Handiwork

If I couldn't find it, afford it, or wait for it - I did it myself.

Reupholstering dining chairs is not that hard to do and it can make a big difference in a room. I've redone these Chippendales three times already and I'll probably do them again. Use the old fabric as a pattern and get yourself a good staple gun. 

I wanted privacy but I also wanted natural light. Inexpensive ricepaper-patterned plastic film on the windows gave me both. Click here for my full illustrated tutorial.

As the primary entrance, the laundry needed dark walls to hide wear and tear, but then it needed shine to brighten it up and make it more inviting. I hit a two-for-one frame sale and began arranging. For over a year we looked at ad art until I had the time to do my own black and white abstract collages. I always said decorating would be the hook that dragged me back to my art. Read more about that here. 

The kitchen island needed a lot of help because it stands center stage in the house. I replaced the old Formica with a thick slab of real butcherblock and added a pair of corbels for support. Then came 3 coats of Benjamin Moore's kitchen cabinet paint in a color called Iron Gate. I finished the piece with wooden towel bars on either side and matte black bin pulls on the drawers. Major difference.

When we rebuilt the screened porch, the light fixtures were installed a bit too high because one of us was afraid they'd hit their head. I was able to lower the lamps visually with an inexpensive metal art piece, spray-painted and gilded to match.

I knew exactly what I wanted. It had to be tough enough to withstand street dirt, condensation and rain, temperatures from 120 degrees to freezing and it had to be heavy. After ten years of looking and finally giving up, I walked into Goodwill and there it was for 25 bucks. Except it was discount day so I got an added 10% off. With a coat of exterior enamel the color of the walls, it was everything I had hoped for.

This shed was so beat up and full of junk it looked like a tear-down. So I emptied it, scrubbed it, painted it, tiled the floor, added another light fixture, fitted it with bins, then decorated the hell out of it with RC airplanes. It became a sweet little hobby hangar that increased the living space and ultimately helped to sell the house.

Sometimes I just can't quit. So what else does a crazy remodeler do for their 70th birthday but patch and tar their own driveway? I guess we both needed a facelift.

Most of the changes throughout the house were cosmetic. One of the most effective changes (but least costly) was paint. All of my colors came from Benjamin Moore.

NOTE: every computer displays color differently. On mine, these colors look brown. In real life they are gray. Even paint chips can be deceiving. Always test-paint first!

1 - Iron Gate: cabinets, doors, laundry room

2 - Dragon's Breath: small bathroom

3 - Silhouette: screened porch

4 - Kendall Charcoal: exterior siding

5 - Smokey Taupe: small bedroom

6 - Moonlight White: main interior walls

7 - Simply White: main interior trim

8 - Cloud Cover: exterior trim