Much to my husband’s dismay, I had a brilliant idea of how I wanted our nursery painted. He knows from past home renovation projects that my brilliant ideas always end up being hard work. My original plan of painting green walls just didn’t seem creative enough to me, so I came up with the idea to paint stripes.

I saw some photos online and figured it couldn’t be that difficult. In a way, I was right, yet somehow so wrong. The painting was, in fact, easy and fairly quick as far as painting goes. The prep work for stripes, though, literally felt like it sucked years from my life. The end result was totally worth it, but boy was it time-consuming. If you plan to do it at home, I would suggest blocking off a full weekend.

Here are the steps to painting stripes:
1) Paint a base color. We were painting over a dark khaki with a light green, so we used Behr paint & primer in one in Celery Sprig. The Home Depot paint guru assured me that it definitely would not require more than one coat. Maybe I am picky, but I would not have been happy with the streaks one coat of this paint left on my wall. After two, it was perfect.

2) Give ample time to dry. We painted the base coat one weekend and gave it a whole week to dry before painting stripes the next weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, the best furniture designers are creating modern dining tables with highly polished hardwood. The beauty and interest comes from the grain of the wood and not any added embellishment. With the use of modern technology the wood can be cut and shaped to the cleanest lines and minimum widths to create truly futuristic furniture. Wood also combines will with glass for table tops and shelving. This kind of style will be a centerpiece in an urban modern setting.

Modern wood furniture is understated and will compliment the decor of any room. If it is part of an eclectic group of furniture, it will blend and enhance, never clash. For those who love the smooth lines of modern furniture but cannot afford to change everything in their home, buying a few key pieces will give new life to any room and could be the beginning of a collection.

Another benefit of modern wooden furniture is the durability. Hardwood such as oak does not stain or scratch easily and keeps its shape and color. Truly modern furniture is a specific style that does not go out of fashion. It will have its cache for years because it is also a work of art. Read the rest of this entry »