Pet Friendly Rugs?!?!

The time has come to to rid my house of one of my favorite rugs. As most of you know, Andrew and I are the proud parents of three four-legged children: Marv, Jarka and Remy.

As most of you also know, Jarka is a 3lb rescue with extreme scoliosis and the inability to tinkle outside on a regular basis. Needless to say, against my better judgement, I bought two cream damask rugs with the best intentions of keeping watch on them at all times. As of yesterday, it seems as though my master plan has gone to the dogs. Or should I say, has gone to dog pee....

Yesterday, I happened to notice a "Jarka puddle" in the dinning room that was partially on the rug and partially on the NEW wood floor. I lifted up the rug to further explore the situation at hand, and BANG - I was hit with the extremely potent odor of stale dog pee. FAB.

Andrew and I rolled the rug up tonight, and thankfully, the floors under the rug seem fine.

What isn't so fine is my RUG. It is a wool/poly blend and completely ruined :(

As I started looking at replacement options, I couldn't help but think "there must be a better way!". I can't imagine that there isn't a "pet friendly" rug out there....

The more I searched, the more I came across two options:

1. A chic indoor/outdoor that could be rinsed off outside with soap and water
2. FLOR carpet tiles

The FLOR tiles seem pretty nice, but I wasn't sure if they'd have options that would work with my decor. BOY was I wrong! They've got TONS of options: traditional, modern, transitional - they even have an entire line of textural patterns.  

The prices are decent, ranging from $8 - $28 per tile. For a 5x7 rug they say you'll need 12 tiles...

Plus, I like the idea of being able to customize my rug, as well as the ability to switch out a square in the event of a potty accident.

After shopping around, I've picked a few favorites. The first one is my top pick, followed by the second. I don't think the third one would work in our house; however, I do think it is a nice option for a more modern home.

http://www.flor.com/interlaced-pearl.html

http://www.flor.com/pretty-promise-palm.html

http://www.flor.com/lasting-grateness-titanium.html

Would you use FLOR carpet tiles in your home??!?!?

Some light reading on how to make your home a bit more pet friendly:

http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/9-tips-for-a-chic-pet-friendly-home/index.html

Our counter tops were installed last Wednesday and I'm just getting around to posting about them. Thus far, we are in love! As I stated in an earlier post, we decided to go with quartz vs. granite so we wouldn't have to worry about maintenance. 

Post order, I worried that perhaps I'd miss the larger scale grain pattern that granite offers; however, I think the quartz really looks nice with our cabinet and flooring selection.

The quartz is also extremely durable, and very easy to clean. All you need is a paper towel and some Windex :)

Below you can check out a few pictures of the install process. The counters look a bit gray in the second photo, but they are actually a really a nice medium taupe.

The old kitchen had a very "rustic" looking bar. To be frank, the thing was hideous. Andrew used some of the former base to create an extremely large counter height island. 

This picture  makes the counters look gray, the color of the island is a better representation of what they truly look like in person.

Here is a picture of the swatch from LG's website, it provides an even better idea of the color:

http://www.lgviaterausa.com/products/16/168

In conclusion, I sure am happy to be rid of the blue counters - below is a photo of the old bar and those sweet blue countertops!

The bar was WAY too rustic for our taste, it also blocked the sight lines:

Blue is a lovely color, on anything but counters:

Until next time!

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Happy Sunday!

It's been a while since I've had the chance to post. Things have been crazy between our kitchen project, and being out of town last weekend.

Today Andrew and I took a set of chairs purchased for the bargain basement price of $35.00 (TOTAL!) from Craig's List and gave them an extreme face lift :)

The entire project cost $85.00 or $21.25 per chair. Can't beat that with a stick!

We decided to go BOLD as almost everything else in our house is very muted.

This was my very first "upcycle" project, and I'm happy to report that it really wasn't all that hard. We used Valspar Color Radiance spray paint in flat caramel honey to transform the chairs from their dingy 'ol wood color to something a bit more fresh a modern.

http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/find-the-right-product/interior/spray-paint/radiance.html

The fabric and cushion batting was purchased at Joann's. The fabric is a Waverly print that is both traditional and modern at the same time ( it sorta reminded me of a damask, but in fun color palette). The fabric was on sale for $11.99 a yard. I purchased two yards in the event that I encountered a MAJOR mishap...

http://www.joann.com/fabric/home-decor-fabric/price_$10-$25/color_purples%7Cmulti/?page=3

We took the chairs out to the barn to spray paint (thank god we had some air circulation - this stuff would've killed us in a closed room!) and then allowed them to dry for about 3 hours. The bottle says it should be "dry to the touch" in 30 minutes. Yeah, um. THAT IS A LIE!

