Let's talk tile

This is not the kind of tile talk I want to have , but should we just all agree this is CRAZY!{ I think it is crazy because of the heavy weight in the center , along with those tacky painted tile scenes they do not relate , my opinion} I am guessing there is a man behind this , a man dressed in sloppy jeans and and a dirty baseball cap that has NO business choosing back splash designs. My apologies to the owner of this kitchen but this could be done so much better really.
Moving on.

This is the kind of tile I would like to speak about and embrace , isn't it pretty.

Now this is a pretty kitchen and tile , well done , right? Tile should add to the room , or at least add texture and reflection , that was the biggest surprise I got when I installed my subway tile was the reflection and depth that it added , so pretty.

Tile has come a long long way in the past 8 years or so and the options are endless , so stay away from boring beige. I love penny rounds and subway tiles , glass or marble , hand made ceramic .

I wish I had seen these hex tiles when I was choosing , I can see this over a stove , it is so pretty , oh on a floor , gorgeous , this is my favorite .

Maybe I will do a section of my bath with these penny rounds , right behind the round mirrors , yummy.

This is always beautiful and classic , I love mine , it has a vintage nod , done here with dark grout to tie into the dark counters is a modern take , this is a more graphic look . When using contrasting grout make sure the tile job is perfect , more forgiving is using a matching grout for the diyer.

Very pretty and clean is always the glass .

Typically tile on a back splash is a small investment , so for it , splurge a little , it will pay off in spades.

Note that you can tile right over ugly tile as long as it is sound and relatively flat , you just need to clean it with tsp first .

Paneling , wainscoting, beadboard ???

I am in the considering stage of what to do with the bedroom walls? of course I could paint stripes in two shades of cream , very inexpensive , but I love moulding , and I have always wanted to install it in there , the bedroom is my spring summer project, my husband also like the moulding idea . But how do we decide ? I do not want the same as anywhere else in the house , there are too many options that I love to repeat over and over. I am strongly considering this just doing the one wall .

Or this?

Isn't this gorgeous but I could not do this ,way too many cuts, but I would love it .

Or this?

Gorgeous room by cottage bethy .

Thrown in just for cuteness!

Maybe this?

How does one decide ?

I do notice they are all on the tall side , so that is clear , I think the fifth one ??

Weekend

We had a pretty uneventful weekend , we went to see Monsters verses Aliens on Friday , it was cute I would give 3 1/2 stars I suppose out of 5, but going to the movies is always fun , popcorn giant drinks super comfy seats with cup holders , love it .
Spent time with the kiddies . While I was in my closet dolling it up they asked me to cut their hair , so after they bathed I obliged them with new spring cuts , did you know I had planned to become a hair dresser until a a hair dresser talked me out of it .

I spend many long hours trying to tidy and re-arrange my closet , I call it that because my husband has moved right out of it and into the basement with his wardrobe { I use the term wardrobe loosely} we need to build him a closet of his own down there , so the one in our bedroom is all mine , but he still has some things in there. So I went to town , hanging a high shelf for my pretty seldom worn shoes and made sure to place hooks for my purses , they look so pretty on display don't you think.

Then I was left with a bare wall , so I decided to display photos and art my children had made along with some pretty plates and a plaque , all the left over bits and pieces I had been storing in that closet, it looks so cute and happy in there , I even found this broken table leg support , so I fixed it and thought it would be great for pillows.

Look at that fresh hair for spring , I almost died cutting about 6 inches off , but who am I to impose my preferences , of course a long sweeping bang and soft layers too. Ahh Sisters!

I have made sure to treat my bed to it's happy spring frocks , see the second dust ruffle it is a double size so that it is well layered and of course my favourite hot pink sheets , now for those walls, Oh I have so many ideas.

I need one more black hook there which I get from the dollar store ,I am so happy with hooks it is great for all my pants they hand by the belt loops so much better than hangers and great for hoodies too. Now I have somewhere to hang those wedding photos the B&W's , the one to the left was actually in an advertisement in a bridal magazine , funny!

Look how long her hair was only moments before we cut it .

I put those Eiffel towers there for visual appeal , they appeal to me , that is closet decorating , there is a first for everything . Isn't it pretty , now what colour shall I paint it ? yeah maybe not.

Head's Up Canadian Girl's

While wasting time before picking up the kids from school yesterday afternoon I decided to check out the spring fares at Bowring , a Canadian decor chain , mostly not my fave but I found this beautiful glass bottle , as I walked toward the perfectly gathered bottle that come in clear green and turquoise I said to my self "please don't be expensive" , "please don't be expensive" well it was not at $5.95 , so run on out to Bowring today , because these pretties will soon be gone.
I put a little spigot in to use it for dish soap .

what strikes fear in this handy girl ???

