DIY Repairs and Fixes

20+ Products I Can’t Live Without

February 3, 2012 by Susan 117 Comments

I've been working on this post in my head for months. Every time I do or use something here in my home that I love or can't do without, I have thought about this post. It isn't written to endorse any particular brand, although that's invariably going to happen just because sometimes it's a particular brand that does the job just the way I want it done. If I really prefer that brand, I'll mention it in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY Repairs and Fixes, Inspire

Repairing String Lights on the Pergola

October 31, 2011 by Susan 57 Comments

Welcome to the 145th Metamorphosis Monday! A few years ago I purchased some outdoor string lighting from Hobby Lobby. It was perfect for my deck(s) because it was white and the decks are painted white. I spent several hours one afternoon, running it around the top of the pergola to the right of the screened-in porch and under the arm rail of the deck to the left of the porch. Within the year, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY, DIY Repairs and Fixes Tagged With: Candlelier, Pergola, Squirrels, String Lights

Hiding Ugly Scratches on Furniture

September 28, 2011 by Susan 33 Comments

Monday, I was playing with the mantel in the family room, creating a fall mantel seen here: Fall Mantel. I looked over and noticed a few scratches on the armoire in the corner. Do you see the little dents/scratches in this pic below? Over the years, this armoire has accumulated small scratches from everyday use. I thought I'd share a few products I've … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY Repairs and Fixes, Living Room (Downstairs), My Nest Tagged With: Furniture Repair, Hide scratches on furniture, Minwax stain touch-up pens, Scratch Repair

Painting the Closets and Office Trim

August 24, 2011 by Susan 55 Comments

How's your week going? I've had so much fun reading the comments you left about your past excursions to IKEA. One tip I wanted to share about the best times to visit IKEA to avoid crowds: try to go on a week day, if possible. If you do need to go on a Saturday, get there early, as soon as they open, or late in the day like around 5:00 PM. I noticed it was a lot less crowded come evening/dinner … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY, DIY Organization and Storage, DIY Repairs and Fixes, Home Tours, My Nest, Office/Craft/Sewing Room Tagged With: Bigger Shelves for the Closet, Closet Renovation, Linen Closet, Office Closet, Painting Closets

A Paint Panic Attack

April 9, 2011 by Susan 116 Comments

Update: Home Depot has changed the paint formulas again so ignore the formula further down in this post: You'll find the correct formulas in this post now: My Fave Yellow Paint Colors: Duron Sugar Cookie & Duron Tea Biscuit Does this ever happen to you? You finally decide on a paint color, go to the paint store, buy the paint, come home, start painting and then, PANIC! It happens to me every. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY Repairs and Fixes, My Nest, Office/Craft/Sewing Room Tagged With: Choosing the right paint, Duron Sugar Cookie, perfect yellow paint

Repairing Damaged Walls from Wallpaper Removal

March 21, 2011 by Susan 25 Comments

While we continue enjoying all the wonderful links for yesterday's Met Monday, I thought I would share some of the progress I made in the office, today. I covered everything up. I put "you-know-who" on the screened-in porch so he wouldn't be breathing in all the sanding I'd be doing. He wasn't too thrilled about Mom staying inside while he was out, but he eventually found a big puddle of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY Decorating, DIY Repairs and Fixes, My Nest, Office/Craft/Sewing Room Tagged With: How to repair damaged walls, joint compound, Repairing previously wallpapered walls, Wallpaper Removal

Best Wallpaper Remover

March 7, 2011 by Susan 76 Comments

Welcome to the 111th Metamorphosis Monday! Guess what this is. It's the last of the wallpaper! The evil wallpaper is GONE, GONE, GONE! Thanks to this stuff...Safe and Simple. You'll find their website HERE, and in case you're wondering, I'm not being compensated in any way for recommending this product. I'm just sharing the good stuff, when and where I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY Decorating, DIY Repairs and Fixes Tagged With: Best Wallpaper Remover, Removing wallpaper, Safe and Simple Wallpaper Remover, Stripping Wallpaper

The Best Wallpaper Remover, Ever!

February 19, 2011 by Susan 35 Comments

Life just got better... ...because of this. Safe and Simple is the best wallpaper remover, ever. Hands down! This is the stuff professional wallpaper removers use, and they use it because it actually works! Why it isn't in every Home Depot and Lowe's in the world, I do not know. So, while Mr. Max does this... I'm doing this... Several folks have asked for the web … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY Decorating, DIY Repairs and Fixes Tagged With: Great Wallpaper Remover, Professional Wallpaper Remover, Stripping Wallpaper

Cleaning and Staining Decks

May 24, 2010 by Susan 72 Comments

Welcome to the 71st Metamorphosis Monday! A few Met Mondays back, I shared this blue hour pic showing a candelier that hangs from a pergola over one of the decks off the porch. Well, something got ticked off with me and decided to take it out on my candelier. I've been bringing in the bird feeder that hangs off this deck area because something cleans it out every single night. And apparently, something … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY Repairs and Fixes, My Nest, Porches, Porches & Decks Tagged With: Cleaning and Staining a Deck, Raccoon Damage

Painting Furniture: A China Hutch Transformation

January 26, 2009 by Susan 103 Comments

When my screened-in porch was nearing completion, I happened across a little hutch for a great price: $95. It was just what I had in mind for storing dishes for dining out on the porch. After getting it home, I got down to work. This was B.B. (Before Blogging) so taking pictures almost didn't happen. Somewhere in the midst of sanding the piece, it dawned on me that it might be nice to take a "before" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY, DIY Decorating, DIY Organization and Storage, DIY Repairs and Fixes, My Nest, Porches, Porches & Decks Tagged With: China Cabinet Hutch Makeover, China Storage, Painted Furniture, Painting furniture, Painting Stained Furniture, Porch Furniture

Adding Picture Molding to the Dining Room

January 2, 2009 by Susan 106 Comments

A couple of months ago, I decided I was tired of my dining room being painted all red, above and below the chair rail. The room isn't overly large, so all that red made the room feel even smaller. This photo below is the only pic I have of how it looked when it was painted all red. I had just decorated the room for a birthday party I was having for a good friend. Once I made the decision to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Dining Room, DIY Repairs and Fixes, Home Tours, My Nest Tagged With: Adding Molding Below a Chairrail, Adding molding to the dining room, Adding Wainscoting to Dining Room, Benjamin Moore Raspberry Truffle Paint, Dining Room Make Over, Dining Room Renovation, Red Dining Room