My sister came to visit this past weekend and she only comes to visit a few times a year but when she does, great things happen.  Mostly she makes me do what I need to do more of these days and that is take a break from the computer to watch movies and eat cookies on the couch – she’s a good influence.  My sister and I love to watch television or movies together and to the program we always add our commentary based on our strange sense of humor. We are known to bust out in random monologues about things that are completely nonsensical to others but make perfect sense in our little world.

This information is irrelevant to today’s post but I thought I’d share anyway because what’s true is if I hadn’t finished painting the family room built-in cabinets I wrote about a few weeks ago then I’d have absolutely nothing to say to you today other than the marathon session of Downton Abbey Season Two spent with my sister this past weekend was as the kids say “epic” and as the Crawleys might say “splendid” and I’m counting the minutes until Season Three. 

Back to those cabinets. You may recall I desperately wanted to paint the built-ins white because there are no windows in this room and it felt like a cave but a certain person I’m married to was hesitant to do so. Then you faithful readers came rallying to my defense and I was emboldened and so I went ahead, trusting my instincts, and painted them white.  And here’s the best part – my mate who didn’t want to paint them at all at first, actually likes them much better now. I think you will too.

Here’s a glance at the behemoths before I pulled off the doors and painted them.

And today.

Much improved I must say.  The cabinets were primed with Zinsser oil based Cover Stain last week.

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First of all, I’m so sorry to anyone experiencing site problems in the last 24 hours.  Long story short, I’m trying to switch servers to save money but everything is not going according to plan, so thanks for your patience.  Also, I appreciate so much those who have already volunteered to come to the three day event in April for the Alma Project, and also to those who have donated so far.  We do need to raise money, so please read all about our ambitions here and we’d appreciate if you can donate what you can, it’s for a great cause!

Also, CG is a finalist in The Homies and while it’s a bit uncomfortable for me to ask for your vote, I’m just going to break down and do it!  If you learned a trick or two from visiting here over the years or been inspired by a project, cast your vote for CG for Best DIY Blog and/or Best Home Design Blog – you can vote for me in both categories if you wish (but sign in with Apartment Therapy first through FB or Twitter), thanks so much!

Now let’s get down to business.  The weekend was spent demolishing the vanity side of the hall bathroom I’ve been meaning to remodel for oh, three years now.  Saturday morning began with the official clearing out of the cabinets and true confession time, I haven’t completely cleaned out this cabinet in *hanging head in shame* six years.  How do I know it’s been six years?  Because look what was discovered at the way back: a first response pregnancy test kit and ovulation predictor.  TMI?  I’m sorry, it’s just the truth.

After clearing out the cabinet and its embarrassing contents, it was time to pull down the mirror. When you’re working with glass you must exercise extreme caution and you should use vacuum cups like these for very large pieces.  Ours was held up with two brackets and some adhesive, but with some gentle prodding we were able to get if off and carefully move it out of the bathroom. Carefully being the key word!

Next came time to do the thing I’ve been dreaming of for years – ripping out the yellowed cultured marble countertop.  I really don’t have anything against the more modern cultured marble countertops in shades of white, they have certainly come a long way, but this one was a weird yellowish color that frankly reminded me of the color of an armpit sweat stain on a white dress shirt and it had to go.

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A long time ago I fell in love with a tufted sofa.  Not just any tufted sofa, a petite rounded back ‘works so perfectly in my house’ kind of tufted sofa. I even wrote about my tufted sofa dream almost two years ago.  {Cue the ‘a dream is a wish your heart makes’ melody…}

So I have this wall in between two sets of French doors in the living room where a lot of traffic passes by so the only thing that really works there is a buffet, which I had there for a year, but what I really always wanted for that spot was a beautiful tufted sofa. 

I’m have a big fat crush on them, especially when they’re paired with modern fabrics.  Here’s a few images from my inspiration files – so sophisticated and dreamy.

Bella Mancini Designs

Massucco Warner Miller

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Hello all, happy Friday!  I’m trying to recover from the mild headache I’ve had this past week every time I try to make a decision on what kind of tile to choose for the hallway bathroom project we’re starting.  This hall bathroom is the most ambitious project on my Home Goals list so I’m getting started on the process now. I’ve been in a dozen tile shops within 20 miles on this adventure to find the perfect backsplash.  

We’re reusing and repainting the existing cabinet (the plan is to build a new base for it and lift it up by 6 to 8 inches, more like a console style vanity), and we’re replacing the cultured marble countertop and mirror too.  I really really really see a feature wall of tile in here (with a much smaller mirror) from cabinet to ceiling.  The idea of tile going up to the ceiling completely rocks my world.

Sarah Richardson

New Ravenna

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