Painting my Office Desk

July 14, 2022

I purchased my office desk a few years ago. It served me very well, but it was starting to wear out in certain areas. I thought about replacing it, but the cost of an executive desk is a bit pricey. And since there was nothing wrong with this desk other than a worn-out area, I decided to paint it instead.

The area I speak of is right where I lean in to write. I guess I wore it out!

I decided to paint it black, to coordinate with the other desk. I primed it first then painted two coats and sealed it with varnish. It came out great. I love the results. It’s like a brand new desk and the cost was just a gallon of paint!

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Entryway – Painting the Grout and Door

June 30, 2022

The entryway in my house has seen better days. The grout was so dirty. This was not the first impression I wanted my family or guest to have when they visited. I’m not a fan of slate tiles but replacing them was not in the budget just yet. I had to do something. It was looking so shabby. I did some research and decided I could paint the grout. This would clean it up.

I also wanted to paint the door since it had never been painted. I thought black would be lovely since I just painted the handrail black. There was also the issue of missing cement by the door. This was allowing a lot of cold air to penetrate thru the cracks. I had to fix that as well.

I used paint from Sherwin William. I also used liquid cement from Home Depot. It fills up the cracks nicely. Unfortunately, I wind up using the entire tube! That is how bad the gaps were.

I taped the area and primed the door. I also cleaned the tiles to remove all the dirt.

This is the finished product. It turned out well. Now I won’t be embarrassed to have guests over!

I even painted the cement so you wouldn’t see it. Instead, it blended well with the grout.

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Adding a Countertop in my Kitchen

June 16, 2022

Until I can remodel my kitchen, I’m on a mission to create beautiful spaces using what I have. My kitchen had an area that was not usable. At the time, I had the cat litter, water dispenser, and recycle bin in that space. I was not thrilled. I wanted to create a place to use, so I decided to add a countertop.

The first thing I had to do was locate a wood countertop. Thank goodness Home Depot had them. I measure to see what would fit in that space. Then I had to measure the height and ensure all the brackets were leveled. Perfection!

I had to make sure the stools would fit under the countertop.

Once the countertop came in, I stained it a beautiful rich color. Love it!

The final step before was sealing the countertop to protect the wood. I use EZ-DO since it’s food-safe.

It was time to install the countertop and anchor them in. I had some help with that since it was a bit heavy. I loved the result, and I now had a place to eat and an extra countertop workspace.

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Painting my Handrails

June 2, 2022

Painting my Handrails

When I moved into my current home, one of the first things that I tackled was the handrails. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like the stain color at all. It was so outdated. I wanted something that would pop when you came into my home. So I decided to go with a black and white color theme.

This is what it looked like before I went to work.

It wasn’t easy to paint due to the height. So I had to come up with a way to reach it so I could paint it. Ok, perhaps not the safest way but definitely, the cleverest! Putting the stirs on a 50-gallon storage box!

What a difference. I love the way it came out

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Lisa’s New Living Room

May 19, 2022

Lisa is a client I have been working with for a few years. It started with her children’s bedroom, basement den, master bedroom, kitchen, and dining room. So it’s safe to say we work well together. But, of course, after doing all those rooms, the living room was looking a bit old and shabby—time to update.

Here are some before pictures. As you can see, it’s outdated. We removed the heavy drapery that was obsolete. The sofa has seen better days. There wasn’t anything that we wanted to keep.

As you can see, the design mixes rustic with traditional and contemporary. It’s lighter, brighter, and a lot more appealing design.

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Doreen’s Living Room Renovations

May 5, 2022

I recently did an update on a very outdated living room. The sofas were old and not too scale. The layout wasn’t working, and the floor color was a bit dark and obsolete.

I decided that I was not too fond of the layout. It seemed to me, too, everything was on one side of the space. The balance was off. And since my client no longer wanted the piano, I thought that would be an ideal place for the TV fireplace console. This way, we would be utilizing the entire space.

Here are the before pictures.

I am not fond of walking into a space and seeing the back of a sofa, much less a recliner!

The piano was being removed so we could utilize the entire space. We were making the living room area much more extensive.

As you can see, it completely changed the look of the space. The living room was more extensive and more open concept than before.

It often happens with my clients. Once they see how beautiful the space is, they wind up remodeling. In this case, we updated the dining room. I kept the tables but purchased new chairs and a new credenza.

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Melanie & Harry’s Kitchen

April 21, 2022

One of my latest projects was a major kitchen renovation. It was a small kitchen, not enough counters old appliances, and it was not functional. Overall it was not a well-designed kitchen.

Here are some before pictures of the kitchen.

We took down the wall of pantry. This way, they would have an open concept. We also eliminated the windows by the table to extend the cabinets. Giving her much-needed cabinets.

We went shopping for all the items we would need. If you’ve ever done a kitchen reno, you know that’s a lot of shopping!! This is what was chosen.

The construction part of the project was done, and the items were all in. Some things took a while due to covid. But the end result is spectacular. Delighted clients!!

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Installing New Slider and Kitchen Window

April 7, 2022

I have been working on my home for a while. This is another project I just completed. I replaced my sliding door and kitchen window. The sliding door was difficult to open and missing a screen door. My kitchen window was drafty and letting the cold into my home.

I decided I wanted to get a slider with blinds. It’s so much easier than trying to get window treatment for sliders. I also wanted a casement window so I have a full view of the outdoors.

This is what they looked like before the renovations. You can see the kitchen window is just a double-hung window. And if you’re wondering what that black vertical line is on the slider, they are the temporary screen I put up to prevent the bugs from coming into my house.

The kitchen window has been installed and I had a custom roman shade installed.

The slider door is also installed and I love the blinds!! Plus I had crown molding which made a huge difference. I love it!!

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Uncategorized abella home staging & redesign casement window crown molding kitchen blinds slider windows

Adding Storage to the Bathroom

March 24, 2022

Recently I have been working on my main bathroom. I just finished painting my cabinet a beautiful blue. When I moved into my current home, there was a washer and dryer in the bathroom. I hated that but it was so convenient I decided to keep it there.

Unfortunately, the washer broke and I decide to remove it from the bathroom and install it in the basement where it should have been from the beginning.

The issue is now I have holes in the walls!! Since remodeling the entire bathroom is not within the budget, I had to come up with an idea.

I decided to add a storage cabinet. When I went shopping online, I couldn’t find one. Everything was out of stock due to Covid!

So I figured why not build one? How hard can it be?? Famous last words right? Actually, it really wasn’t that hard to build. And the result was just what I needed and wanted.

This is what it looked like with the washer and dryer. Not very attractive, I know.

It was such a mess getting it out. It didn’t fit the doorway, so we had to take it apart.

First thing was to create a plan. Figure out the measurements.

Buy all the materials. Home Depot is great because they will cut the pieces for you.

The box was built, now to add the feet.

Ikea had the feet that I want. They were white metal. I spackle the raw edges and caulked in the seams

I ordered storage containers from Target. Just waiting for them to come in.

Finally, they arrived and I was able to finish the project. So much better than before.

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Painting my Bathroom Cabinet

March 10, 2022

Recently I remodel the spare bathroom. I was so pleased with the result but the main bathroom left much to be desired! Let’s just say, I wasn’t happy with it, but redoing it was not in the budget.

I decided what was in the budget was painting the cabinet. That I can do. I decided to paint it a nice dark blue.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures before I started the project. Aye Vay! This is the only picture I have. It was taken when I first purchased the property. But at least it gives you an idea.