Little Lady

Look who I took home with me a couple of days ago from the antique mall.

At just $15 I couldn't resist.
Chris wants to go on the record to say he doesn't like her at all, but I think she's just fantastic. Art is a subjective thing.

Now where to put her? Maybe I should start a gallery wall in our upstairs hallway. Perhaps Honest Abe would like it there too...

Czech republic homes designs.

Czech republic homes designs.

Bulgaria modern homes designs.

Bulgaria modern homes designs.

The Good Stuff

I do believe that it's the details that make an ordinary room extraordinary. At least that's what I told Chris in trying to convince him to build a panel for the tub apron. 

He loosely followed this tutorial from HGTV to make the panel, substituting plywood and picture molding for beadboard. (We'll protect it by using semi-gloss mildew resistant paint.)

Up goes the crown molding.

One of my favorite features is the faux column. To make it, Chris routed the sides of a board and topped it with crown molding. Oooooh! Fancy! That's right. Only the best for our guests. 

And of course, here's the chair rail and picture molding he installed last weekend.

Just you wait to see what this is all going to look like painted.
Speaking of paint, have you seen this tip yet? Use tinfoil to cover doorknobs to avoid getting paint on them. This is definitely going to make my life easier.

In other exciting news, Hazardous Design has been nominated as Best Remodeling Blogger in the 2012 JDR Industry Blogger Awards! Voting is now open. Please vote for us here today!

Croatia homes designs.

Croatia homes designs.

Silver Leaf Mirror

Silver leafing is a project I've been wanting to do for years, but it wasn't until Chris and I started talking about remodeling the guest bath that I had the guts to try it. The mirror that the previous owner had been using in the downstairs powder room turned out to be the perfect fit for the wall above the vanity in the guest bath. Why not make it look a little fancier and reuse it?
The mirror has a really cool shape.

It must have belonged to an old dresser or vanity in its previous life. I had to plug up the holes on the sides with a wood filler. This is probably where the mirror had been attached to the frame of a dresser.

I covered the mirror with newsprint and gave the frame a coat of dark gray paint as an under layer.

Once that dried, I gathered all my supplies and got to work. The leaf, adhesive, and sealer cost under $30.

 It is a very simple process, I learned:

• Spray the area you want to leaf with the spray adhesive
• Lift a sheet of leaf from the book it comes in with a piece of wax paper. The leaf will stick to the wax paper when it is pressed on top. 
• Place the leaf over the area you want to adhere it
• Brush to smooth out the leaf and remove the excess

 When I finished, I didn't like how "perfect" it looked. I wanted something that looked more aged and distressed. Plus, I wanted to see some of the gray paint under the leaf.

So I lightly sanded the frame with fine grit sandpaper before sealing it.

I'm just thrilled with the way it came out. 

Of course, now I want to silver leaf everything in my house.  Chris better watch out. 

Estonia homes designs.

Estonia homes designs.

Portugal modern homes designs.

Portugal modern homes designs.

Chile homes designs.

Chile homes designs.

It Worked!

We have clean tile and grout! Thanks to all of your helpful suggestions a couple weeks back, I'm here to report that with a little time and elbow grease I got our guest bath tile floor sparkling clean again. 

A few people suggested Barkeeper's Friend. I already had some in the house, so that's what I tried first.  Did you know it also makes stainless steel look like new???

I made a slurry of Barkeeper's Friend and water. Working in small sections, I poured it over the floor and let it sit for a few minutes. Then using a stiff bristled brush, I worked it into the grout and rinsed it off with a clean rag. It worked like a charm!

Now we just have to reseal the floor like a couple of other commenters suggested.

Slovenia home designs.

Slovenia home designs.