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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Decorate Your Home » Elbow Grease and White Paint

Elbow Grease and White Paint

by Lindsay Ballard on March 19, 2013 13 Comments

Last week, I came across a darling mini house on the CB2 website.  The plywood structure, called Ben Holiday House, is modeled after a project artist/architect Ben Holiday put together when he was in architecture school.

Refurbished Ben Holiday House via CB2.com | Makely School for Girls

The mini house stands less than a foot tall (we’re not talking dollhouse size here), so I thought it would be a fun item to add to a bookcase or a styled vignette.  Plus, it reminded me a litte of some of my favorite modern homes in Austin.

Tom and I have a secret dream about living in one of these Austin modern homes near downtown one day.  We love to drive around these neighborhoods and oooh and ahhh at their shapes and color palettes, as they are such a far cry from our current suburban home in a planned community.  Many of these modern homes are just a stones throw away from our favorite stomping grounds.  Whether they are strictly newly built modern dwellings or remodeled mid-century designs with a modern flair, we love them all.

Austin Modern Homes | Makely School for Girls604 Live Oak by Architect Steve Zagorski (I’d do bad things to own one of the modern homes he’s designed.)

Austin Modern Homes | Makely School for GirlsOne of my favorites  – 504 East Annie by Tom Hurt and Minguell-McQuary.  (Check out the images in the Tom Hurt link.)

Austin Modern Homes | Makely School for Girls969|Agave Neighborhood – Address unknown – This is a new popular modern, green neighborhood.

Austin Modern Homes | Makely School for Girls1012 Harwood Place B by Riverside Homes

Austin Modern Homes | Makely School for Girls3202 Santa Monica – former home of Austin photographer and blogger Heather Banks. She and her husband sold this home and are renovating another now, and I can’t wait to see it!  They have a great eye for color, and I’m obsessed with this house – check out these interior shots.

Needless to say, they are all a weeeeee bit out of our price range.  Plus, it’s not like we are moving anytime soon.

Okay, so back to the Ben Holiday House.  I decided to order it to have as a representation of my own little modern home dream.  It’s been marked down from $50 to $20, so I thought it would be a fun and inexpensive piece.

When the box arrived, I was so excited.  I opened it and suddenly understood why the price had been slashed.  It looked like it had been assembled by a monkey.  Perhaps a monkey could have done a better job.  There was glue everywhere.  The plastic windows were cracked.  The pieces of plywood framing the windows were not exactly straight.  I should have believed the negative reviews the house had gotten online.

I boxed it up to send back to CB2.  But then I realized that by the time I paid for shipping back to them, I wouldn’t really be getting much money back.  So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I popped out the windows and scraped off as much of the excess glue that I could.  It immediately made a big difference.

Refurbished Ben Holiday House | Makely School for Girls

Because I could still see some of the glue, I decided that the house needed a coat or two of paint to cover it.  I went ahead and primed and painted it white.

Refurbished Ben Holiday House | Makely School for Girls

Huge difference.  This little house had a new lease on life.  It was still missing something, though.

Refurbished Ben Holiday House | Makely School for Girls

Bam!  Perfection.  Every little house needs its own personal King Kong.

I guess I’m destined to make every house my own, whether I live in it or simply with it.  Whether you prefer traditional, modern or somewhere in between, a lot of things can be fixed with a little elbow grease and a coat of paint.

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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Comments

  1. Jen says

    March 19, 2013 at 9:20 am

    A coat of paint made all the difference. LOVE the King Kong addition!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 21, 2013 at 7:25 am

      Thanks, Jen! My daughter thinks it’s a toy now, though. I keep finding King Kong inside the house!

      Reply
  2. Wendi G says

    March 19, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Just love your determination…although these styles of house aren’t my particular taste (those little faux adobe Spanish modern houses that dot Southern California make my heart go pitty-pat) I think what you did with your ‘lemonade’ model made all the difference…looks wonderful!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 21, 2013 at 7:26 am

      Oooh, those Spanish homes are pretty, too! I love Spanish tile roofs.

      Reply
  3. Stephanie B says

    March 19, 2013 at 11:14 am

    I agree…the paint made a world of difference and King Kong brought his own unique personality to the whole mix! Too funny! I personally adore the tiny English cottages…the smaller the better! Sloping roof lines, cozy rooms, etc…that’s me in a nutshell! Thanks for the lighthearted post!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 21, 2013 at 7:27 am

      Oooh, and don’t forget the mounds of pink roses – so pretty! I could never live in an English cottage, because I can’t grow anything to save my life. Ha!

      Reply
  4. Linda Weeks says

    March 19, 2013 at 4:13 pm

    Absolutely! Now it looks more like you… well, maybe that’s not what I meant – but since you added a little Linsay to it, I like it much better!! I bought a shelf online once that looked very modern and hip, but once I saw it in person, I was shocked that anyone would have tried to sell it…. poor construction, extra glue… and when I hung it on the wall, it wasn’t even close to straight! So, you know what I did? Something clever and resourceful? No! I gave it to goodwill. Maybe somebody else had a clever idea for it.
    But now, I’ll have to reconsider that method. Thanks again, Mz. Lindsay!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 21, 2013 at 7:28 am

      I’ve given plenty of things away like that, too. And then a few weeks later, I realize how I should have used it. Doh! Thanks for the little story, Linda!

      Reply
  5. Erin says

    March 19, 2013 at 7:12 pm

    King Kong is perfect and just made me almost flood my keyboard with coffee.

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 21, 2013 at 7:32 am

      Ha! I’m glad I don’t owe you a new keyboard. I’ll have to keep working on it. 😉

      Reply
  6. Mary K says

    March 19, 2013 at 8:42 pm

    You’re so awesome! LOVE King Kong! “Twas Beauty Killed the Beast…”

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      March 21, 2013 at 7:32 am

      Thanks, Mary!

      Reply
  7. Danny says

    April 7, 2013 at 9:41 am

    You turned that $20 piece into a master piece…and I love the King Kong addition, nice personal touch. We also have a terrible habit of driving around and dreaming of beautiful houses in a suburb not to far from us. The ones you have here is amazing. Well done on the mini house.

    Reply

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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