Friday Snip - Its ... Where do you find Inspiration?

1.  Gorgeous Pillows at the Design Center.

2.  It was so cold that I actually lingered for inspiration in the Grocery Store.  Chestnuts.

3.  Template for new countertops!!  Yippee.  More on that next week!

4.  Client Foyer.  Decisions Made.

5.  Carrara Marble Island top.  Did it in the last kitchen.  Doing it again. 

Why recreate the wheel?

6.  More Grocery Inspiration.  Pineapple.

7.  Kitchen Chairs.  I have loved you ... we now must break up!

8.  Yep, I stayed awhile in the fruit aisle!  Orange Peppers

9.  Don bought me this book for Christmas.  Oooozing Inspiration!

What is inspiring you on these cold winter days?

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Now You See It ... Now You Don't!

Have you ever noticed how quickly the "rip up and out" mode goes much faster than the "fix it" mode.

We are in the Up and Out mode still and I thought I'd share a few decisions and some design advice along the way ...

Our new kitchen I need more pantry space! And I cannot have a desk in the kitchen.  You know why?  Because I would pile it high with crap and that would make Don have a heart attack ... this is why I always find an out of the way place to do my design thing!!

While the movers were bringing in the boxes, Don was tearing down the cabinet and desk.  He is the Demo Man. 
Quite Proudly.

Now You see it ... 

Now You Don't ... 

In Process of becoming a Pantry ... 

I want clean and fresh in the kitchen.  

Flower Tile BackSplash.

Now you See it ... 

Now you Don't ...

Wooden Valance over the kitchen sink ... 

Now You see it ... 

Now You Still See it.

Yep, this one won.  There are pipes back there. UGH.  This is a "pretty" renovation, no moving of pipes allowed.  So here it stays.

I guess 2 out of 3 isn't so bad, huh?

We will have many more in this little Now you Do/Now you Don't Series.  

I will certainly keep you updated when each project is complete!

In the meantime, what little rip out changes have made you happy recently?

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Book Inspiration ... and a Thank You!

Good Monday Morning!  In the midst of my unpacking I had another box delivered.  I thought, really?  I want to place a ban on boxes.

But when I opened this ... I decided boxes in the mail aren't quite so bad!!

Before the Holidays went into full steam, Scot Meacham Wood did a little Holiday Contest on his blog the adventures of tartanscot.

I had a favorite photo of "The Boys" that I thought would be fun to send in ... and I won!!

Or, I should say, The Boys won!

And the prize ... this new book Designers At Home.

Chock Full of Beautiful Images and little stories about each of the 50 Designers/Teams featured.

We decided NO television in the new bedroom. That is another conversation.

I will now have 300 pages of lovely to soak in over the next few weeks and have a feeling it will be a book I refer to quite often.

Since Scot was my "giver" I immediately popped over to his spread and this is a perfect representation of why I love his style.

Layers.  Shimmer. Pattern. Chic. Blue and White.

Art. Details.

Masculine. Feminine. All in One.

Thank you Scot and the Holiday Contest Team!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Friday Snip - Its ... Color and Cold!

1.  Creamsicle.  Sammy's new room color. 

2.  Thanks to Tiffany I am promising to make 2014 a year of better organization!

3.  New Crown UP in our den!

4.  Sweet and Patient client got a pillow delivery!

5.  Inspiration Rug for our Family Room.

6.  Enough Said.

7.  Seems that when it snows it is not quite as cold and very beautiful at night!

8.  The Power of Instagram.  Bought these from Parker Kennedy based on one of their snapshots!  Waiting to get a new look for our Master Bedroom.

9.  Like this finish.

Thanks everyone for stopping by for a visit ... and have a Glorious Weekend!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Painted Brick ...

More on the Painted brick subject.  You know I have gone to the look hook, line and sinker.  It took me five years to paint the brick in my last house.  After being so pleased with the results ... and after looking at photos of my fireplace before it was painted (ick.) It took me all of five minutes to start painting the brick in our new house.

Here's a little DIY that I DID do myself and it is SUPER easy, you know it is if I tackled it!!

My "New" Painted Brick Wall:

My friends at C&T Paint Store.  Seriously, my friends ... I have been going there for years and I don't know what I would do without them!  They recommended this:

Latex X-Tender.  Yes, you can just add water to your paint, but that tends to cause the paint to loose the pigment.  Did you read about the floor situation?  Same thing.  I am not into diluting my colors.  

The Latex X-tender keeps the color pigment.  They also recommend to add a cap full to your gallon of paint if you are painting trim.  Hides the Brush Marks.  Thank you very much.

You need VERY LITTLE PAINT.  I bought a gallon. Complete overkill.

In a cup I mixed about 1/4 cup paint to 3/4 cups of the X-tender.  Watery and drippy, beware!

One coat gives this sheer look, It feels very ethereal to me ... I loved it.

But I did want a little more color so I added a Second Coat ... same mixture.

A little more color. Still soft and sheer.

I couldn't help myself ... I went for a third coat ... and finally was happy to STOP!

A little more color, not much brick color showing at all, but still obvious.  Understand?

And I didn't change the 1/4 paint to 3/4 X-tender ratio ... just added another coat.

If you do this, definitely play around with the mixture and keep stirring ... as you get to the bottom of your cup you will find the paint heavier if you don't.

Here's where it all started ... Big, Heavy, Brick in your face!

We are playing around with the little fireplace to see if it might become our bar or wine rack.  Not decided yet.  Don't focus on that ... it looks like a black hole.

 Look at the brick!

And NOW I love the brick in my face:

Also painted the brick fireplace in the basement where the kids will hang out.  

Gloss Black.  

Will share next week!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Pop It!

Hump Day.  Yes, baby!

