Tag: sponsored

Reupholstering My Floral Chair with Calico

Sponsored by Calico

I loved my loud floral armchair. It was a floor model, and there was a small rip in the linen fabric when I bought it. I experimented with ways to fix it, ultimately landing on a patch that blended pretty well! I was proud of my handiwork, and the chair was really cute in our last home and in this one.

Ten years on though, the fabric on the seat had started to look a bit threadbare. It went from noticeably “hmmm” to “oh no” pretty quickly and it was beyond my abilities to repair any further. But I still loved the chair! No need to replace and treat it as disposable — it was time to reupholster.

I visited Calico in Hinsdale and worked with Linda (she was so helpful!) to pull fabric options. Calico’s design services are free, and you can make an appointment for your local store. There’s a whole before and after gallery to get you inspired, and you can request a reupholstery quote too. Calico reupholsters more than 10,000 furniture pieces every year!

At our appointment, Linda had pointed me toward a floral very similar in feel to what the chair had. It would have been sort of a floral 2.0 update, and it was definitely in the running, but we looked at options for changing it up too.

Calico lets you borrow their fabric samples so you can be sure they look right on the piece you want to reupholster, and so that you can make sure they work with the rest of your home. I rethought a couple of my top choices after seeing them with the rest of my furniture. I like the armchair being in our bedroom (a pretty neutral backdrop), but wanted to keep the option to use it downstairs if I feel like rearranging at some point.

I felt like I was close to choosing, but on a follow-up visit, I noticed a print I hadn’t seen before. Like little granny squares? I had to borrow the sample to see. I did a Photoshop mockup for both too.

Floral 2.0 (Cassaro Luxe Collection Passion Fruit) or little granny squares (Scalamandré Kirov)? I went back and forth, but the little granny squares charmed me. I returned my fabric samples and placed my order with Linda. Calico handled everything from getting the fabric in, picking up the chair, having it reupholstered (including some freshening up of the foam padding), and then having it delivered again.

My chair! She’s so cute! It looks perfect.

Having a piece reupholstered is so fun. You get to fall in love with a piece all over again. It was cute and quirky for ten years, and now it can be cute and quirky in a different way for the next ten years! And in better shape, too.

October 12, 2021
Tiling with Cement Board Instead of Ditra

This bathroom renovation is sponsored by Lowe’s. Thank you for making this project possible!

I want my bathroom tile to have longevity. I’m using porcelain (wonderfully durable), and have been taking care to do the job right from the prep work through to completion. I’ll share more in an upcoming post about the tile installation, but first I want to point out a big mistake that I almost made (and how I fixed it).

I had been planning all along to lay my tile on top of Ditra. It’s an uncoupling membrane that isolates movement between the subfloor and finished tile, preventing cracks over time. It’s also a waterproofing layer. All good things!

Our bathroom had hardwood flooring, and you can’t lay Ditra directly on top because solid wood shrinks and swells with temperature and humidity changes. I could have added a more dimensionally stable subfloor (OSB, plywood, or cement board) on top of the hardwood. It would have added more weight to the floor, but more concerning was the additional height. When I had the cast iron radiator removed temporarily, I was advised to keep the connections at the same place. There is some give in the pipes, but not a lot. Same with the tub drain and toilet stack. I started to worry that in hopes of saving myself a little time by not ripping out the wood floor, I would be creating costly plumbing fixes in my near future when it came time to reattach everything.

I decided to demo the floor. It added more time to my project, but it was the right thing to do. I had to use my Dremel Multi-Max Saw in a couple of places, but most of the wood came up easily with the combination of a pry bar, wrecking bar, and claw hammer. Safety glasses and gloves are a good idea too.

Next I set about getting the floor ready from there. The plywood subfloor beneath the wood was mostly in good shape. There was some water damage beneath the toilet, but that was easily cut out and replaced.

At this point, I was still planning to use Ditra with my tile, but the finished floor would have now been too low, so I opted to lay OSB on top of my plywood to add thickness. Two 4’x8′ sheets cost less than $20. They’re big and heavy and hard to maneuver, but I got them cut to size, carried them up to the second floor, cut my openings for pipes, fine tuned the fit, and screwed the OSB into place (6″ spacing around the perimeter, 12″ grid spacing within). Hooray! I finished just before midnight, tired and sweaty, but feeling good about my progress.

