Kristin Abraham's Blog

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I'm pretty excited right now. Not only are my new countertops being installed but I'm about to have my kitchen back! It's been almost a week since we took the old sink and counter off and it was an extremely inconvenient holiday week for me. Now, the day after Christmas, my countertop guys are here and look to have everything under control.

I'm trying to stay out of the way but I still want to see what's happening. In fact, I am a little worried that the counter is the wrong color so I want to sneek a peek and check. I think I'll run upstairs and look out the window, they're cutting the sink hole outside. Yep, right color.

Two guys showed up, which I expected, but neither of them are the guy that came and measured for the counter. If that's all his job is, it's a pretty cushy one. Just go around and measure things. So far these two have moved the new counter in, measured some stuff, checked the sink measurement and now they're outside cutting and trimming.

The one thing that surprised me was the corner is already cut and fixed. I figured they'd do that here as they mounted it to the cabinets. In fact I actually expected them to make the cut here rather than at their shop. Not that it matters much, but I did pay for the whole length of counter, which includes the corner pieces. And I could have had someone glue those pieces together for me and made me a nice matching cuting board. Or I could probably come up with a hundred other uses for the extra counter top. But its too late for that now.

Oh, but maybe I can ask for the center part where the sink goes. That would make a nice cutting board or something else. In fact, it should be a good size because I got a much bigger sink, so maybe I could use it as a small craft table.

This outside cutting is taking a pretty long time. It appears as if they're trimming it to fix my cabinets exactly. A part of me was thinking that I'd still replace the cabinets one day but I guess that idea is shot now. My current quick fix is to paint it all black and then later i'm going to replace the cupboard doors and the drawer faces with a nice stained red wood.

I'm also going to paint the walls. They're currently a dark periwinkle blue (old owner's choice) and I'm going with a nice sunny yellow. This should set off the black cupboards and my (soon to be purchased) black and stainless steel appliances.

And, they're done. Less than an hour from the time I saw them roll into my driveway to right now as they're pulling away. It looks so nice! In fact the ugly cupboards look nicer. And I learned a nice little tip, nail polish remover will remove coffee and juice stains without ruining the counters! Good to know.

Now, I've got to go put everything back together.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

The new couch is so new that the matching chair and ottoman haven’t arrived yet and already my cat, Alice Parker, has turned it into a scratching post. This is actually a fairly new problem for me. I’ve had 13 cats and they’ve all been good about not scratching the furniture. The only exception was Kitty, who shredded my mom’s furniture and we ended up getting her declawed.

Now, before you scream at me for declawing a cat I’d like to point out that it was about twenty years ago and at that time declawing was very commonplace and actually recommended. We had no idea of the damage it caused to the cat both physically and mentally. Luckily, Kitty didn’t really have a bad reaction to the declawing and he lived to be 22 years old. But I will say that I have decided declawing is no longer an acceptable alternative for my cats.

So, I now have to find out how to stop Little Miss Alice Parker from destroying my new couch. Hitting doesn’t work with cats and she’s so sensitive I’m afraid a little spanking would send her into hiding for days. I do yell “NO!” at her or clap my hands when she does it and she instantly stops, but it only seems to stop her at that moment because there are new scratch marks that she made when I wasn’t looking.

She and my other cat share a very nice scratching post but Alice Parker isn’t that interested in scratching it. Grimalkin, my other cat, loves scratching it and I think that she has possibly claimed that post as her own and left her scent all over it. I’m currently researching another scratching post but it may be difficult to get Alice Parker to own it since she is so incredibly docile.

The other issue is now my new couch is “marked” with Alice Parker’s scent and she feels she has a right to scratch it, even if she adopts the new scratching post. Cats have a natural aversion to citrus smells so I’ll probably get a nice lemony spray to liberally coat the couch with. There are products made to especially deter cats and you can pick them up at your local pet store, but if you ask me they cost more then they’re worth.

I’ve also been told that hiding the texture from the cat can deter them. This is a solution you use temporarily until the cat has broken the habit. Double sided tape and aluminum foil are the recommended masking textures but I’m loathe to put tape on my new couch and I can’t see wrapping it in tin foil, but I’ll do it if I have to.

I also trim Alice Parker’s nails fairly regularly (when she’ll let me) and I’ve decided that if I can’t break her of this habit I’m going to have to buy nail caps so even if she does scratch she can’t do any damage.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I'm a little bit impulsive. Or maybe it's more impatient. But when I want something I want it now. And that's how my interior decorating and home renovating woes began. About two months ago I picked up another job and my current ones were going really well and suddenly I saw dollar signs everywhere. I began working 17 hour days just to make as much money as possible and then began spending it as quickly, or even quicker, than I was making it.

But that was about two months ago, I hadn't anticipated the long wait periods and back orders and the whole holiday stress factor. So, at this particular moment I'm sitting in a house that has ripped out carpet, baseboards lying all over, its missing a kitchen sink and the counters are loosened. Then there are Christmas presents and projects lying everywhere. It's a total disaster and I'm freaking out.

I'm not the cleanest gal in the world but I do like order and I get a little thrill when my house is not only clean but there is a lot of open space. Right now I'm lost in clutter. And it's not just me, one of my cats is having a lot of trouble with all the commotion.

So I've learned one of those little life lessons that I'd like to pass along to everyone else. The first lesson is one I should have learned a million times over but I just cant see past my own excitement enough to slow down and take things one thing at a time. Right now I'm in the process of renovating my kitchen, totally redoing the office and repainting one of the bathrooms. Not to mention the new furniture. I should have just picked one room and sunk my "spare cash" into that room and then moved on to the next room.

The other big lesson is all about timing. Stores don't work well with my "I want what I want and I want it now" mantra. I didn't realize my floors would take about three weeks to arrive and the counters would take six and the furniture would take eight. My time table means absolutely nothing to these people and I should have realized that when I started these projects. I also didn't properly consider the time of year. I wanted to decorate my new place and instead of being able to go crazy with the tinsel and lights I'm stuck with two tiny trees in the kitchen. I also do not have any time to shop and what I've picked up is lying all over the livingroom in little piles.

If anyone is considering a project in the future, may I suggest sticking to one project at a time and making sure you're working within a reasonable time frame for everyone involved.

I just hope that all of my projects are completed by next winter.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Ok, I've had one busy week. I took on some extra work a few weeks back so I could begin buying stuff for the condo and I'm still working on these projects and my purchases have started rolling in.

Last week I got the call that my special order pergo floors had arrived. Unfortunately, my friend and home improvement partner in crime was in Hawaii (ah, the life of a travel writer). So the floors would have to wait a week.

This Wednesday I picked up the floors and enlisted Kevin's help for the day. And what a day it was. In fact I dont think it officially ended until 5pm the following day. It began for me at 1am when i finally finished Tuesday's work. So my day began with a bit of a nap. At 7am Kevin was chomping at the bit to start floor day. So I called Home Depot to let them know I would be picking up my flooring (as they requested). I was then told they need 2 hours after I call to have it ready. Really wish I had been told that before. At 9am Kevin and I met at Home Depot and picked up the flooring. And a saw blade and then another blade and two packs of jigsaw blades and then we rented a chop (mitre) saw because the one we had wasnt big enough. So after an hour and a half and about a hundred extra dollars we were done.

I'd like to mention that we also spent forever talking to about 6 sales associates. Here is where I explain that I'm a type A personality and Kevin isnt. For me this was an absolutely excruciating experience, worse than anything that would follow. I'm not a big fan of asking questions or getting directions, or even taking directions for that matter. My theory is skim the instructions on the box and figure it out on your on, just get the job done as quickly as possible. And never spend time worrying about a problem that you havent had yet.

So finally we get home, have some breakfast, unload the cars and he has to run to borrow someone's saw to trim the end off the starter pieces and run some other errands. At 4pm we begin laying the floor. By 6pm half of the floor was done and we were starving.

By 9pm we were worried about the saw noise and the neighbors. But we were almost done. The last row of Pergo needed to be ripped to fit the room and this had to be done at Kevin's friends house. And the closet was unfinished, but that also required some finessing with the jigsaw so we decided to put everything on hold for the rest of the night.

