finnish apartment room layouts

Before we even firmly decided to move to Finland, I had decided that I was only going to shop at thrift stores and I was going to patiently bide my time and make-do with nothing until I found the right something for my new home. But now that we're here, I've changed my mind.

I don't know if any of you have ever gone from having a lot of stuff (some would say too much) to absolutely nothing, but it's hard. Every time you reach for something and it's not there, is really frustrating. It gets to the point where you've had enough of not having what you need and seeing stacks and bags of your things on the floor (that you're constantly having to rummage through like a pack rat).

So yes, we found a thrift store close to us, but it was a major let down. I was so hoping to find more old vintage-y Finnish-style things and even more helpful kitchen items -- like a cheese grater -- rather than just cast off IKEA kitchen stuff and really (really) worn and disgusting IKEA furniture. Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that if my only option is to buy junk IKEA things at the thrift stores, I might as well buy nice new IKEA things that I actually like.

Something to note is that this apartment came semi-furnished. The unfortunate part is that I'm definitely not using any of the decorations or rugs because of their colour. Almost everything is either brown, red, or orange. So despite the fact that it would be easier and cheaper to just work around these things, to me, these particular shades of red and orange are really the worst when put together.

What I am keeping includes: 

2 TROGSTA lamps, (maybe) 2 NOLMYRA chairs in black, 2 LINNMON/ADILS tables, 2 vintage or thrift club-style chairs in grey with pastel green, purple, and blue flecks (these were a major bonus since they were covered with orange blankets, I had no idea there was amazing fabric underneath until we moved in), 2 ADDE chairs in white; (maybe) 1 LACK tv unit in white, and (maybe) 2 LACK tables in black.

{living room/office}

I was experimenting with more colourful pieces from IKEA and ended up with something I really truly love. It was kind of an unexpected colour palette, but I really like how bright and happy it is.

It all started with the {1} NITTORP in blue. I wanted a tv stand that wasn't particle board and I figured, "what the hell? Go with colour for once!"; And when I started considering fabric instead of premade curtain panels, {2} Malin Cirkel fabric was kind of a no-brainer. I love the ikat pattern; A quick test run of the {3} STOCKHOLM rug in yellow and the living room is all set. This picture has changed about a thousand times since I started working on it, but I think I'm finally pleased with it!

The living room is big enough to include our office space which isn't pictured because it'll just be one of the LINNMON tables plus the grey chairs as mentioned above.

{master bedroom}

In comparison to the living room, the bedroom will be a little more understated. It's better to have a more calming atmosphere where you sleep and I really wanted to be sure to get black-out curtains since this room is surrounded by street lamps.

Everything started with the bed and the bedding. I really want the {1} BEITSTAD headboard but I'm not sure about it cuz it would have to be free-standing due to the bed style. We've already got the Anno bedding from Kodin 1. I'm going european with my bedding options and using a flat bottom sheet with a duvet cover only. Like everyone, I love the {2} RÅSKOG kitchen trolly (green or grey?), and I thought it might be useful as a bedside table. It provides a lot of storage (and keeps tubes of chapstick from rolling away), though, if we can, we might use the {3} RAST dressers as side tables instead. They're so versatile that way. Should I paint them (like one of the amazing RAST makeovers out there), or leave them plain with interesting knobs? The wood isn't as yellow as I thought it was going to be, so the natural look has really grown on me these past few weeks (and maybe it's the country wearing on me, but natural wood looks surprisingly good with grey).

{baby room/dressing room}

I figure this final room is a good way to announce that I'm pregnant. I didn't really want to mention anything about it on the blog because I absolutely hate it when blogs turn mommy. But don't worry, I'm just about done cooking this turkey (2 months to go) so you're not going to have to endure any of that. This is my main reason for wanting to get things done around here as soon as possible. I'm way too exhausted, uncomfortable, and grumpy to walk my way around Helsinki trying to find things (I won't lie to you like I now think a lot of people do. Pregnancy is awful and I don't particularly want to do it again). Anyway, there shouldn't be much (if any) baby stuff showing up around here, I just loved the colour outcome in this room and had to share it with you.