Today I am over at Beth's blog for her Take Two Series.  

Would love it if you stopped by!

And over here ... I have a little DIY on Staining your Floors.

Well, actually My Idea of a DIY, which refers to what to you need to understand when someone else is staining your floors so that you can sound like you know what you are talking about but don't have to do it yourself because you have other more pressing things to do and things like this are left to the professionals!!

If you follow me on IG you already saw that I was working on stain colors with my Main Floor Man Bill.

We made the decision to mix two stains to achieve the darker color on the right.

Kind of like Goldilocks.

Left, Too Red.

Middle, Too Brown.

Right.  Just the right Mix!

This whole VOC thing.  Yes, I do care ... but you have to admit this has taken our paints and stains and diluted them.  They don't have the pigment any longer that gave that wonderful, deep and saturated color that makes us all swoon when we see it.

Here's the abbreviated definition.

Most deep stains are "500" ... this means little bitty color particles and higher VOC's.
"250" is the number of more readily available and lower VOC's (and less costly).
But "250" means the color particles are BIGGER.
Which means Less absorption into whatever you are putting it on.

Here's the solution.

The POP!

Water down (lightly) your wood before you apply the stain.
The wood acts like when it was alive ... the little fibers open up "Pop" to soak in the water ... and when you apply the stain the larger or "250" particles have a larger opening to soak into.

Via

Giving a more rich, deep and luxurious look!  No lie.  

The look we achieved ... not too dark or too red.
And more depth.

Just right.

Next time you are looking at floor stains, Make it POP!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

To Skirt or Not To Skirt ...

Happy Monday! 

I've been dreaming of a new sofa for our family room.  

Right now it is truly existing only in my dreams. 

But while unpacking and shoving putting things away ... visions of pretty rooms have been dancing in my head!  And I am fixated on a new sofa.  Yes, you remember my old family room and the sofas that I was horrified by ... well, they didn't make the move.  

There are so many other pressing decisions that need to be made but I really want to know in my head ....

To Skirt ....

Via

Or 

Not To Skirt ...

Via

I happen to love the classic lines of the London Sofas from Duralee ... and am having a very difficult time with this seemingly simple decision ... 

Please weigh in ... To or Not To ... Skirt.

Oh ... and here's what I envision she'll be wearing ... 

Via

Yes, this is a pillow ... I am on the hunt for this fabric.  

Wide. Wale. Navy. Corduroy.

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Friday Snip - Its ... Self Absorbed!

It has been a week of temperatures of in the single digits.  And I have been stuck in the house (happily not to have to go out in the cold) while my floors are being redone ... 

Here's what's been happening ... 

1.  Before tackling the multitude of projects Don and I enjoyed this first bottle of wine (that Erin brought to us from Greece!) in our new home.

2.  Ordered this faucet for our new kitchen.  I am giddy! 

3.  Kitchen Wall painted and the Girl is UP!  Will share how I did it ... and love the outcome!

4.  Carpet chosen for stairs to basement.  I wanted happy ... I think it rocks!

5.  Proud of My Auburn Tigers.  They gave us fans quite a ride this year! 

6.  This room will be our Dining Room ... one day soon I hope!!

7.  While I love a good watercolor flower pot ... these are coming off my kitchen backsplash!

8.  Stain chosen for floors ... do you know about "popping" your floors?  Will share what I learned next week!

9.  Dyson.  Rocks.  Just bought this one, my second.  If you are considering, don't hesitate!

We are able to "move in" to our bedrooms on Saturday ... do you hear the angels singing?

Have a wonderful weekend ... temps are going up ... whoop whoop!  

I just might leave the house!!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Design Trend ... Copper

Good Morning from the Kitchen!

We are now on our third Kitchen renovation in 10 years.

We've learned a little.

As I am working through this third one, I have some food for thought.

According to House Beautiful, Copper is the "new" metal trend for 2014.

We did the copper thing in 2007.  I loved it.  I still do, as a matter of fact.

But here's the Pro/Con list for you to truly consider before you jump on the bus.

Seriously, I loved my copper sink and faucet.  But they were frustrating.

I wanted to have them keep the same beautiful shine they had the day we purchased them.

This is hard. Yes, the sink handles and things you constantly used stayed shiny.  

The rest did not.  I tried to clean it all with Tarnex one Thanksgiving and thought I would throw up from the smell.  And it streaked.

Once every six months or so I decided to give it some elbow grease and was never quite satisfied.

And let's face it ...  I have more things to do than rub my faucet all day!!

The sink actually took on a patina that I was happy with.  But I still yearned for the shine!

A friend told me I had to Embrace the Patina or move on.

Here's a round up from UK House Beautiful for your consideration:

VIA


The barstool will stay shiny if you sit on it!!  and the lamps I believe will be slow to patina as they probably have a finish on them.

So if you are considering bringing in this Trend (which I still consider a classic)  in 2014,
Consider carefully how and where you will use it, and if you have the ability to

EMBRACE THE PATINA!!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Back in the Saddle!

Happy New Year! 

I hope everyone was safe and happy and healthy.  This has been quite a little break from blogging, computers ... really everything technical. We got moved in on the 30th and we are living in the land of boxes right now.  Floors are being refinished up in the bedroom area so we are in "Camp Kim" ... twin beds lined in the living room.  

Our family is not used to being so close! 

But We are IN!

And here's a little peak at where we are taking our kitchen ... (which by the way is our living room at this point)!

This is the Before ... 

Because things were so crazy during the Holidays and with our move ... 

I didn't say a proper Thank You.

And I do. Thank you All who continue to come back, check in on things, leave comments and who have become friends.  It has been a fun adventure and I truly look forward to what 2014 has to offer and hope you will continue the ride with me!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim