The Beginnig of a New Year

We are four days into the New Year and hunkered down for our second snowstorm this year expected to drop nine inches of snow between tonight and tomorrow.  Despite going through the house on a germ killing mission after a houseful of company over the holidays, it would appear my husband has come down with a case of possible flu.  It it fast and hard with him virtually fine one minute and turning green the next.  I finally have him tucked into bed so am sitting down to work on our master bedroom bedspread. 

We have a lot of plans for the house this year.  We've been here just over two years and while we have done a lot, there is still painting and the outside work to complete.  I want to do a bit more on the decorative side as well especially handmade items.  I already have an idea for a crocheted bedspread for the guest bed and we really need a new afghan for the living room.  I would also like to make a couple of crocheted bath mats. 

January will be a month of getting a bit more organized.  I started during the time we were home between the three and five weeks spent at our vacation home so need to finish that.  I'd also like to completely redo the entryway closet.  Surprisingly, I have found very few ideas for that project!  The guest room and office closets need organizing complete over hauls as well. 

At any rate there is a lot to do in our home sweet home...

The Master Bedroom Bedding Thus Far

In anticipation of the arrival of our new bedroom furniture, I did a bit of shopping for bedroom accessories. Well, in hindsight I should have made different choices but at least the lamps and yarn for the new crocheted bedspread in progress were spot on.  Unfortunately, a couple of the purchases did not work out as planned which means back to the drawing board.  In the meantime, the bedding is usable.

My husband is funny about quilts.  Years ago before we finished having kids, I splurged on a beautiful handmade quilt to replace my childhood handmade quilt that he so loved.  It had more than seen better days.  Thirty years later and the quilt I splurged on is as close to being a rag as it can get although I am considering salvaging the top to have it re-quilted if possible.  My husband bought the lighthouse quilt about five years ago.  It matched the theme of our previous house along with the navy blue bedding including dust ruffle. While the lighthouse quilt actually matches the room nicely with all the colours from my colour theme appearing, it does not match the curtains that have a fair amount of yellow tones in them along with more of a tropical theme than a nautical one.  However, my husband insists on having this quilt which is fine as it will be covered with a plain quilt then the crocheted bedspread.

The taupe 1,200 thread count bedsheets fit perfectly, matching the planned colour scheme.  However, my husband does not like the feel of them.  He claims they are too soft!  He likes the red set, as shown on two of the pillows.  It is a harsher feeling set likely an 800 thread count.  So, I'm back to shopping for taupe sheets.  I knew the duvet (foot of bed) would not fit as it is queen size but put it there to see if we wanted anything there or not.  It's a nice look for winter but a lot will depend on how the crocheted bedspread looks when it is finished.

I'm just playing with pillow arrangements.  The two back (taupe) pillows are the new king size pillows.  The two middle (red) are queen size as is the blue striped one.  The three smaller cushions were a real bargain bought for the inside not the ivory removable covering.  I wanted pillow forms to cover in crochet to match the bedspread.  Pillow forms for that size are $7.99 each but I found the cushions at Jysk (a bed, bath, home store) for $2.99 so bought them to cover in crochet.  I'm still tinkering with the pillows.  At any rate, I need to buy two more king size pillows.  So, the room is still only partly finished.

Working on the Master Bedroom Accessories

Earlier this month I wrote about starting the master bedroom make-over.  The plans were to keep the sage green colour of the walls and work from that bringing in the rest of the colours for our home.  The colours are cool taupe, green, deep burgundy, white, black and grey with lots of wood tones to warm and tie the colours together.  We ordered new bedroom furniture that was expected to arrive three weeks from the purchase date but it hasn't yet.  The Mom & Pop furniture store we have dealt with for years told us yesterday that the furniture would be in tomorrow or Monday so they would call to arrange a time for delivery.  During this time, we did most of the prep work like move our triple dresser into the guest room as our kid who was going to take it and the high boy decided it was too big.  We worked on purging some of our clothes and I started shopping for accessories.

I'm not the type to go out and buy all the accessories for a room at once.  Rather, I like to build on my ideas waiting to find just the right item to fulfill that idea.  The new king size bed frame is a storage sleigh bed.  I immediately decided that a homemade blanket would be ideal, bringing in a bit of old fashion country charm.  I bought 4 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver yarn - medium thyme, cornmeal, buff, aran - all colours found in the new master bedroom curtains.  I wanted a plain quilt for under the new blanket that would allow the blanket to become the focal point.  It was a fluke that I found a king size quilt set (quilt, two pillow shams) at a bargain price that would work perfectly.  A few days later I found a  six piece king size bed sheet set in taupe accented with an embroidery scroll design.  Finally, I found two clear raised coasters that I think are meant for pillar candles but will be used for our drink bottles on the night stands.

About a week ago, we were at Sam's Club and my husband picked out a package of king size pillows for the new bed.  Serta is a good brand and the price was quite reasonable.  Pillows are one of those things that most people do not replace often enough.  I saw one recommendation that pillows should be replaced every 3 months but I think that could be extended if you put pillow protectors on the pillows.  I think we almost need to buy another set so we have one set for the shams and one set for sleeping.  We can still use some of our existing pillows as they are fairly new as well and not used for sleeping.  I'll take the pillows we were using for sleeping to the animal shelter as they are always looking for pillows, blankets and towels.

A few days ago I found bedside lamps.  They were mix and match in that the pieces were bought separately.  I chose a brush stainless steel finish for the lamp base which was a very easy way to introduce grey into the bedroom.  The A-line shape shades are a medium light taupe material with just a hint of sheen, accented with stitched scrolls imitating the scroll embroidery on the bedsheets.  I think they will look quite nice with the darker wood tone of the new furniture.

We aren't sure whether the sewing machine cabinet the lamps are temporarily sitting on will be staying in the master bedroom.  We may have to take out the antique trunk as well.  I'm hoping the trunk can stay as it would look quite nice with the new furniture.
 

I actually saw a bedspread called a Wendy blanket after the designer.  I knew I just had to make it but only wanted to use four colours not the seventeen she had used.  I bought the pattern on Ravelry and talk about a disappointment!  The only part that could be considered a pattern was how to do the first four rows of a granny square, of which those instructions are widely available for free from numerous resources.  The rest was simply how she arranged the granny squares. There were no details for anything else other than number of small granny squares and number of plain granny rows between the squares.  I ended up doing several ripouts and some of them rather large ones.  The so called pattern was basically useless.  How she could justify charging someone for the instructions on how to work four rows of a granny square is beyond me!   So I am writing up a full pattern for the blanket as I work complete with the actual way I put my design together, including the method I used for that first granny row after the small granny squares.  The small granny squares are worked up to the last row then that row is created using the join as you go method to form the band of small granny squares.  

