Home decorating and design

Cynthia, Whatever you do, keep painting away! It's a scary thing to start to use color- but keep plugging. We just painted with real color for the first time ever last TG, and it was so scary. I kept telling myself that every single time we saw a room that we both just loved, the walls had great punchy color on them, and that no matter how scary it is right now, when it's all put together I'll love it and if I don't - it's only paint. Guess what? I'm THRILLED! My furniture and things hanging on the walls never looked better. Any time you want to do something on a dime, this is the place to come for ideas. People have done amazing things with bits of fabric and gallons of paint - things that cost thousands in designer rooms. It's great! Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Hi, I am new to this group, we just bought a new home and we ran out of $$$, sooo i am looking for a cheap way to decorate my home, I am going to paint, and i am scared i may have picked a wrong color, its a good color just hope i like it when its all done, its call linen, anywaY, hope you all can give me some good ideas..hugs

BlankJust wanted to remind everyone that we need to turn our clocks ahead tonight! Don't do like I did one time, and turn them all back instead!! LOL! Dori

Karin, another thing you might consider that would be just a bit sturdier would be to buy L-brackets at the hardware store. You can get them in different sizes but I just bought some small ones the other day- each side about 2" long. I think that they were .49 each. I think I"d glue it to the underside of the cornice, then run a small screw through the hole in the bracket into the foamboard. The reason I'd glue it if you were using styrofoam of some sort is just to get it attached to a larger surface area. Then set it where you want it on the wall, and screw the other leg of the L into the wall. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

I don't care for folding closet doors. They always seem to get stuck and have a hard time opening and closing after a while. I could see where a drape of some kind, would just get left opened after a while, at least at my house. Too much work to open and close it all the time. What about shudder doors? The ones that look like Shudders. There would be two of them, that open in the middle. Karin

Ann--Can I suggeust that you think of putting up a bamboo type roll up shade. I know these come in different sizes. The shade stays down and you pull a rope to raise it up. This would keep your cats out of the closet. Hugs, Alice (Pudggiebunny)

what can you tell me about glaze painting, looked at lowe's, they have alot of different kinds??

Ann one thing I'd make sure of is that it slides easily. The one I had was on a wooden rod and the rod pocket was a little tight, so it was a real chore to push all the way back or pull closed. So...you can imagine, we just didn't do that. If it was open, it stayed open ( why have it up there?) and if it was closed, we fought it. The first time I ever saw those little round things - I think they are called cafe hooks - where you slide it over the rod then pinch it open to hold the top of the curtain - My first thought was that I wish I'd had those on that closet. This would also open the possibility of using a tablecloth for the fabric - absolutely no sewing and you might find an nice heavy one ( or two) marked down to near nothing somewhere like TJMaXX Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

BlankDid I mention that our new house is a dinky little thing? One thousand square feet, that's it ... I refer to it as our "apartment on an acre." :) Anyway, we are finally getting around to putting in closet doors in the bedrooms, and there are a few problems. The main one is that the master bedroom closet is only 48" wide. If you put a sliding mirrored door on it, you have an effective opening that is all of 24" wide -- not very wide at all! We thought about putting accordion-type doors on that closet, but we had those in one house before, and neither of us liked them. They were constantly jumping the track or banging into something that we had left too close to the closet. My husband came up with the idea of putting a curtain over the closet door. I am okay with this, in theory, but I really do NOT want it to end up looking like we put a curtain there because we couldn't afford a door! LOL! My problem is that I am just having a hard time visualizing what this should look like. I am a good seamstress and can sew anything I can figure out, but my imagination is just balking here. Has anyone ever seen this done? Links to photos? Any ideas would be welcome! Or alternative ideas as well. The master bedroom is a tiny thing ... 10' x 12' ... painted a pale silvery blue with cream accents. The curtains over the window are a translucent cream-colored linen with pale blue embroidery -- soft and soothing but not fussy. (I can't do the closet curtain out of this since the fabric was on closeout.) Oh, BTW, I should mention that any treatment must be (a) cleanable -- since my cats will eventually pee on it! and (b) not horribly expensive -- since the cats will eventually decide to claw on it and it will need to be replaced. Thanks all! Ann

Hi Dori, The valance was easy and took about 1/2 hr to make. Cut fabric 1" larger than the size of the window. Fold under 1/2" on each side and hot glue down. Ribbon hot glued and then beaded fringe hot glued on top of the ribbon. The valance is tacked to the molding with three upholstery tacks at the top. I did have to put one small spot of hot glue on one side of the bottom because it didnt want to hang straight and I wanted a nice tight fit. Now, what I wish I had done different was to make the fabric twice as long as the finished length, and folded it in half before I glued the edges down. The fabric I used is only printed on one side and needs a lining (duh!, lol). So, I'll have to find something to glue to the back so it doesnt look so bad from the outside. :) I also knew ahead of time that the ivy would cover the top so it didnt matter how I attached it to the window. If it wouldnt have been covered, I would have tacked the valance to a small board, and then screwed that to the molding. I would have placed tacks all the way across like you see on furniture. It was quick, easy and talk about instant gratification! Suzie

Denise... I have Corian counters in my kitchen w/ a stainless undermount sink and a Corian counter w/ integrated Corian sinks in my bathroom. I love them both. The integrated sinks in the bathroom are a breeze to clean as there isn't anywhere for gunk to get trapped. Even w/ the undermount in the kitchen, gunk still accumulates where the sink and counter come together, but I wanted stainless there, so I deal. (Fantastic is my best friend!) :-) Diane

Would anyone care to discuss choosing between a corian sink and stainless steel? Lowe's has a special - buy 25 sf of corian countertop and get a free integrated sink, or a free stainless steel sink? It's not a huge deal, just got me to thinking... Anyone who has a corian sink, are you happy with it? pro/con? Anyone who has had both, which would you do over again? Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Another idea for window treatments is to use sheets. Sheets may be a lot cheaper to buy than using fabrics that you have to buy by the yard. A good rule to follow is to have about 2 and 1/2 times more fabric that you have window space. This will give you lots of nice fullness to your window treatments. Hugs, Alice (Pudggiebunny) ,

Cricket... My "European" rods came w/ my condo. The concept worked well, I thought, so all I had to do was change the valance fabric when I was ready to redorate the kitchen. (I have only valances, not full drapes or curtains, but the principle would be the same, of course.) I've seen Euro rods at the custom drapery and blind store where I was a pretty steady customer for a few months, but I imagine that they would probably be available at Lowe's, HD, or the like. The main feature of Euro rods is their width, but I would guess that regular old cafe rods would be bendable as well. The secret to bending them, as I said in my reply to Iman, is to crimp them first in order to get a clean bend, much like creasing a piece of paper before trying to tear it apart. Keep me/us posted as to where and if you were able to find a solution to your window issue. Diane

Iman... If you want all the windows covered, you might want to look for a wide, bendable rod about 4" wide--I think they're called European rods--which you could then use to turn the corner. I have such a set-up in my kitchen, and it works well. The rod is supported by brackets at either end and third support in the corner. (The trick of bending the rod in exactly the right place is to crimp it first w/ pliers.) You might also be able to find a narrower rod if you would prefer that. Diane

Hi, everyone. I love this group, you have so many good ideas which brings me to my question. Any ideas on what kind of window treatment I can use for this set of windows that is driving me crazy??? It is five windows all together each one is 3 ft x 4 ft but three are on one wall and then the other two wrap around the corner to the next wall! If I hung curtain rods I would need two and they would but up against each other in the corner(I thought of doing just two panels, one on one side and one on the other). I have framed them with moulding and already have the wooden blinds but still since it takes up half of one wall and 1/3 of the other, I need some color. Any suggestions??? I have a party this weekend and I need to finish by then. Thanks! Iman

