Monday, May 31, 2010

Home and Garden Design | Damage To Wooden Floors

Splits
Many hardwood floors develop small splits or cracks in the surface of the wood over the years. This is due to the fact that wood can dry out with central heating and air conditioning. One way of repairing these is to use some angled nails to secure the two pieces together, along with some wood putty to hide the blemishes. If, however, your floor is suffering from large splits you might want to think about refinishing the floor, one good thing about wood floors is that they can be re-sanded and re-finished over the years so that blemishes like this can be dealt with fairly easily..

Gaps
Another common hardwood floor problem is that gaps can develop between planks. This is another problem that relates to the nature of the material. Wood is a natural substrate and therefore often shrinks as it dries and expands if it gets wet. Therefore most of the gaps that you will find in your wooden floor will be seasonal therefore perhaps if you can bear it the best plan is to be patient. The natural process of wood will change through time. However if the gaps are there all year round you may have to call on a professional to sort things out for you.

Buckling
Buckling in a wooden floor is a major problem and one that you can’t deal with yourself or just want until the seasonality of the wood makes things right. A buckled floor occurs when the boards warp and lift up from the subfloor that they are attached to. You will have to identify the cause of the bucking and sort that out first before you reattach the floor to the subfloor once more.
Scratches
It is ever so easy to scratch a wooden floor but it is essential that you deal with scratches as they happen. Your wooden floor could just have a small scratch that can be easily dealt with but if it is a deep scratch it may need a bit of extra tlc. Small scratches are fairly common and extremely easy to fix. You can conceal the area with a similar coloured crayon to the wood of the floor. However, if the scratches are much larger and appear to be gouges, more work will be needed. Firstly you will need to sand down the finish from the area that has been scratched, then you need to fill the gouge with wood filler. Once this is dry you can sand down the area once more and finish it off with a sealant to ensure it is as good as new.

Water Stains
Water is the big bad when it comes to wooden floors. You use a coaster on your wooden tables because otherwise they get stained – it is the same with a wooden floor. If it should get stained it is important to dry the area as soon as possible. If it is stained it is a case of having to sand down he area and re-finish the floor so try to avoid the work in the first place and not to spill anything!

Burns
Like water the other big bad for woood floors is burns. Seems obvious doesn’t it but burns can happen on wooden floors for many reasons. Cigarettes, hot oil, or dropping a hot pan onto the floor things like this are easily done. If this should happen, evaluate the situation. Minor burns can be dealt with like water stains however if it is a bad burn you will have to deal with it like you would a deep scratch. So the moral is to be careful at all times.

Wood floors may need more maintenance than linoleum or tile floors, but they make up for it in beauty. Be sure you get your money's worth out of your floors by knowing how to immediately fix any problem by yourself at home. If you need to talk to someone about wooden floors or problems you have with a wooden floor why not contact Timberland Flooring.

The 411 on spray paint

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I made a little bit of progress on the kitchen, but otherwise we just enjoyed having hubby home for four days straight!

School’s out for summer!!  ;) Whoohoo!

If you’ve read this blog for 2.1 seconds, you know how much I luuurve spray paint. In my humble opinion, there is no cheaper way to transform accessories and furniture.

And floor vents.

And roman blinds.

And plates.

Just about anything folks. Believe you me.  :)

Today I worked on a couple of spray paint projects for the kitchen that I wanted to show you. And while I was at it, I figured I would answer some of your most often asked spray paint questions.

I’ve had this large tray from Goodwill forever – almost ten years I think?:

before

I sprayed it in black spray paint, then later I added a vinyl monogram to it. Since I am redoing the kitchen and lightening things up a bit, I thought I would give it a little spray paint update!

I took off most of the vinyl but left just a bit, then sprayed it in an apple green spray paint (from Home Depot). After it dried, I peeled the vinyl off and left the black underneath:

It will most likely not stay as is -- it’s very very apple, and the coverage isn’t great, so I may to something to tone it down a bit. :) Maybe some distressing? We will see! I’m rearranging the tops of the cabs, but for now it sits next to a clearanced Pottery Barn bird cage – isn’t that adorable?

Which brings me to one of the FAQ spray paint questions:

Q:  Which brand/type of spray paint works best?

A:  I use black and white dollar spray paint (from various places – WalMart, Home Depot, Meijer, Lowe’s) all the time and it works great! Usually it just comes in glossy and matte, (shiny and not shiny) and it doesn’t cover quite as well as the more expensive stuff.

