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An Attractive Way To Cover Over Ugly Tiles

Pebble Tile is a shockingly easy and highly attractive way to cover over ugly old fireplace tiles.

 

DO IT YOURSELF | Before I moved back into my 1920s home, I had a lovely tenant with impeccable taste who lived there for several years. When she asked if she could repaint, I gladly gave her and her decorator the go ahead, and they mostly did a great job respecting the original design.

My heart sank though when I discovered that she had also painted the tiles on the fireplace surround and hearth. The results looked cheap and more than a little tacky. I was prepared for major expense and a big mess to replace the tiles. Read more

It’s Hip To Strip Metal Furniture: Here’s How

Stripped bare and pummelled with walnut shells, vintage metal furniture takes on a cool, contemporary look.

Metal file cabinet

 

THE CREATIVE SOLUTION | Metal home or office furnishings dating from the 1950s are hot accent pieces for contemporary interiors, but painted items must be stripped entirely to the raw metal to bring them right up to date.

There are three ways to strip metal furniture. People with the space, time and muscle can use a biodegradable chemical paint remover such as Heirloom Furniture Stripper. Another method is to sand the paint off with an electric sander using a sanding pad specific to metal. Sanding leaves painty skid marks and a distinct pattern, giving the piece a timeworn look. Read more

Dryel Home Dry Cleaning - Casey Phaisalakani

Why Not Give Home Dry Cleaning A Shot

If you’ve never tried it before, why not give home dry cleaning a shot.

Dryel Home Dry Cleaning - Casey PhaisalakaniDO IT YOURSELF | So this is what it feels like to be taken to the cleaners. For the tidy sum of $17.25, I had a beloved blouse ruined by the professionals. It came home from the dry cleaners with an unusually strong chemical smell that no amount of airing out seemed to diminish—it was enough to finally make me try a home dry cleaning product. Read more

Paint & Install This Glass Guard Yourself

Annoyed by the high cost of back-painting and installing the glass behind her gas range, this adventurous renovator took on the task herself.

 

DIY | When Terri Brandmueller renovated her Vancouver kitchen awhile ago, she thought a lot about how the surface materials and finishes would look when viewed together. She had dark wood and white laminate cabinets; butcher-block countertops and a solid beech island; and stainless steel appliances—everything set against a backdrop of white beadboard wallpaper. What was missing, she figured, was a serious splash of colour, and the surface behind the range seemed like the perfect place to put it. This is how she hit upon the idea of installing the light-reflecting sheet of glass pictured here, back-painted ocean blue. Read more

Hack Jobs

The real beauty of IKEA products is that they aren’t precious, which makes them ripe for reinvention.

Ikea Hacking 017

 

MAKEOVER  MATERIAL I used to think there would come a time when I would live an IKEA-free lifestyle, when every room in my house would contain only  “Grownup Furniture” —you know, just antique or artisan made pieces mixed in with factory efforts from glamorous Italian manufacturers. And I do have a few of these items in my life. But I also continue to have some IKEA because, let’s face it, the pieces are well enough made and their design is considered, sometimes even by the boldface names (in downmarket mode) whose work I see in fancy furniture shops. Read more

Fired Up

Metal window screen shines with these easy to make votive candleholders.candle 600

 

CREATIVE SOLUTION | Regular hardware store metal window screening, with its nostalgic cottage connotations, has obvious uses-and some that are less apparent. Here it has been folded into holders for votive candles.

Start with a form and fold the screening around it. I used plastic nursery-style flowerpots because of their gentle tapering shape and the variety of available sizes.

Use utility scissors to cut out a square of screening big enough to wrap up and over all four sides of the flowerpot. Set the pot down in the centre of the square, making a sharp crease along the bottom. Fold the remaining sides, bringing the corners together as if you were wrapping a box. Pinch all folded edges firmly against the form. Trim the excess screening to about one centimetre above the top of the pot. Carefully remove the pot. Fold the top edge to make a tidy hem. Smooth and adjust the crimping with your fingers.

I used aluminum-coloured aquarium stones to surround my tea lights. They weigh down the base of the holders, keep the candles in place and make the entire product more stable.

These candleholders make an attractive gift for anyone with a cottage (or patio, for that matter). They are also a great project for family members on holiday suffering from rainy day cabin. — Brendan Power

You can find metal mesh window screen at hardware stores.