This is day 12 of working on the blanket and now that I am using my own methods, the work is progressing nicely as pictured.  The piece is on top of a queen size bed (60" x 80") to give a bit of perspective as to its size.  The piece is currently 46 inches square, a little over half of the size I want it to be to cover a king size bed 76" x 80".  I will be working the piece to at least 80" but perhaps a bit larger.  I'm currently working on the next band of small granny squares (a total of 44).  I found an online tool that helps with randomly generating the colour pattern.

My initial goal was to have the blanket completed by the time the furniture arrived.  Between the ripouts and other demands, progress has slowed somewhat.  The piece is getting increasingly cumbersome and heavy to work on. I know it won't be finished by the first of the week but it shouldn't take too long with any luck.  I'll post more on my blanket later.  I think the blanket will end up being a focal piece in the room.

Working a bit of navy blue and burgundy into the room is going to be a challenge.  I'm not sure how I will do it but I'm sure something will come to mind.  At least we are getting a bit closer to finishing the master bedroom makeover.  Once the furniture is set up, things will come together rather quickly!

Replacing Our Kitchen Range Hood

We bought this house in September 2011.  Within the first two weeks installed a new natural gas range and replaced the dishwasher.  Then we left for our vacation home in Florida for three weeks, home long enough to do some unpacking and organizing as well as a bit of home canning then we were back to Florida for most of December.  When we returned home, I turned my attention to choosing colours for our new home and repainting a couple of rooms.  Although I had plans to repaint all the rooms before spring, that didn't happen but I did get three finished, the guest bedroom, upper level bathroom and kitchen.

The kitchen was painted a cool taupe when we bought the house.  A friend of ours is a cabinet maker and finisher so he is doing a lot of custom woodworking for us.  He make a shelf for over the sink just to the far left but visible in the last picture.  We custom matched the paint for the walls to our dinnerware thanks to our friends at Home Hardware.  Once the walls were finished, our friend built in the bulkhead and added trim around the ceiling.  We had panel curtains hung.  My husband installed a food waste disposal just in time for the busiest part of the canning year.  I home can year round but mid-May through mid-October is very busy.  The kitchen sat that way through the busy canning season and three trips to our vacation home.  I was sick most of January and February so got little done as far as painting and decorating.  That changed with March when I was once again on my feet ready to tackle a few new projects. 

The existing range hood was about as disgusting as you could get!  I took household ammonia to it and still could not get the thing clean.  Not only that, when the northerly winds blew there was enough draft coming in the range hood to move the panel curtains.  I removed the vent screen, covered it with tin foil then put it back into place just to keep the cold air out.  So, I went to Rona Building Centre for a replacement, identical to it except black for $49.99 that was in their flyer to find that it had been discontinued.  The search was on.

In fairness, I seldom use a range hood.  I had no range hood in our first two houses, a range hood in the third house, no range hood in the fourth but then installed the down draft system on the Jenn-Air range that was also moved to our fifth house.  I prefer the down draft system over a range hood but we bought a natural gas range for this house that doesn't have a down draft system.  Replacing the range hood, in my mind, was more a matter of aesthetics.

We were restricted as far as size both width from the cabinet width and height due to the way the ceramic tile had been installed.  We could not go to a range hood wider than 30 - inches or deeper than 6 - inches.  I saw a nice thin line model I really liked but then we would be left with a gap between the tile and the hood.  I finally decided on the Broan-NuTone HDN64 Series 30 - inch, 180 CFM 7.5 Sones range hood in black for $79.99.  Sones is the measurement of the sound level the unit produces.  At 7.5 Sones this model is considerably louder than some higher end models that produce only 0.9 Sones.  This model has two fan speeds and two settings for the light brightness controlled by rocker switches.  It does have a nice, basic design (black with platinum lettering) that I thought would match well with the kitchen range and blend nicely with the rest of the room. 

The new range hood could be installed ducted to the outdoors or non-ducted.  It has a damper (included) to prevent cold air from entering when installed ducted.  If installed non-ducted, the hood requires an additional charcoal filter sold separately.

The damper was very easy to install on the top of the range hood.  My husband removed the knock-out on the top of the range hood then screwed the damper into position with the provided self tapping screws.  The baffle plate was slid into place behind the grille on the front of the range hood.  The slot where the baffle plate went is just visible to the right side at the top just behind the logo on the front of the range hood.

In order to install the new range hood, my husband turned the power off.  Then he removed the old range hood.  I washed the area well.  I then painted the smaller wall just to make sure there would be no wall showing that didn't match the main wall colour.  It took two coats but dried quite quickly.  I likely could have skipped this step but just wanted to be sure.   As you can see, rather than cut the tile as it should have been, the previous owners didn't.  That in itself would have presented a problem had we decided to use a range hood that wasn't as deep, not that it could not have been solved, just it would have been more work to install. 

If you look closely you can see how dirty and stained the old range hood was.  More importantly the actual baffle was missing on the damper (top of old range hood to the left).  This explains why the cold air was pouring in when the wind blew.  Under normal use, there is no way the baffle would just go missing so it must have broke off when they removed the range hood to install the tile.  Why on earth they replaced the range hood without the baffle on the damper is a mystery but then why they would have reinstalled a range hood in such poor condition is beyond me.  It should have been replaced when they did the tiling.

Once the paint was dry to the touch, it was time to install the range hood.  My husband carefully placed the range hood in place and made the necessary connections.  Then he secured the unit temporarily to test the connections by turning on the power.  All was well so he turned off the power, finished securing the range hood and turned the power back on. 

The new range hood really looks nice!  I used a Sylvania 8W LED bulb (450 lumens) instead of the GE 13W CFL (825 lumens).  Essentially, it was like replacing a 60W incandescent bulb with a 50W bulb.   We were already saving 47W by using a CFL rather than a 60W incandescent but now we will will be saving another 5W.  In this day and age of energy conservation, that is a good savings.  I am rather pleased with the light output as well.  The range hood light is mainly used as task and occasionally evening  lighting.

So, we are one step closer to finishing the kitchen.  When our friend installed the bulkhead enclosure, it was more of a taupe tone than golden oak.  He is going to redo the cabinets to match.  He is also going to cut the extra marble tile we found in the garage to fill the gap under the new dishwasher.  That leaves us with replacing the microwave oven, the sink and faucet.  With any luck our kitchen will be completely finished in the next month or so.

