Fall/Winter Projects Continued!

This is the wall where I'll be adding tiles. I'm going to include another area of the fossil tiles above the sink to match those above the stove. Darn, I just got these framed tiles hung above the sink and now I'm going to have to move them!

Moving from the kitchen to the hall - we're almost done here! The cabinets are in place and the shelf on top is done but the trim needs one more coat of urethane before we attach it. The cabinets are sitting on a platform made of 2x4's and I can't wait to get it covered with the trim! As soon as the trim is done we can hang the mirror that we bought to hang to above the cabinets. I'm posting a picture showing the before and after because it gives you a better idea of what a difference it's made :) I was so tired of looking at those broken bifold doors!

Last one for this morning - darned if the picture didn't come out fuzzy - but I wanted to show you the knobs on the cabinets. The top are maple leaves and the bottom are "twigs" to keep the same flavor as the twigs that circle around our ceiling light :)

wow it looks great.. nice job with the tile!!!.. we put oil rubbed bronze fixtures in the bathroom... my only complaint is having to use CLR or lime away to get rid of the lime stains a lot more.. shows up quicker on the dark finish

RCN, It looks great. I love the tiles you picked and the job is very well done. The ceiling lights they look great both in the kitchen and hall. Cabinets look really good that little bit of trim really dressed them up. The decorative knobs are beautiful and fit right in with the theme of your living area. If you want to look there is stove paint for wood stoves and other hot surfaces not sure what colors you will find it in black for sure or you can just get a new toaster. LOL Prints look great over the doorway and so do the ones over the sink. I do think you will like having the tile behind the sink though. That hall looks so good love the "dirt colored" wall and the cabinet at the end looks like a built in. Can't wait to see it with the mirror. WELL DONE!

Debbie, what a wonderful makeover. You did a fantastic job.

Looks great! SO glad you posted the tile close up--really pretty.

Our big bathroom plans are puttering out--just cannot make a super nice bath in the space we have. No room to expand. May have to stick with two small but fully fuinctional but updated (from 1970) baths.

Yes, I really liked that close up of the tiles, too. They are really beautiful.
My daughter Jen just painted her dining room Orange. Can't wait to see it she uses such bright colors and they always look good. I was suppose to go over on Monday and help her paint but she just couldn't wait so after the kids were in bed and while her husband was at Judo classes she got it started. She is going to do the flat/semigloss striping so I may be painting on Monday after all. I will take some pics of her house when I go.
I'm snapping the whip over Ric's head, but he is ignoring me. LOL

My hub does not like painting either, but he is good at it, except he keeping neat around the edges. Will like to see that orange. It seems like any color can be done, in the right tone and complementary colors.

I can say my color choice pretty much matches yours..

http://picasaweb.google.com/AllisonNJ71/BathroomRemodel#

RCN, You are awsome. I know what you mean about the toaster. That is the problem with an open floor plan. You want everything to look good from so many different views. I have that in my kitchen. The window into the dining room made me want all new appliances, but I made do with painting some and eventually replacing the smaller ones as they wore out. Made the switch from white to brushed stainless steel.

LOVE the hall cabinets. Can't wait to see it with the mirror.

Nice, Deb. Can you just store the toaster in a cabinet when it's not in use?

Nice job Allison, you guys did it yourselves? What to come to mine?

can't take credit.. we hired someone... I would make a mess with tile.. can't even draw straight with a ruler

LOL Allison. Some things are best left to the pros.

you know it!!!

OOOHHHHH HHHHAAAAA pretty Onewish. I'd love a bath redo that's pretty far down the list. At the speed we are moving I don't see it anytime soon. Holly

Debbie and Allison - inspiring. Looks great. Debbie, you crack me up - I thought I was the only one who would be bothered by something like the color of a toaster hee hee hee. Most people never ever notice things like that - and I would never notice them in someone else's home, just my own.

I keep thinking I need to tackle the laundry room project that I started two years ago and never finished. It would probably only take a week or two, but I keep procrastinating on it. The laundry room is 5' x 8', but has a cubby hole at the end that I left open under the back staircase. I originally had full size washer/dryer side by side along the 8' wall, but it was always so cramped. About two years ago, my washer crapped out and I ended up buying full size stackables that had started becoming popular. It fits great under the cubby hole, and really opens up the laundry room for actually working in it. Now the 5' x 8' area is open. Problem was that I had to get all the plumbing relocated to do it. I never re-did the drywall or wainscoting, and the wall paper got pretty messed up too. I have all the material just waiting - maybe now's the time!!! Terri

LOL Terri, I was just talking to Ric about finishing touches in our laundry room. We need to finish the molding next and with all the snow the progress has stopped. It has to be warm enough for him to work in the barn, too. He is making the molding down there and then brings it up to the house for me to paint.

Great job!!! I love it! Looks very professional.

