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A Pretty Happy Home

Life, DIY and Random Things That Make Me Smile

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Shop
  • Projects
    • Cleaning
    • Clothing
    • Colonial Farmhouse
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY Projects
    • Holidays
  • Adventure
    • Moving to Ireland
    • Living in Ireland
    • Visiting Ireland
    • Travel
    • Family and Parenting
    • Humor
    • Learning
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Shop
  • Projects
    • Cleaning
    • Clothing
    • Colonial Farmhouse
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY Projects
    • Holidays
  • Adventure
    • Moving to Ireland
    • Living in Ireland
    • Visiting Ireland
    • Travel
    • Family and Parenting
    • Humor
    • Learning
  • Privacy Policy

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  • antique radio cabinet router holder hide a router and modem inside an antique radio
    decorating,  DIY

    Hide A Router and Modem In An Antique Radio Cabinet

    July 31, 2023 /

    What can you do with an unsightly router and modem? Hide them in an antique radio cabinet. Long before we got our entertainment via apps on our phones, radios broadcasting news, music, and entertainment were housed in ornate wood cabinets. Some sat on the floor. Others sat on tabletops. These radios became obsolete ages ago. Even I’m not old enough to have grown up with an antique radio. I had a boombox with two tape decks AND a CD player. I thought I was so cool. And modern. I see antique radios at thrift shops somewhat regularly for not a lot of money because no one really wants them. Even…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    What Should I Do With This Junky Treasure?

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    A Modern Country Laundry Room For Our Colonial Farmhouse

    March 29, 2023
  • painted metal pool coping using marine grade rustoleum paint
    DIY

    How Our Painted Metal Pool Coping Is Holding Up

    July 17, 2023 /

    Two years ago I painted our metal pool coping with marine-grade paint. It’s time for an update on how this painted metal pool coping is holding up to weather and regular pool use. First, if you want to know exactly how I painted the metal pool coping, read this blog post. It’s not hard. It’s not that expensive. It just takes some time. Overall, how is the painted metal pool coping holding up? The paint is holding up so well and far better than I expected. Wet feet, splashing, and goggles being thrown on the pool coping have not seemed to bother the paint job at all. We’ve even lightly pressure-washed…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Stone Carriage House Gym: Part 3, Old Windows

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    An Epic Stone Fireplace Makeover

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    Stone Carriage House Gym: Part 7, The Floor Problem

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  • flagstones directly on the ground flagstone path metal awning painted with brush on hammered copper paint
    Crafts,  DIY

    4 Places To Use Brush-On Hammered Copper Paint

    July 12, 2023 /

    You’ve probably seen hammered paint of all colors in a spray can but have you seen brush-on hammered copper paint made by Rust-Oleum? It’s the paint you didn’t know you needed until now. Prepare for your mind to be blown intrigued. The hammered paint does come in a spray can version, but I prefer the brush-on version. Here are 4 places where I’ve used brush-on hammered copper paint. On drip edge metal flashing: You might have a small shed like ours that has drip edge flashing right below the roof. Our flashing was looking a little worse for wear and I painted it with the hammered copper paint. The paint…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Good Luck Horseshoe

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    DIY Wood Acorn and Bead Garland

    October 5, 2022

    No-Sew Way to Repair a T-Shirt Hole

    February 18, 2015
  • how to add trim to a metal door using PVC trim
    DIY

    $6 Update! How To Add Trim To A Metal Door

    June 21, 2023 /

    Do you have a boring, plain metal door that you’d like to jazz up? You can do that with trim and it’s easier than you think. No power tools are required. Let’s talk about how to add trim to a metal door. Here’s our door in need of a facelift. It’s not the plainest door since it does have a window but it’s not the most exciting door you’ve ever opened. It also had some peeling paint that needed to be fixed. Not to worry! Some elbow grease, leftover paint, and about $6 of trim will transform this door. Supplies Needed To Add Trim To A Metal Door: PVC Trim…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    How to Mount Antlers on an Acrylic Base

    February 13, 2019
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    Building In Our Fridge: The Prep Work Is What Gets You

    January 13, 2025
    old new bathroom closet

    A New Old Closet Door for our Bathroom

    November 2, 2020
  • 10 tips for building an outdoor ping pong table using cement board for the top
    DIY

    10 Tips For Building An Outdoor Ping Pong Table Using Cement Board

    June 12, 2023 /

    If you’re thinking about building an outdoor ping pong table using cement board for the top to keep it weather resistant then I have some tips for you! We recently built an outdoor ping pong table and learned a thing or ten along the way that, so far, the collective genius of the internet has not addressed. We hope that our experience building an outdoor ping pong table using cement board will help your build go a little bit easier so that you can get to the fun part – playing ping pong – a little bit faster! By the way, if you’re wondering if the ball bounces well on…

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    Pottery Barn Trundle Bed Knock Off

    August 11, 2014

    Turning a Tub/Shower into a Closet Without Damage

    March 27, 2015

    When Would You Paint A Counter?