The following day Kevin managed to make it over by 2pm and after some fancy sawing that I avoided completely, the floor was done! And it's absolutely wonderful!

Keep your eyes out for my article on the specifics of laying a Pergo laminate hardwood floor. I'm working on it right now. It's really a project that pretty much anyone can complete but it does take some skill when it comes to cutting. And for that - Thanks Kevin!

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I'm slowly revamping my twenty-something year old condo and I've moved on to the kitchen countertops. Currently, I have the original counters, which are the standard 1980's off white. A horrible color but it matches the appliances, for now.

I've selected new counters from Home Depot. Since money is indeed an object for me I'm going with a laminate but I rationalize this by accepting that I cannot afford new cabinets and putting a marble countertop on cabinets that are cheap and over 20 years old would be ridiculous. I am refacing the cabinets though so they will look nicer than they do now.

I've hired Home Depot to install my countertops (they actually subcontract this work) and do the official measuring but before they came I had to come to the store with estimated measurements. To do this I measured the back of the counter. There is a turn in my counter, standard 90-degrees, and it's important to measure the back of both sides. You actually need to purchase a piece of countertop that is that length and the parts that are cut off just become scrap. These cuts are expensive, its $50 just for the angled cut so you want to make sure this is measured correctly.

Then there is the sink measurements. My old sink is much like everything else in the condo, the cheapest thing they could get at the time. There is no sprayer and just a single basin. So I picked up a new sink with double basins. Of course I had to first check to make sure I had space for this sink and luckily I do. Then I had to find a faucet that has a nozzle which doubles as a sprayer. The sink needed to be in my house when the official measurements were made because if this hole is cut wrong then the biggest piece of countertop is destroyed.

The backsplash also needs to be measured and this is where I made my error. I thought I had a standard laminate backsplash but it turns out that the clerk who helped me at Home Depot had selected a standard 3-inch backsplash and mine is 4-inches. This isn't a huge error but it does mean that I'll be paying a little more than I expected.

If any of these measurements were done incorrectly I could end up with a poor fitting countertop or with an expensive mistake. This is why I've decided to pony up the extra cash and have professionals do the final measurements and installation.

But I am saving money by ripping out the old countertop and sink myself. Home Depot's charge for this service is around $300 and that includes removing the old countertop. I've decided to keep the countertop and put it in my basement where it will serve as a paint cleaning and craft area, complete with sink and running water! So I'm not only saving a bit of money but improving my basement as well. I'm also going to attempt to install the new sink myself (with some help from my friends...i.e. I'm going to try to get them to do it for me).

So, If you're thinking about getting countertops, whether its a do it yourself project or a completely customized event, you need to make sure all measurements are exact. Remember, measure twice, cut once.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Normally I spend the Friday after thanksgiving shopping with my mom and/or sister. This year we had the sudden realization that we wouldnt be shopping together. Which was a little disappointing. I mean we've got it down to a science with ads scanned, clipped, organized and plan of attack thoroughly agreed upon. And in times of extreme lines, one of us stands while the other shops. We are a well oiled shopping machine.

Since I have no ideas for christmas presents this year (except one) I wasn't that upset about missing Black Friday. I had a lot of work to do anyway as Thursday was lost and I may have a house guest this weekend, so there were things to do.

Early in the morning my friend called and we headed to Menards. We both have wood floor projects on the horizon and Menards was advertising a great sale. The store was so busy we had to park across the street in the Taco Bell lot. Then we dodged traffic as people spun around in the parking lot, not willing to walk across the street in the unseasonably beautiful morning. And once inside the crowds became damn near lethal. We threaded out way to the flooring section and nothing seemed to be on sale so we got out of there and went our separate ways.

This was fine with me until about 3pm when I got the itch. Really? I was going to spend Black Friday working? I wasn't going to spend a dime? I jumped in my car and headed to Home Depot. I'd just look at the flooring there, maybe there was a sale but the stuff I wanted is just so expensive. And I'd pick up one of those Rosemary trees and a tiny pine.

And then I got to the store. I have to say it was the kid that helped me in flooring that made me decided to order my floor. Yes, the expensive stuff. I didn't realize they didn't keep it in stock so I placed my order. At that point I was over the cliff. I headed to kitchens and ordered my new countertop. Then the girl who helped me walked me to the checkout. It's probably good that she did because I was going to pick up some wood stain and a new kitchen sink (No, really! I was!). But her inadvertent intervention was probably a good thing.

I'm actually very excited about my purchases and I even got a Home Depot card to save myself 10%. No buyers remorse here. If anything I'm just a little disappointed that it will take between 3 and 6 weeks for my new purchases to arrive.

I think I can safely say that Black Friday was a success...for me anyway.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

If your house has a lot of clutter it's just not going to look its best. By storing things in bins and baskets and jars or basically anything, you can eliminate the clutter and mess and create an interesting and attractive storage center. To make it even more attractive you can add creative labels to your system.

Your child's bedroom, a playroom, and craft/hobby area really respond well to a serious clean up and organization effort. You'll be delighted with the results. And if you're really a crafty, creative person you can add labels that will make others envious.

Labeling is important and if you're going to be storing something in your basement, go ahead and whip out that Sharpie pen. But if your storage is more visible consider dressing it up.

In the craft area you can cross stitch little labels and fit them into the small hoop frames that are sold for use with christmas ornaments. You can get as elaborate as you want or stick with solid block letters.

My dream yarn area is organized with little knit swatches representing each skein. On the back you can attach a tag that lets you know what the gauge is.

Children's toys can be labeled in a variety of ways. You can let your kids draw pictures of the contents, take pictures of the children playing with the toys, or (my favorite) buy a little labelsized chalkboard at the craft store and write what the contents are. If you go the chalkboard route you may want to buy a fixative so the writing doesnt wear off right away.

In your kitchen consider making little placards decorated with images of the stored items or other themes that match your kitchen. You can even get your computer to print out some labels using caligraphy.

These are just a few ideas, let your mind wander and come up with your own creative labeling solutions.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I have an aunt and uncle who own a furniture store and so I'm aware that the holiday season is one of their busiest times. Although furniture is a good gift idea, especially for the couple who would rather buy something big for their home than something small for each other, but that's not the reason for most of the sales. At this time of the year many people just want to spruce up their home. And it makes complete sense.

When winter comes many people are forced to spend more time indoors. It's not just the weather that encourages the hibernating but the time change also means less daylight hours. Being trapped inside can make you feel safe and cozy or it can make you feel trapped and anxioius. Since the first feelings are more desireable, people have an urge to make their environment a place they want to be, something comfortable.

If you've been reading my blogs you can tell that I'm totally caught up in this urge. I'm shopping for new furniture, I'm anxiously waiting for my "assistant" (my friend Kevin) to return from his latest work trip so we can rip out the carpet and put in hardwood floors, and I've rescued a fouton from the garbage that I'm looking forward to refinishing so I can house guests. And I haven't even begun to tell you how much I want to decorate for Christmas.

But this blog doesn't just come with a bunch of useless advice about people buying furniture it comes with some tips. Furniture retailers know that they are going to get business at this time of year, lots of it. So they're going to make money no matter what. If they want to get more people into the store they'll have some good sales to draw you in, but they may not have the sweeping sales that they have in slower seasons. If you have a furniture purchase in your future watch for the sales. This might not be the best sales season for what you want.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I've been working a ton lately, which means I've been making more money and wanting to spend it. I really want a new couch and if you've read previous blogs you know that I began shopping for one.

I really liked the sales girl I met at the place I went and she told me that microfiber was a pet friendly fabric. At first this sounded good, she explained that the fur could easily be wiped up. Of course leather was better, she explained, but microfiber was easy too. I liked this idea because I like the look of a microfiber couch but as I thought about it I became more skeptical. Seemed to me that that sort of fabric would draw the hairs out of the cats and be a total mess. So I decided to perform an experiment.

I have a microfiber-ish black jacket my sister bought me for Christmas years ago. I laid that on the couch, right where one of my cats spends most of her day. Alice Parker (my cat) was a little leery of the new bedding but she liked that it smelled like me and soon she curled up right on the jacket. Within a couple hours I noticed a large tuft of her fur on the jacket. But she's a cat and sometimes they shed its a fact of life. It was too early to end my experiment.

