A New Rug: Men, Kids, Dogs and Nice Things Don’t Mix

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beige family room, Carpet, dogs, family room, German Shepherd, gray, grey, husband, ideas, kids, nutcrackers, rug, ruined, ruining, transitional, writing on furniture

Good news: after the kids and dogs did all the damage they could to our family room area rug, we got a new one! After I did the post Fifty Shades of Grey, I inspired myself. There are two rooms on our first floor that could use my attention, but our family room really needed a new rug asap! The nice thing about grey is that it is a neutral – the new neutral – and can blend where you wouldn’t think it could.

I actually didn’t buy the rug for this room, but am using it here for now:

Gifts for the Home: (Low-priced Lighting Options I Like)

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aqua, aqua shade, blue, brass, Christmas gifts, chrome, Copper, desk lamp, French lantern, gift ideas, home gift idea, kids room, Kirkland, lamp, lamp shade, lantern, nickel, patina, Peacock lamp, pharmacy lamp, silver

My radar is always on for just about any product you can imagine. That’s why when I received an email asking for some low-priced lighting options, I had a couple of options handy that I think are lovely. And with the holiday season upon us, they also make thoughtful gifts priced at $25, $40 and $50, which is why I thought I would share my picks:

DIY $1 Nutcracker Ornaments

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beautiful ornaments, Christmas, Christmas tree, DIY ornaments, Dollar Store crafts, Dollar Tree, holidays, how to make nutcracker ornaments, inexpensive nutcrackers, nutcracker, nutcracker ornaments, plaid ribbon, set of nutcrackers, tartan, Xmas

Ornaments can be crazy expensive, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for a skimpy tree or a tree full of balls; it just means you need to have your eyes open. The Dollar Tree has adorable 8″ nutcrackers for $1 that I have made into ornaments that look gorgeous on my nine foot tree.

And if the stigma of something from a Dollar Store gives you pause, bear in mind, I have ornaments on my tree that are extremely pricey and these blend in seamlessly, and I am very picky!!

How To Make a Child-Size Table

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birthday party, build, child-size table, children's play table, children's table, craft table, diy, how to make a coffee table, How To Make a Kid's Play Table, how to make a table, kids play table, kids' table, kitchen table, Wood

With two little ones, the need for a child’s table was needed for many reasons, but came in handy for more occasions than I imagined when I made it…

Patterned Rollers for the Wallpaper Phobic

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DIY Channel, fabric on walls, hang, hanging fabric, hanging wallpaper, HGTV, paint, patterned roller, remove, removing wallpaper, rolling stencil, Stencil, wall, wall treatments, wallpaper

Because of HGTV and the DIY Channel, I am a little nervous to hang wallpaper. It’s difficult to put up well and time consuming to take down. Bottom line: it’s a commitment. But it’s soooo pretty!

Pretty, right?

Darling DollHouse

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Birthday, Christmas, Craigslist, doll house, dollhouse, dollhouse ideas, dollhouse kits, gift ideas, girls, Hobby, holidays, kids, parenting, St. Patricks Day, toys, Valentine's Day

My post yesterday had a picture of a dollhouse used in a laundry room, which inspired me to show you our dollhouse. I always wanted a grand dollhouse. Growing up I used a narrow, vertical bookcase as a “mouse house”. (To understand read my blog post, An Award, Moi if you haven’t already.) Clearly, it started in childhood because I thought mice were way more appealing than dolls!

I still have that bookcase (it’s in my oldest daughter’s room), but I wanted to take it up a notch for my girls. For Christmas a few years ago, I wanted a special toy for my girls that could be passed down to their children and I thought that they were ready for more than the plastic ones. Being the perfectionist that I am, I spent months researching dollhouses. My choices were:

1. Buy a kit and build one
2. Make one from scratch
3. Shell out a L-O-T of cash
4. Search for one online

Published High-Tech Nursery Article

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4Moms, baby, baby gadgets, Baby monitor, Cloud B, creativity, Cruisin’ Motion Soother, high tech nurseries, low-tech, luxury baby rooms, Northern Virginia, nurseries, Nursery ideas, nursery video camera, surround sound, Technology, toys, Withings

With my background in technology, most assume that I advocate gadgets and technology wherever and whenever possible…but that’s actually not the case. Maybe because of my background, I know the extreme mark-ups in prices and bugs that invariably happen with the first few releases.

I think the reporter that contacted me for this piece thought that I would be on the “pro” technology side, but if you read my post, Interview: High-Tech Nurseries, you saw what my answers were to her questions. So, I wanted to see what you all thought of the article:

Back To School Business Cards

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Business, Business card, cards, Children, Children Youth and Family, children's business cards, Children's cards, children's name cards, children's stationery, gift tags, Gifts, girls, Greeting Cards, kids, kids' business cards, kids' cards, kids' name cards, kids' stationery, name cards, School, Shopping, Stationery, VistaPrint

Although my children aren’t back in school yet, I am anxious to get everything in order for when they start. Thanks to VistaPrint, adorable little cards that include your child’s information (and yours, if you like) are super inexpensive! Some designs are free (but you do have to pay for shipping), while others are $5.99 and $19.99 (now on sale for $10) for 250.

They also last a long time – I ordered some a few years ago and just now have to reorder. I also use them as gift tags – so handy – and my children just love having their own “business” cards!

Artist Kris Kuksi

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A Detailed House, Artist, Artist Kris Kuksi, Chris Weitz, Fred Durst, Golden Compass, Kansas, Kris Kuksi, Mark Parker, mixed media, Nike, Robin Williams, sculpture, Sotheby

Ragmag described Kris Kuksi’s art  as “mind-blowing, macabre, and beautifully grotesque art…[that] will taunt you by the sheer complexity of detail, leaving you even more baffled as you stare for hours at all the figurines that were smacked into coexistence.” An American artist, who grew up in Kansas, Kuksi’s  “Fantastic Realism” genre is intriguing, Baroque in influence, steampunk, hedonistic … and fascinating.

 

How’s that for a door header??

Beautiful Fire Extinguishers – Safety First, But Let’s Make It Pretty too :-)

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A Detailed House, Afar magazine, antique, artisitic, artist KR, brass, chrome, coordinating, Copper, extinguisher, Fire Design, fire extinguisher, stainless steel

It’s easy to forget to keep fire extinguishers in the house, but they are essential, especially in the kitchen. But the ones on the market are not the most attractive, so they are squirreled away in places that can be forgotten. That’s why having a beautiful one is a great idea. And who doesn’t like everything to be pretty 🙂

I found these that were more appealing than the ‘norm’:                                         

Natural Rock Bathtubs

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A Detailed House, Amazon rainforest, Amazonian rainforest, Amlink, Baldi, Bathroom, Bathtub, Carved limestone, Carved marble tubs, Harrods, Indonesia, List of decorative stones, Marble, Natural Stone, Quartz, River Rock, Rock bathtubs, Rock Crystal, Rock tubs, Solid stone bathtubs, Solid stone tubs, Stone bathtub, Stone Forest, Stone tubs, Travertine

Natural materials, which I adore, are very prevalent in design, so I thought I’d show you some bathtub made from a single rock that range from formal and carved to untouched and natural-looking. It probably goes without saying, but because of the materials’ durability –  and with proper care – they can be used outside as well.

Carved granite by Carved Stone Creations.

Gold for How Much???

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A Detailed House, art, Best gold paint, Do it yourself, Gold finish, Hallway, Home Depot, Krylon, Krylon gold paint, Lowe, Lowes, paint, Rust-Oleum, Rustoleum, Shiny gold paint, Walmart

When doing a post, I usually do a lot of research and work on multiple projects at one time, which is why it takes me so darn long to do one measly post! I also like to ponder my projects (I can’t tell you how many mistakes I would have made if I hadn’t thought about some of these for a long time!) and try out materials to make sure I’ve thought of everything possible.

In my research, I found a great bargain that I wanted you all to know about:  Krylon spray paint, which I think is wonderful for achieving a gold finish (in terms of paint), is available at Walmart for $3.67 for 12 ounces! Wha-wha-what??? I couldn’t believe it! Currently, Krylon isn’t carried at Home Depot; they sell Rustoleum, which sells for (if I remember correctly) $8/for 8 ounces, and I’m not sure if Lowes carries it.

I sprayed a (white primed) scrap piece of wood for you all to see and took some pictures:

Taken outside in full sunlight, it looks like a very bright gold.

Why Does Life Get in the Way of My House Projects?

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diy columns, foyer molding, pilasters, Roman Corinthian, Roman Corinthian cap, Roman Corinthian column, Split columns

I have been planning this house project for a long time, so I was VERY excited to start on it. However, we had my friend over one night, a girls’ sleep over and a school project to finish up for Monday. Come on people! Don’t you see I have some materials here that I am dying to put up!

So, of course it didn’t get finished….sigh. But aren’t you a little curious as to what has my britches in a bunch?

It started outside with these tools – Ok, maybe I didn’t focus exactly on the tools, but how cute is that face 😉

Closets Need Love Too (aka What I Bought Today)

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chandelier, Closet, design, Do it yourself, kitchen, light fixture, Overstock, Overstock.com, Overstocks, Shopping

It is my belief that every inch of a house should feel the love and it is because of this belief that I paint the insides of my closets. Now, it may take me years for these closets to get my affection, but I eventually get around to them!

This is the case with my kitchen pantry. I did paint it, several times, but it needed a new light fixture, beyond the generic one that had been slapped up on the ceiling to pass inspection…11 years ago!

It hasn’t been for a lack of looking; I have off and on through the years, but have never found something that would sufficiently match the chandeliers I already had in the kitchen and since there is a window in our pantry (and the children have claimed it as their “office” and is large enough to store their toys), the door is open a lot.

Well, I finally found it! And I wanted to share because it is a bargain and there is nothing that I love more than a bargain! It is brass, which is contrary to today’s trend towards chrome, but I’m not redoing all my light fixtures to follow a trend!

I got in on Overstock.com for $39.50 with $1 shipping 😀