Follow this flip: An almost-done porch

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Susan

I hope you all had a very blessed Thanksgiving! Oh how I enjoy taking a break from the usual grind to spend time with family and friends, eating and recognizing the many, many things we have to be thankful for. Is it just me or is it tough to “get the train rolling” again after such a glorious holiday?

Anyway, although the caboose seems to be running a little slow this week, 😉 I’m back on the tracks again, so I wanted to share a bit of progress on the white house.

The front porch is this.close to being completely done. I’ve got to do a little bit of touch-up painting on the stairs and some staging to do. And I’ll be installing a new front door (new windows and trim are coming later as separate projects). Then this tiny part of the huge project will be wrapped up.

Let’s rewind a few weeks, shall we?

And now?

I did a bit of thrifty landscaping out front. Then I painted the porch posts, porch trim and floor.

I am absolutely in love with the color I chose for the porch ceiling.

I decided on a “haint blue” color I was inspired by while living in South Carolina. There, you’ll find many gorgeous, historic Southern front porches with this blue-green hue on the ceiling. Haint blue has a rich history you can read about here. I went with a fairly subtle blue so as not to scare all the Northerners away. 😉 I chose Clark+Kensington brand from Ace. I’ve had good success with their exterior paint in the past.

Before I added the haint blue color, I used Zinsser Peel Stop® Triple Thick High Build Binding Primer to seal all the cracks, chipping paint, etc. It made this old porch ceiling look brand new again! If I could marry this primer and have its babies, I would. 😉

I picked up an inexpensive porch rug at Ross to tie together the new ceiling and floor colors.

I spray-painted the old porch swing a rich mahogany color. My HomeRight® Finish Max Pro painted this thing in a snap and created such a flawless finish, the wood almost looks like it’s composite! I LOVE how it turned out.

It’s been raining cats and dogs outside for the past few days, so I’ve moved inside to work on the bathroom. It is a scary, scary place right now, people. I’m completely demolishing the walls. So far I’ve managed to step on a rusty nail, smash my pinky finger with a hammer, choke myself half to death on drywall dust, and nearly electrocute myself from a “mystery” outlet. All in a day’s work …

*Affiliate links are provided in this post for your convenience.

Thrifty DIY desk and hutch + HomeRight giveaway

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Susan

Working from home has been a blessing in so many ways. But it also comes with its share of challenges. One I’ve run into is finding a work space that fits my needs and is clearly defined (i.e. the kids and mister aren’t taking it over).

Up until yesterday, my tiny work space looked like this (on a really good day). 😉

I needed a bit more room to spread out all my stuff! Fortunately, the latest challenge from HomeRight® gave me the creative kick in the pants I needed to brainstorm a solution for more office furniture. As a HomeRight ambassador, I get the privilege of using their amazing tools every month to clean, organize and renovate my home. Yay!

October’s challenge was to use these ClosetMaid® Espresso Laminate Storage Cubes from Lowe’s and transform them using the HomeRight Finish Max sprayer* and other materials from Lowe’s.

Yes, my beloved Finish Max sprayer is now available at select Lowe’s! (Plus you can enter to win one at the end of this post.)

My goal was to paint the storage cubes to match my current desk (black), then attach them to the top of an old desk I purchased a few years ago at an auction for $15 (below). Of course, that meant I would also have to sand and paint the auction desk black, too.

After giving the desk and cubes a light sanding, I primed them both using my favorite black spray primer.

I will mention that, for superior durability on the cubes, I would recommend using this Bullseye 1-2-3 primer.

After priming, I used a brad nailer to attach molding along the “top” side of the cubes. I primed the molding afterward. (You could attach the molding first, then prime everything at once, if you weren’t in a rush and forgetful, like me.) 😉

Next, I loaded my HomeRight Finish Max sprayer with Valspar® Chalky Finish Paint in Boot Black, thinning the paint to the proper consistency for optimum performance in the sprayer.

When it comes to getting a flawless paint finish on furniture, I have not found any other tool that does a more impressive job than the HomeRight Finish Max.

After the paint dried, I sprayed on a coat of polyurethane to seal everything.

Then I added my new “hutch” to the top of the desk. Done!

What do you think of my new, thrifty office space? I hope you’ll consider voting for it as your favorite! Click here or on the graphic below to vote.

Of course, DON’T FORGET TO ENTER BELOW TO WIN YOUR OWN HOMERIGHT FINISH MAX SPRAYER!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* Affiliate links provided in this post for your convenience.

Disclosure: I’m thrilled to be a brand ambassador for HomeRight and, as always, all thoughts, opinions and projects are 100 percent my own.

Thrift store plank bed (plus a giveaway from HomeRight)

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Susan

This month, HomeRight® challenged its brand ambassadors (that’s me) to do a makeover on a $20 thrift store find, showing how it’s possible to create beautiful decor on a shoestring budget. So right up my alley, right? 😉 I had the absolute perfect project to tackle for this challenge.

I’m currently smack dab in the middle of our “big-boy room” transformation and one of the most important furniture pieces I needed to find for the space was an inexpensive bed.

I scored this wooden headboard for $20 and the set of bed rails for $30 at my local thrift store, with the vision of transforming it into a modern-looking piece with stained wood planks.

See what I turned it into in the brief video below (or scroll through to read the project steps).

I started the project by removing the trim from the center of the headboard.

Next I coated the headboard with paint stripper, scraped off the finish as much as possible, then used a sander, sandpaper and steel wool to remove the remainder of the old varnish.

The headboard was then ready for new stain. I used my handy HomeRight Finish Max and HomeRight Spray Shelter to apply a coat of stain to the entire headboard. (Stick around for an awesome giveaway at the end of this post!)

I chose Varathane® stain (Kona color) for its one-coat coverage and soap-and-water cleanup.

While the stain dried, I went to work on the wooden planks for the center of the headboard. I chose lattice trim boards, cutting them out on my miter saw, then arranging them randomly in the headboard.

The pattern I used is very similar to what I used when installing our hardwood flooring.

After I cut and arranged all the boards, I took them out, laid them on a dropcloth and applied stain to each piece, creating a random patchwork pattern using just about every stain color I have in my basement.

When the pieces dried, I permanently adhered them to the headboard using Liquid Nails.

Then I applied a coat of matte polyurethane to seal the planks and fill in any cracks.

Finally, I attached the “new” headboard to the rails.

Done! We’ve now got a brand new, big-boy bed.

What do you think of my thrift store transformation?

Are you feeling inspired to tackle your own transformation project? You need the HomeRight Finish Max and Spray Shelter to help you get the job done quickly and beautifully. HomeRight is giving away a Finish Max and Spray Shelter to one of you luckies! Enter below to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Affiliate links provided in this post for your convenience.

Disclaimer: I’m thrilled to be a brand ambassador for HomeRight and, as always, all thoughts, opinions and projects are my own.