How to repair wood furniture

Keep Your Furniture In Good Repair

All of us have bought an expensive piece of furniture only to have a pet, a child, friends or the movers scratch, stain, spill or burn it. Here are some quick fixes that I hope will come in handy.

Small cigarette burns can be remove with extra-fine steel wool and some ammonia.  Just dab the steel wool into the ammonia and work in the direction of the grain until the burn is removed. Once removed apply a furniture paste to restore the shine.

Wax spills on wood may appear hopeless! Once hard place a baggy containing an ice cube on the wax. Next, scrape off the wax using a rubber spatula. Follow up with furniture paste to remove any cloudiness.

Nothing is more frustrating than having a party and someone leaves a wet glass on your favorite table. Never fear... pour a generous amount of salt on the ring to draw out the moisture that is trapped under the finish. Next, place a terry-cloth towel on top of the haze. Using a warm iron (no steam) gently heat the towel checking every 30 second for signs that the haze has disappeared. Finish with polish.

Finally, scratches can be hidden with this trick. Buy various shades of paste shoe polish. Apply the polish with a cotton pad or cotton swab than buff with a clean soft cloth. If it's not the right shade, just wipe it off and blend two together to create your own custom color.

Simple fixes to help keep your furniture looking like new.

Pamela

Backyard Oasis

"Paradise is where I am" 

Sitting outside early in the morning, gazing across at a water feature, watching the beauty that nature gives us, it reminds me of a quote I heard while flying back from my first vacation in three years. "Paradise is where I am."

We have become a society driven to succeed no matter the cost and I was one of the worst offenders.  I lived and breathed my construction company. No time for vacations, no time to sit back and relax with friends, no time... I had to achieve success!! For years, I didn't sleep more than 3 hours a night because I was perfecting my craft. It wasn't until I ended up in the emergency room with what I thought was a heart attack and my doctor telling me, "Your job is going to kill you", that I took notice. Wow!  I forgot that life is about "working to live... not living to work".  

Paradise... definition: a place of bliss or delight. I had to get back to the basics and surround myself with what I love. Plants and wildlife have always delighted me. Solution: take a break from construction and create my own backyard oasis. 

By choosing the right plants and adding a flowing water feature, nature has found my little area and given me an amazing assortment of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, lizards and bees. For 30 minutes a day I enter my backyard and stop. 

Everyday I thank God that I have a second chance to experience a full and abundant life. No matter where I am, nature is all around and I realize that "paradise is where I am".

Pamela

Summer Decorating

Summer Decorating

The buzz right now is designing for the summer and there are a lot of great ideas out there. How I would love to buy all new accessories every year! There are so many beautiful colors and each year the styles change. When I look at decorating my patio for the summer, I start with my basics and then add a few fun and trendy items each year.

To make a patio feel warm and comfortable, we treat decorating the patio like an indoor room. Whether you have a dining table or an outdoor sofa and chairs, a rug helps to ground and define this area. Outdoor rugs are better than ever and they are relatively soft and easy to walk on with bare feet. They can handle the outdoor elements for the summer, can be vacuumed or rinsed off with a hose, and at the end of the summer you just roll them up for storage. It's a perfect way to add softness to your hardscape. I purchased mine from Frontgate and it has lasted for years.

Another great way to add softness is to put up panels of curtains. If you have a patio structure this can be as simple or complex as you want. Put up simple hooks from the hardware store which I leave in permanently and then just attach my panels to them. I get inexpensive white fabric panels from Ikea and take them down at the end of the season. Accent the panels with trendy colors by changing the tie backs or change the tie backs to match themed parties. For example, use rustic rope for a pirate theme or leis for a Hawaiian party. You can use a coordinating fabric to match your rug. Store these during the winter as they can get damp and a little moldy later in the year.

If you don't have a structure to attached curtains, use large umbrellas. These come in so many wonderful colors, but if you have a limited budget and can't change them every year, stick with a neutral like tan or even green. If you can afford it, use several umbrellas and place them around your seating area. Tilting the umbrellas creates a tucked in feeling that you will love so much. Even if you have shade, umbrellas add that special effect that makes you feel comfortable. These too can be put away at the end of the season and used year after year.


Large scale pots with large scale plants are a must. Most of us tend to use all small stuff, but even just a pair of large scale pots with large plants helps define an area, and adds drama.  Living in Southern California, I use big Bird of Paradise placed on either side of my patio area for drama.

Finally, tablecloths. Use tablencloths everywhere. Try basic white tablecloths placed around the BBQ area, the dining set, and even a small one for a little plastic coffee table that sits next to a lounge chair. Tablecloths add softness and instantly makes the outdoor tables feel clean. Even if a guest drops in, I can quickly throw on the tablecloths. White is easy to clean and can be dressed up with table runners and other accessories.

Now that you have your annual basic that don't have to be replaced every year, have fun with the latest trends! These can be added to make your space feel fun and up to date! Try pillows, colorful cloth napkins, lamps and candles, flowers and potted herbs. Well I could just go on forever, but whatever you do... start with the basics and add bright colors and themes to your next outdoor party.


Laurie

Cheap, Good or Fast Remodeling? You Decide

Cheap, Good or Fast Remodeling? You Decide

I recently read an editor's note in the July 2012 issue of "Real Simple" with a great little story about the editor's friend, Jeremy, who is a event planner.  When planning an event, Jeremy offers his clients the choice of two of the following: cheap, good or fast. The client can choose only 2 of those 3.  For example they can have cheap and good or fast and cheap or maybe fast and good but they cannot have all three. Being in Interior Design and working at Dragonfly Design and Construction, I smile to myself. 

