Old ragged pavers to checkerboard yard (spring 2012)

After a mowing or two

Something strange went on in our yard during the 30+ years that the previous owners occupied this space. There's plenty of yard but they did some really strange things with bricks, pavers and concrete. Last weekend I decided to tackle one of them, an eyesore along the side of our house near a covered concrete patio. (The patio's no looker but can be concealed with an outdoor carpet during nicer weather).

Uneven, patchy paver area was a complete eyesor

This area is warped looking, with large faux brick squares. One of my biggest aesthetic pet peeves if faux anything. Maybe it's the influence of so many references to 'poseurs' by my high school friends in the late 80s. But I can't look at a chimney swathed in siding (really, why would anyone want a chimney to resemble wood??) or a formica countertop with a marbled design (like ours, unfortunately). Why can't we stand behind the materials we use and make the best of them? That's what I set out to do here.

In progress look at the checkerboard DIY fix for an awful group of pavers

Using a pitchfork, I pried up one paver at a time. That was pretty easy - as you can see there were enough gaps where crab grass and weeds had horned their way in. Once up, I slid the paver onto an abutting section of the lawn. I traced the outline of the square with my pitchfork, moved the paver to the side, and used a shovel to pry up that section of the turf. Then I slid the sod chunk over into the space left behind by the paver.

Gap left by a pried-up paver, before it was filled with grass

I learned during this process is that the grass roots probably don't need more clearance than what was left by the paver. At first I carved out a deeper hole, assuming the clods of mud on the grass roots would create a bump that might trip people. But when I tamped down the grass with my foot (my daughter also helped jump on them), they sunk too far down. So I ended up filling the gaps back in. By the fourth or so try, I just moved the grass over without doing anything special with the hole.

Paver on the left is flipped over to reveal a smooth surface that I prefer to the fake brick imprint

I took a gamble that the grass would last... I don't know much about its root system, what it needs in terms of sun, etc. This is a fairly shady area of the house, with only morning sun. But a week later and so far so good... it's still very green and healthy looking.

The pavers as they start to creep over into the yard...

Once I got going, each paver took about 10 minutes to replace - quite doable for the number that I was dealing with. It's not a professional job (level, sand under each paver, etc.) but it looks pretty good. I didn't really  know if it would look ridiculous but for the cost - an afternoon of my time - it was definitely worth the gamble. This section of our yard was such a shambles, there was very little risk that a mess-up would make it look worse. I'll have to take another shot from a distance this weekend.

Cost: $0
Time to complete: 2 hours for approx. 10 pavers, including some ramp-up time

Medicine cabinet decoupage (spring 2012)

Late-night transformation of a stock medicine cabinet into something more personal

For some reason, near midnight on a Thursday I thought it would be a good idea to try out an idea that had been rattling around my head for awhile. When the mood strikes, I guess... What I wanted to do was take a stock white medicine cabinet and paper the interior with something colorful and patterned.

In its original state

I wasn't sure if I should try wallpaper; I did not need a lot of material, and I don't know of any local shop where I could see the patterns in person. I saw mention of scrap booking paper for decoupage cut-outs. So when I had a free moment I ducked into a Michaels store. Turns out the scrap booking craze has left some detritus in its wake, in the form of a clearance section with heavy, almost card stock patterned paper. I found a few books of about 20 sheets for less than $3 each and figured that was an investment I could safely make - even if I completely screwed up this project.

Supplies (plus Mod Podge)

When I was a kid, my Mom always had a pot of Mod Podge nearby, which we used all the time. I was glad to see they still make it (and have not changed the label in 30 years, so it was easy to spot). This would serve as adhesive and water-proofing, so the paper would not absorb steam from the shower and buckle. Of course, this is a permanent solution - if I wallpapered, I believe the paste is more forgiving. But I figured that this could always be covered over again.

In progress (a single piece would not fit the entire back so I opted for a collage)

I started by choosing a few sheets that had the watery colors already in the bathroom. Then I cut up the sheets into more manageable chunks. Intact, they were not wide or long enough to span the back of the medicine cabinet, and I did not want a noticeable seam. I figured, why not go for a collage, as the patterned pieces I chose were already busy. By layering them willy-nilly, there would be little expectation that things would line up perfectly.