There are different instructions for Ditra installation based on the type of subfloor you have, so I looked up that information the next morning. The OSB wasn’t the issue I ran into, it was the tile size. “The tile format should always be greater than 2” x 2” (5cm x 5cm).” Hi, I would be using 1” square mosaics! Oh no.

I was basically back to where I was when the hardwood flooring had still been in place. Cement board over top, or rip out what I had just finished and put cement board directly over the plywood subfloor? Out with the OSB. I went back to Lowe’s and picked up DUROCK cement backer board instead, plus thinset, the proper screws, and alkali-resistant fiberglass mesh tape.

Cement board can be scored with a razor blade and then snapped for a clean edge. A saw will cut it too, but produces silica dust particles — a razor blade is the better choice. Screws (8″ apart) hold the cement board in place, but thinset between it and the subfloor ensure there are no springy weak spots and make the floor behave as if it were one solid slab. Taping the joints and filling the gaps with thinset (be sure to smooth the top) also adds to the stability.

I added two coats of Mapai Aquadefense for waterproofing as well. I don’t think this was strictly necessary (this is a bathroom floor, not a shower or wet room), but I’m looking at it as a bit of added insurance. Porcelain tile doesn’t absorb much water and cement backer board is water-resistant, but neither is waterproof.

My mistake put me behind schedule, but lessons have been learned. May they spare you from a similar mistake!

I shared all of this on Instagram Stories as I realized what I had done, and very quickly, the worried messages started coming in. People had either installed Schluter Systems Ditra themselves beneath small tile, or had hired a professional that did. What now!?

You will probably be fine. Probably! The problem though is that Ditra has a waffle texture and where the small tiles overlap in a way that they’re not fully supported, there is a possibility that they’ll pop up or break, or the grout will crack over time (the very thing an uncoupling membrane is supposed to prevent). I’ve seen recommendations for filling the waffle voids completely, letting that dry, and then proceeding to tile. The job would not be covered by the Schluter’s warranty, but if the openings were all filled to the top it should stand up to normal traffic.

TL;DR A high heel putting pressure on a tile is one thing — I had been planning on putting our claw foot tub back in. That much weight focused on four points made me nervous, and since I realized my oversight before it would have been terribly difficult to reverse course, I opted to change my installation method.

August 29, 2019
The Bathroom Design Plan
This bathroom renovation is sponsored by Lowe’s. Thank you for making this project possible!

I’ve been working away on our second floor bathroom, clearing everything out and prepping for what’s to come. Let me show you what that is, exactly!
1. Pendant Light (Similar)
2. Birds!
3. Hallway Wallpaper
4. Existing Vintage Sconces
5. Wall Color TBD
6. Kohler Bancroft Pedestal Sink
7. Rohl Country Bath Brass Sink Faucet
8. Beadboard Color TBD
9. Kohler Elongated Comfort Height Toilet with Black Toilet Seat
10. Existing Hooks (About Those…)
11. Cast Iron Radiator and Existing Brass Hardware
12. Existing Clawfoot Tub, Painted (Color TBD)
13. Barclay Brass Bath Faucet with Hand Shower
14. Framed Kid’s Drawing
15. Existing Trash Can
16. 1″ Square Tile (Black, Lemon Chiffon, Cappuccino, and Biscuit) and Hexagon Tile (Biscuit)
The tub and many existing elements will stay, and all supplies (we’ll get into that in a separate post) and new pieces are from Lowe’s. There are a few variables to finalize, namely paint and the tile border design, but the overall plan is solid.

Work on the floor and prepping for paint has kept me busy, and I’ll choose the paint color towards the end. If I had to pick right now, it would be a match to the color of this dress. I’ve already painted the door (and every door on the second and third floor) black, the hallway right outside the bathroom has pink wallpaper. The plumbing fixtures are white, hardware is brass, and the floor tile will have a bit of ochre and tan. There’s a lot of room to play with colors from there!
June 26, 2019
Reviving the Front Yard For Spring

This is the second of three posts sponsored by RISE’s AND not OR home and garden program. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The great spring garden cleanup of 2019 has come to completion! I’ve pulled the weeds and have been assessing the garden after our particularly harsh winter. I like most of the garden to be self-sustaining and easy to take care of, but I do enjoy my time working on it! AND not OR has tips tailored to all kinds of gardeners to help you get a game plan together.