After several days the jacket didnt have much more fur. The fur it had was more evenly spaced than the initial chunk and it was pretty evident. So good and bad news. Microfiber isn't a fur magnet like i feared and it cleaned up pretty easily. But I don't want to clean my furniture every day. Also the way the fibers stand up makes the hair stand up and stand out so frequent cleanings would definitely be necessary.

My conclusion, the fabric I currently have is best. Its regular fabric with no textural patterns and it has a visual pattern which helps hide the small daily fur deposits. My decision, I still love the way the microfiber looks. I'm going to keep shopping but I think I'm leaning towards the original couch, although the style is another issue.

BUT, the lesson from this blog is if you are wondering how a fabric will work in your home do a trial run. You may not have any of the fabric on hand but a craft or sewing store would have something you could purchase OR you could ask the furniture store for a sample. Just imagine all of the fabric samples they get every time a new piece of furniture comes out. They're sure to have something you can use for a test if they think they're going to get your sale.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Today I was shockingly productive so I took a little break in my day to go run some errands. Somehow those errands got twisted and I ended up furniture shopping.

I first found myself in the World Market. I guess they don't have these all over the US but they're fabulous stores. They carry a little bit of something from everywhere. The furniture is very Pier One in style and price. Its not very well made and over priced but looks so great.

I have a concept in my head for my office, sort of a shabby chic but very cheap, but suddenly there were two different room options that looked perfect. One was really casual and the other was sort of formal and both were gorgeous. So I sat on the couch and called for my intervention. With help I was able to curb my shopping urge. For a little while.

I ran a couple more errands and still felt a furniture itch so I went to Slumberland. They had an add in the newpaper recently with a eggplant colored couch and I wanted to check it out. There wasn't an eggplant couch in site anywhere. But there were a couple I could order in that color. In fact one of them was in stock at a warehouse.

I learned that the most durable couch material was leather, but microfiber was second. I am not interested in leather because I don't like the chill on my legs in the summer. I also don't like the fact that my cat, Alice Parker, scratches furniture a little bit. She's not too bad and a little scratch here and there on regular furniture is ok, but on leather would destroy it. So leather is out. Microfiber is a distinct possibility. It does collect fur but easily wipes clean. I'm not happy about having to clean it but I do like the right look.

So I was leaning toward the couch that comes in eggplant. Then I decided I'd probably need the chair with the couch. My place is too small for a couch and loveseat. But maybe 2 chairs would look good. Instead the sales gal, Sabrina, and I decided an ottoman would be the best idea. So now it was a couch, a chair and an ottoman. Of course I'd need the stain guard treatment.

Then I saw this great chair with a little ottoman that would look fabulous in my bedroom. I've wanted a reading chair up there and this one was the perfect size. It was also covered in a great fabric that was a wild print. I love prints on furniture. Of course I'm not sure it would go with the print on the curtains or the bedspread.

So I performed a little intervention on myself and I walked out of the store promising Sabrina that I'd return. I'm not sure I will return. I am sold on the color of the couch but at this point that's about it.

But I did learn something, sometimes window shopping therapy is just as good as retail therapy.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Always interested in a Parade of Homes, I went to my hometown's showing last weekend and was pretty disappointed. We got a bit of a late start, and because it was a small town and one that my mom and I grew up in, we were stalled quite a bit chatting with the realtors and other gawkers. So we only viewed a few homes but after a while we realized that maybe seeing a few of them was basically the same as seeing all of them

Some of the homes were already lived in and some were brand new. The brand new ones were almost identical. The layouts were unique but nothing really outstanding. Not for the prices they were asking anyway. Every one had hardwood floors. And most of them had the same shag carpet in places, an off white base color with flecks of different browns. They were all painted a very neutral buff color. The more appealing ones had taken that buff a bit darker and had a nice warm tan color. Several, if not all, had some tile flooring in either the bathroom(s) or the kitchen. Granite counters graced every kitchen and most of the bathrooms too. Basically, the same thing over and over. I appreciate the quality that goes into homes now. I'm a fan of the hardwood flooring, the granite countertops, the tiled floors but it does get very, very boring. I would love to see a builder take some initiative and put some personality into a home. Sure you may not appeal to everyone looking to buy, but you really only need to appeal to one person, right? I think it would be so great to tour homes with a point of view, an artistic and architectural vision.

The tour did have some older homes that I enjoyed touring, most of them anyway. Obviously, I prefer the personality that someone brings to their living space. These homes were a bit dated, well one was actually quite dated as it was 90 years old and the owners had worked hard to keep that sentiment throughout the home.

My parent's neighbor's home was on the tour and it was interesting to see how they had taken advantage of an almost identical location. Their backyard was cleared of woods and an amazing view of the creek below was the focal point of over half of the rooms in the house. From their entrance was a huge solarium that lit up the entire house. It was stunning.

These "used" homes offered so much more value for the money in my opinion. They had nicer views with adult trees and landscaping. The updates had all been made with some additional touches such as hot tubs and a private workroom retreat.

The newer homes were al the same. Every floor plan was the same as the one before or a slight variation. The homes generally had good views of the town below but the views were either spoiled by other homes in the subdivision or the future threat of new homes. And there were no tall shade trees.

Personally, I much prefer the bigger city Parade of Homes. In my hometown there are some very expensive pieces of property with beautiful homes on them but everything seems generic. Whereas in the larger towns some builders do go out on a limb (granted a very safe one) and add a little flair to their buildings.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Today I was painting my client's house and learned a little lesson that I thought I'd pass along. I needed to paint her closet doors. Now the large doors I had already painted, stretching them across my two saw horses. (Plastic saw horses come in packages of two for under $15 - definitely a purchase worth making for homeowners.) The small cupboards over the closet hadn't been painted yet. There were about six of these doors and they are too small to put between the saw horses.

Previously I've painted things on a drop cloth and sometimes the cupboard doors, or whatever it is, gets stuck to the cloth and will leave a little imprint of the cloth on the item. I didn't want this to happen so I had this brilliant idea to use a bunch of paper bags as the drop cloths. The house has had all of the carpet torn out and the new carpet doesn't come until next week, so I didnt have to worry about spilling or the paint seeping through.

All was fine for the first side. We painted the large inside and the sides, leaving the outside for last. Once the insides had their three coats of paint and the paint had dried I reached to turn a door over and found that it had stuck to the paper bag. We ended up pulling the bags off of all of the doors and then had to sand off the paper bags and the spots around them where the paint had puddled and dried.

Luckily, with my helper (thanks Mom) we got the cupboards sanded in less than twenty minutes and could continue. But at this point we had learned our little lesson and completed the task using actual drop cloths.

The worst part of this whole tale is I know how to do this without leaving cloth prints or patterns and just didn't have the tools and didn't take the time to run to the local Ace Hardware and pick up a plastic drop cloth. I try to always keep a few in my supply box but I was out and hadn't replenished my supply. If you're thinking about painting a similar item, or if you just want to pick up an inexpensive tool that I guarantee you'll find useful at some point, then pick up a disposable plastic drop cloth or two and leave the paper bags at the grocery store.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

The other morning I went running, my usual route, and I barely start and I see some interesting stuff at the curb. I don't usually pull stuff out of the trash, honestly I'm not a dumpster diver, but I do check out what people have thrown out. I think it's interesting and it keeps my run a little interesting. And one time, years ago, I snagged a HUGE metal, antique coca-cola sign that I absolutely love.

So on this run I noticed some wood that had a pattern that intrigued me and the wood looked to be in good shape. I got closer and my heart skipped a little, the wood thing was a fouton frame. An awesome fouton frame! It was exactly what I was looking for. I've been very excited about redecorating my office and I want to put a bed/couch/daybed up there for company and my niece and nephew. I can't afford much so a fouton was probably the best way to go. A free fouton was definitely the best way to go. I plan on painting it anyway so the fact that its used and free makes me feel a little better about painting wood.