Finished product

It was fun to slop on the mod podge and stick the triangles of paper on the background. It went up fast - immediate gratification. I'm not sure it is as attractive as I'd hoped, but I like it much better than the blank white background.

Now the odds and ends that collect in here sort of merge with the background...

Cost: <$5
Time to complete: a few hours

Sea glass mosaic window frame (spring 2012)

Before

After

I had what I thought was a great idea: cover the wooden window frame in our shower with a mosaic of sea glass. I was always afraid to leave anything there lest I damage the wood, and it looked sort of dingy. And mosaics... how awesome would it be to have a Gaudi-esque area in my home?

So I stopped by our local hardware store, where they know everything - I can go in there with a list of odds & ends I've been needing for months, and within minutes a brusk sales clerk will have zig-zagged me through every aisle, collecting exactly what I hoped for, and I'm done. This time, I was trying to find some sort of adhesive for the glass, figuring that would suffice and then I could grout around it. I had seen some tiling videos and there seemed to be more supplies required than I wanted to hassle with (a notched trowel etc.). Turns out I can use an all-in-one product and use the tool I spread spackle with to smear this stuff on.

Next I found a stash of sea glass I had gathered last summer in Maine with my daughter and friend. I sifted out some flat pieces and got started. In retrospect: I should have laid out a pattern. Did I really think I could fit a puzzle of random colors and sizes together and actually stumble upon an interesting design? Ridiculous. In my attempt to to fit each puzzle piece of glass, rushing so the grout wouldn't dry up before I was done with a section, I made something really ho-hum.

When I was done with the ledge, I thought climbing up the sides of the frame might improve the design. Alas, it still did not look very good. When my husband came home he said it looked "dangerous", although each piece of glass is worn smooth. From a distance, it looked jagged. Also, it looks a little too similar to the shower floor, which is a pattern of muted stones. Similar, but not unified... maybe even a bit 'matchy-matchy'.

Shower floor has similar pattern, which is a problem

I was not sure what to do next. I didn't want to tear it down - there would be repair to the sill, I was sure, plus what a waste of glass! It really is beautiful stuff. So I charged ahead with another layer of grout. What a mess - I really should have stopped to read instructions. With all of the slight curves of the glass, this was not a smooth surface, so grout caught in so many nooks and crannies the glass was barely visible anymore. I tried scraping away some, and the grout looked pitted. What a mess. I found some rags and used them to smear away the excess, to again expose the glass. That worked decently but I ended up smoothing out the surface with my fingers.

In-process mess of grout

After wiping excess and smoothing grout

In the end, this was not a successful project. I put this off for months because tile work seemed daunting, but I fully expected to get swept up in the process. That did not happen. And you can tell; the end result is uninspired. There is nothing of the Gaudi or other organic, beautiful mosaics in this.

Ah well, perhaps this project will serve as a cautionary tale... I don't think it should have been difficult, but my impatience did me a disservice in this case.

Cost: <$10 for a bucket of grout and a cheap spreading tool
Time to complete: several hours over two nights

Alley in Richmond, VA 4'x5' painting (spring 2012)

Garages across the street (week of 4/9/12)

Garages with more detail (week of 4/16/12)

For the first time that I can remember - maybe ever - I am able to paint from life and keep my stuff set up. My kids are scared of the room that I'm using; they think it's haunted. I'm not exactly keen on the room either but hey, this is the only way I can keep toxic stuff out 24/7. And while the view is not exactly inspiring, it's growing on me. I love industrial landscapes and a dingy old alley... well, it has a lot of the shapes I am drawn to, when I look close enough.

Starting to flesh out the initial sketch a bit (week of 4/9)

The alleyways Richmond are pretty interesting. Some are still dirt roads and all are narrow. It's startling to discover one of these alleys the hard way, when a car flies out while you're walking by. Many of the houses on this street have garages and small backyards. The structures presumably date back 100 years, like the houses.

