We're tackling projects around the house and in life, and invite you to come along for the ride!
08/13/2012
Weekend DIY Warriors!
My parents were gracious enough to come down and help us with some of the more complex projects this weekend. (Mom and Dad used to own a hardware store, they are both very handy, and Dad can figure out how to fix pretty much anything.) We focused on the projects from our inspection report that were safety related, or needed to be updated. We also had Dad teach us a few new skills - toilet and electrical outlet repair.
In less than 36 hours, the four of us collectively:
- Extended the upstairs bathroom fan vent out of the attic (where it was putting moist air straight into the insulation, a perfect mold breeding ground) and vented it through the roof.
- Changed the condensation drain so it didn't interfere with the washing machine drain
- Converted the downstairs toilet to a dual flush system (it had a leaky flapper and wasn't pumping correctly anyway)
- Added a dimmer switch to the family room
- Converted an ungrounded outlet to a grounded outlet. We were originally going to convert the ungrounded outlet to a GFCI (because we'd have to rewire things to ground it), but we found a ground wire in the outlet and could just convert it to a grounded outlet. Score! Let's hope some of the other outlets are as easy to convert.
- Added safety cables to the garage door springs, so they won't damage anything if the springs ever pop.
- Added a new door lock to the garage, and rekeyed all our locks to one key. Went from four different keys to one!
- Installed a programmable thermostat
- Rebuilt a desk (my mom's office was getting rid of solid oak desks!)
- Set up a few Ikea bookcases
- Unpacked some boxes
- Cleared the vegetable garden of weeds, found our first two zucchinis!
- Trimmed overgrowth in the garden
- Spray painted an outdoor swing the previous owners left behind
Swing, before:
Swing, after:
Total trips to Lowe's: 5
Total cost: $308.45
Total saved on not needing to hire a contractor and learning new skills: a lot!
Whew! What a productive weekend! Glad we were able to relax poolside after all that hard work. Thanks again to my parents for helping us out! Next weekend, Matt's family stops by...perhaps we can convince them to help with more gardening?!
Our New Home!
Well, to make a long story short, we bought a house! We closed on July 27, and thanks to some strong movers and friends, we moved in on July 29.
We decided not to move the bedroom furniture into the master bedroom, as that room needed the most immediate attention - no reason to move a bed in if the pink carpet and floral wallpaper would keep us up at night!
Over-eager as usual, we had already bought fabric softener, a spray bottle, and a travel steamer, which was the first thing off the moving truck. Hours after our movers left, I was taking gold light fixtures down and getting out the scraper!
Before
Oh, the 80's pink floral border, with a "picture rail"? These needed to go, immediately.
After a short stint peeling wallpaper borders, we repainted.
And then, the carpets came up. What a lovely surprise to find very nice looking hardwood floors beneath the pink carpet!
After:
We still need to hang curtains and photos, and get some more furniture, but it's such an improvement. And when we decide whether to tear up the carpet in the "blue wallpaper room" as we call it, we'll likely get the floors refinished to match the rest of the upstairs.
One wallpaper room down, 3 (or 4) to go!
08/14/2011
08/01/2011
07/08/2011
Built on the 4th of July
During our much anticipated super-fun visit to Western New York over the 4th of July (for a beautiful wedding, 2 birthday celebrations and great visits with both sides of our family), I asked my dad for his help building a West Elm-style headboard I'd seen on Ana White's site.
In return for Dad's assistance, Matt and I helped him sort through his inventory of lumber he's collected through the years. We had the pine, poplar, oak and "miscellaneous" wood sorted and re-stacked in no time. And, he had enough poplar on hand to build the entire headboard. Sweet!
Dad's workshop is stellar. There's saw dust on the floors, despite the powerful ventilation system in place. Some of the machines (table saw, wood planer, sanders) are on wheels so they can be pushed to the side or pulled into the middle when in use. He's got an awesome set-up for the miter saw that allows him to lay the wood flat on either side and make his cuts without having to hold the wood in place. There's stuff everywhere you look - tools, paint, hardware in his father's old cigar boxes that he's painted and labeled. Oh, and our 16 year old cats hang out with him in the workshop to keep him company. I'm jealous.
But back to the project. After cutting the wood to the correct sizes ('measure twice, cut once'), we used the Kreg jig to put about 40-50 pocket holes into the various pieces. I sanded down a few of the edges. While the fireworks went off in the distance, we brought the pieces upstairs and I laid them out in the pattern.
Tuesday morning, we carefully assembled everything, only to take it appart once complete so we could pack it away in our car.
Back to Philly, I primed it last night (using Behr's premium primer + paint off the shelf semigloss in Pure White, with low VOCs) and then assembled it before putting on the second coat. I still need to put a third coat on (at least), so I have it temporarily clamped to the bed frame because we're hosting company this weekend. I'll likely finish the painting early next week before mounting it for good next week.
I think it looks great, especially since it still lets the light through the windows but provides a much needed backstop for the bed.
