Toolbox Tour: DIY Must Haves Part 1

I got my first set of tools as a high school graduation gift. It was a little set from IKEA that included a hammer, flat head and phillips screwdrivers, a wrench, and pliers. It served me well all through college and into my first year living on my own. But then I got the decorating and DIY bug and I moved up to bigger and better things, and that is when I bought a toolbox. I felt like such a man (not male, but like a responsible adult citizen) buying one, that is until I quickly filled it with girly crap like 3M hooks and a stapler with flowers on it :)

This last year I've really honed in on what tools I actually use and need often. I live alone (sometimes) and I'm not really into a lot of major construction projects so these are the necessary tools for the amateur or just a regular old homeowner. These are the things you will need to hang a picture, repair a hole in the drywall or plaster, or paint a room.

So if you are just starting out or trying to clean up your tool kit, here is what I use, starting with paint supplies...

Part 1: Paint Supplies

Sure you can open a can of paint with a flat head but for 79 cents you can buy a paint can opener and it will make opening a paint can like a billion times less annoying. Plus you can keep this tool with your paint supplies and not have to go digging through your toolbox every time you need to paint. Bonus, the opposite end is a BOTTLE. OPENER. What???

I paint a lot so a while back I stopped buying the linings for this paint tray and just dumped the paint directly into the tray. It rinses out pretty well and it saves me like a $1.50 every time I paint. But either way you'll need a tray for painting. The nice thing about this paint tray is that you can store all of the other paint supplies inside of it when it's not in use. I love things with dual purposes!

It's pretty obvious, but you'll need a paint roller. I own a really crappy one, but if you are buying a new one I'd recommend the kind that extend a little because they make it easier to paint up closer to the ceiling (especially if you have taller ceilings). 

I've said it before but I prefer Frog Tape over any other brand (here). I don't tape when I paint rooms any more, but I do use painter's tape for a variety of other paint related projects.

I love sandpaper blocks! They are so much easier to use than a piece of sandpaper. I would love to buy an orbital sander but until then I use the sanding blocks when I can (although annoyingly I've only been able to find them in a light grit). 

No matter how hard I try I cannot wait for Spackle to dry. I don't know what is wrong with me. Anyway, Spackle is really nice to have around for repairing any holes, but unlike me, you should really wait for it to dry. 

Magic Erasers are super weird. I really don't like touching them because the material is strange and it makes my skin crawl, but I try to get over it because they actually work. I like to keep them around when I'm painting to remove any paint drips on trim or my hardwood floors. Or you can use it for prepping a wall or piece of furniture that is a little dirty. Bonus: these suckers last a really long time.

via Walmart

I just recently threw out my 2" angle paint brush because it had seen better days. But this is my go to paint brush (not this one in particular, I'm not brand loyal about this kind of stuff). I use this for trimming out rooms instead of taping the whole room up. It works great and it's much faster than it sounds.

via Bed Bath & Beyond

While not technically a "tool", I have this step ladder and I love it! I forgot to take a picture of mine, but this is the one I have. Of course, using a step ladder to paint is optional, but I really recommend it. I used to just stand on a dining room chair but a few paint splatters later I figured it was time to get something a little more appropriate for the task. While I use this every time I paint, I also use it to reach the top of closets, etc. It's nice to have around!

Those are my go to paint tools. I paint a lot but even if you are only planning on painting one or two rooms I would still recommend all of these things. Thankfully, all of these 'tools' are really inexpensive and they are mostly reusable.

What are your go to paint tools?

PS I'll be back on Wednesday with a round up of what other tools I use and love!

Ottoman Makeover: Part 2

My painted fabric ottoman is finished!

For a refresher, I bought the ottoman here for $25 and then in Part 1 of this makeover I re-attached the lining and re-stained the legs here. For part 2, I opted to paint the fabric.

It's hard to capture the difference, but in person this ottoman went from a dingy and faded blue to a super-saturated bold blue (it isn't as purple as it looks above). 

