Counter tops with scuffs, burn marks and knife wounds aren’t pretty. Replacing the worn counter tops isn’t cheap. What to do? Forego the standard counter top replacement techniques for something a little more crafty.
Chances are if there’s a burn mark from a pot on your counter top, that’s a good place to put a built-in, heat-proof section for setting pots. Ceramic tiles are the perfect solution. Use contact cement or tile adhesive to place four squares of the tiles together on the counter top for setting hot pans.
Leftover linoleum makes a pretty counter top for a bathroom or kitchen. It’s not heat-proof, though, so never set hot pans on it. Glue the linoleum on to the counter top. To do the front edge of the counter top, glue the linoleum onto the front, then on the top, then place narrow molding over the joining sections.
In the bathroom, spread a thick layer of plaster of Paris, concrete, cement or grout on the counter. Now arrange shells, marbles, stones, river rock, glass pieces or broken China. Make sure any sharp edges are covered with the grout. Seal with clear sealant.
Clear shelf paper with adhesive backing provides a way to cover up ugly counter tops. Arrange flat objects, like fabric or pictures from magazines, onto the counter top. Now cover the entire thing with clear shelf paper. A different way to achieve the same results is to laminate the photos, fabric or pictures and then glue the laminated items to the counter top. You can also use regular printed shelf paper to stick to the counter tops for coverage.
Fabric that hasn’t been laminated can easily be attached to the counter top with decoupage glue. Apply a thin coat of the glue, making sure entire counter top is covered. Place the fabric, cutting around the sink. Spread a thin layer of decoupage on top of the fabric, too. After the glue is dry, use a very lightweight steel wool to slightly sand the counter. Spray or brush on clear varnish or lacquer. The fabric doesn’t have to be all one piece. You can cut squares, triangles and other shapes and arrange them on the counter top.
Thin, colored foam, which comes on a roll, can be glued onto bathroom counters. Although the foam is washable, it’s easily marred. Be careful with scissors, hot blow dryers or curling irons. Never lay hot items on this type of foam.
Dimension paint, found at a craft or department store, is a great way to make counter tops beautiful again. The paint, which is spread on, makes any surface look like stone. After giving the counter tops a couple of coats, seal with spray-on sealant. You can also find spray-on, granite-look paint that usually includes the sealant. One can doesn’t do a very large area, and it’s a little expensive if you’re doing a large area, but the results are nice.
Combine techniques, like laying linoleum on the counter tops, or laminated pictures, then setting the four square ceramic tiles for hot pots. Or, use the dimensional paint and then lay the ceramic tiles. Whichever you choose, you’ll be very happy with your new counter tops.
Showing posts with label HOME. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HOME. Show all posts
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
HOME MAKING TIPS
Homemaking tips for the kitchen:
To get the stains off of cookie sheets, pie pans and other cookware, soak them in a solution of borax and water.
If your jars or glasses look cloudy fill them with warm water and add a few drops of ammonia. Wait about an hour - then wash and rinse in hot water. My mother-in-law soaks them in a solution of 2 cups vinegar to a sink full of hot water.
Silver that has dulled can be shined up again by rubbing a potato dipped in baking soda. Or when you boil potatoes, save the water to soak your silver in.
Never drain grease down the sink! It will clog up your sinks over time. If you forget and do it anyway, be sure to run some hot water with dish soap. Dawn is good for degreasing. If your sink does become clogged up pour 1/4 cup of baking soda down the drain followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Wait few minutes and then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain.
To clean off the oven window, make a paste of baking soda and water. Rub onto the window and let sit for about 15 minutes. Wipe clean with a paper towel and clear water.
Homemaking tips for laundry:
To make sure your clothes are fresh and your washing machine is free of bacteria and soap scum - occasionally run a cycle of bleach water.
To remove grease stains on fabric - dab a solution of thick salt water (more salt than water) on the stain and remove salt with a clean paper towel. My mother in law uses Dawn dish soap and it works good too.
To remove mildew on white fabrics - soak several hours in a wash tub with 1/2 vinegar and 1/4 cup bleach. You can also put lemon juice on a stain and set in sun to remove light stains on white clothing.
Add 3 teaspoons of epsom salts to wash water to prevent colored fabrics from fading and to help keep the colors from running.
If you spill something, wash the fabric in cold water. Hot water will set the stain.
Homemaking tips throughout the house:
Once a month flush some yogurt into your septic system to prevent buildup.
If you drip some paint on something while painting - rub with a paper towel soaked in Skin so Soft by Avon.
If you drop something into a tight corner or down the sink, try reaching it with a crochet hook.
Let the kids help with dusting! Take an old sock and let them use it as a dusting mitt - their little hands can easily get into places like chair railing, wood molding, etc. Plus they have fun doing it.
To get the stains off of cookie sheets, pie pans and other cookware, soak them in a solution of borax and water.
If your jars or glasses look cloudy fill them with warm water and add a few drops of ammonia. Wait about an hour - then wash and rinse in hot water. My mother-in-law soaks them in a solution of 2 cups vinegar to a sink full of hot water.
