Category — DIY Projects

Small House = Small Living Room

More than just a living room, this area in my home also serves as the entry point from the front door, the access point to the second floor, and a throughway to the den/library.  That means a lot of traffic and very little uninterrupted wall space.

Like the homes of many DIY home decorators/renovators, my humble abode is a (continual) work in progress - it is by no means perfect.  Through my endeavors to make this small living room work for me, I have discovered and incorporated some small space living ideas and solutions that I thought would be worth sharing with you. [Read more →]

Remember that window over my kitchen sink?

The plan was to make a new Roman Shade, specially sized to cover the full width of the space between the upper cabinets on either side of the window above the kitchen sink.  Then, I was going to mount the new fabric window shade at the top of the wall, thus giving the illusion of a larger kitchen window.  The plan has not changed - the process of choosing the perfect fabric, however, has definitely slowed me down.

What I’m looking for is something fresh and bright to liven up the kitchen area.  I’d like something modern and funky, but the fabric I choose also needs to work with the character of this old house.  At this point fabric type, such as linen or cotton, is secondary.

So far I’ve been able to narrow it down to two color families: [Read more →]

The front door at my previous house was, to put it bluntly, ugly as sin! It was a plain steel slab exterior door painted in a brick red color to match what else - the brick. The sidelights were very dated and the glass inside them was impossible to see through. It looked like the bottoms of pop bottles. I don’t have a picture of the outside (you know the old pre-digital camera story), but I do have a picture of the inside. Excuse the quality please - this is a scanned shot.

Replacing the entire front door system was not in the budget, so I came up with a few simple and inexpensive fixes that I could do on my own. [Read more →]

Ahhh, a subject close to my heart! I remember the excitement of getting the nursery ready for the arrival of my baby - deciding on a nursery theme, choosing paint colors for walls and fabric for baby bedding and window treatments, picking out baby furniture and accessories, then putting it all together. My baby is a big boy now - all of four years old - and although I no longer have the need for a baby room, my enjoyment of creating warm nests for new little people has not diminished. [Read more →]

Ladders, Accessories & Safety

I’ve been up and down a lot of ladders lately while doing exterior painting and it occurred to me that a post on ladders would be very timely.

Odd as it may seem, a ladder can be a very personal item. Depending on who you talk to, you will hear plenty of opinions and preferences on which is the best ladder. I’m not a ladder expert, however, in one of my previous lives as a painter, I did have the opportunity to use a few different types of ladders.

Three of the four ladders shown in the photo above are ones I’ve used a lot - the 5′ Pro Lite aluminum stepladder, the 13′ World’s Greatest adjustable ladder by Cosco, and the black and yellow utility ladder / step stool, also by Cosco. The many colors of paint and stain, and dried chunks of drywall compound on each of them tell of their participation in numerous home renovation and remodeling endeavors.

My obvious preference would be to have one ladder that does it all - transforming as required to be suitable for every task, but I’ve yet to discover that magical piece of equipment. It seems that there are pros and cons or ‘ups and downs’ with all ladders, and no one ladder can satisfy every person’s particular wants, needs and desires.

Read on to learn about the different factors you need to consider when choosing the right ladder. I’ve tried to cover all the basics from ladder types and ratings, to ladder accessories and safety. Also included - my personal reviews of three different ladder types. [Read more →]

Exterior painting is continuing here at Suzy’s. With the front porch painting completed, I’ve turned my attention to the board and batten siding that covers the garage and the rear addition of the house. A rain delay this morning has provided the perfect opportunity to take a break and share with you all the dirty exterior painting details.

The front view of the house is a little deceiving. As these pictures will show, the board and batten siding carries over from the front and side of the garage…

to the back of the garage, the rear of the house…

and all the way around to the other side.

[Read more →]

Tips and Advice on Exterior Prep, Painting and Picking the Perfect Paint Color

Front Porch ‘Before’ Picture

Hooray, Front Porch Painting Is Complete! (Sort Of)

A fresh coat of paint on the front porch can do so much for the overall curb appeal of your home. That’s what I kept repeating to myself as I worked away at the prep work before the actual painting began. Did you know that the most labor-intensive part of any paint job, whether it’s interior painting or exterior painting, is the prep? Yep, all the effort you put into brushing or rolling on that new coat of paint is wasted if you haven’t taken the time to properly prepare a surface to receive that paint. [Read more →]