As I said last month, I dress for the holidays.
This ring is too small but I love it anyway and wear it obnoxiously on my pinkie finger {even though it would look much better on my ring or middle fingers}. But it matches my shirt and shoes and belonged to a dearly departed relative.
Secret? I wear mostly yellow gold and love “costume jewelry” like this. Up until recently, yellow metals were so-not-cool but I think people are starting to warm back up to them. About time, if you ask me.
These two cabinets were part of a massively large entertainment & storage unit we used in our old apartment.
It worked well in that space. Adding a huge amount of storage and with 14′ ceilings it didn’t look too big.
{seen here on the left side of the photo}
In this house…. it completely did not work.
The center entertainment portion was craigslisted {finally!}. But I wanted to find a way to make these two cabinets work. I have a lot of crap and the 4 piddly upper cabinets in the kitchen just don’t do the trick. The “medium brown” veneer was not working though. The imposing dimensions and dark color made them look hulking in such a narrow room.
The hardware was also a little more stark-modern than I’d like in here.
So we give it a little makeover with PAINT!
Well PRIME! Then paint.
And as an aside, I would like to mention that priming & painting 45 cubic feet of cabinet, 6 doors, and shelves in a room that’s 16′ 10″L x 11′ 9″W while you’re priming & painting all of the walls, trim & ceiling {kinda} with this humongo thing in the way is a bit of a challenge. Especially when it means all the living room furniture and everything that was stored in that 45 cubic foot hideaway get to camp out in the dining room.
Super fun. But eventually everything got primed & painted {2 coats!} same as the wall color.
New-old hardware was purchased {vintage from this seller}. The only thing was – the new pulls came with this little nub that is supposed to stick into the surface.
Quick enlarging with my trusty drill and the problem was solved.
Using a piece of wood as a backer keeps the back of the door from blowing out or splintering as the bit goes through. It chipped the front a little {lower right} but that will be covered by the pull. The back, however, where just the screw goes looks nice & clean {lower left}.
From this to this –
And finally –
TA-DA!!!
So what’s magically hidden behind those lovely doors?
2/3 is housewares & kitchen stuff. One cabinet is for boring but useful things like pens & rubberbands, as well as my current purse stash. There are more bags in the upstairs closet but this keeps my most used ones handy when I want to switch right before rushing out the door. The lower right cabinet is where some important but ugly electronic clutter gets tucked away.
The modem, wireless router, charger for the DeWalt batteries and a small shredder for the junk mail. The shredder actually has a pull-out bin so it’s really easy to unload without taking it out of the cabinet.
Keeping the outlet just next to the cabinet {instead of behind it} means I have somewhere to plug the vacuum in or something decorative on the mantle. And yes, our floors really do slope that much. Thank the sweet baby Jesus for whoever invented shims.
So there it is. My Bonde cabinet overhaul. I am really enjoying the extra storage and love how being the wall color makes them visually recede into the wall. Besides the paint & new pulls, the project was free.
What have you made over recently?
In an uncharacteristic, completely impulsive, 90 second fury of see-MUSThave-click-creditcard-purchased.
Overheard on the Titanic
by Austin Kleon from here.
Artist Statement: Overheard On The Titanic is part of my ongoing series of Newspaper Blackout Poems: poetry made by taking an article from The New York Times and blacking it out with a Sharpie marker, leaving only a few choice words behind. This poem came from a theater review.
Right before Christmas, I turned the living room into a Dexter style kill room so the ceiling could be primed with the paint sprayer.
That was right after a significant amount of prep work on the ceiling.
Since buying this house, I have gotten wicked good at spackling {if I do say so myself; which I do}. I hate sanding and doing it over and over and over but it is a necessary evil.
This was December 17, 2011 and Christmas dinner was a mere 8 days away. Wheeeeeee!!!!
The weather here in Brick City is one giant tease, oscillating between freezing cold, rain, and warmer, spring-like sunny days.
I, for one, am willing it to be spring. Yesterday I walked to work in boots but today I wore flipflops. About a block from the house I realized it may be just a smidge too cold for flipflops but there was no turning back {I was already late}.
I want it to be spring so badly. I have come to the obvious realization I hibernate in the winter. Projects happen slowly in fits & spurts of productivity. Most nights nothing of any significance happens at all.
I have been working on a super-secret crafty project for a friend but she reads this blog and it’s a surprise. It’s my first attempt of anything like it and I’m quite pleased with how it’s coming out. Excited and proud even. Unfortunately you won’t see photos until it’s done and in her possession. That probably wasn’t fair to tell you, huh? What a tease.
