paint it black

The little tin of black paint I bought last week has almost gone!

We are planning to rip up the vile carpet on the stairs, and when we do, I intend to paint the risers white and the treads black. We may end up using some FLOR tiles on the treads too, especially when the pooch is on the scene.

In preparation for the blessed day when the carpet bites the dust (although from the state of it, I suppose that day came many years ago...) I decided to paint the stair rail and the newel posts black. When we arrived they were mostly white, but some parts had rubbed away to reveal they were once black.

Now they are nice and shiny :D What else can I paint black?

monee comes to stay

Dad isn't going to be pleased about this one, but I had to...

Monee loves him some Pollock chair ;)

powder room primping

The toilet on the main level (or powder room, for our Yank friends) has been in a state of unrest for about 6 months now. Just after Christmas we began its renovation by removing the hideous wallpaper border that crowns every bathroom in this house (except the basement, which escaped this treatment). We then painted the edges... and that was as far as I got.

Last week I finished painting (guacamole!) and tried painting the vanity. The pic probably doesn't make the doors look that bad, but they are actually veneer over nasty particleboard, which is obvious in person. I messed it up a bit - I accidentally let some paint dry on one side before I was ready and it became lumpy. I had to wait for it to dry, sand it down and repaint it. It's all good now.

I added some stainless steel handles, a towel ring and tp holder, and voila!

I also picked up a great piece of soapstone for $20, from which we are going to fabricate a new countertop and mount a vessel sink on it. But for now, it looks a million times better already!

The New Table

Within 2 days of selling the faux-guchi, I had 2 new coffee tables. The sweet little danish table has now found a new home, and we love the new silky smooth spherical slab! The new table was custom made in the Phillipines (maybe by some Mercer cousins eh?!) for a couple who live in Sterling now. It has a Saarinen style white steel base and is one fat hunk of wood on top. I am not sure what, but I would guess teak. It is very pretty! And bonus - it swivels like a lazy susan!

"Pass the remote"-"SPINNNN!"

We also now have an oh so soft new zealand wool shag under it - it is realllly shaggy!

T-Rex's 30th is coming up next week so there is much prep going on for the party, including painting and gardening. Updates to follow!