This is also our dressing room because it's the only room with a closet system. It's the smaller room and it's dark and kind of depressing with only one sliver of a window and no view, so we both figure that dark is better for a newborn and (let's get serious here) what do they need a big bright, heavily windowed room for?

I found one curtain panel at the thrift store in this {1} FINLAYSON pattern (only existing in pillow form online) from Kodin 1. It was pretty much meant to be since the colours were 100% what I've been thinking about this whole time. I spotted the {2} Bellini rocking chair at Kodin 1 on sale, so I jumped at the chance to get it (it's now sold out). It looks very similar to this tutorial (which I loved and became obsessed with) and the price actually ended up being cheaper than if I did the tutorial myself (given the fact that I no longer have any tools or supplies or space or bendability anymore). And because of the lines and graphic patterns in the fabric (it's hard to tell from the photo), I really had to add black and white which is where the {3} VIRRING rug (which I wish came in a larger room size) and black and white furniture comes in.

The rooms don't look too IKEA-y, do they?

flower monday

I should just make this a feature for the summer, hey? Besides, it's too hot to think of blog stuff... uh post thingies and craft whatchamacallits and I can't even believe I'm freaking baking bread right now. But Idle Husband is in love with ciabatta this season and I really wanted to try this recipe so I finally got around to making the starter yesterday and it can't sit around for more than a day. (Note to self: purchase bread for the rest of the summer or live on flat bread cuz you grill that shitz). 

Also the computer is upstairs and upstairs is the temperature equivalent of hell and I don't know how to fix that. I keep the windows open at night to suck in the cool night air. I close them and the curtains during the day. And yet my glasses are still sliding down my sweaty nose from the exertion of just sitting here. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking 'ceiling fan' but that's almost my worst nightmare after being too hot.

These are some peonies mom brought me a week ago. Even though the opened flowers are now long spent, the buds have opened so I'm getting another week out of them. I love how peonies do that. Also mixed in some lamb's ears because that junk is like a weed and it lasts f o r e v e r in a vase (and I love that green/silver colour with pink).

thrifting!

I found a new-to-me thrift shop yesterday and I'm so glad I did! They had great stuff and their prices were really good (a.k.a. WAY cheaper than Value Village)!

I found this craft basket that'll come in super handy for storing all of my random junk. It's pretty big inside for holding stuff plus it has these little dividers that sit on top!

They had some really great art, too. Water colour... birds. So surprising, right?

You're going to think I'm nuts, but I freaking love this picture. That frame is amazing! I've never seen anything like it before. Well, I should say I do have plastic frames that are simliar, but I've never seen anything in this size. I've also never been all that interested in people-art, but I instantly fell in love with this lady. (Psst, it was $8)

A teak serving bowl (with legs) and a set (rectangle, pictured; square, and circle) of heat proof dishes in this cool vintage pattern. Since I don't have a microwave, I really appreciate having these dishes around now.

Pottery that was too cheap to pass up. Despite the lids, I'm classifying all of these as vases.

I also found two huge feather pillows for our new couch. Again the price was just so good (especially since I've been looking to buy pillow forms lately -- gah so expensive!) The fabric on them is... well, actually it's not that bad. It's a needlepoint-style lane of houses. I do kind of like it, but I don't like the colours (browns, golds, off-whites). Then I found this super bright pink fabric so I'm going to recover them with it!

I also scored a round side table that's perfect for the living room. I'll show you that one later since I also picked up an amazing clover-shaped coffee table a few weeks ago that desperately needs paint. I'll show the before and afters once I get them done!

Have you found anything fun lately?

friday fixations: peony tulips

If you're a peony lover like I am, plant peony tulips so you can experience the ruffle of a peony well before they actually bloom. These look so much like real peonies that I'm never planting regular tulips again.