    November 23, 2015
  • diy pool equipment tool holder wood rack for holding leaf skimmer and telescoping poles near pool
    DIY

    DIY Pool Maintenance Tool Holder For Leaf Skimmers and Poles

    June 7, 2023 /

    Today, I’m sharing the DIY pool maintenance tool holder we made to store our leaf skimmers and telescoping poles during pool season. Pools are awesome but they also come with a lot of stuff to maintain them. All of those pool maintenance tools need a place to go that’s out of the way but also easily accessible. There are storage options you can buy to hold your leaf skimmer and other telescoping poles, but when you have a problem to solve and loads of scrap wood in your garage, a DIY solution is definitely happening. We made a rack out of wood that attaches to the pool fence that can…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Camouflaging the Dog Door

    October 19, 2015
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    The Most Satisfying Staircase Makeover You’ve Seen Today

    March 7, 2022
  • red flowers with black and white striped towels on a concrete pool deck
    DIY,  gardening and landscape

    Adding To Our Concrete Pool Deck Ourselves

    June 5, 2023 /

    Patience is not one of my virtues but I did wait almost 4 years for us to add a 5-ft x7-ft section to our concrete pool deck. Yes, we poured that concrete ourselves. I should rename this blog “Gluttons For Punishment.” Another suitable blog name would be “We Like To Save A Buck But Dang That Concrete Is Heavy.” Thankfully, Handy Husband has experience pouring concrete and I’m a decent assistant as long as I’m not required to lift more than a handful of 80-lb. bags of concrete. After that, it is possible that whining occurs. It’s ironic that Handy Husband ran a concrete line pump when we first got…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    April 22, 2016
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    Foot Wear On Our Stone Steps and A Basement Mystery

    March 20, 2024

    Kitchen Refresh Part 7: The Reveal

    May 27, 2015
  • sunroom door hardware after removing paint from door hardware with a slow cooker
    DIY

    Old House Essential: Slower Cooker For Paint Removal

    May 1, 2023 /

    There are house essentials and then there are old house essentials. The essentials might look the same on each list but their purpose can differ vastly. On my list of old house essentials is a slow cooker – not for cooking but for removing paint from door hardware. If you own an old house or any home where someone became overzealous with a paintbrush then a slow cooker will be the MVP when it comes to restoring your door hardware back to its original shine. To make this very clear, I own two slow cookers and I do not confuse the two. One is for making tasty dinners and the…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Filling Floor Gaps With Oakum: Update 2 1/2 Years Later

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    How To Remove The Engraving On Slate Coasters

    September 21, 2022
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    An Epic Stone Fireplace Makeover

    September 9, 2024
  • when to use a brown paint wash to mimic the look of stain
    DIY

    When To Use A Paint Wash To Mimic The Look Of Stain

    April 24, 2023 /

    Let’s talk about when to use a paint wash (aka diluted paint) instead of stain to finish wood. Under the right circumstances, a brown paint wash can mimic the look of stain. There comes a time in every DIY project when things are not going well and you begin to regret the choices that led you to this point. It’s in this moment of profound clarity when you’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time and money on something that does not look good that you realize you could have bought it on Amazon for a tenth of the price and zero of the headaches. Now you have to decide whether…

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    Update: Making the Switch to Linen Bath Towels

    February 18, 2019

    Racing Trophy Display Door

    June 8, 2014
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    Curved Fieldstone Wall: Part 2, Demo Section 1

    August 18, 2025
  • modern country laundry room in a colonial farmhouse with wainscoting stained glass horse art basket wall and inset wall shelves
    decorating,  DIY

    A Modern Country Laundry Room For Our Colonial Farmhouse

    March 29, 2023 /

    If a modern country laundry room can be a thing, that’s what we created for our Colonial Farmhouse. The transformation of this modern country laundry room only took us 3 months, 13 days, and, oh fine…a while. It took us a good long while to finish. Either this project was more tedious than we originally anticipated or we actually found a life and hobbies outside of working on this house. Yeah…you’re not going to believe we have actual hobbies, so this project was probably just tedious…as all good projects are. Almost four years ago our laundry room looked like this. Sexy, wasn’t it? That photo was taken on the day…

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    annisa 1 Comment

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    Magic Light Trick

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