Saturday, December 10, 2011

Countertop Resurfacing? Don't even go there!


I am all for being frugal where you can on your home remodel. What I will never promote, however, are do-it-yourself projects that will devalue your home, and the home stores are FILLED with them. Today I have to go into one of the newest and worst ideas I have ever seen for your kitchen- Countertop Resurfacing…
I can’t say enough to discourage you from ever using such a product, but I’m going to do my best! Rust- Oleum has some fantastic products. I use their spray paints all the time for various projects around my home, but this product is just WRONG! My strongest advice when you are ready to replace your laminate countertop- is to actually REPLACE your laminate countertop. Consider where you live and the materials that other homeowners in your surrounding neighborhood are using for their home. If you are not going to upgrade to a more luxurious material such as granite or quartz, I can tell you that Formica, Pionite, Wilsonart and a few other laminate manufacturers have come up with a slew of amazing laminates that resemble granites and slates and fantastic stones. Many have textures or scratch resistant coatings and are very affordable. I will most definitely do a post on one of my favorites by Formica soon. For now let’s get back to this horrible idea of resurfacing your countertops.
Have you ever seen a garage with a coated floor? They look pretty neat. The floor has a nice polish, thick coating of paint with a sealer and can contain flecks in the mix to give it some pizzazz. Would you ever put that on your countertop? That’s exactly what you are doing if you use this kit. Yes, it’s appealing to think you can do it yourself and save a ton of money. This kit can range from $140.00-$200.00, but a post-form laminate countertop can cost you around the same price and a custom laminate countertop- brand new- is not much more than that. The look that this kit offers is more similar to the older style laminates of the early 90′s or the older solid surface countertops that had small or medium sized speckles throughout. It looks NOTHING like a granite or stone, like it attempts to represent. The result of the work you will do with this kit will never look even close to the overdone flecking they show on the box and even that does not look spectacular. Furthermore, if you ruin this project or don’t quite like the look when you’re done, you’ve wasted time and effort and will still need to replace it in the future. This project falls under my “Measure Twice, Cut Once Philosophy”. A skilled craftman will measure twice to avoid a mistake. I use this quote all the time to inform homeowners that proper preparation avoids costly mistakes. Usually, when I say proper preparation, I mean hire a professional. It is great when you can do it yourself and some projects qualify for this, but specialized trades have come into existence for a reason. If everyone could do it, everyone would open up a business doing it. Things that require skill should be done by their trade professionals. Countertops fall under that category almost as much as refinishing your own kitchen cabinets (oh, don’t even get me started on that non-sense! That will be another post!).
Resurfacing is a process that offers a questionable time period of wear and tear. The look is not desirable so it is not an improvement and therefore it decreases the value of your kitchen. If you were to sell your home, this would deter buyers who would consider this an item that must be replaced, a cheap fix for the most important room of the home. My D-I-Y divas and divos, please don’t waste your time. You will be disappointed and pay twice as much for something you could have done right the first time. I hope this post will help you make an informed decision on this product. Hopefully, with enough complaints, dislike or lack of sales, the big box stores will take such a bad product off the shelves!

I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas!


Being a design diva and thinking practically when it come to such an OVER THE TOP holiday can seem oxymoronic, but it can be one of the best things for your home and your wallet. And who made Christmas into the money sucking, super glitzy spend fest that it is now anyway? Uh, RETAILERS of course! They want us to spend, spend, spend and shop til we drop and pepper spray people in the store on Black Friday while trying to get that last X-box…(can’t believe she really did that, lol). How often do we ever sit back and think of the true meaning of the holiday? Have you ever considered alternate ways of GIVING? There are more ways to give than just hitting the mall.
The art of being “green” can be mastered in so many ways. There’s composting, reducing your carbon footprint, shopping locally and buying things made from sustainable materials. The D-I-Y diva that I am, I took to my favorite treasure hunt to kick off my green Christmas, beginning with the decor- on craigslist. Yep, that’s right- craigslist is one of the best ways to go green, save money and give- all at the same time.
There are some things that just don’t really have to be new. We had a pre-lit Christmas tree. It was 6.5′ tall and was a beautiful blue spruce and it worked out well, until two years ago when the middle section’s lights decided to go out. We tried to find the culprit dead bulb and when we couldn’t we strung a set of lights around the middle and called it a day. This year I longed for a taller tree, but the ridiculous cost of a new one sent me right to craigslist. There are so many great finds on there, in good or even like new (sometimes entirely new) condition. People sell their things for all sorts of reasons. I snagged a 7.5′ tree in like new condition with the box for just $20.00 because the guy’s wife decided she wanted a small, real tree instead of setting up and decorating a fake one. Their toss out is my gain and no one is the wiser! Best of all, purchasing on craigslist is also giving because that person makes money which in turn allows them to buy their own tree or presents or whatever else they will get as a result of your purchase. Buying from craigslist is green because you are buying locally and also recycling a used product. WIN, WIN, WIN! I saved $140.00 on a tree and helped out a local resident.
Craiglist can work for far more than just trees. I’ve seen outdoor and indoor lights and decorations too. How about younger children’s electronic gadgets? My seven year old wants an ipod touch or an e-reader. I’d never dream of spending $200 on something for someone so young who may lose or break it. However, I would buy a used one online for $50.00 and guide him on taking care of it in training for a real one one day. You can also find unbelievable deals on televisions or gaming systems that people can’t keep for financial reasons, even great laptops that only require you to wipe their memories clean. There’s an endless sea of goods that you can acquire on craigslist- clothing, toys, accessories, jewelry and furnishings. Why buy new when you can save money and buy used? Now, of course, there are situations when new is best- gifts for family members outside of the immediate, gifts for friends or others that require original packaging and the item in new condition.  But there are many times you can even find (especially right after the holidays) that people have duplicates of items that they will sell online. Maybe they received two laptops or two cameras and they obviously can’t use both.
So this Christmas consider going green. Search your local craigslist site and see what hidden treasures you discover. For an added bonus, check the FREE section under ‘For Sale’. You never know!