My dad was a jack-of-all-trades type. Painting rooms with perfectly sharp lines, replacing faucets and light fixtures, tiling, framing rooms, and hanging drywall were all well within his wheelhouse. There was never a project he couldn’t do. Only those that he couldn’t do ... yet.
Ed Kromer would have been mortified to know that his beloved only child once paid someone to install floating shelves. But he would be thrilled at what I can do now.
Over the last year, I’ve been steadily renovating my Baltimore City home with the power of YouTube tutorials, some elbow grease, and perhaps a little inherited inclination toward home improvement.
All it took was giving it a try. And the right tools.
So, below are some of the items that have helped me on my DIY journey. I sourced the items from Ace Hardware which has locations throughout Baltimore City — one conveniently located a block from my house— and in the surrounding counties. Ace Hardware is great! But it is by no means the only place you can buy these items or a version of them.
These gift suggestions are for the DIY-curious, home improvement novices, and new homeowners/renters. I’ll leave everything else to the professionals.
