Another project down...

(before & after)

...one step closer to doing the kitchen. This last week, I painted the cabinets in my kids bathroom. My whole goal is to make it to the kitchen, but I have to practice in other smaller areas of the house first! I lightly sanded, primed and painted white. Then I added glaze (Ralph Lauren Teastain), wiped off the glaze...leaving in the knots and edges. Finished off with two coats of polyurethane. The was much faster than the cabinets I stripped and re-stained. I am really pleased with the results...a couple things I want to tweak when I do the kitchen, though. Not the best pictures, the lighting in the bathroom is horrible. Hopefully you will get the idea! I wish I had infinite energy to do projects and the ability to keep the house maintained while doing them. Alas, the laundry and dishes don't do themselves and they quickly call me back from my HGTV daydream! ;)

Glory Hallelujah!!!!!!!!

And an Amen, Sista!!!!!! I have finally finished the staircase and I love it! It was every bit as hard as I thought...and then some. Mostly because of all the sanding I did to prep for staining. Even though the finished product took a turn from my original plan, I actually like it better this way. (If I didn't have the metal spindles I really would've wanted the walnut/white combo, but w/ what I have, I think this was the best route) It came out super smooth and even. I wanted it to look like it had always been this way (i.e. the builder did it)...and I think I came pretty close. I finished it up last Friday and spent the weekend cleaning. Holy moly....you wouldn't believe all the over-spray dust. It was everywhere. No joke.

Eventually, (I'm a little burnt out right now) I would like to paint a darker color so there is more of a contrast and pop between the walls and railings (and mantel). I would LOVE suggestions of paint colors from anyone....please! I need it to be pretty neutral since I will most likely have to repaint most of the house (open floor plan + rounded corners= no good starting/stopping points!)

BEFORE ...................&..................AFTER

I've also inlcuded a picture of the mantel. Not loving how it's decorated right now...another day, another time.

Plan *B*

Well, I've been sanding and prepping the railings for a month now. AND, I am admitting defeat. Not total defeat, but defeat to what my original intention was. Not sure if you remember, but I had wanted a combination of a dark walnut stain and white. I knew it was a HUGE undertaking and it was (and still is!). I was prepared for the amount of work I needed to do, I knew I had to get every ounce of finish off for it to take the stain....and I did. (In fact, my fingers got very raw and cracked from all the sanding). Unfortunately no amount of work and preparation could control how the wood would take the stain. I had finally reached the point that I thought I was ready to stain. My excitement was quickly deflated by what I saw. I hated it. I even tried a lighter stain. It wasn't the stain, it was the wood. I'm not sure if you can tell or not in the photo, but the wood took the stain very inconsistently. Weird wood flaws and marks were coming through. Not at all what I had invisioned. Yea, I was pretty disappointed...especially after all that work, but all is not lost. I will be painting it all white. I am pretty excited. I think it will give me the "crisp, light and bright" look that I want. Either way, I know I will like it better than what it was before...I think it will be more me. I will post when I wake up from the paint fumes!

Home for the holidays...

I love looking at all the things friends and family do to adorn their homes for the holidays. It's so fun to see their creativity and personalities come through in the way they decorate. I've enjoyed being inspired and filled with the holiday spirit as I've gotten peeks into the homes of friends and family. Here are a few photos from around our home. Certainly nothing spectacular, but just right for our family to feel the holiday spirit.

Around the house...

I love trying new things when it comes to making my house my own. I love my home but, when we bought it, it was a spec. So, we didn't really get to make any choices. Not that what we have isn't nice, I would just like to make it more my own. kwim? I've been wanting to do something with my cabinets for quite awhile now. It's just that making a mistake on cabinets could be a rather costly mistake. After asking the advice of friends (thank you!) who've done similar projects I decided to take the leap. Well, a small leap at least. I wanted to start in a small area where the consequences of a mistake wouldn't be as expensive. I decided to start in the master bathroom. The cabinets are knotty alder and had a natural finish...a little more rustic than I'd like. Ideally, I'd like dark cabinets and light tile. I stripped, scrapped, cleaned, sanded, wiped, stained, wiped, poly-ed, sanded, wiped, and poly-ed. Yes, it was a lot of work! For a very non-professional, I think they turned out as good as they could. I am really happy with results. Now, onto the tile, coutners, faucets and lights in the bathroom! ;)