In all my picture taking of what I’ve done to the kitchen, I have carefully avoided one thing — the ceiling fan. You can see why. It was like an ugly albatross hanging there. I was dead set against spending money on a new one and when I’d look at it I’d mentally mumble something along the lines of “The next people who own the house can do something about that…” But it bugged me that it had absolutely nothing to do with anything I’d done to the rest of the kitchen. So I looked online to see if anyone … Read more…
TheDIYGirl
Making stuff from PVC is a fun project. You cut it, sand it, glue it, and paint it. All you need is ideas. I purchased a couple lengths of PVC, 2″ and 3″, and several caps to make a free form pen holder for my office and individual tool/pen holders for my sewing table. I had PVC cement at home. I used my compound miter saw to cut the pipe since I wanted smooth edges. I sanded the bottom and top edges and glued the caps in place. This is the first time I’ve tried angle cuts for one of the … Read more…
I develop sites for clients on my own host server which happens to be HostMonster. Been with them for years and haven’t had any problems, so while there are cheaper options, I figure why fix something that isn’t broken. When working for a client I share the url for their test site so they can view and approve the work. When the site it completed I move it to their server. FYI – I’ve been recommending PowWeb most of the time for small business sites because they have good prices. When you go to sign up you should leave the … Read more…
When I completed all the work on the kitchen I felt it looked empty and was screaming for an island. The big issue for me is that I didn’t want to invest a whole lot of money in it. I shopped around and figured out it would cost between a minimum of $200-300 to get a size that would compliment the kitchen. I checked thrift shops and flea markets and couldn’t find anything that would work, so back to the drawing board — literally. The design Since this would be my first building project ever, I based my island design … Read more…
I’m sorry I don’t have “before” pictures, but the sink in this house was so bad when I bought it that I didn’t think it could be salvaged. Whatever workmen had been in the house had used the sink to dump everything and clean everything. It was in horrible condition with drywall mud and paint caked in places. It was terribly discolored from chemicals that had been washed down it. I thought the sink would have to be replaced and I was seriously concerned about the condition of the septic tank, but that’s another issue. <iframe src=”http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=FF6000&t=thediygirl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B000V72992″ style=”width:120px;height:240px;” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ … Read more…
This isn’t a DIY post, but suggestions of how to put curtains on a large window without spending a fortune. Not even close to a fortune. I had some left over canvas and had already made a roman shade for the kitchen window over the sink so I wanted to stick with the canvas theme for the sliding door in the kitchen. I shopped curtains and rods and they were a lot more money than I was interested in spending on a house that I plan to sell in the not too distant future so I started researching how to … Read more…
I was looking for a low-cost solution for the kitchen backsplash. I had painted the walls a gold that matches the color in my countertops using Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint, but wasn’t sure where I wanted to go from there. Maybe do some artwork with chalk or just settle for being able to jot down shopping items? I had been thinking about the large decal mural my niece-in-law Brandy had done and was browsing decals for ideas. Shopping and decision-making Then I found Dali Decals. These folks have some great decals and the mini poppies that I loved were only $10 a set. I ordered … Read more…
I didn’t think I’d like the appearance of clear acrylic (recommended by Giani) around my sink so I ended up ordering color matched caulk (see my post Matching caulk after Giani Granite Paint) so it was way, way past 12 hours by the time I caulked my sink. To be honest — I was putting it off because I dreaded doing it. I thought this would need to be “freehand” caulking with no wipe down and I didn’t see myself doing a good job at that, especially in the nearly impossible-to-get-to back edge of the sink. And I didn’t want to … Read more…
The Giani instructions for painting the countertops were very clear they expected you to caulk around the sink and along the backsplash when the paint completely dry. Duh. I didn’t dawn on me that my custom paint job wasn’t going to match any of the limited selection of colors at the big box stores — they carry white, almond and clear caulk, none of which would look good or cover the gap between the backsplash and wall that didn’t have a perfect paint edge. I needed an opaque caulk that would cover the paint edge and it needed to be a … Read more…
I tried Facebook and other than seeing pictures of the family I just couldn’t get into it. I tried Twitter and felt it was an incredible interruption for which I wasn’t garnering a whole lot of useful information. I rate myself pretty much a failure at social media — it just doesn’t seem to be how my brain and personality work. Enter Pinterest. I had heard of it, but never really examined the site. I was researching ideas for mu DIY projects realized I was running into a lot of images from Pinterest that would link to the original blog … Read more…