Silver that has dulled can be shined up again by rubbing a potato dipped in baking soda. Or when you boil potatoes, save the water to soak your silver in.
Never drain grease down the sink! It will clog up your sinks over time. If you forget and do it anyway, be sure to run some hot water with dish soap. Dawn is good for degreasing. If your sink does become clogged up pour 1/4 cup of baking soda down the drain followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Wait few minutes and then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain.
To clean off the oven window, make a paste of baking soda and water. Rub onto the window and let sit for about 15 minutes. Wipe clean with a paper towel and clear water.
Homemaking tips for laundry:
To make sure your clothes are fresh and your washing machine is free of bacteria and soap scum - occasionally run a cycle of bleach water.
To remove grease stains on fabric - dab a solution of thick salt water (more salt than water) on the stain and remove salt with a clean paper towel. My mother in law uses Dawn dish soap and it works good too.
To remove mildew on white fabrics - soak several hours in a wash tub with 1/2 vinegar and 1/4 cup bleach. You can also put lemon juice on a stain and set in sun to remove light stains on white clothing.
Add 3 teaspoons of epsom salts to wash water to prevent colored fabrics from fading and to help keep the colors from running.
If you spill something, wash the fabric in cold water. Hot water will set the stain.
Homemaking tips throughout the house:
Once a month flush some yogurt into your septic system to prevent buildup.
If you drip some paint on something while painting - rub with a paper towel soaked in Skin so Soft by Avon.
If you drop something into a tight corner or down the sink, try reaching it with a crochet hook.
Let the kids help with dusting! Take an old sock and let them use it as a dusting mitt - their little hands can easily get into places like chair railing, wood molding, etc. Plus they have fun doing it.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Five tips on buying furniture
To avoid overpaying for furniture, ask the right questions and brush up on some furniture knowledge. Here's what to look for:
Inspect the sofa's frame and cushions
When you approach the piece ask yourself if it will fit your home. Is it comfortable? "The more expensive the sofa, the better built it better be," Bartkowski says. He says there are four components to sofas: the frame, the spring system, the cushions and the tailoring.
If the frame is hardwood, ask if it's kiln-dried, which takes the moisture content out of the board. Bartkowski says kiln-dried boards last longer because changes in humidity don't cause them to warp, weaken and crack.
He says if you're paying more than $1,000, the sofa should have a five-legged frame. There should be a fifth leg under the center of the piece. He adds that legs built into the frame are sturdier than legs screwed into the frame. To check the quality of the frame, he recommends feeling the thickness of the board on the side of the sofa at the bottom. It should be 1¼-inches thick, anything less and it could squeak when people move around on the couch.
Pick up the seat cushion. "There is a correlation between weight and the quality. The heavier the seat cushion, the higher the quality," Bartkowski says. When it comes to the sofa's spring system, he says sinuous wire, or S-type springs, are the standard and should run from front to back. You should feel the springs when you push down on the sofa.
"The salesperson should be able to explain the springing system. That's the first question you should ask," he says.
Eye the tailoring
Also look at how well the sofa's fabric is tailored. To do this, he says check to see if the seams are even and if the piping (the tube-shaped edging) lines up.
For printed sofas that cost no more than $600, the pattern should match from one piece to another well enough on the sides and the front. But if your sofa costs more, expect more. An $800 sofa should come with fabric that matches in the back, on both sides and the front.
When you've found the ultimate in quality, the fabric pattern flows. Like wallpaper, it should wrap over the entire piece, including the back skirt. The pattern should start on one segment and continue on to the next, and there will be a seam in the center of the sofa's back. This piece of furniture will cost more than $800.
Ask if it's top-grain leather
When buying leather, it's important to listen to the sales person. If he presents it as a leather match or says it is leather-like, then it's not leather. The only way you can tell the difference is by looking at the base of the sofa to see if it's dyed all the way through, Bartkowski says. If you see white gauze backing, it's vinyl. He says leather-match sofas should cost no more than $800.
"There are unscrupulous retailers who will try to sell it for more and will get away with it," he warns.
Next, find out if the leather is top-grain. "Top grain is the absolute best level," Bartkowski says. Top grain leather sofas start at $1,000. A non-top-grain leather piece could be splits, which means the hide is split and another part of the hide, such as fatty tissue, is compressed and used. He says splits don't wear as well, and they need to be kept moisturized and out of the sun.
He also warns against leather furniture supported by lawn-chair strapping; they can sag over time. "You're sitting on a lawn chair with leather on it," he says.
Check the drawers and veneering
With bedroom sets, dining room sets, tables and the like, look at how all the pieces are proportioned in relation to each other. If you're spending more than $400 for a table, Bartkowski recommends looking underneath to see the quality of the wood.
On pieces with drawers, notice how they are hung. "If they are tilted, that indicates the quality of the manufacturer very quickly," he says.
Take out the top drawer and check to see if the inside feels rough. He says rough drawer interiors indicate a lower quality. And a better piece of furniture will have dust panels that stop you from looking through from one drawer to another.