I've been working on this on and off for three weeks. I'm not quite sure what the background will look like so whatever seems most interesting gets my attention at this point. It's also tough to see a lot of what's through the foliage behind the garages - it is getting thicker every day.

Progression (week of 4/16)

The right side of this composition needed some height, and I always have a hankering to paint sycamore trees, so I threw one in here. There is a tree in loosely the same area, but it's nowhere near as interesting. Some sort of scraggly oak.

There's a telephone pole with a mess of wires and boxes on it that I want to include. Today I roughed in the shape - can't wait to get the snarl in there as well, but that will need to be more of a finishing touch.

There is quite a bit of foliage that wasn't there when I started painting a few weeks ago, so I've got to figure out how much of it to include.

As of the start of the week, 4/3/0

By end of day 5/2/12

Each garage has obviously evolved over the years. I like to see the impact of time on a place, especially man-made structures. It's strange how many differences there are just in this small view: some roofs have tar, others tin, and others shingles. Some structures are stone, others brick, and some have siding over them. The shapes are pretty interesting, how they mash together.

Each garage roof top is a bit different (week of 4/9/12)

It's been a bit of a challenge to get all of these lines straight, but I like going back over and over until they look right. I keep reminding myself to step back before I commit to an angle that is just not right. Do others keep levels on hand??

A few more details (week of 4/16/12)

More details (as of 5/2/12)

I did not want to paint each brick. No way... completely boring. But then I found myself on endless conference calls where I was not writing anything but needed to keep focused on the conversation. If my hands were not occupied, I'd start checking for urgent emails and then my mind would wander... so I brought my laptop upstairs and slowly started fleshing out this wall. 

The bricked-over window is not in this location but I could see it through another window so I added it. The bricks veered off erratically so I had to re-paint them a few times, but I think this works pretty well.... other than the cartoony left side, which needs a bit more texture or something.

Tree updates early week of 4/30, inspired by a tree in a nearby park

Tree as of 5/2/12, fleshed out a bit more

There is a tree in this location - but it was not particularly inspiring. But I've wanted to paint sycamore trees for awhile so I figured I could do a swap. I googled several images to get some examples of their twists and turns, and sketched in the general size and shape of the trunk.

The branches should sweep over the garages, though, and I got stuck. Then I saw a tree in a nearby park that had large, sweeping, overlapping "arms". It was not a sycamore but it had a great shape. I grabbed my phone, took a photo, and got back to work. So now this is a Frankentree.

Part of the reason for this tree, other than to have some height int he composition on that side, is to cover an obscured part of my view. I did not want to guess at what the outlying buildings and their rooftops looked like, because I could not see them. Foliage obscures my view, so I figured it should in the painting as well... but I haven't painted leaves since some Bob Ross-esque attempts in high school. Gritty factory scenes and figure studies have been more intriguing... and easier. But I'm pretty happy with this so far.

I'll continue to update this with photos as I progress.
Update 2013: We don't have a rental in Richmond anymore and my house doesn't have an alley... so no progress or hope of progress on this one at the moment.

What I did with Washington Post 'House Calls' design advice (autumn 2011)

Gone are the days I can watch hard-hitting news and documentaries that tug at my heartstrings. Since having kids, I've become a complete wimp, and the highlight of my week in the newspaper is its Thursday home section. Each week a designer gives advice to someone that writes in, asking for help with their home. I wrote in last year and the Post sent a photographer to capture the problem room on film. A designer worked within my budget to suggest decor changes (I didn't want to sound cheap so I said $5K was our budget, which was really $0).

The room is on the top floor and looked barren -- after moving everything else into the house, our own room just was not the priority. I spent little time in there -- I'm not sure if I was avoiding it, or if it lacked attention because I was rarely there. But either way, when an opportunity for free advice came along, I jumped at it.

Photo from the house's listing page - nice room, but awkward to fit furniture into, and very bright at 6AM!

During the first year, we did not even occupy this room. It had a few kids' toys in it, but not much else. We put a Christmas tree up there the first year. Then, as our kids got a bit older, we decided to make that our bedroom. The bed can either fit under the window or under an eave -- but neither configuration clicked with us, probably because we did not put up curtains or artwork or anything to make the room feel cozy. And the chance of sleeping in on a weekend was slim -- even if we didn't have kids, the sun pours in from every angle and is impossible to ignore. (I still have not found a solution for the skylights).

