a goodin! We had an epically long drive there (Mardi Gras traffic) over what can only be described as amazing stretches of swamp and bayous. Like, stunningly beautiful landscape. Our friends had found us an awesome place in the French Quarter, and we had such a blast partying at Mardi Gras and eating amazing food. If we get a chance again I would love to go back and spend more time there. Plus we definitely would love to do a swamp tour. There is something so eerily beautiful about the area. 

A collection of floats from the Endymion parade.

In March we had a long weekend away at a beautiful ranch, about an hour out of Houston. Our friends chose a beautiful weekend to get married at an unbelievable spot. The bluebells were blooming early and the fields were so lush and green, the opposite of so many views you see in Texas.

I loved exploring the ranch early in the morning before anyone was up.

At the beginning of April we had a long weekend away with our Texan Family down on Galveston Island. It was beautiful and we had so much fun being at the coast. Being kiwis we missed the beach a lot living in Houston.

You have to fly kites while you stay at the beach right?

Our trip to San Antonio in April happened to coincide with a month long festival called Fiesta, which, if you can ever go to is such a blast! One of my favorite events was a massive food event which featured a large selection of foods from all the countries which played a role in the settling of various towns in Texas. French food, Spanish food, Mexican food, German food, so much good food. Nom nom nom. And we got to smash confetti eggs on each other's head and wear the resulting mess. So much fun! 

Our favorite thing- the cascarones.

I had a work trip to Utah and Colorado in May, which, although it was a bummer that Rob wasn't there, was an awesome trip. I got to hang with my best friend and that piece of the world is just stunning. Oh, and I got to get my rock geek on.

The Grand Arch in Arches National Park.

Later in the month we took a rad road trip with Liz through the Hill Country and to Austin. We swam in Jacobs well, an awesome Pinterest find! Plus we got to explore an amazing cave - with no name!

Jacob's Well was so worth the mission to find it!

Robs favorite place in the US is, hands down, New York. We planned a longer trip for our second time. We had a couple of nights in Times Square and four nights in the East Village. We saw a bunch of things we had missed our first time around, and couldn't help re-exploring some of our favorite spots. We were stoked to see an amazing vista from the Top of the Rock, both on a beautiful morning, and at night - amazing!

Classic, classic view.

After, we took a fun road trip across Manhattan, through Jersey State and into Pennsylvania to Dutch Country. Most people head that way to learn about the Amish way of life and eat caramels. But me, I'm just a nutcase who makes friends with people on the Internet and drives across three states to meet them. Haha and we are so glad we did! Meeting Laurie and her beautiful family was awesome!

 

Amish Jams. Nom nom nom.

We spent the Fourth of July at a beach house with our Texan Family on Galveston Island. There was fireworks, sand, sun, food and even a crazy water spout to finish off the weekend. An excellent independence weekend if ever there was one.

'Murica.

My true highlight for travel in America, was our two week trip to the Pacific North West in September.

 

We arrived in Vancouver and had a couple of days to explore. Caught a ferry to Victoria and just fell in love with Vancouver Island. Ferried to Seattle and Rob got to grab a coffee at the original Starbucks. Seattle was beautiful and I could totally settle there one day! We began an epic road trip which took us past Mount Saint Helens, into Portland, along the Columbia River Gorge, up to Mount Hood and then up to Crater Lake. We then drove across to California and out to the coast. We had four days in San Fran to end. It was easily my favorite trip while we were living in the States, and it truly was just stunning! 

 

Dude, seriously? Beautiful.

October marked our last month in the States, we took one more trip to Austin and had an awesome few days at the ACL festival. The weather was amazing and hot and it was just a blast.

We left Houston early November, and moved to Perth in Western Australia. I think for now we are happy to put the suitcases away for a wee while as we welcome little one into the world. But we spend a lot of time talking about our next set of adventures, and what places we want to take little Sophie to. And for now it's fun to look through the photos. Every now and then one of us will say "hey remember that cafe in Seattle where the dude..." Or, "do you remember listening to this song when we went across the Pennsylvania border?".

City Beach, Perth

I can't believe we got to see and do so many beautiful things! Such a good year, and so many fun adventures. Feeling so lucky and blessed to have had such a year.  

Photography Friday: Flashes of Color

I like the little moments of color in life.

Photography Friday: Mardi Gras

This last weekend we ticked off a massive bucket list item!

Mardi Gras!

Here are some shots from the Endymion parade we went to on Saturday. It was an absolute blast! The floats were stunning and we were in a great group of people. So much fun, and so worth the drive. Yay! 

Linking up with Jess for Photography Friday! Share your photos!