Techniques – Love My DIY Home

From Grime to Gorgeous: A Must Have Furniture Flipping Cleaning Routine

It’s Not the Paint’s Fault — It’s Yours (and I Say That with Love ) Let’s be honest for a second. We’ve all had one of those “what in the world happened here?!” moments while flipping furniture. You’ve cleaned (well, sort of), painted your heart out, maybe even top-coated like a pro… and then, a few days later, you notice peeling, bubbling, or weird streaks that make you want to cry into your paintbrush. The first thought? “It must be the paint!” Then we blame the poly, the brush, the humidity, the alignment of the moon… anything but what’s really to blame: Skipping steps during prep. I say this with love, friend — your paint didn’t fail you. Your prep did. If you prefer to listen rather than ready the podcast episode is below, just click to listen… Prep Isn’t Glamorous… But It’s Everything I get it. Cleaning and sanding … Read more

Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 4)

Today, I’m going to take you behind the scenes for the last set of drawers in my workshop cabinet. It’s been such a fun project! You know, I’ve been using this cabinet to store all those random tools and furniture parts that used to be scattered all over my workshop. And let me tell you, it’s not just super handy, but it’s also super cute! I’m a firm believer in surrounding myself with beautiful things, especially in my workshop. It just sparks that creative fire, you know? What’s really cool about this project is that each drawer front has a unique design. It’s like a mini canvas where I can express my personality and showcase different furniture redesign techniques. It’s creativity on a teeny tiny scale, and I absolutely love it! In case you’ve missed out on my previous posts, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Here are the links: … Read more

[VIDEO] Master the Art of Antiquing – Retique It Glaze Tutorial

The Art of Glazing Yep. Glazing can be intimidating! I remember the first time I used glaze on a couple of pieces. Oh my, I’d thought I’d ruined it. But then a weird thing happened. I waited a day, took another look and LOVED it. So now I always tell my members to wait a day before deciding that the outcome wasn’t good enough. It’s funny what one day will do to your perspective. Yesterday I glazed the doors on my end table and at first I thought that I wasn’t happy with how it turned out. It didn’t look like picture I had in my head. But then it happened again! Today I LOVE it and I can’t wait to list it. What a transformation! Here’s the BEFORE with another piece I picked up at the same time. It was cleaned, repaired and primed with oil-based paint. My … Read more

[VIDEO] Tool Tip – The Allway Contour Scraper

Sometimes there is a simple solution to a pain in the wazoo situation when it comes to prep. Have you ever had to remove from the bottom of an end table foot those nasty ol’ stick on floor saver thingys? I have and it occurred to me that I had a tool that would make short work of a dirty job – I no longer had to try to pull them off with my fingers. I know, it takes me a while sometimes but I eventually find an easier and painless way to do things…because I hate prep, and it needs to be done. This is a short video showing you how I used a simple tool – the (afflink) Allway Contour Scraper. I use it all the time for so many different things. What’s your fave tool? Let me know in the comments. My workshop is full of great … Read more

[VIDEO] A How-to Patriotic Coffee Table Set Tutorial

We’ve had these two pieces for a long time sitting in our garage. I was never really sure what I wanted to do with them. It’s no secret that coffee tables are hard to sell, so I was wanting to do something special with them to grab the attention of possible buyers. It’s a balance. You want to redesign your furniture pieces in a way that will appeal to a large audience, but if you stick with a simple, one color design, people might just scroll on by. But if you get too creative, your customer group will seriously narrow. BALANCE is the key. We do tend to redesign according to our own individual tastes, our own style, which isn’t a bad thing if our vision isn’t too wild or on the other end of the spectrum, boring. It’s no fun painting a piece in a way that we dislike. … Read more

Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 3)

Today I’m showing you how I designed four more drawer fronts. I’m enjoying using it for my random tools and furniture parts that were scattered all over my workshop and it doesn’t hurt that the cabinet is super cute either. I like having prettying things around me, especially in my workshop because it inspires me. Each drawer is designed differently to not only show my own personality, but to also showcase some different furniture redesign techniques on a teeny tiny scale. Here are the other posts in case you’ve not seen them: Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 1), and Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 2). The BEFORE: To prepare a piece for paint, DH and I first needed to clean, sand and prime: Remove the Colonial looking top part. Cleaned with Krud Kutter and scuff sand. Shore up the drawers so they fit well. Spray prime it … Read more

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results (Part 7) – How-to Minimize Brush Strokes When Priming

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results Furniture Painting Tips for Beginners >> Part 7 << The video below is the seventh in a mini series sharing some PRO tips about furniture painting. Below are the direct links to the videos on Youtube ICYMI. Video #1: 14 Furniture Painting Tips Video #2: 7 Furniture Painting Tips Video #3: 3 Methods for Painting Furniture Without Tape Video #4: How to Paint Crisp Lines w/ Tape Video #5: How to Close Paint Lids Properly Video #6: How to Strain Oil-based Primer Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there. Link to my video on Youtube if video doesn’t play: https://youtu.be/YYSmh1vlNLE The Method explained in the video: 7 Tips for getting your primer on without brush strokes NOTE: This is what I do – by all means, find out what works best for you! WANT TIPS? Do you do contract work? Protect … Read more

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results (Part 6) – How to Strain Oil-based Primer

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results Furniture Painting Tips for Beginners >> Part 6 << The video below is the sixth in a mini series sharing some PRO tips about furniture painting. Below are the direct links to the videos on Youtube ICYMI. Video #1: 14 Furniture Painting Tips Video #2: 7 Furniture Painting Tips Video #3: 3 Methods for Painting Furniture Without Tape Video #4: How to Paint Crisp Lines w/ Tape Video #5: How to Close Paint Lids Properly Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there. Link to my video on Youtube if video doesn’t play: https://youtu.be/CqMMRa0uhmE The Method explained in the video: Straining oil-based primer + tips NOTE: This is what I do – by all means, find out what works best for you! WANT TIPS? Do you do contact work? As in, a customer asks you to paint THEIR piece. When you subscribe to … Read more

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results (Part 5) – Closing Paint Can Lids Properly

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results Furniture Painting Tips for Beginners >> Part 5 << The video below is the fifth in a mini series sharing some PRO tips about furniture painting. Below are the direct links to the videos on Youtube ICYMI. Video #1: 14 Furniture Painting Tips Video #2: 7 Furniture Painting Tips Video #3: 3 Methods for Painting Furniture Without Tape Video #4: How to Paint Crisp Lines w/ Tape Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there. Link to my video on Youtube if video doesn’t play: https://youtu.be/CqMMRa0uhmE The Method explained in the video: Don’t just pound away with your hammer to close the lids on metal paint cans – it will let in air and who knows what else, because the hammer will bend the lid. There is a better way. NOTE: This is what I do – by all means, find out what … Read more

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results (Part 4) – Painting Crisp Lines with Tape

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results Furniture Painting Tips for Beginners >> Part 4 << The video below is the fourth in a mini series sharing some PRO tips about furniture painting. ICYMI, Video #1 is : 14 Furniture Painting Tips and Video #2 is: 7 Furniture Painting Tips. Video #3 is: 3 Methods for Painting Furniture Without Tape. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there. Link to my video on Youtube if video doesn’t play: https://youtu.be/CqMMRa0uhmE The Method explained in the video: Using a stencil brush rather than a regular paint brush is key. Watch why! NOTE: This is what I do – by all means, find out what works best for you! WANT TIPS? Do you do contact work? As in, a customer asks you to paint THEIR piece. When you subscribe to my email list, you’ll get my FREE PDF that will help you … Read more