If you are working on something that already has a base coat, or something small, the cheap stuff will work just fine. If it’s furniture, plastic, outdoor equipment, etc. – use the nicer paint made for that.

Because I’m involved in the Amex spring home makeover initiative (yippeee!), I am redoing our kitchen with Membership Reward Points – and wooeee, it’s been fun! (I’ll give you another update later this week!) Today I got a new chandelier for over the kitchen table.

I really loved our old light, (which was a $30 Lowe’s score!), but I had hung it just a bit high, and it always felt just a teeny bit small for the table:

pot rack

So today I was able to purchase a purdy new fixture for the space:

As you can see, it came in a brushed nickel finish, and I was thisclose to keeping it that way, I liked it so much! But when I held it up over the table, it disappeared a bit with that finish. I wanted it to have some visual substance up there, so my ORB spray paint was to the rescue!

**I have no idea what “visual substance” means. But it sounded good. ;)

I taped off the lights, then hung the fixture from a hook out in the garage (I took down hubby’s lawn trimmer to do so) and then used nails to secure an old sheet on the wall behind it.

Which brings me to a couple more questions I get a lot:

Q:  Where do you spray paint in the different seasons?

A:  In the spring/summer/fall that’s easy – usually in the backyard or on the deck. Usually I can be found holding an item out at arm’s length, over the edge of the deck, spraying away. Then I’ll just lay it on the railing to dry.

I keep old sheets around that I use as drop clothes when I paint, but most often I use them on the garage floor to spray paint. A few many, many times hubby has come home to a slew of items drying on his side of the garage floor. Which I know thrills him to no end.  ;)

In the winter, I have been known to spray paint in the basement – but I do quick, light sprays, then leave immediately. Usually anymore, I do my winter painting in the garage.

Q:  Do I need to prep my surfaces for spray paint?

A:  Other than thoroughly cleaning an item, honestly I don’t prep much. :) If it’s bare wood, a spray primer is a really good idea. You’ll prime the surface and use way less spray paint in the end.

On wood items, sometimes I will do a light sanding to prepare the surface – but most of the time I don’t. On metal, I usually just spray directly on the surface, but if it’s something that will get a lot of handling, I definitely prime it first. I have sprayed many metal lamps and did not prime because (the bases) don’t get touched much.

Same goes for light fixtures – I mean, how often do you touch them? At least around here, it’s not much. :)

So for the kitchen fixture, I didn’t prime. I did light, quick sprays and worked my way around the light as it hung. I LOVE the way it turned out!:

It’s got loverly, graceful lines:

041Swoon! (Ignore the pantry door in front of the window!) Now the light hangs about 29 inches above the table instead of 31 (I know, but I notice.) And it’s 23 inches wide instead of 18 inches – which fills in that area much better.

Visual substance and all.  ;)

I’m thinking of an update for the shades – you know I can’t leave well enough alone!

The Krylon oil rubbed bronze paint I used dried super fast, even out in the freaking-insane-I’m-sweating-just-standing-here-heat we had today, but you need to be sure to let anything you spray paint cure (dry) long enough before you handle it.

Because I’m insanely impatient, I waited till this fixture was dry to the touch and then started installing. Because of that, there were a few little scratches here and there after I got it up.

I just threw the sheet over the kitchen table and sprayed little touch ups. I don’t recommend doing this unless you really have yours spaces covered. But I am me and me is crayyyyzay! :)

So if your project doesn’t go just right, what do you do?

Q:  How do I fix bubbles/crackling/drips/oopsies?

A: Imperfections usually mean one of two things – either you didn’t prep properly so the paint isn’t adhering well, or you are spraying too much, too fast. Drips always mean you’ve used too much. To correct those, wipe them off immediately if you can, then spray over. If you notice them later, sand it down lightly and spray again.

Same goes for crackling. Whenever I see that it means I haven’t prepped well. Sometimes I’ve noticed crackles when I’m using spray paint that has been in the heat or the item I’m spraying has been in the heat.

Crackle can be harder to cover – so sand down as much as possible and spray again.

If you follow these tips, you should get a finished product that will last you for years!:

You can transform just about anything with a can of spray paint! For a few bucks you can spray outdoor furniture, plastic stuff, furniture (I usually only recommend spray paint for smaller pieces – otherwise it gets expensive!), baskets – whatever!

