The Painters come today

Everything is ready ... the paintings are down, the drapes removed, all the personality is stripped from my living room, dining room and den.

I've been in this house for 4 years.   The colour currently on the walls is Brooklyn Beige.   It is a dark, muddy beige.   There is not tons of light in the living room, dining room and I want to brighten it up.  I've never been happy with the quality of the paint job, but it is such a big job I didn't want to do it myself.   Painting starts at the front door, through a staircase/hallway, the living room, dining room, staircase to den, the den, and upstairs hallway.   There are a couple 2 storey walls I just did not want to tackle... so I've been saving to have it painted.

The painters will be here 4 days and at the end I'll have fresh ceilings, walls and trim.
The walls will be BM Natural Linen and the trim Cloud White.

 Let the painting begin!

So Sweet!

My niece, Allison, pastry chef in training, created this beautiful flower basket made from spun sugar.

It feels just like porcelain.

She took it over to my Mother.   Mom has been in and out of hospital recently and isn't feeling well.  This now has pride of place on her dining room table.   She is so proud of her granddaughter.  

We all are!

I've started the Build

I'm in the process of expanding my fireplace mantel to a fireplace surround.

I have the basic frame up

I've painted out the trim and have started putting pieces together

Have to do a bit every night.   The painters are coming Monday and I want it all ready for them to do a beautiful finish coat on!

Planning a new fireplace mantel

Last year I painted the existing mantel on my fireplace.  

 This year, I would like to create a full mantel, and I've been searching for inspiration.   I'm planning something like this ... a simple white surround with a reveal of the bricks:

I'll be off to Home Depot on the weekend!

Door Moulding

Every door in my home has moulding on it, except or the front door.   I am having a painter at the end of the month to paint most of the house, so this was the perfect time to add some.

The door is steel. I couldn't nail into it, so out came the  "No More Nails" magic!

I cut my trim in my trusty miter box, glued it to the door and taped it til it dried.

Then painted it out.  Now all the doors match.

New Year ... New Pillows

I like to start off every new year with new bed pillows.   I saw a show once that said a pillow of only two years old can be composed of up to twenty percent dust mites feces and carcasses!!   With the graphics they provided it just made me want to change them yearly.   ICK!

Pillows are always on sale after Christmas.   I got mine (Sealy, for those who sleep on their stomach)
50% off.

It's just a nice way to start off the year.