Also, if you happen to follow my twitter, you probably would have guessed that our basement flooded last night. Thankfully, we caught it early so the damage is pretty minimal, but our basement is a complete mess and there are four huge fans and a dehumidifier running like jet planes down there. So I'm truthfully more fixated on that today.

These things always happen on a Friday when you've got a million things to do, don't they? (I would have been completely fixated on the tulips today -- as I have been all week -- but they're really more to cheer me up now than anything.)

easy christmas decorations

I thought I'd share some of my favourite DIY Christmas decor ideas that I've found so far. I really gravitated to most of these because they work so well for both Christmas and as general winter decorations. So you can put them up early or leave them up after Christmas and it won't look like you're going overboard in either direction.

{1 lace doily table runner} If you have a surplus of doilies (like I do) and even if you don't, this would be a really quick way to add a little winter to a room. It would definitely look cute out of season, but during the holidays, I think it looks like a little path of snowflakes.

{2 popsicle stick snowflakes} I already had these in mind for January, but they work for Christmas too. Instead of red, I'd paint them silver and gold and hang them from the curtain rods.

{3 urchin starburst sculptures} They may be called urchins, but they make me think of snowflakes (oh, recurring themes).

{4 painted pinecones} I'm not a big fan of the lime, pink, and electric blue colours, but pinecones (painted or not) in a clear vase are a super easy (and usually free) wintery decor item.

{5, 6, 7, & 8 wreathes} I don't know what it is with me and wreathes this year, but I'm kind of obsessed with them (I'm disgusted with myself, too). The rosemary wreath would be cute in a kitchen (if you had a spot) since it's made with fresh herbs. You could use any herb or a combination, and once it's tied on a form, it's going to dry so I don't see why you couldn't use it after the holidays are over (you paid your money for those herbs after all). The rest are examples of really simple wreathes that I just happen to really love. I don't think any of them would take more than an hour to finish and each one has an unexpected aspect about it that makes it a little more unique than a typical Christmas wreath (blue polka dots, bent branches without a form, and the deconstructed pinecone "wreath" which makes me think of bells).

{9 paper doily wall art} Another riff on the snowflake idea, these are simply cupcake liners and paper doilies thumbtacked to a wall to look like cascading flowers. You could cut the paper to look more snowflake-like, but I think if you used clear or white thumbtacks or even double-sided tape it would still give a wintery snow look without having to go through any extra trouble.

{10 paint chip garland} I know this is for easter eggs, but come on. There's got to be a Christmas tree hole punch in some craft store somewhere. Or just cut them out yourself. (Christmas trees aren't hard. They're just stacked triangles that get progressively larger.) I'd stay out of the candy colours and stick with deep greens, blues, and icy whites.

{11 origami tree} I love origami because it's so accessible. If you've got a piece of paper, you can make just about anything. If you made a tree in white or green, it could easily move into January and, in fact, it reminds me of my crocheted white tree that I (nerdily) dress up for Christmas and then leave naked for January (see it here). If you're nervous about origami, here's another example that's even easier.

{12 origami paper ball} I love these so much. They fit into winter because they look like large snowballs but they're so cool, I'd want to keep them out all year round.

don't like it, paint it

I have been doing a lot of painting lately, so I thought I'd update you on the pieces.

Remember this thrift store find?

Well, here it is now! Sleek and black.

Aside from painting the bedroom and putting most things back, I haven't exactly decorated or done anything much in there so please excuse the boringness of this picture.

Having this type of headboard has been really nice. It did come with a footboard, but I opted not to use it. We're still using our regular metal bed frame and I've just pushed the whole bed up against the headboard. It doesn't jiggle or bump so I think that's good enough for me. I would suggest that queen beds were slightly smaller width-wise back when this headboard was made because our frame is about 3-4 inches wider than the legs on the headboard. Therefore, my idea of just screwing the headboard to the new metal frame didn't work.