Light fixtures are one of my favorite items to use spray paint on – you can make a builder grade shiny brass light look fantabulous with a $6 can of spray paint!

And anymore your color choices are endless -- the metallic options are great too. You know how I love the ORB, but I also used brushed nickel all over the Bub’s big boy room and I LOVED it:

built ins

The possibilities are truly endless – I’ve seen some of the most outdated, hideous “befores” become some amazing, up-to-date afters with just five minutes with a spray paint can. :)

Try it out and I swear you’ll be hooked!

Any of you seasoned spray painters got a great spray paint project you want to share? Link it up in the comments!

Any other questions? I’ll answer them in this post or in the comments throughout this week.

Thank you to this week’s sponsor!:

rustedcapture125

Home and Garden Design | 2010-Modern Interiors Wall Ethnic in Wonderfactory Office

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2010 Modern office interior wall design is very concerned about the nature of ethnicity, so that the design is quite modern, Specials Wall Art Office Design, Modern Office Lounge Room 2010, Modern Office Interiors Ethnic Meeting, Modern Interior Wall Ethnic Office, a few modern examples of interior Wall Office 2010, hopefully after seeing this wall you get inspiration in rearranging your office space.

Home and Garden Design | Decorative tree Bookshelf Furniture for kid room

Decorative tree Bookshelf Furniture
Bookshelf Tree Furniture is a beautiful furniture designers created by Shawn Soh Korean Children, This is a decorative bookshelf with a tree shape is designed to combine the attractive appearance and functions you can use to complement your child's bedroom.

Decorative Tree Bookshelf Furniture

Home and Garden Design | Modloft Forsyth Dining Chair Furniture

Modloft Forsyth Dining Chair Furniture
Modloft Forsyth Dining Chair Furniture is a Dining Chair Furniture Design made of leather and has a modern design Forsyth Dining Chair is the perfect part for your dining room. Sleek-back dining chairs, with brown Ultrasuede chairs, finished in Wenge color matching. Hand made chair of the features Malaysian oak frame with Wenge, Do you want to have the design of this chair? please click here to get this seat

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Giveaway weekend!


I am SO excited about this weekend’s giveaway! If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know how much I love vinyl wall art -- I think it’s a fun, easy, inexpensive way to add a unique look and a touch of whimsy to a room.
Well, my advertiser Single Stone Studios has some fantastic vinyl art you’ll be drooling over! Yippee!
I showed you how I used vinyl from Single Stone Studios in the Bub’s room:

Billy at Single Stone sent me the airplanes, in the specific sizes and colors I asked for AND they when I told them I wanted little “puffs” of smoke, they knew exactly what was in my head! They custom made the puffs that come out from behind the plane.  Adorable, eh?
I felt like the sign still needed a little somethin’ more…so I got one more little plane in yellow to tie in all of the colors in the room. Just to show you how easy it is to use this stuff, I took some pics of the “installation” process.
First of all, no matter what the size of the vinyl (but especially if it’s large!) – I cut out the design so it’s easier to work with:

I use a pan scraper to rub the vinyl, but you can use anything with a hard edge – credit card, whatever:
You want to rub the vinyl to ensure it adheres to the sticky paper. When you pull the papers apart, you’ll be left with the vinyl exposed:

If the vinyl doesn’t come off on the sticky paper on it’s own, you can help it along with your fingernail. :)
Then place it where you want it (I use a level on the wall for larger items) and rub it again with the scraper to make sure it sticks to the surface:

Peel away the paper, and yer done!:
airplane vinyl
TOO cute!! (Notice the creative cropping so you don’t see the pile of toys on the floor?)  :)
I’m not just saying this peeps – Single Stone Studios has some of the most innovative, unique, adorable vinyl art I’ve seen! Just wait!
This is just stunning. STUNNING:
blossoms
You know that wall space above your sofa? The huge space you never know what to do with? THIS is what you can do with it. This works. :)
Can’t have a real chandy in a room? How about one on the wall?
chandy
I love that gray tone. Swoon!
How about adding some architecture where there is none?
column
Without the $1000 fee from a contractor.  ;)
How totally fun is this for a media room or a basement?:
theater
HOW COOL! Or how cute would one of these be next to a little kid’s stage in a play area, using their first name? I wish they had this stuff when I was a kid!
What I love about vinyl is you can paint mdf, wood, whatever, install it on there, maybe frame it out and then it truly becomes art you can take with you anywhere. And that makes it a great option for renters!
I LOVE their selection of monograms, especially this one!:
monogram
Gorgeous!
You bird lovahs out there will have a conniption when you see some of these:
bird wire birds
winterowl
Gah, I’m becoming such a sucker for owls! Adorable!
Of course the selection for kid’s rooms is amazing:
nature
moonflowerschart
And you can always purchase phrases as well! I love this one for a kid’s space:
Seuss How perfectly perfect for a teen’s room too. :) I’m determined to find a spot for that one!
And don’t yell at me -- I know it’s not even June! I KNOW. But seriously, I gasped when I saw this one:
snowman
Can you blame me? Sigh.
Single Stone Studios offers 40 different colors to pick from for your vinyl, in matte or gloss finish (love that!) and they even offer the etched glass vinyl! Awesome!
The folks at Single Stone are graciously giving one of YOU a $50 gift card to use as you wish at their shop!
You know the drill! For your first entry, leave a comment here. For a second chance to win, visit the Single Stone Studios site, pick out a favorite item, then come back here and leave a comment telling us what it is.
This giveaway will run through noon (Eastern time) on Tuesday the 1st.
Have FUN and I hope you have a lovely, warm and SAFE Memorial Day weekend!
**I want to say a special thanks to the men and women who are serving, have served, or are about to serve (we know a recent high school grad who is one of them!) our country. AND a big thank you to the families who support them.
I cannot thank you enough for the sacrifices you all make to protect this great nation.
God bless you!

Friday, May 28, 2010

A (new!) kitchen sink

OK, if you are a connoisseur of kitchen sinks, you will LOVE this post. If not, well…ummmmm…you won’t need your sleeping pill tonight. Just read ahead. :)

I have to say…the installation of the kitchen sink has convinced me that this will be the last sink we ever own – at least in this house. It was a doozy.

Remember when I asked your advice on the double or single sink on this post? I had already bought a double bowl sink in the lovely black granite I had been coveting for years.

I read your comments and totally succumbed to the peer pressure suggestions and decided to return my double bowl and go back to get the single bowl sink:

sinkA bit of panic set it when the display sink was GONE. And I didn’t see any on the shelves. What the what? I asked Home Depot Guy, and he found one on the floor – but the kicker was that the cutting board and strainer that come with the sink were missing – so it was on clearance and was marked down from $350 to $197.

Ding! Ding! Ding! I’ll take it, yes sir, right now, hurry up, put my name on it, place a guard in front of it, please and thank you.

Whoo hoo!

Well, I should have known better. That’s where the good luck ended.

My awesome, fantastic Dad had offered to help install the sink, so Wednesday he came bright and early (7:30 a.m. – which is very bright and very early for me) and we checked over the new sink, then started the removal of the old one.

Yessssss!! I was so happy to see it gone! Giddy!

There was one itty bitty issue with the new sink. There were no instructions in the box (it had been the display). So when we realized there was only one hole in the sink (for the faucet), we had to figure out how get a hole in there for the lovely soap dispenser that came with the new faucet I had purchased.

On the underside of the sink, there were what are called “knock-out” holes:

holes (source)

They are slightly scored and there are a few, so you can pick where you want the dispenser. Since we had no directions, I looked online and found numerous sites saying you can just tap the knock-out with a hammer and the hole “just pops right out!”

Hmm. Sounds fishy. Dad wasn’t keen on the idea, but I read the directions to him and we tried it. Didn’t work. And it was stressful.

So Dad insisted on using a drill bit to create the hole instead.

But we didn’t have a drill bit just that size. I had bigger ones. Smaller. A lot smaller. A little bit smaller. Not that one.

So off to Home Depot went Dad. Came back, started drilling. And the drill started dying. It pooped out before we even got half way through the sink. We called it a day, and Dad planned on being here early and bright again on Thursday.

That evening, I went back to Home Depot (trip #614), and opened a sink to see if I could find directions. They said to use a ball peen hammer to knock out the hole. OK! We can do this!

The next morning, Dad tried said ball peen hammer. With a slight little tap, it broke off a (huge) corner of the sink.

Awesome.

I called Home Depot –- the single bowl sink is now only sold online. But I have a hole in my counter and I need a sink TODAY. No go. Nothing. Nada. I called another Home Depot and asked if I could buy their display.

