New Carpet on the Stairs, a Confession and Solution.

Posted on July 2, 2010 by DishOnDesignGal

The Solution

I have a confession to make. I H-A-T-E looking at my new carpet. Hate it. It is driving me nuts. Don’t get me wrong, I love the carpet. It has flecks of gold, creme and brown and it’s exactly what I wanted. It will hold up to traffic, feels good on my feet, doesn’t show a lick of dirt and is a great color…unless it’s next to the painted wall. Today I realized it’s the paint. It makes the carpet look ugly and it’s not ugly. It’s all about the paint.

Here’s the story. I have golden/yellow paint in the living area which I love, a deeper greenish gold in the entry which I hate don’t love and another shade of gold in the dining area which is okay, although it’s a tad bright when the sun comes in. It’s complicated to explain how those three different shade got in my house, but the simple fact is I don’t like them together and I don’t like them with my carpet. I preach all the time about whole house planning and technically I have followed my plan by having all yellow/gold walls – but because they are all a different shade, they are driving me nuts. Absolutely nuts. It took the carpet to make me realize it.

The solution. I love my woodwork, drapes, furniture (well most of it!), slate and wood floors. The paint though is a problem, but lucky for me it’s the least expensive thing to change. And even better, I found a fabulous painter who is a perfectionist, slow and inexpensive. I adore him. Sooooooo… when he finishes up a few other jobs he is going to paint my entire lower level one single color. I am so excited. It’s a perfect example of why continuity and planning ahead with a Whole House Plan is important.

Anyway, here are some “before” shots of my stairs when we moved in and “after” showing the new carpet. Keep in mind that while the paint looks horrible with the carpet…that will not be an issue in a few months!

Yikes! I forgot how bad it was when we first moved in! Pink wallpaper, blue carpet and inexpensive grey ceramic tile. Ouch!

We painted several years ago, pulled up the carpet, and laid a gorgeous slate floor. Love, my slate floor! Like the paint with the wood and slate, but it's just not right with the new carpet or the rest of the house. That will be changing for sure!

As I mentioned the other day, I chose to bind the edges of the carpet rather than roll them making a nice clean finished edge.

Here's a photo looking up the stairs from the landing. I know, paint is awful with the carpet. Say no more.

And here's the second set of stairs looking down the landing. It will be perfect once I get the new paint on the walls!

New carpet and a chip of the future paint! I can't wait to show you the final photo's. It will be soooooooo much better! The paint is Valspar from Lowe's

Whoooo… I feel so much better now that I have a solution. I actually thought at first it was the carpet I hated, but thankfully, after exploring it more I realized it’s just a matter of paint. xoxoxo Amy

Decorating And Design Questions Answered

Posted on April 15, 2010 by DishOnDesignGal

Do you have a decorating question? I'd love to answer yours!

I love to answer Decorating and Design Questions…I don’t know why, I just do. There’s always a special twist or a question I haven’t had before and I enjoy finding a solution or offering advice. I have several Ask Amy questions to catch up on, but yesterday I tackled a handful!

A few fun one’s lately included Teisha asking if I could come organize her house after I did mine, but I pretty much told her I may not be fully functional by the time I complete mine….haha! Calgon…come take me away I also had a few things to say about men and pink to Aime over at mammaloves, hopefully I didn’t offend any of my male readers, but seriously, do you really think most men are even going to notice a touch of pink here and there? I don’t think my guys would! Now mess with the TV and THAT’s a different story!

To see all my words of wisdom, visit this link Have a Decorating Question? Ask Away! to see most of the design questions I’ve answered over the last couple of years. I still have a few to answer, but sit down when you have time and explore. Perhaps you’ll find the answer to a question you have. I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with my thoughts - who knows, together we might find an even better solution! Enjoy! xoxoxo Amy

The Two Week Re-Do

Posted on April 9, 2010 by DishOnDesignGal

What do you think I can get done around my house in two weeks, working only nights and weekends? I only have 3 weekend days and 9 week nights as I am going to Columbus next Saturday for a meeting/fish fry and will be driving to Columbus to up a house guest at the airport on the 24th. Yikes!

