WHY DO YOU DIY?

Yesterday while I was banging my head against the wall from all the wrong things I was doing staining the butcher block, I asked myself “Why do I DIY?”.  I mean seriously, a lot of us who do, can pretty much pay for the work to be done.  Think about it, how many times have you made a mistake on a DIY project and had to start over?  And then you eventually could have taken the money you paid originally, plus the money you had to pay to start over and just had it done yourself.  So while I was whining on Twitter last night to my good friend Tricia about how terrible my BB was looking,  I started to doubt my title as a DIY’er.

For some reason, I couldn’t figure out why the stain was making the wood look black.

Then I figured that I really should not have skipped the wood conditioner. So I flipped the BB over and started fresh, this time adding the wood conditioner before the stain.

 

Guess what? The same thing happened.

 So while I was contemplating giving up on the entire project, I figured I’d read the label on the can of stain again just to see if I was doing things right. 

Well I’ll be.  Does that say stir the stain thoroughly before use??? Oh I hollered so loud in this house last night!!!

After I FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS, things started to turnaround

before being wiped off

after being wiped off

 

I get frustrated easily when things don’t go as planned.  And when I say frustrated, I mean to the point of tears.  But then I realize that I can’t do anything but laugh at myself because usually the project turned out wrong due to my lack of patience. 

After waking up this morning and applying another coat of stain, I realized why I DIY.  I DIY because when the projects turn out the way I envisioned them, it feels so good to say I did it myself and that I saved so much money in the process!

WHY DO YOU DIY?!

MUNCHKINS….

Today I’m guest blogging for Averill and I’m giving her motherly advice for her new little '”munchkin”!

Speaking of munchkins, I read a wonderful group of posts over at 6th Street Design School , where a group of the best design bloggers gave their opinions on the coexistence of kids and great design! Well, here is my view on the matter:

Yes they can exist together. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to make that happen in your home with your kids! So far, I’m failing!

I thought it was a good idea to do homework sometimes at the dining room table…yeah, that was a terrible idea. Can you see the scratches in the left image? Now, can you see the pencil and eraser marks in the second image?

Thought I could leave some paint on the kitchen counter for a minute

Oh I was so…..What’s the word? Well, I’ll let you fill in the blank;-)

that sofa was going to my family room…It’s definitely going now. I’m just going to flip the cushions!

While we’re on the subject of paint, when I test a paint color, they test a paint color…

Sigh… Of course I have my hands full with three, but most of these mishaps were my fault. But, for some reason I really want to believe that at least my five year old know better…

Anyway, after all of this, I DO believe that kids and a nicely decorated home can coexist. It’s a matter of teaching them what to do and not to do. And it is a matter of planning a design with them in mind. When I say plan with them in mind, that doesn’t necessarily mean that my sofa should have been brown. It means that many items should be kid friendly. Especially the most used items!

Please tell me I’m not the only one who have these mishaps! And make sure you stop by Averill’s blog and see what I recommend for the baby!