After Kitchen/Entry Pictures

Okay, here are the after pictures. I haven't moved the furniture back yet and the stone still has a gloss to it because the enhancer/sealer is still drying. You'll notice I had them install it at a 45 degree angle. This makes the rooms feel bigger. You can also see the decorative 1x1 tiles we used on each step down.

You'll also notice that I had the railings painted black. This really helped add a classy look to the house. It looked awesome white but I wanted it to be less "traditional" and more casual. The black really added more charm to the staircase as well as making the lines less busy. This allows the faux painting to make more of a statement. Don't you think??

My husband didn't like the idea of having them painted but I gave him the decorator talk and said "trust me." He said "ok but I'm sceptical." Now he LOVES it a lot! I had confidence that it would work. Time to start moving the furniture back. The family has liked the fridge in the living room and say it's convenient for ice cream snacks. Sorry family, back to the kitchen it goes! Time to get things back to normal and DECORATE. I'm moving things around a little. Y'all know how I love change.

Travertine Tile Transformation

We decided to change out our flooring in our kitchen this summer. Our existing flooring in the kitchen is wood which I love...but with a pool and kids that combination does not work well together. The kids come in soaking wet and stand in the kitchen to make lunch or go to the bathroom and it makes me stressed having to wipe up after them. You know how wood flooring goes, one puddle of water that sits and the floor warps. I am a BIG FAN of making my decor beautiful but my priority is to make sure it is family friendly and functional. The wood floor is NOT FUNCTIONAL.

I started the hunt for what I wanted. Of course, what I want and what is out there is a whole different story. Here are the pictures of what I had in my mind. I wanted a "veranda" feel in this house. Our pool is the focus of the house and can be seen from most rooms. I thought having Mexican Terra Cotta Tile "Saltillo tile" would be perfect. Here are my favorites...

LOVE THE ABOVE FLOOR!!!

After much looking and debate I decided that the care of "Saltillo" tile is really a lot of work. Of course, they lay it first then stain and then seal. About every 2 years they have to sand it down, re stain and seal. I'm not in for that every 2 years.

We finally agreed on Travertine. I think we will get the "look" I'm looking for and I loved the natural look of the stone. I knew that the color would resemble what I originally wanted in the "Saltillo" tile. Here is the sample board of what we picked. Each size here is an example of the different colors that each tile will have. No one is alike, they are all different in texture and color. Some are more solid, some have more veining, some are gold, some resemble the color of Terra Cotta.

Here are some BEFORE pictures of the kitchen. Of course, as you can see, the wood has been taken up already. Once the Travertine was delivered, we went through each tile and decided which one would go where. We had three piles, one for entry, one for kitchen and one for rejects. Because they are all SO different, I mean different.... I wanted to make sure that we had a nice combination of all the tiles. I apologized to my tile guy and told him I hated being high maintenance. He said "oh Ruth, you are not high maintenance. The other day we had a lady order 5 flats of Travertine (she only needed one) and she picked which tiles she wanted and told us to dispose the rest, that's high maintenance." I told him I wished I knew who she was and I would have been dumpster diving that night at her house. Those of you who know me, know that I would have done that too! I would have been in disguise of course!

As mentioned above, we also decided to go ahead and do the entry. We got an amazing price on the Travertine so we went ahead with it. Here's before pictures of the entry. After they took up the wood, they found this white 12x12 marble underneath it. Our entry steps down into the office, dining room and living room so having this Travertine will stop guests from falling on the step down because it will now be a totally different floor. Now it will be obvious that there is a transition. The kids also have to pass through the entry to go upstairs so this eliminates water damage too! Yippee!

I'll post the after pictures in a few days after they have enhanced and sealed the floor. I'm excited and can't wait to see the end result! We'll compare the end result to my original desire and see if we came close.

Capture your inspiration with Benjamin Moore Paints

I recently heard that Benjamin Moore Paint has a new tool that can be used on an iPhone. I love Benjamin Moore paint! They have some amazing colors especially if you are looking for earth tones. This would be a fun tool to have and I would use it all day long! I constantly see colors that I wish I could just captivate and duplicate. Especially the colors of nature. Click on the link below to read about the software that allows you to take a photo of anything and save it to your phone. You can then later have a paint color created to that exact match.

Watch the demo here - click on "Catch a Color".

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=fa_home

Decrenew's 7th Anniversary

Thank you for all of you that have become followers of my blog. I told you that I would have a drawing on DecRenew's 7th Anniversary and today is the day.

If any of you made comments to any of my posts I put your name in the drawing again for as many comments you made! Today I drew a name and the winner is........drum roll please..............

BETH TOMLINSON!!!

Yeah, I'm so happy for you Beth. I know you will enjoy the candlestick, it's beautiful and I'm sure you will find the perfect place for it in your BEAUTIFUL home!

Thank you to all of my clients and friends that congratulated me today! I feel very blessed to be doing something I absolutely love and I appreciate all the kind words you sent my way. I look forward to serving all of you this year!

In love,

Ruth

Vacation "Welcome Home"

BEFORE

I have a client that decided to go on vacation while we had their kitchen re-painted. They were gone for a week and we painted the cabinets, textured the walls, painted wainscoting, fireplace and built in bookshelves and desk. It was a good thing they were out of town because being around while painting and texturing is going on is crazy, especially in your kitchen. I took some after pictures and the painter wasn't quite done so there are ladders and paint cans still in place.

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTERThe antique white paint with a glaze really updates and brightens up the space. The island is painted a rich slate color.

The wainscoting was painted a rich khaki color, the same as the bookshelves and desk in the adjoining living room. This warm red makes the kitchen have personality. It looked "fine" before but now it says "wow"

The fireplace surround use to be white and now it's the same color as the island in the kitchen, making these rooms flow better together. The color behind the bookshelves is the same color we used in the kitchen. Now it looks rich and inviting. Easy fix for little money.

My client came home and they were thrilled! What a fun way to come home from a vacation.