Levolor® PanelTrac™ Patio Door Treatment in the Kitchen

Patio doors are always a bit more difficult to choose some type of covering.  It is a big expanse of glass that can cause considerable thermal loss at night especially during the winter months and yet during the summer months the solar gain can be enough to make the room unbearably hot.  In both cases, patio doors can end up increasing your heating and cooling costs.  We had two sets of patio doors in our last house but chose not to cover them so we could enjoy the gorgeous view.  Privacy wasn't an issue and the property was very shaded in the summer so leaving them bare wasn't a problem.  We have patio doors at our vacation home with the standard vertical blinds.  This house has patio doors in the kitchen with the summer sun being problematic in the morning and one of our neighbour's windows looking directly into.  So far privacy has not been an issue.  I wanted something to lessen the solar gain during the summer while providing a bit of privacy when desired.  At the same time I didn't want the standard vertical blinds.

I decided to order custom treatments for the patio doors and the large living/dining room window.  Unfortunately, the living/dining room window treatment turned out to be a nightmare AND they brought out the wrong fabric panels for the patio doors.  Although the living/dining room window treatment remains unsettled, we finally got the patio doors finished in the panels we had ordered.  This is precisely why on any custom window treatment being installed by the company, you should never pay more than a deposit until they are installed and you are satisfied with the install. 

We chose Levolor® PanelTrac™custom made for our patio doors in woven weaves 23501 Totem Pole.  The colours match nicely with the kitchen and if you look close the colours of the rest of the house (taupe, moss green, navy blue) are in the weave as well.   Ours is a four panel, one way draw, light filtering covering.  Each panel attaches to the carrier on the head rail via Velcro strips making them easy to change and clean.  When opened with the auto wand, each panel stacks one behind the other.  Unlike the standard vertical blinds, these panels do not turn so cannot be adjust in that manner.  They simply slide back and forth.

Levolor® offered a wide range of panels to choose from.  The solar panels don't completely block out the view but rather block the solar gain during the day and the heat loss at night.  The opacity is noted for each fabric so you can get panels offering no opacity to those with 95% opacity.  The higher the opacity the less you can see out or others see in. 

During the day, we can still see out somewhat but our neighbours can't see in.  This is perfect in the mornings when we are still in pajamas and sporting bed head.  They are working quite nicely to control the solar gain during the mornings.  By lunchtime, I can open them fully to take advantage of the natural light without the solar gain.

At night, the light filtering works in reverse so if there is a light on in the kitchen, the neighbours could see in.  However, we chose a heavy enough weave (95% opacity) they would likely only be able to see shadows, nothing clearly.  Without lights on, you can't see through them, perfect in the event of an attempted break-in and when we are on vacation.  We are used to this as the panels work very much like the SolarGuard window film we installed in one of our houses where solar gain was a huge problem during the summer months.

I really like the way the PanelTrac™ looks.  We may put a custom wood valance on it but haven't decided yet.  All around though, dealing with this particular local business has left a rather nasty taste in our mouths.  We won't deal with them again!  It took them almost three weeks to get the PanelTrac™ to what we ordered and the living/dining room (Eclipse shutters) still has the old sheers after they installed incorrectly without the necessary parts.  The shutters could not be opened and when I tried, one fell off and hit me.  I finally told them to take the shutters down and take them back.  They 'said' they would make it right but we've heard nothing from them since being home from vacation.  In case you are wondering, the PanelTrac™ cost us $680.26 plus $25 for installation.  There is a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects and a 5 year on the panels themselves.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Feather & Grass Decorative Planter

I have been spending a fair amount of shopping time at Home Hardware lately buying paint, painting supplies and gardening supplies.  They have a section of decorative accent pieces.  I noticed an artificial pampus grass planter that I thought would look nice in our freshly made-over main bathroom [More on that to come this week].   However, it was $59.99 so I didn't buy it as that money would be better spent painting another room in my quest to have all the rooms painted in the house before the end of May.  Then I came up with a brilliant idea, one that was less expensive and one that could be changed out without waste whenever I desired.  Off to the dollar store...

I bought one 6 - inch clay pot ($1.50), seven feather & grass spears ($1 each) and a bag of sphagnum  moss ($1) for a total cost of $9.50.  I recycled some packaging styrofoam from the garage to hold the spears.  I disassembled two of the spears to use the leaf portion and make the planter look a bit more realistic.  Once the spears were arranged, I covered the styrofoam with the moss.  I got the look I wanted for $9.50 effectively saving myself $50.49!  The best thing is, I can easily take the planter apart and reuse everything in other projects with very little effort. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Choosing Paint Colours

As soon as we knew we were moving here, one of our friends suggested as they did, have a professional painter come in and paint everything neutral. Well, we actually like some of the colours so decided against this. However, I have always maintained that you should not immediately change paint colours upon moving into a new home. Get settled first then observe how the natural light affects the room colours. Chances are the nice creamy yellow in the kitchen was quite welcoming under artificial lighting when you viewed the house and now is a bit garish while sipping your morning coffee.

I spent a couple of days on the Behr ColorSmart site.  This is an amazing tool that can help you find the perfect colours and even shows you what they will look like using your own photo.  After finding a mossy green (Promenade, 400F-5) very close to what was used in the master bedroom and fairly close to one of the colours at our vacation home. All the other colours in the house will co-ordinate back to that green. My husband wanted to deal locally at Home Hardware but they don't sell Behr paint. Home Depot does but that means a good half hour drive each way that will waste a lot of time if I go on a per room basis. Anyway, Home Hardware can mix the paint to the Behr code so that is a real bonus for me!  It will save countless trips outside of our community.

Another great way to choose a colour for a room is to look at one of the fabrics you already have in there.  Squint and the predominate colour will pop out.  Take the fabric sample with you to start building of colours that will co-ordinate with that fabric.  I actually chose co-ordinating colours this way for our old house.  I loved the tone of the existing wallpaper but not the design or age of it.  The end result was quite pleasant to the point I ended up basing the entire house colours on that particular colour!  I even found a wallpaper border later with all the colours.  The neat thing was I had chose the colours for the walls using the squint method and the Behr ColorSmart tool well before I ever found the border and yet the border matched perfectly.  Sometimes working backwards still gets good end results!



Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Let the Painting Begin

Our new house was built in 1994.  It is a 5-bedroom executive house that we moved into in September of 2011.  We really liked the room colours with the exception of two when we did the walk-throughs but after five months of living here I think I have noticed every single painting flaw in the house.  The colours are almost but not quite co-ordinated and the previous owners tried to use a three colour shadowing technique in the entrance/living/diningroom/hall unsuccessfully.  Then the warm taupe tones in that space clashes with the cooler taupe in the kitchen.  In fact the cooler taupe in the kitchen really doesn't work as well as it could with the warm oak, ceramic tile (counters) or marble tile (floor) tones.  The visual aspect could have been overlooked but what could not be overlooked was the amateur painting!  My massive winter project is painting each room in the house.  Over the next few weeks I will be doing a bit of blogging about that.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Easy Decorative Candle Centerpiece

I love decorative accents that can easily be co-ordinated with other accents yet the elements can be dismantled to be re-used in future projects.  With only two days to prep the house for Christmas this year, I did not have the time to get really fancy.  I needed a couple of simple accents that I could whip up without much time or effort.

I needed a simple, holiday theme centerpiece for the diningroom table.  This table was only going to be used for breakfast then it would hold trays of various goodies for snacking while giving a spot to sit and enjoy coffee.  I decided on using a charger as the base.  A charger is the decorative plate that a dinner plate sits on.  We don't burn paraffin candles in our home but I do keep a few on hand for decorative purposes only so I brought out three ivory candles from my craft supplies.  I used the same glittery red, green and gold ribbon as I did making the decorative accent vase and sprigg I didn't use making the vase.  I raided the bathroom cabinet for epsom salts.  While epsom salts is used mainly in the bathroom, it is an excellent crafting medium to work with as well.

This centerpiece was about a simple and low cost as you can get.  It took me about 5 minutes to put together.  I tied the candles into a grouping of three then placed slightly off centre on the charger.  I sprinkled epsom salts around the base then tucked in the artificial sprigg.  The centerpiece was complete.  That's it, nothing fancy just a bit of a festive touch to the table and one that could easily be dismantled after the holiday season. I like how this simple centerpiece came out. 

Decorative accents do not need to not need to be expensive or fancy, they just need to add that little bit of something special.  In fact, sometimes simplicity wins out when it comes to decorative accents especially during the holiday season. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

An Easy and Inexpensive Decorator Accent Vase

Quite often when decorating especially for the holidays, that little extra something is needed.  While the stores are filled with a multitude of decorations to choose from, it is nicer to create a custom-made decoration or accent piece.  We arrived home from our vacation home on December 22^nd, leaving only two days to get the house ready for Christmas.  I turned to my extensive craft supplies along with the purchases I made at Hobby Lobby.  Goodness that is a crafter's mecca!

I bought a tall, straight sided vase, glittered twigs, glass beads and Santa Ice Crystals at Hobby Lobby.  I had never seen the ice crystals spray before.  This is a temporary spray frost that can be sprayed on windows, mirrors or any glass surface to create a Jack Frost effect.  The spray contains no CFCs or other ozone-depleting substances.  It can be remove using window cleaner.

The glitter twigs are quite easy to make at home using twigs collected from trees in your yard or along your daily walk.  Allow them to dry until hard then spray with spray adhesive and sprinkle with glitter colour of choice.  I bought them simply because with the move I did not collect any twigs this past fall.  The artificial sprigg and glittery ribbon came from my craft supplies.

I don't have a specific crafting area established in our new home so simply used the counter in the kitchen.  I wan't worried about getting any of the ice crystal spray on the counter as it can easily be removed.  Still, I protected the counter with newspaper. 

I washed and dried the vase then turned it upside down on the newspaper.  Pictured is the vase just after being sprayed with the ice crystals spray.   I held the can about a foot from the vase when spraying.  The spray is quite thin, just sheeting the glass.  The spray is not tacky but it does have a bit of an odour .  It takes a few minutes for the ice crystals to start forming.

I sprayed from the top of the inverted vase to the bottom open end.  The instructions said the ice crystals would form within a half hour but I found they started forming within ten minutes.  As the spray dried the ice crystals formed giving a unique, Jack Frost look very similar to the frozen ice crystals that used to appear on our windows during the winter in my childhood home.  The picture does not do the effect justice.  It is a rather pretty look giving the vase a unique look.

I let the vase dry for about an hour until the entire vase was covered with ice crystals.  Then I removed it from the newspaper so I could begin decorating it.

Pictured is the finished decorator accent vase.  I decided against using the sprigg and chose the glittery ribbon with red, green and gold tones rather than the solid gold glittery ribbon.  I used the ribbon, a dollar store find, to further accent a candy bowl and candle centerpiece for a co-ordinated look.  I poured the glass beads into the vase first before adding the glittery twigs.  This hid the ends giving a snowy effect to compliment the frosted ice crystal effect.  It was simple and very inexpensive at under $2.

What I really like about this type of craft is after the event, the craft can be dismantled with the components put back into my craft supplies to be re-used in another craft at some point.  I really enjoyed working with the ice crystals spray.  We have side windows on each side of our entrance door.  I'm thinking of spraying them just to see if I like the frosted look rather than sheers.  The nice thing is the spray can be left as long as I like so if I don't like the look I can simply wash it off!  This crafting product gets two-thumbs-up in my book for versatility.

I placed the decorator accent vase in the dining room atop the vintage cabinet I refinished years ago.  The reindeer was made several years ago when I was heavily into ceramics.  The painting is one in our collection of painting from a local artist.  We have known this artist for several years.  Each painting is numbered, signed and comes with a story.  They are very unique!  The look of each painting does change with the lighting conditions taking on it's own persona.  This particular one reminds me of the sand dunes at Pinery Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada where we spent many a weekend camping with the kids.

The decorator accent vase just gave that little extra to that spot for the holiday season.  I might leave it as is for awhile before changing out the look for one that will work elsewhere.  It was an interesting, fun little project that was easily finished in just a little over an hour but the actual work time was only about 10 minutes if that.  I hope you like it!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Decorative Wall Stickers

It has been a few years that decorative wall stickers have been available.  These stickers are peel and stick but easy to remove.  Until now I had seen them mainly in children themes and while I have bought some for the grandchildren, I had not bought any for our home.  A couple of years ago the stickers were showing up in a black, more adult theme to add instant interest to a room.  These were larger designs like flowers, trees or geometric shapes.  I was in the dollar store the other day and noticed packages of removable vinyl lettering in different phrases so I bought a couple of packages.  All of the rooms need painting so for $2 I thought it would be a inexpensive way to see if I liked the effect or not.  Pictured is the one I put over the staircase bulkhead.  I put another one that says "Home is where our story begins" over our bed in place of a headboard as shown on the packages. 


I really like the effect!  It's not something I would go overboard using but as a bit of interest, the vinyl lettering is much easier to put up than stenciling.  I ended up buying five more packages, two to replace after painting and three different phrases just in case.  I learned a long time ago if you see something at the dollar stores you want or may want in the future to get it then as it may not be available after that stock is depleted.  The downside to the lettering is you are limited to the available phrases and colours.  There is a print shop that does the vinyl lettering for commercial signage that my husband has used many times.  It is on the same principle as the decorative lettering (applied the same way) I bought so I'll have them make up the lettering for my favourite quote for my home office once it is painted.  That way I can choose the font and colour I want. 


