Holiday Surprises for the Family
In order to bring richer content to our readers, we have tied up with other bloggers to post as a guest.
Please welcome today's guest blogger Bob from
http://metalhandyman.com I look forward to the holidays because they remind me of wonderful childhood memories. I'm a pretty sentimental guy so when I get the chance to think back to those memories, I take advantage of the opportunity.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two big holidays I spend the most time preparing for. I enjoy spending time with my family and I make sure that my home has a few memorable surprises every time they visit. I've taken the liberty of jotting down some of the projects I've worked on in the past. These projects provided the right amount of excitement. I love the look on their faces when they come over!
1. Paint Job
Painting was probably the easiest and cheapest holiday project I worked on. I didn't paint my entire house green and red, but that was one of my initial plans. It was going to cost more than I thought to wrap my home in paper and bow. Instead I decided to paint my bathroom. It's the smallest room in the house and I knew that if I got sick of it, repainting the room would not be a huge problem. I sketched a few branches on large brown paper and taped them to a freshly painted white wall. I then painted over the paper with red paint. The result was a winter landscape against a bright red Christmas background.
2. Light Fixtures
In the past I've changed light bulbs in the kid's rooms to reflect the Christmas mood. I know it sounds corny, but green and red lights shining through the bedroom door made me laugh uncontrollably. A simple green tinted bulb can supply all the Christmas cheer you need. I also heard of a great DIY project involving wine bottles. These bottles are usually ornately designed so adding a few inches of LED lights inside a few of them can provide some interesting decoration. I'm stilling thinking whether or not I want wine bottles sitting around on my table. I saw an article about changing a light fixture so I've given thought to installing a special light fixture in the dining room. Maybe it will give our dinners a fancy feeling.
3. Kitchen
The kitchen is probably the most important room in your house for the holidays. It’s where everyone will gather. It’s where the kids will roll out sugar cookie dough, where your uncle will go for Thanksgiving Day game beers and where your mother will say the gravy is too lumpy. Don’t give anyone anything to criticize by giving your kitchen a quick update. Fresh paint on the walls can breathe new life into the kitchen. Or, if the cabinets are in good condition but about as stylish as big ’80s bangs, fresh paint and hardware on the cabinets can make them look as good as new. White is always a classic, or consider painting the upper and lower cabinets different colors for a contemporary look. New hardware – silver or matte black are very “au courant” – will finish the look.
4. Bathroom
I spent a few years as a plumber so the bathroom is my favorite place to make changes. One of the first projects I worked on was actually turned into a gift for my daughter. I placed
steel fittings around a mirror and surrounded it with LED lights.For me the bathroom is probably the the most important room for the holidays. My family sometimes stays over for entire weekends so I know the bathroom will be a busy place. I already mentioned the paint job idea I implemented before. Alternatively I thought about simply coordinating towel bars, wastebaskets, toothbrush and even toilet paper holders with holiday themes. I've also considered making general changes such as adding a new vanity and sink which can cost as little as $100. I'm most familiar with the shower and sink but I've never been able to think of anything fancy for the holiday. I saw an article about channel drain showers and thought about how amazing the looked. Maybe one of the models from
Quick Drain USA. They make the bathroom look incredibly modern. That's not really my style but I know my family would be so excited about it.
