In My Backyard: Repurposing My Home and D.C. Businesses

I was watching DVRed Nate Berkus show episodes when Nate shared some great ideas for how people could add beauty to their homes and at the same time, boost local businesses.  Essentially, his idea entailed giving existing businesses new kinds of work that involved repurposing what you have at home.   I ended up getting some great tips for my home that also supported D.C. business.


Makeover Metal Furniture 

I had been looking to paint my old filing cabinet a new color to add some cohesive looking decor to my home office.  My cabinet was rusted in part. And I'm not detail oriented enough to prep and paint - a fact I learned after having painted my living room.  According to Nate, Maaco will strip your metal furniture of its paint and then paint it a color of your choosing.  For smaller pieces, it costed about $50.  He said that if Maaco wouldn't do it, then to check around for local auto body shops to see if another local shop would.  Right then, I emailed the nearest Maaco to my house. It is at 1913 Bladensburg Road NE, Washington D.C.  It turns out they, in fact, paint metal cabinetry. They had just done someone's lockers for $200.    


The next day, I took this green filing cabinet to Maaco.  I checked with this Maaco about what the painting service included.  I confirmed that Maaco could remove most of the rust and add in some material to bring back the service if it was too rusted.

For $75, here's the "after" picture.

Previously, I had this cabinet hidden away in my office closet but no more.  It really made a difference in my home office as a fun accent piece.  I recommend the Bladensburg branch of Maaco. They were professional, thorough, and offered a great price.


To learn more about what Nate recommends for revitalizing metal furniture in your home, you can see the NB video here: http://www.thenateshow.com/videos/detail/1957/metal-table-transformation

Repurpose Traditional Garb into Couch Pillows

I received a very large Nigerian dress that I never wore because I've seen catamaran sails in a smaller size.  Wearing it was not a good use but the fabric and colors were beautiful.  I didn't like the idea of throwing the dress away or not putting it to some meaningful use.  So it stayed folded away in a closet.  While watching the same episode of the Nate Berkus show, he had another great idea for putting old cloth or remnants to a new use.  

Nate said to take old cloth remnants such as drapes and make them into pillows.  He said if you can't sew, then take them to your local dry cleaners and have them make the pillows for you.  He said the cost was about $50.  I immediately had my second "aha" moment.  

The service didn't include stuffing.  So, 

I bought 2 standard pillows at Target for about $5.00 

to cheaply fill the pillows.

I took the dress to a local family owned cleaners and explained to the perplexed seamstress what I wanted. She told me for $60 that she could do 4 pillows out of the dress and add a zipper to each one.  Here's the final product. I have great new loungey pillows for a couch or bed.

I've paid a comparable amount of money for couch pillows at the Home Goods store, but these pillows have the added benefit of a zipper, which most couch pillows don't have.  The stuffing can be removed so the pillows can be washed as necessary.  

My brother,  a contractor, prefers earth tone colors. But after he saw the embroidered pillows, he took them for his entertainment room in his Henson Ridge home in Washington, D.C.

To learn more about this tip on how to have pillows made, check out the NB video here: http://www.thenateshow.com/videos/detail/1961/table-runner-turned-pillow-cover/

Resolving Fitness Dilemma in Ward 7

DEANWOOD RECREATIONAL CENTER & LIBRARY

1350 49th Street NE
Washington, DC 20019United States 
202.698.1175

deanwoodlibrary@dc.gov

HOURS:    

• Mon - Fri 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
• Sat 9am-5pm
• Sun closed

METRO:    Deanwood (Orange Line)  


PARKING: Small lot and street parking


COST:  

• Free for D.C. Residents 
• (Fitness Center requires a fee.) 
• Aquatic Center is free but there is a nominal fee for swim classes.

Ages:  All Ages

One big lifestyle change of moving to D.C. has been my gym rat reputation.  Moving from NOVA came after I landed a job in Baltimore, a residence in D.C., and a new 2.5 hour daily commute.  All effectively obliterated my 6-day a week workout routine and energy. 

Apart from the health consequence, there is a social consequence.  Gyms are important to human connections in a community.  At fitness centers, people meet other people to date, to network, to share common interests, and to develop business contacts.  It's also more economical than hitting the bar or restaurants and you're essentially getting the same social benefit with out the loss of the health benefit.
  

I still maintain my Gold's Gym membership, but it now takes 20-25 minutes ONE WAY to go the the SW Capitol Hill location from here in addition to the 2.5 hours on the road on weekdays.   Having to pay for parking is a pain since there is only metered parking.  And the facility needs renovations as compared to its other locations.        

What to do?  Suck up the loss of another 1 hour and 40 minutes out of long days and avoid human contact.  Forego Gold's for the Capitol Heights Bally's or District Heights' Planet Fitness.  Home gym?  

My friend gave me the solution after I told her about my dilemma.  She asked me if I had tried going to Deanwood yet. And sure enough there was my solution:  the Deanwood Recreation Center. I actually wasn't sure where it was.  After a little yelp and internet sleuthing, I found out a lot.

Deanwood, the largest recreational center in D.C., offers what can be found at the gym chains such as a fitness center and locker rooms.  But it offers harder-to-find features too. The 63,000-square-foot facility features:

• an indoor swimming pool and a first ever water slide, 
• a football field,
• a gymnasium
• a game room
• an area for senior citizens, 
• a music studio, 
• a fitness center, 
• study rooms, 
• a day care center, and
• the library.  

The library is a 7,500-square-foot area with 20 computers, a space for children's activities, and a 25,000 book capacity.  Did I mention the price?  As my brother would say, free is the best price. D.C. residents don't pay anything to use the pool and most of the other amenities.  But there is a small cost to use the fitness center.


My Test Run at the Fitness Center

Recently, I looked into whether I could supplement my Gold Gym's usage with visits to Deanwood's Fitness Center.  The cost for D.C. residents to use the center is $125 for the year.  Per visit, it's $5.  But all payments must be done through money orders made payable to the "D.C. Treasurer" because Deanwood is not yet equipped to take other payment forms.


I also worked out there.  The cardio machines come in sets of 3 - treadmills, Matrix ellipticals, and exercise bicycles.  There are also free weights and an exercise station.  Currently, not a lot of people avail themselves of the center.  So there is no wait to use the gym. The lockers are in the restroom, but there is no shower in that space.  Showers and more locker rooms are available in a room that's adjacent to the aquatic area.


Pool Shopping

Because I can't swim well, I just took a peek at the pool area.  You enter a corridor that allows access to the men's and women's locker rooms.  There's a family change room in the same corridor.  From the women's locker, I opened the entry way to find a huge water slide for the kids and a lap pool area for the adults.  Since Deanwood offers swim classes for adults and childrens (for a fee), I might just add that to my workout regimen. Residents and non-residents can get their swim on during the winter as well.


I think Deanwood achieves its goal well of being a community center.  I've been there for work (study room is outfitted with plugs and Ethernet connection) and exercise.  I see families of all backgrounds, seniors, and young people there taking advantage of a wonderful facility.

So get your workout on, your read on, and most importantly, your support on for Ward 7 at Deanwood Rec.