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Monday, May 31, 2010
I'm on the hunt....
....for some gorgeous pendant lights for my newly-zhushed kitchen. But it's so hard to find lighting that's beautiful and affordable. As the lovely A-M lamented recently (pop on over to read her post here), it's really difficult to track down something that's both good-looking and within the realms of possibility price-wise. This is the look I'm after...
...but it's nearly impossible to find. Regardless, I need to find something I like asap. Why? Because my hideous pine ceilings are about to be painted! I'm ridiculously excited - I've wanted to do this for years. I ran into a builder friend on the weekend, who actually enjoys painting (!) and he offered to come and help me with the ceilings - how good is that! So if I'm a bit scarce on the blog front, don't worry - I'm not sure I'm good enough to swing from a ladder, paintbrush in one hand and laptop in the other! But you can be sure I'll be posting all the goodies as soon as I possibly can.
Oh, and I also have some very exciting news to share with you all...so stick around, I'll spill the beans in the next few days!
Have a good one,
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Mad Monday
Unlike some people, I always enjoy Mondays. For the past four years, I've had the pleasure of getting together with a fabulous group of ladies, on the pretense of teaching them to paint. Really, the art is just a small part of our day. We laugh, talk, eat, laugh, chat, eat, laugh, eat some more.....and maybe get some painting done too!
To make it even more fun, classes are held at the home of the gorgeous S, who lives in a beautiful spot near the water. Doesn't sound much like work, does it? Here's a pic of the kind of view we get to enjoy every week:
Oh, and to make things even more fun, I'm helping S with the renovation of her lovely beach house. I'll try to get some decent photos today of what we've done so far, it's looking great already.
I have a busy few days ahead this week, but I'll make sure I get the little giveaway I mentioned organised and underway. Hope you all have a great Monday too!
To make it even more fun, classes are held at the home of the gorgeous S, who lives in a beautiful spot near the water. Doesn't sound much like work, does it? Here's a pic of the kind of view we get to enjoy every week:
Oh, and to make things even more fun, I'm helping S with the renovation of her lovely beach house. I'll try to get some decent photos today of what we've done so far, it's looking great already.
I have a busy few days ahead this week, but I'll make sure I get the little giveaway I mentioned organised and underway. Hope you all have a great Monday too!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Pretty Outdoors
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Available at VT Interiors
Home Beautiful -House A-M Build
Giveaway scheming...
As I mentioned here, I'm planning a giveaway to celebrate all of you who take the time to read this little blog of mine. To make it a bit more special, I'm thinking I might have a choice of prizes up for grabs. But, as these are one-off designs, until I finalise things I'll leave you with these little bits of lovely.
Have a great weekend!
unknown - sorry
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
DIY Kitchen Makeover
Thanks everyone for the lovely comments on my kitchen makeover, I'm so thrilled you like the results of all my blood, sweat and numerous tears! Today as promised I'll go through all the details of what I did, how I did it and what I products I used.
So, the first step was to remove all the cabinet doors ready for painting. As I mentioned here, I bought myself an airless spray gun, and I tell you, that baby is worth its weight in gold! The most important advice I can give is to set up a mini spray booth - you do get a bit of overspray and for some reason I don't think I'd have been too popular if I'd painted everything else along with the doors!
Once you're all set up, give the doors a light sand before applying a coat of sealer/primer/undercoat. The best, in my opinion, is Zinsser's BIN 123. It's spirit based, dries quickly and can be used with any top coat. This was followed by two coats of Dulux Wash and Wear 101 acrylic gloss, in Vivid White.
So, the first step was to remove all the cabinet doors ready for painting. As I mentioned here, I bought myself an airless spray gun, and I tell you, that baby is worth its weight in gold! The most important advice I can give is to set up a mini spray booth - you do get a bit of overspray and for some reason I don't think I'd have been too popular if I'd painted everything else along with the doors!
Once you're all set up, give the doors a light sand before applying a coat of sealer/primer/undercoat. The best, in my opinion, is Zinsser's BIN 123. It's spirit based, dries quickly and can be used with any top coat. This was followed by two coats of Dulux Wash and Wear 101 acrylic gloss, in Vivid White.
after undercoating
While the doors were an easy fix, I still had the problem of a particularly ugly brick island - remember this?
I love the look of beadboard, which proved to be the perfect solution. I bought three panels of Easycraft Easy Regency from Bunnings, and as they come pre-undercoated, all they needed was two coats of topcoat. Then, I glued them straight onto the bricks using Liquid Nails.
To finish off, I trimmed the corners with timber beading, and added skirting along the bottom edge, and also under the benchtop.
Besides the painting, I think replacing the knobs made a huge difference to the look of the room. I went for black cast iron, and although my original choice was this one, available online from here, in the interests of time I went with an almost exact version I found at Bunnings.
That's about it. After wrestling with the door hinges, all the doors went back on, I replaced the knobs, and voila - a whole new room. I do plan to replace the benchtop, splashback and possibly change the wall cutout down the track, and I'm on the lookout for some lovely pendant lights for above the island, but for now I'm loving the new look and I'm in no hurry to change a thing. But you know how, once you revamp one area, the others look shabby in comparison? My to-do list is growing by the second - I think that little spray gun of mine can expect a serious workout! Ok, just a few more before and afters to refresh your memory:
See you tomorrow!