Adventures of the Misfit Homeowners-Night 2: Part 2

So after seeing the miracle worker that the Bar Keeper's Friend was....I noticed on the can that it said "REMOVES RUST"

What do you know? I have a couple of rust marks on countertops, the shower (from that pesky shaving cream can), and in the upstairs bathtub. They were on my list of to do's but was not sure how I was going to fix them..


Voila! Works like a charm!!!

Before

Before

After

After

Adventures of the Misfit Homeowners- Night Two

Pencil Marks-- who would think that this would be such a sore spot for me?

Shortly after moving in our home, we realized that there were pencil marks on our kitchen floor tile. Not thinking it was a big deal, I got an average pencil eraser out and went to scrubbing. Nope- notta budge, smudge, nothing.

So next I try a Magic Eraser... notta budge, smudge nothing.

CLR? Nope

Tide? Nope

Swiffer? Nope

Soft Scrub? Again nothing.

So I put this on the shelf and have looked at these marks for a year and a half. Until last night.

I decided to google the problem. Apparently porcelain tile likes pencil charcoal. Everyone online said to use steel wool and buff it out. I don't own steel wool. But I do have Bar Keeper's Friend - I wonder if that will work?

hmmm..What does it say on the can? PORCELAIN-woo hoo!


If you have never heard of Bar Keeper's Friend and own pots and pans- go get you some! It scrubs away all the spots and ugliness away from them!

So I wet a paper towel, sprinkled the Bar Keepers on the floor, did a little scrub scrub and Wait-- did that really work? YES!!! With minor scrubbing--no more pencil and no damaged tile.

WOO HOO!!!!!

Before

After

Night Two = Success. One happy girl!

Adventures of the Misfit Homeowners- Night One

I have decided to start a little documentary of Greg and I's attempt at being proactive homeowners. We have been in our home for about 1.5 years and there are some things that need to be worked on. Nothing major- you know, just upkeep.

Being new to the homeowners things basically means "NEW TO MAINTENANCE". So this little series will be us learning to do maintenance things while trying not to kill each other  loving each other.


Night One

Caulkin'
We decided to tackle the small things on our list that we could do it in an hour or so between putting Brodie down and going to bed ourselves.

We have white countertops in our kitchen and bathrooms. Yes white countertops!
Sound scary- but we have a solid surface which makes it almost maintenance free! It's antimicrobial, stain-resistant, and if it were to ever break, they can mold it back together!! If I ever get stains, a little rub with a magic eraser and you would never know anything was there!

Back on track--the caulk used has shrunk over time leaving holes in places. Thankfully Greg did some maintenance work at an apartment complex in college so he knew what to do.


1. Remove existing caulk.

I confess--not an image from our picture- I grabbed it off the web. Hey- we were competing. There was NO WAY that I was stopping to take a picture during this heated race!

After removing old caulk

It actually was pretty easy! It was stretchy, so once you started pulling- it just kept pulling off. We had a competition to see who could get the longest strand of caulk. Greg won-- I blame it on his previous experience.


2. Wipe area to make sure there is no dirt or grime to interfere with adhesion.

We wiped the area down and decided to let it dry overnight to make sure no moisture would be behind the caulk.


3. Using a caulk gun, we Greg caulked the space between the backsplash and the countertop. Then he wiped the excess off with his finger.

4. Voila! No holes in the caulk!

Although this looks like the before picture- I PROMISE it is a million times better!

I call night one a success! No fights, easy-peasy job done, went to sleep happy!

Check Haskell Out!

A few weeks ago, I was excited to announce that Haskell Interiors (where I work) was honored with Signature Kitchens and Baths' #1 Transitional Kitchen. See post here.

Well, we are at it again! Cultivate.com (William Sonoma's new inspirational website) has featured this kitchen on their website today. 

Go over there and read about how we turned a two car garage into a gourmet kitchen!!!


Have a wonderful weekend!

Chinoiserie

It's back!

I have seen bits and pieces at market the past few years and had wondered when it would make an official come-back and the time is now.

Chinoiserie is normally fussy at traditional. I love the new take on it. It still has the great curves, but has been modernized to fit traditional to transitional to even modern homes.

All images via Pinterest

Do you plan to incorporate this design into your home?

Room-by-Room To Do list

Here are the things that I would like to accomplish this year. I decided to break it down into each room. I had hoped to work on one room a month--but let's be realistic---between baby time and money, that aint' happening.

BUT if I have a list that I can strike off- I am much more likely to get it done.

Here we go...

Foyer




-Drapery to keep Miss Lola from barking at every little thing.
-More accessories and or larger art.
-Runner to help protect the crazy-sensitive floor.








Dining Room

-Dining Table and Chairs
-China Cabinet or credenza
-Wall Art/Mirror
-Get rid of white outlets/light switches.








Den



-New pillows
-New drapery -- or restain them
-Blinds- bamboo perhaps?
-New lamps
-Small console table
-Art on staircase
-New end tables






Kitchen



-Back splash
-Art in breakfast area
-New rug under breakfast table.















Bar

-Mirror walls



Laundry room


-Paint or wallpaper walls.


















 Bedroom

-new bedding
-art on walls
-new nightstands
-new lamps
-new dresser
-accessories












Master Bathroom

-Drapery
-Art/Pictures
-Accessories

Master Closet
 -Add Storage
-Reorganize



Brodie's Room

-New light fixture
-Mobile
-Art/Pictures
-Ottoman/Pouf










Guest Bedroom


-Art
-Dresser
-Chair
-New lamps/shades














Upstairs Bath

-Paint?
-New shower curtain?
-Art
-New Rug












Bonus Room


-Art Wall
-Hang diplomas
-Make office area/craft area
-New rug
-Make Roman Shade
-Pillows






Backyard

-landscaping
-add stairs to deck
-create patio
-start a garden
-New table for screen porch
-New rug for screen porch



















What do you want to accomplish in your home this year? I would love to hear!

Make new friends, but keep the old

One is Silver and the Other's Gold.

I bet you will be singing that little diddy all day!


I know that I am a bit behind, but hey, I have a three month old-- give me some slack, ha!

 

Over the past several years, I have collected Christmas decorations. I wanted timeless beauty for my decorations. I didn't want my things to be trendy. With all the expenses around the holiday, I didn't want to continually dish out the money for new ornaments, stockings, etc....

Here is our tree from last year.

I have always loved silver but a couple of years ago I started to enjoy the warmth of gold. So voila! A Silver and Gold Christmas.

Thankfully we had tons of ornaments this year because I had NO time to shop for "frivolous" things like that.

So without further ado, 

Merry Christmas from the Brocks!