As you may know, I have declared that I will have my house organized top to bottom by the end of the year. I also have some serious decorating to do along the way as I have put my house on hold for way to long to start a business. As I set these goals in January, I thought I had a year to get a lot of this done, but a very good friend of mine who I went to Butterfly World with a month or so ago, has decided to meet me in Columbus for the Spring game on the 24th and come visit that night. To say I am in panic mode is an understatement, although I have to say I am very excited about her visit! It’s not that she won’t love me if it’s not done, it’s just that she’s never been to my house and I want it at least semi-done. This is going to make me get some serious stuff done or at the very least started. I figured I would just go ahead and share it with you along the way…the good, the bad and the ugly.

Some things need to get done so that I have room for other things, so if they seem like silly things, there is a reason behind it. Here’s some of my to do list:

Find a place to store my daughters stuff. She moved back in for a bit and has lot to put away. I need to find a place for it.
Work a bit on the garage and pantry so I have room for things above.
Figure out a color scheme and inspiration for the two bedrooms. Will not have time to paint, but need to have a plan.
Select carpet for two bedrooms, stairs, a hallway and study and schedule a measure.
Tear up the old and seal the plywood floor. A beloved dog of ours died and had a bit of a potty problem in his last days. Quite sad and very yucky.
Get the carpet installed by the 22nd.
Schedule a painter for April – need to get carpet laid first. More on that later.
Clean out the two bedrooms and study.
Make sure the Bathroom is ready for a guest.
Clean…that will happen along the way.
Find a table to go with my new chairs for my new cocktail area.

I can tell you that without the paint, it won’t be finished in two weeks, but the new carpet will make a huge difference. Stay tuned, I’ll be posting updates, photo’s and thoughts for the next two weeks. It’s getting a little crazy around here, haha! xoxox Amy

My Dining Room Makeover – Part III

Posted on July 23, 2008 by DishOnDesignGal

If you have been following my Dining Room Makeover, I am sooooo happy to tell you that it is 90% done! I painted into the wee hours a few weeks back after work and shopped in record time to find the final things I needed to at least have it 90% done for the graduation party. Sorry it took so long to get you more details, but I have been really busy getting a new product out. I’ll tell you about that soon! I’ll have more pictures in a week or so, but here’s a sneak preview.

Since my last post I have finished the paint, found carpet and had it installed, purchased really beautiful fabric for the chairs (for $39.00 I might add!), decided on draperies (which are bought and hung) and found a perfect oversized picture to pull it all together.

I still need to re-upholster my chairs, purchase a chandelier, hang the medalion, and take some more pictures. I’ll give you more details too! In the mean time…here’s a sneak preview.

The carpet is a cut/loop combination in gold with a diamond pattern. Since the room is monochromatic (one color with varios shades of it) I made sure to pull in lots of patterns and texture for interest. The silk drapes are ready made from linens and things in a large plaid pattern of ivory and gold. They were $89.00 a panel, 96 inches long and fully lined – not a bad deal!

Above you can also see the reversible fabric for the dining room chairs. Of course our beloved Beanie had to get in the picture. He’s a cat that my son brought home from college one day that somehow became ours. My new neighbors actually asked me the other day if our invisible fence would work for beanie. Apparently, he is quite social thing and greets their indoor cats at their window every morning. He’s even left a few moles at their doorstep, which anyone who has cats knows tha it’s his way of saying welcome to the neighborhood. Tell me, how can you not love him back? Anyway, back to the dining room.

My last picture for the day is one of the painting I found at Linens and Things as well. I actually saw it first at Kirklands and couldn’t decide on it, then saw it when buying the draperies and decided to try it. It’s huge, in fact it wouldn’t fit in my car and my husband had to pick it up in his truck on the day of graduation. It turned out to be quite perfect with shades of creme and gold. I really like that it is oversized and pulls together the room. I know you probably want to see the whole room, but I can’t stand to give you a final shot without the chandelier and new seats. I’ll try to get that done soon!

Oh, and here’s the graduation girl – hooray for Ashley…my first college graduate! Isn’t she fabulous