Check out the afternoon captured in photos below. I'll also include a photo of the back splash being installed in the kitchen. Today at Lowe's I noticed that they charge $400.00 to install 20 sq/ft of back splash in a diamond pattern. Stuff it Lowe's, we'd rather gain ourselves some sweat equity ;)

Until next time,

x0x0x0x

Sarah

Our supplies for the afternoon........

A 'lil spray paint action in the barn. For those of you with eagle eyes, please disregard the bumper sticker on ANDREW's tractor. I begged him not to purchase.....clearly...I did not win this battle...

Close up of the seat cushion -

FINISHED PRODUCT! 

Kitchen update - Only the back splash install and crown remain ;) Andrew started the back splash, preview below!

Happy Monday!

We had another busy weekend at the farmhouse...

Andrew continued to work on the kitchen floor while I attempted (yet again) to contain the mess.

We used a urethane grout known as QuartzLock for the kitchen because we know that no matter what we do, Jarka will continue to have the occasional potty accident on the kitchen floor. Disgusting, but what can you really expect much from a 3 lb dog that is ridden with scoliosis?

The QuartzLock grout is stain resistant, and extremely durable. It is also VERY expensive (the grout for the 120 sq feet in the kitchen clocked in at about $600.00). It also dries MUCH faster than regular 'ol grout, so you've got to work quickly.

I will say, price and work ability aside, I think the new title (with the fancy grout!) looks fab:

I especially like the way the new cabinet finish plays off of the rustic elements of the tile. All in all, I think we made the right choice.

Lowe's called today, and it looks like our counters are completed WAY ahead of scheduled. They'll be installed on WEDNESDAY of next week. I'm really looking forward to wrapping this up, so this certainly is some exciting news..

We are a tad behind on completing the cabinet refinishing, and we need to get our plumber out here to install the new disposal/hook up the dishwasher before the cabinets arrive - BUSY BUSY!

If you'd like to read up on the QuartzLock product, you may find some additional information below. Happy grouting! PS: The You Tube video makes the process look a tad bit easier than it actually was, ah - the power of marketing. Until next time!

http://www.installerstore.com/Bostik-Quartz-Lock-2-Grout-18lb-Buckets.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QMXVpbU__M

Happy Wednesday All!

The tile is FINALLY finished; however we can't walk on it for the next 12 or so hours so I can't really get a good picture. I promise I'll upload some (I'll also try to make them BIGGER, Frank!) as soon as possible.

In the interim....

I've been getting several questions about our kitchen table (not the super dark table with the brown leather chairs, but rather the medium color one with the benches - picture below).

We found the table at Modern Rust, a nice little Eco-Friendly company located in VA. They custom make all pieces, out of recycled materials. We purchased the 38 x 60 table, with the two benches included; plus a buffet and a coffee table all in the distressed espresso.

Thus far, we've been extremely happy with our pieces. I will say the delivery process wasn't very smooth (they sub out the delivery so you're kind of at the mercy of an independent contractor) and one of our pieces did arrive slightly damaged. The delivery is also a bit expensive (I believe we paid about $300.00 for our pieces to be delivery).

Delivery snafu aside, the company is owned by a husband and wife team who are exceptionally down-to-earth. They don't have a show room, rather they display pieces in their own home. If you want to see the pieces in person, you simply schedule an appointment and they welcome you with open arms.

We even had tea and cookies with Shadi while we shopped!

The pieces are all extremely durable, easy to clean (simply dust with a dry cloth and wipe down occasionally) and very unique.

I personally feel like the pieces work well with a variety of home decor styles. If you peruse their website, you'll notice that the pieces are shown in modern homes, french country homes and even art deco style homes. In fact, Shadi and Bahram's home is very much a fusion of several styles...

Below you'll find Modern Rust's website as well as an article I found about Shadi and Bahram.

