New Front Door

<div>Hi guys! I hope you had a nice weekend! My parents were in town and we all took a little trip to the Salt River, which I hadn't done in like a decade. It was seriously just what the doctor ordered. Other than being sunburned in the few random spots I missed with my sunscreen, I'm feeling rested and happy. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>We're not quite ready to move over to the other side of the house yet, so we set up some temporary furniture in the master bedroom and my mom and dad slept in there. I have to admit I was a little jealous while I was setting up the bathroom for them. It's okay though. We're getting close with the floors, and we'll be moved in to our bedrooms soon enough. I was feeling the pressure bad a few weeks ago, but I sort of got over the self-imposed need to move in as soon as possible. We're fine sleeping in the playroom area for now. I'm mostly just sick of living out of suitcases still. But there's no need to do things hastily or to burn myself out. These things can and should take time to get done right.</div><div><br /></div><div>And when I stop and look around, it's amazing to see all the things we are getting done! The new front door was installed last week and I'm loving it. I wanted to do something maybe a little more special, but doors are really expensive, especially 8.5' double doors. Since our front yard gets a lot of harsh Arizona sunlight, the sales rep suggested we go with a paint-grade fiberglass door instead of wood. <a href="http://www.thermatru.com/products/entry/fiberglass-entry-doors/ss/index.aspx" target="_blank">Here's the one</a> we went with. (don't mind the pile of plywood to the right of the door - we had to temporarily board off the entrance while we waited for the doors to get delivered that were about a week late. It was a really classy look and I'm sure our neighbors were sad to see the plywood wall go. :))</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ssDSC_0425.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/ssDSC_0425.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div><br /></div><div>The old door was only about 80" tall, which felt way too squatty for the tall entry hall and front porch. </div><center></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 1DSC_0351.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/1DSC_0351.jpg" /></div><br />Here are our plans for the front, which I'm hoping we can tackle next, after we finish the floors:<br /><br /><a name="more"></a>The sort of picture window situation isn't really working with the new doors - you can't even see the top of them. The simplest and least expensive way to fix it is to remove the whole front face and extend the two front columns all the way to the roof. We'll make them chunkier and maybe add a brick base to match some of the fencing we have in the yard.<br /><center></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 1DSC_0348.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/1DSC_0348.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 2wDSC_0420copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/2wDSC_0420copy.jpg" /></div><br />A big change from the before, right? I think it will be a lot cleaner looking and will work better with the bones of the house, which really aren't all that Victorian other than the old trimwork. I'm hoping we can help steer this house more into the Cape Cod style direction.<br /><center></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 1DSC_0347.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/1DSC_0347.jpg" /></div><br />Speaking of stripping things back and trying to figure out the style of this house, I've been confused about whether or not to keep the Federal style overhang that was above the old front door. Since we want to modernize the exterior a lot and take down all the gingerbread trim, I thought it might be nice to keep the scrolled overhang as sort of a nod to the original owner's vision.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0435.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0435.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />I think it's kind of a cool shape and once all the new trim is up around the door and everything's painted white, including the scroll, I think it could be kind of Miles Redd looking and less Alice in Wonderland?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0436.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0436.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's an awful lot of vertical space above the door that the scroll would help to fill, but I'm sort of loving the clean, more modern look without the scroll. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0441.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0441.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Especially if we add a few rows of thick trim to the header, like I did in the mock up. I did this really fast in photoshop, so it might not make sense, but the bright white part is the new front of the entry (the new columns with the brick base) and the shadowed gray part is the door wall, which is set back about eight feet from the columns. I need to do some more research, but I remember seeing an all white house once somewhere online or in a magazine that had a style similar to our house, with the shake roof. The body of the house was a creamy white and the trim was a brighter white and it looked really great. If we did something similar, it would save us thousands of dollars by keeping the creamy white body color as is and then we'd just pay to have the trim painted white (or maybe tackle the project ourselves - although my hands get a little shaky imagining being up on an 18 foot extension ladder). I'm thinking of also whitewashing the brick and the cedar shingles that are just on the front of the house in a few places (we'd leave the shake roof, of course). The house looks pretty choppy with the dark trim and brick and shingle sections against the white body. I think unifying the color palette would be really pretty here. Also, I'm thinking bright, glossy red for the front door. Maybe my favorite Safety Red?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 2wDSC_0420copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/2wDSC_0420copy.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0419.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0419.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><center></center>I think the red would look so pretty with the new hardware and the simple shape of the doors.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0427.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/aDSC_0427.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0434.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0434.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While we were pulling down the old siding to install the doors we found the wires for the doorbell which had been buried under siding (the one currently installed is battery-operated). I was so excited about this, because now I can order <a href="http://keep.com/osric-brass-doorbell-by-jennykomenda/k/lsffjKABCd/" target="_blank">the doorbell</a> I've been eyeing, which needs to be hardwired. I think it will be so pretty with the polished nickel house number and hardware.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0429.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0429.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo wDSC_0416.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/wDSC_0416.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alright, back to floors. whew!</div>

New Front Door

Hi guys! I hope you had a nice weekend! My parents were in town and we all took a little trip to the Salt River, which I hadn't done in ...