I'm in Chat waiting for everyone!! I found this group while looking for an interior decorating chat room and was thrilled when I saw this post! Come on! Where are you guys? Suzie

Hi, Thanks everyone for your ideas and the web site that was sent. At least now I have some info on how to remove this stuff. I'm hoping to takle this in the near future. The people that lived hear before us also put a type of "plaster finish" on the walls. I can't stand this either. I don't know what they could have been thinking. Anyway, thanks for all the tips. I appreciate it! Dawn

I did some renovating in my livingroom. Walls are a light capaccino and the rug and sofa are navy blue. Currently I have white horizontal blinds on my window. I want to add some drapes around the window but wasn't sure about the colour.. Any ideas? Thanks Anna

i know, i have thousands literally, any wonder that i am studying this now to get my b.s. in interior design. I'm like Prince who's written enough songs already that he just has stacked to sell, most of which end up #1 hits. he just never stops getting the ideas. well, i don't either. my other favorite idea - is to use fabric for a ceiling treatment. I wanted to do a guest room in a real cottage country theme. I wanted to use a dark blue quilter's fabric with pretty little flowers on it, and the have white moulding along ceiling, then paint the walls periwinkle or cornflower blue, put the vinyl plastic fencing all around like wainscotting, and have a Walnut distressed older floor. with a nice white antique metal frame for bed and quilt bedding in blues/yellows. and etc. etc. so, as a ceiling answer even for the popcorn issue. this is another idea - and i will bet very much less expensive than other ceiling, products. no labor cost for puting it up either. so. that's significant. Anyways. Tiffany

Great idea thanks ! No it isn't too late, I had been putting off doing anything because I was worried about the outcome . This sounds like it just might work . Thanks so much ! Tracy ------- I saw this on TV just recently, they were taking a mirror down that had been glued on. With a person on each side of the mirror, wrap a heavy duty wire around your gloved hand, put the wire at the top and behind the mirror and see saw you way down, sawing through the glue as you go. I would still cover the mirror just in case, but it worked for them. Jan in IL

absolutely. it's one of my favorite ideas, that i still want to do. they have fabric for as little as $2.25-$2.60 a yard at Walmart and other places and you can order it in large amounts from Joanne fabrics online. cuz if you need to do an entire room, a small bedroom is great because if it's got a low ceiling you could get away with 3 yards for the height, and however wide it is really covers a wall quick. For a childs room a girls room this is an awesome solution for exciting walls. you rip off the trim or moulding and staple gun down the fabric and nail the moulding back on over it and voila. easy as it can be. the cost is totally dependent on the size of room and the fabric, but, it really could look adorable. or - for a glamorous room, the ultra wealthy for years have had silk wall treatments, etc. so, you can go all kinds of directions with this idea. for a super elegant look use some gorgeous satin or some linen or any terrific textile even like a thicker floral type depending on the theme and what you want the walls to look like. I had the visual hit me on the satin with upholstry tacks every 3 ft. and one in the middle as though the entire wall was like some soft satin big pillow. hmm that didn't sound verbally what i saw visually - but you get the idea. it also - wouldn't have to be all the walls maybe there's one odd wall or tall wall or something that could be done like an artistic focal point of the room. So, keep thinking. In my big great room i have like 20ft.+ high walls and there's this shingling material on them with wood moulding like big panels all the way around in this room from about 5' up to ten foot up then the rest is wooded, and vaulted, with beams, yeah sounds weird right. It looks really very OK, and the color is really fine. and it oddly enough is great as a fire retardant, so, but - I want to rip that off and replace it with fabric and make it look stunning, as i do love silk walls, etc. so. There are many applications for fabric on walls and in doorways,etc. Happy decorating to all. Tiffany

i read most of the popcorn ceiling posts, and i think they are absolutely right about soaking the popcorn, removing it, and then just replacing it with a new ceiling style all together. One reason, like one person said, is ya can't clean it, ya can't paint it, cuz it will come down, etc. so, Popcorn - sorry for those who love it- is a nightmare. Also-- think about this: If you ever want to sell this home, most people - decorators and nondecorators alike - hate popcorn ceilings. so, if you replace it with a neat plaster finish, or the track style ceilings you can just click right together and slide on this track that is so easy to do and relatively inexpensive - i heard, you'll have an attractive ceiling to increase the value of your home and selling power of your home. Also, the track style ceilings are paintable so you could have the excitement of making the ceiling any color you want. that is really cool My whole philosophy on ceilings is that they are as big as our floors, yet often in very expensive well decorated homes - they are forgotten and totally left white - so you see this beautiful room - then you look up and BAMM there's that plane ugly white ceiling. I think that's a crime. the ceiling is a huge visible point in the room, so, i feel like an awesome ceiling color or material or beams or something helps complete the decore and theme of a room. I think of doing things like covering a ceiling in a fun room with fake leaves and creating a jungle, or very natural theme. so, think dreamy, fun imaginative, and elegant or which ever direction the room needs to go and try to push the limit of drama a little. it's so neat to see a cool ceiling. I went into an old home, and the ceiling was done like a sky and was the most elegant thing i have ever seen, it was in the formal living room, and was just amazing. so, that's where i am coming from on ceilings. Happy Decorating. Tiffany

Val, you can paint it. LOL or scrape it. Sheresa

I am looking for consumers that have a passion for decorating and would like to get paid for it. I own Furniture Browser.com and we are looking for designer reps. you would have access to resources and able to buy Furniture and Accesories from all furniture manufactures. We would provide price list/ fabric samples/ catalogs/ your own web site/ shipping etc. This is real and we are very selective limited positions. you can drop me an email/ resume and info on why you would like this chance to. sales@...

Hey all, I occassionally post but mostly lurk. I thought I'd share my experience of this past weekend with you folks. I'm painting my great room and it has become a paint nightmare! About 10 years ago I painted it with a product from Sherwin Williams called "Ever Clean" which is a long lasting paint and meant to be very cleanable and durable and liked the results. What came back to bite me is that it was is almost impossible to paint over--at least with any other less fancy highly durable paint. Found out the hard way. Painted two coats of a dark color over it and was going to do some faux finishing which involved taping. Well, pulling off the tape made the paint come off IN SHEETS! I had noticed that some light bumping of the wall would make the paint come off but I thought it was perhaps not quite dry. Saddly no, that was not the problem. I talked to the folks at Sherwin Williams and was told that I had to have known that I should have sanded the walls before I painted and that now I have to scrape off the new paint and then sand. Silly me I've always just put paint on top of paint without having to sand. And yes, they were both latex water based paints. I was told that I have to scrape all the paint off--which is a killer process. Some areas do come off in large sheets but others just take a gret deal of scrapping. Makes taking down wallpaper seem like a breeze. So, can I ask if anyone in this group knows of some easier way to remove the top coat of paint that is only floating on the wall in some spots and bonded to the wall in other spots? I was told that priming over all of it would not work since the new paint is not adhered to the walls and would start coming off again. Lesson I learned: Don't go for the high end products! Ande

Tracy... I have no clue whether or not this idea has any merit, but maybe you could try breaking the mirror in place--I'd wear safety goggles and as much body armor as possible--and then try to remove the "shards" w/ a putty knife or other weapon. Maybe there's a product that you could wipe or spray onto the broken mirror that would soften the glue behind it, thereby making it easier to remove the pieces. Taping the mirror before breaking it might cut down on flying glass. Diane................thinking out loud

I have a mirror on my bathroom wall that I want to remove and need advice . It is a very large mirror and was glued to the wall . I can not get it off . If I break it or try to take it off aggressively , it is going to totally destroy the sheet rock wall it is glued too . Does anyone have any ideas or know something about how to remove it without destroying that wall ? Tracy