When I first saw this ottoman hiding in a dingy corner of a thrift shop I knew it had major potential but I sat on it for a few weeks because I was unsure of how to make it over. I considered re-upholstering it but then a friend suggested I paint it. Which reminded me that a year ago I pinned a fabric painting tutorial (here), but I hadn't thought much about it since. Then I saw that it was time for the Spring Pinterest Challenge and I knew it was the perfect time to just go for it!

via YHL

Here are the materials and the steps I took to paint my fabric ottoman:

Materials:
1 Quart Latex Satin Paint
1 Spray Bottle for Water
2"-3" Paint Brush
Fabric Medium (I used 4 - 2 oz bottles)

1) Prepare the paint mixture. I found different 'recipes' online but the one I chose to use was:

1 part fabric medium + 1 part latex paint + 1 part water

I found that two 2 oz bottles of fabric medium are exactly a 1/2 cup so I went with that as my starting point and then added 1/2 cup latex paint and a 1/2 cup of water. It doesn't look like a lot of paint (it's only 1 & 1/2 cups of liquid) so I wasn't sure it would be enough but I went with it and figured I could mix up more if I needed to.

To show you how 'soupy' it is here is a visual aid: 

The top is the mixture of water+fabric medium+latex paint and the bottom is just latex paint. I'm showing you this to explain that painting fabric like this doesn't cover up major flaws or stains in the fabric. So if you are trying to decide if you want to paint that chair with the huge stain on the seat, this won't cover it up. If anything, I found that this process was more like tinting the fabric not painting it. Thankfully I was just going from dingy light blue to a more saturated dark blue so it worked for me. The point is this: You need to start with a fabric that is lighter and that doesn't have major blemishes. 

2) Wet the fabric.

I used this large industrial sprayer that I have and it worked great. The wetter the fabric the better the paint goes on so don't be shy with the amount of water you spray on. See how I have newspaper down? That was a very bad idea, don't use newspaper! I didn't realize how much water I would be using and the newspaper just got soggy, for the second coat I used a garbage bag and it worked much better.

I wet the ottoman in sections (about a foot in diameter). And then brushed on a small amount of the paint mixture. 

It was pretty simple and it went super fast. I wasn't sure I would have enough paint to cover the whole thing but the 1 & 1/2 cups of liquid did a whole coat on this ottoman (it's about 2'x4'x1' for reference).

I was nervous about how hard it would be to paint all those tufts, but it was really pretty easy. I just jammed my brush into all the crevices (there's a dirty joke in there) and I tried not to let too much paint and water/paint gather in the holes and folds.

Though it's slightly blurry, you can see from left to right it's dry, wet, and painted.

After the first coat:

It only took me 45 minutes to do the first coat! I thought it would be a much longer project. I let it dry overnight and then repeated the whole process. The second coat didn't use nearly as much paint so I actually ended up doing a third coat right after the second just because I had the paint already mixed. 

After two coats: 

Cost Breakdown:

Ottoman: $25

Latex Paint: $14 (I only used 1 cup of this so there are lots more projects left in this quart)

Fabric Medium: $10 ( 4 - 2oz bottles at $1.99 each)

Sanding blocks, foam paint brush, regular paint brush, spray bottle, stain: $0 (I had all these times already)

Total: $49 

Considering that similar ottomans sell for well over $250, I am completely satisfied with this price. And amazingly, I sold my old glass coffee table on craigslist for $50 so I basically broke even!

I highly recommend painting fabric, it was easy, quick, and it looks great! My only caution is that you pick the right piece to paint. You want a piece that is fairly light in color (or at least a simliar color to what you want to paint it) with no major stains or blemishes on the fabric.

I'm crazy in love with this ottoman! 

Exterior House Tour

I've showed a few pictures of the exterior of my home, most notably when I had the exterior painted, but not too many. So how about a little exterior tour?

