Tutorial Archives - Page 26 of 43

Home & Auto Maintenance, kitchen, Kitchen Renovation, Tile, Tutorial

How to Tile a Backsplash – Part 1: Tile Setting

This is the tutorial that I’ve been anxious to share with you! How to Tile a Backsplash! The reason I’ve been anxious to share is for two reasons!

1) The backsplash and tiling truly makes my kitchen feel luxurious. In addition to the cork flooring, it was one of the things I REALLY wanted to have in our kitchen. And this is definitely a project that anyone can take on (with a good tutorial.)

2) The source of my tiles is a best kept secret! I found the supplier online after researching and searching for affordable marble subway tiles. TheBuilderDepot.com was a site I stumbled across in my search. After contacting them and discussing my project, a response came immediately with ideas for my backsplash. My contact, David, was there for me throughout the process and gave me lots of ideas and tips along the way! He even sent me a photo of my tiles before shipping them.

But, here’s the best part, in one of our email conversations I learned a little more about TheBuilderDepot and their company’s history. I want to share his email with you because I think it’s wonderful how they run their business:

“We started our business in 2008 with $12K in sales and because of the financial meltdown and housing collapse banks told us we were crazy starting an “ecommerce” marble business. None of them would loan any money, not even $1K.

Last year we grew to a $2.4m company (this year we are on target to double), employing locals and making an impact in the way consumers buy luxury natural stone. Our vision was to offer a quality that is second to none, buy direct from Italy and quarries around the world, pay cash for everything buying 30,000 to 40,000 sq.ft. of product at a time from the quarries to keep costs low and quality high.

We have no debt as a business (that was not a plan but has worked out well) and avoid traditional marketing channels that are heavy on costs. Basically a no frills marketing strategy.

People think we are crazy when, if we cannot supply something or another supplier offers a better more affordable solution we refer them to a competitor. We do not need the sales as we never anticipated growing this big, we are just interested in people creating pretty rooms with natural stone.

Part of the success is we ask what people are planning, then come up with some ideas of our own. We are really passionate about Carrara. The only company that separates into two collections.”

A company that has good business practice is worth supporting!

As mentioned in previous posts, when choosing companies to work with, I make sure to select brands and companies that I can stand behind. I have always maintained strict criteria when selecting companies to work with, and The Builder Depot goes above and beyond my criteria:

Great Customer Service
Beautiful Tile Selection
Quality Tiles
Affordable prices!!!

Before you source your next tile job, check out TheBuilderDepot.com. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised ;-).

Ready to get messy? Let’s tile that backsplash!

Prep-Work: Read more

September 16, 2013/51 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

adfree, cleaning, Home & Auto Maintenance, Home Maintenance, Home Safety, Sponsor Spotlight, Tutorial

Krud Kutter Exterior Clean Up without a Pressure Washer or Ladder

Is your home ready for Halloween? I don’t mean decorating. I mean is it so grimy and dirty that you don’t need to decorate to scare off the trick or treaters?

Umm, yup, that was my house. But, a few weeks ago I was introduced to my new CBFF (Cleaning Best Friend Forever.)

Krud Kutter Exterior Clean Up

Seriously, you can ask my sister and stepmom! I was toting around a bottle of Krud Kutter this past weekend while working on renovating a VERY dated beach condo. What? You didn’t know I was doing that?!

Well, you NEED to follow me on Instagram to get the latest deets of my DIY life!

Anyway, back to Krud Kutter. The folks at Krud Kutter couldn’t believe I’d never used their products before. So, they offered to send me some to try. But, before I agreed, I checked with a few DIY friends like Holly. And, they all agreed, “Oh yeah, that stuff ROCKS!” Holly says she uses it to clean grimy furniture before painting it. I figured if she likes it, I might.

Within a few days, a box containing some Krud Kutter Original and Krud Kutter House Wash showed up on my VERY dirty doorstep. I’m sure my UPS driver thinks our stoop is a disgrace. I had contemplated buying a pressure washer to clean it.

(That white grout you see at the top of the picture was protected under the door mat for years.)

You can imagine my skepticism that a little plastic bottle could do the same job as a pressure washer. But, I was shocked at what happened next.

The Painted Chairs – a Second Chance Makeover

My search for some small chairs for the kitchen table area is finally over! The chairs I had before blocked the view from my kitchen to the family room and vice-versa, their backs were too high and overall they were too big for that small space.

I’d seen some pretty, small and colorful chairs from the catalog magazines I receive, but their prices weren’t that pretty. Almost $150 per chair! Craiglist was my searching place, it almost took me a year but I found them, $5 each!

Their condition was good, no squeaky sounds, loosened parts or missing screws. Their appearance was on the drab side, they looked better in these pictures than they did in real live. At some point they had been re-stained but the job was poorly done because they felt bumpy.

I knew they deserved a second chance! And I knew just how to do that.

Materials: Read more

September 4, 2013/24 Comments/by Cristina Garay

Decorating, Guest room, Home Decor, Home Maintenance, Lowe's Creative Idea, Tutorial, Window, window dressing

How to Install Window Blinds and Curtains {Lowe’s Creator}

Painted Lampshade & a Quick Guest Room Makeover | Pretty Handy Girl

Whoa. What happened to summer? Labor Day is here and that means the holidays are just around the corner. I’ve started to think about sprucing up our guest room in anticipation of having guests. The number one complaint our guests have (not that many of them complain) is that there is too much light that comes in the window in the morning. When Lowe’s asked us to focus on window treatments in September, I realized the time had come to address this blinding light situation. Little did I know, that installing new blinds and curtains would take less than an hour!

Here is the basic window that I started with. (Yes, there’s a roller shade there, but it was hidden under a valance and frankly it’s a pain to use.)

After taking a few measurements, I headed to Lowe’s to look at the options for window blinds and curtains. It was a tough decision because I really liked some of the roman shades. But, I wanted a blind that wouldn’t block much light when it was raised. I settled on the Levolor cordless room darkening cellullar shade. Not only does it have a low profile when installed, but raising it and lowering is as easy as pressing a button. Plus, no strangulation hazards because there are no external cords! I’m kicking myself for not doing this sooner.

How to Install Blinds and Curtains from Lowe’s in less than an hour: Read more

September 2, 2013/11 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

accessories, decor, Hanging plates, Home & Auto Maintenance, memo board, Tutorial

Hang Wall Decor Straight Every Time with a Simple Laser Level

Have you ever had the frustrating experience of hanging something on the wall only to notice afterward that it wasn’t straight? Yah, this happens to me all the time. So – let’s talk about how easy it is to Hang Wall Decor Straight Every Time.

Recently my wife wanted to hang a cork/dry erase board in our laundry room so that we can keep track of the kid’s activities. When tackling small projects like this one I always think, “How can I make this easier than it looks?”.

Well, fortunately my memory isn’t shot yet. I remembered that I received a pen laser level for my birthday and it would be perfect for getting the cork/dry erase board straight and level. If you’re going to hang a heavy mirror, tons of pictures, or several pieces of wall art I highly suggest getting something like this level because you’ll save precious time, countless re-hangings and eliminate the agony most of us experience during this process.

The Bosch pen laser level I have costs $35 on Amazon but any similar product will suffice.

Here are the additional supplies you need for this 20 minute project: Read more

August 28, 2013/10 Comments/by Jeff Patterson