Nice work Robin Your craft room puts mine to shame. All my paints are all over the floor in baskets that I keep triping over. I am trying to teach myself Donna Dewberry's One Stroke Painting. She makes it look so easy to do. If I can pracice more, (yea with all I have to do) maybe someday I will be good at painting. Hugs, Alice (Pudggiebunny)

Hello, I'm Connie and I just joined recently. I've been lurking and learning. Your post about bronzing powders intrigued me. What exactly are bronzing powders and what are they used for? Thanks, Connie

Toni.... Thank you so much for your idea on using the bronzing powders with Future floor finish. I would never have thought of that. I currently use acrylic sealer/varnish to mix with the bronzing powders. Have many little frames that I wanted to gild. Think I will drop everything and run to the store to get some Future. Can't wait to try it. Thanks again, Marilyn in Florida

I have loaded photos to give you guys a better idea of what Im looking for and any help would be great. Thanks again. Ty

What is the link address? How do I get in? I would love to see these pictures. :-) Thanks, Ella Dori <Dorho@... Robin, Finally got to take a look at your pictures. They are great! It really looks like a wonderful room! Goodness, you have so many painting supplies. What type of painting do you do? I'd love to see some of your work. Dori

I am looking for ideas and pictures for a roman style decor. I can't seem to find any pictures on the internet about it.

Ty... I don't have a clear picture of what you mean by "Roman" decor. Could you give us some idea of what some of the elements/colors/surfaces are that you're thinking about? Maybe that will jump start some of our brains! Diane

Ok I probably got in because I'm a moderator. When I opened the pictures, I got a notice saying that the account is restricted because it's over quota. There may be other mods who know a little more about this; all I really do is filter out spam from new members. I'm sure not going to go in and abritrarily choose a bunch of photos to delete. Even if any current members were willing to go in and delete some of their own photos, it wouldn't be possible; I'm guessing only listowner/mod priviledges can get in. I sent Liz an email and am sure it will be fixed soon. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21 Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

I would love any ideas and pictures of a roman stlye room/rooms. I want to re-do my apartment.

I just got in - photos area seems to be working now. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Hi everyone, <<snip before they're completely dry - no feet prints!<<snip Would this work? My grandparents used to paint slightly more than half of each stair all the way up. They did something like this: first the right two-thirds of the tread. After that dried they would do the other side. They would overlap the first coat in the middle. This still gave them access, and it put more paint in the middle where the wear is. Feathering the edges would be a must. Eldonna in Ohio

Yo Toni! (I've always wanted the chance to say that!) Your house sounds wonderful, the colors must be fabulous. I have to ask, though - where did you get the idea of using a coffee color in the kitchen? You said you have Matisse prints, so I'm assuming there is a beige-y brown color in them. My first thought was to suggest amber since you mentioned you have accents of amber in your living room and amber would look great with the cherry cabinets. Would you come decorate my house? Smiles, Joanne

hi, my name is vidya and i am from india. i am new here. i am interested in homemaking and that's how i joined this group. i am a nurse by profession. i am glad to be here and hope i will make many new friends. --vidya

Depending on the stairs you could do rope lighting? It might look kind of neat. Or you could figure out what color would best match, and buy some regular fabric trim, and glue it in the space. That could really pull together a good look. If it is a painted area, you could just put heavy drywall patch ( with a backer rod ), and paint . Denise

Hi, I'm excited to be on this list and, of course, before contributing anything worthwhile I'm going to ask for something! I need ideas for possible colors for my kitche walls. Our house has an open plan and the kitchen can be viewed from the dining room (Chinese red walls, deep blue upholstered high back dining chairs, Matisse prints on the walls, white wainscotting) and partially in view from the formal living room (cream walls and furniture, with green and amber accents). The kitchen has cherry cabinets, a white tile floor and grayish counterops with stainless hardware). What would be a good color to flow well into both rooms? I considered some shade of green, but it's really not my favorite and now I'm leaning toward a coffee with just a touch of cream color so that I can add funky bright accessories. The Matisse prints and some funky buffet lamps in the dining room give it an eclectic, fun feel, but the living room is more traditional which I'd like to loosen up a bit. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks Tonisoprano

Thanks for trying to help me on this . I so wish we could afford to put new flooring down but we just can't and I can't afford to pay someone $800 to re-do them again like we did when we bought the house . The shine just doesn t last on high traffic floors . Oh well, I was hoping someone knew some secret I didn't know about . Tracy Hmm...the deal with pine is that is a soft wood. Seems to me no matter what you do, you are going to have a "distressed" look with them...

Ok...this is my dilemma... I have brazilian cherry hardwoods in one room (eventually both living areas downstairs). I got a price for doing the stairs and I think my husband is going to have a heart attack when I tell him how much it is going to be. LOL Sooo...I am thinking of painting the stairs...but if it is going to look hoaky, I would rather just spend the money to put hardwoods in, ya know? My house is pretty traditional, so I would like to stay in keeping with that style. Has anybody done this before? Pictures?? We have carpet on there right now. Something has to be done...my hubby spilled a quart of paint (it was my fault..didn't put the lid on all the way) on it...plus it is just UGLY carpet..I don't want to replace it with more carpet and then in 5 years when we decide to move have to replace the carpet again. Sooo...I am looking at all the options here. LOL Thanks in advance. Jen

Hi all, I am needing to do something to my wood floors in my kitchen and living room . They are not hard wood , just wood ... pine. We had them refinished when we bought the house almost 4 years ago and they look just awful . There is no shine left and they are scratched up badly . It doesn't help that I have 2 German Shepherds in the house and they have sharp nails . I was wondering if there is something else I can do besides polyurethane ? I am not real sure how painting them would go over with my husband and if I did , would the paint get scratched off easily ? I have a sander with a vac bag on it to sand the scratches off but am looking for any suggestions anyone has about refinishing . I am not open to the paper bag thing . Thanks ! Tracy

Hi, all! I want to rip up a living room carpet, and I'm not sure what to use for the replacement flooring. It's over a cement slab, and I love hardwood floors, and I'm considering something I've seen advertised at one of the big name home remodeling stores. It's the "Bruce Prefinished Oak Plank" and the description includes "Interlocking tongue and groove construction. Dura-luster urethane no-wax finish. Available in 2 colors." Has anyone had any experience with this kind of flooring, and can offer some pro's and con's? Does the cement slab underneath pose any kinds of problems I should look out for during and after installation, should I go for this kind of flooring? I think that real hardwood flooring all the way through might be too expensive, so that's why I like the idea of at least this pre-finished oak plank. Any other suggestions would be most gratefully received... such as going with a laminate (Pergo?) instead of the pre-finished oak planks. Thanks in advance!

Tony I know that a lot of purists wouldn't have them on a bet, but I just won't hardly trim without paint pads. I suspect that is what you call the 'little wheeled roller thing with the sponge on it' - but you might consider trying one without the wheels. I don't like that one; the wheels pick up some paint and leave a mess. I don't know anything else that works as well, and I've tried a lot of stuff. But maybe someone here will come up with an idea that neither of us has seen. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Hello. I am new to the group. I was wondering if anyone might give me some tips on a quick way of edging paint at the ceiling level. I am just starting to enjoy bolder colours than "painters' beige" but am having difficulty getting sharp edges. I have tried tape, the roller with the retractable gaurd and also the little wheeled roller thing with the sponge on it but they don't give as crisp a line for me as I have seen in other homes. Is doing it by hand the best way? my hands aren't as steady as a surgeons. The same thing apllies to painting around trim and baseboards. Any tips you can give would be most helpful. Thanks. Tony.