The perennials are thriving! I was able to split some of them to use along the wrought iron fence. We have a lot of the varieties from RISE’s list of plants that work well in this area, and looking at it again I’m thinking I’d like to have hollyhock too. Doesn’t that sound like a charming addition to the front of a Victorian?

I monitor our dwarf Alberta spruce throughout the year for spider mites and have to treat it periodically (they’re prone to pests), but it’s fine right now. I’ll be trimming the boxwoods later this month and I cut back as much of the yew as I could reach. It’s probably time to bring in somebody that can lop off the top half and bring it back to a reasonable size. I remember my grandparents yews getting cut down to bare wood and bouncing back beautifully; yews are like that.

The fence borders were filled with creeping charlie. I found the best technique for removal was to take my Japanese garden hoe and run it beneath their shallow roots. This is just one example of how I use The AND Approach to find, solve & prevent using a combination of solutions that work for me based on the problem at hand. Based on peoples’ responses on Instagram, creeping charlie is tenacious! Look at that beautiful weed-free bare dirt. I need to get something planted there before it gets overrun again.

I’ve filled the planters flanking the front walkway and lined up on the stairs with annuals. Sometimes I’ll arrange my own combinations of flowers, and other times I take the easy route and buy the ones that are ready to go. This year I mixed some flower fertilizer into the soil, planted the refill, and called it good.

The yews and Annabelle hydrangeas out front continue to fill in nicely! Still babies, but they’re growing.

I’ve added creeping phlox, and a new lily to the yard. I split some of the allium, phlox, and lamb’s ear that was growing on the left side in the flower bed and planted it on the right. Please please please don’t let me forget to add tulips and/or daffodils in the fall so that we have some spring color next year. The houses that have them are so cheery! I want in.

I also added foxglove, again, which I know is a biennial (and poisonous) plant. I keep trying, but I’ve never had any luck with them reseeding to come back. I think this is the fourth year I’ve planted them. I continue to love them, even if they don’t seem to love me and my garden back. Is there a trick to this that I don’t know?

Everything has come together so nicely, but what should I plant in the newly bare section along the fence? I like the idea of a mass planting like the Annabelle hydrangeas on the other side, but they seem too big for this spot.

It’s in full sun. Roses or hydrangeas? Our street sees a fair amount of foot traffic and I worry about thorns at the fence line snagging passers by. Does that push me definitely toward hydrangeas though? The fence will be covered in sweet autumn clematis come late August or September with prolific tiny white flowers, but it’s so empty until the clematis takes off. Lavender was a popular suggestion too. What’s your pick?

May 17, 2019
Planning a Secluded Garden

This is the first post of three sponsored by RISE’s AND not OR home and garden program. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We have a whole new space in the backyard to work on! Our new cedar fence went up in December (yes, odd timing), and we sectioned off the yard like a series of outdoor rooms.

I worked on the garden last spring, and the hostas and other new plants are just now starting to push back up through the soil. We’ve covered the new dog run with mulch and while we’ll have to continually refresh it over time, I think it’s the best solution for that area. Two mature shade trees keep the yard from being able to grow grass.

The new blank space that I’ve been planning and working on is the one labeled “lounge and kids’ area.” I’d like it to feel secluded and special.

RISE has a helpful list of perennials that do well in the Midwest. We’re working with shade, so a lot of the same plants from last year’s backyard project will be used again. I’ll be planting mostly bushes and perennials so that the garden will grow and fill in over time, but I’ve picked up a couple of Boston ferns and might go back for begonias to fill some of the pots.

We have a garage full of flagstone that matches our existing dining patio. Brandon brought some over to create a tiny area off to the side because we found a bottleneck situation happens sometimes at the gate, and it’s better to have a paved surface to step onto than mud/dirt. We’re thinking of adding a proper patio with bushes all around for privacy and that secluded feel I’m after.

I’m also patiently waiting for the orangey new cedar to weather and gray. Below was my initial vision from a few months ago — hydrangeas and boxwood. There are hydrangeas that will grow with the limited sun our yard sees, but I’m open to other possibilities. Something a little taller could be nice!

Some of our existing boxwoods are not looking so great right now, probably from the miserable polar vortex we had this winter. Do I want to add more? I’m hoping it’s winter damage that we’re seeing and not boxwood blight, which is becoming a problem here.