The vinyl lettering comes sandwiched between a heavy piece of coated backer paper on one side (sticky side) and a thinner coated paper to temporarily hold the letters for mounting.  To place the stickers on the wall, carefully peel back the thinner paper.  You may have to nudge the letters a bit to come off the backer paper while peeling so go slowly.  Position the sticker in the desired location on a clean wall.  Smooth out any air bubbles in the wall sticker.  Before removing the thin mounting paper, I used a flat edge over the lettering.  Carefully peel off the mounting paper and voila, instant interest!  The lettering can be peeled from the wall and stored on the backing sheet if desired but I'm not sure how well this will work which is why I bought extra packages in case I wanted to use that phrase again. 


Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Interior Decorating Inspiration

Like many homemakers I am always on the look-out for interior decorating ideas.  I'd love our home to look like some of the upscale rooms in decorating magazines but homes are meant to be lived in not always staged.  One problem is relying solely on decorating magazines or shows is not being able to see how texture can be used effectively in a room. 

We do a fair amount of traveling which means we have stayed in a large number of motel rooms.  Motel rooms can be a great inspiration for home decorating.  The first thing in common with all the motel rooms we've stayed in is co-ordination of colours.  Everything matches but it is not just plain.  The bedspread may pick up one colour in the carpet.  Carpets are often multi-coloured, low pile and textured.  These are actually practical because they help to make the carpet easier to clean while providing interest.  The carpet is often run up the wall by 3 - inches to form a custom baseboard for a finished yet practical look.  Wall are often a subtlely textured in muted multi light toned neutral colours.  Nothing other than the ceiling is plain and yet everything works together. 

Materials used are quite important and I suspect all were chosen to give good looks while providing durability and cleanability.  Bathroom floors are usually tiled.  Shower stall are acrylic one piece, ceramic tiled or even corion lined.  Walls are usually some type of vinyl coating rather than simply being painted.  About the only surface painted in motel rooms is the ceiling although sometimes the door trim is painted.  Window sill are often acrylic or marble for durablility.  Thresholds are often marble as well. 

What I have noticed too is earth tones (hunter green, beiges, taupes, browns) are the most popular colours used in motel rooms.  Pinks, peaches and turquoises are often used yet blues don't seem to be used as much.  We stayed in one higher end motel where the entire theme was black and white accented with gold.  It was gorgeous but not a colour theme often seen in motel rooms.  Accessories and accent pieces can range from quite simple to a bit more ornate.  There's usually at least one framed print to add interest along with a mirror. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Flameless Candles

Burning candles add a warm, soothing ambiance to any room with their flickering glow.  I make my own beeswax and soy candles for regular use in our home.  As much as I love burning candles there are times where the ambiance of a burning candle would be lovely but without the associated safety concerns or heating the room.  A while ago I discovered flameless candles.

Flameless candles are battery operated to can be placed anywhere.  The 3V lithium batteries are not rechargeable so this is something to consider when using them to ensure the batteries are disposed of properly.   Each battery will give last about 100 hours of flameless candle operation.    Apparently now there are rechargeable versions available so that may also be an option.

Flameless candles now come in a wide range of sizes and some even have colour changing flames for a festive touch.  I have 8 flameless candles in the tealight style.  They don't get a lot of use so I'm still on my first batteries for each of them.  They really are nice for adding ambiance when the grandbabies are home without worrying about a candle being accidently knocked over.  I also turn a couple of them on when showing the house for a nice touch yet I don't have to worry about them accidently being left on.  In the warm weather months I can have a few on without heating the house.

The flickering flame of the flameless candle is quite realistic.  Mine have a flickering yellow/orange flame close to that of beeswax candles when they are lit but a bit darker.  The light given off is a bit less than a burning candle similar more to some of the energy efficient LED night lights.

I use the flameless candles most around the Christma holiday season season where I can scatter them about to get the ambiance.  They are small enough to set on a narrow windowsill for that homey feel inside and out.   I honestly wouldn't buy a lot of these candles simply because you have to turn each one on individually but in perspective it is no different than going around to light candles individually. 


Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Staging a Room for Selling a House

I like watching HGTV shows and one thing that I noticed on any of the shows where they are selling property is they like to stage the rooms. In come areas there are even companies that will come in to stage your house to help make the house or property sell quicker. Staging works well for those families who do not have to live in the house while it is the process of showing. Living in the house presents a new set of problems because it is very difficult to keep every room looking pristine for showing on short notice. This disrupts you entire routine and every aspect of your lifestyle. The best way to deal with this situation is to declutter as much as possible and stage any rooms you can feasibly not use. That way there will always be a couple of rooms that you don't have to rush around doing last minute straightening before a short notice showing.

Room Staging

If you recall we have been working on putting the bedroom that was being redone into a craft room just a day before finding out new that would see us selling this house. We finished painting the room, installed a new light, installed laminate flooring and changed the floor vent out. The last thing that remains to be done is updating the electrical outlets (top) for the European style. Since this will take little time and make minimal mess I took a few moments to do a bit of staging. We won't be actually using this room before we move so it can be left this way until the house sells.

I staged the room simply using the items we have on hand for our grandchildren. This included a crib, rocking chair, high chair and a few toys. I thought the outcome staged the room nicely to give the idea of a nursery. The rocking chair is rather special as it was the one I used to nurse all of our kids. Hopefully it brings good karma to the room!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Bathroom Make-over Research

When we moved into this house just a little over two years ago we immediately made plans to renovate the dated and lack-luster bathrooms. Unfortunately a few major plumbing repairs popped up and we decided to do a temporary kitchen update that took a bit longer than expected. This year we have decided to completely renovate at least the small bathroom, change one bedroom into a craft room and redo our bedroom and guest room. We hope to get the larger bathroom done as well but we'll see as there is still a fair amount of outside work to be done including installing a new dock. Of the four projects the bathroom will be the most extensive with completely gutting and starting from scratch.

With that in mind I have started do research on bathrooms and craft rooms. Not only am I pouring through magazines and websites I'm checking out friend's bathrooms and even taking pictures of motel elements I like. It sounds a bit funny to take pictures of motel bathrooms but why not? We love to travel so have an opportunity to see a lot of motel bathrooms some that have the elements I want in our bathrooms. The neat thing is with motels you get to try out the elements so to speak which helps make your decision easier.