I really love the storage and the ample top space for glasses and remotes and what not. Do you think it's too much to have bedside tables? I put our old ones back, but they're too short for my liking. I've got designs on buying IKEA's RAST drawers and painting them. Having them would mean more storage (we need so much storage!) and a taller surface. I'm not really keen on buying more IKEA furniture, but I've seen what lovely things other people have done with them plus they're real wood (and cheap too).

You probably don't remember this dresser. I bought it for $5 and repainted it to highlight the plaid-like wood detail. It really fit into our old house and the scheme over there, but once we moved, I almost immediately grew to hate how it looked. Plus those knobs. Oh man, what was I thinking with those stupid knobs?

Here it is now! We couldn't decide if the body should be black, so I thought I'd start with the drawers and decide after. I think that the white body gives it a more refreshing look since all of the furniture in the bedroom is black. This makes it look different but cohesive. 

I replaced the knobs with sleek silver handles that I picked up at a restoration store in Red Deer. They were a dollar each! I was also very nervous about them because I've never had to measure and drill new holes for handles before and I wanted to make sure they were all level and matching. 

Here's the trick to doing it: Make a template! I had the good fortune of having the pattern right on the drawers which meant I only had to make a template the size of the middle rectangle. I just measured a piece of paper to fit in that rectangle, figured out where the handle should go (a combo of eyeballing it and measuring), used some chalk to mark where the screws should hit, and poked holes in the paper to line up with the screw holes. Then I did a trial run where I lined my pattern up in the middle rectangle, marked the holes with chalk, set the handles on and stood back to double check that everything was even and lined up. Finally, I drilled the holes and screwed in the handles (that makes it sound super easy. Not quite. I kept buying the wrong size of screw for the handles. That part was a headache). I think it was well worth it. Not only do these handles look better, but they function better, too.

I got this dresser at IKEA a few years ago. I don't remember the name and I can't find it on their website. I guess I should have taken a before picture, but this used to be their standard dark brown colour. Painting it black helped to cover a really noticeable dent in the top drawer (I dropped a belt buckle on it and apparently that spells disaster for this type of furniture). 

You'll notice that I painted that little thrifted storage drawer yellow. I'm not 100% liking how it looks over there, and I don't like that other jewelry box (which I've always had but never used), either. I feel like I need something taller to sit on the top. I have a lot of stuff, but I don't seem to have enough decorative stuff!

The driftwood is something Idle Husband and I found on our trip to Abraham Lake. I kinda thought I might hang some of my most used necklaces off of it, but that's still in trial. I also wrapped that small portion (which was damaged a little) with yellow string, but I'm not sure I really like it (though I like that it matches the yellow ceramic drawers). What I am really loving is hanging driftwood up on walls. There's another one in the bathroom and I've stuck big branches and little twigs all over the place, in every corner. That's too much, right? That's borderline crazy.

Oh wait. You haven't seen crazy yet!

Mom gave me this corner shelving unit. It's been in her garage for almost 10 years (and this is after I cleaned it up. You should have seen the filth!).

So I painted it black (ignore the artwork in such a dumb arrangement. I used to have bookcases there so they made sense then. I'm contemplating paint colours now, so I haven't done anything else in this room as I'll be painting it soon anyway).

And then I filled it with birds. They were displaced when we moved the bookcases upstairs. That's a crazy amount of birds.

Finally, I painted this guy. My childhood horse. I've been wanting to do this for a while now because, uh... he was covered in toothpaste. I remember doing it, but I don't remember why. Maybe I wanted to clean him? Or Maybe I wanted to fill in the parts that used to be white? I don't know, but he's been like this for over 20 years. I've kept him this long because he's not just a horse, he's a horse bank! I probably shouldn't even be telling you, but he's filled with special coins. He's also very heavy.

It's surprising how easily 20 years of toothpaste comes off!

I spray painted him gold. That seemed like the right colour choice to me.