Look, why fight his boy tastes if you want him to love the way his room looks, my idea is go- with the paintball colors- draw a pattern that looks like camophlauge and use those colors - the blue colors you always see on design on a dime - those medium/then lighter then darker off blues, and toss in a spot of the design in a mushroom or nuetral color too, and you'll have camo walls and you can do the bedding in nuetrals and deep blue pillow cases,and the comforter also in deep blue. even get nuetral or a blue carpeting that is medium royal - that blend between wall colors of blue and the deep blue comforter. that would be very put together, very fun, mostly paint, bedding and carpet for expenses. Then you could go all out and make a hanging paper asian lamp or hanging light with that camo netting on it. and drape more of that in some other places like attached floor to ceiling on his closet or something to make it totally seem like he's in a camo net, environment. These ideas might stink - hope not. hope at least one of them was helpful. Tiffany.

In a message dated 3/16/2004 6:25:15 AM Pacific Standard Time, holasek@... writes: Do you have any photos you can post? tatouage is available at hsn.com. I've never purchased any, but I try to catch the shows whenever I can. They are basically high quality rub on transfers. They do look really great, at least on tv. Check it out when you can, it's fun to look at. I'd love to do a project with it some day when finances allow..... Cyndi

BlankI just bought a neat old cast-iron dinner bell that has a fair amount of rust on it. I actually like the look of the rusty patches, and I was wondering if there is something I can put on it to keep it from rusting any more, but not change the look of the bell. So basically, I guess, something clear? I want to hang it outside on my back porch (to call the troops in from the back forty) and I know it will just rust away completely in a few years if I don't protect it. Suggestions? Thanks! Ann

Do you have any photos you can post?

That does sound interesting and inexpensive. I would like to see a pic also. BTW, i am new here, just joined yesterday and i'm enjoying all the tips and tricks. Thank you very much. This is from Mary Hunt's newsletter. I received it on another list, and thought I would share

My 16 y/o son's room is loosely decorated in a jungle theme. He has dark green walls, animal print curtains and comforter, African masks hung on the walls, a grasscloth thingy hanging up, and some carved walking sticks in a wooden umbrella stand in the corner, brown bamboo blinds, etc. We got most of it at Cost Plus Market (I think it's called) as stuff goes on sale. He loves it, he's had it this way for years and never tires of it. Just an idea. :-) If your son wants dark blue walls, maybe a loose nautical theme? Boats, etc. Cyndi In a message dated 3/14/2004 4:06:47 PM Pacific Standard Time, hroberts@... writes: Subject: Teen's room-paint Dilemma....., we can't decide what to do with my 15 year old son's room. He's pretty much beyond the age of any type of "theme". He thinks it'll look too childish if we go with a theme, and I tend to agree. He does have some pennants haning around the top of his room by the ceiling, and a few team pillows on his bed, and those are fine with him, but he wants his room not to get childish looking too. His room in in our walk out basement but where his room is placed, there is only a window well window, the well being about 3 feet deep so his room does get a lot of light, just not as much as a my other son's room. When I ask him what color he wants his room painted, his only answer is dark blue. lol Does anyone have any ideas? Karin, years ago when our daughter was still in High School she wanted her room painted black. That one was out of the question. What we ended up doing was to paint the furniture black, put up black mini blinds, install a black ceiling fan and purchase black and a dark green bedding. We painted the walls an off white and installed an off white carpet, it looked fabulous. This was all done one week while she was visiting her sister during spring break. She was thrilled with the outcome. Good Luck with whatever you do. Hazel

I know someone who had a very thick , large piece of glass cut to fit her table so it couldn't get ruined . I thought it was a good idea . Tracy I have a question about the care of a Solid Wooden Golden Oak Table and chairs. What can I use on the surface of the table to make it more water proof? Anyone have any good suggestions? Hugs, Alice (Pudggiebunny)

From: "robin grunzweig" <kitysmom2@... Yes, I've heard of flylady and was with her for a while, but had some serious issues with her and left the group after a few months. Four years ago I found a group with the goals of restoring peace and order with serving Christ through our homes as our primary motivation, and I like it much better. Things are going very well and what I learn there is the impetus behind the change of heart I've had about owning things. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

I have a question about the care of a Solid Wooden Golden Oak Table and chairs. What can I use on the surface of the table to make it more water proof? Anyone have any good suggestions? Hugs, Alice (Pudggiebunny)

I am working with my partner, who is an interior designer, to come up with a website for interior designers to use. Any ideas as to what designers need/want would be helpful! www.designeresources.com thanks ~Jennifer~

Donna---I do not know of any furniture sites on the net. I would like to suggest that you go to your local library and ask to see the books on the style furniture you are interested. I have done this at my local library and I know there are many books out there to refer to. Maybe you could photo-copy the pieces of furniture you need to complete your assignment. Hug, Alice (Pudggiebunny)

Hi...My name is Donna and I am a mother of two teenage daughters. I am also a first time Interior Design student at a college here in my home town. I was wondering if anyone could give me information about a furniture site on the Internet. I need to find furniture that is all Traditional style. In particular I need furniture from the 'French Empire' period and also Georgian and Chippendale. I am doing an assignment for my course and we are to decorated two rooms in certain styles. One room is a teenage girls room..and the other is the livingroom of this traditional home. I would so appreciate any help anyone can give me. This is a very tough assignment, as I am having problems finding JUST the furniture I need. If anyone knows of a site, I would be so thankful. I have to go out for a few hours...but will be back later on. Donna :)

Alice you're not in the wrong place at all! Every different kind of home and level of decorating expertise is represented here. The common thread is the passion for our homes. If you've got that, you've got all you need. Yes I very much like to change colors and motifs with the seasons, and have a few small collections for different times of the year. Lots of Christmas stuff of course and I leave winter motif things such as snowmen and snowflakes out until the beginning of Feb. In addition I have a tub or so each for early spring ( pansies, a dab of Valentine's stuff, and easter) early summer (dragonflies ) later summer (add sunflowers and a few patriotic things ) and autumn -( pumpkins, chrysanthemums, and TG-motif things like pilgrims and turkeys). I don't celebrate Halloween so that's about the only holiday I don't decorate for. I wind up adding to, taking away, or totally redoing a lot of the decorations in the house every six weeks or so. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

I just had a friend paint my younger son's room yesterday and it looks wonderful! He picked out lime green, but even though it's not a dark lime, it's a light to medium shade, I still thought that was too much so below the molding that's just below a window ledge, I had her paint that a medium, dark blue. We also did the blue on the short wall where the light switch is over the door. Anyway, I'm pleased with it. Dilemma....., we can't decide what to do with my 15 year old son's room. He's pretty much beyond the age of any type of "theme". He thinks it'll look too childish if we go with a theme, and I tend to agree. He does have some pennants haning around the top of his room by the ceiling, and a few team pillows on his bed, and those are fine with him, but he wants his room not to get childish looking too. His room in in our walk out basement but where his room is placed, there is only a window well window, the well being about 3 feet deep so his room does get a lot of light, just not as much as a my other son's room. When I ask him what color he wants his room painted, his only answer is dark blue. lol Well that just isn't going to work in there, wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too dark. My friend who paints suggested we do the one back wall a blue, somewhere between royal and navy, and then do all the other walls a light tan color, and then paint a huge pennant on the other 3 walls, starting with the wide part of the pennant at the top and go down to the skinny part by the molding by the floor. At least that sounded better than just all blue walls, but it's still not that exciting to me I guess. Does anyone have any ideas? Also, the window well in his room is ugly. lol It's about 3 feet deep by about 3 and 1/2 feet wide. The ground sits about a good 6 or more inches, below the window level. I was wondering, if I could plant some kind of shade bush in there? We live in Kansas, so that limits what I can plant. Thanks, Karin

