Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Things That Didn’t Work Like I Thought They Would

Cabinet hanging continues in the laundry room (details tomorrow!) so since yesterday’s post had a giveaway worked into it (we can’t believe over 25,000 of you took the poll, John is beside himself with infographic glee), I thought I’d share a quick post about three recent redos. Sometimes things get wonky when you least expect them to, and the second time ends up being the charm (at least you hope it is).

Redo #1. Our cork bulletin board in the office. Back when we made this a few months ago, we used Loctite Spray Adhesive, since the back specifically said it worked for bonding cork to wood. Well… the cork squares slowly started to pop off the wall. To be fair, the directions did suggest spraying both surfaces (since we didn’t want to spray it indoors on the wood backing, we just spayed the back of the cork outside and carried each square in and stuck it up). I’m not sure if that would have made the difference or not (we heard from a reader who sprayed both sides and still had issues with hers falling off) so I took down all of Clara’s art…

Cork Falling Off

… and added some reinforcement in the form of Aleene’s Tacky Glue on the back of each tile, along with a few tiny finish nails to hold the corners down (they’re so small they sink into the cork and can’t really be seen).

Glue Nails

So far, this method has been great, and the cork is staying put this time. Even when it’s super hot and humid.

Cork Back Together

Redo #2. Our red adirondack chairs out back. Remember when we bought these guys two years ago? We hoped that splurging for pro-painted chairs would hold up better than spraying some wood ones ourselves. These are our famous last words from that post: “Chairs that came pre-painted by the pros with polyurethane paint for protection against the weather, heat, and sunlight definitely appealed to us as something that would hopefully stand the test of time. Just didn’t want to spend less but end up with something that looked shoddy by next summer.” Well, they lasted more than one summer, but two summers later they were maaaajorly faded. Sometimes they looked ok in photos, but in real life (especially when the pillows were off) they were very sad indeed.

Adirondacks Before

It was clear they needed more protection and a fresh coat of paint to help restore their bright happy color and protect them from the elements.

Adirondacks Before Close

So I sprayed them with three thin coats of Gloss Protective Enamel by Rustoleum in their Regal Red color. It has a built-in primer and it’s meant for wood furniture that’s outdoors, so we hope it holds up well. Note: you can kind of see from the spray paint pattern on the cardboard that I flipped them over (resting them on the top of the seat and their arms) and sprayed their back/underside first, let that dry, and then stood them up to get all the other parts.

Adirondacks Spraying Process

The happy news is that they look like new!

Adirondacks After1

Only time will tell if this is going to be an every-few-years ritual, but I’m glad to have done it and seen great results (that always inspires me to do those “maintenance” things again down the line if I need to).

Adirondacks After Close

And now they match the red stool over near the egg chair, which is a nice bonus.

Egg Chair Red Stool

Redo #3. My little light-turned-terrarium. I showed you how I made it here, and how everything I planted gave up on me here…

HowYouLikeMe Terrarium Sad Face

… but some of you noticed that things looked less bleak in a recent post.

Paint Moodboard Detail

At the urging of some “I use fake ones in my terrarium!” comments, I grabbed a few faux succulents at JoAnn. I also noticed some pretty white aquarium rocks at the pet store while buying new food for Burger, so into my cart they went. Once at home, Clara and I had fun filling the glass case with white rocks and poking my fakers in there to hang out. Clara insisted that the deer should go back in there too, and five minutes later we had a finished product.

Terrarium After

I still have plants that need to be watered and loved (much like Michael Scott, they want me to fear how much I love them) but it’s nice to have something unkillable in the mix.

And now for a bonus. This isn’t really a redo, just a giant duh moment. A few of you eagle-eyes noticed I was painting a door sign waaaay back here while making little desserts for Clara’s tea parties, and correctly guessed it was going to be one of those “please don’t ring the bell – the baby is sleeping” signs for the front door.

Dessert Pic

Well, after painting the background white, it stalled for a few months. I had big plans for using a thin brush to paint pretty scripty words on it, but after staring at the blank white doorknob hanger on the kitchen counter for way too long I finally just grabbed a red sharpie and scribbled out a message. “There” I thought. “It’s not Pinterest worthy, but it’s done!”