Look at the corner of the drawer, and see how well the veneers match on the corners. Veneering is a synthetic process in which decorative woods are applied on top of solid cores of material such as, plywood, particle board or medium-density fiber board.
Bartkowski says most of the quality drawers are made with wood binders -- cheaper drawers use rollers. Looking in the upper left-hand drawer where the name of the manufacturer is stamped may give you a feel for the furniture's quality.
Even brand-name manufacturers sometimes use fiberboard or match board and cover it with paper printed with a photograph of a real wood finish. If you don't know what you're looking for, you can easily be fooled.
Find out who's the backing the warranty
Manufacturer's warranties on wood furniture typically cover splitting and cracking for one year. On upholstered furniture, the warranty covers the frame. He says better quality furniture will have warranties of up to five years on the spring system and cushions.
Bartkowski says consumers should look to see if they have a manufacturer's warranty or a retailer's warranty. If it says, "Only to the original address" in very small print at the bottom of the sales contract, your warranty will be void if you move.
Inspect the sofa's frame and cushions
When you approach the piece ask yourself if it will fit your home. Is it comfortable? "The more expensive the sofa, the better built it better be," Bartkowski says. He says there are four components to sofas: the frame, the spring system, the cushions and the tailoring.
If the frame is hardwood, ask if it's kiln-dried, which takes the moisture content out of the board. Bartkowski says kiln-dried boards last longer because changes in humidity don't cause them to warp, weaken and crack.
He says if you're paying more than $1,000, the sofa should have a five-legged frame. There should be a fifth leg under the center of the piece. He adds that legs built into the frame are sturdier than legs screwed into the frame. To check the quality of the frame, he recommends feeling the thickness of the board on the side of the sofa at the bottom. It should be 1¼-inches thick, anything less and it could squeak when people move around on the couch.
Pick up the seat cushion. "There is a correlation between weight and the quality. The heavier the seat cushion, the higher the quality," Bartkowski says. When it comes to the sofa's spring system, he says sinuous wire, or S-type springs, are the standard and should run from front to back. You should feel the springs when you push down on the sofa.
"The salesperson should be able to explain the springing system. That's the first question you should ask," he says.
Eye the tailoring
Also look at how well the sofa's fabric is tailored. To do this, he says check to see if the seams are even and if the piping (the tube-shaped edging) lines up.
For printed sofas that cost no more than $600, the pattern should match from one piece to another well enough on the sides and the front. But if your sofa costs more, expect more. An $800 sofa should come with fabric that matches in the back, on both sides and the front.
When you've found the ultimate in quality, the fabric pattern flows. Like wallpaper, it should wrap over the entire piece, including the back skirt. The pattern should start on one segment and continue on to the next, and there will be a seam in the center of the sofa's back. This piece of furniture will cost more than $800.
Ask if it's top-grain leather
When buying leather, it's important to listen to the sales person. If he presents it as a leather match or says it is leather-like, then it's not leather. The only way you can tell the difference is by looking at the base of the sofa to see if it's dyed all the way through, Bartkowski says. If you see white gauze backing, it's vinyl. He says leather-match sofas should cost no more than $800.
"There are unscrupulous retailers who will try to sell it for more and will get away with it," he warns.
Next, find out if the leather is top-grain. "Top grain is the absolute best level," Bartkowski says. Top grain leather sofas start at $1,000. A non-top-grain leather piece could be splits, which means the hide is split and another part of the hide, such as fatty tissue, is compressed and used. He says splits don't wear as well, and they need to be kept moisturized and out of the sun.
He also warns against leather furniture supported by lawn-chair strapping; they can sag over time. "You're sitting on a lawn chair with leather on it," he says.
Check the drawers and veneering
With bedroom sets, dining room sets, tables and the like, look at how all the pieces are proportioned in relation to each other. If you're spending more than $400 for a table, Bartkowski recommends looking underneath to see the quality of the wood.
On pieces with drawers, notice how they are hung. "If they are tilted, that indicates the quality of the manufacturer very quickly," he says.
Take out the top drawer and check to see if the inside feels rough. He says rough drawer interiors indicate a lower quality. And a better piece of furniture will have dust panels that stop you from looking through from one drawer to another.
Look at the corner of the drawer, and see how well the veneers match on the corners. Veneering is a synthetic process in which decorative woods are applied on top of solid cores of material such as, plywood, particle board or medium-density fiber board.
Bartkowski says most of the quality drawers are made with wood binders -- cheaper drawers use rollers. Looking in the upper left-hand drawer where the name of the manufacturer is stamped may give you a feel for the furniture's quality.
Even brand-name manufacturers sometimes use fiberboard or match board and cover it with paper printed with a photograph of a real wood finish. If you don't know what you're looking for, you can easily be fooled.
Find out who's the backing the warranty
Manufacturer's warranties on wood furniture typically cover splitting and cracking for one year. On upholstered furniture, the warranty covers the frame. He says better quality furniture will have warranties of up to five years on the spring system and cushions.
Bartkowski says consumers should look to see if they have a manufacturer's warranty or a retailer's warranty. If it says, "Only to the original address" in very small print at the bottom of the sales contract, your warranty will be void if you move.
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