That's it for now. I'm all painted out for this week! But it's really amazing how a little bit of paint can spruce things up. It feels so fresh in here!

friday fixations: thrift edition

One of the best parts of the vacation? Thrift shopping! You know I love a good thrift store. So here are some of the things I picked up:

{1 owl salt and pepper shakers} I still feel like I paid too much for these ($10 is too much, right?), but they're owls and they're salt and pepper shakers and they're cute! I just couldn't let some other person get them, I just couldn't.

{2 glass water decanters} I was literally paying for stuff when mom came running over with these bottles. They're both different shades of purple and they've got glass stoppers. I think I'd like to use them bedside. I think. I'm still not sure.

{3 little cubby of painted ceramic drawers} I really don't know what I'm going to use this for, but it seemed too handy to pass up. Currently, I'm leaning more towards using it for jewelry storage but it could also go in the kitchen or in the craft room. The wood is in pretty bad shape, so I'm planning on painting that portion. It's kinda hard to tell by the photo, but I've already filled in cracks with wood filler and given it a quick sanding. (I had that stuff out so I wanted to do it all at the same time, and then I thought, wait I haven't taken pictures of the before yet! Stop the presses!) Ah, question. Should I paint it white or yellow? I have both. I'll probably make the decision once I see it primed.

{4 jewelry boxes} I mentioned it in a friday fixation post and I'll mention it again: I'm gaga for jewelry boxes now. I'm still using my little frame and doily jewelry hangers, but I'm tired of them. They're nice. They work great. But I'm just really sick of seeing all of my junk hanging there. The two larger boxes need a good scrubbing and I'm going to fix up the wooden one a little. Hopefully I can figure out how to change the fabric top on it. I'm not 100% keen on the floral couch-like fabric. The small one is another suede travelling jewelry holder which almost makes up for the one the thrift store took away from me a couple weeks ago. It's newer, but it's in better shape (I have to do some searching on how to clean that suede/velvet type of fabric).

{5 lettuce shaped serving bowl} I think this little ceramic lidded bowl is the cutest! Maybe it's not lettuce. Maybe it's a cabbage? Whatever. I really want to serve some vegetables in it (preferably brussel sprouts).

{6 more decorative tins} Two have hinges! I can't pass up a tin with hinges! The other two, well, I just liked them and it's been ages since I've allowed myself to even look in the tin section let alone buy anything from it. Besides, it's winter. That means it's time to display them. I got a little excited.

And then there's this:

It's a headboard! You know those old ones with the drawers? My gram used to have them at her summer cabin and I always thought they were the best. You could hide all sorts of stuff behind the doors and the top is wide enough for lamps and books, too. I think it's the most useful headboard ever designed.

So when I started to notice that someone needs a little more storage for things such as cords and phones, I thought this would be the perfect solution. Would you believe we got it for $15?! (This and the footboard, but I don't plan on using that part.)

I've painted it already and I'm going to drill a hole in the back (behind the doors) for cables to slip in, then everything can be closed and hidden so our room has that nice, neat, and orderly look while still providing the necessary space for gadgets and doodads. I'll definitely do a before and after post once I finish it up completely. I'm already totally in love with how it looks after painting. What a difference from the photo!

DIY: fall wreath

This is the best wreath I've made so far. Of course, I've only ever made two, but that's not really the point now is it?

Remember the fabric wreath? That thing hung on my door all summer and I really never tired of it at all. The only thing I will note is that the fabric got a little droopy. I don't know why. Maybe it was humidity? Dust? Heat? Wind? Whatever the case, it started to look a little tired. So that's when I began thinking about making another wreath for fall or the in-between before Christmas wreaths are acceptable.

Lately I've been noticing a lot of pretty foliage on my daily walks. Berries and grasses and seed pods are quite beautiful this time of year and without showy distracting flowers taking all of the attention, these plants should get centre stage.

So after weeks of forgetting, I finally brought a bag and some clippers with me and walked around to all the spots I remembered seeing great grasses.

