Mini DIY Hacks for Every Corner of Your House

In a behind-the-scenes video from our most recent Install, Sonia caught me crawling all over the family room floor as I taped down the curled edge of a new rug. (Side Note: behind the scenes photos and videos from Install Days, and otherwise, can be found on our Instagram stories) On a project’s Install Day, when all the furniture is placed and the decor is styled, we swoop around the room like little house fairies and take care of all sorts of functional needs, including curled rug edges.

An Instagram follower saw the video and messaged us asking what kind of tape we used/recommended. She didn’t realize that there is a specific type of tape that is designed to solve this curly edge problem. It got us thinking that of all the mini hacks we use on Install Day. So, today we’ve dedicated a whole blog post to these little tricks - some of them will take you 30 seconds to completely and totally change your life. Everything is linked and shoppable!

Level with Ruler - Did you know there are rulers that have a built in level? If hanging a gallery wall is in your future, you need this. It will make the job 1000 times easier than shifting back and forth between a bad measuring tape and a regular level.

Magic Eraser - The magic of a Magic Eraser is real. When a spray cleaner fails, a Magic Eraser won’t. We find them especially useful for little marks on the wall.

Cabinet Bumpers - For cabinet doors that get a lot of use from kids, clear bumpers are a great precaution. You put the tiny bumper on the inside of the door and it prevents the door from banging against the frame when it’s shut a little too hard.

Furniture Leg Pads - These guys go on the bottom of furniture legs to prevent the legs from scratching the floor. They also make furniture really easy to move around because it can (typically) just slide across the floor.

Mini Steamer - This handheld steamer is great for getting rid of curtain wrinkles.

Big Steamer - For linen curtains, the mini steamer won’t do it unless you’ve had them ironed/steamed before hanging them. This guy will be much more helpful.

Command Strip Velcro - We are obsessed with these. They have so many uses. We recently used them in the little boy’s bedroom in our Prospect Project to hang decor the wall as part of a gallery wall (the mini oar in the photo below). We also use them in addition to more traditional frame hangers. The traditional nail and hook is used to hang the frame and then the Command Strip Velcro is put on the back of the frame to prevent the frame from wiggling around on the wall when curious hands are tall enough to reach them.

Rug Tape - This is the brand we use. It does the job and doesn’t leave a mark on the floor.

Rug Pad - The trick to a great rug pad is the felt/rubber combination. Felt to cushion and rubber to prevent slipping.

Picture Hanger Kit - We love this kit because it includes wire. Using wire to hang a frame, versus just a hook through built-in loop, gives a bit of leeway if you hang the hook too high or too low.

Lint Brush - For clients with pets, a quick lint brush on a sofa cushion handles it. If you have a coffee table with a drawer, it’s a great place to store it.

Furniture Repair Marker Kit - We recommend this to our clients with young families for post Install Day life. Inevitably, a nick in the finish of furniture will happen. This “repair” kit is basically a set of really nice markers in a range of “wood stain” shades. They work shockingly well to hide nicks and scratches.

Plant Pot Tray - Putting large plants and mini trees in oversized baskets is one of our favorite moves. This means that the plant/tree stays in its plastic nursery planter and the whole planter is then placed inside a basket. (Design/Plant Lady Tip: It’s good to leave plants and trees in their nursery pots for at least a few months. They are shocked at the change of environment and transferring them immediately could create further trauma). But, nursery planters have holes in the bottom. These trays handle any water overflow.

We hope you find something on this list useful to improve a small, everyday household annoyance. Because small problems that you deal with everyday are actually huge problems!

- Leah

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Gray Oak Gives Back - Our Deserving Client

At last we want to share some details on the amazing woman at the center of our Gray Oak Gives Back project.

We first met our Gray Oak Gives Back client, officially, at the end of September. We had known her before that as a true super fan - always commenting on our Instagram posts and showering us with compliments in our messages. A kind stranger who liked what we were doing, which totally and completely touched us. Over the summer, she hired us for a Designer for a Day package and in late September we arrived ready to provide guidance and inspiration for a planned living room transformation.

We walked around her house and learned how after living with the home’s original (1938) fireplace, 34-year-old wallpaper, original light fixtures and decades old furniture she was finally planning a DIY overhaul. And with what little she had, she wanted to be sure we provided our two cents.

As we talked through the project and got to know her a bit, we learned that her daughter was diagnosed with NF as a child. NF stands for Neurofibromatosis. It’s a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form throughout the nervous system (learn more here). It’s a difficult, scary disease as you’re in a constant state of waiting and checking to see if a tumor is forming. Eventually, a tumor did form and it caused cancer.

