Decorating - Benneconomy 101- part 4

Decisions, decisions~My kitchen counter top is speckled shades of gray with a hit of what looks like tan. With the cabinets being cherry wood and the stove and frig being black it is difficult to find a color for the kitchen. I really do not like this kitchen. I wish it were a different shape. If you do through that doorway and go to the right is a short hallway which leads to the great room on the left and the stairwell to the right, in front of you would lead to the guest bedroom and bath and to the right of the stairs around the corner is the foyer leading to the front door, livingroom and dining room. The stove and the frig will be changed to stainless steel at some point. These are just some pics to show where we are so far.

Since the counter tops are speckled we are experimenting with this gray color. It matches the counter tops.

And we are looking at these shades of gray as well

You can see 3 patches of gray on this wall. The lighter one at the top is my favorite one even though it may be a little light but the darker one at the bottom is the color that is shown above by the sink. This is the opposite entrance or exit to the kitchen which leads to the family room. If you remember we painted the family room sweater green. The picture hanging there on the wall was painted by our resident artist, Halle.

I have ZERO decorating skills and I am learning so much through these projects. We finished painting the dining room this evening so stayed tuned for the pics of that room. I would post them tonight but I would rather you see it in daylight.

Decorating - Benneconomy 101- part 2

We bought a new sink for the guest bath this weekend. Here is the old one he removed. The old sink is only a year old. Tony cracked it taking the pipes out but there was a hairline crack in it anyway. This is the new one. He already added the new faucet here. We found it on clearance at Home Depot.




The same weekend we got a really good deal on this gas grill. Last month we were in Home Depot and this grill was on sale for $399. When we went in the store 2 weeks after that it was marked down to $199. This weekend the same day we bought the sink it (the grill) had been marked down even further for $149. When Tony walked by the grill he did a double take. We went over to the sink shopping around and chose this one.

Then he asked one of the store clerks about the grill and after haggling a little he was able to talk the store manager down to $109. Amazing! My husband is amazing. Here's the brand new grill. We needed a new one but we weren't shopping for one.


We are almost ready for the summer.

Decorating - Benneconomy 101

We are starting in the guest bath like I mentioned before. Here is the after photo for the paint. I forgot to take a before photo but from this point on I will take before photos. The color is from Ralph Lauren paints. We took a swatch from the Ralph Lauren swatches and used Glidden paint which is more economical. Tony added crown molding to the ceiling and framed out the mirror. I would have preferred a round mirror but this will do for now. I also hate the counter top in this bath which may be changed later. Next we'll tile the floor. We've choosen this tile in the large 16" squares. It contrasts to the walls perfectly. Home Depot has them on sale this month. We've done quite a lot of window shopping.








Here's what is looks like so far. Remember it's a guest bath so it's smaller than the other baths. What do you think?


Right now this is linoleum on the floor and I can't stand it, the tile will look much better.

Crown molding at ceiling

New lighting will replace the chrome lighting. The chrome is just a year old but I prefer the brass.

With the brass towel bar and fixtures the sink and doors knobs will compliment each other better. After the bathroom is done I will post a list of the items that were replaced and their cost.

Decorating, puppies & snoring....

Yesterday, after working a full day Tony came home and painted the guest bath. The plan was to paint the guest bedroom tonight but that didn't happen. He called to tell me that he had found a puppy. A chiuaua. The moment I saw her I melted. She looked just like this. She was so affectionate. She sat in my lap. The kids were ooooing and aaahhing, except for Wes. He saw the puppy and said "ASPCA". Tony brought our dog in to meet her (an American Pitt Bull Terrier), she's very sweet. The pup snapped at her. Dutchess (our dog) was jealous but didn't try to bite. After we talked (all of us) we decided that it wasn't fair to Dutchess to bring in a new puppy. Especially since a little dog like this is definitely not an outside dog. It wouldn't be fair to have Dutchy outside or in the garage and the puppy in the house. We could tell from Dutchy's wimpering that she was jealous and wanting to come into the house as well. Long story short. She's gone. We gave the pup to a neighbor who was happy to have her.

It's late and we were going to watch a movie tonight but here from my office I can hear him lightly snoring...so much for that. I'm going to watch Keith Olbermann online before I go to bed. I'll post comments about it tomorrow.