Toilet Cabinet

Our small bathroom is off the open concept family room. This is the washroom my husband and I use most often. It consists of a shower stall, toilet, sink and storage. Expanding it is not really an option without losing part of the utility room built-in storage and the master bedroom closet. We've decided that we want to work within the existing space to create a nice washroom that works with the rest of the house.

Pictured is the washroom in the room we stayed in at Harrah's in Joliet, Illinois. I like that the toilet could be completely closed off from the rest of the washroom. So that is something I would like to incorporate into the small bathroom. I like the floating vanity too but am not sure how practical that would be for daily living as we would be giving up vanity storage. I think a vanity similar to dresser would work nicely as that would visually extend under the vanity while giving us the storage we need.

Granite Countertop

Pictured is another view of the washroom at Harrah's. Definite don't likes are the mirror, lighting and textured wallpaper. I do like the overall colour tones of the bathroom as well as a touch of quiet elegance. What I really like about the floating vanity is the granite countertop and the curvature of the vanity. I like the smoothness and feel of the granite. However, I was watching DIYnetwork today and they showed a kitchen countertop using soapstone. It was stunning! We wouldn't need a huge piece for the small bathroom so it wouldn't break the budget. I want to do a bit more research on the soapstone as I think it would fit our house even better than granite.

Extension

Pictured is the washroom in the room we stayed in at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort. The vanity was again a floating style but with a leg on one end then wrapping over the toilet. I liked the curves of the vanity but did not like the actual countertop at all. I did like the extra countertop gained by extending it over the toilet tank. The immediate problem to doing this is of course toilet tank access and we all know at some point even with a newer toilet you might have to access the tank. We are also looking at installing dual flush eco-friendly toilets that have the flush buttons on the top of the tank. So even though I like that idea it is a no go for our bathroom renovations.

Tiling

Pictured is the hot tub in the room at Soaring Eagle. We are considering this type of set-up for our large bath if we can expand it a bit. At any rate and beyond a shadow of a doubt these are the tiles I want for the smaller bathroom! They will fit well with the overall design of our house keeping a cottage feel. Originally I thought a similar tile but all the same size would be nice but I really like the mixed sizes that will add a subtle interest. I don't like the textured wallpaper so the entire bathroom will be tiled including the ceiling although thinking about it we could put tongue and groove wood on the ceiling to tie the room into the family room. Still, I really like the idea of the whole room being tiled with a glass shower wall and door. What I think would look quite lovely is a antique dresser with soapstone top for the vanity. The soapstone would look quite lovely with this tile. I'm still not sure what I want for a mirror/medicine cabinet.

Ok so now I'm armed with a few ideas it is time to go shopping. Please check back to see our progress on these projects.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Artificial Plants

Being a gardener at heart the idea of using artificial plants in our home doesn't really sit well with me. They tend to be huge dust collectors and well they just look fake. However, there are certain spots in the house where a plant would look perfect but the spot is not exactly conducive to good plant growth. This is were an artificial plant can come in handy.

It is easy to put together a fairly natural looking basket of ivy or other potted plant look. Craft type stores, dollar stores, department stores and even plant nurseries carry a wide range of artificial vines, flowers and greenery. With a little practice and tweaking you can get a realistic looking artificial plant for those spots where a real plant would not survive in your home.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Kitchen Renovation Restrictions

There are always restrictions imposed on any renovation project ranging from financial to physical space to bylaws and permits. I mentioned several times that we had a few restrictions for our kitchen renovation. After seeing the following pictures you will have a better idea of the restrictions we faced for this renovation. The major one was we really had to work within the space we had because there was no option for expansion without major and I do mean major renovations. The kitchen is on the lower level that is earth bermed so most of the kitchen is below grade. The window is at ground level and the patio doors are below grade. The patio doors lead to a covered patio below the upper level enclosed sunporch. The patio leads into the yard that ends at the water's edge. There is a lovely view of the water from both the kitchen window and patio doors as well as the large window in the family room. The second restriction was the wood ceiling, one of the selling features for this house. Honestly they are gorgeous! The third restriction was this house has a very cottage-like feel so we wanted to keep that feel meaning some materials simply wouldn't work well for the look. The property is waterfront and a good portion of our entertaining involves water activities. On weekends it is common for us to host one or more family and friend get togethers numbering 30 or more guests so the kitchen really has to perform but at the same time it has to have that cottage look and feel.

Family Room

We have a large family room with wood as the overpowering element. Not shown to the right is a large couch and to the left by the television is the dining table. On an angle and behind the love seat and chair shown is a empty space then my desk tucked beside the stairwell. From my desk going off the family room from right to left - under the stairwell is a large 10' x 10' walk-in pantry, our huge master bedroom, bathroom, laundry room. Off the laundry room is the furnace room. Off the master bedroom is the space under the front porch that we are going to insulate and finish for storage. The massive natural fireplace was converted to a gas fireplace by the previous owner. We are going to replace this fireplace with something not quite so fussy looking. The fireplace throws off enough heat to heat the house in the event the power is out.

Visually the room is very textural. Note especially the wood ceiling. It continues into the kitchen. Anything during the kitchen renovation that would affect the ceiling would have the potential of being quite costly. Since the ceiling was a selling feature, we were not prepared to change it.

View 1

This view is taken from the corner of the family room in front of the couch. It shows the only common wall between the family room and kitchen. This is an outside wall with patio doors and large picture window. Of note is the thickness of the lower level walls measuring about 18 - inches from inside to outside. This is the only wall on the lower level that is fully exposed although it is well protected to reduce any effects from direct winds. The other walls are earth bermed.

The kitchen is on the other side of the stairs leading to the entrance which technically is the only room on that level. Stairs from the entrance lead to the upper level consisting of a games room, a large room we aren't sure what we are doing with yet, an office, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Dividing the kitchen from the family room is the breakfast bar.

View 2

This view was taken from in front of the television. It shows how the ceiling from the family room continues into the kitchen. Removing or replacing the cabinets would have affected the ceiling. The expanse of wood in the family room and kitchen on ceiling, walls and cabinets does make the two rooms darker so lights are needed especially on cloudy days. Very little direct sunlight finds its way into the lower level. The wood continues up the stairwell and surrounds the entrance. The banister is heavy wood in keeping with the rest of the house. It forms a focal point for the entry and is quite visible from the two upper level main rooms.