You would not believe how many looks you get when you're carrying around a bag of grasses and weeds. People looked at me like I'd gone mental. It probably would have helped if Idle Husband didn't stop at Save-On to get an ice cream for the walk home. I guess you might look a little more crazy if you're also in a grocery store carrying around a bag of weeds.

The ice cream was totally worth it though! (This flavour is always sold out and now I know why!)

Once home, I put everything in a vase of water and formulated my plan the rest of the day.

The vase of water is pretty important if you're not planning on doing this the day you collect your weeds. You don't want them drying and becoming brittle. It will be impossible to bend them into a circular shape without them cracking and breaking at that point.

I don't really have much of a tutorial for this one since it's kind of something that depends on the weeds, what you want it to look like, your own personal esthetics, yadda yadda. I will say that it's super messy and as grasses dry, they like to pop out their seeds. So if you think my table is messy, you should see the floor. Work on this project outside or somewhere where you can do easy clean-up (i.e. not on a carpeted floor like I did).

just a reminder

My first thought was to use sturdy branches as the base, but that quickly changed since I found them too floppy and they wouldn't attach to each other very well. I still had a metal coat hanger leftover from the fabric wreath, so I did exactly the same thing. Bend, pull, push, shape the hanger into the best circle you can. This time, I left the hook part intact so that I'd have something to hang the wreath with (just use a pair of pliers to bend the hook around into a closed circle). But if you'd like to add a nice ribbon instead, feel free to use the hanger part in your form as before.

Next bend your collected branches, berries, and grasses around the wire frame and attach them as you like. Initially I attached mine with twist ties, but once I was done, I went back through and tied everything on with brown and green string and then removed the twist ties so the attachments would be less noticeable (am I the only one who longs for the days of paper twist ties when you could easily strip it all off with your fingernail to reveal the bare wire? Or the ones that were orange or brown or just clean white without a bunch of printing on them?).

Now if you were smart and planned ahead and wanted to spend just a tiny bit of money on this project, you could buy some floral wire and you'd be able to skip my extra step. I'm still happy I started with twist ties since they're a lot easier to use when attaching with one hand while holding branches with the other. I definitely wouldn't suggest you start with string. It's a little too fussy and I think you'd get frustrated trying to hold and tie at the same time. Otherwise, this project cost me exactly zero dollars and I think it looks pretty amazeballs.

Note to future self: please please paint the door hook the same colour as the door! (The hook has been digitally enhanced -- for now.)

I love the red berries against the turquoise on the door. So pretty! They've now turned a deeper shade of red which makes this a nice evolving look. I've also since rounded out the branches in the middle a bit more so our peephole actually functions. Be wary of that if you're a peeper like we are!

I constructed the wreath about three weeks ago and it still looks pretty fresh. The leaves have drooped and dried a little more now that it's gotten colder, but it still looks pretty good from the sidewalk. I'm hoping it lasts at least into November. I'm kind of entertaining the idea of adding some Halloween charm to the house, but I'm not completely sold on that idea yet. (gah I've always wrinkled my nose at Halloween decorations cuz it's not technically a holiday I feel needs decorating for but there're so many cute and whimsical dark and macabre ideas about now, it's terribly tempting.)

DIY: invisible gate

One of the things that irritated me at our old house was the gate latch. It was one of those sliding bolt-type locks. It's not that it was particularly hard to use, it was just very annoying trying to reach it and slide it over from the other side and it was even more annoying trying to shut it since I had to line the bolt up into its little slot (and the gate was less than straight). And those few times I didn't line it over completely or didn't put the little handle down, the gate wouldn't close properly and I'd find it swinging open. And I'd never be able to open it with one hand or push through it with my shoulder. Oh no. And can I just mention how terrible it looked? Like, really terrible. Not modern at all. (I'm starting to realize that nothing's ever modern when it comes to things like this. What's up with that?)

