paper train stations to ramp up the fun on the lillabo train set

alicia created paper train stations to add to her kid's lillabo train set. hubby whipped up a digital drawing of the stations and passengers, which her boy then coloured. alicia is sharing her pdf with us. just look for the link at the end of this post to print your set of paper train stations.

see more of the crumley's paper trains or download the pdf here.

Beware of shopping buddies

One sure-fire way to NOT be a "thrifty decor chick" is to shop with your friends. What is it? The peer pressure, of "Ohhhh, just BUY it!" I think so. And we all do it. Then you compare totals while walking out of the store -- and when you spent less than your buddy you whisper "YESSSS" to yourself. :) (You know you do.)

All I know is I spend half as much on a shopping trip by myself than I do when I am with friends. And even less when it's just me and my little man. Nothing is better for the bank account than shopping with a toddler.

I will post more tomorrow -- the computer was on the fritz today.

Bachelor Pad Chapter 2 - Before Photos

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am very particular about the photos I post on my blog. So, it pains me to see the "before" photos of my friend's bachelor pad posted before I have any "after" photos to share. But everyone has been asking for them so I thought I might as well go for it since I have updates to the project to tell you about.

Above is a view of the living room. It's not terrible but it's not great. The walls are a pale sage and the furniture is a mix of mid-century and country. I realized after talking to my friend's step-mother that anything decent in the apartment came from her including the C&B Italia sofa from 1973, the glass and chrome coffee table, and the window blinds. More on her and the fab furniture in a later post! My friend bought the rug and likes it so I'm incorporating it into the design. Of course, I had to get it cleaned and order a rug pad. I slid on the darned thing every time I crossed the room. At one point, I thought I was going to take a header into the coffee table. The walls in the living/office/dining area will be painted Benjamin Moore Collingwood, a pale taupe color.

The audio/visual wall is also due for an update and will be getting a snazzy new console to hide all the stereo/tv ephemera. The business meeting notes taped to the wall will be getting a very professional looking easel and will be relegated to the "office" area. The kitchen is behind the television wall and boy is it lovely.

You're lucky I didn't post the photo the showed the hideous florescent light fixture. The institutional yellow is bad enough but then there are those weird curved "wall splashes" (I don't know what else to call them) on each side wall that are killing me. My original plan was to paint the kitchen dark brown a la Ron Marvin, and install mercury glass back splashes but since it's a rental, I didn't want to tear those things off and create a bigger mess. So now the kitchen will be painted Benjamin Moore Dove Wing and I pray that it makes those things less noticeable. We're also taking off the "swinging door" which is completely useless since it runs into the stove which juts out too far. Gotta love it.

This is the view to the front door with the other kitchen door open and one of the two entry closet doors visible. There are a lot of doors in this place with not so nice trim so I am planning to just paint the entire entry including the trim and doors Benjamin Moore Middlebury Brown so they hopefully all blend in and disappear. I am also going to take page out of my friend Maison21's rule book and install a dimmer on the entry light. You can never underestimate the power of mood lighting.

This cheap monstrosity of a book case will be one piece of furniture that will not be staying. In it's place will be a large console table topped with a pair of lamps and a mirror to reflect the light from the wall of windows in the living room. I also would like to flank it with a pair of chairs but we'll have to see how far the budget takes us. I practically had to pry the credit card out of my friend's hand today in order to buy the paint so I don't think I'm going to be getting any more money for this job. Oh, did I mention I'm not even getting paid? We'll discuss that later. Moving on...

Are we in a fishing lodge or a New York apartment? Hard to tell huh? All of that is going, needless to say. It's too bad my friend doesn't have a country house. We could relocate everything to it and kill two birds with one stone. I might have to work with the dining table but the pale blue ladder back chairs will be replaced with something more modern. Not sure what yet. The unfortunate light will also be replaced.

As I mentioned earlier, the blinds are actually nice so they are staying. One less thing for me to worry about! Funny there is a bike in the dining room considering all the empty closet space. That and the fact that I can't actually see my friend riding it!

The bedroom isn't that bad actually. We're keeping the wood sleigh bed but replacing the mattress. I've also picked out two vintage bedside tables with drawers. It's hard to tell from this photo but there is a lot of floor space so I'd love to add a pair of chairs by the window and move the brass Cedric Hartman looking reading lamps next to them. I also found a great double dresser with leather handles from Ralph Lauren that I would love to add to the wall across from the foot of the bed but it's $7,000 price tag is a little steep for our budget.

I'm planing to paint the walls Benjamin Moore Horizon, a pale grey blue. The plastering has already begun and the painters are hopefully starting on Tuesday. My friend said his apartment looked like a flop house last night which made me laugh. I think he was a bit naive as to the amount of work that goes into even the smallest design project. But in the end, it will all be worth it. I just hope I get invited over to enjoy all my hard work!

Starfish Cottage

With summer soon approaching I was compelled to show you a peek into Wright-Ryan Homes' Starfish Cottage. This lovely home was built by Wright-Ryan Construction, who have been building Maine's great spaces since 1984. All pictures are from their web site. Let's take a look: We arrive on to a lovely porch. Perfect to relax with a book and listen to the crashing waves.

