Month: June 2011

kitchen floor – a condo remodel on a budget

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Like the home remodeling shows on television ( HGTV in our case), I must repeat my opening statement just in case someone just tuned in. I have embarked on a condo remodel with a friend of mine and it has truly been a learning process but a fun one as well. The benefit of a d.i.y. project on a place that is not your own is easy to do with a tight budget. Because although your main goal is to make it a functional and safe environment for the future owners, it is also easy to opt for a low-end product, which still gives you the warranty, functionality and the look  you want without feeling too attached to the place once personalized. The kitchen floor of the condo is a 6×9 galley style space.  Currently the flooring is self stick linoleum tiles that are stuck together with no gap in between. Although it was a fairly new flooring, I knew we needed a fresh look to compliment the freshly painted cabinets and newly purchased appliances. …

an apartment with a view

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Since I work in the financial district of a metropolitan city and live in the suburbs, I often times cannot decide whether I prefer the view of the high rise buildings from my office window or the view of the ocean from my bedroom window for my future apartment. It’s a tough choice, but one I need to make up my mind about, if I plan to move out by the end of this year.  Help…

condo d.i.y kitchen project – continued

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The only benefit to the fog and cold weather in the city is the fact, you have no choice but to work on indoor projects. So, we did just that over the weekend. As I stated here, we were experiencing small disappointments last week while painting the kitchen cabinets. Now part of the problem was, we were a bit impatient for the end result, so we simply over reacted midway through. Anyway,  while trying to keep the costs down, we opted for a prefabricated formica counter tops, which give the impression of granite but for alot less. At home depot you can actually purchase the counter tops in various lengths to fit just about any kitchen. They come in 4, 6, 8 and 10 feet long by the standard counter top width. They are  easy to cut a hole for the sink and cut  down to several smaller sizes to fit the counter space around a stove area. So while we waited for the 4th coat of paint to dry, we worked on installing the …

summer fog – the downfall of the city by the bay

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Well, we are well on our way into June and practically only two weeks away from the beginning of Summer. Although this year it has been strange, weather wise, most everywhere around the globe,  I know for a fact some parts of the world are beginning to show signs of Summer. This is usually the time I get really sad and unmotivated because for the next three months I will see nothing but fog outside my window. The funny thing is most tourists and a small percentage of the locals think, the fog is beautiful,  mysterious and amazing. But even if that may be the case, in all reality it is the downfall of the city by the bay. Sure, there are many postcards with arial views of the fog covering the city, with the sun and the blue skies above it all, but when you actually live through it, it can be a bit depressing and sometimes overwhelming. Let me explain, most of us will wear sweats in our homes just to stay warm, …

mental escape from condo remodel

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It has been an interesting week to say the least. With work and having to shop for all the necesaties for the condo project. I simply wanted to get the shopping out of the way so I can spend the entire weekend painting, cutting, pasting, well you get the point. Although I enjoy this type of challenge, last night I finally felt extremely tired from all the running around. So, I decided to escape online and find some of my favorite photos of home decor I would love to incorporate into my own fantasy loft.  Click on photo to see more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend.

never mix paint with pleasure

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Just in case you are scratching your head with the title, I must explain why I chose it. You see, I have a weird appreciation for painting various areas of a home and feel painting should be a pleasure rather than a chore. I love discussing the options, I enjoy chosing the paint color, the brushes and various other gadgets to handle the project and most of all I truly enjoy rolling up my sleeves and diving right into it. However, when the actual project begins, the fun can sometimes turn into a sad occassion, especially when you realize the outcome isn’t  as wonderful as you had hoped. Take for example our attempts to paint the kitchen cabinets. Although we spend several hours consulting with the paint experts at Home Depot (in this case) and followed their suggestions on how to proceed, the mid-way result has been a bit worrysome to say the least. We were told to prime the cabinets and then paint over them. Which made sense. We were also told that High Gloss looks the …

1970s interior design disasters

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I don’t know about you, but I don’t care much for the original 70s interior design or decor. I say original because since the 70s, we have been introduced to retro 70s design to consider incorporating into  today’s home decor. So, it’s important to understand I am referring to the original 70s sense of no style. With the remodel or revamp of the condo, I have pointed out some  items which must go and while I was compiling the list, I couldn’t help but wondered what the designers were thinking about back then? Here are some of my most dreaded items which we both agree to get rid of Can you think of anything else? If so, please share.

first stop: condo kitchen sprucing up

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First decision was to tackle the kitchen. His wish, of course, was to remodel the entire kitchen. Mine, was to reface, nip and tuck and voila a brand new look without spending the big bucks. Since the area is a small 6×9 galley style kitchen, I wanted to go with white paint for the cabinets in order to brighten up the small, dark space. However, knowing his taste in dark furnishing, I agreed to paint the cabinets a deep dark brown instead, using the below photo as my gage on how it will turn out once done painting. Stay tuned for photos of the before and after, coming your way shortly

condo remodel – d.i.y. project

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A funny thing happened to me or perhaps not so funny, depending on how I look at it. I inherited the project of renovating or sprucing up a condo for a friend, who intends to sell it as quickly as he can. Now, as we all know, the home prices have plummeted in the U.S. and we are still in the midst of the real estate crisis (even if we are told the market has picked up or is moving upward) it is still very difficult to sell or buy a home in the U.S. these days, condos are even worse. Based on this fact, his concern was, being able to renovate without putting alot of money into the condo, so that he can make a small profit, if any.  After finding out his budget, I gladly took on the project and  suggested we do most of the work ourselves in order to meet his financial commitment. He agreed 🙂 Based on this new adventure I have embarked on, I decided to  periodically share with …

as my mind travels to all good things paris

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I have to tell you, I just can’t help myself no matter how hard I try. The worst is that the closer it gets to summer, the more I get restless about taking a trip to Paris. The worst part of it is that most any travel website I visit or go shopping anywhere, there is always a reminder of my favorite city via a photographer of the famous Eiffel Tower. I never realized how impressionable the darn thing is in most everyone’s lives? The only other icon most of us are touched by, one way or another, is a  silouette of Mickey Mouse’s head. (I know you know what I mean) Anyway, back to Paris and some of my favorite reminders. Enjoy and happy weekend to you all.