Finally

The table is done. Finally. I'm slightly pissed that I can see sanding marks from sanding after the first coat of polyurethane but I am not about to sand, paint, and poly again.

I need to move the legs around and figure out where they were when I painted the table. You can see there is a big gap between a couple of legs and the top. This requires bribing my not-so-patient husband to help me.

Still have five chairs left. Blah. I'm all painted out.






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Distressed

I sanded a bit of the table today - a lot of the edges had thick areas of paint and I wanted to smooth them out before I finished the last coats.



The good news is that painting the first coat black worked out how I wanted - it showed through. Bad news is the husband doesn't like the weathered look and I don't think a distressed look with glossy paint works. That's okay, since I do like it all white.


Now I've just got to touch up those black areas so I can do one final (I hope) coat of white.


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Um, one chair down...

I must be the slowest furniture refinisher ever. I've only completed one chair of six and the table may need another coat of paint before polyurethane.

Here's the chair with some ivory burlap I had lying around. I'd like to tuft it but it will have to wait.


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Progress, and another color idea

The chair now has FOUR coats of paint - three white and one black. I think if I didn't have a fussy baby yelling at me during coat number two I might not have needed the third, but I'd rather do thin coats than gloppy thick ones anyway.

Black base coat:


I almost considered painting the set black instead after seeing it, but I've wanted white so long I just couldn't do it.

After the first white coat:


I'm using a little paintbrush to do the crevices and then a small foam roller. It's working pretty well. Tomorrow I hope to finish sanding the table and do the black base coat on it.

Erin at House of Turquoise posted grey & turquoise rooms today and it hit me that grey would be a great alternative to my favorite combo of black & white. I've wanted an aqua accent in the room, but couldn't quite buy the idea of putting it on the chairs.

I love this fireplace

Ever Changing Life via House of Turquoise

We have a fireplace in the kitchen...but my husband is already unhappy with white furniture, so that might be pushing it a bit.

I like these grey fabrics, but would ivory (in the last stripe) just look dirty next to white?

Finally, Action

I've finally, finally started working on the kitchen table & chairs. I am so sick of talking about it and not doing anything. The husband offered to host poker in April and it's kicked me into high gear getting the house presentable.

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to paint the table a glossy, shiny white...


RoomService


amode


Interior Delights

Or go with a weathered look...


In the Fun Lane




Jed Johnson via Interior Divine

So I decided that I'd try a glossy white with a weathered backup plan. What I'm doing is this: sanding the finish off down to the wood, and painting the furniture with one coat of black flat paint. Then I'll paint with white gloss. If I can't get the white gloss to look beautiful, I'll sand down a bit to the black.

This gives me an out, and also possibly gives me a black & white table - and I do so adore black & white.

It took two days to accomplish:
Trip to Lowe's for supplies
Moving heavy table and chairs out to the garage, which required removing the legs and reattaching them
Removing the seat cushions from six chairs
Figuring out which sandpaper went on the palm sander
Sand top of table with palm sander
Sand ONE chair by hand and paint it black

Doesn't seem like a lot, but with family visiting, demanding Little Boy, and working a bit, it's not bad. Going to do the white coat on the chair tomorrow. I am doing a chair first to make sure my paint adheres well. I don't want to paint the entire table (which seats ten) and find out my technique is all wrong.

Cabinet options

Kitchen: The Plan

I was asking for opinions on Twitter and Julie said she needed to know my whole plan to say whether houndstooth on kitchen chairs was a good idea. This was just the arse-kicking I needed to figure it all out, so here goes, and thanks Julie!

{Here's where I'm supposed to apologize for the quality of the pictures because it was nighttime and I used flash, but all I know is my walls are sorta blue and they didn't come out that way}

This area is going to be the small human's play area. I want to get a rug, a bit of storage, and a play kitchen in the bay window. I'd also like to replace the cheap prints and put in some sort of window treatment.

Here's the UGLY table & chairs. It may be ugly, but it was free, and the table expands to seat TEN people, so we're keeping it. And yeah, I know, it's Kincaid or something nice, but I am painting it white and there's nothing you can do about it.

Here's my houndstooth coat draped on a chair. Houndstooth upholstery on a white chair? Not?

