Home Sweet Home

Access: This may be via a trapdoor in the floor, a door under the stairs, or a full- height door (in the case of a semibasement cellar). Access determines what can be stored according to its size, weight and regularity of use, so think about improvements like rehanging a door the other way round to make it easier to open. Where access is restricted, storage can be arranged around the door so that it can be used like a cupboard. (more…)

DIY tiling needn’t be a tale of woe it can be fun, cost-saving and easy when approached in the right way.

Tiles can be a lot easier to fix than you think. Good preparation and planning is the true secret of success — if you get this right, your tiling will be something to be proud of.

How many tiles?

Before you buy or order tiles for the floor or walls, work out approximately how many you need. This is especially important if you are tiling large areas or using a pattern. Most tiles are sold by the square metre. Suppliers have tile charts which will tell you approximately how many tiles are needed per square metre. Coverage is also stated on boxes. Remember that the smaller the tile the more work will be involved. (more…)

Ceramic tiles

If ever a product has stood the test of time, it is the ceramic tile. Popular since the days of the Romans, ceramic tiles are still the most versatile of the bathroom surfaces. They can be used for both floors and walls and are available in a huge variety of colours, shapes and prices.

When choosing tiles, select ones that are in scale with your bathroom. If you choose a fancy shape, such as the ogee or Moorish designs, keep the colours simple: too much variety looks over-fussy. (more…)

3 Cut to length the shelf supports and drawer guides and fix in place. The shelf supports in this case were simply 12 mm x 12 mm cabinet timber strips cut to 350 mm (that is, 50 mm short of the front) and at 45°, and glued and nailed in place. An alternative would be to drill holes and use plastic or metal shelf supports instead. If the shelves were to be housed in the sides, the housings should be routed or cut out to a depth of 5 mm at this stage.

4 The drawer guides are 19 mm x 12 mm cabinet timber cut to 385 mm, and must be accurately glued and nailed (or screwed) to the sides. (You may prefer to fit the drawer guides when the drawers are ready, to double-check that the position is right.)

5 Mark and cut out the bottom shelf, 400 mm deep by 462 mm wide. When finished this will give a total width of 500 mm for the whole unit.

6 Mark and cut rear and front top members of cabinet from 75 mm x 25 mm and 100 mm x 25 mm cabinet timber. These are also 462 mm long. (more…)

Lifestyle

The living room is usually the room most on show to visitors — it is, in many ways, your indoor home entertainment area. Make your storage system visually appealing, easily accessible and compatible with your lifestyle.

Your furniture and especially your storage units should be as visually appealing as possible, yet still comfortable and user-friendly.

To establish your storage needs, consider who will be using the room and what its main function will be. Do you want permanently fixed storage or do you want to rearrange the room from time to time? Is there a natural focus in the room? Could a collection of objects or a large piece of furniture — such as a bookcase, cabinet or wall unit — be incorporated to display a prized collection? Is the living area mainly a family room? (more…)

Shelve it, stack it, stow it, store it! Shelving is one of the easiest and most versatile ways of dealing with domestic clutter. Place items on view or design a system to hide them away.

Good storage, as much as having good installations to handle it, is a state of mind and relates to a very human desire to put things away or hoard. Before choosing a suitable storage system for your lifestyle, there are a couple of points you should consider.

Do you want to conceal things or display them? Most household items are well hidden away in cupboards and nooks, whereas some items, like collectables or ornaments, are possessions you would like to see. (more…)

That great second-hand find isn’t finished until you’ve added the decorative touches. If it’s flair or dash you want, fittings like knobs and latches can really add that ye ne sais quoi’ to an otherwise quite ordinary piece.

A ‘finishing touch’ is quite literally that — whether you add bold red plastic knobs to a chest of drawers in a brightly coloured children’s room, or install a very classy brass latch on a restored, natural-finish timber chest. (more…)

French polishing storage cabinet is a skilled craft but, using proprietary solutions, it can be tackled by anyone with patience for that special piece of storage cabinet that is beau but not faux.

Step by Step

1 Remove broken latch and strip wood veneer off storage cabinet top panels.

2 Rub down storage cabinet timber with methylated spirits using steel wool to remove lacquer. (more…)

Sanding

Sanding is the other method used to remove accumulated layers on timber surfaces. It is hard work but rewarding, and the effects will be most gratifying.

Start with a coarse grade of sandpaper graduating to finer grains as the sanding proceeds. Once the timber has been reduced to its (nearly) ) original state, the process of filling and smoothing must be tackled. Whatever finish you are to apply, be it natural or a painted one, it is important that the surface you are working on is as clean and free of imperfections as possible. Paint, wax or sealants will not adhere to dusty, damp or grimy surfaces. (more…)

The project featured is not the easiest leadlighting project to start off with, but will give an indication of what is achievable in this medium. There is a wide lead edge, and three sizes of thin lead for effect.

NOTE: When working with lead make sure that you clean your hands before breaking for meals. Washing hands thoroughly after leaving the workshop should be automatic as lead is an accumulative poison. (more…)