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?

Guest Post by a DIY Network Host

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art, Chevron, diy, DIY Channel, DIY Network, Fresh Coat, graphite, guest post, host, how to make a stencil, how to paint a pattern on a wall, how to paint furniture, how to trace a pattern, paint, paint ceiling, paint furniture, Painted Ceiling, Pinterest, Shannon Kaye, Stencil, tracing paper, transfer technique, tv host

Recently I received a submission which I thought was compelling enough to share. I love receiving submissions and requests for guest posts, but because I look for unique projects and instructions, this will only be the second guest post I’ve had on my blog! Shannon Kaye, who hosted DIY Network Channel’s “Fresh Coat” and is now launching a series of videos on DIY’s website, contacted me a few weeks ago, submitting her work to my blog. I was actually familiar with her work and had a picture of her chevron painted ceiling in one of my files:

White Walls: Sumptuous, Intentional and … (wait for it) … Cozy?!?!

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Furniture, how to decorate a white room, ideas, ideas for white walls, luxurious white living rooms, nordic, paint, room with white walls, walls, white, white living room design, white paint colors

In the comment section of another post, a reader asked about white walls – do I love them or hate them? I actually do not have any white walls in my house, but I do have many neutrals. As I told her, I have been in many houses where it was painfully apparent that it was the builder’s white and the rooms felt cold, undone and uninviting, despite residing there for years… and I’ve been in homes, where the walls were Nordic white and the rooms were sumptuous and downright cozy!

If you want versatility, are renting or just hate painting, white walls offer a blank canvas, but they need to be addressed the right way to be successful. In other words, they need to look deliberate in order to work.

White living rooms bespeak of a certain type of lifestyle: chic, sophisticated, metropolitan … and that of no kids, no dogs and no red wine 😉

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.

Black Doors: Simple Elegance

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A Detailed House, Black and white paint, black and white room, black and white rooms, Black door, Black doors, Black paint, Door, Door color, Doors, Dramatic doors, entry, foyer, Gray paint, Gray room, Grey paint, Grey room, High gloss black, High gloss paint, interior design, paint

Sometimes, the simplest things can make the biggest impact. Case in point: black doors. I just love a high-gloss black on doors, whether interior or exterior. I think the interior doors, though, are much more dramatic and classic because interior doors are too frequently overlooked.

It seems like such a big step to paint something black, but after looking at our upstairs hallway, and the run of bland white doors, this just might be needed to break up the monotony. Maybe it’s something you want to think about too?

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.

Bedrooms

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architecture, Bedroom, blue master bedroom, carpet roses, Color, color scheme, exposed brick master bedroom, Living room, luxury bedroom, master bedroom ideas, paint, romantic master bedroom, Room

Our children’s rooms have gotten more time and attention architecturally and design-wise than our master bedroom, so this post is self-serving, because I would like to address our room at some point. Our foyer is next on my list, followed by adding crown and ceiling molding in several rooms and creating a playroom for the girls. I like to mull projects over and research them extensively.

So let the mulling begin:

A dramatic bedroom of red, black and white…and pink (?), which I would lose. I like just the 3 colors better for drama.

Adorable DIY Ideas for Kids’ Rooms

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Armoire, Baseball, children room decor, childrens room decoration, crafts, Craigslist, diy decorations, diy home improvement, DIY kid, DIY kids room, Do it yourself, Flat panel display, Home Depot, kid art, kid room, light fixture, Lowes, paint

While I work on my posts for how to make the carpet tiles and cornice boards, I thought I would dig into my files and show you some adorable, simple and inexpensive projects that I thought worthy of saving for future consideration.

Before flat screen TVs, many tried to hide their TVs in armoires. Now, those that bought flat screen TVs are trying to get rid of them!

I searched Craigslist while doing this post, just to see, and there were hundreds of armoires, many of them for free! Try to imagine them with a coat of paint, molding added to the top, different door knobs, added shelves, etc.

Here’s why:

Finding one this wide would require patience, but what child wouldn’t love a little nook like this?

Children adore hiding spots, so another option for an armoire, if you can find one with full length doors, is remove the back and place it in front of a door, so it’s a “secret” entrance, whether to a closet or a room.

Real Kitchen DIYs That Are Easy, Inexpensive and Transforming

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A Detailed House, appliques, Cabinet making, Craft, Do it yourself, Furniture, furniture feet, furniture legs, kitchen, kitchen cabinet upgrades, kitchen diy, kitchen fixes, kitchen renovation, paint, plaster, Stencil, stencils

There are things that can be done in the kitchen that are super easy and inexpensive (beyond the stale advice of a coat of paint) that have a serious impact.

