#diy-home-improvement

#diy-home-improvement

We realized the importance of having a space outside of the house, even if it is only a few feet away. Over the five years that we've lived in this home, we've had a multitude of ideas regarding the large open space that was our backyard, but they never followed through. For the most part, it was mainly used as a large potty for my Pekingese, Bentley.

Think of it like that childhood memory of painting lines and shapes on brown construction paper, but in a more coordinated, sophisticated, upgrade-your-kitchen kind of way. This isn't the checkerboard pattern's first time in the limelight, soaring to popularity in the 1920s and 1930s before fizzling out in the '50s. The design is experiencing a revival, but it's straying away from the tacky, tiled pattern of the past, giving old wooden floors a breath of new life in a timeless way.

My husband and I bought a builder-grade home in 2009, and since then we've made many, many changes to it. But one of the features simply evaded our efforts through all these years: the sliding closet doors. The most annoying of these were in my office. They made it very difficult to access the storage space, as that closet is small and has a cabinet next to it that limits movement even further.

You can paint onto varnished wood, but, like all paint projects, you will need to do some preparation to ensure a good finish, explains Paul Kerr, Building specialist at Beatsons. "Technically, yes, you can paint directly onto varnished wood. However, it is difficult to keep paint adhering to the glossy surface as varnish seals off the wood underneath." He adds, "The key to painting on varnish is to prepare the surface for adhesion, making sure the paint can stick and hold to it."

The Elfa system installation transformed my awkward nook into a sleek, functional closet, blending seamlessly with my Victorian home's aesthetic and fulfilling my storage needs.

"Before, this was a junk, shoe, and coat closet, but mostly a room full of 'throw it in the closet' stuff… I was finally able to come up with a use for the room that would add some value to my life: a little space for me!"