So I slow my run a little to send my friend Kevin a text message. I know its close to home, but still too heavy and awkward for me to carry. He was out of town and thought maybe he'd be around by 9:30 to help. At 9:30 pm I realized that he meant 9:30 am the following day. So I went to bed.

The next day Kevin had some issues getting back to town and wouldn't be back until later in the afternoon. Well, at this point the excitement of the free fouton had worn off and I told him not to worry and to come back whenever he could. And then I went for my run and saw a man loading the fouton and its co-garbage into a trailer. I figured he was one of the guys who sold that stuff at flea markets and said good bye to my fouton as I ran by.

The next day passed and I was a little disappointed about not getting a free fouton, but I decided I'd try Freecycle after I got the rest of the room done.

So the following day I take my garbage to the curb and look down the street and there it is! The fouton has returned! I called Kevin and he raced right over. The garbage truck had already started its rounds on my street. This time Kevin arrived in time and we snagged my fouton. It's a little broken. One of the bottom supports has cracked wood, but it's easily fixable. And because I plan on painting it, it doesn't matter if I replace that piece entirely.

Right now its sitting in my garage and will probably stay there for most of the winter, but I'm really happy it found its way home.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Can it really be almost six months since I moved into my condo? I think its totally acceptable that I haven't purchased new furniture or replaced the carpet yet but I don't really think I have an excuse for not putting up some of my photos.

I consider myself an amateur photographer and I've proposed a couple art exhibits and am anxiously awaiting my first one. And if you've read my articles you know that I feel it's really important that your own personal style comes through in your home. I like to do this in a lot of different ways but my pictures are a big way. I also like to change them ever so often to reflect the season or sometimes even a phase in my life.

I sat down last Friday and spent about 6 hours printing out photos and cleaning and loading up my new frames. This task might not take everyone that long but when I throw myself into a task I really get lost in it.

On one tucked away wall that's easily visible but not much good for anything else I put up an arrangement of 18 different photos and a mirror in the middle to break things up a little. The photos are all scenery shots. Most are from Wisconsin (my home state) but some are from other states. The pictures range from sweeping mountainous expanses (obviously not Wisconsin) taken from a plane to super close ups of flowers or, my favorite subject, mushrooms.

I did put a few pictures up of my family, a lot of my niece and nephew. But because I'm single and have no children of my own I don't have a lot of treasured family photos.

In the kitchen is my favorite photo grouping. It's four photos one ontop of the other in a single black frame. I went to a local pick-your-own-farm with my mother the week before and I took some extreme close ups of very bright produce. The top picture is a cluster of red and purple hot peppers with a lot of greenery. The next one is a close up of the stem of a pumpkin and one in the background. The third photo is a basket of bright fall flowers with gourds that the owners had placed at the check out. And the final shot is a close up of a clump of cherry tomatoes. This grouping is bright and the color draws you closer to see what these extreme close ups are actually of. And I love the fact that this is a fall collection and I can change it any time I want.

I took all the pictures with my digital camera and printed them myself so the cost to decorate this way is very inexpensive. I'm also always on the look out for sales and can generally find frames at 40 or 50% off.

I'm so glad I took the time to do some simple decorating. It makes my home feel more like a reflection of me.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Two days ago I began the final stretch of my client's lake home and after a couple hours I realized that my book on tape wasn't holding my attention, I was busy daydreaming about my own little home.

I'm so excited to fix up my office. Its the time of year when the sun rises as I'm beginning my work day and every morning I pass my disaster of an office and see that glorious sunlight streaming through the cherry trees, casting a pink glow through the room, and I think how much I'd rather be working there than downstairs in my dark, cluttered livingroom.

I'm planning on ripping out the horrible carpet left by the last tenant and putting down a faux hardwood (probably the Ikea bamboo). I'm going to call on my friend Kevin for help now that he's a pro, having finished his own condo.

I initially wanted to divide the room into two rooms by building a platform that would hold the pull out couch and other guest room accessories. I'd further separate this area by putting up an Ikea floor to ceiling open bookshelf. But at this point I think I'll skip the platform. I'd still like to have the step up into the guest/bedroom area but that can wait.

So next week I'm going to take all of the books and paperwork, and other junk out of the office and rip out the carpet. Then hopefully the week after I can get Kevin to spare a day and we'll throw in the wood floors. Then I'll probably take another week to bring everything back into the office and organize everything.

And Voila! I've got a functional office. I'm really so excited to do it, I just hope I can hold this excitement level until I get the free time to do it.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I'm trying to enjoy this cup of coffee before I slip into my work bibs and head out to my client's lake house.

This has been a very interesting project. I was hired intially to prep the house so the homeowner could take a week and do the actual painting. She enjoys painting and I totally understand the desire to see the color go on the wall, to have accomplished that by yourself. In fact the small part I painted for her was rewarding. But priming and painting trim isn't as rewarding and I think hiring someone else (me) to do that part of the job is an excellent idea. Especially when her available time is limited.

Her week off ended on Sunday and I received a list of things done and things yet to be done. It seems like she's been very productive. I'm anxious to see the colors on the wall. I have seen little test patches but of course its difficult to imagine an entire room when you only get a test patch, even for me.

It looks like I'll be painting the closet doors and the windows today. Of course I won't get that all done today. I believe thats going to be another 3 coat process (going by the room doors). So Maybe one coat on the doors and each window and then hopefully I can get a coat of primer on the front and back door and then at least one final coat on those doors. Hmm, might not be the best game plan but those seem to be priority items to me.

I'm also going to finish some of the trim and give one of the bedrooms a final coat of paint. I have two weeks to do all of this which would be more than ample time, but I've got a full time writing business to handle as well. It's another case of me taking on a little more work than I can handle.

So, once I've finished my cup of coffee it's back to the ladder.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I've mentioned before that my painting mentor has been my aunt, Bonita Gillespie. She has an art degree from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and turned that knowledge into her little cottage industry. She's been faux finishing for over 15 years and has mastered almost every technique there is.

Recently she's mentioned that she's doing less "traditional" faux finishing and picking up a lot of Venetian plaster jobs. This prompted me to ask her if she'd consider contributing an article to our site on Venetian plaster. Happily, she agreed.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to briefly define Venetian plaster and get you as excited as I am about this upcoming piece.

Venetian plaster is a layered application that is meant to resemble the finishes found in Roman palaces. The more layers you have the more depth and polish you develop. Some people say the final product has the same shine and feel as marble. It is definitely cool to the touch.

The plaster product is tintable and you can select the color you like best. Then, through the layering process, that color becomes more pronounced and takes on a greater degree of depth and movement.

There are a few additional touches you can add with Venetian plaster that really boost the appeal and "wow factor". Stencil designs can be added to create a border with texture and depth embedded right into the wall. Or an iridescent shine can be achieved by using a few specially designed glazes.

I'm really looking forward to Bonita's article. Venetian plaster is not only the hottest trend in faux finishing but it's a truly beautiful and classy look.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Every year my mom and I go to the Warrens Cranberry Festival. Its the world's largest cranberry festival, although I wonder how many cranberry festivals there actually are in the world.

I attend art fairs pretty regularly, hitting about 6 a year. My main purpose is not to purchase but to get inspiration. I left the festival this year pretty disappointed. In the past I had looked forward to the first cranberry festival after I bought my own home. I was going to buy a bunch of stuff for decorating and collect all those great ideas and turn them into my own projects. This year, nothing.

I didn't see anything I wanted for the house, nothing that even gave me that creative spark and the "I can do that" spirit.

I saw some pretty nice dried flower arrangements with a few unusual touches, a couple nice feathers (yes, feathers)and some faux pumpkins. These centerpieces were done very well but I'm not much for dried flowers.

I saw some metal pumpkin forms that I like and I'd love to fill with gourds and tiny pumpkins, but I just didn't feel like buying any of them.

I also didnt really see any jewelry or clothing that inspired me. I did see a pair of bibs that were decorated with ankle trim and a pumpkin on the chest, that was cute and I'd like to make something like that. But nothing I had to rush home to do.

I'm beginning to fear that I need to take a craft fair break. I need to get away so maybe some of the magic can come back.

