laundry.craft room

My laundry room started out as nothing special.  6' x 10' ... Enough room for a future washer and dryer, and random storage sitting on top of builder-standard linoleum.  Don't forget the lovely MDF shelf. That's a standard feature, too.  We started the sprucing up by painting it Behr Spa. Ahhh. Brent installed the washer and dryer, we used the built-in shelf for detergent and other keep-out-of-reach cleaners ...   and I stored some craft boxes on a tiered shelf and spare cabinet (picture taken pre-paint)....

evolution of a pool, pt. 1

If you've ever wondered how a pool is built ... This is the our landscaper's design, as if viewed from our house looking out.  And a bird's eye view. We're working with Green Planet Landscaping, who subs out the pool itself to Laguna Pool & Spa. And here's how it's done.  04.10.12  Measuring and spraying the form. Digging the hole. Since we have a wide side fence, they knocked it down and brought in the big guns. 04.11.12  After digging less than two feet down, they ran into caliche: (wiki) a...

bike wheel clock

Last fall while watching the pilot episode of the new Design on a Dime with Casey Noble on HGTV, I saw the designers create a clock out of a bike wheel. I thought it was so neat that I had to try it.  Months later, after hours of fruitless searching for the episode online, or any other tutorials, I almost gave up. But then I decided, why the heck not? I set off to find a guinea pig wheel or bike. I struck out at several thrift stores. But then I was directed to Southwest Bikes and I tried my luck. After explaining my...

kitchen comes to an end

chapter 1chapter 2  chapter 3  We finally tiled the backsplash. The kitchen is finished. Before the move we scored this glass/marble tile for $6 a sheet at Bedrosians. We found it in the "seconds" section (normally goes for $15-20 a sheet), but despite some areas of inconsistency or discoloration, it looked pretty good.We knew we wanted it in our kitchen so we bought five boxes. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. 11.04.11Prep work. Brent and I taped paper over our countertops and filled in wall holes (from the...