And then I walked over to the front door to hang it… and realized we don’t have a doorknob on our front door.

Door Hanger

I laughed so hard there were tears, guys. How much of a duh moment is that? I mean I literally had months to reach this realization as the door hanger sat on the kitchen counter taunting my in its half-finished state… and yet… nada. So I Tim Gunned that sucker by hanging it over the door knocker. And you know what? It works. The sweet Fed-Ex guys just leave stuff instead of ringing the bell and setting off Burger The Barking Maniac. Just thought you guys would get a kick out of that. Feel free to pin your little heart out (insert winky face here).

The lesson for all of these redos? If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. Also, check your door for a knob before making a door-hanging sign.

Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint colors we used? Just click on this button: 

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Comments

  1. Jen says

    I was given a pretty “baby sleeping” sign for my front door at a shower. It’s a cute square of wood with a pretty ribbon and the nice scroll writing. So pretty…and it looks so nice hanging by it’s beautiful ribbon on my wreath hanger at my front door…and then the wind blows and it knocks against the door and the dog barks. ::facepalm::

    Your sign probably works better since it’s right at eye level instead of down on the door knob. A happy accident.

    Reply

  4. Allison says

    Love your blog and all of your great ideas! Just a note, they make a roll or cork that works MUCH better than the squares. I had a cork wall in my room behind my bedroom door in high school. The roll is about 3.5″ wide and the length can be cut to your specification. We got the cork at a local hardware store but you can probably find it on Amazon also.

    Keep up the inspiration!

    Reply

  5. Emily says

    I can’t believe that you haven’t invested in the spray paint handle sprayer yet. SO good! Saves your finger. Every.Single.Time!

    Fake plants are the best kind of plants! And these are inside glass, so you shouldn’t even have to dust them.

    Reply

  6. Allyn says

    I love your honest update posts. They’re the only reason I’m still considering buying a Karl sofa of our own, since he has never shown up on one of these posts.
    Still scared.

    Reply

  7. jenni o says

    saw several other people already mentioned that red will always fade. I often design outdoor banners, and red/pink is a big no-no for anything that will be up longer than a week. Warm colors will fade before cooler colors because of the difference in wavelengths emitted (red’s wavelength is weaker than blue’s). The science of color is fascinating, check it out!

    Reply

  8. Katie says

    I don’t remember if you put up something behind the cork to keep it from being permanent on the wall, but assuming you did — liquid nails works really really well to (permanently) adhere cork to wood. Typically that’s what is used for installing cork walls behind dart boards.

    Reply

  9. beth says

    Whew! Finally a post which makes me feel less of a failure. You home is truely gorgeous and I love your posts, yet I get overwhelmed at times thinking of the time/money/skill your projects involve. Thank you for sharing your re-dos and helping the rest of us see that nothing is perfect.

    Reply

    • Linda says

      Beth, you know one thing that always gives me ‘courage’ to start something…and, Sherry, don’t post this if you don’t want…is remembering that Sherry used the wrong paint the first time on her baseboards! And I continue to be in awe of how John’s carpentry skills have come along, but I bet back in New York City he wasn’t dreaming of really cool tile cutters.

      Somewhere, S&J mentioned trying to remember it’s really hard to ‘break’ your house. Most things we can make a mistake with, and fix…with the caveat that if electrical and plumbing is starting to look scary, no shame in hiring a licensed pro to do that!

  10. Erin C says

    So funny! I can relate..on the way home to our old apartment, I stopped and grabbed a microwave dinner and microwave popcorn at the store. I got home, took the dinner out of the box, and stood in the middle of my kitchen, slowly remembering that we had no microwave. Sooo no dinner, and no popcorn.