Turns out it is a nail gun , with a compressor that sends shivers down my spine. There is more to me not having a proper brad nailer up until now than just the funds . I fear compressors, I can not pin point why , but when I turned it on , and it is a loud one { and that's ok}, my fear took over . OMG!
I had to wait for the hubby to be home to try the first few shots this morning , my arms are still a quiver ! Who knew? I have never feared a power tool until now.
All that chicken in me needed to step aside as I tried for myself , and it was like" butta" so easy , I am glad to have it , it was $100.00 for the whole thing , it is little and fantastic . It took nothing to add the finishing touched to the door header on the closet . Love it , fearful of it but happy to have it .

Fab Friday Finds

I came across this most wonderful store called Quatrine sadly well out of reach , so I will live with admiring their beautiful furniture, everything is slipcovered , you know how I love a good slipcover , they are a must. All the white trim work and beautiful wood floors , gorgeous, I had to share.

I found this rug on http://www.elte.com/ the other day , Elte is in Toronto . Isn't it great , I am sure it would look amazing in a room , I would love to see that room.

These photos are also from http://www.quatrine.com/ , it is all eye candy to me , because it is inaccessible to me where I live, but it is inspiring.

Look at this pretty , this is such a girl chair I love it .

Perfection!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend in store , good weather on the way for us , thankful for that .

I am finally going to go and get a "REAL" nail gun with compressor , it's a real bargain and has top ratings and reviews , it is about time , with all the work I do and the wrist injuries I have been dealing with , it only seems necessary to buy the right tool.

Happy weekend to you !

Sarah's Office

How did I almost forget to share with you Sarah's office , it is quite a departure from the rest of the spaces , and it is lovely , a fresh green . I love how she uses patterned fabrics for drapes , it is very stylish .

I am crazy about that lamp , it is such a nice scale , more gorgeous floors and not one run of the mill piece of furniture in sight , well done yet again .

Run Lassie Run

Thanks T !

What a day

How would you react to this ? I have to say I kept my cool , my 10 year old and her friend ended up with this disaster some how thankfully in their bathroom, lesson: always keep plenty of nail polish on hand , I can't imagine what I would have done if I had been even close to out of polish remover.

I am focusing on eating healthier than this winter, doesn't this all look yummy. I am very grateful my kids love fruits and veggies, and I look forward to feeling great very soon .

Clean the frog tank

Drop of items for sale to frequent purchaser

Groceries

Workout

Get hot lunch to kids at school

Another small workout

List items for sale

Detail sink

Scoop poop in backyard

Pick up 3 kids from school

Swimming lessons

Nail polish disaster

I hope tomorrow has a few less yucky tasks and plenty of good bits, oh yes my daughters first basketball game , that will be fun.

Cheers

Black paint

I wanted to show you off to the right is wider than the left , hence the hook .

Somehow I fit in a great deal of painting in a very small amount of time , I brought out the black paint and started some transformations. I painted an exsisting table that was white black , as it is listed for sale , turns out more people like black than white right now , not me ! I made this antique hat form into a little display shelf with some beadboard attached to the back , it had been a mirror but that was broken recently . It is $10.00 not bad huh!

Coat rack /key holder

* the reason I went with the sea star and small hook off to one side was because that side has an extra two inches so I made it a feature , and yes for keys , I think it would work very well. I listed it for $45.00 we will see.

I have been pondering making this piece of trim , well wainscoting into coat hooks , it turned out so well , what do you think? would you buy it ? I am going to list it for sale and make a couple more too . Now how much ?

I had to share with you this information , you know when your paint brush is looking like it is time to toss it , well that was my brush yesterday , I remembered that TSP is great for cleaning and restoring brushes , and it does it really does , it came back as good as new , I soaked it in hot hater with TSP for 30 minutes and the paint liquefied , I then used a wire brush to get out the remainder and it is back to it's old self ,I wrap my brushes in paper towel like this to keep them tight and to squeeze out the excess water .

I changed out the hinges on this cabinet , as the other was very country western to me, and I gave it another episode of distressing .

The wainscoting is coming along , I love the look , this really looks good everywhere .

It was a very productive day , the kids were back in school , I could tackle all kinds of projects , now to get back in shape , that will get better now that the sidewalks are dry , and ready for walking.

Beadboard and board and batten , how does one choose?

Isn't this a perfect example of board and batten ?, I like the tight positioning of the battens .

I snapped this pic above from a magazine , I would love to add simple beams like this to our bedroom ceiling with the ceiling white though.

Look at this trim , the railroaded beadboard , and paneling on the peninsula such attention to detail , all the white with the dark floors , now no one can say this is a boring combo.

I am still pondering what type of wall treatment to do in our master bedroom , I love the board and batten as well as beadboard , but the horizontal boards are beautiful too . This will come down to cost , as I would love most of all beadboard at 5 ft but that would ring in at quite a pretty penny , although I do suppose I could do it a little at a time. Most likely it will be board and batten at about 10 inch spacing.

When it come to trim , for me the more the merrier , and I love when there is a good mix.