There are three reasons I’ve never liked our laundry room. 

One.  The original contractor/builder of our house picked out the cabinets when this honey tone wood was still popular last decade. They’re very good quality cabinets, but I have not been fond of the color for, oh, ever.  

Two.  One of the cabinets in our laundry room housed our very old indoor cat’s litter box.  Sadly, we had to have our kitty put down a few months ago due to severe illness, but the good news is the cat box odor has finally left the premises.

Three.  Laundry is my least favorite household task.  I confess I do love the smell of fresh clean laundry, I just never wanted to be in the laundry room for reasons One and Two, and I so I would get lazy with this chore and tend to put it off until it got out of control. 

I am happy to say I no longer have those excuses because of this new and improved space!  Here’s what the room looked like last week.  Pretty bland, right ?

Before:

But here is my laundry room now !

Oooh la la, I am so in love !!! 

I think I will really enjoy doing laundry from now on !    

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We have some great friends named Tony and Mia, and our girls go to kindergarten together.  Mia is a busy mother of three who runs her own salon four days a week.   By the time she gets home from work, the last thing she wants to do is start a home improvement project.

What I love about Tony and Mia’s home is that every time you visit, you feel the warmth within, from the spice colors on the walls, to the rich and rustic wood pieces, to their doggie wagging her tail to greet you.  Their house definitely feels like a ‘Home Sweet Home’ and that’s why we love to visit.

So when I was in her family room the other day, Mia asked me what to do with her oak fireplace surround.  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to replace it or stain it, but she knew she didn’t care for the natural oak finish.  The wood’s tone clashed with her dark wood floors and furniture, but overall it had really classic lines and was in great shape.

As I leaned in, I could swear I heard the mantel whisper, “Paint me, I beg you.”  So I recommended we paint it white to coordinate with the trim and lighten up the wall.  Plus, a white fireplace mantel is simply timeless.  So in less than four hours, I gave her fireplace wall a fresh new look with just some primer, paint, and accessories.

Here’s Mia’s Before:

Here’s Mia’s After:

Splendid, right ?

The difference is all in the details !

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When it comes to decorating my own home, I’ve always been a traditional gal.  I adore French style, but despite my affection, I wasn’t really into decorating with gold.  I believe my objections can be traced back to all those bright brass fixtures the late 80s and 90s – they made me fearful to ever go golden again.     

But I eventually got over my phobia and I realized that gold is truly timeless !  You can see from my latest attempt at displaying art in our living room that I’ve come all the way around on my anti-gold stance. 

This experiment began with the new wainscoting, and my desire for a gallery wall having seen so many of them in magazines and around blog land.  Of the few pieces of fine art we’ve collected over the years, all of them had been framed in gold.  It was not my decision, rather it was the original artist’s choice.   But instead of painting the frames, or paying a hefty sum to reframe all the art, I decided just to roll with it. 

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You knew I was going there.  You knew when I spied those jeweled wineglasses at Chateau St. Jean winery last weekend that I would be forced, literally forced, to recreate the look for less.  Just cause it’s in my DNA. 

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