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Tag Archive | "Do It Yourself!"

Dear styleNorth . . . Strip or Paint?

Sunday, February 27, 2011

9 Comments

StyleNorth reader Lorena wrote to me yesterday for advice about the distressed but very grand frame she found at the side of the road. "Because of the scrolls of the wood It would be a nightmare to strip," she observes, "but that's exactly what I'd like to do. The wood is old enough that it would look great in its weathered natural state. Also, I have a fairly modern space and I think an old mirror would make a great foil. Wondering if you would mind having a look at the attached pix and venturing whether you think it's worth the trouble, or better to just paint?"

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Lamp Rehab: Before OR After?

Thursday, February 24, 2011

39 Comments

Even a fearless DIYer like me needs a little push sometimes. I saw these lamps at a Toronto junk shop (Odds & Ends, 703 Queen Street West) but couldn't bring myself to drop $40 on them because the bases were so damn ugly. I'm a sucker for pierced porcelain and yet I still walked away from them . . . twice. It wasn't until I saw some awesome all-white lamps in the latest issue of Canadian House & Home that I knew what to do. Paint them! But then a funny thing happened; after cleaning and spraying the first one, I got cold feet. The painted metal looked kind of cheap and the more I lived with the brass one, the more I liked the contrast of materials.

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Does Howard Really Restore A Finish?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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I've heard about Howard Restor-A-Finish but never actually used it until this past weekend when I helped my friend Ingrid breathe some new life into a couple of tired antiques. The product isn't widely available in Canada but Toronto's Queen West Antique Centre (1605 Queen Street West, 416.588.2212) stocks the full range of shades from light pine-maple to dark oak and ebony. Howard's slogan is "Restore it, Don't Strip it!" and I have to say I was very impressed with the product up to a point. The rub-on, wipe-off liquid was fantastically good at hiding minor dings and scratches and even removed old paint smudges with the help of some super-fine steel wool.

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As the Table Turns

Thursday, February 17, 2011

7 Comments

I deliberately delayed my post about my brass-slash-chrome coffee table until it was sold lest the buyer see my piece and balk at having paid a mark-up. Well, wouldn't you know it, the buyer turned out to be another Toronto-based decor blogger, Laura from Gracefully Searching. Laura has done a post about her fab new table (pictured above) and doesn't seem the least bit bothered by the fact that I made some money on my Craigslist flip. Or did I? The table took me about 6 hours to transform, which translates into a little over $18 per hour for my labour, considerably less than I make at my day job. Maybe I'm the one who should be upset.

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Strip Brass With Oven Cleaner

Sunday, February 13, 2011

32 Comments

I've written about stripping brass plate many times but I finally discovered the perfect one-two combination to make the job faster and easier. The secret — and I expect a decor blogger's Hall of Fame Award for this — is Easy Off oven cleaner and a spongy sanding block. In the past I've used fine and super-fine steel wool with Blue Magic metal polish to do the job, but boy, oh boy, it was hard work. The oven cleaner's corrosive action cuts down significantly on the amount of elbow grease required.

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