But if you're interested in the Cranberry Festival, here is the link to their website http://www.cranfest.com/. It really is an amazing art fair. I believe there is something like 3 miles of booths. Not all booths are crafts or art, there is a flea market area and a lot of treats that are yummy but not so good for you. I really recommend visiting if you live anywhere near Wisconsin and if you don't then consider a weekend trip. The leaves are beginning to turn up north and it's just gorgeous.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

This weekend I went fabric shopping with my mom. She was looking for curtain material and a few different kinds of fabric to make my niece a ballet outfit. The prices of fabric were ridiculous. Although I have to say some of the sales were pretty good.

We'll skip over the price of tulle and satin for my niece since this really doesn't have anything to do with interior decorating. But I will say that it's probably cheaper to buy one.

So the interior decorating fabrics, outrageously expensive. But what if you still want to use that material, like I do? Well, it's time to come up with some creative ways to incorporate the fabric into your home.

Instead of the heavy drapes I wanted in the bedroom I'm going to have to find another way to incorporate that gorgeous turquoise and brown striped material. I think a valance with a nice (cheap) tan colored material will be a nice compromise. This way I get to incorporate the colors and materials I want but I get a little price break. And to be honest I think the stripe might be too much.

I also had picked out a great fat green stripe for the living room and since there is only one small window, I thought I could splurge for the heavy, view-blocking, drapes. But as I rethink my initial impulse I think that maybe the stripe and the bright green walls might be too much. So I'll have to come up with another creative way to use this material, cut my expenses and add something less expensive.

But window treatments aren't the only way to use fabrics. Other creative purchases and projects can also suck at your bank account. Challenge yourself to come up with inexpensive ways to incorporte the fabrics you love without taking out a loan.

Oh, and by the way, my mom has decided to buy a prom dress from good will and salvage the material from that for my niece's ballet costume.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Well hello! I've been away so long and I apologize. I picked up a new job painting a lake house.

Its a thirty year old home that is getting a fresh coat of paint everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. The interesting thing is the homeowner (a friend of mine from high school) loves painting and redid their main house so she really wants to paint the lakehouse. In fact, she wanted to paint the entire thing next week as she's taken off a week of work. Fortunately, for us both, she realized that there was just too much painting for one person to do in a week. So SuperPainter (me) came to the rescue.

I've been working for three weeks on the place and yesterday I turned it back over to the homeowner.

I have painted all of the ceilings, all trim, the windows, the doors, light fixtures...everything! All while battling some serious allergies or a sinus infection, not sure which yet.

Now the homeowner will be painting the kitchen, the dining room, livingroom, hallway, bathroom and three bedrooms.

Once the week is over I'll be called back to finish what hasn't been done. I also have a few doors to do. Whew!

It's really been challenging and tiring and I have to thank my mom and dad for coming out and helping. But I have to admit the fresh paint on the tired old woodwork looks amazing...so much so I'm thinking about doing my own woodwork, at least the upstairs.

I've noticed a lot of magazines and television shows are showing white trim and bright and richly colored walls. If you've been this trend and want to imitate it there are a few things to remember.

Prep your woodwork! Your woodwork has a stain which can make paint crack and peel. To prevent this you need to do some prepwork. You can sand everything, which is a pain, or you can buy a primer that is designed for this. There are a lot of primers out there that work so you should research your situation a little and talk to your local paint store. If you have a mold problem make sure you get a primer that helps kill mold.

Protect the environment. Primer is harder to get off everything than paint. (Even skin) So take the walls and adjacent surfaces, use dropcloths and be careful.

Don't expect perfection. Primer is primer, its not paint and it doesn't need to look perfect it just needs to coat the surface. So don't waste your time trying to get the primer to look like a top coat, it just won't happen. But do make sure you do not have drips.

Once you've primed your woodwork you can begin painting. It will take about 2-3 coats to get a nice finished look and a semigloss works best as it's easiest to clean.

And finally, because there are so many coats of paint you need to let it cure for as long as possible before you put anything against it or attach anything to it.

It's work but so worth it if you have old, tired woodwork. And the lake house looks fabulous!

Posted by Kristin Abraham

The Today Show is reviewing an article published in Domino which is encouraging people to take their favorite outfit and turn it into a room effect.

My initial reaction is that this article and story is a bit ridiculous. Its a stretch to say the least. And I think at least one of the outfits was designed so they could use the room. But it was fun to see how they'd translate the fashion looks to a room.

The key point though, I believe, is useful. Look at your clothes and pick something you love, something you look terrific in. Then analyze the colors and the style.

Is the outfit very casual and not accessorized? Or is it very fussy and formal with just the perfect strand of pearls? Or are you an accessory freak and feel best when dripping in baubles?

It doesnt really matter which style you choose what does matter is that now you know what makes you feel best. And you can translate that into your home decorations. If you love baubles then you probably would feel happiest in a home surrounded by tchatchkies and all sorts of interesting pieces. If you feel best in a worn pair of jeans and a t-shirt then a casual and comfortable home with muted tones might be something more your speed.

The story was pretty interesting and you can find more information on their website at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14454417/

But I'd like to note that my fashion sense cannot be pigeonholed into a particular genre, so decorating my home to fit my ever changing moods just isn't possible. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there are probably a lot of people like me. People who are just as comfortable in their workout clothes as they are in a formal dress, or people that feel sexy in a business suit or a pair of designer jeans.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Okay, I'll admit it. I think I bit off more than I can chew but I'm trying.

I've got my regular jobs, a side decorating project, my own condo to fix up, at least one new painting job, and absolutely no life. I'm beginning to fall prey to my own good intentions and ambition. And this brings me to this week's topic. Time management and being reasonable.

I have a hard time estimating how long my projects will take, and then, lets be honest, the free time and recovery time necessary. I know this is a problem I have. I also have a problem saying "no". I want to make people happy so I take on more than I can handle. This leaves me where I am now, drowning in projects.

I just can't accept that I'm the only person with these problems. In fact, a lot of the home improvement and interior decorating projects I see people tackle in their own homes reaffirms my belief that this is a problem for most people.

I think its important to be practical about your projects. If you are thinking about whipping out a DIY project over the labor day weekend then spend ten minutes analyzing the project.

Are you looking to repaint your livingroom? Well yay you! You've got the perfect sized project. A long weekend is a perfect amount of time to undress the room, tape, lay drop cloths, get your paints, cut in, roll out walls (or do a faux finish), let the room dry and paint cure for awhile so you can enjoy some time outside, redress the room and sit back and spend a little time taking it all in. Sure a professional could do it in a day, maybe two but keep in mind you're not a professional and you're going to have your regular life intruding on your project.

If you're looking to rip out the carpet in your place and lay some hardwood floors, complete with new baseboards. Well my friend, you have also bitten off more than you can chew. This may indeed be a 2-3 day job for a professional but you don't know all the tricks of the trade, you don't have the experience to go quickly, and like most people, you will probably try to make everything "perfect" since it's your house, which takes a LONG time.

So my advice to you (because I'd never take my own advice), be reasonable about the time you have available and how long your projects will take. And then remember to have fun and enjoy some of your time off!

Posted by Kristin Abraham

My friend Kevin just bought a condo so as soon as he signed his life away we headed to the new place to rip out the carpet. But of course I first seranaded his new neighbors with my rendition of Mary Had a Little Lamb on his accordian.

In the condo Kevin became hesitant about ripping out the carpet. Now we had been through this several times in the last couple weeks and he hates carpeting, the previous owner had a cat, and the condo is over 60 years old. It needed and update (the carpet wasnt that old though)and he had his heart set on hardwood.

His mother hadn't helped the issue. She's from the era of wall to wall carpet. Its something people of her generation dreamed of and were pretty excited when they got it. So in her mind ripping out every shred of carpet and replacing it with hardwood was a travesty.

Kevin was replaying his earlier phone conversation with mom as I tried to pry up the carpet in the corner. Finally he began helping and we ripped it out of the dining room. Once he saw what was underneath his fears were pretty much laid to rest. I told him to tell his mom that we didn't take out the carpet, we cleaned the litter box!

