A simple fix-ditch the brass

With a simple can of Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze.

You can go from this...

To this...

In a matter of hours.

Here is another lighting update.  From basic builders dining room lighting....

To something a little less brassy...

This last one was painted in a flat black.  I had not discovered oil rubbed bronze spray yet.  I am still hoping to update the shades and maybe cover the links, but I am just happy to get rid of the bright brass.

Braided Rug

I have been unable to find the right rug for my kitchen floor.  

OK, correction.  I am unable to find the right rug in the right color at the right price for my kitchen floor.

So, this is where my craziness enters the picture.  I am going to make the rug for my kitchen.

Have I ever made a braided rug?  NO.  But that is not going to stop me.  I figure it is going to take me a few months to finish it, and in the end it may be butt-ugly, but hey why not give it a try.

Here is my starting point.

I think I have a ways to go.

Have you seen this product?

If you have been wondering where I have been off to lately, the answer is paint-land.  

 ....shhh, here is my stash.  Please don't judge.

Any how, I have been busy, busy, busy, painting a few of our rooms.  Some were expected and some got a paint treatment earlier than I had anticipated.  

Which leads me to the purpose of this post...

Have you seen or used this product?

The Air Glide, not the paint.

I was just browsing through the paint section knowing I needed to pick up some roller covers when I stumbled across this.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend the $8 they were asking for it, but I thought, what can it hurt?  I gave them my $8 and went on my merry way.

To be honest, I wasn't sure I was expecting it to be that different. But, I have used it a couple of times and have been very pleased with the results.

I think I was able to get better coverage and a smoother finish.  All in all I think it was worth the extra money.  I just need to make sure I get the larger pan to fit the extra width.

Changing out the faucet

Recently I showed you what $150 can do in a kitchen.  Since then we have changed out the kitchen faucet to this.

 Which we picked up for just under $100.

I love the height of the faucet and the grace of the neck.  It really helps give the area more of the presence needed, as the sink is what you see as you enter in the front door.

Here is a side by side of the old an new.

What do you think?

Sorry

Hey People- I have not vanished. I have been busy working on clearing up a mess I created in the upstairs of my house.

I have tons of things I want to share, however I have been consumed with some mundane cleaning and organizing issues I put upon myself.

I hope to be caught up and back to my blog this weekend.

Sorry I have been MIA.

Love you all

-Laurie

What a $150 can do in a kitchen

If you have been following my kitchen face-lift, you already know I have a very, very limited budget.  So limited in fact that I am only changing what I feel is absolutely necessary.  

1. Remove the dated tile and give it a more neutral look.

2. Paint the cabinets

3. Add a shelf to connect the cabinets and the peninsula.

4. Change the wall color.

5. Add a focal point with window covering.

Here is what I spent:

 For around $150, I feel I accomplished my goal.   

15 minutes

From here

To here

In 15 minutes.

Confession-Color Correction

I know I am not the first one to agonize over color chips and samples in hope of finding the perfect color, just to find out, in the end, you missed the mark.

As frustrating and as disappointing as it may be, in the end it is just paint.  A little more money and a little more time and you can correct your mistake.

Most recently, this happened to me with my kitchen cabinets.  I was sure I wanted a pretty Tiffany Box Blue.  

I must have spent months over paint chips.  I finally found "the color.  I skipped off to the paint store and bought myself a bucket of pretty Tantalizing Teal(SW 6937)and set to painting my lower cabinets.

As pretty as the color is, and as much as it made my heart skip to see this color on the cabinets, I knew that it was wrong for the space.  Mainly because of the flooring.  The large inlaid tile feature was too light to really ground the cabinets like they needed.

So, off to the paint store I needed to go, again.  This time I picked a darker shade (SW 6774, Freshwater) to help ground the cabinets.

And with a little bit more work, the problem was solved. 

Obsession- I love beadboard ceiling

Oh how I would love a bead board ceiling.

I have been drooling over images and wish I was able to but some up in my house.

 source

source

source

source

What do you think? Do you love a bead board ceiling?

Confession- It only took 8 months

So I pride myself on completing my projects.  When I say completing I mean, doing the little things like caulking, putting on the shoe molding, final touch up on painting, you know those sorts of things.  But for some reason it took me 8 months to do this....

8 months.  All I can say is I will now have a happy husband.  And some additional counter space.

I love Ballard Design, minus the prices, of course.  They are a great place for inspiration.  

They are having a give away.  And with it they have a quiz: What is Your Decorating Personality.  

Pop on over and take a look.  Tell me what your style is, according to Ballard Design.

Mine was:

Sounds about right to me.

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

The saga continues....

Oh Yellow, why do you vex me so?  For the last few weeks, I have been hunting and searching, and looking and painting all to find the right yellow.  I mainly found the cute little sample of lovely yellow looked a bit too green on my wall. UGH!

I have been back and forth about how yellow do I want my yellow to actually be.  Last time I picked a yellow, I went more gold.  It (SW New Colonial Yellow) is a pretty yellow and I highly recommend it, if you are looking for a darker yellow (see it in the background).  However, this time I am looking for a lighter, softer, more mellow, yellow.

So,  after many, many tacked up samples and many painted sample sections on the walls, I think I have my yellow.  

Drum Roll Please........

Hello Whisper Yellow.

Childrens art wall

When you plant a garden you know it is going to take a while to see it in full glory.  You plant the little baby plants and wait years until the plants are mature and everything has filled in.  I feel this way about my latest project.

I wanted a way to display my kids artwork, but I am too lazy to switch out pictures in frames on any kind of regular basis.  I also did not want my fridge to be covered in art, mainly because it hold so few items and they always seem to be falling down.  So I came up with an idea to frame out a large section of wall in our dining room (that I was struggling to fill up anyways) and let the kids art work be pinned up in this location.  I had an image of layers and layers of brightly colored papers that was collected through the years. 

Here is the start of this project.  

I now need to wait until my children make more art.  I am sure this is going to fill up fast.  I just can't wait to share with you the image in my head.