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This is one of those home maintenance issues that we ignore 'cause out of sight, out of mind. It's not until we look up while standing in front of the stovetop that we see the issue.
The issue in Steph's kitchen was mold and grease! And lots of both on the underside of the vent hood. It was time to deep clean under there!
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The closet in the studio at Steph's house has gone through many versions of organization based on what needed to be stored. This time, it's being renovated to organize camping and kayaking equipment including the ability to house two folding kayaks.
Take a look at the transformation!
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Last spring, while I was experimenting with my new silicone charcuterie molds from TotalBoat, I tried a technique (that maybe I invented or discovered) that I had not seen before to see if it would work and it did!
I decided the technique would be perfect to create a fun, Halloween themed charcuterie board. So, now it's cool enough (relatively--it's still Florida after all in September!) in the garage to once again create some fun with epoxy. Here's how it went.
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Steph purchased these West Elm bar stools three years ago and quickly discovered the foot rest were uncomfortable! She came up with a solution that worked quite well.
After daily use for three plus years, the insulation she used for cushioning had started to degrade and compress. They were no longer soft, so it's time for a refresh.
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Steph was gifted a massage chair from a relative a few years ago. Since then she's been enjoying massages all while editing on her laptop.
Recently she decided she needed an upgrade from the pillow she was using to elevate her computer. After a quick trip to the garage to source material, she was on her way to designing and building a folding table for her favorite chair.
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She said she was going to do it and she did it...repack the bearings on the trailer!
I (Vicki) had no clue as to what was involved in this process which made it fascinating to watch! After watching her and seeing the video, I think I could actually repack bearings as well. My dad was an auto mechanic all of his life. As many of you know, he passed away in May, 2020. Both Steph and I, during the trailer maintenance process, commented on just how proud he would be of his granddaughter! That thought makes me happy...
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You know, sometimes we live with something broken because we don't know how to fix it or even if a fix is available.
That was the situation with Steph's screen door. It wasn't broken, but the black part did not match the white door. We had one of those "Duh" moments when we realized that replacement parts were readily available and that changing out the screen closer was a really easy fix.
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We are big fans of Nanoleaf lighting, so when I saw these Nanoleaf Shapes on sale at my local Costco, I immediately texted a picture to Steph.
It was no surprise to me that she wanted them! I purchased two sets and took them home to install, well took them to her house. While looking at the Costco website, we found that they sell a variety of the Nanoleaf brand lighting although only the Shapes version was currently on sale. I'll be checking regularly to see if any others go on sale in the future.
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We bought a Cricut Maker cutting machine a few years ago, and have really loved creating with it. I have found many use for it especially as a way to make professional looking stick-on labels for storage and organization for my garage and home.
I just did some cleaning in my garage and needed to label some bins, so I thought this was the perfect time to share how I make labels using a sharpie on the Cricut Maker!
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Thank you to Wall Control for providing the product in this project!
Steph and I have installed a lot of Wall Control metal pegboard over the years. With the exception of the replacement plastic pegboard at Steph's house, we've always started on empty walls. This time is different!
Steph's friend, Daniel, installed old school wood pegboard in his garage when he moved into his house a few years ago. Over time, due to the Florida heat and humidity, that pegboard had started to deteriorate. The wood had expanded and contracted making the pegs not fit correctly. It was time for an upgrade! With Wall Control's partnership, Steph and Daniel, upgraded Daniel's garage from the wood pegboard to metal.
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We love to kayak, and recently added another kayak to our collection which also includes a folding Oru and an inflatable stand up paddle board/kayak. The last two do not require any special storage requirements, but the new hardshell one does.
We decided to create a simple storage stand to keep the kayak off the ground and also at a height where we could simply slide in onto the stand with the kayak cart (wheels) in place. Read on as we share how we made this kayak stand with the materials we had on hand.
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Here's a super simple project that comes together really quickly. It's perfect for crafting with your grandkids or niblings (that's your nieces and nephews!)
Head to the Dollar Tree to pick up all but the bird seed and you'll be on your way to your own wild kingdom.
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Steph's on-going quest to find a tool or system to rake up leaves in her backyard has finally come to an end!
Steph's backyard is nothing but rock as no grass will grow because of all the tree coverage and ALL those trees drop lots of leaves two times a year! At long last, she has found the ultimate bag/rake combination to clean up the overabundance of leaves!
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Steph recently built a flat-pack sofa from Home Reserve, which meant the side table she had been using just wasn't going to work with the new sofa.
She thought about what she needed, which was storage for a few remotes and such and enough space for a beverage and track pad. Here's what she came up with.
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We've used TotalBoat epoxy for a number of projects and because we like their products, we subscribe to their emails to keep up with their newest products.