This is a very simple way of stating a complex problem. Wouldn't it be great if we could have it good, cheap and fast? Every client would have it this way if they could. But alas, it continues to be the holy grail of business.  If you have all the time and money, you can just about have anything you want. There's lots of shows on TV illustrating amazing homes that cost a fortune and took a long time to build! 


With time and money we are only held back by our imaginations! If you don't have an unlimited supply of time and money then you might be able to get it cheap and good if you are willing to spend a lot of time on it. 


Some 'do it youselfers' can really save money and do a darn good job. We can do it fast and good, but it's going to take money. Often people want it fast and cheap which reminds me of a quote my friend Margaret, an engineer, uses; "If you want it really bad, then that's how you'll get it". My company focuses instead, on staying within your budget and getting it done in the time we said. 


As a homeowner, we are constantly faced with choosing between these three. Often when talking to people about projects they have done in their home, they will comment, "we should have done that!"  They have forgotten that at the time the choice made was likely driven by time and money. 


For example, when building our pool, we elected not to put stamped concrete around the pool. It would have meant replacing the existing concrete patio and the estimate was $10,000 and another 2 weeks in addition to the original estimate. We wanted to use the pool for summer, so we went with regular concrete that matched the existing patio. Yeah I would have liked to have a pool fit for a five star hotel, but we are so happy with the results and had many a pool party. By the way, no one has ever mentioned the party would have been better with stamped concrete! 

Another way to think about these choices... we want it as good as it can be done with the time and money we currently can invest. When you take the time to plan a project within a set budget, you are more likely to be happy with the results! 


This applies to life in general. I recently bought a car and after careful consideration I am happy with my decision. Yes, I still think I would be happy in a Maserati, but I don't cry when I make the car payment.  The truth is my dog and my kids and the bikes and all the stuff wouldn't fit in a Maserati.


The bottom line - don't despair because you don't have an infinite supply of time and money. With the help of a good designer and contractor, armed with a realistic budget and time constraints you can make wise decisions that you will be happy with for a long time.

Laurie

Resurfacing an old concrete pool deck

Resurfacing an old concrete pool deck

During these economics times, most of us are staying in our existing homes and remodeling the parts that have gotten old or are in disrepair. As a contractor, I need to find solutions that are within most people's budget. As you know you can find lots of products that promise amazing results, but will they give you long lasting results? Because every product makes promises, I always experiment on my home before trying anything new at a client's home.

Three years ago I decided I would experiment on my deck surrounding my pool. I recruited my husband and we spent the weekend on this project. By the way, he really doesn't like the construction field, but assists whenever I ask. Thank you darling! We prepped, primed and painted our concrete pool deck with an exterior deck paint which took a good 16 hours to complete. The results were spectacular. I antiqued the base color with veining to resemble large travertine slabs. Everyone loved it and it cost less than $500.00 in materials. Unfortunately, it only lasted 2 years and started to peel away.

One good thing about this paint experiment was it helped preserve the pool deck a few more years until I had a break in my schedule and went for the next best thing.... concrete resurfacing.

With many years of construction experience and trial and error, I have found that the key to a successful project is in the preparation. You cannot skimp on the prep work. The following steps will hopefully help those of you who have youth and stamina to complete this project. You will need at least 4 to 5 guys to get this project done correctly. I personally worked on this project so I could give you my opinion on whether it is a DYI project or a professional project. Answer: Unless you have a talent with concrete and drywall finishing... I would let the pros do this one. But for those of you ready to tackle this project...here's the game plan.

This is a messy project! Remove most of your furniture if possible, otherwise cover everything up.

Step 1:  Grind. You need to rent a heavy duty grinder with a diamond wheel grinding attachment and abrade the entire surface. 

Step 2:  Acid Wash. Mix at a ratio of 4 parts water to 1 part muraitic acid. VERY IMPORTANT: When diluting pour the acid into the water. If you do it the other way, the acid could react and throw acid toward you. Remember chemistry class with the rubber aprons and face shield? Please use common sense and wear protective clothing, rubber gloves, face shield and long pants, long sleeve shirt and work boots. 

Step 3:  Neutralize. I think the easiest product is TSP which you can buy at the big box store. Following the dilution instructions on the box.

Step 4:  Repair. Cut out any rust spots and remove the rust rebar section. If it is a large section, replace with new rebar. If the coping is cracked or falling apart, cut back each section at least one foot, remove and pour new concrete.  Any cracks should be filled with an epoxy filler. All repairs should be covered with a reinforced repair fabric and elastomeric coating. Once dry feather a polymer cement coating over the repair areas.

Step 5:  Patch. Use a level to find any low spots on the deck. Patch all low spots with a polymer cement coating. Sand surface once dry.

Step 6:  Prime. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP! Use a two-part epoxy primer over the entire deck. This will seal the repairs and bond with the new resurfacing material.

Step 7:  Coat. Apply one very thin layer of resurfacing material either with a metal squeegee or trowel. Let this dry. Sand any edges that might affect the finish coat. I colored mine a terracotta shade.

Step 8:  Decorative Coat. Rent a hopper gun and spray a medium coat of material (similar to an orange peel texture). Work in a six to eight foot section. Have a second person work behind you lightly dragging the texture with a finish trowel to flatten the surface. This created dimension in the surface.

Step 9:  Stain/Antique. I used an espresso Eco-stain to enhance the color of the surface. Use a broom to blend and create various shading on the deck. This is where the artist in you comes out. Once dry, I mixed the antique powder in charcoal into a small sprayer and mist small areas. 

Step 10: Seal. I used a wet-look sealer which tends to get slippery when wet. Broadcast a slip-resistant granule into the next-to-last coat of sealer. I used aluminum oxide in an 80 grit size.

Transforming spaces in why I love this business! I love my new pool deck and hope you enjoyed the information and photos I share with you. 

Pamela