Craft Room Redeux

My new crafting space! I sold my old desk and replaced it with the perfect crafting table from Ikea. I have been slowly replacing our shelving units to something more modern as well as organized. The large frames for the pictures are also new as well thanks to Ikea. And my scrapbooking stuff is now neatly organized on the far left side of the desk.


I got rid of quite a few bags and moved some stuff out to the garage to be properly stored when not in use like my luggage.


The table in the closet is also new from Ikea and this is my current office chair until I decide between a cushioned chair and a yoga ball or a little of both since I would love people to come over a craft with me.


I have Egyptian decor everywhere but with the new space under the desk I was able to stretch out more of the decor and things are no longer all sorts of cramped.


The rug for this room is a huge pride piece for me because it is Egyptian without being tacky. I really love how the new craft table helps show it off too thanks to the dark wood.

Roff Moss Removal

So our remodeled outbuilding has always had horrid moss build up we meant to take care of. When we recently switched homeowners insurance carriers we were told we needed to take care of that. So, Patrick tried moss killer and also scraping it down but nothing seemed to work. He then used our power washer which worked like a charm.

Before:


And after:

Main Bathroom Remodel

Like the spare bathroom, I have now finished the Venetian Plaster technique on our main bathroom. Luckily I only needed two gallons for the main bathroom as it has smaller walls and less space. Originally when we redid the main bathroom I never fully finished the walls. I instead experimented with two different painting techniques on the walls. I first painted the walls with a green called Scottish Road by Behr. I did a ragging off technique using an almond paint by Behr where you roll paint on then rag it off. When that dried I used a copper glaze by Behr and did a dry rub in certain spots. The paint looked woderful but really overstated the bathroom I thought since the floor and shower curround were also complex looking with their varigated slate. So I have bee wanting to "bring it down a notch" for years now but just needed to make the time. I never really have the time when it comes down to it but needed a project and was glad to take it on.

To honor the new bathroom color I thought something new for the walls was in order. I found these great dark metal candle holders at Target on clearance for $15. Combined with some small sandlewood candles = heaven. I was inspired to put metal on the walls for some reason.




Here is a close up of the Venetian plaster so you can see the texture and the brandishing effect.


I also reframed (it would be more accurate to say I framed it better with what it was already framed in) one of my favorite wall hangings shown here. My friend Karen lived in Equador a few years ago an sent me this bird made local there entirely out of Eucalyptus leaves which are one of my favorite plants.

Project 365: August 2nd through August 8th

August 2nd: And it begins - the first coat of Venetian plaster on the main bath.


August 2nd: So you can see the before on the right and the after on the left.


August 3rd: Our new sander was a little cranky and clawed the crap out of our floor!


August 4th: Working on the garden path...


August 5th: Damned Canadians...lol...


August 6th: We thought if we gave Chris the fancy hat he might feel better about being the only guy at the dress fitting and bachelorette night for Brandy. He did have an ear to ear grin most of the evening though so I think he did ok :)


August 7th: We decided to rearrange our dining room when putting it back together right before the Arabian Nights party. Patrick did a brilliant job refinishing the floors!


August 7th: Lady J shows us how to properly hookah...and have no fear, the beauty was smoking the non tobacco and has not relapsed. This awesome lady once again not only helped me set up for the party all day but her Burning Man camp lent us quite a few items pre playa. She also looked stunning in my old saree!


August 8th: This really does sum up Sunday for me. My husband and I never really left the couch and though the lemon cream cupcakes I made were a huge party hit, people were kind enough to leave me a few...nom nom nom...

Guest Bathroom Remodeling Completion

When we first bought our house nearly five years ago we remodeled its entire being. There were many choices we made intending to revisit some spots which we did something to for a temporary solution. Our bathrooms were both left unfinished. The walls and plumbing required alot of help over time. As a result the walls had plaster lumps which under normal circumstances you would smooth out but we saw very little point since we would just later cut the walls back open so we left them and chose paint we might want to keep. After five years the time came to finish the rooms starting with the spare bathroom at the back of our house.

First the drywall in one spot was not patched correctly so Patrick cut the wall open to properly patch.


This required a trip to Home Depot (though doesn't everything) where I found some great carpet names.


Drywall acquired and set up for cutting on our back deck.


And finally the patch os completed properly and the wall sealed back up.


I have always loved the look of Venetian Plaster so we decided to use it for the bathroom in a similar color to the prior color in the bathroom only a touch lighter to bring it down a notch. The great part about having finished the bathroom is that we knew what we liked and what we did not like about the bathroom.


And here is the first coat of the plaster being added to the walls from the right to the left on the screen.


And a close up after the application of the second coat with brandishing.


We kept the light fixtures the same but decided to replace the mirror.


I majorly scored finding a gorgeous mirror at Ikea for $14.99 as opposed to the $120 oval mirror we originally had hanging in this room that we hated. This shows clearly that shopping around is simply the smart thing to do but I only really knew much about Ikea recently and had yet to even walk into their store back in 2005-2006 when we originally remodeled the house.


These were a gift to me from my dear friend Melissa and have travelled from room to room in my house in gold frames I always wanted to paint. I needed artwork for this room and these were too perfect. I did, however, finally get gun metal spray paint and I retouched them giving them new life on our bathroom wall. I personally think they are just perfect for the space!


We kept the smae shower curtain and we just changed to beautiful new black fluffy towels and a bathmat with our wedding registry last autumn. Our color scheme gooes even better now in my opinion.


And my favorite part of the room now is the new shelving thanks to Ikea. These shelves are super cute though I highly recommend that when you buy shelving from Ikea you get professional drywall anchors ad do not use theirs, just to be on a the safe side. I love this look though and I think it really hows off the ceiling height in this room nicely.


Stay tuned for future projects!

Project 365: June 21st through June 27th

I apologize for my absence and that I have to post two weeks worth from the 365 Project. Do enjoy and I will have more garden pictures very soon as well.

June 21st: Lupines finally blooming!


June 22nd: "Not for use on people"....ummm....this was in my doctor's office...


June 23rd: Me and Patrick made a new friend in our garden...I know they are not good for my plants but damn it they are cute so they live.


June 24th: Taking the MG in to get the trunk fixed to British Auto Works.


June 25th: Volunteer recognition for the suicide hotline at Ernesto's Italian restaurant. These were our souvenirs.


June 26th: This amazing rum and fruit tart Michelle made for our wine party which was cut and served with perfection by Eric, Ms Lisa Marie's date.


June 27th: Eating deserts from Papa Haydn, drinking tasty wine and having pedicures at Dosha with Danelle and Dana to celebrate Dana graduating from college.


June 27th: Our bathroom remodel complete...finally.