Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Checker Board Kitchen Floors

I've been torn over this decision for the last month -
First I wanted a beachy white washed wood (vinyl click on )  - then I wanted ceramic - then I thought of installing a new wood floor -

And last night an idea was born - Black and White checker board - it'll tie in with the rest of the white theme house perfectly and it may just be the best idea I've come up with yet!
It will be the perfect balance in an all white and stainless kitchen - and even though black and white are stark colors - I think a checker board floor - on the diagonal - can add a lot of warmth ( and a bit of country charm ) to the space.

Soooo I'm going with a black and white checker board floor - which after looking at a slew of inspiration photos - I'm quite excited about.

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What do you think?
I know that people either love it or hate it - I had it once before and LOVED it - and since I keep drawing a blank on anything else I'm going to go with it :)

We're just going to buy the stick on ones - so that if an idea suddenly develops it won't be such a horrible job to replace them - and for now I'll have a floor -

Picking them up today -


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Sunday, January 5, 2014

Final Bedroom Reveal




Well you know it's only temporarily final, right?

I'm constantly changing things out anyway - but for now - when there's so much else to do in this place it really IS a nice respite ( kind of depressing stepping out of it in the morning mind you and being confronted with 8 other rooms that look like crap )

So first of all I painted the walls white - and then I painted the floors white ( after my son and son in law sanded them )



and then I painted out the window frames - which did not go with the vision I had of this room whatsover...............and wallpapered


And then the decorating started.
Ok so now I'm going to start with the photo I used to draw you in lol - of the chair I redid a few years ago - and which I came OHSOCLOSE to redoing a couple of months ago ( before we found this place ) I'm actually thrilled I didn't because it words so perfectly in this room.
I paid 25.00 for it on Craig's List - it was a brown wood chair - and had an orange and green and brown flowered velvet fabric on it - it was horrid.  I painted the entire frame grey and layered it with a white wash - then reupholstered ( and tufted the back with tiny silver buttons ) it in a black silk.
I put a little more grey in it last week so that there would be more contrast in it for this space - but It looks like it was made to go in this room!!!  The basket was a typical colored basket that I spray painted white for the bedroom in our last house.  The sash is overkill I know - I'm looking at it now and it looks like a basket girdle - it's being removed.  Those blankets inside the basket are Soda's - she sleeps on our bed - so one of them get laid down on top of our blankets before she hops into bed :)
I think they were 2.00 each at Ikea


For those of you that have been following this renovation job - a lot of these photos are going to be repeats - sorry about that!


I don't have an " even " space for end tables beside the bed - because the window is not completely centered - and if I had to try to center things out visually - I at least wanted the window to be centered to the bed.  I'm not sure I'll live with those tables for long - but for now it enables us to have a lamp on either side. ( I may install " swing " wall lamps on either side eventually ) but we're big readers so lighting off each side was a must.


Most of you have seen my nook ( and most of you know that I'm having a bench with cushions made - making it a real reading nook )


But you didn't see the little carpet I found to go there


I spray painted the wreath black

John says - Did you paint the bloody wreath?
Suzan says - Yes I did - I like it better now
John says - It looks like it belongs in a funeral parlor
Suzan says - PERFECT - save it for mine - thanks



The cupboard doors were brown bifold doors - I simply painted them white


and because it was too complicated to adjust regular glass door knobs - I used large glass drawer knobs that I only had to screw in


this is the only before I can find


I added some bling to the cupboard wall with this sconce I've had for years now


and I place my Paris sign on the opposite side ( which Julie from Follow your heart wood working made for me )  she does incredible custom signs - if you haven't seen what she does - visit her please - you'll want to order something :)


On the opposite wall of the cupboards I hung up two black and white prints I also had on hand

You really don't need to know how many holes I may or may not have made in the freshly painted wall to get them to hang even -
You don't even have to know that I actually used a measuring tape and still was off by an inch a couple of times - but I'll tell you anyway


anyway - they look even

I KNOW I had three of them once upon a time - must have given one of them away - if anyone knows who inherited it - can I have it back?  Please?  Thank you.................


I put the black and white dresser ( that I painted while packing ) in the room

I'm only showing you a part of it because it has a t.v. sitting on it - and I can't move it just yet since it's the only place in the house we can actually watch it from :)


But here's a photo of it that I took when I painted it - use your imagination a little lol - it really does work lol



( the funny thing is I painted it with the hopes of making it a Kitchen Island - but you know how things change ) You can see that makeover HERE 
Ok - what else?

Oh and then of course there's my ceiling light - found at Costco - while looking for shower doors -
I came home with the light - and no shower doors.................



I also found a black velour blanket / throw for 20.00 that I placed on the bench at the foot of the bed
Again, not sure about this



I always use black pillow cases for sleeping on - because I can't stand how dirty white ones get so quickly ( I shouldn't admit that, right?  No one likes to think of dirty pillows ) but they DO get dirty fast lol - so I've mixed white ones with them - which are the ones we DON'T use.
The " bird " pillows I've had a while - they were in the living room in the last house - and will be put on the reading bench in the nook when it's done - for now they're ok on the bed


and that's about it folks - my new bedroom -


BEFORE ( SELLER'S MLS PHOTO )


AND AFTER



Costs involved were as follows:

Curtains for nook ( I already had the ones in front of the bed )
( someone asked me for the exact color code - but I had already thrown out the packaging - and believe it or not I went through half the garbage before giving up - sorry about that - but they're from Target - and they're kind of a champagne color )
29.00 a panel - so 60.00

Overhead light - from Costco
99.00

Wallpaper - 49.99 a roll - ( I only needed 6 inches from the second roll - $*$(*&@ ) so
100.00


Primer for the floor - I used Zinsser Cover Stain -
30.00 x 2 ( It took 2 quarts ) 

Behr - Porch and Floor paint -
55.00

Rustoleum ( can - not spray - ) black for windows
25.00

Black " throw "
20.00

Small round rug
20.00

The rental of a floor sander ( if you rent it on a Saturday - it allows you 2 days for the price of one - since they're closed on Sundays )  It would have been far more cost effective to do more than one room at a time - but it just wasn't possible in this case - so I'll be renting it again next weekend for the office and the upstairs landing -
125.00

A Son and Son-in-law willing to do it for free - PRICELESS

So the total cost for this bedroom comes to just under 600.00 dollars - 
I did most of my " shopping " from items I already had on hand.

And this post might have taken longer to write up than the actual makeover did LMHO

The dream of an all white house is slowly becoming a reality except by the time I'm finished I'll probably be ready to change it out and add color !!!

Now I'm going to jump into bed - curl up - and watch DOWNTON ABBEY!!!

You all have a wonderful Monday -
Much love, ( can you tell I like this photo? )

htt 


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