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How to Paint a Mini Fridge

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If you’re like me, you hate being surrounded by bland things. I can’t stand just solid white walls, white fixtures, and white appliances. Or gray. Or metal. It’s just so boring! I need color. But how on earth do you add color to things like fridges? This post by Yahoo Lifestyle will brighten up your dorm (or your bar!) in an instant. Here’s how to spray paint a mini fridge:

-Clean fridge thoroughly

-Sand the glossy surface

-Mask anything you don’t want painted

-Spray paint with color of your choice! (Be safe! Spray outdoors or use a respirator)

-Wait 20 minutes for it to dry, then add another coat if desired.

Photo Credit: Angry Julie Monday

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DIY “Chevron” Stripes

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Chevrons (basically, zig-zags) are a hot pattern right now. A simple search on Pinterest turns up chevron clothing, home décor, and even wedding themes. And why not? It’s a cute, simple, classic pattern that adds fun to whatever it’s on! It’s easy to understand why tutorials like this one from Casa Cullen are all over the place. Plus, adding them to an accent wall is super easy with this tip:

Use a square chalk line grid to keep the stripes even.

Duh! By dividing up the wall into squares first, you can then divide each square in half to create perfectly zig-zaggy chevron stripes!

Photo Credit: Casa Cullen 

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Best (and Most Fun) Way to Clean a Paint Roller

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Paint rollers are really great for painting large areas at one time, but the second you set it down, they’re ruined forever. Trying to switch colors? Forget about it. Leave it out too long without washing it? Ha! They turn into hard, matted, gross blobs that are unusable. Or so I thought! Apparently, there is a way to get paint rollers as clean as new, but it’s a bit messy. This tutorial from Kelly at View Along the Way is amazing and life changing:

1. Without removing the paint roller from the… uh… paint roller tool thing (also called a paint roller?), soak it with a water hose.
2. Now use the water hose to get the paint roller spinning until the water and paint start flying off the roller like friggin MAGIC.
3. Continue until all the paint is gone. It’s seriously miraculous, guys.

Photo Credit: Gary Cycles 

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How to Paint Your Fridge

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Tired of having a shabby old fridge? Trying to coordinate colors in your kitchen? Maybe you have a decent, working fridge but just want to update it. Either way, here’s the perfect solution: people don’t tend to do this often- but did you know you can paint your fridge? Hannah at Cozy Crooked Cottage painted hers a beautiful turquoise color and posted a wonderful step by step photo tutorial:

  1.  Lightly sand the surface of the fridge.
  2. Tape off the parts you don’t want to paint.
  3. Mix your paint and prep the roller by thoroughly saturating it in the paint. Start painting!
  4. It’ll take about 3 coats of paint
  5. Clean up! Remove excess paint with nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol

Photo Credit: Denise Carrasco 

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Removing a “Popcorn Ceiling”

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If you live in a home that was built in the 60s-80s, there’s a good chance that you have a stucco (or “popcorn”) ceiling. While this may have been the “in” design at the time, today many homeowners are turned off by the out of date feel. So, whether you’re trying to make your older home more appealing to new buyers, or if you just want a fresh look for your ceiling, the DIYNetwork has a solution for you. And fortunately, removing the popcorn look is a pretty easy process:

First of all, prepare your room and be safe: If the popcorn was added before 1979, get it tested for asbestos by either wetting down a small area with a sponge and scraping off a little to place in a small bag, or by having a professional come out and test it. 

Then, spray the ceiling: Use a basic garden sprayer to wet down the ceiling. This will soften the ceiling texture and help to break down the adhesive bond making scraping easier

Finally, scrape the “popcorn” off with a putty knife.

Photo Credit: Roskvape 

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How to Avoid Leaving Brush Strokes when Painting Furniture

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One of the most difficult parts of home improvement can be painting. If you’re not naturally artistically inclined, painting can be a challenge. You have to worry about drips, spills, paint bubbles, and keeping up with an even coat. One of the biggest problems that novice painters face is leaving brush strokes. If you’re painting walls, you will most like use a roller and you don’t have to worry, but for smaller projects like furniture, brush strokes can be hard to navigate. Painted Furniture Ideas has a list of tips to make your job easier:

  1. Add Floetrol
  2. Use a High Quality Brush
  3. Longer Bristles = Better
  4. Work in Sections
  5. Try a Roller
  6. Sand down spots with brush strokes

Photo Credit: Bev Sykes

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How to Stain Wood- 5 Awesome Tips from the Pros

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That awesome project you’ve been working on is finally almost done. Maybe you built a table, or have been trying to refinish that old dresser. Now, the last step is to stain the wood and give it that professional, glossy look. If you’re such a pro that you are building your own furniture, you probably have already mastered the basics. But, for those of us attempting our first or second projects, staining wood can be a bit more tricky than we imagined. Luckily for us staining noobs, Cheryl Spangenberg at That’s What Che Said has put together an amazing list of tips:

Calculate Your Square Feet and Figure Out How Much Stain You Need. If you need more than one container, always MIX THE CONTAINERS from the beginning to ensure that you have the same color throughout.

Be Prepared and get your materials ready before you begin.

Work in Small Areas You always want a wet leading edge– you don’t want the edge of your stain to dry and leave a dark mark.

Don’t Stain Wood When It’s Warmer than 90 Degrees F. It will make it dry faster.

Don’t Over Saturate Your Wood. Apply, wipe off any excess, and keep going.

Photo Credit: Mark Englebrecht 

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How to Paint Your Garage Floor

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For most people, the garage is only a storage area. You park your car there, stash your lawn mower and bicycles, and maybe have some tools lying around. It usually has concrete floors and white walls– for a reason. It doesn’t need to be fancy, right? Once you drop off what you need, you pretty much forget about it. However, that does not need to be the case! Garages don’t have to be drab and colorless. By spending some time and adding a little paint, you can customize it how you want. Painted Furniture Ideas can start you off with some tips on how to paint your garage floor:

  1. The first step is to purchase high quality paint or epoxy that is specifically designed for concrete. Using a paint not specifically for concrete will leave you with cracked paint that will peel off.
  2.  Before you start painting, it is important to thoroughly clean the floor. Remove any previous coats of paint then sweep the floor and scrub with soap and water.
  3. Seal the concrete
  4. Apply a Primer – The primer gives your paint a sturdy base to stick to.
  5. Apply paint
  6. Allow the floor to Cure.

Photo Credit: Supreme Crete

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