Check hgtv - I've seen several shows that give tips on how to plan and pattern your own slipcovers so they probably have some pages from those shows. I saw the best idea in the world for fabric - if the main goal of your slipcovers is utilitarian: buy the biggest, heaviest muslin drop cloth you can find. The cost for yardage is significantly less than buying at a fabric store. It's dyeable or paintable - and if you don't dye or paint it, it's bleachable! I think the plain muslin would be a great cottage or coastal summer look all by itself. Also, go ahead and pull out one of the Simplicity patterns. I'm not positive, but I think what you'll find is not a conventional pattern but instructions for how to make and fit your own pattern to your own furniture. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Speaking of slipcovers, does anybody have tips on how to make the things? I've seen patterns by Simplicity, but they haven't really grabbed my attention. Plus, our furniture is somewhat oddly shaped, so we'd have to custom-fit the things. Any ideas? Thanks, Vince

Alice Hi I'm Denise and a champion of using slipcovers. I just washed mine yesterday and it was high time. We have 3 cats, an active muddy dog and we're none too graceful ourselves, so we spill. Those slipcovers can get so dirty that I can't imagine having regular upholstery and NOT being able to throw it in the washer. They've also extended the life of my sofa and love seat. They are about 12 years old and have several holes. I also took our extra blankets and comfortors and folded them to fit under the seat cushions and it made a world of improvement in how well they sit, so we've actually saved a great deal of money by significantly extending the life of our furniture. The cushions are starting to break down and I guess that will be the end of the set, but I'll have gotten a good 5 extra years of use out of it. If you use slipcovers, you can change the color and, to some extent, decorating style of your furniture on a whim. I wish I had two sets: one for fall/winter and one for spring/summer. Mine are not the throw-on kind, though. My mother used to throw sheets and the like over our furniture when I was a kid and I hated that. These are tailored but all one piece. They are Sure-Fit brand and we bought them at Linens N Things, or you can order online or by catalogue from the factory. LNT had a great sale AND we had 20% off coupons, and bought both for just over $100. They are 100% heavy cotton twill and don't have any rubber backing. I yank them off, toss in the washer and dryer, and stick them back on. There's a learning curve for figuring out how they go on but it's not that hard. My DH also rigged up some PVC pieces that I pry into the cracks and they take a little straightening every day, but nothing too drastic at all. No more trouble than picking up and folding a throw. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

All I can tell you is that I have a back room, attic, and storage house that are full of things that I bought because I love them and can't figure out how to use them. I needed a new strategy, and I can see how deciding first what the room will look and what it needs to look that way will set some parameters. "I like it" is too broad. Don't get me wrong, because "But where will you put it?" had become fighting words around here LOL. But if an item has to meet a few more criteria in addition to my liking it before I'll spend the money and haul it home, I think I'll come closer to the overriding goal of creating a beautiful room. I lost sight of the main goal. After some soul-searching, I decided that the actions I was taking were the actions of someone whose goal is to collect stuff, not the actions of someone who wants to create beautful rooms. So I had to change course to get where I was going. After all of our storage got full, it became obvious that this was NOT where I'd wanted to go LOL - and I still didn't have what I wanted from the rooms. It's not fair - they make it look so easy on TV! Pick up this from the curb and that from a flea market, move this lamp from the other room, throw a little paint and some new pillows in the mix and PRESTO a faboo room. phooey. I don't know how they do that, but I do know that I could never get it to work out for me. If you need advice from a pro to feel comfortable and can afford to go for it, then by all means - that sounds like a great idea. Or if you want to but money is still an issue, maybe you can get someone to come in by the hour, look at your things, get an idea of what you want, and give you suggestions and a loose plan to work from. My DH would throw a hissy at the idea of hiring a decorator, so the next best thing I can do is try to copy a picture of something already done by a pro. It's not the answer I'd love, but it's one I can live with. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

I just joined this group today. I have a question about slip covers. Does anyone still use the throw on type slip covers? Is there anything new out there that does not have the foam backing on them? Foam backing do not hold up too well. Looking forward to being an active member in this group. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what could be used to cover your funiture with? I spent the entire day working in the family room. Washed all my afgans, put up new lace curtains, still have more items to put away and new Spring items to bring out. Looking forward to meeting all of you. Hugs, Alice (Pudggiebunny)

I was thinking about this show. It's strange that it seems I've learned so much from it. Especially when you consider that I've never been crazy about any single room they've done and my sensibilities recoil at the obscenity of someone spending $180,000 - or $18,000 for that matter...to decorate a bedroom. But then again nobody needs my permission, right? What I think I like about it is the way they break down the room into jobs. The amounts are then manageable in the budgets, workload, and overall "I can do this much at a time but thinking about the whole thing is too overwhelming." I love how they show the way to figure out what's important and extract that to get the look without the $$. Those two things are very foundational for me when I look at a room and think, "it needs soooo much!" They also help me to keep impulse buying under control - either something is going to fit what I'm trying to do or it's not, the fact that I like it while it's sitting on a showroom floor notwithstanding. I like lots but have found that I love very little ( makes me hard to please for a long term because you get tired of things you just like). Once I know what I love, if everything else plays up that one thing or idea, I'm good to go. Only problem with that is that then I'll be one of those people whose kids tell their grandkids that everything in mom's house is exactly like it was when they were growing up LOL. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Hi Denise, You had mentioned that you love the 'European Country' look. Is it French Country or similar to it? I have looked through the magazines and websites. I just love the 'French Country' style. But I am not a decorating expert so I am not sure if apples go with that. Right now, I have an apple collection in my kitchen. Would apples and 'French Country' accents blend together? Your help is appreciated. Thanks, Ella

Hi, what i always feel and understand concerning styles like Tuscan or French Country is the overall look - that each style has. Tuscan - being more plaster,heavy aged wood, brick, very old world, with baskets, etc. Maybe i see the textures as the theme of the woods, and flooring, etc. more than the specific colors, etc. French Country being smoother not so clunky and more fine lines, and yellow/blue, more gentle than the tuscan theme. My take on it is always, if the "apple" motif you find looks great - to you - then it will be great. REmember themes are just a feeling not necessarily written in stone, =if you don't care = or are not worried as such about the "rules". Some folks are completely concerned with these rules and all that's totally great. I am just more a stickler of breaking rules and making things work that are not usually thought of. It's so neat to see a room that - surprises you sort of. Don't get me wrong - the room is done well, it works, it's pulled together and just excellent - but maybe something is totally off or different, - but works. This is fun, and "creative" decorating. Someone who can think with the rules and then go outside that and break them a little. What she said was perfect. When you use what you LOVE - it will be great, because - it's what is "right" to you and you'll feel great in a room that is truly your taste. Not my taste or some theme- specific set of pieces and rules, but YOUR taste. It is your home afterall. That is the most important rule to remember. So, Apples go anywhere you want them to, just make the look or placement of them blend and put them, and try to decorate around them sort of. Sometimes a room is done all around one piece and that ends up making a very eclectic fabulously - surprising room. Tiffany

Me and my husband to be have just bought a 16x80 mobile home that we got for a good deal....thing is it's in big time need of some loving care.I was hoping if anyone had any ideas.It's a 3 bedroom,2 baths,catherdal ceciling in the living room and kitchen.The master bath has a garden tub.I was thinking of maybe putting cermic tile in the kitchen above the sink and around the window,there is also a breakfast bar.Any ideas would be such a help.

so it has feet on the upper foot and on the plate ? that seems like it would make sewing anything slippery easier too. did i get that right lol tracy

LMAOOO!!! I just joined this group...very interesting! You may want to put some Styrofoam behind that headboard to protect the wall!! Dedra