The carpet and the pad ripped right out. Disgusting to touch but not a problem. Then I was stuck with what I consider the worst job, I became the staple plucker. Armed with a screwdriver and a needlenosed pliers I went to work removing every single staple.

The floor underneath was tile that was over 60 years old. It was crumbly, had frightening black stains and possibly asbestos. We were probably not as careful as we should have been but we just wanted to get done and out.

After several hours we had the dining room and 2 bedrooms finished. I left him to do the livingroom the following day. But I'm going along to pick up the new bamboo floor and to learn how to lay it. I'm hoping to have a new article on do it yourself hardwood floors soon.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I have to say I'm not even sure how to begin explaining this television show. It's called Designing Blind and since I used to work in television I can totally picture the show pitch. I would guess that they were pitching something else and the network execs were being difficult, as they can be, and someone, as a joke, said how about a show where we bring in a designer but this one is. . . wait for it. . . BLIND! And thus this show was born.

Add to this horrible concept the fact that the blind designer is like a smaller sized Arnold Schwarzenegger. And you've got a totally unwatchable program. The host isn't even worth mentioning, she's a cookie cutter of all the other bad design hosts.

So the pilot features a couple who is expecting their first child in two weeks after one miscarriage and 6 or 7 months of bed rest. They've been through a lot, so what does this show do? They bring in the blind designer. Of course the husband is leary but the wife, being a kind hearted woman and full of hormones decides to go ahead with it. I mean the camera crew is there already, I'm sure she felt like she couldnt back out.

So here is the basic show premise which will hold up for about 3 episodes until the audience finds it painfully unwatchable. People need redecorating, surprise! blind designer, accept designer and wow! we love the results.

Another problem with the how is we don't get to see the designer's eye candy. In fact the show is so visually boring they blindfold the couple and have them pick out the room accessories etc. So the couple goes to a petting zoo and they feel animals. Then to a baby furniture store to pick a crib etc. Boring and I'm not learning the lessons they're trying to push about how design is more than visual.

In the end we saw very little of the room redo, which I believe is the part audiences really enjoy. And obviously the room turned out nice and the family liked it. My thought on the room was, eh? It was ok. I loved the paint job on the ceiling to make it look like a tent. I also loved the fact that faux fur was used on the animals on the wall mural. But will I watch the show again? Not on purpose.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I've had a terribly busy week but somehow I still found time to watch some skip troweling and get a quick lesson in the process. It was pretty interesting and very easy and I believe most people can do the technique themselves.

Purchase a pre-mixed wall compound because the consistency is very important and you don't want to worry about making a proper mix on your own.

Then use a trowel to spread the mixture on the wall in a pretty thin coat. You can get too thin but you can also get too thick so begin in an out of the way corner and practice. Once you've spread on the compound take a trowel and drag it gently across the top of the wall, not scraping off all of the compound but you do want to pick up some of it and create interesting visual and textural elements. Work in smaller patches, criss crossing and overlapping sections. You do not want to work in horizontal or vertical or even diagonal rows, this would turn out way to symetrical and you'd get a weird repeating pattern.

Now it's easy to get carried away so step back and take a good look at your work. You'll need to work fairly quickly because the compound does set up in a few minutes but you'll have time to go back and touch spots up or entirely rework a section.

My aunt was doing her bedroom and she was a little unhappy with how "rugged" the initial areas were so she went back when it was almost dry and dragged the trowel across the top, she called it detopographizing the area. But basically she was knocking down the bumps and some sharp spots. This can also be done with sandpaper once the wall has totally dried.

Now this is just a brief explanation as I have never done this work myself, but I believe most people can tackle this project in their own homes and will be thrilled with it once they finish it with a nice rich color wash.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Well, this latest assignment is a first. I have a very reliable client who wants her kitchen ceiling to look like an old fashioned tin ceiling and yet sort of like a new tin ceiling. She and her designer decided it was a better idea to use wallpaper and have me faux finish it rather than just buy tin ceiling tiles.

I have painted on wallpaper before, faux finished actually. And I want to make it clear that I'm talking about paper that is meant to be treated with paint afterward. I'm totally against slapping a coat of paint on wallpaper when you're just too lazy to remove it. This is a totally different thing and there really is wallpaper that is designed to be painted over.

The wallpaper is very textured and the "puffed out" parts are sort of fuzzy or rough. When you color wash over it the paint stays in the smooth ditches and gets locked into the fibers on the puffy parts. It gives it some great shadows and depth.

The ceiling paper was very similar but it had distinct square shapes meant to replicate the tin ceilings and even unfinished and white it looks pretty sharp on the ceiling. I read that its great for covering up older ceilings with water stains and small cracks and I think that is a great tip for anyone in that situation. Just make sure the water stains aren't part of a current leak and the cracks are small ones.

Now that the paper is up it needs to cure for at least a week and then I'll be applying a 100% acryllic primer. We haven't totally decided on a technique or color scheme but I think we'll go with a tinted primer, perhaps gray or black, and a silver metallic paint glaze as the color wash.

Instead of doing a traditional color wash I'm going to paint the glaze on in a thin even coat. This client prefers flat surfaces or the appearance of flat surfaces and solid colors so I don't want to make the glaze appear too uneven.

And that should finish the ceiling and create a really nice tin tile effect with just wallpaper and paint.

Next, I'm pretty sure she wants me to repaint her kitchen cupboards. Eventually I'll get around to painting my own.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Living on a budget isn't always easy. Decorating on one is definitely difficult. On TV it looks so easy, for just $1000 you can totally renovate a room of your house. But then again they have a team of people helping and some pretty experienced carpenters, something I'm guessing you don't have at your beck and call.

I've reviewed frugal decorating tips and run across suggestions like draping a tablecloth over a curtain rod to showcase a piece of art or a picture. Or covering your pillows with old towels to change their color and texture. And to both of these suggestions I say "ew".

My frugal tip doesn't cost you a dime and can really freshen a room. In fact it can totally change a room.

First, (if you're really motivated) take all the furniture out of the room. It's hard to picture a new room when the old room is still living in it.

Then move beyond that room. If you're looking to redo the spare bedroom feel free to pull out an old headboard from the basement. Or, better yet, take some old frames and slap a fresh coat of paint on them and use an arrangement of photos as your headboard.

Scour your home for other little odds and ends that can be used in clever and unique ways. Do you have any sturdy baskets that be turned upside down and used as end tables or plant stands? Stack old encyclopedias together to make a coffee table. Cover it with a large piece of glass or a mirror.

And my favorite tip (of course it involves paint) take the left over paint from the other rooms in your house and create a new look in that spare bedroom. I've painted one room using ten different colors, each brush stroke was a small parentheses type shape, they overlapped and cris-crossed to form almost a basketweave pattern. But I've also taken house colors and created horizontal and vertical stripes in entire rooms or just accent walls. This is a great way to change the tone of a room without spending a dime!

So my tip for the frugal decorator is to begin with a blank slate and look at what you have in a fresh, new way. The only limit is your own creativity.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

If you read my previous blog on the Madison area Parade of Homes you know that the color bisque, or a version thereof, was all the rage. So yesterday I decided that I would no longer procrastinate and I would begin the bedroom repainting project. I started on the ceiling and realized that the color I picked about a month ago was exactly the color I saw in every parade home. My version is a Mautz 4J1-3.

I now totally understand the appeal of this color. It looks great on the ceiling. Its warm and inviting and although it does seem to lower the height of the room a bit I think that may add to the appeal.

It did take me two coats, which I was hoping wouldnt be the case, but its a small room so I cant complain too much.

I actually found myself thinking of other rooms that I could paint this color but then remembered my original plan was to repaint my kitchen cabinets in the same color, so I think that will be enough of the color.

It is great though, and I wanted to encourage you to experiment a little bit. If you were thinking about refreshing your whites (which you should do every couple years) then consider updating them a little bit by adding a slightly less neutral color. You may just love the results, as I do.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I skipped last year's parade, I think I was living in Colorado at the time, so I was pretty excited to see what the trend was this year.

The overwhelming trend, bisque. Almost every home was painted bisque. Almost no white rooms anywhere and the few that I saw looked really unfinished. The bisque was complimented by similar toned golds and oranges, greens and yellows. A few homes chose a muted blue as an accent color and it looked fantastic, really refreshing and new.

