Tag Archives: benjamin moore

EP135: ON THE ROAD! The Center Punch, Home Repair Services, and Fun Design!

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Segment 1: Automatic Center Punch

There are a lot of tools that get ZERO fanfare! They’re not flashy. They’re not fun and exciting. They’re not powered by huge motors or batteries. But they do their job in an unassuming manner and move on to the next project. One of those is an automatic center punch. It’s a simple tool that is designed to quickly and easily pop a small divot in a surface so you can drill holes without having the drill bit “walk away” from the spot you wanted to drill.

It looks like a steel pen and you just place the point on the exact spot you want the hole and push. It’s spring loaded and pops a small divot into the surface quickly and easily.

Segments 2 and 3: Home Repair Services

Being out and about in Grand Rapids, we were thrilled that Joel Ruiter was willing to meet with us on the spur of the moment! (Thanks, Joel!) Anyway, we sit down with Joel in the boardroom at HRS and discuss some of their upcoming endeavors.

Segment 4: Fun Design

Calling on Architects and Interior Designers is fun on a number of levels not least of which is having the opportunity to see the spaces in which they work! We stopped at one particular architectural firm that drove home the idea that fun design isn’t just for kids or homes! Fun design can be professional AND it can also create at atmosphere in your place of business that makes your employees eager to be there!

EP134: Jewelry Box Makeover, Service Professor History, All About Screws, and Hammertime!

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Segment 1: Jewelry Box Makeover

Paint is so remarkably transformative! With the right inspiration, your next project is just around the corner! We found the beautiful piece of furniture pictured below at an antique store. It was amazing, but WAY too expensive. Later we found a simple little jewelry box for $2. Much more in line with my pocket book! We snatched it up and with a little prep work, some taping, and some paint, we turned it into a miniature version of the furniture piece we loved so much. Whether or not the color and the piece is for you, the concept holds true for everyone: paint is incredibly transformative!

 

Segments 2: Service Professor History

Being a small business, we love to promote other small businesses! Service Professor has been featured on our show multiple times, but this time we sit down with President Brad Krause to talk about some history!

Segments 3 & 4: Screws and Hammertime

We dipped back into the archives for a couple of our favorite tool segments. Who’d have thought there’d be so much to learn about screws and hammers?

EP133: Spring-Loaded Nail Set, The Color of the Year, Wall Panels

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Segment 1: Spring-Loaded Nail Set

Sometimes you can’t fit a hammer and a nail set into a tight corner. Sometimes you just don’t want to use all that force to set your nails into the wood. In those instances, this simple, spring-loaded nail set is perfect! It’s very inexpensive and definitely something to have in your toolbox.

 

Segments 2 and 3: Color of the Year with Jennifer Butler Design

Benjamin Moore launched their new Color of the Year for 2020 and it’s First Light: a pink. How in the world, do you work with pink in your decorating? How do you prevent it from leaning overpoweringly to the feminine? And honestly, what is the point of color trends anyway? We discuss all of this with Jennifer Butler and Andy Yates from Jennifer Butler Design in Grand Rapids. And it’s definitely worth your time!

Segment 4: Amazingly Simple Wall Panels

Ever thought about using a mural in your decorating, but were afraid to commit? Didn’t want to spend the money only to have to remove it later when your tastes change? Well what about this solution?

EP123: Importance of Good Design and Water Softeners

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Segments 1 & 2: Importance of Good Design

Good design is important not only in our homes, but also in our work places. Good design makes us want to shop at the places we shop and not dread going to work in the morning.

To discuss how important design in, Jennifer Butler and Andy Yates of Jennifer Butler Design in Grand Rapids have dropped in. As always, we had a great time!

Segments 3 & 4: Water Softeners

We’ve probably all had at least one occasion where the water we out in a glass looks or smells funny. And those can be caused by any number of things. The great news is that a water softener can filter out many things AND save us money at the same time.

Tom Duisterhof, VP of Gordon Water Systems in Grand Rapids, walks us through what we need to know about water softeners and how much they’ll improve some of the little things in life.

 

EP122: Natural Weed Killer, Deck Stains, and the Hackley & Hume Homes

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Segment 1: Natural Weed Killer

Betsy is always on the hunt for ways to take care of garden problems without resorting to chemicals. We all know they work great, but then we have to be careful with pets and kids.

The good news is that there are recipes for natural weed killer and pest repellants that actually work. Betsy tried them and they worked great…at least for what she did!

Weed Killer

  • 1 gallon vinegar
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp dish soap

Mix all in a pump up garden sprayer and go to town!

The weed problem before……

The weed problem less than 12 hours later!!

Natural Garden Pest Repellant

  • Garlic (I had 5 cloves left from dinner), diced
  • An onion, diced
  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Boiling water (I used about 4-6 cups)
  • Dish soap

Put first 3 ingredients in a large bowl or saucepan and pour in boiling water. Cover with tinfoil (if you skip this, you’ll be sad. And don’t invite the neighbors over while you’re doing this. The smell travels). Let sit until completely cool. Strain and pour into spray bottle and and add a little bit of dish soap. This is very unscientific. The dish soap helps the mixture stick to the leaves. Spray the plants that are being eaten. I used it on bean plants that bug were chewing all the leaves from. It worked great for that!

Segment 2: Deck Stains

OK, so we know there can be confusion when it comes to choosing deck stains. A solid color deck stain is commonly mistaken for a paint. And is a semi-transparent really better than a transparent or toner deck stain? We’re walking you through the maze of deck stains.

Segments 3 & 4: Hackley & Hume Homes

The last time we talked about the Hackley & Hume Homes, Dan and Betsy did their best to describe the homes and a bit of their history. Now it’s time to get the real history scoop, why the homes are important and some of the programs for the rest of the year. To do this, we’ve invited Erin Schmitz, Program Manager, and Aaron Mace, Assistant Program Manager, from Hackley & Hume to give us all the details. For details on upcoming programs, times, and costs, visit their website.

 

EP121: Color Consultation, Removing Wallpaper With a Pro, Insulation, and Psychology of Clutter

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Segment 1: Color Consultation Review

Betsy recently did a color consultation and that led to a conversation about how we tend to get an idea in our heads and don’t stop to think about other options. There’s a lot to be learned!

Segment 2: Removing Wallpaper With a Pro!

We’ve heard the horror stories when it comes to removing wallpaper. The dime sized pieces that take weeks to peel off. So we’ve invited Dan Schipper of Skip’s Painting to give us some secrets that will have the paper coming down in big sheets and will leave you with great satisfaction.

Segment 3: Insulation

Don’t tune out just yet. We’re going to talk about insulation with George Clark from WMGB Home Improvement because you don’t want to wait until snow flies. And even if you THINK you need insulation, you may be surprised to find that might not be the case.

Segment 4: Psychology of  Clutter

How many of us , at some point, haven’t looked around our home and seen clutter. We don’t seem to know how or where we’ve collected it. It just shows up! And then we see shows or magazines where everything is perfectly organized. But we think there’s no way we can ever get to that point.

The first step is to understand WHY we have the clutter. We’re digging into the psychology of clutter and why we collect the things we do.