Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores are a great source for project pieces. Whether you are looking to revive a piece for your home or to resell, here are 4 considerations that I keep in mind when purchasing. material A solid piece of furniture is a good basis for a project piece. For me, this usually means a piece made from wood (entirely or at least the top and face frame). Below is an example of a piece made from wood that just required some sanding. This sanded down nicely! Check out this blogpost for the “after”. A material with a surface...
DIY Projects
Budget-Friendly Front Door Transformation: Achieve a Stunning Look for Just $30!
Looking for a way to refresh the look of the entry to your home? Here are some key tips to consider when giving your front door an uplift with paint! You will be amazed at the difference it makes! And, this is a super quick and affordable project. Which areas to paint In my opinion, it is best to paint not only the door, but if there are other elements to the door package, those should be painted as well. For example, if the door has sidelights, the area around the glass should also be painted including the trim. (In...
DIY Spray Paint Workspace Must Haves
If you are a DIYer there is a good chance you are painting in your garage. I love a sprayed finish, so I mostly use a paint sprayer to apply paint. Over the years, I have found several tricks that work well when setting up your painting area. paint booth If you are spraying smaller pieces, this DIY spray booth is easy to make and assemble/disassemble as you need it. I used it to paint kitchen cabinet doors and it worked well as I was painting a cabinet door at a time! From time to time, I spray larger furniture...
Top 10 Estate Sale Flips!
I love a good estate sale find! And, an estate sale flip is even better! Here are my Top 10 Estate Sale Flips! DOLLHOUSE This little dollhouse was on the garage floor and begging for a reno! ($35) This would fall into the category of “an unexpected find”! Below are the “before” and “after”. I have several blogposts on the dollhouse reno. Links are below. Dollhouse DIY Bathroom Details | Dollhouse Kitchen Details | Dollhouse Bedroom | Dollhouse Window and Window Boxes | Dollhouse Living Room Details | Dollhouse Flooring Option | Dollhouse Flooring Option Oak Table & Chairs This...
Reviving an Antique Table & Chairs
I got a set of table and chairs from a property that my nephew was selling. (Free!). I had a creative block when thinking about what to do with them. In the end, I just took the plunge and started with the table. I let the condition of the wood guide my approach. The wood is oak and was actually in pretty good shape considering the age. There are signs of the period it was made. The edges show wear from where families rested their forearms. It took several hours to sand, but sanded up nicely! The pedestal was more...
Furniture Painting Tips to Ensure a Quality Finish!
I have painted a lot of furniture over the years and found a few tips that lead to greater success in achieving a professional paint finish. FURNITURE PREP As with any painting project, preparation is the key to a good finish! Do NOT skip preparing the surface for paint! This is the most time consuming part, but, in the long run, it will save you time. (Painting is the speedier step!) Clean the Surface – This seems obvious, but applying paint on a clean surface lends to better paint adhesion. If you are painting a furniture piece, there is a...
Children’s Gift Ideas DIY’d
Many times I’ve made a handmade gift for a little. These are fun to do and really great to get your creativity going! If you’d like some inspiration for that special little in your world, take a peek at these ideas! DIY Kid’s Science Lab Table This was the perfect amount of DIY, repurposed estate sale finds and creativity! This special lab table was gifted to a science minded 5 year old! It really didn’t take too much time to put together, but boy, I had fun doing it! Dollhouse Remodel I found a vintage dollhouse at an estate sale!...
Metal Railing Refresh
Metal railings fade and rust over time so a fresh coat of paint makes a world of difference! My sister has a 1960’s home and her metal railing needed a refresh! This wasn’t a simple or easy project and I can’t say I know the best tips. But, I do have some tips on what worked well and in other areas I am still a little puzzled. Here is a before photo. PREP There were four (4) different paint colors and I am not sure how many coats of paint. As much as I would have loved to sand everything...
DIY Paint Booth (Using PVC)
If you’ve painted with a sprayer, you know overspray mist is messy! Recently, I painted cabinets in a large kitchen and there was lots of spraying and the potential for a lot of overspray and dust! For this project, I made the effort to build a booth to contain the overspray. It was really quite simple! Materials 3-Way PVC Fittings (8 needed, this is a pack of 12)) 1 inch 10 ft pipe ( I purchased 8, bulk price) 2 mil Plastic Sheeting Clamps Saw (I used my miter saw but anything will really work) PVC Cuts (4) 7 ft...
Outdoor Lanai Curtains
My lanai gets lots of afternoon sun which can get too hot to enjoy and heats up the house. As my villa is a get-a-way property, I didn’t want to splurge on an elaborate solution such as blinds. So, I found an affordable curtain to filter the Florida sun. Fabric This curtain will be exposed to sun, rain and wind so I was reluctant to invest in expensive outdoor fabric. I chose drop cloth as the fabric after seeing many lovely curtains made from this fabric. And, (1) it’s inexpensive; (2) the edges are finished (I didn’t have a sewing...
DIY Dragonfly Patio Decor
This dragonfly patio decor was simple to assemble and made from repurposed fan blades and spindles. Hand-painted detail, as always, adds the beauty to the decor. The fan blades were scuff sanded, primed and painted with a white base. I had SW Snowbound on hand. Painter’s tape can be helpful in making checks. Since the surface was flat and the checks are larger in size, I used the tape to achieve more crisp lines. (Always a little something to touch up.) I sprayed varnish to protect the blades. The spindles have a black/white base as well. And, a bit of...
Bathroom Batten Detail with Towel Bar
Wood detail on walls adds such dimension even in small spaces and a little addicting. In two of my bathrooms, there is a short wall space and I was trying to use some scrap wood and I needed to add a solution to hang towels. Enter batten with hooks! My villa was originally intended to be a flip, so I painted all the walls SW Alabaster (soft white). Therefore, the walls were a blank slate with little dimension — just clean and bright. This is one of the”before” pictures, after the flooring was installed. The blank wall I added batten...