Sometimes small, subtle details can be more powerful than large, and as simple as adding half round molding to the side of an island in a diamond shape:

I’ve shown the picture below before, but it bears repeating, as this is something we all could do.

An inexpensive, round table was transformed by skirting it with colorful fabric. Can’t sew? No problem – you can buy tape to hem the fabric with an iron. How to attach? I’m not sure how they did it, but when I’m in doubt, I use either my staple or glue gun 🙂  A square or rectangular table would be easier. You could even get fancy with ribbon or trim…

OCD Eye Candy – aka Keeping Kitchen Clutter at Bay

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Atticmag, Bilotta, Build.com, cabinet, container store, Habitat for Humanity, Home Depot, kitchen, Kitchen cabinet, kitchen clutter solutions, kitchen island, kitchen storage, paint, pilaster, ReStore, Wood-mode

My mother used to say, “Everything has a home and a place.” This is a great philosophy in theory. She, however, did not have my two little ones going behind her taking everything out! My point is, storage solutions need to be easy in order to be ongoing. Otherwise, it was a nice idea that lasted a month or so.

Adding bottom cabinets to your pantry is a nice idea and I believe in making every space attractive. However, I would probably go to Home Depot and get stock cabinets, instead of incurring the cost of the higher quality kitchen cabinets for a pantry. OR there are building “left-over” stores and nonprofits, like Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore that run building supply depots.

I also have to comment on the curved cabinet of the kitchen island! I have never seen a cabinet that has a bow before! Gorgeous!! Via AtticMag

Ordinary to Extraordinary with the Crown Jewel – Molding!

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architectural detail, architecture, cabinet, caulk, ceiling, crown, Crown molding, diy, Home Depot, kitchen, molding, nail, paint, pantry, Pine, putty, Wood

Our completed projects: crown molding, cabinet molding, mantle shelf and pullout spice cabinets! This took our kitchen from completely boring and ordinary to extraodinary!

I love molding – just adore it. It takes a plain box and makes it pretty.

So with the success and ease of adding molding to our plain cabinets, surely the ceilings can’t be that hard. I applied the same principle, except the top piece had a 9″ face. That made corners very difficult…for my husband 🙂 Oh, Lord, were the corners difficult!!

But the beauty of 12′ ceilings is that mistakes are impossible to see and caulk can do wonders! I became a master sculptor, sculpting caulk and putty to fix the corners where we didn’t get it just right.

More Kitchen Inspiration in Whites and Creams

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Business, cabinet, chandelier, color scheme, Construction and Maintenance, design, dream kitchen, Home & Garden, Island, kitchen, Light, light fixture, paint, Shopping, stainless steel, tile

Following up to my previous post on drool-worthy, dream kitchens, here are more kitchen designs in white/light shades meant to inspire.

Although lovely, they are without a doubt exorbitantly expensive, but all the features aren’t. Sometimes switching out a light fixture, faucet, paint, accessories and/or cushions can breathe new life into a kitchen.

Just stunning! Why? Because it’s different. A new, fresh take on the standard island and cabinet front…

Taking Plain, Stock Kitchen Cabinets and Making Them Look Custom…and Expensive

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Adding molding to kitchen cabinets, architecture, Business, cabinet, Crown molding, Custom cabinets, Customizing kitchen cabinets, diy, Home Depot, kitchen, Kitchen cabinet, Making kitchen cabinets look custom, making stock cabinets look custom, Making stock kitchen cabinets look amazing, Making stock kitchen cabinets look custom, Making stock kitchen cabinets look designer, molding, paint, pilaster, Plain cabinets to fancy

Unless you are willing to shell out oodles of money (and I’m talking $100k +) for a custom kitchen, you need to work with stock cabinets. But, all is not lost – there are many ways to make them look custom and take them beyond what is the norm. Since I adore historic homes, I had decided upon 12′ ceilings.

At one point in my kitchen design, I had thought about stacking smaller, glass-front cabinets on top (which I still think would look great) but my mother talked me out of it.

(Note to any and everyone: it’s hard enough determining your own likes and style…involving another, ESPECIALLY your mother, makes decisions become painful. She will invariably insert her opinion in everything, like it or not, and it seeps into your brain, making you second guess every decision.)

This is what I envisioned:

Between the ceilings and the cabinets left a great disparity – not so great that I was alarmed, because I knew I had huge copper kettles that I could finally display, but it was noticeable and the scale wasn’t quite right. They simply must be adjusted and customized. My absolute favorite solution: let’s put molding on top! No, let’s put a LOT of molding on top!