Because the room was not horrible, we did not have the incentive to attack it and make it comfortable

I thought we could chip away a bit by adding furniture. Our poster bed was too tall for this room, with overhead beams and a ceiling fan. The room is also a bit shallow, so a foot board would be bumped into. I stalked Overstock.com until I found a reasonable sleigh bed (my husband's request) without a foot board, that was cheap enough (I can't stomach anything over an IKEA price range, despite my age). Note: I measured once instead of twice, as usual, and messed up. As you can see, the headboard is too high, and creates wasted space behind it. I'm still not sure how I could have made such a big mistake. But I was not going to return it -- what a pain.

This is as far as we got: my husband wanted a sleigh bed, and the room demanded it be platform style

So in comes the Washington Post-selected designer. They had some good suggestions -- a door, for one. And we immediately moved our bed under the window, hung curtains and put an area rug under the foot of the bed. Interestingly, a lot of negative feedback came from readers on this design -- particularly those that used feng shui principles -- apparently a bed under a window is a big energy-killer. I think it's called "the coffin position" -- eek! Still, we tried it and the configuration really seemed to work for a little while.

Washington Post's team came up with this design (numbers call out specific products or suggestions)

What we didn't do (I should point out that only ADVICE was given for free):

The chaise that is pictured in the bottom right was vetoed by my husband immediately. He predicted that we would not use it, and that it would become a laundry pile. I had to agree -- we are constantly fighting clutter and trying to find homes for things. A big flat surface would be too tempting.

The biggest "no way!" was the lamps. They look fine, and I'd be happy with the style, but the price tag was eye-popping: $1,990 each! I'm cheap; I can't justify that. So I hit Home Goods a few times, and finally settled on a pair of brushed nickel orbs with drum shades; I think they were $20 each.

I liked the neutral paint that the article suggested, but kept thinking about more of a cocoon-y color, that would make waking up on a sunny day less jarring. I took a day off of work and hit Home Depot first thing, picked out one of Behr's"ultra" paints (they claim primer is not necessary) and a few drop cloths. By the end of the morning, I had the walls covered and after lunch I did a little touch-up. By the time my husband was home, the room was re-arranged.

White walls were covered with Behr Ultra in Macchiato (UL170-2)

Original purc, now in our family room

The rug I bought for the floor was great, but not great in this space. It was very large, larger than we needed, and most was covered by the bed. So I dragged it downstairs to our family room and - voila! - it immediately made that room feel more welcoming, and we all hunker down on the floor quite a bit now. In the meantime, the worn beige carpet was looking desolate. I happened to be in Target of all places one evening, picking up diapers or something, and saw a thick pile rug with a damask-esque pattern on it. I've wanted that pattern, and here was a great, cheap excuse to try it out. It was tough dragging this & my other purchases out to the car solo, but I muscled through.

I wouldn't have thought of going to Target for a rug, but it has really worked out. So squishy under foot, fun for the kids to bury their toys in (hopefully I won't step on a matchbox car one morning) -- and it brings in the pattern, but in the same neutral colors so it doesn't overwhelm anyone.

The curtains are on their 3rd iteration and will be a blog post of their own, I suspect.

After painting, I dragged the bed back under one of the eaves so we would have ample room for a desk along the other wall. The bed just ate up too much of the room when it was under the window. And the "corpse position" thing did sort of creep me out. This also gives us at least a tiny bit of respite from the window glare.

"After" shot of the bed in its current location, back under one of the eaves, with the new rug

I was not completely sold on the idea of a desk, so I bought relatively inexpensive pieces from IKEA (their EXPEDIT line) and and a top (from GALANT line). I figured if this doesn't work, I can re-purpose the pieces elsewhere in the house. So far they really have not been used, I am sad to report.

Desk area with shelves along the length of one of the eaves

We have yet to add a door, because I have no idea how to hang one, and my father warned that a half-asleep guest that opens a door at the top of a stairway may go plummeting down by accident. I'd like to put a sliding barn-style door over this opening -- that's on my wish list of projects (I need to do some research).   

