New Bench For The Sunporch
We have a new bench for the sunporch. Yes, it’s a DIY bench because those are our favorite kind. We do not have a shortage of benches in this house. Including the new bench for the sunporch, we now have six benches. All but one of them have been DIYed either fully or partially. I guess we like benches. Why did we need a bench for the sunporch in particular? There should be an obvious answer to that question. However, the new bench is not for sitting. At least, not right now. The bench is for the plants. I needed an elevated surface to get some of the plants off…
3 Funny Moments From Recent DIY Projects
We’ve been immersed in DIY home projects lately as we rush to get things done before the winter weather comes. We wouldn’t have to rush if we’d started them earlier, but this blog post is about funny moments from recent DIY projects and not about procrastination. I’ll write that one later. I’m calling these funny moments because they are funny now. At the time they were more like “Are you kidding me?” moments. Or maybe “Are we on hidden camera?” moments. If we had our own tv show we would probably need writers because our actual script would seem too implausible. No one would believe the funny moments DIY creates around…
How To Make a Recessed Toilet Paper Holder
Here’s the thing you didn’t know you needed – a recessed toilet paper holder. I’ll try to refrain from using any potty jokes during this blog post. Okay? Now, let’s flush out the reasons why a recessed toilet paper holder makes sense in certain situations, and then we’ll get to the bottom of how to make a recessed toilet paper holder. Number One: A recessed toilet paper holder makes sense for small bathrooms where space is tight or additional storage is needed. Number Two: You just might like how a recessed toilet paper holder looks. Everyone likes to go in a stylish bathroom. The idea for our recessed toilet paper…
How To Remove The Engraving On Slate Coasters
Slate coasters are popular gifts because they can be engraved with a personal or promotional message. But what if you want to remove the engraving on slate coasters? I can help with that. Our family recently completed a “fun” run together. If you have to put “fun” in the title of the event then it probably isn’t fun, but I digress. For completing the fun run we each received a promotional slate coaster with the name of the fun run engraved into the slate. I now had a set of 4 fun run slate coasters. They were a cool promotional gift, but not something I’d want to use in my…
How We Made Our Front Door Look Bigger With Paint
Let’s talk about how we made our front door look bigger with paint and only paint. Once again, the MVP of DIY saves the day. If you want to be all technical about it, I can concede the primary purpose of a front door is to allow access to a home. However, you and I know that the REAL purpose of a front door is to make a darn good impression on all the people who regularly see it like the Amazon driver, the UPS driver, and the FedEx driver. What?!? Am I hearing you correctly? Folks other than delivery people come to your house. Regularly?!? Huh. You must be…
Kitchen Peg Rail Adds So Much Functionality
We recently added a small kitchen peg rail to the end of our cabinets and I swear angels sang the Hallelujah Chorus when we finished installing it. This kitchen peg rail added a surprising amount of functionality and, dare I say, style to our kitchen. I didn’t take a true “before” picture of the peg rail, but I found it at the thrift store for $2. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that we live in a time and age where $2 doesn’t even buy you a cup of coffee in most places. I could not buy the materials to make a small kitchen peg rail for $2,…
Reclaimed Kitchen Bar From An Old Piano
We created a reclaimed kitchen bar from an old piano. Yes, a piano. Are you surprised? No, the kitchen bar doesn’t look like a piano. Are you disappointed? If you’ve ever had the fortune (please note I did not say if it was good or bad fortune) to dismantle a piano, you will discover there’s a surprising amount of high-quality lumber inside. Old pianos are SOLIDLY built and typically made with gorgeous hardwood. Below is a picture of how our old piano started out. Please note this piano came with a house we purchased. We already owned a piano. There are a lot of things we need, even want in…
DIY Rustic Towel Bar From An Antique Harness
Who needs a rustic towel bar? Me, apparently. And maybe one of you. One of the things we found on our property was an antique harness that would have been part of the connection between a horse and a buggy or horse and a farm implement. At least, that’s what I think it is, but I could be wrong. From what I can tell, these harnesses go by different names: Singletree harness, Whiffletree harness, Whippletree harness, and leader-bars. Ours seems to be missing the center connection though. It looks like it could have been there and broken off, but that’s the only thing that makes me question whether or not…
4 Tips For How to Use a Headboard As a Room Divider
Have an awkward space and want to use a headboard as a room divider, but are wondering how to make that work? You’ve come to the right place. We recently used a headboard as a room divider and learned a few things the hard way along the way. Here are four tips for how to use a headboard as a room divider. Tip #1: Solid headboards work best for delineating spaces. I’m sure there’s an exception to every rule, but of all the pictures I’ve looked at and in our personal experience, a solid headboard seems to work best as a room divider. By that, I mean a headboard that…
The Mistake We Made When Adding Hardscaping Around An Old Pool
May my words of experience find you when you most need them. We made a mistake when we added hardscaping around an old pool, so please learn from us and for the love of your sanity, check for leaks before you hardscape around an old pool. Or any pool, really. What is hardscape? It refers to the man-made parts of landscaping that aren’t vegetation. Things such as paths, walkways, and walls would count as hardscaping. Why would you hardscape around a pool? It’s personal preference, but hardscaping around a pool (the pool deck, in essence) with concrete or stone is easy to maintain and helps keep the pool clean and…
