We’ve had a few moments lately where I’ve thought to myself, “self, this is not ideal.” And you know we like sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly around here, so here are three things that fall into the latter two categories.
First we have this page I saw in Domino magazine with a mixture of black and white frames, which inspired me to add some black frames to the grouping over our TV in the living room (initially I was leaning towards a few black mats and some darker art).
So I thought I’d be clever and use black electrical tape on the front of a few of our frames to “get the look” without breaking out any paint (or committing to anything permanent, in case I hated the result).
About a half-hour later I had some really fun black-fronted frames (I like the contrast of the white on the side) and even cut the tape into eight 3-inch strips to make the corner detail on that frame in the top right.
They definitely helped to tie into the dark TV and in general I was pretty proud of myself for a while there.
And then a few days later I noticed it. The tape was puckering up and peeling and generally just looked terrible. Maybe washi tape is cool for projects like these, but electrcial tape…? No dice. It seems that it shrinks up over time and literally pulls itself right off the corners and eventually falls on the floor in a jumbled mess. It only took a few days for some of the frames to completely detach. But that wasn’t the worst part. Some of the glossier frames were unscathed, but the chalkier white matte frames ended up with black smudges on them from the tape. Boo! I tried some Goo Gone on a few of them and it didn’t seem to work, so I’m thinking I’ll break out the Magic Eraser and see if that does. If not, I’ll be re-painting these bad boys to get them back from their smudged and dirty looking state.
So let that be a lesson to you. Washi tape or black paint or even contact paper might have worked, but electrical tape = no bueno. Onto the next oops moment! Remember when we posted about how we have transplanted this maple tree in our last three homes? It’s an offshoot from a gorgeous maple at John’s childhood home and was a gift from his parents to us in our first house that we’ve moved with us each time. When we wrote that post, all was well in Mapleville, and it was looking like this…
But maybe it just took the deer a few weeks to decide that they wanted to have it for brunch? We never quite caught them in the act, but over the following weeks we noticed it was looking less full and a little nibbled, especially down below. Noooo! We didn’t want to lose this tree baby of ours, so we ran out to Home Depot and grabbed some black netting to throw over it. We’ve seen neighbors deter deer in the same way (we chatted a few of them up about what didn’t work for them as well, which was everything from human hair and Irish Spring soap to deer sprays and – cringe – animal urine). So since the black netting was neighborhood approved, we went straight for that.
And I’m happy to report that this oops has a happy ending, because the deer don’t seem interested in the maple anymore, and you can only see the netting if you’re literally about an inch away from the tree (it’s on in the shot below, but it’s nearly impossible to see). So… so far, so good.
The cool thing is that there are a ton of healthy bigger maples in our neighborhood that the deer don’t bother at all (they only nibble low branches that they can reach) so we’re holding out hope that in a few years our tree will be all “haha, you can’t reach me!” to those deer, and we can free it from its netted prison.
For our third act, we have the biggest “bad” in this group. Especially since I’m a paranoid prego person. LEAD! I don’t know if it was mommy intuition or what, but something in my head kept saying “check the doors in the dining room for lead, since those metal frames around each pane look suspect”). It was probably because there was a black powdery dust in the cabinets when I wiped them down back when we moved in (which in my head said “wait, if that’s coming off the metal frames, I should test those because it’s clearly not staying contained). We don’t hang out in there much at all (maybe once a month) and Clara doesn’t play there and we don’t store anything in those cabinets yet, but I still wouldn’t put something dangerous in two corners of a room and say “heck, we don’t hang out in there much so it’s fine.” So I guess that realization is what drove me to break out a lead test kit.
I love these things. They’re cheap from Home Depot and you just snap them and shake them and then rub the tip on any surface that you want to test for lead. I, being the super-freaked-out-by-potentially-dangerous-things person that I am, never touched the metal grates around the glass during testing (I didn’t want to actually get any potential lead dust on my hands or anything) so I just let the stick touch them for me as I rubbed them gently for a quick test. Within about ten seconds…
…they came up positive. Ahhh! If the test stick stays white or turns slightly yellow, it’s negative, but if it’s pink or red (or in this case, neon red) you got some serious lead on ya hands.
It was this strange feeling of “gotta wash my hands even thought I didn’t touch it!” and “I KNEW it! For some reason I just knew it!” – so the doors have since been removed by John and placed in the corner of the garage that Clara and Burger can’t even access if they wanted to (they’re blocked in by a bunch of other buckets). Update: As for what we’ll do with the doors, we’re hoping to find an antiques vendor who knows how to handle lead to see if they’re interested instead of sending them straight to the hazardous waste area of our recycling center (I hope someone who knows how to safely seal them or rebuild them will rescue them).
