Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

COLORING

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

planter

Last year I partnered up with Sherwin-Williams to create a paint dipped + yellow themed project for their National Painting Week campaign. What project was that again? Here it is. Right over here.

Recently I’ve started to aggressively worry over random finishing details around the house like art and planters; probably since those things feel more manageable than say gutting and remodeling our awful bathrooms. So for this years SWNPW project I’ve been thinking about color details and unexpected product combos that make things that look great but are way more affordable than updating the kitchen or doing the landscaping.

Oh, you silly endless remodeling projects. How you haunt me.

Thursday I’ll post a couple DIY and orange themed ideas that might include something like *DIYing an architectural pottery style planter to replace the vintage planter + giant cactus stolen from your front porch (*Previewed and pictured above in some early experimental stage of ‘what if I added this to that and it did that or something’).

More details + more DIY later this week, yo.

DIY ART & MANTLE-ING

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

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I’ve been trying to figure out a number of creative (aka ‘frugal’) art + framing solutions for a few design projects that have kept things busy busy around here. The whole art thing still remains an ongoing frustration at this house and tends to be a difficult finishing detail to get right at most all design projects. Problem is, poorly installed or wrongly scaled crappy art will ruin a great space almost immediately. Right? Like In the same way how good art can make a blah space seem incredible.

FACT. Art isn’t easy. Framing can be costly. Budgets like to be tight. Details are something something.

As an attempt to work around the art + framing is kind of hard + expensive issue, I’ve been experimenting with a number of DIY art ideas and affordable ways to create large scale pieces that must (and most importantly) avoid looking super DIY or like total crap.

So, an impossible goal pretty much.

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A recent project left me with a stack of scrap paper tests I’d printed out as well as some small frames that, like a hero, I have bravely reused and slapped together into something that is sort of like art. Now these two minimalists framed things are living large in the newly updated and simplified mantel vignette. Bold moves considering these are just some Target frames stuffed with scrap paper I pulled out of the garbage.

So, yes, this is some framed garbage displayed on my mantel. Stylishly.

I’m a fan maybe.

Well, at least this project was easy and cheap and pleases my eyes. Budget art success.

I mean, it’s not like I wouldn’t prefer to hang a bunch of Donald Judd works on paper instead of this DIY solution. I’d also prefer to have the big baller style art collector money required to make that happen. I don’t so that won’t happen. But for now? My kind of funds can make more DIY garbage art happen. Or I can go nuts and splurge and get working on something LARGE SCALE. Bigger is better.

Till then. I guess.

LEATHER HANDLE DIY

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

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FUN FACT:  We’ve been working on this house for five years and still haven’t installed handles on most of the original built-in storage cabinets or the closets.

Why rush it. No big deal.

Oh, except that now its been half a decade of living like filthy animals who routinely need to savagely pry open heavy drawers or wonky old doors with a screwdriver or any other available blunt object.

Time for change. Time for?

Leather. Pulls. For. Doors.

For months I’ve been messing around and field testing all manner of leather design bits and objects. Working out the kinks. Comparing materials. Picking finishes. Doing all the leather work. Leather working? Leather science? Leathering? Leathery stuff. The sort of stuff that recently culminated with the plopping out of this finalized prototype batch of simple looped leather+brass handles that make opening the closet easier and much more stylish than a screwdriver wedged in the crack.

Super.

OK. General DIY rundown time.

 

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DIY  |  LEATHER + BRASS PULL HANDLE

MATERIALS

Leather (mine = 1″ wide + 8/9oz + natural veg dye)
Brass Eyelets (mine = 3/16″ hole)
Brass Bolts
Brass Washers

TOOLS

Leather Hole Punch
Eyelet Setter
Hammer
Tape measure
Scissors
Sponge
Towel

 

hh

 

DIY BASICS TO MAKE IT    .    SIMPLE LEATHER PULL

1. Measure then cut leather to size. (mine = 1″ wide x 8″ long – final installed handle is approx. 4″ tall)

2. Lightly dampen cut leather pieces with a sponge to prep leather for hole punching. Towel off any extra moisture.

3. Measure and mark matching hole locations on both ends. (mine = 1″ interior from either edge + centered width)

*TIP: Make a template using an extra matching leather scrape to quickly and consistently mark hole guide placements if   you’re making multiple matching handles.

4. Align punch tool with the guide mark and carefully punch out the hole.

5. Place setter and hammer eyelets into each hole.

6. Loop leather strip in half and thread the bolt through both eyelets to prep for install.

7. Thread bolt through the hardware mounting hole, finalize leather handle placement, thread washer onto the bolt end and tighten both very firmly to secure the handle.

 

and then DONE.

 

*Optional Finishing:  I’ve been using a leather finisher on the overall handle and then finishing the edges with a slicker and Gum Tragacanth. Leave the leather raw, seal it, dye it, burn it – I don’t care. Do whatever works to finish things up to your taste.

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Basically the basic of basics. These finished leather handles work and look pretty great and are totally good to go for install.

Well, except that I haven’t been able to shake off this nagging need to rework and replace the current basic brass bolt set with different hardware that’s feels more unusual or unexpected while still staying minimal and unfussy.

Hey now, at least one closet is all functional for the first time with actual usable handles.

 

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OH WAIT. AND. BOOM.

Say hello, sexy hex detail.

This is what plopped out of all that and ended up being the hardware solution for my closet pulls. I’ve been testing these things out around the house and refining a few construction details, but who cares! I’m in love with this thing. The scale, the finish, the bit of unexpected handle detail is pretty much doing all those things my crazy brain was hoping for.

 

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CLOSET PULL SUCCESS.

Now onto make a ton more of these for the rest of the house and other design projects. Maybe someday I might even make some handle sets for CAMP? Ugh, hold it. Going too far into the future. Must focus on the now and the 34 handles I gotta make just to cover the rest of our closets and built-ins.

I’m a leather handle making machine!

Check back in five more years to see if there was any progress.