The homes featured a lot built in an arts and crafts style, which is my personal favorite so that was nice to see. But my parade companion, my mom, pointed out that most of them seemed dark inside and she loves tons of natural light. I prefer an overcast day. We did see a saltbox style home, which was unusual. There were also less of the McMansion style homes, which is always a good thing.

Furnishings, a ton of leather couches and chairs. And many of them featured large decorative rivets. Several of the couches were rounded, not like a semicircle but they had an arch to them. I'm not sure I liked that too much.

Floors. Hardwood or fascimilies there of. The planks were wider than the really thin ones that used to be the norm. There was some carpeting, it was bland and generally a bisque color. When people wanted to add floor excitement they'd toss a rug on top of the carpet.

Window treatments. Well here is a strange trend I didn't see coming. Instead of the traditional long curtain rod with drapes hanging they were using small rods, about a foot or two long, and hanging their drapes from the shortented rods. These drapes generally only covered the sides of windows or wall between a bank of windows. It was unusual and at first the short rods look unpleasing but my eye adjusted and I found that I did like it in a few cases. But would I do it in my condo? No, I need functional window treatments as I have neighbors nearby and need my privacy. My mom on the other hand lives in the country and her sunroom faces a wooded creek and has the problem of several windows separated by 1 foot pieces of wall. This is the perfect solution to her dilemma.

My overall impression of the parade was that muted earth tones were the way to go and incorporating earth elements seemed big. Lots of water features, wood floors, wood accent pieces, leather furniture, leaf motifs. It seems like the earth is taking over decorating. Except in children's rooms which are getting wilder and crazier every year. But both those things appeal to me, so I loved the parade.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I just repainted a client's bathroom. It was a white on white room that looked great...about two years ago. The room had since turned into the family's main bathroom and was showing signs of frequent use and not such frequent cleanings.

Now, I want to make it clear that this person is not filthy. She's just a busy mother of two and frankly doesn't have time to properly maintain a white bathroom. And this brings me to my point.

The idea of a white bathroom and kitchen are very appealing, I almost went that route myself the other week when I painted my bathroom, but I know that the super clean look only lasts a little while and then the cleaning begins. I just don't have the time to clean my bathroom daily and to keep a white bathroom and kitchen looking as crisp as possible you're going to have to put in some daily elbow grease.

So before you white wash everything, take a moment to think about the time you have and if you want to spend your free time cleaning or if you'd rather pick a nice clean color that requires a lot less effort.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

If you read the previous blog and article you know that I had a problem with the color my home's previous owner painted the bathroom. I was going to keep a part of the orangey-peach and do a glaze over it. But I changed my mind. Oh, the orangey-peach was still going but I decided against the glaze.

First I painted a nice white on the ceiling (yes, that was orangey-peach too). I was halfway done with the first coat and it was as if the sun were rising. The entire room just lit up. And even though one coat was clearly insufficient it looked so much better and brighter.

I then finished the ceiling and while that dried I took down every fixture I could, mirrors, shower rails, outlets, etc. If you want a professional looking job then you have to do what the professionals do and take those little extra steps.

Then I began my new technique. I had already selected 3 colors that went well with the existing tiled floor. A putty, a lighter grey and a neutral peach. All of the colors were actually quite similar in tone and saturation. I painted 1 foot long, irregular "stripes" of each color overlapping them and making sure nothing looked patterned. Some spots may end up as large blobs and others might be brushwide strips of color. Because the colors are similar there arent any real edges or sharp color divisions.

I did a fairly large area, maybe 3 foot by 3 foot and then began the denim technique. I have a denim effect brush that has acrylic bristles which create soft lines in the paint and help to blend and smooth the colors. I always used the denim brush in an up and down direction so there are slight, almost imperceptible, stripes running through the technique. In my small bathroom this creates an illusion of height, and with the crisp white ceiling there is an even greater feeling of height and therefore space in my tiny loo.

So now I have a freshly painted bathroom that is much more pleasing to the eye, feels and looks bigger and brighter and one home interior project crossed off my list.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

If you've read my last articles then you know I've got some painting ahead of me this week. Well, as I'm about to mix the glaze I remembered that a lot of people have asked me about glaze and maybe its a topic I should briefly explain. It is sort of confusing.

Glaze is two things. First of all its a product you buy at the paint store that reminds me of elmer's glue. You pour it into your paint and make...what else, glaze. So its the product on its own and its what you call the paint/glaze mix. Why, I don't know. Why does tee mean two different things in golf?

Anyway, glaze is mixed with a paint and it basically stretches the paint and spreads the pigments. This means your paint is less dense so it becomes somewhat transparent. A lot of faux finishing techniques require a certain degree of transparency so you can get the appropriate blend and depth in the finished product.

Making a glaze is sort of like making paint soup. It's like a recipe and you can spend all day making sure you have the exact ratio of paint to glaze to water. Or you can estimate and save yourself the headache. I have found that 1 third glaze to 1 third paint to 1 third water is about the right consistancy for most faux finishing techniques. Not too runny, not too thick. But feel free to experiment...after all it is an art.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I cant believe how hot it is and its only May. Last I saw, several hours ago, it was in the 90's. I turned on my air yesterday for the first time, even though I got my first electric bill a couple days before. In fact, the air is on right now. I'm probably going to regret it in a month but right now its painfully hot.

In fact its so hot I cant begin unpacking my boxes and today is one of the first days I've had free, well basically free. Even with the air on I just cant bring myself to do anything. Yesterday's newspaper in lying on the floor, annoying me every chance it gets. But I cant seem to muster the energy necessary to throw it away, or cut the coupons or anything.

Every word is coming out slower and slower and I just cant seem to focus on anything. I'm watching Shawn of the Dead also, which I must say is one of the best movies. And it has absollutely nothing to do with interior decorating. But this holiday weekend requires a holiday topic and what says memorial day more than a zombie movie?

Oh, but I have some interesting news about my condo and hopefully it's good news. My neighbor sold her place a week ago, actually tomorrow will be a week, and the new guy has spent the entire week putting in hardwood flooring (actually not real hardwood, the snap together pergo kind) and other remodeling updates and today there is a for sale by owner sign in the yard.

Let's hope he sells soon and for scads more than he bought it for. If so I'm doing hardwood the day he sells!

Because what is a home for a single person but an investment. And for a self employed person, its just another way to make money.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Yesterday I did some serious pre-shopping at Ikea. I wanted to price what I needed for the house and then see if there were some things I hadn't even considered. And of course there were. I didn't want to buy too much because I was alone and if you haven't been shopping at Ikea before it's sort of a team thing. I am not strong enough to move large items and the one cart wouldn't have held everything I wanted to get. If I had another shopper then we'd have two carts and lifting wouldnt have been so difficult. But I did what I could. I picked up one shelving unit and I figure I'll need at least two more. But one was good for now. I got a wooden crate and a laundry shelf and then a whole bunch of little things.

So this morning I began the Ikea unpacking process and immediately decided that my work could wait a little while and I was going to put something together. After I finished the laundry shelf I diligently went to work. For about twenty minutes. Then I had to go back and put the crate together. I loved the feeling of accomplishment the laundry shelf created. Well the wooden crate was even better! The laundry shelf just required putting things together like a puzzle. The crate needed some screwing and had more big pieces. I was going to hit the storage shelf but realized I don't own a wrench. So I guess that project will have to wait for another day.

But it really is amazing how putting together a little project from Ikea can make me feel like I can accomplish anything.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Well, I'm moved in but there is so much I realize that I don't have. Little things like a cutting board and dish towels and then bigger things like an entertainment center or a bed. It's ridiculous. I just can't believe how these bills are piling up. And it's no where near the end. I've got a lot more to buy and not a lot of money left.

I'm rediscovering the inexpensive way to do things again and it's a lot of fun. I do have to admit that part of me is just anxious to have everything done and right. I'm so sick of all the boxes. But then there is the other side. I want to do things in an inexpensive way and I want to have fun doing this. I know I enjoy finding just the right little thing at an estate sale or an antique shop or some out of the way boutique. It makes me feel as if I've won. It's just such a satisfying feeling.