    Reply

  11. Sue Riggs says

    Love the re-dos! Makes me feel invincible, if you two can do it so can i! Or, at least, that is what I say to myself when I try something new. Which I will be doing in a few days, so I will be channeling you and John and saying, “If they can, I can” under me breath.
    Thanks again for all the (fun and games) and inspiration!
    Sue

    Reply

  12. Ruth A says

    So a bit of an odd comment but the last year or so you almost lost me as a reader, I just felt like you didn’t really love some of the stuff you’ve done and that some of the posts were a bit thin on the ground and there was a bit too much filler. I just wanted to say that the last week or two you have won me back to reading properly. It’s nice to be looking forward to my daily YHL fix again as opposed to the apathy I was feeling. Keep it up guys! :)

    Reply

  14. Carrie says

    Looking forward to tomorrow’s cabinet post, as I expect we will be doing ours this weekend! Thanks for the laugh, that is something I would do too, so I get it!

    Reply

  16. Christine says

    I love the Sleeping Baby sign! I wish I had thought of that so that when my son was younger. My husbands grandparents always showed up unannounced and got pretty offended when we’d ask them not to wake him up.

    Reply

  17. taria says

    Sometimes the re-do’s are more rewarding than the original project. I am a quilter and we often have design walls. The best I have found is piece solid foam insulation from HD. They are 4×8 sheets and can be cut down. Mine is covered with batting so fabric grabs but I also use pins. Covered with a cool fabric the stuff would make a pretty pin board. An easy alternative if the corks starts making a getaway again.

    Reply

  18. Wynn Anne says

    This may be one of my favourite posts ever. We all learn by failure and there is not a single person on the planet who hasn’t had to re-do something. So, amen, and keep up the good work!

    Reply

  20. Kristi says

    For our pinboard (inspired by Clara’s), we used Homasote, a compressed-paper product. I bought three 2×3′ sheets at Menards and covered them with fabric using a staple gun. Then we used four screws in each to screw them to the studs, covering up the screw heads with hot-glued on fabric covered buttons. Turned out so cute and the kids love having a spot to hang their masterpieces. Thanks for the idea!

    If the cork doesn’t work out, I highly recommend the Homasote. The only issue is that it is fairly stiff material so the kids (3 and 6) aren’t strong enough to push a pin in by themselves.

    Reply

  21. Erin port says

    Love your blog! I have a red chair on my front porch and have it had for about 5 years now. It seems it needs a little touch up every 2 years. It never fails that once I do it, what a transformation it makes!!! Keep up the great work!!! Cheers!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Those felt name banners are a little homemade surprise that a sweet reader sent us (thanks so much Jes!) as a welcome/big sister gift for Teddy and Clara. So sweet, right?!

      xo
      s

  23. Emily says

    Did you do anything to the chairs (like sand) before you spray painted them? Our outdoor adirondacks have a few chips… should I fix before I spray?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      If something is peeling or chipping it’s great to sand! These were just faded for the most part, so the built in primer + paint gave us a smooth result.

      xo
      s

  27. Kristi says

    Our dog barks at doorbells on the TV and he can’t read, so no sign can save me. What really makes that funny/infuriating is that we don’t even have a doorbell. No one’s at our door, Duke, our door doesn’t even make that sound!!!

    Reply

  30. Sayward says

    Yes! I was one of the people who owned up to be a total succulent failure and encouraged you to jump on my “fake craft store succulent train.” I’m glad it’s not just me!

    Reply

  31. BamaCarol says

    Just noticed the outdoor parade going on behind Burger in the egg chair. Looks like someone loves playing outside a lot! How cute is that?

    Reply

  32. Renee says

    The red chairs reminded me to ask – how are your Boston Ferns doing? I was inspired to add some greenery to my deck and realized they didn’t quite like the intense heat and sun my deck offers, so I had to make some modifications. Is your deck that sunny and did they do well? What do you plan to do with them once fall and winter come?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh my gosh, last year they loved it our there! This year they all fizzled. Not sure if it was dryer/hotter this year and I should have watered them or if we got a bad batch (they seemed a little droopy right when we got them…)

      xo
      s

  33. Katie D. says

    Thanks for keeping it real! This post encouraged me to get moving today on a project I’ve been putting off for quite some time. It feels so good to make some progress!

    Reply

  34. Amanda says

    Love this! You are hilarious — and the door knocker is something that I would totally have done as well. Haha!

    Reply

  36. EmJ says

    Not sure if anyone has suggested this before. My aunt and uncle have had a red door as long as I can remember. They got tired of re-painting it and finally took it to an auto shop. They painted it red, and it has really stood the test of time.

