The DIY continues~by Beth

It has been so fun to actually be accomplishing some things around our house that make it look more organized, more functional, and better looking.  There are a few things that have been on the to-do list for so long that we are beginning to tackle.  The entry way had been needing to have the ceiling redone for years and we finally tackled that one.  It looks so nice.  While we were doing the ceiling, it only made sense that we also do the floor as well as the peeling front door.  We still have not freshened up the exterior side of the front door, but we did get the interior side sanded and painted (See my previous posts).  After taking the photo for the finished floor, I decided that my flower pot needed sprucing up.  When I bought it it was painted a lovely light purple.  Over time the paint flecked off.  So, I got a can of Krylon satin primer plus paint in periwinkle.  It sprayed on easily and seems to have covered well.  I love how it brought out the detail of the pot.  I also nabbed a plastic pot and dumped in our stones for our door stop when the weather permits us to open up the house.  The old metal one was getting rust on the floor.  I also replace the pot for the big aloe plant, which I got after the photo was taken.

While I had most of the gallon of floor and porch paint left (the color is dark gray) I decided to paint the lanai floor.  It had several stains and spots that I wanted to cover over, besides making it look more finished.  The difference is pretty stunning.  I love it.  I am toying with painting a chevron "rug" in the middle.  This was another one of those nagging projects that has finally made it to the "Done" category.  I painted that on Saturday and kept everyone from walking on it for 72 hours.  Before we moved the furniture and stuff back into the lanai, I began another project that has been bugging me for years.

All done

This desk area has been messy for years.  I would try to clean and organize it a number of times each year, but it never looked very nice.  Here it is in all its messy glory.

So, Tuesday I emptied, sanded, washed and spray painted the file cabinets.  I used Rustoleum 2X paint + primer glossy dark gray.  It took me about all day just to do all that.  I used plenty of painters tape to tape the chrome handles, lock buttons (we were able to take the handles off my file cabinet but not Jon's), and label holders.  We did a good job because there was no paint on them when we took all that tape off.  I love how shiny the gloss makes it look, and making them both gray makes it look a lot more unified.  While the paint dried, the kids helped me pull out the desk and we cleaned under and behind there.  Dust bunnies galore.  We also turned around the rug so the side with no wear on it is on the outside and the used section is near the wall and under the desk and file cabinets.  I put the desk in the middle and flanked it with the file cabinets.  I had a wide shelf (13 inches wide by 69 inches long) in the garage that I laid across the top of both file cabinets to make a shelf.  It is stained and has a nice finish.  It has helped make the whole office area look so much more organized.  I finally broke out my desk set that I won several years ago, but had no place to put it.  Jon had replaced the light a number of weeks ago so it is nice and bright to work at.  I have Jon going through his "piling system" so that this area does not get cluttered again.  His file drawers are the next thing to declutter.  Another project checked off.  I am loving it (though I am thinking about how to spruce up that desk with the peeling veneer).

Sanded and ready to paint

Had to sand the rust off 

Finished

Not sure if I have time to do any more projects till Summer.  Our sports and school schedule are full.  Johanna has at least one trip to Nicklaus Children's hospital for the end of this month and who knows how many more.  We have our state basketball tournament coming up in a few weeks, and the kids have several dental trips in the next 6 weeks.  Soccer begins today, and we also have a vacation planned this Spring.  I may not have any spare time to do anything till June.  But, I will be thinking about it.  I have a long list!