So I'm hitting the estate sales (usually a great find or two), the garage sales (often not worth it), St. Vinnies and Goodwill. I have the luxury of time. I can arrange my schedule to fit my whims but I do not have the budget to buy everything I want. So these places are great for finding things I need for my home. And often I can see something in an item that isn't quite there. There is the lamp that can be rewired, repainted and dressed up with a shade for less than a new lamp. There are coffee tables for just a fraction of furniture store prices that simply need some refinishing. And all of these items appeal to me because not only are they cheap, but they are unique and usually quality pieces hiding under years of neglect.

There is one thing I just couldn't bring myself to buy secondhand. My bed. But I did get a fantastic deal on a queen sized pillow top. I found the local bedding store that was having a great sale on new items and then I hit their floor models. I'll admit when I entered the store I was going to pick up one of the "bait" mattresses but they didn't feel very comfortable. Then the "switch" came along and the salesman almost had me convinced that the expense would be worth it. And then my shopping companion stepped in (good old mom) and we moved to the discount room and found a great year old model for less than $400. Mattress and box spring. Of course he tried to switch me back to the expensive one and when that wasn't going to work tried to sell me a bunch of extras at outrageous prices, but I held firm with mom at my back.

I'm sure I'm going to make some financial mistakes as I redecorate but hopefully they wont be terribly costly ones.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Well, it's been a crazy few days but I'm all moved into my condo. I really want to begin decorating but of course my budget is holding me back and I really don't have a "vision" yet. I did find an entertainment center I liked and I'm about to check it out online to find it cheaper somewhere. But other than that, the only thing I know for sure is that I want to repaint everything but the living room. What colors, well, I'm just not sure yet.

The living room is a bright lime green. The more I see it the more I love it. It's just so full of life. And then outside the window is the beautiful blossoming tree, I think it's a cherry, the pink looks so great with the green.

It doesn't go with the hand me down furniture I have but the plan is to re-cover it all. Something I've never done before. This whole thing will be a learning experience. But lots of fun!

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Well, I had to share. I know its not really interior decorating...okay, its not at all, but I picked up a cat this week. I've wanted one so much since I had to put down my 22 year old cat last year. I selected a sealpoint ragdoll from a purebred rescue shelter. She's a bit cross eyed and tiny. Just adorable.

I initially thought she couldnt be the 2-3 years they said she was, she was just too small and ragdolls are supposed to be big but I checked her teeth and they're all there, in fact a front one is missing, and they're yellowed so she must be that age.

Then I noticed the ear "dirt". Having been a cat owner for a long time I knew she had ear mites but was supposed to have a clean bill of health from her vet. Anyway, I took her to the local vet and shelled out another $122 and got the ear mites taken care of. I also learned she's probably actually 5 years old.

And now I see that her eye is draining a bit and swollen so I guess I'll have to shell out more money for her eye infection.

But she's still worth it. She's lying next to me as I type. She spends as much time by my side as she can and is the sweetest little girl ever. I'm so lucky to have her.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Wow, I just cant seem to get away from this wallpaper thing. I swear every time I have to remove wallpaper I promise myself I'll never do it again and then I end up doing it again. I'm just so happy my new condo doesnt have wallpaper, but I have to tell you it does need a lot of painting.

So, this week my mom decided before my big move, she wanted some wallpaper removed from her home and we would use my aunt's scaffolding. Scaffolding I really needed to use on the job I'm getting paid for which I happen to be doing this week also. That on top of all my regular writing clients.

Well, I worked extra hard and long hours and still had the condo inspection (not so good) and got mom's wallpaper off, with a lot of help from her and dad, we basecoated and texturized the wall and I faux finished it.

Then I brought the scaffolding to my client's house with Kevin's help and we set it up in the stairs and I worked for about 4 hours before calling it quits for the day. And then I got the call that my aunt needed her scaffolding back that night. So I still have several hours of wallpaper picking to do and then I have to paint the wall. I can't wait for this part of the job to be over.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Ok the great condo/home search of 2006 is over and I believe I've bought a home. Its not my dream home but I cant afford that, so its something that will have to do until I can afford something else. So I just might be here forever.

I'm feeling a bit weird about it. Sort of happy and anxious to move forward to this next phase of my life but also quite a bit terrified of the expense. I mean I'm a freelancer. I know how that goes. One of my clients could end our contract and I'd be lost. I dont even have a savings now to rely on, thats all being spent on the condo purchase, a vehicle, and taxes. I really cant afford to be broke now. So I'm trying not to think about that part of things and just focus on how great it's going to be to have my own place again.

I've also contacted some people about getting cats and I think I may have found 2 of them. I wanted a bengal but really dont feel good about promoting purebreeding when there are so many shelter cats that need rescuing so I was going to even out the cat karma with 1 of each. Now I found the bengal breeder gets rid of her champions for a relatively cheap price (less than shelter cats cost) and she takes care of all vet visits prior to adoption. So I'm saving 2 champion cats and getting a financial bargain in the process.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

I just drove across the country, south to north and cannot figure out why all hotel rooms look so similar. I've stayed in a lot of hotels in my life and find that they're all basically interchangeable. There are some exceptions, THE Hotel in Vegas was truly the best with its own modern feel and flat screen televisions in every room, even the bathroom. Chicago's Four Seasons can feel different if you are lucky enough to get one of the suites. Oh! And I cannot forget to mention Scottsdale's The Bolder's, truly amazing. But generally they're all the same.

Maybe once a long time ago someone did a study and found that when people are on the road they're comforted by flowered polyester blankets that are cut like big toaster cozies, and ugly pastel paintings of imagined landscapes, and bland walls with wallpaper boarder along the top. And maybe someone decided that all hotels should basically look the same so that people who travel a lot always feel a sense of familiarity when they enter a hotel room.

I cannot believe this is true. I would feel so much more at home and comforted by a hotel that spoke of its uniqueness. Something that didnt remind me that thousands of people had used this same pillow. The few hotels I mentioned above did that by creating a unique feel. An atmosphere that was their own and made me feel like I was in a new place, somewhere I'd never been and by doing that it didnt remind me of the others who had come before me.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

This week I had a horrible time with some old wallpaper. I firmly believe that wallpaper should be removed and not painted over even though some professionals currently are recommending the paint over option. In this particular case that wasnt even an option. The paper was at least 30 years old and had not only shifted, leaving seams and cracks, but had also been picked off in some areas. But the areas that adhered were really stuck on. The glue was terribly thick and still working well. I rented a steamer and tried it for the first time. I usually swear by DIF and found the steamer to be less than optimal. It leaked water, was heavy and bulky and the hose got so hot I had to wrap my hand in my sweatshirt to touch it. Also I'm a bit klutzy so the water tray splashed a bit. The other problem was this paper is in a stairwell. I rented one of those Little Giant ladders advertised on infomercials thinking it would be like sliced bread. I was wrong, I couldnt get the right angle and wasnt able to reach every area. Let me just say that the job isnt done, I'm going to need to call in back up.

Posted by Kristin Abraham

Well, last night I sort of had a big blow to the house hunt. The condo that had everything I want has sold. And I was going to see it today. Then the realtor said everything else I wanted to see wasnt available, or no one has returned her calls, etc except one place but we cancelled our meeting anyway. So, I turned down work this morning and cleared my schedule and was all excited about probably finally finding a place to live and it feel through. I really, really hate house hunting. I love going through houses and seeing what people have done or what I'd change or even going thru and just imagining how I would do it but when so much rides on it and I've been doing this for over half a year...well, its just too much.

And you wont believe the prices. I guess I knew about the whole housing bubble and I thought I was going into things at a good time, just when prices are beginning to come down a little but I had no idea just how high they'd gotten, even for condos.

And when I say I want a condo I want a condo, not one of these "I-used-to-be-an-apartment-in-the-80's" sort of things. There are so many re-do's out there and the just cant shake that apartment feel. I may be a bit crazy here, but I cant see spending $130,000 or more for something I rented in the 80's for $400 a month....

So, I guess its back to the internet, desperately searching for the perfect home. Wish me luck...