Something like these?

Also need something on that wall above the dog dishes.  I have a couple of the wine glass shelves sort of like this. Appropriate placing since the dogs do drive me to drink, or funny looking since there's no bar underneath?

Turn to the left...

 

Moving around, here's the long wall of nothingness. And yes, my cat gets up on the table and the counters and it's disgusting and you probably shouldn't eat at my house. What should I put here? I need storage.

What do you think? Cabinet or shelves?

Do you think this window needs something? And yes, there's crap on top of the cabinets. My husband is tall and feels it's a good place to store stuff, so I at least try to give him matching things to put up there.

To summarize:

Houndstooth? Or not?

What the hell to put on the walls?

Buy a big cabinet or attempt to install big shelves?

Ideas for Little Boy's playspace

We plan to turn the bay window breakfast-nook area of the kitchen/dining area into a space where our little guy can play. Loving the idea of a cowhide or similar rug - the dark areas will hide dirt, as it's right near the back door, where our dogs go in and out.

playroom by paisleybourgeois on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Red Floor Pillow. 20"sq.x4"H, $37
Peacock Floor Pillow. 20"sq.x4"H, $37
Products - CowHides International - area rugs, area rug, cowhide...
Red Retro Kitchen Sink | Pottery Barn Kids, $249
Kendall Storage Console | Pottery Barn Kids, $199

decisions, decisions

I'm not good at making decisions. I'm a list-maker, a pros & cons weigher. Small decisions like furniture are not my strong suit. Big decisions I've always made based on my gut, and they've worked out well for me. But choosing little things? I labor over these decisions, ask for input, drive my husband and friends crazy.

Nope, I haven't yet painted my table & chairs or chosen fabric for the chairs. I have bought 5 yards of burlap but for some reason I bought it in an ivory tone. Maybe I'll stencil it. Maybe I'll dye it with coffee (can that be done?). Maybe it will sit there for another year, who knows.

My latest decision that I have not yet made and I bet won't make for a while yet is which storage solution I want to use on the big wall in the kitchen. I made a couple of mock-ups (terrible photoshop skills) hoping it would help...but it hasn't yet.

I like the idea of shelves because the baby won't be able to get to them. But hanging shelves and I are not really friends, and I can imagine that everything will get dusty. However, I have a ton of white porcelain serving dishes and such that I'd love to get out of the cabinets.



A glass cabinet would be nice because they're so pretty (that is, if I can find one I actually do like at a price to match). The cabinet would take some floor space, but not much; however, with a 160 pound Great Dane who likes to walk around with us, clearance between furniture is quite important. I taped it out on the floor and it seems doable.



Just haven't the slightest what I should do. I'd like to get it all done so I'd quit wondering about it, have my kitchen cabinets cleared out a bit (I absolutely despise the sound of clanking pots when I need to start dinner), and can't take looking at the oak table any longer. Anybody out there have an opinion? Experience to share? Help!

been having fun

I've been having fun baking and making invitations lately. I should probably be cleaning the house...but a girl needs some 'me' time, don't you think?

Both of these were designed to be e-mailed in PDF format. They were so fun to make.

I've made a ton of stuff, including mini cupcakes for the cupcake birthday party, but only thought to take a picture of this chocolate pumpkin bundt cake I made for my aunt & uncle's birthday (they share a birthday - isn't that sweet?).

Sorry for the blurry photos - I never remember to use my DSLR and use my iPhone instead.

I've also made pumpkin cake balls dipped in white chocolate and milk chocolate and lemon meringue pies. Now I think I'll make some dog biscuits for my poodlemutt Paisley's 4th birthday, which is today. At least that's one baking project that won't put pounds on my hips.

Operation Cupcake: Take 2

Better...



These are pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - and miraculously even my husband, who insists that chocolate is the only good dessert, raved about them.

And I am happy because they look much better than last week's attempt and I have someone to split the calories with.

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Operation Cupcake: Fail

I promised my dear friend I'd help bake and decorate the cupcake menagerie for her daughter's birthday.

So I tried decorating some cupcakes in the simple style of thick piped icing, like these pretty cakes...



But my cupcakes turned out so ugly!