Another update: When it comes to lead paint (both of our previous houses had it) the recommendation is usually just to paint over it with fresh paint to seal it in, but in this case we worried that black dust in the cabinets was lead dust, so we didn’t want it falling all over our cabinets and the floor to be breathed in by anyone since the two main ways to get lead poisoning are 1) by ingesting it or 2) by inhaling lead dust. We also realized if we ever wanted to store serving dishes and platters in those cabinets, they could end up with lead dust on them if the doors stayed, which sounds like a bad time.
John also wiped down all the shelves and the floor and the walls around the doors with TSP, just to be safe (you can read more about lead safety/testing/protocols, etc here).
Thankfully we’ve seen pretty corner built-ins without doors (like these over on A Beautiful Mess) so we still hope to make those cabinets over someday, and in the meantime, it’s nice to know there’s not any lead lurking in the corners of the dining room anymore. Any oops moments going on at your house? Are you breaking out the black netting or some magic erasers to remedy them? Do they tend to happen in threes to you too?
djs says
If you liked the leaded glass, you could use them by taping off the glass and painting a clear coat over the metal to seal it. They are in a place where they don’t get a lot of handling so the clear coat should last a long time. Just a suggestion.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! I think now that they’re off we both prefer the more open feeling in there, but it’s good to know.
xo
s
Hillary says
Does Domino still publish a magazine?! I was so bummed when they canceled it years ago. Looking at their site I don’t see anywhere to sign up to receive them.
By the way, LOVE your posts!
YoungHouseLove says
They have a new one now but it just comes out four times a year and it’s only available on newsstands. It’s kinda pricey too ($12 I think) but it was fun to see again.
xo
s
Donna O. says
Since they were leaded glass doors and up higher than a toddler could reach, I think I would have tested the black dust to see if it actually came from the lead. A lot of older homes have black dust from the type of heating in the house.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the heat tip Donna! I wiped up the black dust when we moved in four months ago (some more came back but not enough to test when the doors came up positive) but because it was inside of the closed built-ins and not anywhere else in the house (not on moldings, baseboards, counters, in the kitchen cabinets or living room built-ins, etc) I don’t believe it’s from our heating system (we have natural gas heat).
xo
s
sarah @makingitmyhome.blogspot.com says
my boyfriend is an electrician and i am constantly dealing with the remnants of black electrical tape all over things. its a b*tch to deal with!
Kim-in-the-Cove says
You are smart — it’s not worth having to worry about lead. Can’t wait to see what you do with those built-ins!
Haven says
Wait…whaaa? Electrical tape on frames? Lol
Gabi says
It’s so funny that you mentioned the Magic Eraser, because I went around the house with one this week and cleaned all the white trim. I meant to write and ask you guys a question about it. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I’m noticing that the places where I revisit with Eraser the most (door to the garage, front door, and half-wall ledge at the top of the stairs where I stage stuff stuff to go down) are really starting to show paint wear. Does the Eraser really break down the paint over time? I’ve probably only done it about four or five times since we’ve been here.
YoungHouseLove says
From what I understand it’s like a very fine sanding (so it does rub down the surface). It can take the shine/poly off stuff and can definitely rub down paint if you put some muscle into it and use it multiple times I would think. I wonder if you just use some touch up paint in those spots once a year or so (storing some in a jar so it’s easy to break out and spread every fall or something) might be a nice fix?
xo
s
Gabi says
Thanks! Sounds like a plan :)
Kristine says
I’ve used Milorganite to deter deer. Milorganite is a natural fertilizer safe for pets and kids. I sprinkle the black pellets around the edges of bed plantings (but have not tried trees) and they leave everything alone, even the hostas.
Kristine says
I thought I’d better do a quick look on Milorganite to make sure it is really safe and of course there are mixed reviews. I will look more closely at the label and review its use even though it works like a charm to deter the deer from eating my plants.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kristine!
xo
s
lizkayl says
So… what happens when you have a bunch of helpers and somehow a wall gets painted BEFORE the spackle is sanded down? Do you sand down the paint afterwards? Remove the paint, sand/respackle and try again?? I’m at a loss. But, the lumpy wall look is not my favorite.
YoungHouseLove says
You can usually still sand it’s just harder and you might need lower grit paper. Hope it helps!
xo
s
felicia says
Great post — love the results with the black tape. Unfortunately, the electrical tape did exactly what it’s supposed to do: expand when you pull it off the roll and then slowly contract, making a tight seal around the electrical connections. Not useful for decorative purposes but great for electrical work. :) Also, Mikal is right about things growing through the nets. If you can handle the aesthetics, one solution is to drape the net over posts with cans on top of them (to keep the posts from sliding through the nets) instead of draping it directly on the tree. You can also cut open pink rubber balls or tennis balls to make the pole tips.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip!
xo
s
Shelley @ Green Eggs and Hamlet says
So disappointed that the electrical tape didn’t work out, I sure love the way the black frames and embellishments looked. Thanks for sharing your oops moments; it’s always nice to know that not everything works out (even though it’s a bummer) and you’re keeping it real.
