This is Joni’s SoCal kitchen. And this is Patti contemplating Joni’s kitchen. Patti and Joni are nurses who work together. Patti has a great sense of style — her hair, her clothes, her house, her life. So when Joni decided she wanted some of that style for her own kitchen, she asked Patti to help.…
1. Watch a video of Patti explaining the remodel goals2. Check out Joni’s lighting choices3. See a slide show of the track light going up and the cabinet coming down4. Choosing cabinet color and considering backsplash tile5. Getting started on the painting6. Loving the glazed green top coat7. Picking the palette8. What to do about…
After countless vain attempts to locate a solar-powered fountain similar to the one I stumbled upon at my local Home Depot, I’ve decided the better way is to find the components and assemble one myself. The elements are shown above: fountain + pump/solar panel = solar-powered fountain. Fountain: The fountains come from places like OSH,…
As you may recall, my current kitchen is a somewhat garish blue and orange with sage green counters. What is it with me and garish colors? Do you think I’m still trying to be noticed, to overcome a childhood feeling of invisibility? Nah! For my rethought remodel, I’m definitely keeping my current cabinets. They are…
This item falls under the category of "Duh." With 74.8 million owned dogs and 90 million owned cats in the United States (according to a recent survey by the Humane Society), you kind of wonder why pet feeding stations are not standard in new homes. The feeding station pictured here was built into the Glassell…
The low-cost remodel of this 1948 Long Beach house has so many things going for it I don’t know where to start. While the hardwood floors were already in pretty good condition when Janet Foster bought this place, everything else you see is her doing, with the help of her dad. Note the one red…
I'm looking for a new attitude for this table project and all projects to come. Up until now, my favorite parts of a project have been the moment I decide to do it, and the moment it's done. I want to learn how to savor the process, that stuff in between. For this table (yes…
I'm a hypocrite when it comes to the "dump pile" out behind Bill's workshop. While I've been critical of that pile over the years, and begged Bill to get rid of it, I also have no trouble adding to it. And it came to pass that I wanted to toss this table in the pile.…
Here’s where the money went for Carl Balton’s Mar Vista remodel, featured in a previous post: Electrician: $1,060 Plumber: $550 (plus one snake aquarium) Wood floor refinishing: $1,300 Trash hauling: $270 Friends’ labor: $3,734 Bathroom fixtures, vanity: $2,000 Tile and countertop: $1,260 Tile setter: $660 Bathroom counter: $800 Shower curtain and track: $295 Bathroom materials:…
When he set out to renovate the kitchen of his West Hollywood condo, Cyrus Deboo discovered more than how to paint cabinets and lay a tile floor. The do-it-yourselfer also found out some things about patience and perseverance. “The incredible lesson I learned from that kitchen rivals anything I learned in therapy,” said Deboo, a…