4/28/11

Stones into Shelves, Grafitti Pillows and the Industrial Revolution!

Here's an update on our spring projects around the house. We won't go back into high gear until the fall, but it's still fun to get some things accomplished. My FAVorite project is this natural stone/pebble shelf above the kitchen sink. Bill took the old shelf out because it was leaky and drafty. He insulated and reinforced it with metal brackets. When the house is demolished, the shelf shall remain! The guts inside this shelf are spectacular. I got these cool Stratastones which come in a mesh grid. They may look great for our bathroom or foyer floor, so this is a test. I adhered them with acrylic adhesive and then grouted them with pretty gray. Finished with a few coats of glossy sealer. I am love with this and I get to look at it every day! Later this year I'll get a stainless sink and new countertops. Can't wait!




                               
And here's the BEFORE picture:
A couple of other projects in the works...our hallway got a new light. The doors were brown and we painted them white and added a custom ordered stainless steel strip to give it that atomic ranch feel. Brushed steel handles too. Note that the trim around the door is still missing until after the floor is installed:
And then the old couches got new pillows, courtesy of my class with Alisa Burke. We made some fab canvas and I cut it up and stitched it into pillows. Looking forward to a new couch also later this year, but this helps for now:

And let's not forget the bathroom. What a transformation! And we're only part way there. This just brings it into harmony with the new colors in the house, until we gut it and replace everything...except these awesome industrial lights Bill installed. They were his design and look amazing! 


 Would you believe it looked like this a couple of weeks ago? I thought it was kind of charming, but orange is out and gray/lavender/seafoam is in. Out with the cottage and in with the industrial loft. Cool.
Thanks for following our house high jinks. Now time to make art!!!


10 comments:

  1. well done, to the both of you! very inspiring, and very cool that you've shared it with all of us. :-) ~ Davi

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  2. everything looks fantastic...ya'll can come do my house next!! LOL btw...that stone shelf is beautiful, makes you happy to wash dishes, huh?

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  3. Love that kitchen window!!!

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  4. Gorgeous! I don't know what I like most. High on the list is the colors you chose, love the lavendar. The shelf? I wonder how a counter would look in those stones. Wonderful Kelli and helpers.

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  5. Anonymous4/28/2011

    I love the rock counters, how did you do that?

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  6. As I mentioned above, they are called Stratastones. You buy them in 1 foot squares on mesh. They are essentially mosaic squares. Lay down some acrylic adhesive for tile and press the squares down and let them cure for 24 hours. Then grout. I used ready mixed grout from Home Depot. Basic mosaic grouting--press it inbetween the stones and then start wiping it off them. The next day I coated it three times with tile sealer in gloss. Voila!

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  7. Wow that's all really impressive - I love the turquoise kitchen and the cushions are fab! Who needs to move house!?! x

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  8. woohoo! looking great, Kelli, and I love the stratstones too! wanna get me some. Love the sofa pillows too!! (I don't know why I can't write with out an exclamation mark after every sentence....!)

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  9. About your gorgeous pillows. What class with Alisa.......was it on line or in person?

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  10. I took a class at CREATE...which is a wonderful venue and highly recommended. http://www.createmixedmediaretreat.com/

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