The renovation really brightened up the kitchen while keeping that all important cottage look. There were so many choices and I actually fell in love with a beautiful shades of sea green glass tile that would have looked beautiful with the painted wall. The immediate problem was that tile would tie us into that colour for quite some time. I was flipping through a cottage design magazine when I spotted just the tile that would look great in our kitchen. Armed with the picture we went shopping. We are quite pleased with the results and our ability to work within the restrictions.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Fun With Paint

When we moved here last year we knew right off the bat that both bathrooms would need complete gutting and there would a kitchen renovation to fit our appliances, replace the countertop and backsplash and while not replacing the cabinets the cabinet doors and hardware would likely be replaced. So inside we knew we were facing some rather expensive changes. But what about the other rooms? Upstairs while gorgeous had very dated wallpaper in dirty taupe tones. The larger upper bedroom had deep rose with metallic gold floral wallpaper I actually like but according to everyone else it looks like a bordello. The smaller upper bedroom was poorly painted in two tone faux feather method. The dominant feature throughout the house is wood and lots of it with the family room and kitchen having wood wainscotting and wood beamed ceilings. The stairwell is wood. Aside of wood the next dominant feature in the family room is a floor to ceiling fieldstone fireplace. The challenge would be to keep the cottage feel while highlighting the wood and because of the design of the house keep the colours flowing nicely.

Freshening up the look of a room or giving it a whole new look is oh so easy and inexpensive with paint. It is the ultimate DIY project. If you don't like the results simply repaint. Online tools make it easy to choose paint colours and mood as well as coordinate your colours. You can even use your own photographs to see what the colours will look like in your room. The best part is you can do this all from the comforts of your home, tweaking until you get just the right look. Then print off the worksheet and head to your local paint store.

My Colour Scheme

We have a beautiful water view that changes daily taking on a life of its own. I really wanted the indoor colours to reflect that. Taking from the colour in the old wallpaper I settled on Country Mist from Behr, the lightest of the bluish greens on the paint chip card. The original colour was chose from paint chips at Home Depot. Home Depot has a computerized colour tool called ColorSmart for Behr paint. ColorSmart can be found online on the Behr website. Using the online version is nice because you can choose and co-ordinate your colours from the comfort of your home. You can try the colours on your own rooms $4.95 (one year subscription) or use generic rooms to get an idea of how the colours will look. If you are doing a lot of decorating, the one year subscription is well worth it since you will see how the colours look on your own rooms.

The first colour, Country Mist was used on the lower level family room walls, kitchen wall, and upper level games room. I used the medium green, Tide Pools on the deep windows sills and patio surround on the lower level and on the five smaller walls of the connecting entry/landing. I painted the entry door with the darkest green, Marina Isle. And there is where everything stopped.

Preparing Main Landing Wall

Technically the side entry that connects the upper level to the lower level is the only room on this level. It isn't calculated in with square footage something I don't understand. The walk-in pantry on the lower level is under the landing. The dark wood wainscotting on the walls go down the stairs and continues in the lower family room and connecting kitchen wall. The family room and kitchen have to be treated as one because of the design. The heavy bannister is a nice accent tying in the upper and lower levels. When we painted the lower level walls in Country Mist we did not have an actual colour picked out for the large upper room directly off the upper stains and to the right. Only the upper wall of this room above the landing is shown. I really wanted an accent mural on the large wall to the left done in muted tones sort of fantasy water themed. This room is actually supposed to be the good livingroom but we are really leaning towards putting a custom made pool table in there. I knew I didn't want the same greens but whatever colour I chose for that room had to flow into the connecting games room and the landing. So there it sat unfinished and undecided for about 6 months.

I searched unsuccessfully for a mural for the large wall of the landing. Then I got lucky and as posted in a previous entry, I had a break through when I found the perfect border that not only had all the colours that would work in the rooms but also had the nautical theme. Once the border was up in the lower level, we liked it enough to paint the large landing wall in Country Mist and trim the entire landing with the border to unify both levels. Unifying is important because the landing is quite visible from the lower level.

Large Wall Finished

Pictured here is one view of the landing showing the finished large wall and two of the smaller walls. The end of the bannister to the right (not shown) opens onto the end of large room where the games room joins. So the landing while being quite visible from the lower level is even more visible from the games room and large possible pool room to the left (not shown). The colour for the large room is Cumberland Fog, shown on the wall over landing. Choosing this colour was very simple using the border and the ColorSmart tool.

I went to the Behr site and started the ColorSmart tool then chose "select by Color name/number". I typed in the name Country Mist which took me to the next step where I could add colours from the names on the paint chips. Once all three colours were selected I chose which colour was the dominant colour and clicked select to coordinate. This brought up suggestions for a fourth coordinating colour. To get an idea of how the colours would look on the wall, I clicked on preview. As simple as clicking on the desired colour the clicking where I wanted it on the picture gave a good visual of how the room would look. From there I saved the project online (need to register) and printed a copy that shows the paint chips, colour names/numbers and picture of the project.

Comments for Using ColorSmart: This online tool and I'm sure there are others can save you a lot of time and headaches. It gives you a way to try on the colour in your own rooms with the only investment of a small subscription fee that for many is less that a trip to the store. At the same time you aren't playing around with actual paint samples so you save there. I should point out that you can buy small paint samples to try as well but this allows you to narrow down your choices before buying even the samples. Another advantage is being able to save your work online so you can modify as often as you want and unlike being in the store you have the room right ready to help make the decisions. If using your own photos be sure to take several of the room in different light. If the room will have mainly natural light that is what you want to work with. Take your time to get good photos to work with.

Another View

This view is from the end of the bannister on the upper level looking down onto the landing. I'm rather pleased with the effects of three shades of green in the landing with the Cumberland blue (top and to left) from the upper room to the left flowing nicely into the landing. The remaining element in the landing to be changed is the floor itself. We have decided on ceramic tile but have not decided on a colour yet. I'm impressed that the two rooms came together so fast once I gave up on finding a mural and going with repeating the border.

The online tool is something I will be using throughout the house. It really makes coordinating the paint colours from one room to the next almost fool proof. I'm now working on the colours for the two upper bedrooms that are connected to the large possible pool room via a spacious almost square hall. Through the double French door entrance to the hall from left to right is a large bedroom, bathroom, small bedroom and linen closet. The colour needs to be a connector as well. Using the ColorSmart tool, Pearl Drops looks to be a good choice.

So don't be afraid to experiment with colour. The online tools will let you do it easily with little cost. Who knows you may discover a whole new look for your room very different from what you were thinking. Have fun!

Garden Gnome
© 2007

Transforming a Room with Borders

The busy holiday season is over and we are well rested after our winter vacation so it is now it's time to spend a little time on the inside of the house before the weather turns nice and we want to be outdoors. We haven't been in this house for a full year yet so we are still trying to determine what we want. At the same time we have three large indoor projects planned involving the most expensive rooms of the house (kitchen and two baths). I have commented to my husband that this house unlike our previous houses is going to end up being more of "being at the right place at the right time" and "when we see it we will know" type of decorating. So it was on Friday when we stumbled upon a border that I thought would match perfectly for a wall I actually had been looking for a mural.