Subject: [IM] wallpaper QUESTION I will be wallpapering about 5 rooms in a few weeks. My question is..where on the wall do I start? (let me add all the rooms but one has wood paneling that goes halfway up and my fiance wants to keep it) neither of us have ever hung wallpaper, but it looks easy..is it?!? thanks everyone PS I HATE WOOD PANELING!!! i have wall papered a lot and you need a level, a pencil, a good wall paper brush,scissors or a butcher knife,a seam roller and an old bath towel.i use a plastic planter to hold the water.it is about 36 inchs long and 8 inchs deep.you can us the bathtub but that means you will have to carry the wet paper through other rooms to be to the room being papered. your first piece of paper is the most important. it needs to be straight.i start in a corner a (otheres do it different but this works for me)some start in the middle of the wall.measure over the width of the paper and make a straight pencil line on wall 1.this will help u hang that first piece. measure the paper and cut it.i work left to right.there are 4 walls,the wall i am going to paper is wall 1. where wall 4 meets wall 1 i would have about an inch of paper on wall 4. the line will be on wall 1.that way if u have to over lap at the end it will be in a corner. well that is clear as mud but i don't know how else to tell u. i'm not sure how to explain the cutting of the paper.if u have a match be sure to match the pieces befor u wet it.i measure the length then fold the paper back on itself to square it up.(hard to explain)like back to back crease at the bottom.i use a butcher knife to slice through the fold.make sure you roll from the bottom up.then u will put the roll into the water.as you unroll it make sure the water covers all the paste.(i'm assuming here that u bought pre pasted paper) i learned a trick from my mil and that is to cut off 2 rolls of paper if there is a match.u waste less paper by cutting and matching off 2 rolls. as u hang the first piece of paper use your brush to smooth the paper in the center from top to bottom.2 people make it much easier. i never have a 2nd person as dh does not do paper.u may have to pull it off several times to get it in a straight line with your pencil line.so don't brush it down all over till you check to make sure it is straight. i have also started at a doorway but make sure the door jam is sq. the bath towel is to wipe off the excess water. to get the air bubbles out brush again and again.if u have a stuborn air bubble poke a pin into it and smooth out the air. i just got done papering our 1/2 bath.i have paneling on the bottom 1/2 and i painted it.looks good.i can send pictures if u want. perhaps lowes of home depot will have a demonstration you could attend. there is a little roller u can buy to do the seams. make sure u go back and roll the seams after u are all done with the room. i'm not sure this will help.hope so. i enjoy doing wall papering.once u get the hang of it it will go easy. judy

Dori... An idea for hiding the wood paneling in your kitchen... If the paneling runs from floor to ceiling, maybe you could attach some lattice panels to it--available now in your local garden store--and then hang decorative items from them using S hooks--vintage towels or tablecloths, gadgets, plants, whatever suits your room. Diane

Hi, amjordan- K, this might have been said - i didn't get time to read all the replies, but my idea about that is: being that the tiles would be on a decorative piece like that I am wondering about possibly just butting the tiles together flush. you don't have a counter sit. where you need grout between them. it's strictly a decorative piece so- if no one has said this? -my answer is no grout, just tile adhesive, now- if it looks funny for these particular tiles to be flush against each other consider a pattern of another tile that might make it look just right. This is my solution idea. Hope it helps. Remember there are no rules. as long as the basics of function are taken care of - in this case - attaching the tiles well, and making it look beautiful - this is the most important part of the function, so - you're probably totally fine with no grout. so. decorate on my friend. Tiffany

Hi! I really think that starching fabric to put on furniture isn't a good idea. Starch is water soluble so when you clean the changing table the fabric would loosen or maybe even come off completely. Have you thought about using Mod Podge to attach the fabric? That might work. Good luck! Joanne

why not use non sanded grout? The kind used for kitchen counters etc. Sheresa

We have rope lighting under our cabinets. You can't see them at all, and I imagine they were very easy to install. Ours were put up by the builders, with some kind of glue is all. Karin

Jessica, My first sewing maching was a 1949 Sears Kenmore. Still wish I had that machinge. It would sew through any fabric. I have a singer it sucks. My MIL has a viking it is better. I don't shop for a ton of stitches myself. I have never used them. I like straight, zig zag buttonhole. about nine all together. If I ever get into sewing with other multiple stitches that heavily I think I would buy an new machine. Or a serger LOL I have made several quilts on machines as long as you have the straight stitch and zig zag you are pretty well set. Sheresa

Welcome to the group! And your new kitchen sounds tremendous!!! I have seen that Uba Tuba granite and it is beautiful. Post pictures -- before and after -- if you can -- I would love to see the transformation. Just one question: you say you are going to level the house *after* you do the kitchen? Are we talking serious leveling here? I would worry about the house shifting and the granite cracking if there is much movement to the house. Anyway, good luck and welcome! Ann

Blank. I want to tile part of our bed's headboard, and I'm trying to figure out what to do about the grout in between the tiles. The headboard is a little "flexy," and I'm afraid the grout will crack. The headboard was a pretty cheap one, not terribly well built, which is why I'm willing to tile it. :) Also, the headboard does not attach properly to our bed frame, since it was apparently made for some other kind of bed frame. (I'm not worried about fixing the tile to the headboard -- I have used Liquid Nails before with great success, so I think that will be fine for that and keep the tiles in place without them cracking.) I thought about bolting the headboard to the wall to make it more stable, but DH flatly forbade that when I ran it by him (he's afraid we'll tear chunks out of the wall, which made me laugh a little, but he's adamant about it). Anyway, I was thinking of two different options. One, I could use latex paint instead of water to mix up the sanded grout, so that the latex would give it a little more flexibility. Or two, I could use latex caulking and mix some sand into it, so that it would look like sanded grout but retain flexibility. Or ... ? I haven't thought of another option. I did think about not using any grout at all but I think it would look goofy! Has anyone had a similar issue and what did you do about it? Or opinions about my two options and how they would work? Thanks! Ann

Hi, Interior decorating has been my amateur obsession for about 15 yrs. now, i have literally since i was a little girl always noticed, style of - everything from clothes to the different decore in folks' homes, and buildings. I discovered Christopher Lowell, 11 yrs. ago, and all the discover and HGTV shows and probably have seen 5,000 hrs. or more of shows, studying learning, and totally LUVING IT!!!!!! I have bought 4 homes in 5 yrs. finally in the last place with all the land and beautiful outdoors. I have this 60+ yr. old home that was a tavern in the 40's and then was remodelled a lot into this lodge style home - huge huge great room, loft, and then the tiny bedrooms and other rooms make up 3400 sqft. Lots of gorgeous wood work, original glass, etc. And- lots i am going to remodel. lots. lots. anyways. i am about to have my Uba Tuba granite counter installed friday. I redid my cabinets with my antique white paint/taupe glaze treatment which i have done 2 times now. I bought fabulous looking copper hardware off ebay for 2.25, and 1.50, a piece - the drawers i put a pull on which is so neat to have 2 different hardware styles - both the same antique copper. Then, i lucked out and got the 4 piece Price Pfister Marielle - antique copper faucet for $115. incl. ship. and i am mixing that with a new stainless sink, and stainless frig. stainless/black stove - black micr. If you have all 3 - copper/stainless/black - and tiny halogen lights to go in place of the uggggggly rectangle lights in place now - it'll be timeless and fabulous. I am just stoked about this. After this we are getting the house levelled again, and redoing the floor in the Lowes - terra cotta 12" tiles which will just compliment the copper/deep green granite, etc. It will really be an amazing kitchen when i am done with it. Next - you ask - or maybe not after that novel? the upstairs bathroom, i went from 3 1/2 normal baths to - 1 tiny mustard plastic yellow bath upstairs - I am 4'10" and can not open it without backing up. - k? small. that's Ok, that's what an interior designer is for - recreating living space to functional fantastic luxury for as little as possible. Ok. this is me. I am a full time mother of 4, husband flies out Mon flies back Thurs. night and I am now going to a student of the Art Institute Online, b.s. interior design, as i am on my youngest and she's almost 2 so. hopefully she'll start school someday and I will finsih up my classes and go to work as a designer for other peoples' projects. I live on 18 acres in Owego, NY. It's 4 seasons. great. Tiffany

