One relatively minor thing that can make a nice room look disheveled is exposed cables and cords (well, that, and a hungover friend sleeping over on the couch. Ruins the picture every time.). Unfortunately, cable, phone and electric outlets aren’t always situated where we’d like them to be. This often means that a snake of cables from the wall outlet to your electronics is necessary. People can deal with it in a number of ways; just let them sit there, ready to be tripped on; staple them to your baseboard (which, if you’re not careful enough, can cause damage to the cord that can actually be quite dangerous); or use little sticker hooks to keep them in a spot on the floor or wall (I am, of course, referring to cables and cords – not your hungover friend on the couch). [click to continue…]
baseboards
When we moved into our first place, my in-laws were generous enough to gift us with some much needed baseboards. While my father-in-law is a fairly handy type, my husband and his brother are … well, let’s just say when they were growing up, they spent more time playing Super Mario Brothers than helping out in the ol’ garage (should anyone ever need someone to jump on an evil mushroom, these are your men).
With the “help” of his sons, my father-in-law got to work. Unfortunately for him (and our neighbours who had to put up with the intermittent shriek of the miter saw all day), the job took a bit longer than anticipated. The corners and edges in our home weren’t quite 90 degree angles of perfection. In fact, they were a little more this way … a little less that way – you know, whichever. And the direction given by my husband and brother-in-law on the angle to cut was also less than ideal. [click to continue…]
