Can Your Laminate Flooring Kill You?

Last Sunday, 60 Minutes investigated Lumber Liquidators Chinese made laminate flooring for unsafe levels of formaldehyde in  Lumber Liquidators Linked to Health and Safety Violations. 




The basics of the story I linked to are this:

• 60 Minutes bought 150 boxes of laminate flooring from several Lumber Liquidators stores throughout Californian.

• 60 Minutes asked three independent labs to test the samples to see if the formaldehyde in the laminate flooring (mostly in the glue used to make the laminate) meets California’s strict formaldehyde emissions standards, called CARB 2.

• The lab results showed all of Lumber Liquidators Chinese made laminate flooring was from 6 to 7 times over the state limit and some laminate samples were up to 20 times over the state limit.

• Lumber Liquidators American made laminate flooring as well as Lumber Liquidators flooring they purchased from Lowes and Home Depot passed testing.

• 60 Minutes then purchased 31 Chinese made laminate samples from Lumber Liquidators stores in four states and sent the samples to two certified labs for formaldehyde testing.

• Both labs reported that 30 samples were over the formaldehyde limit, some as high as 13 times. 1 sample of Chinese made laminate flooring passed testinga.
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Make a Play Workbench for Your Little DIYer!

When you have a toddler, more often than not, you or Santa gives them a kitchen play set. I had one. It was a pink metal play kitchen. Fun fact: My first apartment had pink metal kitchen cabinets.

Naturally I am pro play kitchen. I am also pro make sure it looks cool because it could show up as a real kitchen later in your kid's life play kitchen.  That being the case, I am all over the upcycled furniture turned into a play kitchen.

 But do you know what every kid needs after they get a play kitchen? A play workbench! How else are they going to play fix the kitchen appliances?

I am loving this nightstand recycled into a play toddler workbench on Apartment Therapy. It is a simple DIY that any child - boy or girl - would love to pretend tinker around the playhouse.

I wish I had one as a kid!


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Luck of the Irish $1,500 Paypal Cash Giveaway!

I'm always looking for ways to thank you for being The Most Awesome Community on Planet Earth.

Unfortunately, I can't do it in person or by anonymously shoveling your driveway (especially for you Australian readers. You are having as hot a summer as we are having as cold a winter, I'd love to personally visit you to thaw out say hello) but I can thank you with a giveaway of something that always fits - cold, hard, Paypal cash. $500 dolla, dolla bills to be exact!

I'd love it if a Condo Blues reader won this giveaway!

29 Best DIY Coastal Wall Art Ideas

Anytime I need to take a breath and chill out, I close my eyes and picture a lovely Caribbean beach. It is my mental happy place. The crystal blue ocean, gentle sound of the sea, and warm beach calm me down. Daydreaming about the attentive and attractive pool boys serving me tasty Mai Tais on my personal pretend beach doesn’t hurt either. My Mind Palace. My Rules.

I can’t help but think that’s the reason why so many people like to decorate their homes in a nautical, coastal, beach style. So they can live on a pleasant, peaceful beach year round especially for those of us dealing with snow, cold, and landlocked cities.

Or you might just like that coastal style for the sake of just liking coastal style. That’s cool too.

Whatever your reasoning, beach lovers, check out this roundup of 29 Beach Crafts: Coastal DIY Wall Art by Crafts by Amanda for ideas on how to add a dash of beach style to your life on a DIY budget.




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Romantic Pink Rose Centerpiece

 Husband likes to surprise me with flowers – often. I’ve gotten decent at arranging flowers by necessity. (I know you feel sorry for me.)  A few times, people have asked me to do flowers for them, most recently for Mother and Father-in-Law’s 50th anniversary party.

By luck I bought the flowers for their centerpieces from ProFlowers because they were having a rose sale. That’s when I clued in that ProFlowers sells flowers you can arrange any way you want.

Need a DIY fresh flower Valentine’s Day, wedding, anniversary, or party centerpiece? Keep reading I’ll teach you how I made this one!

18 Unique DIY Floors to Inspire You

 I’m still not sure if or what I want to do with our master bedroom floor as I plan our water damage remodels. Carpet? Hardwood? Or something else?




Since I am a nontraditional gal, who likes to build, decorate, and renovate with nontraditional materials, maybe one of these fabulous non traditional flooring ideas I put in this roundup might be the one? Let’s go idea shopping!


DIY Geometric  Wood Flooring For $80! – Vintage Revivals. She made and installed this floor for a vintage camper. It would be a stunning floor in any room of a house.



How To Glitter A Concrete Floor – Crafty Chica. A floor as sparkly and bright as Kathy’s personality.