Time to complete: one day plus many months of fiddling

Approximate cost: $600? Here is the breakdown from memory:

- can of paint, roller, drop cloths ($50)

- shelving ($400 for all of the pieces; $69 per shelving unit and $110 for the top)

- rug ($50)

- bedspread ($40?)

- curtains ($30, failed attempts not included)

Corner repair with molding (summer 2012)

I am not sure what my block is but I have been avoiding writing anything - or even finishing a project! - in weeks. But we just signed up on a home exchange website so there's no more procrastinating! This weekend we hacked away at a few small outstanding items, which is a big relief. Nothing to write home about, for sure. But I don't want to stop writing so here goes...

The family we bought our house from lived in it for three decades. During that time they made some questionable repairs - I think carpentry was a hobby for the Dad, which I can appreciate. And he even owned power tools, which is leaps and bounds from what I'm comfortable with. Yet we keep discovering issues -- e.g. this seam was covered with a strip of 1" molding that did not extend the length of the wall. It bothered me day in and out, and finally I plucked it down.

What lies beneath... in this case, beneath the previous owner's slap-dab repair job on our family room ceiling

My timing wasn't great. While this bothered me, I was content to lounge on the sofa and had no intention of pulling out the spackle just then. Unfortunately, if I don't strike while the iron is hot, repairs tend to wait... and wait. I sat with this for weeks. (Funny, my husband never noticed...) Finally yesterday I got out some extra trim and made the repair. I could not find my miter box and saw, and was impatient (of course), so I grabbed a little hacksaw I found in the garage and free-handed the cut. I was a half inch off, but luckily the error was excess.

The nails I had were awful. Flimsy long nails with ribbing -- there must be some purpose for them but I can only drive them about 1/2" before they start buckling. I've just snapped off the excess in frustration on other projects. Still, I have never thrown them into the recycle bin, and when I find myself in need of a nail, that little box is always right there waiting for me.

This trim matches the trim on the back edge of the built-ins below it, and it's cheap, so I figured what the heck

After nailing this up in the middle and at each end, I spackled the remaining gaps. It still looks ugly, but I can sense an end in sight.

Seam is now sealed up and ready to paint... whenever that might happen

Now I need a burst of motivation to paint. I bought some Behr "ultra" for this wall behind the TV months ago, after I painted our bedroom and got excited how fast a room can be transformed. Unfortunately, I did not have time to complete the job the day I bought the paint -- so of course it is still not done. This green seems fairly neutral but cheerful and bright; I assume it will work well with the light blue & white curtains.

Spring Green 1A59-4

I know it shouldn't take long - this is only approx. 10' x 5' and a room four times that size only took the morning to complete. This brand's claim that priming is not necessary was pretty accurate when I painted a cappuccino color over standard white walls; very few touch-ups were required. The paint is low VOC but in the back of my mind, I've used my kids' health as the reason to put this off. With the weather  turning, I should be able to get the windows open and will be out of excuses... so I should be able to update this post in the not-too-distant future with "after" shots.

Update autumn 2012: I was too lazy to paint myself. We did a home exchange over the summer and I hired a friend to do the work. He also spackled, which looks so much better than the slap-dab job I usually do.

As soon as I saw that fresh, clean wall I remembered a cork board map that was stowed in the closet. I brought it down and stapled some ribbon around the frame's edges (frame was too dark and in rough shape). I love this corner now.

Trim is lost but everything is much neater (dark mark is a hook for a lamp cord)

Because I did not complete this myself, I can't give an estimate for pricing and time. Note that the corkboard behind the map is from The Container Store (from a few years back) and affixed with spray glue (you can tell it's a little buckled but looks decent in person). The lamp is one of two from IKEA, with my kids' art project from camp, paper plate snakes, hanging from them.