While the end of the story is happy - our client’s daughter is a happy, healthy, successful 30-something - listening to our client recount just the vaguest of details about her parenting experience deeply affected us. Sonia and I are both mothers to three young children. We are acutely aware of how difficult it is to parent a healthy child with relatively boring issues (runny noses, bad sleep habits, a penchant for drawing on walls with crayons…). Imagining the added layer of something like NF hit home and, frankly, took our breath for a moment.

But our client had never paused to take a breath. She took action in every way she could to nurture and protect her daughter. Nine years ago, she founded the Coast to Cure NF Bike Ride, an annual bike ride to raise money for NF research. Every year, she coordinates each aspect of the ride from finding sponsors to placing route marker flags the night before the ride. And her efforts have raised over $800,000.

What’s truly amazing is that our client’s role as an advocate for NF awareness and research is only a slice of who she is. She is one of these people who does for everyone in her life. For no other reason than she enjoys giving. And so, when we heard her story, we instantly knew that we wanted to give something to her. She is so deserving and we’re just thrilled to be making it happen.

Speaking of - here is the latest on the what’s happening front:

The electrical work 90% there. Here’s a reminder of the plan. First, get rid of the sconces on the back wall. Second, add recessed lighting. Third, move the sconces over the mantel out a bit. They were too tight to the center of the mantel and visually shrinking the fireplace.

BIG thank you to Hanson Electric (Peter and Andy are the best!) for doing this work. They donated their time and were wonderful to work with. Check out the (grainy phone) photo below that shows all the progress!

Next stop is paint. We’ll be back onsite later this week to make final decisions on colors. Keep checking our Instagram stories for all the behind the scenes. AND, we’re busy pinning and planning on Pinterest - remember that you can follow along and watch our ideas unfold there. AND, we’re still collecting furniture and decor donations, so if you’re interested in joining the heart warming fun please reach out (hello@grayoakstudio.com)!

This is such a special project and SUCH a special client. Thanks for being a part of this transformation. It’s gonna be a good one.

We hope to be back in 2 weeks with another update- stay tuned!

-Leah

Gray Oak Gives Back

We have a truly awesome announcement for you.

Since establishing Gray Oak Studio in 2017, we have been fortunate to grow our business tremendously and so much of our success is thanks to the support of our local community. Every word of mouth recommendation, every follow on our Facebook page and like on our Instagram posts, every encouraging word in the grocery store check out line by someone who heard through the grapevine about our leap of faith venture. All of it made us feel supported and encouraged and motivated. We are truly lucky to come from such a wonderful place.

This month, as a thank you to all the inspiring and supportive community members, we are kicking off an annual initiative: Gray Oak Gives Back. We are donating our design services to worthy project - someone truly deserving of a beautiful room transformation. And after finishing a design consultation earlier this month, we knew we had found our special person and our special project.

Okay, so let’s dive into the project itself. It’s a living room and the layout is…interesting. Below is a relatively accurate Birdseye view.

Like many older New England homes, there was no TV wall considered in the design. Eighty years ago (this house was built in the 1938), TV wasn’t the time-sucking, oh-so-magical vice that it is nowadays. But, like most modern living rooms, this room needs a TV. And to make that happen we have to contend lots of windows, doors and a large fireplace. More on this layout dilemma to come in the weeks ahead.

The TV is currently in a corner…and we don’t love this plan though we understand why our Client landed with this option. We’re not 100% ruling out the possibility of keeping it here, but we’re at a 90%.

The fireplace has the potential to be an amazing focal point, but it’s looking a bit underwhelming at the moment between the original (Yes, original.) brass door, the red brick surround and the dated details in the wood mantel. Oh, and the hearth. The red tile hearth, sigh. We got big plans for this guy.

This room is also covered in very old wallpaper with original wall sconces instead of overhead lights.

And the furniture is several decades old…several.

So, here is our list of To Dos for this transformation:

• Remove wallpaper and paint the walls

• Remove old sconces and add recessed lighting

• Relocate old sconces above fireplace

• Update fireplace - new hearth, new surround and maybe a couple other tweaks…

• New window treatments

• All new furniture - sofa, armchairs, coffee table, media console, rug

• New decor

Here’s the really fun part, we have started a Pinterest page with all of our inspiration and ideas for this project. Please check it out. Leave comments. We would love for you to follow along as we create this special space. And stay tuned for more information on our amazing client. So much fun to come.

- Leah + Sonia

PS - We have a video tour on our Instagram highlights if you want to get a better feel for the room!