Author Archives: Tony

How to Refinish an Old Wood Dresser with White Paint

How to paint a wood dresser

The old dresser when we brought it home

As you read in our previous post, we became the foster parents of a very energetic four-year-old boy almost overnight. We had to make some very quick changes to our house to make it more kid-friendly.

We had already started building the wooden play table and chair set for him to play before he got home. However, we also needed a dresser to organize his clothes and a bed for him to sleep.

So, as soon as we got him, we had to supercharge our furniture factory (our garage). At the same time, having him with us means that we cannot spend as much time working on projects as we used to. Everything takes a lot longer now.

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How to Build a Wooden Play Table and Chair Set for Kids

How to build a childs play table

The pallet wood we used to build the play table set

Months ago, they hosted what they call “Orphan Care Weekend” at our church. They had different activities and speakers trying to raise awareness of the needs of orphans and foster children in our community. As you may expect, one of the very important topics they talked about was the unfortunate, but desperate need of adoptive and foster parents for kids of all ages (0 to 18), and the great difference they are able to make in the children lives.

Moved by everything we learned that weekend, late last year, Carla and I started the process to get certified as foster parents.

Fast forward to April 2018, we got our certification and a kid at home. An energetic 4-year old boy (we got a call the same day our certification was approved, that’s how desperate they are for foster families).

Without kids, our house was absolutely not kid-friendly. We had to start working on changing this. So, after looking for different ideas, we decided that building a wooden play table was definitely a must for us!

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Fixing a Dripping Delta Single Handle Kitchen Faucet

Dripping Delta Single Handle Kitchen Faucet

My sister’s Dripping Delta Single Handle Kitchen Faucet

A few weeks ago we went visit my sister in Texas. Not long after we got there, I realized that she was having a hard time making sure that her Delta Single Handle Kitchen Faucet would not drip after closing it.

She kind of had already figured out a way to do it, but it still took longer than it should. When I asked her about it, she complained that my brother-in-law had not had time to take a look at it.

Do you have any tools? I asked her. So she found me a small box with some screwdrivers, pliers, and other small tools. That was all I needed to get the job started.

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How We Made a Flower Bed in Front of Our House

Planning a flower bed layout

The area of our front lawn where we made the flower bed

If you’ve been following this blog, you should know that our house is always a work in progress. Although it has pretty much everything we need and want, there are a few areas that we would not mind changing or remodeling. We’ve been trying to take it easy though, so we’ve been focusing on the areas that require less work. In other words, those we think that just need some minor improvements or some love.

This is part of the reason why, most of our last posts, have been about home decor.

One of the areas that we always thought needed some love was our front lawn. Although we replaced three ugly bushes with Alberta Spruces and planted an Ash tree on the left side of the garage when we worked in our backyard, it still needed some work.

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We’ve Been Busy Exploring Colorado (And Painting A Few Rooms)

Camping in Colorado

Breakfast after a rainy camping night

It is summer time! Well, it has been for the last month and a half or so! Or, at least, that is for how long we’ve been trying to enjoy it and have fun.

We decided to scale back a bit on our projects so we could have some additional time to enjoy the amazing weather!

Lots of camping, hiking and summer adventures!

Do not worry, though, that does not mean that we have not completed any projects. We’ve actually worked a lot, mostly painting, but also on other things as well. Stay tuned!

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Spray Painting Vent Covers To Match Floor Color

spray paint cans

Choosing the right spray paint color for our vent covers

Is it just us or wouldn’t it be better if vent covers didn’t stand out as much as they usually do? In our area, chances are they are beige, even though your flooring is a dark walnut (our case). They may be white, even though your carpet is beige. Or they may be dark brown even though your flooring is a really nice travertine tile.

Does anyone really think they look nice like that?

We don’t. In a perfect world, they’d be completely invisible. However, since that may be next to impossible, we believe that spray painting them is one of the best alternatives you can try to hide, blend or disguise them as much as possible.

On this post, we show you how to do it.

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Turning a Bedroom Into An Office Part 3: Building a Wood Desktop

DIY Home Office Desk Top

The lumber we used to build our desktop

As you may know by now, this whole “turning a bedroom into an office” project idea started when we decided to resolve the lack of desk space in what was then our home “office”.

We started painting the room. Then we went ahead and used an old desk from craigslist to build our new desk. And finally, we moved on to the last part of the project, building a wood desktop.

This was not your typical desktop, though, but one that is long enough for a double desk, so both of us can work at the same time. It is 11 ft. and 6 inches long to be exact, and on this post, we show you how we did it.

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Turning a Bedroom Into An Office Part 2: Building a DIY Home Office Desk

Building a double home office desk

The old desk we bought to built our double home office desk

As you learned in our previous post, the main reason why we decided to move forward with this home office project was the need of additional desk space for both of us to work at the same time. While the walls color had nothing to do with the lack of desk space, it was an important part for us. It made sense to take care of them before moving on with the rest of the project.

So, right after putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls and deciding the new office’s layout, we started looking for desk ideas. We came across many different options, but at the end of the day, for several reasons, we decided to try something similar to what we found at Young House Love.

Obviously, we like what they did. When possible, we like recycling and reusing stuff. It seemed like a relatively easy and inexpensive project for us to do, and most importantly, we had most of the supplies we needed to work on it.

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Turning a Bedroom Into An Office Part 1: Changing The Walls Color

Small Home Office Desk

The small computer desk we used until now

Even before we moved into this house, we knew we were turning one of the bedrooms into an office. Then, the day we moved and started organizing our furniture, we decided which bedroom it was going to be.

At that point, what made this bedroom an “office” was a very small computer desk I’ve had for years. It is the one I have used to work on many projects until now, including the creation of this blog. Later on, we added a day bed, which we use to read and as an extra bed to accommodate friends and family when they visit.

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