    Reply

  37. Serena L. says

    Ha! The doorknob story is hilarious! I may have found it so funny because that’s TOTALLY something I would do!!! ;) On another completely random, silly, hope-it’s-not-creepy-note, I totally had a dream last night that my husband and I were travelling and ended up staying at your house!! Except it didn’t look at all like the house that you actually live in. I remember thinking, “I always thought we could be friends in real life!” LOL!

    Reply

  40. Diana says

    This and all the comments has convinced me to skip real succulents and go straight to fake. I’m strangely excited about it.

    Reply

  42. Kary Glawe says

    Your door is too pretty to have that sign half hanging on there. I have one that’s so pretty from Etsy that I won’t be using again. It has a pretty little hanging ribbon and I’ve already glued foam on the back so it won’t clank against the door. If you want it just let me know and I’ll pop it in the mail!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      You’re too kind, Kary! I hate to make you ship it to us, but so appreciate the thought. Really it’s so sweet of you. And the foam backing is genius!

      xo
      s

  43. Jenny says

    At our house, I just put up a post-it next to the doorbell that read, “Shhhh! The baby is sleeping and in this household we observe a very strict ‘You wake her, you take her’ policy.”

    Reply

  44. Nicole B. says

    Have you heard of By the Yard? They are an outdoor furniture company based in Minnesota. I know Schneiderman’s Furniture (schneidermans.com) carries them and has great nationwide delivery rates. By the Yard includes outdoor furniture made of recycled milk jugs and are maintenance free. They have many colors to choose from and the color does not fade. If you have troubles with your adirondack chairs, maybe take a look at their site and see if you find something you like!

    Reply

  45. Jo @ To a Pretty Life says

    At least you didn’t set the house on fire while making the cork boards. I was about 6 when my mom did that. She was making cork boards in the basement with flammable glue…right next to the furnace pilot light. All four of us kids (and possibly a couple more from the neighbourhood) were in the room at the time. My older sister had been playing around with a car seat and was stuck in it when the whole board burst into flames. We all hightailed it up the stairs (my sister with the car seat strapped to her butt). No damage to the house, or even the pile of laundry next to the fire, miraculously. Just a few singed eyebrows.

    Your redone projects all look great! I love the glossy red chairs. The door sign is probably more effective on the knocker at eye level than it would be hanging on a doorknob.

    Reply

  46. Autumn Beach says

    WOOOOOW! 25,000 people?! That is a LOT of people! That is CRAZY! And those are just the people that actually took the survey! I guess I forget just how popular/famous you guys are. :) Does it ever hit you guys like that? So cool. I’m not even an infographic geek, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s completely nuts. We get all clammy if we think about numbers too much, so we like to pretend we’re writing to ten people. But every once in a while something like that happens (we expected to get around 1-2K responses, especially since the survey was so long) and it blows our minds. Same thing with the tour. Every single stop I was convinced there would be five people there. You guys are amazing.

      xo
      s

    • Autumn Beach says

      LOL! You crack me UP, Sherry! I’m seriously sitting here with a big ol’ grin on my face, because – well, I just can’t imagine!! It’s pretty awesome. And your fans are amazing, because YOU guys are amazing! It’s a responsibility that you guys have handled with so. much. grace. Which is just one of the many reasons why we all keep coming back. And take seven-page surveys! :)

  48. Nancy says

    I also had trouble with a cork board wall too. I ended up taking it down and doing chalk paint.
    Thanks for your idea about fake succulents and where to buy them. I’ve been dying to do a terrarium, but I am a serial killer when it comes to indoor plants.

    Reply

  49. Jill says

    Would love to know what is on your door – I work from home and the doorbell is a big issue. I’ve see some cute on Pinterest love to make is smaller like you have.

    Thanks,
    Jill

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s just a wood door hanger I got from JoAnn (I painted it white and used a red sharpie to scribble a “sleeping baby” message). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  50. Beth says

    I made one of those signs when my son was a baby. He’s now 5 and I still leave it up because I don’t get any solicitors or unwanted visitors that way! I love it!

    Reply

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