(not to mention flat due to the silicone pan I used)


I think I've figured out a couple of things I'm doing wrong, and I'm going to get some more supplies. Luckily I was able to pawn off a few cupcakes on my family but I've eaten three before noon today. Oh, the sacrifices we make for our friends!

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busy busy life

The little one is keeping me so busy! He's getting more independent (now I truly understand the meaning of bittersweet) but I hate to just plop him down so I can spend more time than I need to on the computer. Besides, I enjoy spending all the time I can trying to figure out sillier and sillier ways to make him laugh.

I am helping a friend plan her daughter's first birthday party. Since I have another 6 months to go with the little man until that milestone - and I am super girly - this is a blast for me.

1. Etsy answin23 2. Bakerella 3. Etsy TuChae
4. Bakerella 5. Real Simple 6. No Fuss Fabulous
7. Etsy Whimzy Creations 8. Martha Stewart 9. La Fuji Mama

Isn't the idea of a high chair sign saying "I am 1" so cute? And I love the mini-sandwich in a cupcake wrapper. We'll just have to make sure the guests aren't expecting frosting and sweetness when they bite into a savory sandwich.

holidays

The weather's finally turned crisp here - for a couple of days, at least - and I am having silly little thoughts of the holidays.


dress via The Bottom of the Ironing Basket
My son's first Christmas allows me a little license with formality, no?

Or perhaps something a little more restrained, but still festive...

Candela Sequined Cuff & Hem dress, Saks Fifth Avenue, via ShopStyle

But this, so casual and warm, would look nice with my new over-the-knee boots, and wouldn't make my jeans-wearing family give me a sideways glance...

Cowl neck pocket tunic by emilyryan, Etsy

Finding a focus

Since I'm all over the place with ideas for the kitchen, I've decided to follow Living with Lindsay's Making Your Dream Room a Reality Series. The first goal is to identify what inspires you in the photos you are drawn to.


I love the monochromatic white look in this kitchen, the drawer pulls, and the glass-front cabinets. This kitchen reminds me of ours, which has a breakfast nook, kitchen, and family room area in one big room.


I love much of the same in this kitchen - monochromatic white, glass cabinets, and I also adore the feminine table and chairs.


The pops of blue appeal to me in this kitchen, as well as the plank ceiling.


I love the worn finish on this table, which is quite similar to the shape of ours. I also enjoy the mismatched chairs and white grommet-top panels. I'd bought some like these for the kitchen but ended up using them in my baby's room.



I've been searching for the perfect china cabinet/armoire for the kitchen on Craigslist for what seems like forever. The simple lines and white finish are so appealing.


But the detail and bright color of this one are also drawing me back to it (from Design Gal & Her Handyman.)

This photo's open shelving would be great on the wall next to the fireplace - and the chairs are similar to mine. I love the distressed look (from Jennifer at The Old Painted Cottage.)


And again...the similar chairs, but in blue. I also love, love the wall color.

Does that all seem contradictory? I love monochromatic white but I also love pops of color. There's not much color in my house - not even in my baby son's room - but I think I'm ready for a little.

Kitchen...

I've been thinking more and more about the burlap chairs. At first, I thought they were a terrific idea - cheap, durable, neutral - but then I realized my cat would love and adore scratching them up. I was even planning to upholster teal underneath prior to stapling on the burlap for a little color. However...not sure cat scratching post-seat cushions are the way to go for me.

Then I found this photograph


And I fell in love with the aqua chairs. The caned backing is so similar to mine, and I just love the pops of color. My uber-traditional husband, however? He has a hard time with WHITE furniture - can you imagine the heart attack he'd have at turquoise chairs?

So I'm on a new track. I would like a large-print turquoise houndstooth on white chairs (so yes, I'm back to upholstery), or perhaps even yellow...if I could paint the not-yet-purchased-waiting-for-the-perfect-one china cabinet turquoise. The walls in the kitchen are a neutral grey/blue, at the moment, so I think this would work.

The Michael Miller yellow houndstooth


I am smitten with this Duralee print - the repeat is perfect scale - but at nearly $150 a yard it is in the stratosphere concerning my budget.



I suppose it's a good thing I have no time to refinish the table at the moment, since I can't make up my mind.