Faking Large Scale Molding

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adding molding, architectural details, crown, faux molding, how to add molding, inexpensive home ideas, molding, Moulding, stack, stacking molding, stock molding, wall

Molding can really make or break a house, but it can also make or break a budget. Unfortunately, I just can’t get enough of it! You may have noticed in a lot of the pictures of my house that I have ornate molding – but I also have areas where we installed simpler, linear molding. Let’s face it, the fancy-smancy stuff isn’t for everyone and it has to suit the architecture of the house. It can also be pretty pricy. The problem I run into is that I have tall ceilings – 12′ on the main floor and 10′ in the basement and upper level. With that, the molding has to be in scale, so in many rooms I have stacked moldings or, in the case of our mudroom, duped the eye and used a trick that builders use to get the most bang for the buck.

Here’s what I opted for in our mudroom, which was SOOOO dreadfully plain, boring and devoid of any details:

I incorporated the wall into the molding by painting it the same color, which added several inches to the height. All the pieces are generic stock molding that can be bought off the shelf at Home Depot or Lowes. I SO wish I remember how much I paid for this project, but it wasn’t much!

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!!

Patterned Stained Floors

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border, diamond, diy, family crest, floor inspiration, floor patterns, hardwood, harlequin, how to stain a pattern onto your floors, inlaid, inlaid wood floors, medallion, patterns, Stained Concrete, stained floor, stained floor patterns, wood floor

I think I have a DIY ADD (Do-It-Yourself Attention & Daylight Deficient). There are only so many hours in the week month that I can work on house projects, but my mind is running constantly – and there are SO many projects and rooms that I want to do … with the list growing 😉 (Plus, I’m not one to pull the trigger unless I’ve thoroughly researched the possibilities.)

You may remember the stained harlequin floor from the post I did profiling a designer’s apartment… I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. (The interior shutters from that post went on “THE List” too, but I haven’t been able to shop fabrics.) I thought the stained diamond pattern on the hardwood floors would look wonderful in my kitchen or foyer.

Heck, while I’m researching, why not see if there are other stain patterns for wood floors that would be nice too because the first and second floors of our house (minus the orangerie) are hardwood. What was out there was a mixed bag of nuts:

Designer’s Apartment Filled with DIY Inspiration

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blue and yellow living room, blue living room, diamond pattern stained floors, diy, DIY shutters, gold stick lamp, harlequin pattern, high end design, high end living room, how to add panel molding, interior designer's living room, Kelee Katillac, luxury apartment, Luxury interior design, mirrored furniture, Moulding, panel molding, paneled walls, raw amethyst quartz, upholstered doors, upholstered walls, yellow living room

Interior designer Kelee Katillac and her partner, architectural interior designer Steve Heiffus, recently collaborated on a 1915 apartment that showcased and married their skills. It seemed that the project was a success and both were happy with the result, which is good, because they are more than just partners – they are husband and wife – and they live in this apartment!

I wanted to show you this apartment because it is full of the DIY potential and inspiration. Even if this style is not yours, there are things that Kelee has done that are wildly creative and can be used in different applications.

I could just die over these floors!! This was the first thing that drew me to the apartment; I have been dreaming about doing this stain treatment to a floor (maybe our foyer or our kitchen??) in our house…having never done it before, though, I am slightly nervous about messing up! I’ve never even painted the harlequin pattern before…yikes! So, it may be a long time before I muster the courage, but there is one little entry area that I could try it that if I messed up, I could sand the floors and re-stain them…ugh…

How to Choose a Paint Color

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blue, bold paint, brown, colors, cream, dark paint, diy, gold, green, how to choose a bedroom color, how to choose a living room color, how to choose a paint color, how to paint, how to pick a paint color, navy, neutral paint colors, paint, painting, painting tips, Renovation, sweat equity, tan, yellow

For some, it may be easy to pull a room together – (and if this is you, this may not be the post for you, except maybe to comment on your thoughts, preferred colors, etc.) – but for others, it can be a real puzzler. There are so many thoughts, rules and philosophies on how to choose paint colors, but forget all that. Here’s what you really need to know:

– Paint should not be the first thing you pick out/pick up. Why? Because it comes in just about every shade imaginable, but your sofa, upholstery, rugs, accessories and artwork do not, so it’s better to start with them and work your way out.

– Pull a color that exists in the room or furnishings already. Looking at this rug:

there are a myriad of colors that could be used on the walls, from cream, yellow, peaches, navy blue, cornflower blue, sage green, burnt sienna, etc.

Smart Little Laundry Rooms

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city kitchens, city space, Closet, dryer, ideas, laundry, laundry room, laundry room ideas, laundry room inspiration, Renovation, small laundry room, small space laundry, washer

A small space takes above average creativity. With a large space, things can be put in willy-nilly and without much thought. That is just not the case if you live in a city or a smaller and/or older home. The placement of a washer and dryer is one of those things that takes some thought. A laundry room just may not exist, so it’s going to have to be tucked in somewhere…and addressed aesthetically.

How gorgeous is this? The tile floor, the wallpaper, the molding, the side panels that are hiding…??? Of course laundry supplies, but how great would laundry bins be too? It appears that this was fitted into an awkward space (with the ceiling slanting in on one side) that would have been unused if not for this brilliant concept.

