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Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

Leslie D

Las Vegas, NV
85 Followers 604Likes 16539 Shares
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About Me:

Empty Nester, Southern transplant to Las Vegas, with my children and grandchildren still in SC. I own a building company and am currently working as a Project Manager for two General Contractors. I'm also performing site evaluation and due diligence work for banks on their foreclosed commerical and residential development properties, and estimating for completion of their projects. My latest projects includes a $5M Green Technology Shrimp Farm in Las Vegas and many Shoe Palace Tenant Improvements in CA, AZ, NM and NV malls, and a small hotel remodel in Vegas.

Favorite area of home improvement:

We are remodeling our entire house, slowing changing it from a bad 1980's typical Vegas Tuscan into a cool, contemporary, slightly mid-century home that we love. Managing others doing construction work is so much easier than DIY, but not nearly as satisfying. Love the decorating side of home improvement. My husband is better at "doing" than I am, although he's not in the industry. He just doesn't listen to me as well as my field crews.


Recent Activity


Why Oh Why Won't My House Sell?

Lamentations from a homeowner whose house has languished on the market for over a year....
House Crazy Sarah
House Crazy Sarah Canon City, CO
16 Comments | Post Comment | 331 Views
  • Leslie D
    Commented 2 days ago
    Could you try organizing a "street revitalization" project to help the Riff-Raff clean up ...»
    their properties? I've often found that if neighbors pull together to help clean up the entire street that it prompts others on the street to do the same. Could it be that the riff-raff may be a single mom, working full time who is renting the property and doesn't own a lawn mower/trimmer or have spare time to work on the house/yard? Perhaps there are elderly people on fixed incomes who can't pay someone to repaint the trim on their house or have difficulty maintaining their yard. Are the houses rented with the owners out of the area so that they do not know the state of their property...and could you find their management company and/or owner and contact them with concerns? If you're seeing riff-raff and properties in disrepair, then it's a glaring issue for potential buyers who are wondering what kind of neighborhood they're getting into. One good weekend of cleanup by the entire neighborhood may make all the difference in how your house shows. Maybe the historic society would have some ideas of where to get help for making general repairs/clean up crews for free or at a discount. Your home is beautiful, well maintained, staged well and clean, so I can't help but think that it's the surroundings that are the problem if you're priced within comps for your area.

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  • This is the finish I want to achieve.
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Gonzales Rustic Furniture Find...but I Want It to Look Antique - Help!

I was lucky enough to find a set of 3 Gonzalez Rustic furniture pieces at auction for only $125! The coffee table alone sells for over $500 online. However, I don't like the natural pine ...»
finish, and want it to have a warm, worn antique look. I've never tried to stain something to look old before and need some advice on prep, colors/mixing of colors, and finish (wax/poly?) to achieve the look of the last picture. Is there a trick to getting the variation of colors within the stain, or will the knots, lines, etc., naturally do that?

Leslie D
Leslie D Las Vegas, NV
5 Comments | Post Comment | 127 Views
  • Leslie D
    Commented 4 days ago
    Thanks for the tips, ladies! I've stained new wood many times, but just for a basic stain ...»
    look. I'll start with the smallest piece (my least favorite of the 3), and see what I can come up with. I appreciate the help!

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  • We were in the process of doing an add on.  That is why you see the plastic.  We added a big den/play room.  I am changing out light fixtures.  Want to make some out of white enamel pots I have.  Anyone done this?
  • my kitchen cabinets 1

Design & Décor: Need tips and inexpensive ideas for western decor.

We own cattle (a bunch) and live on a farm that has been in the family for many years. My husband IS the cowboy most try to be. He wants all western in our living room and kitchen....I ...»
want to mix farm/western. Any neat ideas out there. I am in the process of painting my living room. My kitchen has cabinets made of old wood. I really like them. Had them made. We are about to restain my counter tops and add family brands to them. I need ideas for living room. Don't want southwestern or the stuff you see sold in western stores. I have ropes, lanterns, his old wore out cowboy hats I had to beg him to quit wearing. I have 8 grandchildren, so it has to be livable and practicle.

Sandy Lovvorn
Sandy Lovvorn Wills Point, TX
19 Comments | Post Comment | 430 Views
  • Leslie D
    Commented 6 days ago
    You're so lucky Sandy Lovvorn ...»
    ! My husband and I went to the Canton Flea Market...what a great place! Our hips hurt from all the walking, but I wish I was close enough to go every month! I did a quick google search for "modern western decor" and then hit "images", and it came up with a lot of different looks. You want to stay away from making it too kitschy...perhaps not a literal theme, but more of an overall look. A cow rug, some burlap curtains, and a couple of pieces of rustic decor could go a long way.

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Tools: Does anyone know what this is?