One last tidbit, the furniture is all "special order" (e.g. you may customize size, finishes, etc). All this customization does come with a lead time - we waited about 11 weeks for our pieces...

As they say, it was worth the wait :)

http://modernrustfurniture.com/index.html

http://www.smallfriendlyplanet.org/meet-shadi-and-bahram-owners-of-modern-rust-furniture/

http://www.etsy.com/people/ModernRust

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Sarah

The tile project is underway and we are rocking @ the farm house. Nothing like a little (um, or a lot!) of manual labor to get you moving...

Yesterday, we worked on the tile project for about 11 hours. Today we're back at it hoping and to be ready to grout tomorrow....

A breakdown of events @ the FH yesterday can be found below! Enjoy!



7:00 am wake up call, ugh! Thankfully, we had some liquid crack to start the day off.  Thanks Jen and Jer!!!!

We started off by changing the placement of some of the existing cabinets. *Note, these have yet to be refinished, that we occur this week!*

Before:

After: *We took that tall three cabinet thingy from one side of the wall to the other so the fridge could be flanked on either side with cabinets.... THIS WASN'T EASY!!!*

Then we started busting up the tile, which was my job. I know some of you may not believe that I've got a handy bone in my body, au contraire, I am the daughter of a Carpenter...

Then we started getting a little nutty, thanks in part to my outfit of choice for the day. Safety first people! .....this was hour 6 or 7....

Our stopping point for the day. Doesn't look like much, but these are 4x4 tiles!

Until next time!

x0x0x0x

On an extremely cold Pittsburgh night nothing is more enjoyable than sitting by a nice warm fire. Which is exactly why when we started looking for a new home, we knew we simply had to have a fireplace.

Thankfully, the majority of older homes have at least one so we assumed we wouldn't have a very hard time checking that box on our wish list....

As luck would have it, our old broad has four beautiful fireplaces. The not so lucky part of this story is that once we started opening up the fireplaces (all four of them had been bricked over) we discovered that three of the four had been coal burning.

Coal burning fireplaces, also commonly known as Rumford fireplaces, are frequently found in homes built in the mid 1800's - early 1900's. Coal burns longer and is cleaner than wood, making it a more desired option for homeowners of this era.

Fireplaces designed to burn coal are extremely shallow, making the modern gas insert options available on the market today far too large.

Alas, enter in the gem that is The Victorian Fireplace Shop, a fabulous little company in Richmond, VA.  The Victorian Fireplace Shop has several gorgeous gas coal basket options, perfect for providing that authentic look.

Check out some of the gorgeous options on their website:

hhttp://www.gascoals.com/Home/GASFires/GasCoalBaskets.aspxouse 

We decided to start with our living room fireplace as it is the largest in the home, meaning we were able to find a regular 'ol gas log insert.

We purchased our insert online, as Lowe's and Home Depot didn't have anything small enough. Andrew  first opened up the fireplace, with a bit of traditional elbow grease and a sledge hammer; and then we had our plumber come out and run the gas line.

Word of caution:

To all of you "DIY ers"
I'm going to say this once and only once:  DO NOT mess with gas!!!

Honestly, it really isn't safe. Andrew had briefly toyed around with the idea of running the gas line himself but thankfully he listened to my pleas and brought in a professional. Usually having a line installed will run you about $200.00, but it is really worth the money to avoid any dangerous scenarios.

I don't know about you, but I'm not looking to have my husband go up in flames....
If you are, don't bring in the professional and let him go to town.....

Once the plumber installed the gas line, our fireplace was pretty much ready to cast a warm and friendly glow on the Dylewski farm house.

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Quick Tip!
If you're in the market for a gas log insert you will need to decide if you will be going with a vented or vent less log. Our old chimney is all sealed up, so we needed to go with a "vent less" log.

To read more about the difference between the two, check out this link:

http://www.hansenwholesale.com/gas-logs/vented-vs-ventfree.asp

We knew we wanted something that looked as realistic as possible, so we bought a log with these little stones that look like embers.We purchased our gas log via Woodland Direct. They have several excellent options, at various price points.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Fireplace-Accessories/Ventless-Gas-Logs

Below is a picture of the finished product!

Happy Friday!
x0x0x0x
Sarah