Photo Shoot: 1946 Ashley Lane

https://www.har.com/homedetail/1946-ashley-ln-sealy-tx-77474/167525

Photo Shoot: 5900 Wild Flower

https://www.har.com/homedetail/5900-wild-flower-rd-sealy-tx-77474/9815843

DIY: Painting Vinyl Tile

 According to The Stones, we can't always get what we want, but if we try sometimes, we get what we need. Well, in this case, what I wanted was a cheerful vintage reproduction vinyl tile for the master closet in the Project House. Specifically I wanted this one from Floorpops called Sevilla. Unfortunately it was out of stock everywhere that was a legitimate source. I could still have gotten it if I wanted to pay twice the price for half the tiles on Amazon. I did not.

I would have settled for this one called Remy, but it was also unavailable. It did remind me of a stencil that I had considered at one point and then rejected due to the price. Thus was born a bright idea. I would paint my own vintage looking tiles.

Step 1: Decide on the design. I decided to go with the Remy design, but simplified it even more to suit my minimalist taste. However I stuck with the colors from the Sevilla tile since that is what I really loved about it. If you are going to hand paint tiles, you might as well personalize them and get EXACTLY what you want right?

Step 2: Buy inexpensive tiles. Obviously I was looking for something that I could create a vintage design on, but if I had just wanted a beach/coastal vibe, I could have bought anything stamped with a wood design and rolled on a coat of white or any other light color. The same could be done with gray paint on a wood stamped tile for a rustic look. I got these at my local lumber yard for $22 for 45 of them. I need at least 30 and would have been looking at around $100 to get the ones I wanted. I liked the diamond in the middle and decided to keep it as part of my design.

Step 3: Chalk paint--because it sticks to anything. $15 for the little pot of Amy Howard, and I think it will do all of the tiles. Again, another opportunity to personalize your tile. You can do a rustic chalky coat with a sponge brush like I did or roll on a couple of coats with a sponge roller for a smoother more polished look. My neighbor saw these and thought I should stop at this step. I have to admit that when I had 20 of them laying out together it did look good and would have been very pretty, but I had a goal in mind!

Step 4: Make a stencil. I printed out half the design in order to get it close to 12 by 12 size. I cut out the parts I wanted and then traced them onto a plastic place mat from the Family Dollar using a Sharpie. It was easy to trace half and then flip it to create the full center design and I only needed one for the corners. I then cut out a pattern that I traced on to the tiles. It's sort of a reverse stencil.  You could easily use a utility knife to create a regular stencil.

Step 5: Trace the design onto the tile with a pen or pencil and then paint it. I used left over interior and exterior latex paint from other projects to create the design. I plan to seal the tiles with Varathane once they are all in place. It probably isn't necessary since it's a closet and won't get much traffic and that will mostly be bare feet, but it will give it a nice shine.

As a side note, it would save both time and money to simply paint and stencil the floor if it is in good enough condition to do so. 

When it comes to home improvement, you really can't always get what you want, but if you try, you just might find, you save some money and wind up with a personalized end result you like even better!

The Project House: Soffit Vents

Sometimes you have to get creative when dealing with older homes. One issue we needed to tackle was a lack of ventilation in the attic of our project house. We are installing ridge vents, not sexy, but super effective and soffit vents. Four of the soffit vents are right at the front entrance so my husband was opposed to the usual store bought ones. Instead, we built our own using window screen, cedar strips, and decorative aluminum sheets that are made for duct work, etc. They come in a few different styles and colors and are a nice way to add some character to an otherwise boring functional piece. This also allows you to create much larger vents allowing for greater air flow.

Decorative aluminum sheets from Home Depot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcL_cbx-kHU

Project House: Installing a Factory Laminated Countertop

Every DIYer knows that when you are renovating a house, there will be snags that cost you time and money--blood, sweat, and tears projects. There have been a few one step forward, two steps back projects so far. The vanity in the hall bath has been one.

One of the things that I really liked about our project house was the tile backsplash in the hall bathroom. It's a little thing, but something I wanted to keep. I didn't love the tile countertop though. The tiles at the front were uneven and the whole install was iffy leaving the sink wobbly and a few tiles on the top improperly supported. 

Front tiles over 1/4 inch uneven

Still, my original plan was to carefully remove the uneven tiles and replace them with a piece of trim, stabilize the sink and shore up the wimpy tiles. This plan did not survive the first shot. The tiles on top didn't have enough glue under them and two of them cracked immediately. My second plan was to put a piece of sheet laminate over them using Loctite Power Grab. That might have worked if I had known to use 2 or 3 tubes of the stuff, but as it was, I had a less than quality result. In the end, I busted out the tile, the sheet rock it had been glued to and the original laminate countertop. (Much sweat) After installing 3/4 inch shims, we were able to put in a new factory laminated countertop that looks really great. 

However, in order to get it in place, we did have to take out part of the door frame. It was either that or the tiles I love so much. Also, the husband sliced open his thumb because laminate edges are sharp and someone wasn't wearing gloves. (Much blood) Once again I relied on Mor-Flexx to caulk the seam between tile and counter to mimic the look of grout. 

There haven't been any tears yet, but I still have to get the water hooked up and the sink actually installed, so there's still time.

This counter was purchased at Sutherlands, but similar are available at Lowes and Home Depot. The quality of laminate has improved so much over the years and the cost savings are so significant that I've come to prefer it over stone. Just don't lay a hot curling iron on it!