Dining Room Redo: Light Fixture Question

One of my next room projects that I am addressing is the dining room.  Here is a picture of the area as it is now.

I know I need to add color, texture and accessories. I also am not sure I care for the yellow candle sheaths on the chandelier and wall sconces.  I am thinking about painting the sheaths a different color but am not sure what products to use.  I don't know if heat will be a  factor... I need to check the wattage of the bulbs.  Adhesion (of paint on surface) is a concern as the sheaths are a hard glass-like material, although I think I know a product that would probably work as a primer/basecoat (Faux Effects PrimeEtch).  Here are some closer pics of the fixtures. 

If anyone has done this, what products did you use?  Was heat a factor in product selection, what primer, basecoat and paint did you use.  Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

The Kitchen Backsplash

When we were building our home, one of the choices that I had the most difficulty making was picking out a kitchen backsplash. I just wasn't sure what I wanted or material and design I wanted to commit to.... here are some "before" pics of the kitchen backsplash area.

The backsplash dilemma was so difficult for me that in retrospect, I probably should have consulted an interior decorator. But I didn’t... and for a few weeks I looked at numerous magazines, model homes and tile shops. It got to the point that I only had a few days before I had to make the decision because the tile guys had to get to their next job. Forced to choose, I knew I have always liked natural stone and decided to go with a simple 4x4 tumbled travertine. I then saw a cast metal product at a tile showroom and went with it in an oil rubbed bronze finish, specifically a 16" x 24" tile mural and a 4" x 12" listello liner. There was also a gorgeous oil rubbed nickel option… but I went with the bronze because of the color of travertine I went with. Here are is the backsplash tiled, without grout.

 

This is the backsplash after grouting. I kind of  wish I had gone with a darker grout.

Here is a close-up of the mural and listello liner simple, but still interesting) .

I also decided to bring the tumbled travertine up the arched window niche above one of my sinks.

I played it "safe," but I like it.  I still need to get accessories, switch out the white electrical plates for something that blends better with the stone and paint the arched window casing to match the stone or maybe do an oil rubbed bronze look or some darker color. I also need to get different island stools.  The ones I am using are from my old house and are about 4 inches too short for the height of the island' partly because there is an extra thickness of granite due to the edge detail I chose. Ideally, would love to have some nice upholstered stools. You can see the shortcoming of the stools in the following picture ....yikes! 

 

Linking to Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On the Porch and Spotlight Yourself @ It's So Very Cheri.

Dining Table Re-do for My Son

I have been busy running around with my twenty one year old son, who is getting ready to move into an unfurnished campus apartment at the University he is attending. He has lived at home during his first three years of college, other than living in a dorm for two semesters. I am happy for him but I am also SAD, but I don’t let him see.  Anyway, other than bedroom furniture, neither my son nor his roommates have any furniture to speak of. I figured that a dining table was one of the more important items to address so I pulled out an old oak pedestal table that was my husbands when he was single. I think I have seen a gazillion of this same table on blog posts. The finish was a yellowing Oak and in pretty poor condition. I forgot to get a good "before" picture but below is one I took after I primed the top... you can see the original finish on the pedestal base.

So I cleaned, sanded and primed and then painted it black. To add a little interest I wiped on some metallic paint (Faux Effects MetalGlow in Toasted Coconut) on the pedestal base and legs.

Because the accenting seemed a little too THERE, I went over those areas with some dull black paint and wiped/blended to bury some of the metallic. (Below shows the dull black paint just applied, and then after blending).

I decided to add metallic paint along the bottom edge of the apron, see below. I was tempted to add some metallic along the top perimeter but decided to edit myself. Here is the table:

...plus chairs.

.
The table seemed too small for young men. I remembered we had a leaf to the table, which took me 40 minutes to find... good thing young ears were no where to be found.  Below is a picture of the expanded table.  I like the size and shape, so did my son.

...plus some upholstered end chairs.

Finally, I topcoated with 3 coats of polyurethane. My son is not sure if he likes the upholstered chairs… now that I take a step back I understand that they are probably not the taste of most twenty one year old boys. I seriously don't know what I was thinking. I'll need to get more simple end chairs.

Also linking to:
The Shabby Nest         My Romantic Home     Blue Cricket Designs
Chic on a Shoestring     Funky Junk Interiors
Life in the Fun Lane

 

Metallic Glazed Sideboard

I decided to bring up the sideboard I had in storage.. I thought I would use it in my birds' room... something to put their TV on.  I purchased this piece nine years ago and used it at my old house for a awhile but retired it after I moved. I kept it because I liked it’s bones... the carved detailing and curved feet. The piece is wood with wood veneer and hada cherry stain, which had kind of yellowed and discolored due to UV exposure.

I cleaned, sanded, primed and painted it (SW Antique Linen). Here are pics showing the primed piece...

  

and Antique Linen on the architecture against the white primer.

I decided that a metallic taupe color glaze would look nice. I applied the glaze with a brush on/wipe-off technique using a 2 inch chip brush and cheesecloth. The chip brush is a great tool for getting glaze into tiny crevices.

Here is how the architecture looks after wiping off with a cheesecloth... a nice, subtle effect.

To add a little more interest, I applied the metallic paint to a few edges here and there to give the piece a slightly distressed look without actually distressing it. For the hardware, I primed the pieces with a metal primer and did a tonal finish with some glazing.

Here is a close up of the curved feet.

Finally, I topcated with two coats of polyurethane. I think it turned out fine, the problem is although it fits in the room I was going to place it, I'm not loving it scale-wise and I really have no other area in my house for it. One drawback of having an open floor plan is decreased wall space . So it will probably be taking a trip to my Mom’s house… her neighborhood is having a garage sale in a few weeks. I probably need to mount the TV on the wall for the birds anyway.

UPDATE:  September 27, 2010

I ended up keeping the sideboard. I decided to add more metallic to the carved detailing. I dry brushed a concentrated metallic silver (Faux Effects Faux Metal Silver) over the high points and then glazed the areas with Metallic Pearl White (Folk Art), which added shine and pearlescence.

Here is a picture with the flash... you can see the silver detail, but not so much the pearlescence of the metallic pearl white glaze.

Without the flash, you can see more of the pearlescence and shine.

The "Sample" Table

A told a friend of a friend I would refinish a couple of furniture pieces for her daughter's bedroom,with the request being some sort of distressed light to medium light blue finish. I haven't seen the pieces but was told that they are stained dark and have some architecture. So, instead of experimenting on a sample cabinet door, I decided to practice on a side table that I had not used since for awhile.

After cleaning and a light sanding, I distressed it with a metal kabob skewer.  Other distressing tools that are good are screwdrivers, hammers and even banging keys that are strung together, however, sometimes depending on the wood, the "key bang" techniquecan end up looking like a bunch of chickens ran across it.  I didn't do any priming because I painted it with Behr's All in One Paint and Primer. After the paint dried, I distressed some of the edges using a razor blade.

I then brushed on and wiped off a chocolate colored glaze to sort of tea stain the piece (very subtle) and highlight some of the architecture.

I then dry brushed a cream colored paint over the piece... 

and wiped off  and  softened the areas.

To darken the feet, I rubbed on some Antique Mahogany Stain and Seal. You can see some of my skewer distressing (holes).

Below is the finished table. Since the piece is a "sample" table (I am not going to keep this finish), I did not topcoat it with polyurethane like I normally would.