Sara at Russet Street Reno told me to quit being a “bum” and paint my living room ceiling. She’s absolutely 100% correct and I legitimately adore her candor. I hear her in my head every time I walk into the living room. {Or at least I hear a voice of what I imagine she sounds like because I’ve never actually heard her voice.} It’s still not painted but, Sara, thank you for the motivation. I say that with all sincerity and know it was meant good heartedly. The ceiling moves up the priority list.
In other news…
The office is just about ready for paint. That means the ceiling is spackled and sanded {3 times}, as are all the walls.
I have 2 more small patches of spackle to sand down and some scraping to do where I pulled up the obsolete telephone wire. Could have just left well enough alone and added yet another layer of paint to those cords but that seems pointless. {Especially when the jack was mounted to the window frame moulding.} Slowly but surely, all the telephone wire is coming out.
I think I’m going to paint the room Benjamin Moore’s Titanium. Currently trying to decided if I should prime first. It couldn’t hurt, I suppose.
Holy Cannoli there’s a new couch! Well, new to me. Bought off craigslist just in time to host Christmas dinner {YAY seating!}. Unfortunately the frame also broke during said Christmas dinner {whop whoppppp} and has been out of commission. Finally finished fixing it Monday night.
This really deserves a post all its own but man what a project that was! If 1) it wasn’t so cheap and 2) I didn’t like it so much – it should have been on the curb for bulk pick up. But I dig the upholstery and the cushions are in good shape. It needs a little re-working cause I ripped the skirt off the blasted thing, so the bottom edge it looking a little unfinished. I think a little nailhead trim would spruce things up nicely. Add that to the never-ending project list.
I have photos for you but they’re all on the camera. Eventually, my friends. Eventually.
Almost exactly 11 months ago, there was a little issue with the roof. Said issue resulted in black plastic trash bags taped to the ceiling.
Because the ceiling underneath looked like this –
The leak was fixed several months ago but the trash bags stayed just in case it wasn’t really fixed.
Turns out it was really fixed and the trash bags have been functioning only as a designer focal point, not giant funnels as was their original duty. Shockingly enough, the stalactites look didn’t catch on, so I figured at 11 months, it might just be time to move on.
I’m proud to say that the ceiling now looks like this –
Smooth & stalactite free.
After copious amounts of sanding & spackle, it’ll be good as new. Well, probably better than new because the roof doesn’t leak anymore. So ‘YAY’ to that.
Since I’ve been kvetching about getting this room cleared out to renovate, here are some more current shots.
The baby-poo brown doesn’t really float my boat but at least I can actually SEE it. A huge improvement over this not-so-distant-past look –
The only things left in the room is stuff that will be sorted into the filing cabinet & reno tools. Huh-zahhh.
Oh, and one incredibly bright pair of hot pink crocs. They’re easy to slip on & off {so the reno mess doesn’t get tracked all over the house} and I don’t care if they get schmutz on them.
{TWO Yiddish sayings in one post?! Not bad for a shiksa.}
Since I recently admitted to being 3 {very large} degrees away from wearing festive vests, I feel I need to balance that kindergarden-teacher-eque confession with something much cooler.
Because apparently I’m also that girl who spends her lunch hour researching cordless staplers.
“Aren’t most staplers cordless? I have one sitting right here on my desk,” you say.
No! No not at all, my friend.
I was researching staplers like these –
All the fun of the pneumatic staplers but none of the hose & compressor hassle.
I think I need one. What for? Well to build stuff; obviously!
Yes, the hose & compressor are classic and reliable but 1) I don’t have anywhere to store a compressor OR hose 2) cordless is better.
I’ve already turned the pantry into a tool closet so, unless I decide to stop eating all together and start storing tools in the fridge, it needs to fit into the current storage situation.
Some argue you get more power from corded tools but I would argue that for the average DIYer, the ease and nimbleness that come with cordless options are a far worthier benefit. Especially when you have 3 flights of stairs to navigate.
Here’s what I’ve found –
The Makita‘s the lightest (5.1lbs) but only goes up to 7/8″ staples, which I don’t think is quite long enough for anything I’d be doing. 7/8″ isn’t much longer than what my regular craft/upholstery staple gun shoots. It comes in at about $180.
The Senco shoots up to 1.5″ staples but I can’t find how much it weighs. It shoots the more narrow 18 gauge staples (3/8″), like the Makita. 1.5″ is good. Not great but ok. Certainly better than 7/8″ and it’s only $180.
