Author Archives: ellen
Hardwood Floor
The entry and kitchen had been retiled with a medium gray wood grained tile. But the living/dining room was carpeted with a dark color berber. Although the carpet was not in terrible shape, hardwood was a feature they wanted. The … Continue reading
Dining Room Furniture
I made an effort to have enough furniture on hand for the family to start their new lives in the house. They had decided not to bring most of their old furniture with them. They only brought their relatively new … Continue reading
Shoe Sign
It’s tradition to remove outdoor shoes in most Asian households. Actually it’s also becoming an indoor clean air practice. Our LEED requirement is to have shoe storage at the door. But not all visitors are aware, and actually I need … Continue reading
Charming Playroom
My daughter-in-law wanted a child’s playroom in the large basement family room. This is a wonderful room because the floor is over a crawlspace so its not cold and it is a heated space. The south side has lots of … Continue reading
Kitchen Faucets
The windowsill was in the way of the kitchen faucet handle for the hot water. The handle bumped up against the wood so the water could not be completely turned on. When the new quartz was installed we requested that … Continue reading
Closet Organization
I found a Craigslist deal for Closet organization shelves. The remodeler had removed the shelving from several closets. This type of shelving can be very expensive when new but the home owner sold all of the sections and parts for … Continue reading
Imported Tile
My son was very impressed with the beauty of some Moroccan tile in a specialty tile shop in San Francisco. The cost was $250 a square foot. So he did some research to see if there was a shop nearer … Continue reading
Kitchen Quartz
I found an ad for “white granite” on Craigslist. For only $60 there were two smaller pieces and one large one. Luckily my son was visiting when we went to pick up the pieces because the large one especially was … Continue reading
Granite Counter Failure
I found a lovely piece of dark granite for $50 that I thought was large enough for the countertop in the family bathroom. It required more prep work than most because there were plywood pieces glued to the back of … Continue reading
The Family Bathroom
The basement bathroom was quicker and easier that the second floor family bathroom. The same green Formica covered the sink cabinet and the same crystal faucets and metal sinks with the addition of a large chip in the enamel of … Continue reading
Mirror Mirror On the Wall
The basement bathroom mirror was damaged at the bottom edges. I read that moisture gets behind the coating on the back of the mirror and eats away the mirroring on the glass. The solution was to coat the back of … Continue reading
Basement Bathroom
One of the earliest projects in the new house was a quick remodel of the basement bathroom. All the bathrooms had green Formica countertops, metal sinks and plastic crystal handled faucets. they were functional but builder quality and low end … Continue reading
Recover a Loveseat
One of the latest projects has been recovering a loveseat to match my granddaughter’s room. We found the perfect loveseat for story time with a parent and two children. Luckily though it was on a third floor the lady helped … Continue reading
Year-Long Distraction
My son and daughter-in-law bought their first house just three miles away from us about a year ago. It needed some remodeling and lots of updating and in the spirit of Do It Yourself I resolved to help them save … Continue reading
Dirt Room Revisions
My grandson likes to call the mud room in their new house, the dirt room. He has a great sense of humor for a three year old. There was a lot of preparation involved in remodeling the old laundry room … Continue reading
Mini Split Wifi Control
I wrote support about the issue with the wifi connection and a month later I heard back from a Mr. Cool support person. There are two different wifi control apps available for iPhones, one is Mr. Cool and the other … Continue reading
New DIY Mini Split
I gave up on the used mini split that I installed two years ago and never got the lines to hold a vacuum. Since the temperatures have been in the 90’s almost all summer, we needed air conditioning for a … Continue reading
Spray Paint Booth
I decided to improve my painting technique for the cabinet doors. My brother recommended spraying them. I have a HPLV high pressure low volume spray gun and a compressor and the last time I used them was for lacquer and … Continue reading
Patching the Tile Floor
At my son’s new house we shortened the kitchen island because it was so long it interfered with the breakfast area. The eat in kitchen was important for the young family so the last island cabinet and an ancient trash … Continue reading
Learning to Re-Key Locks
I found a fantastic deal on new doorknobs for my son’s house at the Restore. Interestingly there were almost enough for sale for the whole house including passage sets, privacy sets and keyed sets. They were exactly what we were … Continue reading