I was packing my Moms sewing stuff and this tool was in with her wool. It has a needle that pops in and out when you turn the handle.
Deltagardener
Deltagardener Canada
6 Comments | Post Comment | 226 Views
  • Leslie D
    Commented on May 06, 2013
    My best guess would be that it's a fancy "sewing awl" or speedy stitcher, although the crank ...»
    is throwing me off a bit. They're made for making quick repairs to heavy fabrics, like canvas or leather, or even heavy wool fabrics, where a normal sewing needle would be too difficult to stitch by hand.

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  • This is the front of the house. The brick really is red, the shadows from the trees are making it look brown. Notice the two windows on the second floor.
  • This it the back of the home. Another nice porch off the kitchen.

Painting: What color?

We just bought this nice dark red brick home. As you can see, it looks rather plain. All the trim and the front and back porches need painted. We would really rather not paint it the ...»
traditional white with black or dark green trim. We want this home to not look like every other red brick home in the area. We're also thinking about shutters to break up all the red brick, especially on the second floor. The porches are amazing and actually fairly large and we really want to make them pop and still look inviting. Any suggestions?

Debbie Gates
Debbie Gates Johnstown, PA
7 Comments | Post Comment | 358 Views
  • Leslie D
    Commented on Apr 30, 2013
    I agree with Jeanette S . Unless ...»
    you want to paint the brick, I think light color shutters (maybe cream instead of white) and adding columns would help. You may also want to consider adding a copper roof to the front porch. That would set you apart from the other homes. I would also consider adding blue stone or slate to the steps on front, and landscaping to add the brightness and color you want. Your house is boxy, so adding some round shapes in your landscaping and laying a curved path to the front door would soften the facade. Although useful, screen doors on the front of a house just cover a blank canvas called your door, where you can really add some character and bring in color. The metal railing is dating the house and gives no curb appeal. Perhaps replace those with a painted wood railing that would flow into the columns to frame the porch area, which would brighten the whole exterior.

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Jeanette S Carol L Hilda Marchesin Dana Robinson

Tin Accent Wall- for the Backyard

Our new 'industrial chic' backyard is coming along. Our first project was to add a bit of tin for some visual interest. It was pretty easy! #OutdoorProjects #DIYProjects
Crafty Texas Girls
Crafty Texas Girls Grapevine, TX
10 Comments | Post Comment | 1949 Views
  • Leslie D
    Liked on Apr 26, 2013
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  • This is a 48-star American flag that I inherited from my grandfather. P.S. I know it's not folded properly :)
Liked a photo from:

DIY Pipe Shelf

Ethan@OPC
Ethan@OPC Catonsville, MD
Comment on this photo
  • Leslie D
    Liked on Apr 26, 2013
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How to make a license plate map

This is not the easiest art to make, you've been warned :) However, it is a conversation starter and really fun to look at it! My mom and I have perfected the map making process, and it ...»
all starts with a board from World Market, purchase you plates, a good set of tin snippers, and make suer you've got wax paper, sharpie and scissors handy. For the step by step deets, check out the blog post!

Jamie @ C.R.A.F.T.
Jamie @ C.R.A.F.T. Austin, TX
4 Comments | Post Comment | 471 Views
  • Leslie D
    Clipped on Apr 25, 2013 to Leslie D's board
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Furniture: Need make over ideas

I have a vanity table that was given to me as a wedding gift 15 years ago. It is not really good for anything except being at "catch all" and sits in my entry since the seat broke many years ago. It's really showing its age. Any ideas on how to give it a make over?
Dorie Gibbons O'Neill
Dorie Gibbons O'Neill Carriere, MS
19 Comments | Post Comment | 830 Views
  • Leslie D
    Commented on Apr 25, 2013
    I would paint it black, and attach mirrors to the drawer, the front piece surrounding the ...»
    drawer, and the sides, as well as the top of the piece. It would look similar to this. Is the piece solid, stained wood or laminated? That would determine a lot about whether you could re-stain it. I'm afraid if you paint it white, it will look like a child's piece, unless you glaze it to tone it down a bit.

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Repurposing & Upcycling: I have an art deco bedroom vanity I want to repurpose.

I had painted it a light green color (it was called celery) but now I want to go with a blue toile theme. It's my absolute favorite. I want to paint the overall vanity a cream color then do the accents in a periwinkle blue. I also want to add an accent of fabric on the drawers. Any input would be appreciated
Michelle LePage Geuze
Michelle LePage Geuze Austell, GA
20 Comments | Post Comment | 828 Views
  • Leslie D
    Commented on Apr 24, 2013
    An antiqued mirror would look fabulous in this piece. I found instructions here on how to make ...»
    a new mirror look antique. http://blog.modcloth.com/2011/12/01/making-h... . Can you tell I want this piece to work on myself by now? LOL

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