For your reference this is what the house looked like when I first bought it:

I saw the potential but that ugly blue paint that was decades old really wasn't helping. It may not show in this picture but the house was really dirty (side note: isn't it weird that you don't have to clean houses? I get my car washed once a month but I've never 'cleaned' the exterior of my house.). So when I finally saved up the money to paint it six months after I moved in I chose the paint colors in five minutes flat because I was so ready. The vision was long in coming, but having the house painted made a world of difference:

Soooooo much better! I called it my little blue shed before but now I call it a bungalow because the paint job makes it look like a respectable place to live.

Here is the right side of the house. Nothing fancy just the AC and a tree. It is a simple thing but I'm really happy I decided to have the foundation painted white. The painter said most people would just continue the siding color all the way to the foundation but I saw a house with a white foundation and really liked it so I'm glad I went with my gut on that. It looks a little dirty here, but after a good rain it is a nice crisp white.

The next three images are the view from the porch. It's not much to look at but it's my favorite place to sit. I want to screen it in soon so that I can sit out there all summer. I also want to get more seating and 'decorate' it. But I mostly took these pictures as a hate-letter to those bushes because I hate those dang bushes.  

They are overgrown and big and ugly and unattractive. I can't really describe how big they are but they are huge, like 4.5' tall and between 5-8' wide. Thankfully, there aren't any weeds in the landscaping which is nice, but ugh, those bushes. Last summer I tried to trim them with clippers but I was no match for their size and strength. 

As you can see they are so overgrown that they cover up my little sidewalk. This year I'm going to have to buy or borrow electric clippers to cut them back. My long term plan is to pull those suckers out and replant Forsythia there. I'm obsessed with forsythia. For your reference here is what forsythia looks like:

via flickr

Magical, right? I nearly get in a wreck every time I see one because I am so enamored by the color. They don't bloom for too long, but wouldn't they look amazing in front my gray and white house??? Ah, someday.

Here is the left side of the house:

Yep, that is how close my house is to my neighbor. Gotta love city (alright, city adjacent) living! As you can see it is where I park the trash and recycling bins so not a whole lot else happens over here. 

Here is my backyard: 

If you can look past the fact that I really need to mow, it's a pretty big backyard. I love having a fence despite the fact that it is barely standing in some places. Bob has used the decrepit state of the fence to his advantage... He popped out one of the posts so he can peek at my neighbors!

I think it's hilarious - it's like a doggie TV, he just watches the neighbor kids play for hours.

The back of the house is pretty plain. You can see from this angle how small the house really is. Only 950 square feet on the main level (there is about 700 more square feet in the basement). 

This tree below is a beautiful redbud tree which unlike it's name blooms a deep, bright pink. It hasn't bloomed yet but when it does, it's lovely (if you scroll up the first picture you can see it in bloom behind the house). 

This little shed is nice to have. I store my lawnmower, weed-eater, and a few other lawn supplies in there. Also, there is a shopping cart in there. Yep, straight up, there is a random grocery shopping cart in there! I don't know where it came from but I have no idea how to get rid of it so it's just hanging out in there. 

All of the sidewalks and paths at this house are in terrible shape but I doubt I'll ever replace them. I don't want to put more into this house than it's worth, although it would like so nice if I did. I'm much more likely to replace the fence which is in crazy bad shape. My amazing friend came over when I first moved in and did a lot of little repairs to the fence so that Bob could play out there and not escape, but it will definitely need to be replaced at some point. I could pull the whole thing over with just my hands if I wanted to, it's that wobbly!

At one point this house had alley access thus the old cement car park. Now there is no access from the back so I just randomly have a busted up cement pad in my back yard. Maybe some day I'll remove it and plant grass but it isn't even on my radar right now. I'd like to get a table and chairs and fire-pit at some point too. It is worth noting that those vines on the back fence are literally holding the fence together and bonus, they flower at some point in the year!

So that is my little house from the outside. Painting the outside made the biggest difference. The next thing on my list is to break out the mower and take care of the grass but after that I want to screen in the porch. Overall, the outside doesn't require a lot of maintenance for which I'm grateful!