If you recall we used Behr 480E-1 Country Mist on the lower level family room that merges into the kitchen walls. We carried shades of this into the upper level. To make a long story short I still haven't found a mural but this border at Home Hardware just popped out at me. It had all the colours of the family room so I thought it would work on the upper accent wall. It was a total fluke finding a border that matched the way it did. When we arrived home one look was all it took to decide to use the border in the family room and kitchen as a finishing accent. The wainscotting and ceilings in both rooms are tongue and groove wood. The kitchen cabinets are matching wood.

I've used borders for decorating in every house we've owned. Borders are an inexpensive way to pack a lot of impact with very little effort. They are very easy to install and need only a few very simple tools. Borders are easy to remove if you decide you no longer like the look as well. There are a couple of things I don't like about borders. My biggest pet peeve is some tend to go overboard using borders forgetting that they are meant as accents not as main decorating elements. Trust me that is very apparent in our master bedroom that will soon be remedied! The second thing I don't like about borders is often they are sold in pre-packaged lengths so you would end up buying a 15 foot roll to get that extra foot you needed. However, Home Hardware has changed that. Border sold by the food it now available allowing you to buy just what you need.

Before

The very pale bluish green does not photograph well. It takes on a pale off white colour. The colour works well with the wood walls, trim and ceiling. It also works nicely with the massive field stone fireplace. The wood fireplace has been converted to natural gas which is nice but we would like to put in a new gas fireplace to fit the opening better. Around the wood ceiling and all the beams is rope instead of corner round. My husband loves the look of the rope so we decided to leave it. A few spots need to be retacked after painting.

There are such massive and overpowering elements in the family room. The right hand photo shows the window in the family room. The left hand photo shows the same window well but going into the kitchen. Painting really brightened up both rooms but to me there was something missing. It was clean, crisp and matched while accenting both the stone work and wood but it was almost too plain. The new border brought a bit of whimsy and warm as well as adding a finished touch to both rooms.

Materials

Installing border requires few tools but it does require patience and as you read about my installation, a degree of pickiness. Measure the length of where you want to install the border. Add at least 4 feet extra if not a bit more to compensate for errors. You will need sharp scissors, a tape measure, sharp utility knife, ruler, a wallpaper tray or large bin to hold warm water, a dry cloth and a wet cloth. I couldn't find my wallpaper tray so used my huge stainless steel bowl. You will need a cleared space to roll out the border for cutting and a smaller cleared space that can get wet for booking.

The first step is to square the cut border edge. When bought by the foot this is necessary. Take your ruler, line it up so the narrow edge is on the long edge of the border leaving about 1/2 inch inside of the cut end. Now using the utility knife cut down creating a straight edge. You are now ready to start.

I am picky to the point of being anal when installing border but the end result is well worth it. There are no gaps and seams are invisible. Most important is the continuity of the pattern is maintained something that is a given when working around the entire perimeter of a room but also something that can easily be overlooked when dealing with a room such as ours with lots of breaks. There is the temptation to fit in a piece on a short wall section but trust me, do not do this. The savings will be minimal and it will never fool the eye! My rule of thumb is to start at one wall then work your way around the entire perimeter, cut end always following cut end so if you have a room with a lot of doors or windows the continuity is maintained.

Booking

Starting at one corner or end wall as in my case, measure the piece of border then add about 1/2 inch. I work left to right which becomes important for how I install the border. Roll the piece of border and place it into the warm water. Let sit briefly then carefully pull through to make sure the border is well wetted. Book the border. That is, fold over but do not crease the pasted sides so they are on top of each other with good side facing out. Fold over again without creasing. Let sit for about 5 minutes. This gives the glue a chance to activate resulting is better adherence. Once the border has been booked it is time to install.

Open the border then place the right cut side tightly to the right side of the wall. Position the border to eliminate gaps then smooth down with the dry cloth. Bend over the excess on the left cut side to form a crease. Carefully cut leaving a little extra that can be trimmed when the border is dry and smooth down with the dry cloth. Go over the strip a few times with the cloth to ensure all edges are secure. Now move to the next sectition. Because all of the walls I was working with were in short pieces I worked with left cut end flush and trimming the right to keep the continuity of the pattern except for corner walls.

Corners

Corners can be quite problematic because walls especially in older homes tend not to be quite level or even. For corners I worked left to right for the cutting but right to left for installing. The natural tendency when coming to a corner is to simply bend the border around. If the wall is out it will throw off the rest of your border. At the same time ending the border right at the corner with a cut end then starting on the next section to continue the pattern can leave a gap at the joint if the wall is off. So what I do is turn the right cut end just over the corner keeping the turn less than 1/4 inch. Once the piece is in place you can adjust slightly at the turned end and at worse overlap the adjoining piece slightly to get a perfect corner. I did not need to overlap or adjust much but if you have to overlap, do so then using a sharp utility knife and straight edge cut through both layers, remove the excess then wipe with a dry cloth to get a clean seam. The end result regardless of the method used should be an invisible seam to all but the closest scrutiny.

After

We were really surprised at what a difference the border added to the family room and kitchen. The border cost $25.96 for 44 feet giving a lot left over and it only took me a couple of hours of slowly nit picking my way through installing it. For some reason, I was extremely picky. One piece was trimmed a little too tight. Now mind you, I'm the only one who would have known but I pulled it off anyways. Well, my husband took that piece and cut it down to fit perfectly between the laundry and bathroom doors. It looked great until working left to right I got to the other side of the laundry room door (by couch, lower right). I stood back and immediately could see the continuity in pattern had been broken. It was only a slight difference but my eyes picked it up right away so off came the salvaged piece to be replaced with one that kept the continuity. Ok, so yes I admit to being very picky about the installation but there is a reason. The difference between professional finishing and the standard do-it-yourself (DIY) is metticulous attention to detail. The problem many run into when completing a DIY project is to not pay attention to detail. When it comes to DIY being nit picky is a good thing. Take your time and be very nit picky to get the professional look you want.

Honestly, the pictures do not show how nice this border looks. The top picture is the common wall between the two rooms and the only painted wall in the kitchen. Lower left is the main feature of the family room, the massive fireplace. This is one of the best pictures of the wood ceiling with beams that matches the wainscotting. Lower right is the couch under the pass through. I'm not really sure what the pass through was for originally as on the other side is the large laundry room. We leave the shutters open for air flow and light most of the time.

Garden Gnome
© 2007