I think this link belongs in this thread LOL

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1079217/

OMG ROFL tears of laughter on cheeks

Sally said it. OMG ROFL tears of laughter on cheeks. LOL
Wait till Ric sees that, we have the exact same tools and they have the exact same uses. LOL

Randy will see that one as well

We've been so busy I've got to catch up! Thank you for all your compliments, I'm pretty darned pleased with how everything has turned out :)

Allison, our colors DO match! I would have loved to switch the faucet to bronze but I pushed Rick as far as I dared with all my ideas. I'm pretty sure that would have pushed him over the edge! LOL I know what you mean about the "lime stains" - it's a bear to deal with here too!

Chris, that link is hysterical and so true!

I'm happy to report that the "white toaster" is no more! I ordered a black one online and although I'm a little disappointed with it at least it was cheap ($$) and it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb! Unfortunately the photos I took yesterday don't show it so you'll just have to take my word for it. LOL

First photo - the kitchen with second wall of ceramic tile. I have no idea why but some of the pictures I took look weird? Makes the lines of the ceramic tile look "wavy" but they're really not!

love the light color... that would look nice in my hallway outside the bathroom!! (really have to change the 1970's fixture)

A closer view of the sink area. I ordered a new mat for the painting and painted the frame bronze - my new favorite color :) I wasn't keen on putting the framed tiles back up above the sink but Rick liked them there and I had to give in to a few of his choices. His favorite phrase lately has been "My opinion doesn't count!" LOL One of the things that really bugged me about them was the color of the oak frames so I fixed that! Painted them with the gel stain to darken them and when I finally get around to staining the cabinets (next year?) they'll all match :) You can see the disgusting color of the old mat on the painting here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=7573771 It's tough to get a good picture of the painting because of the reflection but it's almost gray with a splotchy pattern in it. I could have chosen something with more of a flare but I think the neutral color really brings out the colors in the painting.

Allison, you'll get a kick of this! I really didn't like the dark amber of the glass on the light so I painted it to lighten it! Rick just rolled his eyes when he saw what I had done but guess what? The new light arrived last week for the front entry and he requested that I paint it like the one in the kitchen because it looked so much better :) I forgot how difficult it was to paint the first one but I jumped on it and got the second one painted and Rick had it installed the next day.

I definitely have a new friend, bronze spray paint! I painted the cover on the dog food jar and even painted the green wire frame on the lotions a friend bought me for Christmas :)

AND...I don't have a fancy coffee jar and didn't really have any plans to buy one so I painted the cheap coffee can as well! LOL

Oops, meant to show you my creative work :) I've been painting all the switchplate and outlet covers for all the areas that were painted. When it came time to paint those along the ceramic tile walls I wasn't satisifed with just painting them the color of the kitchen walls. It probably took me two hours to paint seven covers but I kept experimenting with sponge painting until I got a match that satisfied me. They're not "perfectly" matched but they definitely blend better into the ceramic tile :)

We're finally getting ready to hang some paintings and photos and used a neat trick I saw on one of the DIY sites this winter. Newspaper "templates"!

Also added a few touches this past week. I was thrilled to find these dragonfly hooks at Lowes last month and we finally got them up. Two are hung on either side of the stairway post in the front entry although I've given Rick strict instructions. He's NOT going to hang his clutter there, they're just for guests :)

I saw this idea online but I wasn't willing to pay $20.00 for it. I already had the glass candle holders so decided to make my own but had a hard time finding a frame and/or mirror. When I was at Michael's last weekend I found this cheap mirror frame ($2.99 plus 40% discount!) and stained it dark. I made a mistake though - you put rocks in the bottom of the glass holders but you're supposed to use tea lights so the wax doesn't melt into the rocks :(

I also found the perfect Fern for my "fern urn". I wanted a Boston Fern but this one looks so much better against the chocolate wall - all gold foliage of 'Blondie'. I also picked up a variegated Rubber Plant last weekend and had to be satisfied planting it in a pot I had on hand. But I did spruce it up a little though by painting it - you guessed it, bronze LOL

Still a few more minor details to take care of and everything is finally done! I'm running out of time, just as I suspected, because things are starting to pop and my "other job" is calling me away :( The mirror is finally up at the end of the hall though! The original plan was to hang it horizontally but it looked better in a vertical position. I had a few things placed on the shelf in front of it but when I finished up painting in the basement one day I came upstairs to find Rick had added a "few" things of his own :( It's way too cluttered now but I'll slowly remove a few so he won't notice right away and his feelings aren't hurt. LOL

The snow is finally melting and it won't be long before we'll have to start a Spring Projects thread! As usual I've got way too many ideas and probably not enough time but I'll share my "new" ideas with you soon. :)

RCN absolutely everything looks great. What a great job on the switch plate covers. Couldn't help but notice the little collection of stones at the edge of the sink when I was looking at the painted lotion holders. LOL Ric just picked up a variegated rubber plant last week. Love all your Bronze accessories everything looks just great.

Hahaha Jeff will see the link to the tools also.

WOW! I have been such a slug! Everything looks great, RCN.

Everything looks Awesome!!!!

LOL, Sally. Do you think if I ask her nicely she'll come and do my kitchen backsplash?