Hi, after my way lengthy intro - sorry. just love decorating. my question; what do you all think about placing one of those click on lights under the bottom of the cabinets to make additional mood lighting? i just was thinking about that - would they look stupid? wood they be small enough and really look more like recessed lighting and be cool and be a neat thing to add? what do you all think? has anyone done this? - k- if this idea stinks to high heaven - what under lighting ideas do you have that are easy to install without them being ugly,etc... Tiffany

I just wanted to share with yall the colors that i picked out for my son's room,, this doesn't really show the true colors, but the paint is called "Timber "its Martha Stewart everyday colors, the boarder i also got at K-mart....i went back this weekend to get his wall-paper and was going to wall-paper 1/2 of his wall, and paint the other hafe, and put the boarder in the middle of the wall, BUT K-Mart didn't have ANY wall-paper or boarder ! =( i'll be sending pictures of his bed-in-a-bag also from K-mart, and his curtains,,,all of it came from K-mart ! I got the boarder for $ 3.29 a roll, his bed-in-a-bag was only $12.00, as i bought them when a lot of K-marts was going out of Business last year, and i got the Bed-in-a-bag, and boarder for 70 % off ! =) Princess

I am posting this to several lists, so I apologise if anyone has ot read this twice, but I am tryign to get as many opinions as possible. I am looking to buy my first sewing machine. I am a beginner, and my first project is a simple curtain for in my son's bedroom. What I am wondering is, when you buy a sewing machine do you buy the one that just meets your needs, or do you choose one that will work for what you need right now and that will have the more complicated features for use later? Also, I was thinking that after I was comfortable with the machine I would like to try making a quilt for my son's bed. Do I need a specific machine for that? or will any machine do? Are there any specific features I should make certain to get or avoid? Any opinions oon brands etc? I'm sorry I have so many questions, but I want to get this right! Hopefully sewing soon, Jessica- in Nebraska

Can someone tell me how to do this as far as the starch mixture goes? I am thinking of covering a piece of furniture with fabric (Nursery changing table) and wondered what starch is normally used and how to mix it. Has anyone ever tried this on furniture? Mojo

Hi I'm looking for some basic ideas on interior design. Im a 4-h advisor and am setting up a table on design but havnt had the time to look for any ideas. I know the basics such as color wheels, modern, traditional ect. but does anyone have any eye catching ideas for 9 thru 14 year olds. i would appreciate any help. Ive been so busy with umpteen other projects that i kinda left this one alone. HELP PLEASE!!!!LOL THANKS Tracy

There has been a surge in the area of Redesign. To become a certified redesiger there seems to be two different groups. IRN (Interior Refiners Network) with Lauri Wood and another group IRIS (not sure what it means)which has had a lot of press on HGTV Decorating Cents. They both seem really simular. Does anyone have any knowledge of either training/group? I would love to consider one of these certifications but can't seen to sort out the pros and cons of who to get the certification from. Thanks for any feeback. rhonda

This sounds pretty easy, thanks for the info. Mojo

Are you a family living in an unfinished house? Did you attempt to build a house on your own, buy an old house thinking you'd fix it up, or start a major renovation and just ran out of money, time, or energy? Are you now stuck living in one big mess? Has your dream house become your biggest nightmare? If this is you, submit your application and the chance to receive a home makeover from famed designer Vern Yip (Trading Spaces) and his team of experts! Please go to NBC.com and download the application. Fill it out and send it in along with a home video of your unfinished house, your family... and YOU, telling us in your own words, why you need our help! Or email us your story, and why you need our help to info@... Deadline for tape submissions is March 13th, 2004. Tape should be no longer than 10 minutes. We prefer VHS but will accept mini-DV, and Hi- 8. Send your complete tape and application to: One Louder Productions "Design Intervention" (working title) 1633 Broadway Room 32-401 New York, NY 10019 **Keep checking back for Open Call information.

The under-counter lights are a great idea. I'm really partial to the tiny ones but they are more involved, needing transformers and the like. If you have head space over the cabinets, soffit lights would expand the ceiling too. If you really wanted the door, you could put sheers on top and bottom rods over the door and it would still let in a lot of light. You could also mount blinds to it and close them at night or when you needed more privacy. OR you could put a roman shade across the top and let it down when you needed the privacy. We have 2.5 acres and I know it's possible you could have a lot of paths, but you just start building to the places you think you'll want to walk. Start close to the house and build your garden areas out from there, tying them in to each other. Say you have a swingset. A path to the swing set is a good place to start. Off of that path, you might want a sitting area where you can sit and watch the kids play. Pull another path off to the side and make a sitting area. Installing a fountain or a little pond and making that into a sitting area would be an awesome place to start. You can build the sweetest little pond out of a hard baby's swimming pool for very little money. Put in the pond, then build a path to it. If there isn't a shade tree there already, plant one, and some understory (smaller) trees around it. Widen the path to where it's large enough to hold a bench, and 'frame' the area to create a perceived boundary. Decorate the whole thing with planting beds and put in site-appropriate plants ( the type of plant that does best in the kind of soil and light you have in that area), some urns or big pots full of plants, and you'll have a great place to relax. Then for the next garden, say you want something beautiful to look at from the bench....choose a place in your line of sight and build the next one. And on it goes... As far as hiding the central air unit, you want to be careful not to impede the air flow. A nice way to hide them is to build a trellis of framed lattice and the plant a vine on the trellis, and build a bed out in front of the trellis and fill it with something lovely. If the unit is at the side of the house, bring the trellis out from the edge of the house and make the bed extend along the entire length of the house and the trellis all the way to the porch, then plant a smallish evergreen next to the trellis as a visual 'stop'. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

, Oh, i forgot to tell ya, this kitchen use to have a very dark brown flooring down, i've replaced it with a green/ white marbled tile, and that helped the room 100% ! Yes we own this house and i'm able to paint, remove or ad what ever i like, MY DH says the outside of the house is his, the inside is all mine to do with what i want =) i had thought about maybe getting one of those doors with 9 small panels in it, that would let a lot of light in, but would also let my neighbor Gary look right into my house as well ! ( not so sure thats a good idea !) LOL i had a thought after posting this that i could always add those light fixtures under my cabinets that plug in, i forget what they are called ? they are like shopp lites, but smaller and you can get them at wally world ! AS for my yard i lie one 1 acer so i'm not sure about doing the paths LOL i'd have patchs every where ! LOL well, not really as i don't have an out building of any kind, but then again, my yard is a blank slate ! no fountains, no nothing in it =( DO you happen to know of a way to hide a centeral heat/ air unit ? they are so big and ugly and mine faces the main highway! YULK ! thanks for any thoughts of idaes ! Denise P

