The Queen of Everything is inviting fans into her inner sanctum.
Illustrator Mary Engelbreit’s newest book, “Mary Engelbreit’s Home Sweet Home,” takes readers inside the cottage she had long admired before making it her family’s home five years ago. The book is a sort of home tour in photos, accompanied by text expanding on Engelbreit’s decorating approach.
The cheerfully cluttered house bears all the marks of Engelbreit’s signature style, from the Scottie-dog seat cushion to the toy robots on her drawing desk. Some of the rooms might surprise her fans, notably the dramatic dining room decorated in tans, browns and greens.
“Mary Engelbreit’s Home Sweet Home” is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing and is priced at $34.95.
Laser technology
The next best thing to an extra pair of hands just might be Ryobi’s AIRgrip laser level.
The level has a suction base that lets you stick it to walls without marring the surface. A small battery-powered motor creates a vacuum on the bottom of a rubber pad, allowing the level to adhere either vertically or horizontally for several hours.
The light is visible up to 30 feet, and the rotating head lets you aim the laser in a variety of directions.
The AIRgrip laser level is available only at Home Depot and sells for $39.97.
DIY Web site
What should you do about your cracked sink? Worn or enlarged screw holes? Knobs that topple off appliances and furniture? The answers come in one compact word: adhesives. There’s an appropriate one for almost any job. The Loctite Repairs & Projects Web site (loctiteproducts.com/repairs.asp) will help you figure out what to use where, from tears in rugs to loose baseboards and cracked tiles.
The manufacturer doesn’t sell directly to consumers but links you to retail outlets. Its products are mainstream enough you shouldn’t have any trouble finding them. The site also features hints and tricks of the trade from home improvement writer Danny Lipford.
Rolling-pan lid, harbinger of robots?
I’m just about convinced that, maybe 50 years down the road, everything we buy for the home will come with a throwaway robot that will perform the task.
What got me thinking about this was Dutch Boy’s Ready to Roll.
Ready to Roll is a container of Dutch Boy paint (2.5 gallons) that the paint maker says is sufficient for a typical job. It has a built-in tray above the supply of paint, so that once you remove the lid after tearing the tab and lifting the handle, you can get to work.
There’s a spout at the top that allows you to pour paint that you need for trimwork into a container.
The container and tray are reusable, just like the heavy-duty plastic paint trays I’ve owned almost forever. And the top of the container seals tightly, preventing any remaining paint from drying out.
Price: Depending on the color and sheen, $36 to $46. Ready to Roll is headed for Sears Hardware outlets, among other stores. Information: www.dutchboy.com or 800-828-5669.
A space odyssey
I once considered putting a floor in the attic of one of my previous houses.
My road block was the access door to the attic from the third-floor hall closet. The easiest and least expensive way to create flooring would have been to use exterior plywood. I would have had to cut those sheets in 2-by-2 or 2-by-4 sheets just to get them up the stairs and though the access door.
Too much work.
Attic Dek has come up with an alternative: prefabricated plastic panels that screw into attic floor joists to create flooring space for storage or a stepping-stone pathway to get to hard-to-reach spaces.
The panels are ready-to-use. The manufacturer says that each square can support up to 200 pounds.
Attic Dek is available in 16-inch and 24-inch panel sizes. The 16-inch panels are sold in packs of four, and the 24-inch panels are sold in packs of two. Price: $24.95 per pack.
