In my house, I had these very generic, very white and very ugly vents installed when they put in the state of the art heating and cooling system throughout the house.   Fortunately, all of the vents on the floor I was able to get a beautiful style in a copper/mid century style that looks perfect with the look of this house.

But some of the wall vents, I did not have so much luck in finding attractive styles.   So, this “temporary” style was installed.    3 years later….. I finally had to do something about it.     Vents out, Valspar metallic spray paint in.

Two light coats (sprayed outdoors) and allowed to full dry.   It looks like fancy chrome now!

Before….

And after.    Much better.

And at the end of the bedroom hallway, where I have a collection of vintage pewter plates (that I decided at the last minute not to sell on my Earth Day OneKingsLane sale), the vents fit right in now with the metallic finish of the plates.

Easy peasy change and I did 8 large vents with just one can of paint.

Happy Wednesday!

One of our most successful and most requested items from the Danny Seo line of eco-friendly cookware and bakeware products is our non-stick wok.

It’s easy to see why: they are non-stick but totally free of the harmful PFOA and PTFE chemicals often found in non-stick cookware.  Instead, we use a ceramic coating that creates that non-stick coating (for easy, low-fat cooking) and it is totally dishwasher safe, too.      The Danny Seo Wok line comes in a variety of sizes and you have your choice of a rubberized black handle of the wooden handle as shown here in the photo.

A few months ago, we launched the line and it flew out of stores in under two weeks.   We’ve been working hard to make more and ship more to stores and I’m proud to say a very nice shipment has made their way to stores across the United States and Canada.   Try stores like HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJ Maxx and Winners and HomeSense in Canada.

To celebrate the re-launch, I’m giving a great big everyday wok away with a wooden handle here at Daily Danny.  Just leave a comment for a chance to win!

GOOD LUCK!

Here’s last week’s appearance on The Nate Berkus Show where I give Nate tour of my house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We also came back to the studio where I shared a little secret that I think my house may be haunted. On a lighter note, I also shared my easy upcycling project ideas that can transform old t-shirts into gorgeous fabric bowls for your house in just on easy step!

And then I went on over to see my two favorite ladies—Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford—-to dare them to a Mother’s Day Craft Wars challenge. Of course, it was nothing but hilarious drama, drama, drama. Do you agree with who I crowned Craft Queen?

Happy Friday!

Here are five easy ways to go green.    And if you’re reading this post this morning, be sure to tune in to the 4th hour of The Today Show where I’m challenging both Hoda and Kathie Lee to a craft off.  Fun stuff!

Here are tips from my syndicated column Do Just One Thing:

Take a few seconds to clear out the clutter in your medicine cabinet. If you
haven’t used a beauty product in months, either A: try to start using it up or
B: wash it out and recycle the packaging. All outdated prescription medicine
should never be flushed down the toilet; it can contaminate the water supply.
Instead, water it down or mix it with used coffee grinds and place everything –
the medicine and packaging — in a plastic bag (an old produce bag works fine)
and toss into the trash. When in doubt, ask your pharmacist.

Take a minute to pull your refrigerator a few inches away from the kitchen wall.
By allowing extra air in the back, the condenser coils will work more
efficiently because of the increased air circulation. When you have time, pull
the fridge out completely and vacuum the back to remove dust and debris. Doing
this twice a year will improve the efficiency of your fridge, too.

To get your red-and-white gingham blanket looking its best for your Labor Day
picnic, let the hot sun do the work for you. Rub salt and lemon on any old
stains and then hang it outside on a clothesline. The salt will help scour out
the stain and the lemon juice will brighten the spot. After a few hours, wipe
off the stained area with adamp towel and let it air-dry.

Every year, millions of birds kill themselves by flying right into panes of
glass. To help our feathered friends, consider leaving your windows a bit dirty
or marred so they can recognize a window when they’re flying. Also, consider
putting up a reflector — like a paper cut-out or a hanging ornament — in front
of the window as another deterrent to help them avoid a collision.

Most dry cleaners will gladly accept wire hangers back for recycling. You can
also recycle them yourself: Wrap fuzzy pipe cleaners around and around the
hanger. That reinforces it and makes it soft and fuzzy (translation:
slip-proof). Bonus tip: To cut down on plastic garment bags, ask that all your
dry cleaning to be wrapped in one bag and not separate ones.

A lot of people ask me how much work goes into the production of our books.   I thought it would be interesting to share with you the process we used to make my next book Upcycling Celebrations, which hits shelves in late August.

Often it starts with an email note to myself with things like “a birthday cake that is not a cake for people who do not like cake.”    Then I stare at that email a few days later wondering what the hell I was thinking.

Then it becomes a sketch.   So here’s a sketch of a cake pan (star shaped one from Ikea) where I’m inserting pre tabbed candle wicks.

And then I crush up a bunch of old candles, melt the wax, pour it all in and pop it in the freezer.  The wax shrinks JUST ENOUGH so it pops out of the mod and VOILA!   It’s a candle cake…one you can reuse over and over for parties, but still looks like a festive cake.

Now repeat that process 200 times, produce a photo shoot, sit down and write the text, lay it out and voila!  You’ve got a book.