Morgan says
Hi! I am new to your blog and would love to know where you found the amazing white turtle shell in the pictures above! I just read through every comment and not one person inquired about it, but I LOVE it!
Also, as I said I am new to your post, but I was wondering if you take requests on topics to cover. My fiance and I are about to purchase our first home together. A true “fixer-upper.” We are so excited to make this house our “home” together, but I was wondering if you have any tips on necessary tools that you think are absolute requirements when renovating a home. For example, the lead testing kits. I never even knew they existed. I was just curious if you have a list compiled somewhere. Thanks in advance! LOVE LOVE your blog and it is sure to be an inspiration over the next year. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the post request Morgan! Will add it to our list. And as for that faux turtle shell, it’s from Target a while back. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Erin says
Sometimes those oops moments are a pain in the butt, however, finding that lead and taking care of it will make you safer, so I’d say that was a great OOPS!
kathy says
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_oil
Buy a little 100 ml bottle from the chemist or supermarket. Any sticky thing that won’t come off just rub it with this. eg sticky labels sometimes you can take the label off and the sticky glue seems to stay behind and you can’t wipe it off. Eucalyptus Oil is a must for this type of thing. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia (PS my 9 year old used it this morning to get the sticky stuff off his pacer pencil).
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip!
xo
s
Meg says
Lead came can oxidize, which may be the dust you’re seeing inside the cabinet, having the lead repatinated will likely fix this problem. But given your concern, not all came is made of lead! You can purchase (or have any glass studio) remake the doors with copper or zinc came – although the doors aren’t valuable antiques, it’d be a shame to get rid of one of the more charming original features of your house. Good Luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip Meg!
xo
s
jessica says
wait what Domino magazine is back?
YoungHouseLove says
They have a new one now but it just comes out four times a year and it’s only available on newsstands. It’s kinda pricey too ($12 I think) but it was fun to see again.
xo
s
Kathy says
We live in Fredericksburg (north of you) on a heavily wooded lot and have deer all over the place. I’ve heard from some of the locals that when deer hunting season starts (with firearms) on Nov 16th, the deer will disappear into deeper woods for a while. In the meantime, I send my husband out to “mark his territory”, which seems to help a little. At least they haven’t totally decimated my hostas (yet!).
Lou says
I can’t wait to see how you guys accesories those built-ins in your dining room. We have ones just like that (also no windows/panels) and have NO idea what to put in there, if we should paint the back, remove the wood wavey frame around it… decisions decisions
Love Tee says
Arrrgh–dang deer!
My dear husband planted a beautiful backyard garden in our South Carolina home–and when it bloomed, we noticed that many of the crops were, um…disappearing. Everything but the jalapenos. After planting a surveillance camera covertly in the back window, we found the culprit(s)–a bunch of freaking deer getting down in our garden! It did give us the motivation to patch those 2 loose fence boards, though…
Like I said: ‘Dang deer!’
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, those sneaky deer!
xo
s
Penny Smith says
I know it isn’t the first time you have linked back to Elsie’s site… but it is still weird when my scrapbooking design world collides with, well, anything else. At least that is where I first met Elsie-when she had a line of scrapbooking product. with KI Memories. Love her fresh ideas and fun crafts! The fabric in the inside of the cabinets is adorable!
Jess says
One of those Magic Erasers might get the black goo off your frames…those things work on everything!
Allison H. says
Just saw some cute, doorless corner built-ins on The Inspired Room from Southern Living.
http://theinspiredroom.net/2011/10/29/dining-rooms-holiday-entertaining/
YoungHouseLove says
So gorgeous! Love it so much!
xo
s
Erin says
This would be a GREAT opportunity for your readers to better understand what all can be contaminated with lead. Christmas lights and many artificial trees and decorations are coated with lead- literally, the wires of holiday lights are incredibly dangerous for kids to handle and even adults should wash hands after hanging. It kills me to see how many Pinterest inspired pics are taken of small children wrapped in holiday lights. There are dozens of helpful articles that can be found in a quick google search about lead in light strands and holiday decorations. I bet this post made people stop and consider their homes’ lead safety without realizing and many of those well-meaning people may very well unknowingly wrap their kids in the stuff this holiday season.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow, thanks for spreading the word Erin!
xo
s
Kelli Fox says
I’m a little confused.. what was the lead on? the paint? were the doors metal? or was it the glass in the doors? sorry i’m lead illiterate!
YoungHouseLove says
The metal grates between the glass panes have lead. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Kaileo says
You’re totally over-reacting about the lead that holds the glass together! It’s fine to have it in your home, provided you don’t have kids obsessively licking it. It’s safe to put back up your doors. If it wasn’t safe, they would have banned the use of it long ago…however you can still buy new leaded glass doors and windows today.
Leaded glass amongst food consumption is a different story, however, and a real danger.