I spoke with Eric Wenger from Complete Lawn Care, Inc. to get some garden tips, and I asked about the boxwoods. In general, you always follow the same steps in your garden: inspection, diagnosis, and then treatment (matching the right solution to the problem). In other words, follow the AND not OR approach. Keep an eye on the plant material to discover problems before they become bigger problems, then treat only when you need to. In certain cases, the recommendations are starting to shift in regards to pervasive issues like boxwood blight, and it may be time to consider a preventative spraying treatment. I’m taking out the worst of the dead branches and watching to see if our boxwoods green up or require more help. Fingers crossed for recovery, but I feel prepared either way and excited to be gardening again!

May 8, 2019
Our Basement Laundry Room Makeover

This post is sponsored by Lowe’s. Thank you for making this renovation possible!

The laundry room in our Victorian is in the basement, and the space has its limitations. The ceiling height down there is low, there are pipes running overhead and along the back wall, the sole tiny window overlooks storage space beneath a porch, and the walls are a mix of drywall and stone foundation. None of those things have changed, but the laundry room is far better after its makeover!

The home had been split into apartments before we lived here, and the previous owners had a coin-operated washer and dryer that didn’t convey with the sale. We were thankful to have a relatively finished laundry room compared to the rest of the basement, but there was definitely room for improvement. We didn’t do anything when we first moved in besides add a washer and dryer.

I kept the same footprint and layout for the renovation. Tiling over previously painted concrete floors proved more challenging than expected, but I’m so glad I went for it. The hot water tank was replaced a few years ago with a more efficient (for a house heated by radiators) indirect water heater. I added new cabinets, replaced the old basement fridge, upgraded to the Samsung FlexWash washer and FlexDry dryer that can each do two loads at once, and replaced the gross plastic tub with a beautiful and functional cast iron sink.

The Design

The laundry room was pale gray when we moved in, and I repainted it beige. BOLD CHOICE, RIGHT? Honestly, it’s a great color for the room. The drop-ceiling is low and stayed white. I chose white floor tile to brighten the room, plus classic white cabinets. Ceiling, floor, and cabinet colors: done. On to the appliances!

A second fridge in the basement has been useful and the replacement options were between black, white, and stainless steel. I chose white for the new fridge to blend in and match the cabinets but was undecided on the washer and dryer, which are available in black or white.

I didn’t want an all-white space. That works well in a room with beautiful natural light and interesting architectural details, but when done in the wrong space, it can look either dull or sterile. My laundry room needed some contrast.

I painted all of the doors on the second and third floors black, and I liked the idea of continuing that downstairs. I had initially thought I would choose laminate counters with a marble or soapstone look, but ended up going with wooden countertops inspired by elements elsewhere in our house. With those two pieces of the design puzzle decided upon, I thought black would be the best choice for the washer and dryer set.

Why beige for the wall color? The lack of natural light ruled out white. I already had the contrast I needed and wasn’t interested in any more dark colors. I like a grayed-out blue and strongly considered it, but only if I would be painting the cabinets to match and I liked those in their factory finish. Do I love wallpaper and bold colors on walls and cabinetry? Absolutely, but not for this project. A light neutral would keep the overall space feeling open and visually calm. The pipes and different wall textures were all being painted in the same matte finish, and Canvas Tan from HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams’ at Lowe’s is a warm beige that doesn’t read too pink, brown, or yellow. It’s just right.

• Canvas Tan Paint, HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams • Whirlpool Top-Freezer Refrigerator • Stock White Cabinets • Octagon and Dot Tile • Samsung FlexWash • Samsung FlexDry

Tiling!

So easy breezy with that exclamation mark. Tiling! This first step in the renovation took the longest. The floor needed a whole lot of work before even getting to the satisfying step of adhering tile. We had to scarify the concrete (rough it up and get all of the paint off) with an angle grinder. I also chose to lay Ditra as an underlay to hopefully ensure a long-lasting tile job, free of cracks.

Octagon and dot tile is inexpensive and period-appropriate for older homes. I like the contrast of dark grout for a black and white look, but true black is too harsh. The grout I chose is actually a mid-tone gray, but the small scale of the tile and busyness of its pattern give it the contrasting effect I was looking for.

Tiling up to the uneven stone foundation walls was tricky. We used our new angle grinder to even out the concrete as best we could, but it sloped and waved along that edge and I kind of just picked a line and went with it. I was nervous, because of course the trickiest spot to tile would be visible from the back door.