Well, in one email a fews weeks ago, we saw they had new silicone charcuterie molds for sale. I talked it over with Steph and we decided on the spot to buy both the circle and rectangle molds. The shipping was super fast so I was on my way to some creative fun in no time! By the way, I really do enjoy all kinds of epoxy projects. Most have been large multi day projects, so I was looking forward to working on a small project that would take very little time. Take a look at the latest offering from TotalBoat.
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Part three in the four-part Home Reserve DIY Sofa series: Putting it all together!
Once the five chairs and two ottomans were assembled, it was time to bring them in the house to connect them all together. This part could not have been easier! The hardest part was working around the greyhounds! As easy as this is to assemble its just as easy to take apart to rearrange or move, which we did a few weeks later!
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This is part two of four in our series on the DIY flatpack sofa from Home Reserve.
In the first video/post, Steph shared the ordering process and building the test armless the company suggested we build before getting the rest of the pieces. This video/post is all about building the various pieces: the small and large ottomans, the arm for the armless, stuffing the cushions, and "upholstering" the frames.
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When Mac, Steph's retired racing greyhound, came home to live with Steph, she was not interested in getting on the furniture. Mac was content to chose any of the many dog beds throughout the house leaving the furniture for the humans.
Well, that came to a screeching halt when Tosh, another retired racing greyhound, entered the picture. Two weeks after adoption, we discovered Tosh was quite happy to make her snuggle place the couch! (In the video, you can see that first hop up onto the couch which was caught on security camera footage!) A short while later, Mac decided she too would rather lay on the couch! Now, there was no room for humans! We dealt with this by buying a small sofa, but this just didn't solve the lack of room for dogs and humans. This is Steph's solution to the sofa problem. Read on...
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On a drive home one afternoon, I spotted a couple of Adirondack chairs and stools curbside in a trash pile.
Everything was in really rough condition and truly ready to be hauled to the landfill! But, I had a lightbulb moment and thought we could rehab them using parts from the stools and finish them with some leftover Olympic Elite stain. They'd made a great Earth Day project--taking trash and making it usable again--one less thing to go to the dump! Read along as we share what we did.
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I've always been skeptical of "as-seen-on-TV" products. Are they really as good as they seem to be?
When Steph said she wanted to try this magnetic closing screen door for the dogs, I certainly had my doubts! But, this particular "as-seen-on-TV" product turned out to be just as advertised! Surprise! Read on as we share our review. text by Vicki Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! A few years ago we installed a "made-from-scratch" sliding door in my laundry room. I liked it so much that I wanted to do the same in the hall bathroom.
When we spotted this all inclusive sliding door kit at Costco, we decided it would be perfect for the bathroom. Rather than taking a couple of days to build a door and install it, this kit took maybe a couple of hours! That's a win! Follow along as we share how it all came together.
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This bathroom was gutted and remodeled in 2012 and at that time I decided not to install cabinets on the back wall. It seemed like a good space to add a personal touch with a fun piece of furniture.
Early on I found the perfect mid-century modern cabinet for the space. It was the right length, fairly narrow, and the right height. Unfortunately, it was a MCM piece that looked nice, but was not made of solid wood. I used it many years, but over time, one of the legs quit holding making it unusable. I moved an old cedar chest into the space for a while, but is was really too large for the space. I was ready for something new that would better fit the space. Taking inspiration from a post from DIY Huntress, I decided a wall-hung cabinet would be perfect for the space.
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For the past three years, the view out Steph's living room windows has been of a two-ladder plant stand we build and installed in the space. We've gotten used to the view and couldn't imagine not having the ladder plant stand out there.
But a few months ago we noticed there was a lot of deterioration in the wood. In fact, so much so that it was in danger of falling over. We decided to take it down and replace it with, wait for it...another two-ladder plant stand! This time, we are making our own ladders out of pressure treated wood which should stand up better to our Florida weather.
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There is an awkward space above the bar at Steph's house. We've addressed the weird openings above it, but not the awkward wall space itself. We are taking care of that in this post.
The awkward space will now be a focal point in the room with the addition of a Nanoleaf panels. Don't know that those are, read on!
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Many homeowners are not aware, but smoke detectors have an expiration date. Smoke detector companies state that they are good for ten years starting with the manufacturing date, NOT the install date.
With that fact in mind, you can see that Steph was loooooooong overdue to replace the smoke detectors at her house. She's been in her house nine years, but who knows when the detectors were changed out before that. Because of the difficulty and frustration I've had with the wired detectors at my house, she wanted something a little more high tech and more frustration free. Those at my house beep when the backup batteries need changing, but it's trial and error to find out when one is problematic. Uggg! After much research, she settled on the smart smoke detector Google Nest Protect. Here's how the install went. |