The entry treats us to a wonderful staircase accented with beadboard - notice the striped runner up the stairs, the porthole interior window, and the nickel lantern. Doesn't this just scream beach house?

We walk upstairs to the heart of the home, the kitchen, designed on the second level to most likely capture the best ocean views.

Notice the fantastic ceiling and porthole window. But, the pièce de résistance' is the starfish railing. What a wonderful custom feature that adds a tremendous amount of personality to this fabulous room. I love the cut outs of marine life and especially the lighthouse post. Notice how the beadboard is brought back into the design scheme, with the lower cabinet doors. The cabinets are a perfect shade of blue, which done incorrectly could have overwhelmed the space. But, this shade of blue actually adds to the ocean and beach feel in subtle but beautiful way. The lighting also reinforces that this is a place for sun and sand! Pull a stool and grab an apple!

Do they have a support group for me?

I am obsessed with molding in our home. I mean, seriously. Obsessed. I can't even remember the first project I did with it, all I know is I've always loved the look of wainscoting, beadboard and chair rails. So when we moved into our house, I set out to figure out how to do it on my own. I've gone from using an electric saw (REALLY REALLY not the best idea) to cut my wood and pounding in every nail with a hammer to now using my trusty miter box and a nail gun. The next level would be to finally just get a table saw to cut the wood, but even I'm not there yet.

Molding, I believe, is hands down the No. 1 way to update the look of your home. It makes it feel fresher, more customized and it sets your home apart from all the others in your neighborhood.

The greatest part about molding is it is easy to do. I'm not just saying this -- it really, really is. I was handy with a hammer before we moved into our home, but nothing else, so if I can do it, so can you. There are three main tools you need to install molding:

• A miter box with saw. These come in a set for about $8 at any home improvement store.

• A level. These vary in size and price, but all you need is a little one that will cost a few dollars.

• A nail gun. I know, not quite as simple as the other two! If you don't have one, you can rent it from any home improvement store. They are SO simple to use -- just plug it in, let the air fill up the tank, and put the gun against your surface and shoot. It is FUN to use a nail gun. My first time I put about 20 extra nails in, for good measure. I just couldn't stop!
  
• If you don't want to use a nail gun, just do what I did when I started out...nail every hole in. It takes longer but it works just as well. Use a drill bit to drill a hole for the nails though, because the wood may split if you just hammer the nail in.

Once you have your tools, it just takes measuring to see what length you want your squares. Use your miter box to cut the ends of the molding at 45 degree angles. That way, they match up in the corners to create a box. Make sure the wood is level before nailing in, and then go for it. I like to paint my projects white when everything is installed. It gives it a nice, crisp look. This is what I did to the island in my last post, but with black paint obviously.

Here's another example:

Once you do it one time, you'll be a pro!! The best part -- it's CHEAP. The molding is typically comes in 8 foot sections and these run anywhere from $3 to $10 a piece. So you can transform your room, stairway or hall with around $25 to $100, depending on the project.

medicine cabinet turned booze hound

i love this tongue-in-cheek use of the medicine cabinet - emergency booze supply.

eviedee says, "have you seen the bjorken medicine cabinet? i am currently using mine to hold booze in the living room. the bjorken is attractive, sturdy and makes a lovely visual joke."

but it's the matching glassware that completes the joke. using tape, stick a cross on the svalka glass. spray paint the entire glass with frosted glass spray. please note that it is for decorative purposes only as the spray is not safe for food. what a waste! i can so imagine swirling my rocks in one of these.

see more of eviedee's emergency booze cabinet.

Laminate is indestructible.

This project is a PERFECT example of the need for patience when working on projects in your home. This is something I have very little of when I get on a roll.

The new look in kitchens is two tones for wood cabinets -- for instance, cherry cabinets and a black island. Depending on the room and the wood tones, I think this can be beautiful. The other night, I was watching an HGTV show and they covered the back of an island with a ratan rug -- it gave it texture that was interesting.

Dangerous. I start looking at our kitchen...thinking of how everything kind of melts together...the cherry cabinets, cherry table and chairs (I'm working on that one), cherry floors and cherry island. I thought, how great would a black island look? I'll add molding to it (an obsession of mind, as you will soon see) and paint it black! Brilliant!

Well, I thought I had planned it out well. I knew the laminate they make the sides of the island out of would not hold paint well. So I got the sander out, got the right grit sandpaper, planned out my painting... So I sanded and painted. When I sanded the first coat, it rolled right off. Gah. So I sanded again. And again. And. Again. Gave up, got the liquid sandpaper. It seemed to work great -- I painted again. And I go to paint the final coat and paint was literally rolling off in my hands. I mean, really.

At this point, I am over this project in a big way. I painted it one more time and will just have to see how it holds up. If it doesn't...I'm calling in the professionals.

The moral of this story is...TAKE YOUR TIME. Do it right. And USE PRIMER!!!

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

The best part -- this was a $30 project:

• $24 for the molding materials
• $6 for liquid sandpaper
• black paint was leftover from another project