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New Sponsor Highlight (and a Give Away!): HauteLook

<center></center>One of my newest sponsors is <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">HauteLook</a>, which is a Nordstrom company. For as long as I can remember, I've loved Nordstrom and everything about it. It's great that you can find clothes, shoes, jewelry, beauty products and even home goods in one place and at all different price points. HauteLook, which is a free, member's only sale event site, has inventory that is well-rounded in just the same way, with the added excitement of new sales and new collections introduced daily, at awesome discounted prices - we're talking, like 75% off. Great deals to be had.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ssDSC_0417.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/ssDSC_0417.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo vDSC_0432.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/vDSC_0432.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />Once of my favorite HauteLook finds was this silk Cynthia Rowley dress I bought a few months ago. I love the Klimpt-esque print and colors. The pieces that look like gold foil catch the sun in a really pretty way.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo dDSC_0435.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/dDSC_0435.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0427.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0427.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>And about a month ago I found this mint hotel bedding set on HauteLook for a steal. Less than $90 for a high quality king-sized duvet with a pair of shams.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo sDSC_0442.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/sDSC_0442.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />I'm so excited to use this in our room when we move into the space next week. I'm thinking of hanging <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2012/02/chinese-wallpaper-in-acrylic-frames.html" target="_blank">my chinoiserie panels</a> behind the bed - won't that be a pretty pairing?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo fDSC_0436.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/fDSC_0436.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><a href="http://www.hautelook.com/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">HauteLook</a> always has a great selection of beautiful items, but I usually like to just shop their home page, which highlights the day's most popular items. Here are my "best-of-the-best" choices, all available right now:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo LGNHAUTELOOK1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/LGNHAUTELOOK1.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11415511/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11323921/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11339008/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">3</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11396413/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">4</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11285289/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">5</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11284205/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">6</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11325134/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">7</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo LGNHAUTELOOK2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/LGNHAUTELOOK2.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11324026/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">8</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11334679/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">9</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11324171/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">10</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11339216/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">11</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11285285/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">12</a>  //  <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/index/index/mk/invite/inventory_id/11285322/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">13</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">HauteLook is offering up three $50 gift cards today. To enter to win, <a href="http://www.hautelook.com/?sid=77780&mid=bd&cid=blogger&aid=072013_littlegreennotebook" target="_blank">register for free here</a>, take a peek around and leave a comment here with you favorite picks. Contest, which is open to US, Canada and Australia residents, ends next Thursday at midnight. Winners will be emailed. Good luck!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>This post was brought to you by HauteLook. Thank you for your support!</i></div>

New Sponsor Highlight (and a Give Away!): HauteLook

One of my newest sponsors is HauteLook , which is a Nordstrom company. For as long as I can remember, I've loved Nordstrom and everythin...

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Update on the Floors: Prepping

