Well, I figured since you have been patiently waiting for me to
finish the kitchen, I would politely invite you into our house to wait.
You can sit and rest or look around and I'll send Miss S to the piano
to play you some Mozart or Chopin.
I'll have Miss A make you some Earl Grey tea or coffee.
While you are waiting with your cup in hand,
I will finish sawing the blind that goes over the sink,
(I need a 42" blind, and so I am having to cut 3" off each end of a 48" blind--
will post about that), add more beadboard paper to the backs of the open cabinets,
and browse Craigslist once again for a faucet and rug.
Who am I kidding?
I'd offer you some tea and then drag you into the kitchen to help me.
No one sits around while I'm working!
Thought you might like to see some befores and afters.
I am warning you--We LOVE red!
Red is not for the shy or faint of heart!
When we moved in.
Builder beige. Depressing (to me).
Different angles of the foyer.
I added real wood wainscoting, by myself, thank you very much!
First decorating attempt. Meh.
I found a toile wallpaper on eBay, and went from there.
It took me 2 months to finish hanging the wallpaper.
Plugging away at it, a little bit every day.
I joke that if I didn't love the Lord and went to hell when I died,
I would be hanging wallpaper for all eternity as my punishment.
That's how much I dislike wallpapering.
The paper has snails and fruit, butterflies and scrolls.
I also found the buffalo check fabric for the curtains on eBay,
(sewed those into large, lined rectangles)
as well as one of the two matelasse bedspreads
that I sewed slipcovers for the wingbacks out of.
The shutters (found for $1 each at a yard sale) hold sheet music.
Our front rooms were literally this bare when we moved in.
No furnishings.
My mother-in-love got remarried, and combined her and her husband's furnishings,
and shipped us the "leftovers".
28 pieces of antiques! What a blessing!
Among them are the piano, foyer dresser, nightstand between the chairs,
Hitchcock chairs in the foyer.
The ceilings are 9 feet, and therefore the rooms were large enough to handle the bold color.
Lady Bug, Sherwin Williams. 5 coats, including primer. Ugh.
I also sewed the slipcover for the loveseat out of brushed cotton duck.
How exciting.
A blank slate.
$10 garage sale chandelier, painted black.
$5 garage sale antique mirror frame, painted and mirror added.
Found these vintage swing arm rods on eBay, too.
They were gold when we bought them.
Our garage sale hutch.
It was pine, custom-made, and I loved the curves.
This was primed, then a coat of Laura Ashley Cowslip 3 yellow was added.
Lyre-back, English $10 garage sale chairs.
I found the prints at Good Will for $2.99 each--
they must have been meant for our home, because they each had
the flowers of the month for each of our birthdays!
I added molding to the walls around the room, too.
Every single piece of silver or ironstone came from a garage sale or Good Will.
Below the chair rail is tin tile-looking wallpaper from Lowes.
Trestle table, a barter with a friend.
I know the flowers are fake.
I like 'em anyway.
The bird is fake, too.
The bedspread on the table was a birthday gift!
So concludes our tour!
Now get in the kitchen and hold this blind for me so I can cut it!
Or you can clean something--your choice!
.