The Paslode is by far the most expensive ($399) but drives the longest staples (up to 2″) which might be helpful {I’m thinking of shooting through 3/4″ ply into something}. It’s not the lightest at 6.3lbs with the battery but that doesn’t seem unwieldy either. It does 16 gauge staples, so that’s about 1/2″ wide crown.
{Here’s where you can picture me pretending to hold said staple gun and making “CHOKU-CHOKU-CHOKUUU” noises like a 5-year-old boy with a pretend machine gun. Perhaps I should have worked with kindergarteners afterall.}
I also looked for cordless staplers on DeWalt, Milwaukee, Bosch, Bostitch, Ridgid, Grip-Rite, Porter Cable, Hitachi, & Ryobi’s websites but none had anything similar. Did I miss any models? Cordless finish nailers seem to be much more popular but I tend to think staples would hold better because it catches more of the material with it’s U-shape.
Anyone use something like this? Is it as awesome & fun as I imagine it to be??
I welcome any & all reviews – of the stapler or my mad staple-gun-noise sounds.
Happy Valentines Day.
And yes, I’m THAT girl. You know, the one who wears green on St. Patty’s day {or orange if I just feel like being ornery} {even though I’m not really Irish}.
Red white & blue on 4th of July. Black & orange on Halloween. Red & green for the holiday party. And – of course – red for Valentines Day. With a heart.
And apparently I’m also the girl who posts pictures of her chest on the internet. So there’s that.
The ceiling may not be painted but I’m moving ahead with decorating the living room.
Foolish? Probably.
But let’s be honest – the thought of standing on a ladder with a 1″ foam brush, craning my neck upwards, dripping paint on my face, trying to get into all those nooks & crannies doesn’t sound like all that much fun. Soooooo…. maybe people just won’t look up.
Except… I may have found a reason for people to look up.
Let me back up.
The living room walls, baseboards & window/door moldings all got painted in a flurry of activity right before Christmas because everyone was coming over for Christmas dinner. I purchased a fugly-but-going-to-be-fabulous couch off craiglist for $50 {which has since broke and needs to be repaired}, slapped up a Christmas tree and called it a day.
Since then, I’ve slowly amassed pieces here & there that I want in the room. Besides the craigslist couch, there’s a gray rug from Gilt, brass pulls for the cabinet, a gold glass lamp from craigslist, new IKEA lampshade for my leg lamp, etc. Looking at everything together, I feel like things might be edging toward just a smidge too traditional and the current chandlier is really sealing that deal.
Don’t get me wrong, in any other home or with any other decor I would think this just chandelier fine. Not really my taste but not offensively ugly or tacky. In fact, when we bought the place, it was probably one the nicest finishes in the entire house. It’s just not my thing and isn’t working for how I want the living room to be. {It is for sale, if anyone’s interested. Make me an offer.}
So what did I have in mind for the living room? Glad you asked!
Something more like this –
A little more modern, industrial, totally DIYable, weird {it’s ok, you can say it’s weird}.
Lindsey Adelman, a very well known lighting designer who designed this awesome Bubble Chandelier, has DIY instructions on her website in a section called “You Make It” for the above creation.
Total confession? I didn’t know who Lindsey Adelman was. I first saw a light like this over at The Brick House. Morgan tried her hand at Ms. Adelman’s instructions and came up with a little something like this –
Which is awesome. So then I clicked through and found Lindsey’s glorious website. Here are a few more pics of similar chandelier –
{from le bouf}
{from}
And all the parts are available online, mostly from Grand Brass, for totally reasonable prices. Oh the possibilities! The configurations! The customizing!
I may or may not have asked my parents to dig the old K’NEX set out of storage so I can make some prototypes.
And by “may or may not have“, I mean “I totally did.“
I have started on The Office closet.
The room isn’t cleared out and there’s still a giant hole in the ceiling to patch. But it’s all part of the great Office Redo of 2011, so why not just jump in with a nice easy project?
Theoretically, it’s going to just get a quick & dirty once over – remove the old hardware, throw a little caulk in the cracks, slap another coat of white paint on and call it a day. The room is literally 3’w x 2.5’d x 8’h and will mostly house a 5-drawer filing cabinet. A simple wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, done-is-better-than-perfect kinda job should do just fine.
Removing the old hardware ended up being more of an aerobic workout than anticipated. Which shouldn’t have been surprising with layers upon layers of paint covering the screws.
But “throwing a little caulk in the cracks”?????
Ha. HA!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!
Bwah! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Yup. 6 tubes of caulk, honey. SIX. In a room that might be 7.5 sqft if it stood on its tippy-toes and stretched its neck up real high.
This is why I buy caulk by the contractor pack.
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