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Death of a Stranger
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Death of a Stranger
by Anne Perry
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Painting Bath Cabinets Almost Drama Proof

I found a great “recipe” to paint my bathroom cabinets. The current cabinets were scuffed, worn, dated and ugly.

They are now sleek, pretty and contemporary.


1. Clean the cabinets with a deglosser/sander – Klean Strip is a great brand, you can only find it at Home Depot.

2. Let the deglosser dry, only takes about an hour.

3. Apply a latex primer – or all purpose primer with a good quality brush – the site recommended 2 1/2″ but if you have any kind of raised decorative face to your doors you may want to use a 2″ – Purdy are awesome brushes and worth every cent!!

Have then tint the primer dark – very necessary.

4. Let the primer dry overnight. Then apply your OIL based paint with a Purdy 2″ brush that is made for all paints or oil based paint.

Paint with the grain of the wood.

You should only need a quart of paint. I painted this vanity and used less than 1/4 of the can!

Soak your brushes in a can of brush cleaner, since it’s oil based this is the only way you’re getting them clean. Rinse with cold water.

Good luck

Tips provided by Addicted2Decorating.com

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Categories : DIY Projects, Home & Garden
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Decoration Inspiration

As I venture forth decorating and updating my home I realize it may be fun to show off a little of what inspires me as I plan rooms because really 90% starts in my head and then I tend to stumble upon a finished product on the internet etc. It can be a little exhausting to have a complete idea in your head and then have to go search for the items out in the real world to make that idea come true, especially when like me you’re on a budget or just refuse to pay full price.

To get a room the way I want it takes a lot of scouring Craigslist, vintage stores, online stores, sales, estate sales and consignment sales. Out of all of these sources I have advice and opinions on each which I’ll formulate on another day.

But here are some images that show you what inspires me, from wall color to furniture to bedding to art work. Of course there are a lot of cool things out there that I love and you can see those here – but these are all images that actually will be reflected in my home one way or another.

 

above photo courtesy of bradybunchremodel.com

Sources include:

ApartmentTherapy.com
BradyBunchRemodel.com – great for mid century modern lovers
Etsy art
Dwell Studios

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Categories : Favorite Things, Home & Garden
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Outrage over Non Issues

This is an attempt to put some perspective out in the world. I only attempt this once every year or so, and I’m going to spend my dime on this cause.

The other day Netflix said they were splitting into two companies then yada yada yada the internet lost their damn minds,  people were prepared to go to war over the issue, their stock dropped, letters of outrage were written to our congressmen, people wore sack cloths and nashed (I have no idea how to spell that and WordPress isn’t helping me here) their teeth, the cry of sorrow and alarm could be heard through out the country.

Two days later Facebook changed their format for the umpteenth time and yada yada yada a lot of internet addicts found themselves curled up in the fetal position with their bottle of JD saying they couldn’t deal with change – as they continued to surf Facebook for 3 hours.

Several month’s ago Twitter had to slowly taper it’s users off of the old format on to the new format just to keep said fetal positioning from happening because a mutiny was a stirrin and those Twitter folks make the Facebook folks look like milk toast.

Really?

This is what upsets us now?

What do Netflix, Facebook and Twitter all have in common? They are non issues, they are time suckers, they are entertainment, they are fluff and yet they apparently have the power to rile a nation?

Are these the kinds of things we really want to focus on being “upset” over?

Who cares? Lives were not affected by these changes, let’s be honest.

I don’t know maybe in a world of tax hikes, unempolyment, housing drama and an unending war on terrorism we need to get angry over something trivial?

Maybe it’s time to gain some perspective and unplug?

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Categories : Drivel & Drabble
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Austin Craigslist Hotties

The hotties being awesome furniture that is!

Buy these items so I won’t be tempted to

this chair would be a great project – picture a fabulous contemporary pattern with the traditional style and bam!

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Categories : Craigslist Finds, Home & Garden
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Buying the house was the easy part

Being a realtor and buying a house was really interesting. I definitely see where some of my clients anxiety comes from, they are excited and hopeful and that alone makes them afraid because what if? At the same time I see where some people pass up awesome deals because they get really caught up in the small things, like.

-floor
-paint
-kitchen cabinets
-ceilings
-etc

When I found my house I fell in love with the layout, utilization of space, potential and location within the neighborhood. All the practical not fun stuff ya know?

Because let’s be honest, you CAN CHANGE FLOORS AND PAINT, not so easy to change a floor plan or where a house is in the area. I have to remind my clients of this kind of stuff all the time. It’s like finding the man of your dreams and he’s wearing a Cosby sweater – loose the sweater, done deal!

So as predicted I found and had my house under contract in less than a week, only looked at houses for  a week. Negotiated it in a day and closed a week early – yeah my lender rocks by the way – local loan officers all the way!!

A lot of things needed to change about the house – but getting a great deal on the home means I can now afford to change all the 1980′s horror features like…

popcorn ceilings and country baby blue paint

ugly bathrooms

saloon doors

retina burning and cave dwelling bedrooms

but check out this kitchen and yard!


yeah, you know some before and after pics are coming, cause I’m a sucker for that kinda stuff.

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Categories : Home & Garden
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Story Boards for Bedroom and Dining Room

I love interior decorating. By the time I go out to make certain purchases believe me it’s all planned out in my head – my head is one big story board. In high school I used to put story boards together just for the fun of it. I would have books and books of cut outs from magazines and catalogs of rooms that I wanted to put together. You should have seen my Montana mountain phase, thank you Sundance Catalog for hours of fun.

Now we have the internet and photo programs – they make story boarding fun. There are even online storyboards you can create, but it’s usually using their products and that’s not quite as fun to me – or creative.

So in purchasing this new home I find the gypsy in me has gotten rid of most of her furniture. I have some art work and bedroom furniture, that’s it. I have been wanting to update my bedroom for years but I don’t want to let go of my grandparents 1930 iron bed – so now that’s going in the guest bedroom, see how that worked out?

So here are the two story boards I have that are actually completed, I’m having a hard time with my living room one. Possibly because I still haven’t decided on the couch and that is, after all, the focal point.


The bedroom has loads of space for art work which I love!

1. Watercolor on Etsy that now I can’t find – sigh

2. Watercolor of Peacock by Mai Autumn – at http://maiautumn.typepad.com

3. and 4. Prints (original done in pen, pencil and marker) by Yellena James http://www.etsy.com/shop/yellena?ref=pr_shop

5. Bed from World Market

6. Curtains from Ikea

7. Duvet by Urban Outfitters

The dining room is by far the most complete room thus far as I actually have all of the items shown except the curtains. The focal point will be the painting so I may do a rug that will bring out some of those colors.

The darkest wall color will be behind the painting on the center wall. This room gets loads of natural light so I know the dark colors will be fine.

1. Curtains from Ikea

2. Chairs (2) from West Elm

3. Painting is one I own – salvaged from an office building so it wouldn’t end up in trash.

4. Dining table and bench from West Elm via Craig’s List

5. Chandelier from Lowe’s. Note these are gorgeous and the photo doesn’t do it justice. The material is Onyx and it has flecks of color in it, I think it will be perfect with the paining. I also got a new entry light that compliments this.

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Categories : Home & Garden
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