Built in shelves (summer 2009)

Built-in shelves that fill a void in the family room

We moved into our house during the summer of 2009, right after our son was born. Throughout labor I had distracted myself by remembering what the rooms looked like and scheming about home improvements... this project was on the top of my list. The basement was the only real family room - and it was pretty depressing. There was a strange pressed wood platform along one wall, covering who knows what - I assumed wires or some duct work or something I would not want to expose. But it was warped and would not hold an off-the-shelf piece of furniture - a shelving unit would tip over, a sofa would not fit. Something had to be done or I was certain we would avoid this room altogether.

Ugly, warped particle board platform seemed to be a permanent fixture

A substantial portion of this fairly small space was hogged by this platform

My parents came to visit shortly after our move-in date. They are very handy and have carpentry experience from years in their own old home, so I asked if I could recruit them. We sketched out a few ideas then headed to the Home Depot. (Luckily my parents are as impatient as I am!)

We assumed we would  buy plywood and get it cut, but then we found planks of nicer wood that were about the right depth and would just about fit the length of the room, two across. We had a few of these boards cut into supports, picked up dowels and wood glue, and headed back home.

The shelves start to come together, as the three of us figure out how to work together

This was a real learning process for me - I had always wanted to build something but didn't know where to start. I was never sure how to actually fasten wood together securely - I could not believe that dowels and wood glue could be strong enough. (I was thinking bolts and screws, because metal seemed stronger...). I also hadn't realized how easy Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. can make this sort of project; what a relief that I did not need major power tools to cut the lumber.

First level of the shelves come together

My mother insisted that we have a toe kick, despite my instinct to try to make this flush. I hadn't realized the benefit of this slight overhang - it obscures the ugly platform underneath so it's almost unnoticeable.

The second level goes on, and trim is added along the edge of the wall. 

The wall was not completely flush with the shelves so we added strips of trim. I'm not sure the leaf pattern would have been everyone's choice but I had eyed it in the past and was glad for a chance to use it. The edges of the shelves probably could have used a full length of wood, but we were cutting corners (and avoiding another trip to the store, which eats so much time). Anyway, we figured that we could paint back there and that the shelves would be full more often than not.

Another angle of the finished product 

We left an opening for the cable and electric cords that stuck out of the wall, and cut a small notch out of the back corner of the shelf top so they could be threaded through to the TV eventually. This shelf was tall enough that my kids couldn't reach the TV - perfect. My mother insisted on another finishing touch, and again I should not have been dubious: the rounded trim along the edge of each shelf is attractive and makes the whole piece feel more friendly (my kids and I have certainly bumped into it and I appreciate the round rather than sharp edges).

We sanded the wood, then brushed on clear spar urethane. I had assumed this whole unit would be painted white, but my parents are morally opposed to painting wood and I had to trust them -- they had brought me this far. Anyway, in the back of my mind I assumed I'd be painting over the knotty pine paneling so two clashing woods would not abut (this never happened, as it turns out). As the urethane soaked into the wood, I was surprised how many little pointy fibers poked up. We sanded and applied another coat at least once more.

Finished product with toys and other odds and ends stowed away

My parents returned home now that the hard part was complete. Now for the last challenge: to find some way to keep the space looking organized. Each shelf was a large void that could have easily filled with the willy-nilly clutter that I was constantly battling. And I suspected that toys would be underfoot for quite a few years. I looked online for baskets with the dimensions I desired and suffered from sticker shock. Only now did it dawn on me that perhaps I could have planned better -- designing shelf openings that had standard-sized dimensions. 

I took a trip to the Container Store and again got discouraged. Finally I drove to IKEA and was ecstatic to find these collapsible fabric bins with lids. They were far less expensive than a woven basket, more attractive than a plastic bin, and just sturdy enough to hold cords, books, toys, etc. I also picked up two low, open baskets there that had the right dimensions -- good thing, as I've found I can toss toys into them from across the room.

Almost 2 years later and the chaos remains reasonably contained

This was truly the beginning of my obsession with home improvements. Never before had I had the guts to tackle a project of this size -- and I was so happy with the impact that was made with relatively little expense and time. Sure, we could have taken more time, measured more carefully, done a dozen things differently -- but we got results, the room is now so cozy, and I'm so proud of this. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Time to complete: 1 week

Estimated cost: $300