<center></center>Good news! We started laying floors! Sweet, sweet progress. I could not be happier about this development.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xDSC_0441.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xDSC_0441.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />Here are the details...<br /><a name="more"></a><br />But first I wanted to clarify a couple of things. A few people have mentioned in the comments sections that they wonder who I'm talking about when I say "we" a lot in my posts. I'm mostly talking about Michael, who pitches in with projects a lot after work and on weekends, and my sister, Ali, who has been a great help whenever I've needed a second pair of hands. I don't have any employees right now and there's no team of little elves over here working behind the scenes that I'm not crediting. I'm being genuine when I say that the projects I'm sharing are doable, often easy and even fun to try. So sorry about any confusion there! I work alone a lot, but when I do get a helper it feels disingenuous to say look at what <i>I </i>did, but I get that that's confusing, so I'll do a better job of saying who did what in the future.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_6309.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/IMG_6309.jpg" /></div><br />Also, my friend <a href="http://vivafullhouse.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Christina</a> introduced me to Jason Millar, who I've mentioned here before. (He's all booked up now, so if I haven't gotten back to you with contact info it's because he's asked me to hold off for a bit :). Jason is a handyman who we have paid hourly to come in now and again and help us on the tricky stuff. This has worked out so, so well. I know nothing about electrical work. I am (well, was) terrified of cutting into a wall. I wouldn't have known how or where to start with laying the floors. In general, Jason comes in, lends us his expertise and occasionally some of his specialized equipment and gets us started on projects and then usually he leaves and we do most of the labor ourselves to save money. This is why things are seemingly slow-going on the reno part of the house. But we're saving money by doing it this way and learning a ton along the way. Like, at this point I've laid the floors for three of the bedrooms and it is so different than I thought it would be. Harder in some ways and easier in others. Prepping for the wood was a pretty epic experience in and of itself.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_6306.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/IMG_6306.jpg" /></div><br />Most of the houses in Arizona don't have basements and are built on concrete slabs - which you can't nail wood planks into. There are a couple of options if you're in this boat.<br /><br />1) The first option for us was to use glue-down grade flooring. There are a couple of solid wood lines that are suitable for glueing down, and most laminates and engineered woods can be glued down. We thought a lot about going with a nice engineered option - the kind that is 3/4" thick with solid wood on most of the thick top layer. These can be refinished about as many times as solid wood. The difference is the wood is birch-backed and a little more stable and less sensitive to moisture and weather changes. It's more expensive than solid wood though.<br /><br />The flooring expert I talked to thought it would be tricky for me to install the floors by myself using the glue-down method - especially if I wanted to use completely solid wood (which will have some irregular planks and some curving to some pieces just due to the nature of wood) and not engineered wood (which is going to be pretty consistent and straight). It's hard/impossible to manipulate slightly bowed wood planks using the glue down method. Plus it's expensive glue at around $250-$350 per bucket. We would have needed more than 10 buckets.<br /><br />2) The second option was to use a new sticker-like adhesive underlayment called Elastilon right on top of the concrete. It's a moisture barrier as well, which is really nice. I got a little nervous about installation of the solid wood with this stuff for the same reasons as the glue. It was pricey stuff, and it seemed like it would be tricky to get the hard wood installed right and tight without any nails. I was especially worried about the chevron pattern I want to do in the library. (P.S. John and Sherry over at <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2013/05/get-on-the-floor/" target="_blank">Young House Love</a> used Elastilon to install their hardwood floors and it looks like they had a pretty easy time of it.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xDSC_0598.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xDSC_0598.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />3) The last option is to glue and nail down 5/8" plywood on all the concrete and then install the hardwood planks with a nail gun. We ended up going with this method because it was slightly more cost effective on the front end, and hugely cost effective on the actual floor installment because we could nail the planks down ourselves. Jason was very helpful with the demo process and he also really took charge in installing the plywood subfloors, which were a bit of a nightmare.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo DSC_0588.