Instructions for DIY Ornate Pilasters and Door Surrounds

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A Detailed House, appliques, architectural detail, Crown molding, Crown moulding, Dining room, diy, Do it yourself, Door, Door surround, fluted, fluted pilasters, frieze, home improvement, ionic, ionic cap, molding, Moulding, pilaster, pilasters, Renovation

Supplementing my post about our dining room pilasters, here is the break down and the instructions for the door surrounds. The material list below is what we used, but (of course!) adjust to your taste, architecture and level of complexity with which you are comfortable. Also, we have 8′ tall doors, which aren’t the norm, so please make sure to measure your doors prior to buying any materials or “ready-made” door pilaster kits.

DIY Ornate Door Pilasters

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A Detailed House, Crown molding, Crown moulding, Dining room, Door, Door header, Door surround, Doors, Dramatic doors, egg and dart molding, fluted pilasters, Home and Garden, home improvement, Ionic order, mantle, Moulding, pilaster

After we did our kitchen door pilasters, which were actually more difficult and our first time attempting door surrounds, we felt we had the hang of it. So you can imagine what crossed my mind. Yep, let’s rip them all down! Great idea, right? It was…until children came along and threw a wrench in my grandiose plans of custom molding everywhere! I think my husband thought the children would be less work, but they suck up more energy than all my projects combined 😉

We have gradually managed to address a few, one being the dining room pilasters:

My Silos

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A Detailed House, Dovecote, Pigeonnier, Renovate silo, Ruins, Silo

As a follow up to my post yesterday called Keep Silos, Dovecotes and Pigeonniers and Think About the Possibilities, here are a few pictures of our silos that I opted to keep:

Keep Silos, Dovecotes, Pigeonniers and Think About the Possibilities

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A Detailed House, Abandoned houses, Abandoned structures, Bird, Bird house, Bird houses, Dove, Dovecot, Dovecote, England, Glass dome, Guest house, Message transfer agent, Old barns, Pigeon, Pigeonnier, Ricardo Bofill, Silo, Silos, Travel and Tourism

When we bought our land, one of the questions that was frequently asked was: are we demolishing the silos that stood upon our acreage. You see, our property was at one time farmland, so with it came an old, dilapidated barn, crumbled milking sheds and, my favorite of the structures, the silos.

For aesthetics, the prevailing sentiment was that we should take all these structures down, but I loved these structures and think too often things are stripped bare – the very things that give character. So they were staying and there was no talking me out of it.

Kitchen Islands with Legs: Hybrids of Farm Tables and Cabinets

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A Detailed House, Construction and Maintenance, Cream kitchen, High end kitchen, high-end kitchens, home improvement, How to make a kitchen island, kitchen, Kitchen farm table, kitchen island, Kitchen island cabinets, Kitchen island with legs, Kitchen islands, Kitchen islands with bookcases, Kitchen islands with shelves, kitchen renovation, White kitchen

A reader (Diane) has a quandary with her kitchen renovation, which she and I discussed in the comment section of a previous post, so I wanted to do a post on kitchen islands that will hopefully benefit her and others. Besides showing some inspiration, I also wanted to show how basic cabinets can be transformed with a larger countertop and legs.

DIY Custom Bathroom Sink Cabinet

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A Detailed House, Bathroom, Bathroom sink, DIY bathroom vanity, diy sink cabinet, DIY vanity, High end bathrooms, Renovation, Sink cabinet, sink cabinet from furniture, Vanity

I’ve posted before about bathrooms and pointed out some high-end vanities, briefly mentioning that you can make your own bathroom sink cabinets, so I thought it was time to delve into it further.

I wanted to show you what I did for our downstairs powder room that was inexpensive, yet custom, and can be done in any style to suit your taste and budget. Almost any dresser, table or chest can be converted and fitted with a sink and faucet.

Here’s what I did:

DIY Bathroom sink vanity / cabinet

Bathroom Floors of River Rock

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A Detailed House, Bathroom ideas, Beadboard bathroom, Beige tile ideas, Black and white tile ideas, Black bathroom, Candice Olson, Coastal Living, Divine Design, DIY river rock, Gray stone floor, Green bathroom, Green marble, High end bathrooms, luxurious bathrooms, Modern bathroom, Mosiac in floor, Pebble floor, Retro bathroom, River rock counter, River rock floor, River rock rug, River rock shower, River rock wall, Rustic bathroom, Seashell tile, Seychelles, Shell floor, skirted sink, Soli, Tan tile ideas, Unusual bathroom, White bathroom, white bathrooms

You may or may not have noticed in my last post a comment thread between me and a reader about her shower. She is updating her bathroom and had a few questions, so I wanted to show her some pictures to (hopefully) give her some ideas 🙂

Right now, I’m going to address the flooring, as she is contemplating river rock. When people hear river rock, sometimes an image is conjured up based upon past usage of the material, where it was too dark, rustic, etc.

Times have changed and this perception is no longer true, given the right application and color scheme. River rock can look sleek, modern, luxurious, traditional, spa-like, rustic (without being heavy-handed and in a tasteful way), feminine, masculine – you name it! I saw an episode of Divine Design with Candice Olson and she used an inset of river rock in an upscale bathroom that was absolutely luxurious! I, unfortunately, couldn’t find a picture of it! Drats!!!

This is such a great example of using river rock in a crisp, classic black and white bathroom.

White river rock floor.

How chic is this bathroom?