Hi there! I'm Denise too, in AR, so we're sorta neighbors in a hundreds-of-miles kind of way LOL. I'm nuts about gardening and we bought a virgin lot 9 years ago, so we were then where you are now. The absolute best advice I got was to build paths where you go, and build beds based on that. So... if you have an outbuilding, or want to set up a vegetable garden, or want a sitting area under a big shade tree, build paths to those places. Put beds around your foundations first and anywhere else that you want to emphasize the area. Concentrate on filling the beds with shrubs and the like, and then add flowers in front of the shrubs. One thing I'd not recommend that you do is a whole bunch of different areas at once. BTDT. It might be different if you know you're going to have help. And make plans for watering the beds as automatically as possible because otherwise you'll spend 90% of your yard time in the worst part of the summer either mowing or dragging a waterhose around. Trust me, everyone around here thinks that weeding, planting, or fertilizing is a sure cause of an immediate heart attack. Of course, the real answer is that the only one who'd have a heart attack is me - from shock if one of them actually helped. As for your kitchen, can you do anything with the floors and cabinets? An open expanse of light color at your feet always seems to make a room lighter to me. I also am crazy about my white painted cabinets. If you could do either or both of those, I'd bet it would make a tremendous difference in the open feel of your kitchen. Any chance at all of replacing the window with a bigger one, or replacing the door that leads outside with a glass door? A house we used to live in had two small windows in the kitchen. We replaced one of those windows with a steel door that had a big window in it, and that made lots of difference. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

hello everyone, i'm new to this group, and i have been reading some of your post and yall seem to have a lot of great ideas, so i'm wondering if yall can help me with the massive redecorating / remodeling that i am about to tackle ! 1) my kitchen is very big, lots of wall space, a door that leads outside, which is solid wood, and a door that leasd to my basement, i only have 1 small window =( i have two light fixtutes in the room, but it still seems very dark ! My cabinets are a dark wood, stained, not sure what they are stained with, its real dark wood tho, and this , along with the fact i only have the 1 small window makes my kitchen VERY DARK! you need lights on durning the day ! =( i have a green gigham wall paper up, an apple boarder up, which i just did, and i did the baseborads in a green from the wall-papper, i also paineted my celing fan the same green form the paper, then distressed it, and there is a chair railing on one wall only, i also painted it the green, its very pretty and i get a lot of complements on it, but i want my kitchen lighter, does anyone have any ideas on how i can make this room look lighter ? Also, i have to replace my counter tops this spring, what color would you go with ? 2) my youngest son's room is going to be done in a leapord print, i spent over $400.00 on Pictures from HOME INTERIORS , the pictures are tigers, lepoards, elephants, zebra's, the bed in a bag i bought is a leopard print ( i think ,,,the spotted animals LOL i'm a brain dead blonde this am ) the thing is ,,,,i don't know what color to paint his room, he is 16 1/2 years old, and when you ask him, he says " i don't care " he's to in-love to worry with the color of his room ! LOL 3) OK, this room is trickie, my 18 year old lives in this room for now, another bedroom, and its still the same green from when he was 6 LOL ! yeah its time for some major decorating in these two bedrooms of the boys LOL these are crayola colors ! circus blue, and i forget the funkie name of the green LOL ( youngest son's room is the blue ) anyways my son is 18 and will be leaving home soon, which then will be turned into a guest bedroom, But for now i'd like a color / theme that would work for him, but also be great as a guest room onced he does move out ! everyone says ask him ! well, that don't work, he either wants to do it in green again, or black with a Dale Earnheart theme ! and i'm not sold on the fact that others would love to spend the night, a weekend, or even a week in either of the two colors he wants and he's only going to be here less than a year ! SO i need a color and a theme, we like sountry, french country styles i guess ? 4) ok, i live in a small sub-division, not one of those that have the people come around and tell you how tall your grass can be before having to mow it, or what kind of land scaping you can use, But my split level is next to the high way, which leads into Tennessee's largest park " FALL CREEK FALLS " and also my house is the first down our road into the sub. i want to make my very small porch ( its not big enoughn for a bench, or even two outdoor chairs =( so at least you know how small it is ! ) look very friendly, welcoming, and pretty, anyone have ANY ideas ? 5) does anyone know of a site that helps you with landscaping ideas ? i want to redo my entire yard this spring too, and i'm not good at all, at designing flower gardens, or eye catching things, ya know ? Any help yall could give me would be very greatfull ! SEND ME YOUR IDEAS ABD THOUGHTS Denise Prater

Mojo I saw them do it on a decorating show and it looked pretty straightforward. Measure the box spring and cut a sheet to fit, leaving a 1/2" seam allowance all the way around. Fold the top edge under and hem. Measure from the top of the box spring to the floor for the length of your ruffle. Measure the length of each side and the foot. If you want a tailored ruffle, you need that many running inches of fabric. If you want it with a bit of gather, double those inches and if you want a very full one, triple them. Cut lengths for the ruffle according to where it's going to go, and hem them on the short sides and one long side. Attach one section to each side of the sheet and one to the bottom. This leaves the corners open to accomodate the bed frame. It seems like the hard part is putting it on the bed! Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Ann this was a GREAT letter. It distills the choices back to our original goal. For all the chest-beating that can go on while we're trying to decide what to do, if we know ourselves and what we like, and stick with it, how can we go wrong? Thanks for a great reminder. Denise I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing that you need so you can do what He wants. Hebrews 13:20,21

Valerie, I'm not quite sure what you are asking. You can get a single bowl sink the same size as double bowl, or they come smaller. The depth options are the same on both. If you have single bowl you can have a garbage disposal it just won't be on a separate side. If you wash dishes with a single bowl you don't have a rinse or drain side. I've lived with both, and those are the things I can think of, unless you are talking about the plumbing aspects. Sheresa

My personal opinion, is that I would not have an acrylic kitchen sink. They chip and crack easily. If you drop something semi-heavy it will happen. You may chip cast iron, but it can be touched up with a porcelain filler, then painted to match. If you crack an acrylic sink you most likely have to replace it. Sheresa

where I can find the kits to do your own bed ruffles? I had the link ages ago and now that I need it I can not find it. It was a simple inexpensive kit a lady had put together and made it very simple. Or maybe someone can tell me a simple way to do one. Mojo

I was leaning towards a Cast Iron white sink, but there is an acrylic sink on an auction listing...what is an acrylic sink like? this one has a glossy finish from Canada... Valerie

I have only ever used a double bowl...so I'm wondering about what it's like if the configuration is different... please share if you have experience with the different options! Thanks, Valerie

that! Take a big oversized sponge, pour the sealant on the tile, and rub it all over to make sure you get all of it. Wait for like 10 minutes or whatever the bottle says, and wipe the excess off. You're done! Karin, does that make the tile slippery if you seal it as well as the grout? I was going to seal our ceramic tile that way, then I read that it makes the tile too slippery. Has that been your experience? Thanks! Ann

Could you give me your opinion on using pine sol? Does it helps clean and disinfect the floor or only for the nice smell? Mine is a porceline tiles in the kitchen dining room that me and my husband installed about 5 years ago. Color is very light and it does shows a lot of dirt. Grout was very light grey when we installed it, now it is black!! One time, I did not sleep all night and used the stuff in a "purple bottle" that people use to clean off grease accumulated in the motor of the car. It did get clean and I sealed it the next day, but it didn't help it. It still soaks in the dirt and back to being black again. Very frustrating. Sorry, this is too long, but to my next question... has anyone tried to paint the grout on their floor, porcelain tile. Thanks.

My husband is the GM of a restaurant, and they do slop water all over the tiles, but he said the tiles, and the grout is not the same kind that they use in a residential installation. It's not near as waterproof, even though they seal it. Once the water gets underneath that grout and then under the tiles, that's where you're problem comes from, and there isn't much you can do from there. Karin

Denise, I just wanted to send a thank you for all the wonderful advice on keeping floors clean. I have both wood and tile and I'm going to start using your suggestions. I've been using the swiffer wet jet and it does ok but on the wood it leaves streak marks. Terri

I don't have tile floors but a friend who does went to a business supply store and bought a very wide sponge mop and bucket, squeegee and dustpan. She gets the floor very wet with HOT soapy water with the sponge mop and scrubs and bad spots, lets it all sit for a while and then squeegees it into the dust pan and dumps it. She has been really happy with this. With four children on a farm, she does it every few days. In Christ, JulieBeth Lamb Clothed in Scarlet Home Redesign

Dori ...at the moment I am working on a line of samplers that are a bit odd. Good odd. They encompass the traditional but have a whimsical feel about them if you look at them a little more closely.. I also do Counted thread work on the pillows that I sell as well as bridal ring pillows that can be kept for the home later on. Those are going into a line as well. I have recently had call for sewing valances and making cornice boards as well as tiebacks and tassels. Today a lady brought in a group of lampshades and