Tiles=Tired

Floors!  I spent months trying to identify what kind of floors I had. I even posted a picture and thank the facebook gods my friend Ross was able to tell me I had terrazzo tile floors.  (Thanks, man.  Though I doubt your reading because you're not a let's-read-about-decorating-your-house kind of guy.  You're a I'm-in-the-Coast-Guard-and-I-can-fix-your-transmission-and-your-sink kind of guy.)  So then once I knew what I had, I started researching how I could clean a very yucky rusty brown stain from what I think was potted plant.  It's impossible.  The internet scoffed and laughed and responded with a maniacal, "The stain stays, kid." You can check out close-ups of the awesomeness here.


Fine.  New floors.  


Erm.  This is the part where months went by as I tried to decide what to put down.  Hardwoods (like we want to eventually lay in the entire downstairs)? Laminate wood (that's in the adjacent living room)?  Tile (like in the kitchen, laundry areas)?  Or something unique to the entry (marble, travertine, concrete, the possibilities were endless)?


Finally, I landed on the tiles that are in our kitchen.  They are neutral enough to go with anything, and hide dirt really well. Not that I would know because my house is always clean. (Note the heavy sarcasm.)


So, next up. Call Dad.  What?  You thought I would just jump in and do it?  Not this time, folks.  If red paint is scary, tile jobs are the Dr. Who Halloween episodes (crying angels!!!!). 


Dad and I spent a total of 12 hours doing this:

Lookey! A bunch more pictures!

So glad that little project is done!

Thanks DAD!

For a reminder...

BEFORE

AFTERish

Walls!

I was totally freaked out by painting a red wall. Freaked. Out.  The Sherwin Williams guy told me to give him a call if I needed help with it.  I think he was worried about me.  Or he was trying to get me out of the store.  


I opened the can.  FREAKED. OUT.

Two coats of primer, and two coats of red paint later...

Phew.  Glad that's over with.  

The To Do List:

1. Paint the remaining walls beige (already picked and purchased)
2. New Floors! (Dad's coming this Friday to help with that project!)
3. Sand, scrape, or otherwise remove old paint from door.  Paint it, properly.
4. Hang picture frame/mirror/something.
5. Decide whether or not the bench is coming back in.  If so, paint it.
6. Decide any other furniture/accessories.
7. Figure out some sort of hook system for keys.  (I have several ideas.)
8. Rug.  (I am in LOVE with this one from Urban Outfitters.)

What else?

So

What do you think...

...of my primer?

Red is going up in a few minutes!

Crimson and Clover, Over and Over

Sherwin Williams Crimson Red

Boom.

Ready, Set, VOTE!

I love me some Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer!  

Apple Green (As seen in the Mom Cave and Play Room-I heart this color!)

Trendy Teal

Ink

Pretty Darker Blue

Dark Red (Love this one, too!)

Cherry Red

Nice and Neutral

Dark Brown

Greige

Sunshiney Yellow

Dusty Rose

Pink!

Since it's only one small wall (the rest of the wall will be some sort of neutral [cool or warm depending on this accent wall color]) I can go really bold.  Or I can keep it neutral and go super bold with the artwork (that hasn't been picked out yet).


So, whatcha think?

P to the A to the I to the N to the T: Don't worry, that sounds awesome in my head

Painting, painting, painting.  I'm having trouble getting coverage over the paneling.  That yucky orange just keeps bleeding through.  I know, I know.  If I'd have used oil based primer it would have knocked it out in nothing.  But I typically go for the no/low VOC paint.  I don't want grandkids with 3 ears who have to mine the Moon for survival.  (In other words, I try to skip the toxic, bad-for-the-environment stuff.)


Alas, my moral obligations outweighed my desire for easy coverage.  This time.


PICS!!!

Paneling just has 1 coat of primer.

Trim has 2-3 coats

See those awesome paper shades on my side windows?  No?  Okay, see those terrible, awful paper shades on my side windows?  Yes?  Good.  I figured out they are called "sidelight windows" (you da man, google).  So now I'm on a mission to make/find on the cheap "Sidelight Window Treatments." I want to do something fun, but you see them from the outside of the house.  SO, yeah. More on that later.

Just to jog your memory:

BEFORE

AFTERish

So everything that's white is what I plan on painting. **  

Another thing, I HATED the wall color, until I painted the paneling, and now I kinda like it.  Too bad I already mucked it up...

**Except maybe the spindles on the banister. Thoughts?

Good News, Bad News

The Good News
I chose a light fixture, bought it, and hung it in under 36 hours.  I am ridiculously indecisive, so this is nothing short of a miracle.  I had lots of help from my sidekick, who is on Spring Break.

To refresh your memory, BEFORE:

Weird shadowy light

Where the 1970's came to die

The Bad News

The paint on our front door started to peel a few months ago.  I decided to test and see what I was dealing with.

Yes, kids.  That is 5 layers of paint. FIVE!  Ugh.  Notice those intricate little details?  Nice huh?  Until I realized I would be sanding all of those pretty little scrolls by hand.  FIVE LAYERS.

Help me Jesus.

First Impressions

This is my front entry. It's a hot mess.  

The hunter green terrazzo tile floors.  

The wood paneling.  

The smoked glass and shiny brass light fixture.

The orangey finish on the woodwork.

Hot. Mess.

Definitely NOT the first impression I want people to have of my home!

I've been complaining about it for awhile now, but I never could figure out what I wanted to replace any of it with.  I'm still undecided on a large portion of it, but today, I started painting!  YAY!  

Yup, Mike helped.

Trim is primed!  Done for  today. 

I'll keep you posted. :)