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/DSC_0588.jpg" /></div><br />You trowel on glue (which is rated to be a moisture barrier, as well, though is much less expensive than the other glue I just mentioned - about $75 a bucket and we needed about six or seven) and then you lay down the plywood sheet and use a gun-like ramset to shoot nails into the concrete using the force of .22 caliber bullets. It was nuts and seriously hard work. This was a good project to get pro help on.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><center></center></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_6784.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/IMG_6784.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xxDSC_0593.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xxDSC_0593.jpg" /></div><br />In the girls' rooms and the landing upstairs we were able to reuse the plywood floors already on the floor. The plywood is old, but level and in good enough shape. I had read online that it is imperative for plywood subfloor to be perfectly smooth and as free of old nails and staples as possible. I cannot even begin to describe what a pain it was to pull out all the staples from the old laminate. Hours and hours of hard, intense labor, bending over and kneeling down and pulling at those staples like mad. It was not fun and not easy because the staples are so long. Jason later told me it's not really that big of a deal and we could have just bent the staples over and hammered the them flat, but you know, whatever. I like to do things the hard way. (*hits head repeatedly on pile of wood boxes*)<br /><br />If you also like to do things the hard way, we found the easiest method to be to tap a long screwdriver into the staple,<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_6298.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/IMG_6298.jpg" /></div><br />And then use the hammer to pull the staple out by prying the screwdriver up. All the staples will be installed at an angle, all the same direction and if you pull them out in the same direction it makes the process a little easier and rips up your plywood less.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_6301.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/IMG_6301.jpg" /></div><br />Then we swept and vacuumed and it was time to start the floors, which I'll detail out for you in a separate post.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0444.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0444.jpg" /></div><br />I know a lot of you were on the fence about me taking out the hand-scraped engineered wood and the ceramic tile. I was on the fence too - it was a tough choice that I considered very seriously. And even though we've saved a lot of money by buying the wood prefinished from Lumber Liquidators and installing it ourselves, it still was expensive to buy all this wood, plywood, glue and nails.<br /><br />You'll probably remember that when I decided to pull out the old floors, I was shooting for the stars and wanted a very specific Parisian apartment look to the wood. Classic and traditional looking, but a little more on the worn in side and warm-looking. I had put aside a lot of our savings to try and do this, but when I got the quote of nearly $40,000 for the wood and installation and finishing on site (<i>not</i> including the demo), I just had to let go of the idea. We hit more roadblocks right and left and ultimately I decided to just go with the prefinished white oak solid wood and take the time to install it myself.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xDSC_0418.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xDSC_0418.jpg" /></div><br />This way I'm still getting a little bit of the look I was hoping for with the finished-on-site wood and have the option to sand and refinish the floors several times down the road, if we want to.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xDSC_0414.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xDSC_0414.jpg" /></div><br />So far, I'm liking the floors like a 7.5 or an 8 out of 10. The good news is I really like the 3.25" plank width. I think it will be perfect for the chevron pattern we're starting on in the library next week. I'm okay with the stain/wood color (though there are occasional pieces that are more pink than I'd like to have, but you know, that happens with oak). Minus two or three points for the finish though - it's a little too perfect and satin-y. This is what I was worried about with the prefinished route, but I know it'll look great when we get furniture and rugs in here to break up the sea of smooth wood. We're trying to leave just a hair of a gap in some planks just to avoid that tight butcher block look that I want to avoid. And happily there's none of that hollow sound when we walk and I attribute that 100% to Jason's handy work with the subfloors. Dude knows what he is doing.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_04161.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_04161.jpg" /></div><br />I'm being nit-picky about the finish though - I really like this wood and I still think it was a good choice to change out the old floors before we settled in to this side of the house. Once the walls are all painted and the trim is back up, I know I'll love the floors even more! I'm really glad we did it.<br /><br />Back to the nail gun!

