ELM DIY

07/25/2025

07/24/2025

Thailand launches airstrikes on Cambodian military targets as deadly border dispute escalates
.

Thailand has launched airstrikes against Cambodian military targets along their disputed border, in an escalation of their deadly border dispute. Follow for live updates

07/13/2025

The top of my kitchen cabinets have a layer of grease with dust stuck in it. How can I clean it
I tried using pinesol and it didn’t do much
From - Selah Harrison

07/13/2025

1935 Italian art deco bed.

07/02/2025

Floor Tile was laid in my bathroom today. I asked
that they be careful not to put all white tile
together. Be sure the marbling was spread through
out floor. White Tiles marked with red do you think
they are too close together? Would it be difficult
for them to change a tile or two tomorrow. They
had left by the time I was able to go ck after work
This is the entrance from the bedroom into
bathroom. Second picture is where vanities will
go and notice floor coloring in this area.

07/01/2025

Built a tiny spa shower, toilet and a forest view included!

07/01/2025

Not dumpster diving per se, but this antique hand painted French cabinet from the 1890s was part of the ""junk"" I was hired to remove from a house yesterday!

I run an estate cleanout service, and most days it's pretty depressing work. You see what people's lives get reduced to when their families just want everything gone. But yesterday, I walked into this old Victorian house and my jaw dropped.

The woman who hired me said her great-aunt had passed, and the family just wanted ""all that old junk hauled away"" so they could sell the house fast. They were going to pay me to take this gorgeous piece to the dump. The DUMP. I had to explain to them what they almost threw away.

This cabinet is hand-painted with the most incredible pastoral scenes - you can see little shepherds and sheep in those bottom panels. The craftsmanship is unreal. Everything is original, down to the curved glass and brass hardware. I've been in this business for twelve years, and I've never seen anything like it.

The family ended up letting me have it for the cost of removal, which is how I got the deal of a lifetime. But now I'm torn. Part of me wants to restore it properly and maybe sell it to someone who'll appreciate its history. But everyone keeps telling me I should paint it white or gray to ""modernize"" it for today's market.

I posted about it in the antique restoration groups on the Tedooo app, and I'm getting mixed advice. Some people say the original hand-painting is too valuable to cover up. Others say a fresh coat of paint would make it more sellable and functional for modern homes.

What do you think? Should I preserve this piece of history exactly as it is, or give it new life with a contemporary finish? I honestly can't decide, and I need some outside perspectives before I do something I might regret forever.

06/25/2025

Caps going on soon ⚒️

06/23/2025

Talk me into or out of pulling up the kitchen flooring to get to the original layer. The other 3 main rooms have original (pre-1900) oak flooring that was covered with a layer or two of carpet. I’m not super handy and don’t have money to hire someone to do it perfectly. The top layer is stick-on tiles that my late hubby did 24 years ago. I forget what it looked like underneath, but I’m certain there was some type of tile or linoleum.
Tips are welcome!
(Also, if you can’t say something kind, please keep scrolling!)

06/22/2025

This door was faded. I didn’t sand it just cleaned it and added gel stain and look at the difference. 

06/21/2025

I know something is off but I'm not good at this.

06/21/2025

Please help! Should I repaint the bottom gray color to the off white to have just one color on the wall This doesn’t look good to me. Thank you!