Interesting Island

This island we built for Lois has so much character! We antiqued the green paint, made a shelf for the microwave, and created shelves for baskets to add texture and interest in the kitchen. Topped with a beautiful, rustic travertine slab, it works really well with the cream-antiqued outer cabinetry and Tahoe granite.

Built-in Wine Refrigerators

During kitchen remodels, I often have clients wishing to put in under-counter wine refrigerators. When the price comes in at $1,100 or more, their jaws drop. (Especially when there are wine refrigerators at Target, Lowe's, and Home Depot for about a third of the price, or less.)

But here's the difference, if the under-counter wine refrigerator is not called a "built-in", then it will probably not work properly, even if you provide the recommended clearances. My 12-bottle version from Emerson quit working after less than a year in a large pantry. From day one, my client's dual-zone wine refrigerator he bought online for $300 would never get to the right temperature. We ended up converting the space to room temperature wine storage with a basket on the shelf for bar tools:


So if you have your heart set on under-counter wine refrigeration that works, pay the "built-in" price! (p.s. that $300 online wine refrigerator works perfectly in the garage!)

Never Put Salmon and Vanilla Almond Milk Together

This entry is not about home decorating or design, but is is a way to keep your house from smelling funky! Never put canned salmon, vanilla almond milk, veggies and rice in a rice cooker-- smells really bad and tastes absolutely awful!

Old Urn as Centerpiece

Remember this old urn I wrote about in December? Well here it is again, going to try something new with it. I need something large for the top of my dining room table and rather than spend money on something new, I am making this into a vase. Has a hole in the bottom, so an old crockery bowl fits the bill:


(Once again, an animal steps in, this is Rex.) I intend to have the arrangement come far over the sides, so the rocks go back in:


Using two bunches of greenery, I set the base:


Then using two bunches of flowers, I start cutting and sticking them into the rocks; after the first batch, I am losing patience and interest! I could probably use another bunch of flowers, but flowers just a few days before Valentine's are outrageously over-priced, so we make do:


Did I mention that this is a solid cement urn? And now that it has rocks, crockery, water and flowers in it, it is extremely awkward and super heavy! But since there's no one to help me, I somehow find super-human strength to carry this monstrosity inside, using my knees of course! (My husband always teases me that I have no strength when he's around.) The lighting is not great, but here it is on a drop cloth runner I made:

Front Yard Flagstone Patio

Before Thanksgiving, I installed a patio in my front yard. We have a really small back yard and I found that I was always setting up seating areas in the front when we entertained. A view from above:


I have twinkle lights hanging from the trees, they are controlled by a remote control I keep by the front door, so handy! That coffee table is also a fire pit when you take off the lid. I had the idea to make this a couple years ago and then last fall, Costco started selling one, so I waited till it was on sale and bought it for $100. It's great!


I also put in a small fountain, an inexpensive one from Lowe's (it was cheap and is not working so well...) The flagstones I used are on top of a 4" crushed granite base. I had the stones cut so that there is not much space in between, this keeps the chairs from sinking. (Funny how I seem to end up with animals in most of my pictures, this is Patches, somehow she has managed to keep away from the coyotes that for years have been hunting in our neighborhood!)

What's Old is New Adds Architectural Interest

One of the things I like to do is use things that have character and add architectural interest to a space. Incorporating these items into your existing space is easiest done before you start that remodel or pour that slab because you can tailor the space to fit the item. That being said,I was almost too late when I ran across an old front door for my new house, and not because of the door but because of what came with it...








I found a front door unit for about $475, it had a door, two side lights and one arched window that spanned the whole unit. I was only looking for the door, but the other pieces came with it so we made a few changes to the framing so that I could incorporate these pieces. The unit was not that old, probably from the 60's or 70's, but it was solid mahogany. I paid a furniture refinisher to strip off layers and layers of paint, this was way out of my league! Then I had the two side lights made into doors for my study, they don't lock but oh well.

The arched divided light window I had installed over my master tub, it's not a very good picture, but you get the idea. Since we are required to install energy efficient low-E windows, I had the window company make an arched window without any divides and that was installed on the exterior. When it was time to trim out the house, I had the carpenter place the wood divided light window in front of the low-E window. (This window looks much better when there are these gorgeous pink flowers on the tree you see in the background.)

On a recent remodel for Lois and Bob, I found an old solid wood 8' door, it was just painted ugly brown and cost $175. I had priced out a new solid core door at over $1,000, so we were saving big bucks here! (Bob was super happy, too!) And even though we had to pay for heavy duty spring loaded hinges, and a door jamb that came in three separate pieces, plus pay the carpenter to hang the door, all in all we saved a lot. I painted the door to give it some pop, and this is how it came out:


I found the door before we started the remodel, so no surprises. We just started working on the master suite and I found four old doors to use in the space, two for the entry into the bedroom and two that we will hang on a track for the master "spa" area. Updates to follow...

Save Thousands!

Buying new furniture can cost an arm and a leg, in fact it can cost thousands of dollars! So when my clients, Lois and Bob, we're considering what do with their old dining room furniture, I suggested elbow grease and a can of paint. This is the old table, it's 25 years old, in good condition and made of solid oak. The problem was the finish was dated, (it doesn't look too bad here, but it has a super shiny finish that has yellowed.)


We took the table, 8 chairs, and the buffet table outside and started the process: First, we put paint stripper on everything-make sure you wear gloves and cover your skin, it burns like heck! And then we lightly sanded.





I mixed water with the trim color paint and painted it on, then wiped it off. Working with small sections at a time works best. We were going for a lime washed effect and here it is:


Lois and Bob also applied a coat of this product, in satin, to protect their masterpieces:


After many hours, and sore backs, they are happy with the end product, especially since it saved them so much money!