Update on the Floors: Prepping

Good news! We started laying floors! Sweet, sweet progress. I could not be happier about this development. Here are the details... But first...

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DIY: Faux Bois Paint Technique

<center></center>We've talked about it here before, but I could use the reminder myself: It's always best to decorate in layers. Not everything in a room has to get done right away. And usually I like a room that's been decorated slowly, over the course of many years, much more than a room that was done in a week. Ideas and pieces for a space will emerge over time because you'll have the chance to actually live in and use the room.<br /><center></center><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Foldingstation.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/Foldingstation.jpg" /></div><br />When <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-laundry-room-redo-and-5000-laundry.html" target="_blank">I redid our laundry room</a>, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the laundry folding tabletop. I went to a stone yard and looked at marble and granite remnants, which were still too expensive for me to get right with, so I bought a piece of MDF and had it cut to fit the top of our new washer/dryer. I thought about painting it a bright color. Then I thought about painting it to match the appliances. Then I thought about doing a faux marbled/malachite pattern with white and gray paint (<a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2013/05/faux-stone-diy-idea.html" target="_blank">just like this</a>), but I never got around to doing it. Then I stumbled across <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2011/01/faux-bois-floors.html" target="_blank">this post from my archives</a> and I remembered how badly I've been wanting to do a faux bois paint treatment. There's not any wood in our laundry room, except for the bamboo chair, so I thought it would be great to have something with an organic element and with lots of movement in the pattern.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xDSC_0547.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xDSC_0547.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo DSC_0563.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/DSC_0563.jpg" /></div><br />It's crazy how the faux bois pattern addition makes the room feel so much more finished. And I know I always say this, but truly, painting a faux bois pattern is as easy as can be. If you can paint a straight line, you can do this project. Actually, scratch that! If your lines are a bit crooked or wavy - this project is totally perfect for you!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo cDSC_0542.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/cDSC_0542.jpg" /></div><br />Here's how...<br /><a name="more"></a>The first step is to paint your base color. I used a glossy oil-based paint, but you can do any type of finish as long as there are no bumps in the surface.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0436.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0436.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo DSC_0425.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/DSC_0425.jpg" /></div><br />Did you notice my handy new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035YLSKE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0035YLSKE&linkCode=as2&tag=littgreenote-20">Painter's Pyramids</a> here? They are so genius and help avoid that painted-edges-sticking-to-the-drop-cloth situation. And the best part is they make it so you can paint one side and immediately flip over to paint the other side. The pointy tops don't really leave marks on the surface (they do however hurt, like, SO BAD if you step on them barefoot. Ouch.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0434.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0434.jpg" /></div><br />Once the base coat is fully dry, you mix the paint color you want to use for the "grain" part. If you're using latex paint, you'll want to mix one part paint with one part glaze and one part water. If you're using oil-based paint like I did, you can use a mixture of one part paint with one part paint thinner or Penetrol. It should be very watery.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0455.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0455.jpg" /></div><br />I used this slightly metallic Aluminum color by Rustoleum and I really liked it. I think it actually looked a little like mercury glass or liquid chrome and might be really cool for other applications where it hadn't been thinned down. I'm excited to experiment more with the color.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0443.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0443.jpg" /></div><br />Then the most important thing you'll need for this project is a wood grain rocker. You can buy them lots of places online, but Martha Stewart makes <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Martha-Stewart-Living-3-in-Wood-Grain-Rocker-MS-WGR/202592296#.UhMRKGRASXQ" target="_blank">a good and affordable one</a> that's sold at The Home Depot. I don't have a photo of the package here, but I also picked up one of her <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Martha-Stewart-Living-3-Piece-Painting-Comb-Set-MS-PCS/202592298#.UhMRa2RASXQ" target="_blank">strie combs</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo DSC_0490.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/DSC_0490.jpg" /></div><br />The approach is very simple. I used a 2" angled brush to paint on a section of thinned paint in long strokes, the size of two or three widths of the wood graining tool. You most definitely wouldn't want to paint the entire surface all at once - you want the glazed/thinned paint to be very wet still while you're doing the faux bois technique. It's important to work in sections, and to do the whole surface in one painting session though so that the lines sort of run together and blur into each other. Also, it's nice that if you do a part that you don't like, just brush right over it and try pulling the paint again.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0458.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0458.jpg" /></div><br />I alternated one row of using the wood graining rocker with a row of straight combing using the back edge of the rocking tool or the strie combs I bought (it looks good to alternate the pattern on the strie comb between the widely spaced comb (above) and the tightly space comb you can see in the photos below). Once you've pulled a row, make sure to wipe down your comb or wood grain rocker.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0495.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0495.jpg" /></div><br />The technique for using the rocking tool is very easy - you just pull down and rock back and forth.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0491.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0491.jpg" /></div><br />I tried to mix up the speed of my rocking so there would be some variation in the look of the grain lines with longer and shorter knots.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0505.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0505.jpg" /></div><br />If you're working on a flat surface like I was here, don't forget to paint and pull the comb or rocker down onto the edges as well. This makes the pattern look a little more authentic to the eye.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0509.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0509.jpg" /></div><br />I'm such a fan of how this faux bois tool worked! It was an easy and really satisfying project. This technique would work so well on furniture pieces with really squared off and flat surfaces (hello, <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/series/09063/" target="_blank">IKEA Lack series</a>! I'm looking at you!) and it even wouldn't be that hard to do entire walls once you're comfortable with the technique. And now I'm wishing I had a little powder bath to do in the Valley house. :)<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0514.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0514.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xDSC_0540.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xDSC_0540.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zDSC_0549.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/zDSC_0549.jpg" /></div>

DIY: Faux Bois Paint Technique

We've talked about it here before, but I could use the reminder myself: It's always best to decorate in layers. Not everything in a ...

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Give Away: $500 to The Home Depot!

Today is the very last day to enter to win a laundry room e-design from yours truly which comes with a $5000 Mastercard gift card and a year's supply of Tide. I hope you've entered already (and <a href="https://tideandmaytag.com/" target="_blank">here's the link</a> in case you haven't!).<br /><br />In celebration of the laundry room makeover contest, The Home Depot is giving you a second chance to win something special today - a $500 gift card!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo cDSC_0522copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/cDSC_0522copy.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />To enter to win the $500 gift card to The Home Depot (which will arrive with a great box of samples from Tide), just leave a comment on this post. I'd love to hear what projects you'd fund with the gift card. I actually picked up some supplies there this weekend and did a little faux bois treatment to <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-laundry-room-redo-and-5000-laundry.html" target="_blank">my laundry folding station</a>. I'm working on the tutorial photos now, so look for that post tomorrow probably.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo xDSC_0539.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/xDSC_0539.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />Contest ends Monday, August 26 at midnight. Winner will be contacted via email. Good luck! (And don't forget to enter <a href="https://tideandmaytag.com/" target="_blank">the EXTRA BIG give away here</a>!)<br /><br /><center></center><i>Thanks to The Home Depot and P&G for sponsoring this post series. And thank <b>you</b> for supporting the companies that collaborate with me on LGN posts. :)</i>

Give Away: $500 to The Home Depot!

Today is the very last day to enter to win a laundry room e-design from yours truly which comes with a $5000 Mastercard gift card and a year...

Read more »