Yes, yes I could, but I need to return the bad sink to the store I bought it at. So we drove to one HD, returned sink. Drove to another HD to buy a new (display) one.

But the display sink had the cutting board glued to it to show peeps what you get if you buy said sink. Glued with cement, as much as I could figure. It wasn’t budging.

The single bowl sink was not happening.

Then, I saw a lovely double bowl version with a very large and DEEP left side, and a small, shallow right side. Many of you had commented on that type of sink and loved it, so I was starting to realize I could fall in love with a different sink! Yes!

We asked HD Guy if the ball peen hammer was a good option – and there was a look of horror on his face. I think his words were, “Oh dear God, NO.”

He suggested the drill bit we were already using. NOT a hammer. NEVER a hammer.

Umkay.

One hundred extra bucks later (no clearance sink here!), we got it home, and started drilling the hole for the soap dispenser with a freshly charged drill. Two minutes into drilling, the bit was completely stripped.

We were almost there. And we had been home for approximately four minutes.

So I left, again, headed to Home Depot. Halfway to the store I realized I didn’t have my purse.

Oh. Dear. Lord.

I turn around, and we all go back to the hardware store.

We get home, start drilling again. And the drill dies. Again.

I was looking around for hidden cameras. Am I on TV?

Nope. :)

So I called a friend, went to his house and picked up two drills – one was corded. (Powerful.)

It worked!!

Houston, we had a hole!!!! 

I could have cried, really. It was such a beautiful hole and it only took ten hours!

So we start installing the lovely faucet and Dad asked which direction I want the knob for hot and cold – it can go on the right or the left. We’re right handed so of course, I want right, RIGHT?

But the hole for the soap dispenser that had taken ten hours to drill was in the way. It was too close to the faucet.

Are. you. kidding. me?

We tried it on the left, and I hated it. We flipped it to the front – and what the ?? I loved it! But wait, is it allowed on the front? Heck yeah Dad says!:

072

And I love it!! I’ve never seen in placed like that before but I LOVE IT! Hot to the left and cold to the right. LOVE.

We dry fitted it to the counter again, checking everything one more time before we siliconed around it. But when we went to pull out the sink, the brackets kept catching. Finally, we got them free, and when we pulled the sink out, there was an awful noise.

We checked the brackets and all were fine, but then looked that the sink and saw that one of them had caught the counter and pulled chunks of laminate off.

Really? REALLY?

Dad glues them down and it looks good as new (glorious laminate!) But then when we would try to adjust the sink with the silicon under it, the chipped pieces would move every. single. time. we even slightly moved the sink.

We spent ten minutes trying to fix silicone-covered, sticky laminate chips. If you would like to know what crazy feels like, this very well might be it.  :)

We gave up on perfectly placed chips, and just left it alone. After tightening the brackets under the sink, which took about 30 minutes because the screws would not turn, we had an installed sink!!

Almost!

Dad came back this morning (third day in a row – I love you Dad!!) and got the plumbing reconnected.

And now we have a gorgeous, beautiful, deep (TEN inches!) sink and faucet:

066

Sorry, I didn’t wipe it down and make it all perfect – I am just so unbelievably giddy to have a brand new sink and faucet with no cracks, leaks or additional holes. A working sink is highly underrated!!

I got a stainless faucet to go with our appliances (I was afraid an ORB finish may disappear into the sink). The pull out sprayer is SO FREAKIN’ COOL!!!!:

We had a sprayer on our old sink, but once I get used to this I have a feeling I’m never going back to a separate sprayer!

Ignore the unfinished, dirty beadboard in the background peeps. I was just concentrating on running water.  ;)

I had to say goodbye to my lovely tip out trays, because they don’t fit with the new sink:

But I do. not. care. one teeny. tiny. bit. I have a sink! And a faucet!

Amen!!

I have a plan to attach the tip out trays on the insides of the cabinet doors under the sink, and I think that will work out great anyway.

So, are you asleep yet? Helloooooo?

My grand plan was to take pictures along the way and show you exactly how to install a new sink and faucet. But 90 percent of the pictures would have been us drilling a hole and at the check out line at Home Depot.

And that would have made this post even less exciting. :)

So what say you…isn’t it GORG?! I have to send out one more shout out to my DAD – love you so much!!

Our IKEA trip today was not without a bit of drama as well, but we had a BLAST!! I will tell you more about it next week! (That place is SO COOL!!)

Interior design neutral colors inspiration

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