0 Just Sold: 223 Linwood Court
>> Thursday, December 22, 2011
A big congratulations to Andrew on the purchase of his first home!
I know Andrew’s girlfriend, Laura, can’t wait to get busy decorating. Congrats on the new place!
0 See you tomorrow…
>> Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Raise your hand if you are a last minute shopper who is currently standing in the checkout line at Target in between appointments…my hand is practically touching the ceiling.
Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve, y’all!
0 Just Sold: 407 N Ash
>> Tuesday, December 20, 2011
A big congratulations to Michael on the purchase of his first home in Little Rock! We searched high and low for the perfect Hillcrest house and could not have found a better fit.
0 Table Talk: Perfectly Prepped…Take 2
>> Monday, December 19, 2011
A few weeks ago I bumped into an old friend and while we were catching up, she brought up this little blog-o-mine and said some mighty nice things about how she loved seeing all of my before and after projects. After I blushed a little and gave her a big snuggle for being so sweet, she followed up with the words I hate to hear but come my way all too often that go a little like this: I just don’t think I could ever do anything like that…Like kryptonite this this do-it-yourselfer, I’m sure I made the most awful face before taking off full speed on my well-practiced DIY pep talk complete with rebuttals to the three most common I-can’t-do-it-myself excuses…
1. I’m not that creative…Yes you are, and if you don’t believe me, just steal an idea from someone else and get to work.
2. I just know I’ll mess it up…You’re right. You may. Lord knows I have, but if you start with an easy project you’re sure to be a giant success and build your confidence for a more challenging DIY along the way. The other key is to get your feet wet with a super inexpensive rehab—a $10 yard sale dining chair, an old dresser your mom was planning on throwing out anyway—you get the gist.
3. I don’t have time…Yes you do. Rarely do I dedicate an entire evening to one rehab. By breaking up the project into manageable steps, you’d be surprised how much you can accomplish. A coat of paint before dinner, a little sanding during commercial breaks, and before you know it, your furniture flip is a wrap.
Take for instance my current rehab. I took into account all 3 of these ridiculously ridiculous excuses and squashed them all. I stole the idea for this table from my client-friend Jackie (click here to see the inspiration), only spent $20 on the table so that I wouldn’t feel too guilty hightailing it to the dumpster if need be and I’ve spent the past couple of days working on giving it a facelift little by little when a bit of spare time comes my way.
With the base of the table primed and painted, the table top was next up for a little love…
A light sanding with medium grit sandpaper was the first step to remove the thin layer of varnish and prep the wood for staining. It is also important to show your neighbors just how hot a pair of goggles and facemask can be on a girl at 7:00 am with no makeup and dirty hair. The world needs to know.
Sanded and wiped down with a clean cloth to remove any dust, the next step is to put my staining skills to work…but we’ll save that for the next commercial break.
0 Table Talk: Perfectly Prepped
>> Thursday, December 15, 2011
When it comes to rehabbing a piece of furniture that will see a lot of wear and tear, like my rehab-in-progress below, prep work is essential to keep your furniture flip in tip top shape. Let’s talk about a few tips and tricks I use for making sure my rehabs are perfectly prepped.
Because I prefer to do my rehabs indoors in front of the latest episode of Bravo’s Real Housewives, I keep scrap wood on hand to prop up the legs so that every square inch is painted and a handful of old towels to catch any drips.
The master plan is to paint the base of the table a clean white, but in order for the paint to stick, I first needed a solid coat of primer. After a quick wipe down to remove any dust and dirt, it was time to prime. I keep a can a Kilz odorless oil-based primer on hand at all times. If you’ve ever encountered oil-based paint in a confined space, you’ll know that odorless is your sniffer’s best friend.
Primed and drying, my primer covered paintbrush goes back where it belongs to keep from drying out between coats…in the fridge underneath leftovers.
2 Just a Thought: Like Martha Like Daughter?
>> Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Whether you are like me and worship the ground she walks on or live to love to hate her, the creative genius that Martha Stewart can whip up with a glue gun and a few yarn scraps cannot be denied. And while I’ve found myself cursing her up-down-left-and-right after spending two hours in the kitchen only to have my culinary creation turn out substantially different than what is staring back at me from the glossy magazine page, I stick up for Martha. She’s my girl.
So when I read a few excerpts from Martha’s daughter Alexis’s tell-all book about growing up under Martha’s wing, I had to roll my eyes. Apparently Martha made her take off her shoes inside the house and turned off the lights on Halloween to pretend like they weren’t home to deter trick-or-treaters…but I bet you ate a killer pumpkin trifle on Thanksgiving and had the most organized closet in all the land. Pick your battles, sweetheart. I guarantee if you came to my house on Halloween, the front porch light would be off and you’d be leaving your muddy boots by the front door as well.
But what really kicked my protective instincts for my domestic goddess into high gear? This quote:
| She used to make me wrap my own presents. She would hand me things right before Christmas and say, "Wrap these but don't look inside." |
My mom also had me wrap my own presents. Not because she was missing a maternal Christmas gene, but because she knew I was a better gift wrapper, bigger bow tie-er and fancier tag signer than she. Take it as a compliment Alexis. If Martha Stewart trusted me to wrap the presents displayed under her fabulous 15 foot frasier fir, you could ship me off to sea Eskimo-style on a block of ice because my life would be complete.
0 Prime Time for Table Talk
>> Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Remember this fine creature I picked up a few weeks ago for $20?…
It’s high time to get rolling on this furniture flip. Dismantled and ready for rehab, we’ll start by giving the base of the table a couple coats of oil based primer followed with a coat or two of white paint.
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