And the price was right. The wood and hardware were free (thanks Dad!), so I only spent $12 at Home Depot on the paint and a shorty brush (short-handled, 2" angled brush...thanks for the tip, YHL) to fit into the tight spaces. The original headboard was between 200-250! And, the best part - I got to build something with my talented, renowned Dad. Best 4th of July ever.
The guest room is coming along nicely (I'm not allowed to paint our bedroom furniture, so it seems like all the work is going on in the guest room!).
Next up - the night stand side tables may be getting a soothing grey upgrade. More later!
06/11/2011
Impulse Buy, Redone
In a moment of Craigslist weakness, I snagged this 'wood' dresser a while ago, only to find out that it is 1) made of cheap veneer and 2) HEAVY.
I have this dresser to thank for making the decision to hire movers even easier last summer. :)
I've been debating what color to paint this since we got it over a year ago. At first, I wanted it to be "Ikea brown/black," but after the kitchen table update, I decided I wanted a color. This dresser functions as a craft/sewing table of sorts, so I didn't want it to be bland. And there's so much brown furniture in this room, I needed to spice it up.
I looked at whites, soft blues, greens and greys, which would coordinate with the light curtains, bedspread and shelves in our guest room, but there was no standout, must-have color. So I left it alone again, wondering if we should just resell it and buy another piece.
Imagine my surprise when I woke up early one Saturday morning with nothing but 'peacock blue with a hint of teal' on my mind. I did a quick search through the Benjamin Moore color gallery online to find such a color that coordinates well with the pale blues, greys and whites in the room, as well as the limeade walls. I landed on Bainbridge Blue. We lived not far from Bainbridge St, which makes it easier to remember.
Over Memorial Day weekend, I sanded, primed (FastPrime2 interior water-based), painted (Olympic no-voc latex eggshell, color-matched to Benjamin Moore's Bainbridge Blue) and sealed (Minwax clear polycrylic) the dresser. I sanded lightly with a fine grade sanding block between coats - that really made a big difference on the overall finish.
A while back, before I landed on the exterior color, I lined the drawers with wrapping paper and Mod Podge, ala YHL. The color still goes, I guess, but I didn't really worry too much about matching it. Not like everyone's going to see it, especially since this buffet/dresser is serving as our linen closet and craft corner at the moment.
Next up, I'm looking for orange and mustard yellow accessories to warm up the cool space, but since it's so hot right now, I'm glad it feels so "cool," colorwise, even with the limeade walls the unit came with!
What do you think?! Are bold colors your style? What color accessories would you throw in? Should I skip the polycrylic next time? (It seems so shiny to me!)
04/06/2011
03/31/2011
FLOR It!
Our feet have never been happier. Thanks to our dog, who is on Injured Reserve and needed non-slip floors, we just installed new FLOR carpet tiles in our kitchen corridor.
Before:
After:
We opted for three different tiles in FLOR's "Tailor Made" rug pattern, with Dusty Turquoise instead of Chartreuse.
To work around the fridge, I changed the pattern a bit and ended up cutting one more square in half, which means we had an extra tile and won't have any oddly shaped pieces if we decide to move this to another room someday.We extended the rug around the corner into this custom hallway runner.
FLOR is an awesome eco company. The carpet squares are reusable (we chose colors we could use in multiple rooms). When you're done with it, the company takes any tiles or scraps back to recycle, preventing anything from reaching the landfill. And some of the tiles are made out of recycled plastic bottles. And they're made in the US. Rock on.
Wedding Photo Gallery
We've been married for more than seven months, and still only had one photo from the wedding. Oops. We thought we needed to pick one photo and enlarge it. And we couldn't decide.
And then, serendipitously, blog posts of gallery walls of photos kept popping up in my Google Reader. It was meant to be!
We sat down and picked our favorite photos, ordered them from Kodak Gallery, and waited for them to come. Once they came, I made a little map with post it notes and played around with different combos.
I picked up a bunch of frames at IKEA and, using the Young House Love method, tried different newspaper templates on the wall. I'm glad I stopped to take a photo before putting the frames up - the first arrangement wasn't quite right. After retooling it a bit, I whipped out the Command strips and got busy. Ta-da!
I like the blend of wedding and honeymoon photos along with our wedding invitation, Costa Rican map, and some art. We can add more photos and swap out other as time goes on. And we get to see photos from the day we said I do every day. Lovely.
03/26/2011
Everything's better with a fresh coat of paint
Here's an oldie but a goodie: I inherited a dining room set from my grandparents, and it's been to Chicago and back with me.
After looking at it for the last 7 years in my own home, I started dreaming about painting it black. I don't think I fully convinced my husband that it was a good idea (but he didn't stop me) before I started priming it, but he went along with it. Thanks to Young House Love for the tutorial. Here's the big reveal:
Before:
After:
While sanding the chairs, I had a geography flashback. The furniture was made in the former Yugoslavia, which doesn't even exist anymore!
So what do you think? I personally think it makes the pedastal look fancier and the whole set looks newer. And hubby agrees. :)