I used a scoring knife and tile nippers to cut individual tiles, making a smooth (somewhat arbitrary) line. I smoothed grout between the outer edge and the wall so the tile wouldn’t be sharp or raised, and later taped, caulked, and painted to finish.

• Octagon and Dot Tile • Sanded Grout (Light Pewter)
Posts with More Info: Removing paint from Concrete with an Angle Grinder • Laying Ditra to Prep for Tile • Tiling the Basement Laundry Room

Lighting

The sconces are super cute, and they’re affordable at $60 each! They can be installed facing up or down, and that schoolhouse-inspired shape is a charming detail. I kept the can lights that were already in the basement, but those can be harsh (and they’re uncomfortably close with the ceiling being so low). It’s nice to have lighting options and the new sconces give the room a softer glow.

• Huntley Sconces

The Sink

Ooh, that pretty sink! Ooh, that heavy sink. My husband and I got it into place with the assistance of a jack borrowed from the back of our minivan. We were concerned about dropping it into place and damaging it, the counter, or ourselves, but we made it. The faucet is so pretty I want to steal it for our kitchen, and the sink itself is 13″ deep. I clustered a few apothecary jars with a matching soap pump because why not? I like to pretend my things are old-timey. Fresh flowers are a nice touch but I’ll replace them with fakes after those die — they’re blocking the view of the washer and dryer hookups (shhh). The vintage ironstone platter was there as a backsplash for the old plastic tub and I thought it was only fair to bring it back post-renovation.

• Kohler Cast Iron Utility Sink • Brass Faucet

Cabinets

We had a plastic utility tub with no storage, and a treasure chest left behind by the previous owners. While the latter is pretty magical, it wasn’t terribly practical and the old tub was gross! I replaced both with cabinets and also added them along the opposite wall. They add a ton of closed storage and also give us a nice spot to fold laundry. White shaker-style cabinets are simple and classic, and they’re stocked in Lowe’s stores to bring home right away.

The cabinets came with finished sides and I bought the matching toe kicks, but I also added quarter round base shoe, tying it into the baseboards I installed in the room. Caulk covers any gaps, and paint makes everything cohesive. I’ve saved and repurposed hardware from other projects, but Lowe’s carries similar brass pulls and knobs.

• Stock White Cabinets • Brass Cup Pulls (Similar) • Brass Knobs (Similar)

Making the Counters

I got it into my head that I should have wooden counters to echo the materials and design choices used in other parts of our home. Great! How does one go about making a wooden counter when you’ve never done that sort of thing before? I detailed my experience in this post. With some plywood, some trim, a lot of elbow grease and some stain and sealant, I made perfectly adequate counters.

I don’t love them, I don’t hate them. Once everything was in place, they looked fine. If they ever bug me enough to make a change, I feel like I learned enough through the experience to make something far better next time (but I don’t actually anticipate changing them out).

Post with More Info: Making DIY Plywood Countertops

The Washer and Dryer

Each are two machines in one! The Samsung FlexWash and FlexDry function as a large capacity front-loading washer and dryer, but there’s also a smaller secondary washer and dryer on top. They can be run independently or at the same time, and they are making our laundry life easier!

The ability to do a second, smaller load has been so nice. I like to wash a few delicate things in there, or use them if the kids get especially messy or need some specific clothes quickly. The added dryer is especially handy because it doesn’t tumble the clothes; it’s great for things that need to lie flat to dry.

• Samsung FlexWash • Samsung FlexDry

Finished!

A crummy 125-year-old basement laundry room can be made better, and ours has been! I painted the exposed pipes to blend in, brightened a space that receives very little natural daylight with white tile, and kept the walls light and neutral to keep the shell low-contrast, punctuated by black here and there. Everything looks and functions nicely now, and you should see me bringing guests downstairs like the proud weirdo I am. “Have you seen our laundry room? Come check it out!”

Thank you to Lowe’s for sponsoring this project and supplying all of the tools and materials I needed. I’ve loved sharing every little bit of this project with all of you, both here and on Instagram. I’ve heard from so many of you that were inspired to take on your own laundry room or tiling projects after seeing me jump in (especially on IG Stories), which makes me so happy! I have a pretty solid DIY skill set, but still, I didn’t know how to do all of this from the start. I got in there, figured it out, made it work and come together, and I’m thrilled with the result. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along!

November 28, 2018