#03-11 God is in the Details - Sanding, Spackling and Painting

Hello people, Brini here with some more ideas for freshening up your home. This week we’re finishing the cabinets and desk that we made on the previous episodes.

Finishing is an important step. Here are some tips.

Webbing tape is a must for filling cracks and holes. It gives the spackle something to cling to and makes the whole process a little easier.

If you have large gaps in your wood work fill them with shims. The shims will fill in the space so you don’t need so much spackle.

Don’t forget to sand – Sanding your spackling job will make it blend into the woodwork.

After you sand, run over your work with a tack cloth. Tack cloth is a loosely woven cloth impregnated with a sticky substance that picks up the dust.

Repeat this process twice for a super smooth look. You can even sand between coats of paint if you want a hand rubbed finish.

#03-10 For the Love of Storage - Cabinet Contemplation and Construction

Hello people, and welcome to another episode! This week we continue our renovation series with the cabinets. Greg, John and I built the unit in an afternoon and I can’t recommend it enough. The clutter in your home will disappear if you utilize the space you live in to its fullest.

Now construction isn’t as complicated as it’s usually made out to be. It’s really just common sense. Here are a few tips:

Planning your project is all about knowing your space. For our cabinets we squared off a wall that had a slant to it, which said something about the architecture of the room. Look at your space with an eye to geometry and you’ll be able to make your built in esthetically pleasing as well as functionally viable.

Measure twice, cut once – it’s an old saw, but it still rings true. When starting to work on your project you can save yourself some grief by confirming your measurements, especially if you’re planning on having your lumber yard cut your wood to size for you – which is a great idea for apartment dwellers without access to table saws and the like.

Take advantage of existing furniture. You saw this on our desk episode – we built in an existing dresser. The professional finishing on furniture is something most built-ins will never be able to match. Using existing pieces of furniture is a great way to get that professional look without having to hire an expensive cabinet maker. Find the pieces in thrift shops and vintage stores for a small investment and your built-in will look like a million dollars!

#03-09 The Salad Bar - Easeful Entertaining During Domestic Demolition

Hello people, Brini here with another episode to help you with life’s little problems. This week we’re discussing entertaining in the midst of renovation. The key is to keep it simple! For me that means a salad bar with an easy dressing.

For the basic salad we combined butter lettuce, radicchio and alfalfa sprouts. We then created a “bar" consisting of two kinds of olives, hearts of palm, cold cut pin wheels, artichoke hearts, turkey breast, sliced avocado and sliced hard boiled egg.

I made a simple dressing in the blender. Here’s the recipe:

1 cup olive oil
3/4 cup vinegar
2 marinated roasted peppers

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend on high until completely liquefied. Pour over salad.

This is a simple one dish salad that’s perfect for entertaining while your home is in chaos. With all the gourmet ingredients and that luscious dressing it seems quite posh.