9.29.2011

Wish List - Carpet Tiles

I decided to add a new feature to the Kingston Road Project. I thought it might be fun to keep track of some of things I know I want to buy...to create a wish list of sorts, on it's very own page. I also still haven't managed to get a glamour shot of the bedroom to reveal how the paint came out, so admittedly, I'm looking for a little filler.

We'll see how it goes, but I think I will post each wish list item as it's own post, and will also add it to the Wish List Page so that I end up tracking all of those items in one place.

So, without further ado, here's my first item:


Living Room:

I need to get 11 more tiles of this carpet to enlarge the carpet that we currently have in the living room, especially once we add a love seat. Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks it looks good with a bright green object on top. 

9.18.2011

Gram's Coffee Table


I'm sure you were all hoping to see what color we painted the master bedroom this weekend. Well, it was a lot of work, and I'm wiped out and haven't managed to get the room into photo worthy shape just yet. So instead, I'm going to tell you about our new coffee table. 

This coffee belonged to my grandparents, my mom's parents, Gram & Gramp. I spent many years sitting on the floor in front of this enormous tables with a coloring book and crayons, or my uncle's old matchbox cars. When we were clearing out there house, it was one of the things I knew I wanted for my own one day. 

It's a huge round table that used to be a dining table (it even expands, although we no longer have the leaf) that was cut down to coffee table height. 


You can see, even after a lot of sanding, which I started back in August, it was in pretty rough shape. There were various marks on the top that I couldn't get out with the sander. There are lots of dents and dings as well. But I like those. They remind me of it's history. 


After a few session out in the driveway sanding with the palm sander, the dremell, and by hand, it was finally time to prime the table. I used an oil based primer for the first time in my furniture painting history. The advice I got from several sources insisted that this was the way to go. It went pretty well. The smell was minimal, and the clean-up was easier than I thought. You can see the underside of the table top primed, and the pedestal base up on the saw horse ready to go. 


I chose a bright green for the table. I've been wanting more green accents in the living room, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. It's a little less yellow than some of the green accents we have now, which Greg wasn't entirely fond of. Since the table is a little harder to change than a pillow, this was the right time to start tweaking the green. Two coats of paint went on after the primer.



There are some really great details on the table including the claw feet, and the fluted pedestal. Unfortunately, the center of the pedestal is really hard to see when the top is on, since it's so much lower than was originally intended. 


The table originally had small casters with wooden wheels. They were cracked, and falling apart. I was also worried that they would not be good for our wood floors. But, we liked the idea of having wheels on the table so it would be easy to move for vacuuming, or what ever other reason. I picked out these modern industrial casters from the hardware store, but had to call Greg to confirm they would fit on the foot. He measured out the caster in two configurations to be sure.


Last night, a week after the final coat (three total) of poly-acrylic went on the table, we finally had time to bring it in and put the pieces together. Yes, I purposely did not paint the underside. I didn't want to have to keep flipping the top over to do what amounted to 6 coats of various paints and finishes. And I figured, no one will see the underside. Well, except maybe my brother-in-law who likes to lie on the floor.

So, after all of that, without further ado, here's what it looks like in the room...


At first, it felt enormous, but after 24 hours, I'm loving it. The proportions are much better than the long skinny table it replaced. We just had our first take-out dinner party on it, and it worked great! The casters are quite awesome as well. It's so easy to move around. We are still considering raising the top slightly, so it's more in line with the sofa. But it could be awhile until we get around to that.


I'm really pleased with how the colors are coming together in this room. I think the wooden tulips I bought this spring in London make the perfect accent. And we're really excited to finally be enjoying Gram's coffee table! 






9.11.2011

It's time to paint the bedroom

Fall is in the air. The days are bright, the air is dry. It's a perfect time to paint. I'm hoping to obliterate the yellow from one more room in our house this coming weekend. If only we could decide on a color...


Don't the kitties make nice accessories?

As you can see, our quilt pretty much has the entire rainbow in it. I've narrowed it down to something on the warmer side, since the main floor is largely cool tones. But, of course, I'm always trying to get purple in there somewhere. And since we didn't use it in the living room...

I'm envisioning purple walls, with red curtains, and wood toned mini-blinds on the window. I also have a dressing table to paint, which I want to place under the window, as long as I can convince Greg that it doesn't block the heater too much. It might be cool to paint the dresser a slightly darker shade of purple...maybe with red drawer pulls? 

Greg really likes the color on the left the best out of these. (after I overruled the more orangey/rust tones that he really liked best. I just can't do it!) We're both a little concerned that it's too dark. We need to evaluate the colors again tonight. And I really like the color of the furniture better against the purples. Really, I'm not just saying that. 

Any thoughts?

*  *  *

Coming soon, the new living room coffee table. I just put the last coat of polyacryllic on it today. Once I have a final after shot, I will tell you all about it. 

9.02.2011

The To Do List

No pictures to share today. Instead, I'm introducing feature...

The To Do List

I though it might be fun to add a page to the blog which is always easily accessible from anywhere you happen to be. It's on a new page all of it's own. Just click on the tab above. It's a list of the many projects we've got on our list, whether it be for the immediate future, or waaaaaay down the road. I'll try to keep up to date by checking or crossing off the items on our list as we complete them.

So please, check it out.