Then I saw this post from The Art of Doing Stuff and I really loved the idea of using a magnet as a latch. I thought it was so smart and actually in the realm of possibilities for me. We have a Lee Valley Tools! I don't have to order anything from the internet! (Which is probably the number one reason why this was possible for me. I still haven't gotten over this ordering-online hiccup of mine.)

Of course, I didn't install it myself, our neighbour did. But I did have to explain to him what was floating around in my little brain and I did have to sit back and cross my fingers that he actually understood what it was I was asking, so it's almost as if I did the work myself!

Thankfully, he understood it PLUS he made it even better than how I would have done it.

This is the back or inside of the gate. I still have to find a handle, so it's not quite done yet. Just use your imagination to install a modern looking handle on the right side. I'm thinking long and black. (Oh. There's a "that's what she said" joke if I've ever read one.)

This is the front of the gate. It doesn't look like a gate, does it? I think that's the absolute best part! The original plan discussed with us was to put handles on both sides and cut a little hole out of the wood for a latch or, you know, we could totally (in your slow-mo voice, please) do the string over the top thing, too.

Jaw drops. Speechless. Eyes glazed over. It was pretty much at that very point that I thought, "As scary as it is for me to drive to foreign places (especially foreign places where I know construction exists), I MUST find this magnet. I may not be able to have the super modern cool fence of my dreams, but damn it, I'm going to have a friggin' awesome gate."

So you want to see how it latches?

The top board magically comes apart (ok, not magically), and one piece becomes the latch! This is the part I didn't think of. If you cut the boards on an angle rather than just a straight cut, the seam is even more invisible. Who'd've thunk it?!

The latch is a super-powered rare earth magnet. It's really strong. Before installation, I had to slide the two pieces apart so I could separate them. I couldn't pull them straight off each other. And these magnets come with a warning to keep them away from electrical devices and credit cards. Thank goodness the guy at Lee Valley Tools said something cuz it's so small, I was just going to pop it in my purse.

They don't have this particular style online, so I can't link it for you, but I promise it's at the store if you go (they keep these behind the counter, so ask unless you want to spend two hours of your day looking around Lee Valley Tools -- which isn't a half-bad way to spend two hours of your day, actually. They have some great stuff).

It took me a while to decide to purchase this style over the other since Karen from The Art of Doing Stuff used these, but I liked how the two-piece model was a little more straight-forward for installation (since I wasn't doing it myself and I didn't really want to invite him in and sit him in front of the computer so he could see how it was done).

The best part was that this one magnet cost me only $3! That's it! An entire gate latch for $3 (plus some wood pieces that were going to be used anyway). I love that the most!

So maybe by now you've had a chance to look at Karen's gate (and if not, you should cuz her fence is super cool and if there weren't dumb fence regulations and standards around here I totally would have wanted to copy that, too) and maybe you're wondering why we didn't counter-sink the magnet into the wood like Karen did. The reasoning behind it was that if the gate should shift during the winter or settle, it'd be a lot easier to unscrew the magnet and move it if we had to. Plus it's less work. Less work is always better, right?

the metal striking disc is screwed onto the gate

Now maybe you're thinking, "Hey! Won't you hit your head on that piece of wood sticking out?" And to that I'll quote Idle Husband, "What? Am I stupid?!"

The neighbour brought it up before anything had been built and I had this weird worry dream where all I could think about was how many times I'd bump my head on it and maybe I should think of a better way to install it and oh god! I have to tell him before he installs it and oh man! What if he installs it before I can tell him?! (worry worry) But now that it's there and I've had a chance to walk through it, the wood part is completely not in the way. Unless we were to walk rubbing right up against the house and inch our way around the post, there's no chance either of us will hit it.

The only other thought I've now had is to put a couple hook and eyes on the hinge side so that I can lock it closed or lock it open. I'm still kind of thinking about that. I know that this gate has a tendency to swing shut so a hook to keep it open would probably be really handy. More pondering needs to be done!

So if you were looking for a super simple latch that's easy to install, makes your gate invisible, and is super cheap, this just might be the latch for you!