What is the best method of staining wood?

Q. I just bought a kitchen table, four chairs, and a bench, all unfinished. I have never stained unfinished wood before. The type of wood is parawood. I've been told it is a "hard" wood and does not need any conditioning or pretreating before the stain is applied. Any tips or suggestions? TIA!

Answer
Sand it first. Those unfinished furniture places don't do a good job sanding. Wipe it down with a 'tack cloth'.

When you apply the stain, it doesn't matter how you put it on. The wood will only soak up as much as it will soak up. Wipe off excess before it dries. The longer the stain stays pooled in cracks and corners, the more will be absorbed in those places.

Lightly sand after stain has dried (24 hrs) with the highest grit paper you can get. (at least 220). Wipe with tack cloth.

Apply polyurethane. When it dries, rub it down with steel wool. The finer the grade, the better. Apply more poly.

The reason that you have to sand and use steel wool is that staining will raise the grain and make it rough. The poly will leave air bubbles and trap dust. The steel wool will smooth these out.

Could I build a child's picnic table from an old door?

meadowgirl

We just moved into an old house and I took several of the heavy wood doors off their hinges, as I didn't want doors on some of the rooms. Our kitchen, for example, has two large pantries. One I am converting into a breakfast/dining area for my children. I took the old door off of it, trying to find a way to repurpose it. I was thinking about using it as the top part of a picnic table. Does any one know if that will work or how to go about it? Any other ideas for what to do with them? They are great, just dont need them.
It has stain/varnish on it, but I would sand it down and make it smooth, removing all of it. Also, any suggestions on what kind of paint I could use to repaint it? It has to be safe for them and weather proof.

Answer
You should support the underside with 2" x 4" runners (treated). Do this on all 4 sides and miter the corners. Use deck screws for attaching 2"L will do it. Drill some 1/2" dia. holes through the top for rain water drainage. Paint the entire assembly with "Kilz". This is a primer/sealer for your 1st coat of paint.
Finish with a water based latex enamel (exterior) and apply 2 coats. You can pick up a folding leg assembly at your local building supply center. Or, you can build your own. The folding leg assy would be much lighter and easier for storing. All you have left now is the benches. Have fun!

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How to I set up this tiny one bdrm apt?

Nikki

My boyfriend and I are looking at moving into this tiny studio/ kinda one bedroom apartment because it's so affordable. But we have a lot of stuff and I have no idea how to make it function without a living room (or closets!).
We'd like to be able to have guests over, but they'd basically have to sleep on an air mattress in the kitchen. Does anybody have any ideas on how we could even get a sofa & tv in here, or are we going to have to spend the next year hanging out on the bed?
And what about storage? I love IKEA, but their full storage units are way too expensive and probably too big for the tiny "bedroom". Any ideas are appreciated.

Answer
I would build a storage bench for the side/corner of your kitchen and put some couch pillows on it. Then put a small table in front of the bench. You can use the bench for seating to eat at the table or as a couch to watch tv. Add a couple of folding chairs when you're having people over for dinner.

For the bedroom it's probably worth building/buying a platform bed with storage drawers underneath. And you can hang a closet rod from the ceiling in one corner of the bedroom for your hanging clothes. And of course you will want night stands with storage in them. I'd also add some wall shelves high above the head of the bed for books and stuff.

In the bathroom, a tall bookshelf between the door and the tub can hold all your linens and toiletries. Make sure it's a material that can handle the shower steam like the Ikea Ivar.

Does taking out a bedroom reduce your home value?

CamilleYun

I have a 900 sq ft ranch home - 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and a cubicle for a kitchen. It does have a full finished basement with a very large bedroom. I have been debating taking the wall out between my kitchen and one of the bedrooms and remodeling it into 1 large eat-in kitchen. Will this reduce the value of my home or will the remodeled kitchen/dining area compensate. When I say my kitchen is small, I mean SMALL, appr. 9 x 10, and NO DINING room. I can not get a full size table in it. I'm thinking anyone who needs 3 bedrooms will be turned off by the size of the kitchen, you can barely get 3 people in it. What do you think?
@ JR, yes, it is very small, the bedrooms are all about 10 x12, it is a 1950's era tract home. The 900 sq ft does not include the full finished basement. I joke that it's a bread box - bought the home for 40, 000, it is currently appraised for about 79,000. Bought in 2005 and planned to sell and then the market dropped off.
Will people consider the large bedroom in the basement as a 3rd bedroom? It has a window and closet. Myself, this would be good for pre-teens and teens but I wouldn't put my little one down there - on the other hand, If I had a couple of little ones I would forget about the house because a family of 4 can't even sit down in the kitchen

Answer
900 square feet is very small for a ranch ... I can't beleive it has 3 bedrooms! That being said, taking out a bedroom will probably drop your home value a little, depending on where you are, but more importantly, when a realtor or buyer does a search and limits the results to 3+ bedrooms, your home will not show up; thus it will likely take much longer to sell. Secondly, when a realtor lists bedroom numbers, they normally can not list a basement bedroom unless it has at least one full size window (not the kind at the top of the wall) and built in closets ... So you may potentially be reducing your bedroom number to only 1! Further, even if it does qualify, anyone with children will want to be on the same floor as their bedrooms, it's just something that needs to be done.

I do agree with you that the kitchen sounds small. Here are some alternatives to removing a bedroom. :)

Do some research on utilizing small living spaces ... most offer this basic advice ...
- Take out or open up walls; an open floor plan makes a place seem bigger. Puting "windows" through walls will work if you can't get rid of a wall. Make sure you are not removing any loadbearing walls.
- Use furniture that serves multiple purposes (like bench seats that have storage, or murphy beds, or a movable kitchen island)
- Use furniture designed for tight spaces (replace the dining room table with a booth arrangement in an underutilized corner)
- Paint an accent wall, it will add depth to a small area.
- Paint the ceilings and or the floors (if you have wood floors)
- In the kitchen, use open shelving instead of cabinets. It makes you keep your kitchen tidyer and really opens it up!
- Place mirrors at key spots (angled is best) so that rooms appear to go on and on.
- Large picture windows will make a space look much bigger, and if you are in a nice climate, adding french doors to a deck or patio that can be left open will also make the living space feel bigger.
- build in shelving for storage in any spot that is under utilized (like over doorframes or along stairs) and get rid of storage furniture.
- Use neutral toned, contemporary furniture with a few accents, which will open up floor space.
- if your kitchen has a pantry, move it elsewhere, either to a moving metal shelving unit, or maybe to built in shelves on the basement stairs, etc. Be creative!
- Stripes keep your eye going up and make a space feel larger.

You can do a google search for renovating small living spaces, or designing small living spaces and get a whole lot of ideas! It can be a real challenge, but also a lot of fun.

You might want to get in touch with a realtor just to get an opinion on what you could do to raise the market value of your home. They see what sells and for how much everyday, so they will know.

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