Design SOS: Friends to the Rescue!

Howdy friend!

Got some exciting news to tell ya about today!

True Value is currently on the hunt for any DIYer looking to help a friend (or themselves!) break free from a disastrous design dilemma.

Enter the "Design SOS" contest for a chance to win $2,500 (for both you and your friend!) to use at a local True Value store and an in-person consultation with a True Value “Master of All Things Hardwarian” who will help take that space from unfortunate to unforgettable!

Here are all the details...

· From September 2, 2010 to October 7, 2010 enter the Design SOS contest by submitting a short description and some photos/videos of any design dilemma at StartRightStartHere.com

Here's an example of a cute video...



· Starting on October 22, 2010, visit StartRightStartHere.com to vote for your favorite entry out of the top 10 finalists
(and if YOU make it into the top 10, let us know and we'll help spread the word here on our blog!)

· The grand prize winner will be announced in mid-November



So whether it’s a living room covered with weird wallpaper or an outdated basement that's dyin' to be re-done, True Value's motto is: "Remember, friends don’t let friends live with disastrous design!"



Good luck and have fun with it!



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Dresser - Done!

Hey there!
Kevin here.

Remember that $40 dresser we found at a flea market last year?



Well, it had obviously been left out in the rain (or been used as a boat at some point in time) because it had lots of water damage.

No biggie though- we were pretty positive a little primer and white paint would have it looking as good as new.

WRONG.



Turns out priming and painting it white actually made it look good as newBORN.

No joke.

It would've looked great in a baby girls room.

There was something about the curvy mirror being painted white that just didn't look rock n' roll thirtysomething enough.

We both still loved the clean-lined dresser part of it though, so we just took off the mirror and it was good to go!

(Don't worry- we saved the mirror for possible future use. Wink, wink.)



(Oh, and pay no attention to the wall color in the photo above. It's changin, 'cause you're pickin a new one for us next week!)



As for the distressed drawer fronts- my Mrs. did those.

I'm into them 'cause they look so rock n' roll weathered.

Basically, she just coated all four drawer fronts with primer.
Then, she coated two of them with "Weston Flax" (BM).
Then she coated all four of them with "Moonlight White" (BM).

Then she went berserk on them with our electric sander.



Oh, and the reason she put Weston Flax on the top left, and the middle drawer only was...



I actually have no idea.

But I'm sure it has something to do with making them look more rock n' roll authentically old.



We went round and round about what kind of hardware to put on this thing for a couple of weeks, but when we saw what Mary did to the bin pulls she gave us- we finally had our answer.



She took regular satin nickel pulls...



...coated them with a little primer and some Sea Salt (SW) colored paint...



...distressed them, and BOOM!

Mary only sent four pulls though, so I made a quick trip to True Value for a couple of knobs to use on the top two drawers...



Following Mary's lead, I covered them in primer...



...then painted on some Sea Salt.



Nothin' left to do but fill our drawers!



Wait.
That came out wrong.



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True Value Blog Squad - 2010!

Last year, True Value invited us to be on their national "DIY Blog Squad" and we were beyond shocked and pumped. I don't know how they found us, but boy were we glad they did! With their help we were able to get a new mailbox...



fix up an old bathroom door...



And we even figured out how to tile a wall in our (half-done!) guest bathroom...



(Note: Click on the photos above if you'd like to read about those projects!)



Well, they've invited us to be a part of the Blog Squad again this year, and you can bet yer bottom dollar we'll be focusing on our master bedroom this time around!

We'll definitely be loading up on lots of this stuff...



We're leaning towards a pretty shade of blue, and a mellow shade of white for the walls.

Here's my inspiration...



And if you follow us on Twitter, you've already seen the sweet little $40 dresser we're going to make over...



Luckily, because the lady who owns our local True Value loves ALL things home, they carry a huge selection of decorative knobs and pulls...





We can't wait to finally be able to open those drawers without having to use MacGyver maneuvers!



We also look forward to seeing the projects our fellow Blog Squad members work on too...

Katie from All Bower Power

Josh from Bungalow 23

Kate from Centsational Girl

Gabrielle from Design Mom

Kit from DIY Diva

Joey & Lana from Joey and Lana Make a House a Home

Roeshel from The DIY Show Off

Brian & Paul from The Handyguys Podcast

Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick

And from what we hear, True Value is gonna be hosting some incredible contests that YOU can get involved in too- so if you'd like to sign up to win fabulous prizes, see what's currently on sale, or just see what the Blog Squad is working on- you can follow True Value on Facebook HERE, or Twitter HERE.

Now let's get this paint party started!






*We were selected by True Value to work on the DIY Blog Squad. We've been compensated for our time commitment to the program as well as for the materials needed to complete our DIY Blog Squad projects. That being said, our opinions are entirely our own and we have not been paid to publish positive comments.

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True Value Giveaway #2 Winner

Conrgratulations to:



Your comment was randomly selected by Random.org!



Drop me a line at LaylaPalmer@aol.com to claim your pretty prizes:



:-)

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If you haven't seen the wonderful Whisperwood Cottage yet, here's a couple of tours you don't want to miss!

WhisperWood Cottage Kitchen

houzz- kitchen design, bathroom design, landscaping and more

WhisperWood Cottage Master Bedroom

houzz- kitchen design, bathroom design, landscaping and more

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True Value DIY Squad Project #3: Installing A New Mailbox

It was gorgeous here in Alabama today. A sunny and crisp 50 degrees.



The perfect day to replace a broken-down mailbox that's located in the most peculiar place...



Isn't that weird? How it's just sitting out there in the middle of our yard? I've never understood why it's not next to the driveway.

There's no telling how long this old guy has been standing here...





But I do know that the door finally rusted off sometime last month...



Every time it rains our mail gets soaked. :-(

Anywho...Kevin started "Project Install-A-New-Mailbox" by raking the leaves in the front yard.

And by "started", I mean moved the rake in a sweeping motion one time before it decided to pull a "Mr. Mailbox Door"...



No biggie. Kevin didn't really feel like raking anyway. :-)

Instead, he got right to work on installing the new mailbox we got at True Value.

First, he had to pound a long, metal stake into the ground...



That's when Mr. Hammer decided to pull a "Mr. Rake"...



Poor Kevin couldn't help but smile...



So he made another trip to True Value to pick up a new hammer, and eventually he was able to drive the stake all the way into the ground...



Then he slid the first part of the post onto the stake...



Then he secured the second part of the post to the first part...



Then he attached two brackets to the post...





Next, he used the four nuts and bolts that came with our post kit to secure the mailbox to the brackets...



First he screwed each nut onto the end of each bolt. Then, while holding the nut snug against the inside wall of the mailbox, he used our electric screwdriver to tighten them all up...



Finally, once Kevin had the new guy in place...



...it was time to remove the old guy...



And when I say "remove" I mean barely push on one time.

Kev was still pretty proud of himself though. :-)



So long Mr. Rake, Mr. Hammer, Mr. Mailbox Door and Mr. Mailbox!



Hello new mailbox conveniently located right next to our driveway!



(move your mouse back and forth over the picture above to see me move faster than a speeding bullet, and to see how really far away our old mailbox used to be.)

We've had this project at the bottom of our mile long to-do list for the past couple of years because there is SO much work left to do on the inside of the house. So we want to send a big thanks to True Value for creating an opportunity for us to get a mailbox earlier than expected. We look very forward to receiving our issue of The Nest magazine in it this week!

Layla :-)

PS...There's still time to enter our True Value Giveaway #2!

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