We lived here only a very short time before realizing that a house designed and built in 1977 needed some work to make it livable for today! When our house was built, it was a big deal to have a two car garage open directly into the kitchen so groceries in paper bags could be carried in easily. One of the things I have long wanted is a landing place by the garage door because a lot of other things happen around that garage door nowadays! I wanted to be able to kick muddy garden shoes off and out of the way, a place to store reusuable grocery bags and assorted household “stuff”, somewhere to hang caps or light jackets so they weren’t tossed who knows where. In short, someplace convenient for storing things to be picked up and used and returned as we come and go through that turquoise ... [Read More]
makeover
Powder Room Makeover — in progress
The wood floor had been installed in the powder room a few years ago. And then everything came to a standstill while I debated on the color. Color swatches hung on the wall and we had almost come to a decision, when someone said it looked like an Easter egg factory had exploded in our bathroom. Trauma! Another year went by before we came back to the powder room project. And selected the color we liked the first time around. Stripped the wallpaper and painted the walls. And loved it. Loved the color so much that we went right ahead and painted the dining room just a shade lighter. And did a bunch of other projects in there. Are we the only ones who bring things to a screeching halt in one project to head off and do whole 'nother project somewhere else? Selecting a vanity was ... [Read More]
Dining Room Makeover – The Reveal
Dining Room Makeover – the Big Reveal. Finally!!! We actually eat every meal in the dining room -- unless we can be outside on the deck. Plus our dining room is used for phone conversations, relaxing, studying, paying an odd bill, meetings with a salesperson or a club committee, . . . and just hanging out. The dining room provides a bit of privacy and space to spread out that isn’t found anywhere else in the house in just the right combination. If one of us has visitor/s, we can have coffee and conversation without disturbing the rest of the occupants. And that’s even more important when one or more of the occupants is sleeping because of an off hours work schedule or is meeting a deadline on a laptop somewhere else in the house. How to do a dining room makeover that made a ... [Read More]
How to make old art new again
How to make old art new again. And make it coordinate with new room colors. And do it quickly, easily and at almost no cost. That was the challenge in our dining room makeover. I found this picture at a garage sale a few years ago. Someone was selling off the almost new contents of their office, including artwork. This reminded me of a spot in one of our favorite hiking areas, a place called Highbanks, in the spring time. When I got it home, the title of the piece is “Spring”. It’s pretty good sized - 48 inches by 38 inches - and very heavy. For a while it hung in the living room. However, a perfect spot opened up when we did the dining room. Except the mat colors made it look way too heavy for the light, airy and meditative vibe I was going for. Plus I didn’t think ... [Read More]
Picture frame makeover — try, try again!
Start with a Nineties style flower picture with mottled gold frame . . . . Turn picture over and remove dust cover. If you are lucky, enough of it will remain to use as a pattern to replace it :-) Completely disassemble the picture, being careful of glass. Save backing cardboard. Spray frame a matte nickel color because it coordinates with another frame in the same area. Center black and white photos in mat. Reassemble by turning frame upside down, insert glass, mat with photos, backing cardboard and carefully trimmed and glued dust cover. Hang in place on a soft butter colored wall. Cringe every time you pass by - a dozen times a day because the nickel color does not provide enough contrast to the wall. Or the black and white photos. Remove pictures and live with a bare wall ... [Read More]
