Reader Project: Diningroom Moldings

I’ve told you before how much I enjoy getting emails from all of you who read my blog, especially those that let me know that something I’ve done on my blog inspired them to try it too. That makes me SO giddy, so again, I received one of those emails recently from Sheila, another reader in Ontario, Canada (you Canadian girls are really paying attention, THANK you, you rock!) So, please read Sheila’s email to me and enjoy HER wonderful DIY project that she and her hubby completed:

Hi Rhoda,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sheila and I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I am 56 years of age and I love decorating my home even though I have no formal schooling on the matter.

I am a faithful follower of your blog and it is my number 1 site that I visit each day. I consider myself a "stalker" of sorts because I always visit but never leave any comments. One evening not too long ago, I lauded your decorating style and mentioned that we had just finished installing picture molding to our dining room after being inspired by your own makeover. I promised to send photos that evening, so I am pleased to be sending them today.

Occasionally I feel we are kindred spirits of sorts because I have always been intrigued by the south. Maybe it’s a fascination from that great movie "Gone with the Wind" but the stately homes, sipping mint juleps on beautiful porches and southern belles have always captured my attention. Someday soon, I hope to visit the lovely cities of Charleston and Savannah.

My dear hubby had always wanted to try this effect but I was never a big fan of moldings until I saw your makeover. I'm the one with most of the decorating ideas for our home, but he's always the one who carries them out. Guaranteed if I had done the work, those moldings would not even be straight- hehe. We actually make a great team but I guess that goes without saying after 36 years of marriage.

So in closing, I hope you enjoy our photos and maybe I'll become less of a "stalker" now and start leaving some comments on your blog. Keep up the great work and thanks again for all the sharing you do!!

Kind regards,
Sheila

Look at those perfectly straight moldings and what a beautiful dining room. Sheila, it’s gorgeous!

Inspired by this project that I did earlier this year, if you want to try something new in your dining room and add some picture frame molding, what are you waiting for? If WE can do it, YOU can too. Sheila, thanks so much for your note and for sharing your beautiful dining room project with me. I just know everyone else will love it too.

My dining room project was also featured over the weekend at One Project Closer, so go over and take a look there too. They are doing a summer contest of Before and After projects, so if you have something to submit, send in your pics. I won a $25 giftcard for entering and being featured, so that's exciting!

Framed

This is my old bathroom in Georgia. We put in the furniture piece complete with sink and marble tiles and it really turned out pretty. I loved this vanity, the feet, hardware and everything about it. That was back when wallpaper and borders were really in (hello 90's), but I don’t miss either, however, and it was time to move on to Alabama and a new house.

This was a classic dining room buffet in a former life, but worked out well for a new vanity in the bathroom. And yes, that is indeed a cat’s tail you see in the pic. My sweet kitty that I used to have loved drinking water out of the sink.

Now, here’s the part I really wanted to show you. This mirror was framed out using square blocks and fluted moldings and glued on with Liquid Nails. These were painted and glued on the mirror by me. And just to clarify, YES...they are glued directly on top of the mirror, not the wall. So, you don't need extra space on either side of your mirror at all. No more crackle finish this time around, but I’ve got big plans for these……

And 2 naked bathroom mirrors just crying out for some bling. You’ve probably seen this done before, but it’s a great way to frame out a plain bath mirror without taking it down and starting over. You’ll see soon enough and I'll show off both of them! I'm working on the first one now.

Little Architectural Details

Sometimes it's the small little details that can make the difference in a home. I love older homes & even though we don't live in an older home, we have some pretty decent moldings & trim. Of course, I'd love more of those, so to add a little pizazz here and there, I've found little ways to add some extra special details around this place. My dad built this old pine cabinet that is now in my laundryroom a LONG time ago. I spotted it outside under his carport one time and even though it was really hideous looking after he took it down from his utility room, I had him add some crown molding to the top of it. I knew I could make it pretty & it would be a perfect cabinet for my laundryroom makeover last year. I went to Lowes & picked up the small rope trim, mitered it & added it to the front of the door. Really makes a difference in sprucing up an old ugly cabinet. A new coat of paint & it changes the whole look of it.

When we moved in this house, the previous owner had tiled the countertops & backsplash in the kitchen with tumbled marble tile. This little area had always bugged me, as the tile on top was left unfinished, so I went back to Lowes & picked up this stone rope edging & added it by glueing it on with Liquid Nails. I still need to find some grout & add that in the crevices too, but it already looks much better.

You've seen a pic of this before, but this is a very fine piece of crown molding that I picked up several years ago. Fell in love with it & brought it with me to this house & it found a home above one of the doorways into the hall. I just love the extra little detail it adds to the doorway. I stained & layered the colors on it to bring out all the details.

This is one of a pair of corbels I added in the Diningroom doorway & it also adds some extra special architectural interest. These are actually resin, but I glued them in place with Liquid Nails. Painted them the same color as the trim & did a glaze over them.

This is a little shelf that's above the sink where I display my green Bordallo dishes. It also had a straight plain edge & I used an extra piece of rope molding that was left from the laundryroom cabinet project to finish it off. Again, just a simple thing can make a difference. I glued it on with woodglue. I just measured that white bookcase I found last weekend at the yardsale & I'll be adding some rope molding down the sides of it too. That will make it look great, I think!

This is the area right above that shelf & I've also added some simple wood appliques to this portion of the cabinets. These are so easy to add & put a little glaze on to bring out the pretty detail.

The fireplace too was just plain in the front, so I added this wooden applique, painted & glazed.

Here's one of my kitchen chairs that I painted black & also added some wooden appliques on those. It was fun to spruce up the backs of these chairs. I got a lot of my ideas from my friend, Donna, at The Decorated House. She's a master at all of this stuff, from faux painting to adding lots of architectural details. If you haven't visited her blog, you need to. She's been very generous over the years to share her knowledge & she's a great artist with such an eye for detail.

One small thing that can make a huge difference, the electrical plates stood out like a sore thumb when we moved in...can you imagine about 8 of these around the backsplash all in white? It was very distracting, not to mention ugly, so I took out my craft paints & matched them up to the backsplash & faux painted these. It's SO much better!

Another simple architectural small shell detail on the curtain rod in our master bedroom. I think I used wire on the back of this to hold it in place. I love how elegant it looks, yet simple.

And these iron pieces I picked up at Lakewood Antiques in Atlanta a few years ago. They are really heavy & I put them up with some screws. They highlight the door & window in the greatroom.

These are just a few ideas on how to add a few interesting architectural details around your home too, even if you're not blessed with having a house with moldings in abundance. Just a few little things like this can make a huge difference, so look around and see if you have anywhere to add some of these! Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm going to get some painting done this weekend, at least that's the plan! That & watching Alabama football!