Turquoise

“I’ll write the word blue in green and when I ask you what color it is, the proper response is turquoise.”
Jarod Kintz-

This tranquil, cool, watery color is just plain pretty. It's the color direction I chose when I decided to paint my home office but really, this color would work well in any room. It's cheerful  but not intense, kind of feminine but not girlie, exciting but soothing. What else can I say but I love this color.

Hotel Chic

House & Home

HGTV

House & Home

House Beautiful

HGTV

Houzz

York Wallcoverings

How to clean your iron

This is my Rowenta iron. It's got a nasty build up of burnt fabric and strips of no sew adhesive on it. In this condition it is useless but I am not about to buy a new one. There was no scraping this stuff off so how do I clean it?

I found this Hot Iron Cleaner at Bed Bath and Beyond and thought I'd give it a whirl. 

Following the directions on the package I heated a dry iron to the cotton setting. Next I took an old towel and squeezed the contents of one tube onto the towel. 

I then took the iron and rubbed it in a circular motion on the Hot Iron cleaner and the burnt build up started to come off. The directions said I might need more than one application so I repeated with the other tube and more came off. Unfortunately there was still residue left on the iron and I was out of the cleaner. 

This is the iron after two attempts to clean it with the Hot Iron Cleaner.

Now what should I do. I had two choices.I could either go buy another package of iron cleaner or I could try Google to find a solution. I found a few websites that said I could clean the iron with baking soda and/or vinegar. This method was a little different as it required a cool iron. After letting the iron cool for about 45 minutes I put some baking soda on a damp towel and rub it on the iron.

Good news as even more came off, but still not all.

Then I tried the vinegar and baking soda solution and still more came off. In fact I was able to get off about 99% of the burnt residue. 

Awesome. So now I am ready to iron right? Wrong. I turned the iron on and then this happened. It's the baking soda that got pushed into the holes of the iron. Now I have another mess. 

To clean this new mess I added water to the iron because I needed steam to help push out the baking soda. My word, how much baking soda did I use? I continued to iron on a clean towel and eventually was able to remove most of the residue. I tried ironing with it and she is working like a dream again. The real test will be trying to iron my dark jeans. I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Almost as good as new. 

Here are a few things I learned.

1.  The hot iron cleaner works well but depending on the mount of burnt on gook it can take 3 or 4 applications to get it all off. It's a little expensive, but there's very little mess.

2.  The baking soda or baking soda/vinegar combo works very well and is much cheaper. Only problem is that it leaves a big mess on the iron and on the ironing board cover so beware.

3.  Take better care not to burn the fabric on the iron. Mistakes happens so if you have an accident clean it right away. You'll find it's both cheaper and less messy to clean a little than a lot.

Happy ironing.

Painted Thrift Store Tables

Last week I blogged about my thrift store end tables. They are beautiful solid wood tables but I really did not want brown tables because I have so much brown already in my living room. I have always loved the look of white tables and decided to paint them white. 

These were my inspiration tables... 

And this is what my tables look like now...

I have to say these were extremely difficult to paint and if I had it to do over again I might have done things differently. I began painting them with spray paint but because there are three flat surfaces, a four sided scalloped based and fluted legs this job was crying out for a paint sprayer.  

Spray paint cans was not a good choice because it would have required many cans to prime, paint and seal both tables. The amount I saved on buying used instead of new would have been wasted. I didn't have a paint sprayer and wasn't ready to invest in one so I opted to paint them by hand. 

I gave the wood a good sanding before priming. The yellow tops were vinyl so I don't know how much the sanding helped. I had glass tops so I wasn't too concerned about the paint not covering well. I used a sponge paint roller for the three flat surfaces and a bristle brush for the legs and base. There are a lot of nooks and crannies so paint tended to puddle in places. I took my time to make sure the wood was covered and did not put too much paint on the brush. If there is anything I learned it's that you have to get down low when you paint furniture like this. If not you will easily miss spots. You my not notice if you are standing up but if you are ever sitting on the floor the missed spots will be visible. 

I used two coats of primer, two coats of paint and two coats of water based sealer. It took a few weeks to finish both tables because I wanted them to dry thoroughly between coats. The  most important step was to let the paint cure or harden so when I was finished I didn't touch or move them for a week.     

These were easily the most difficult paint project I've ever had. I thought they turned out beautifully and I am very happy with them.

What to do with those bookcases

Line the stairs...

House & Home

Go so high you need a ladder...

Architectural Digest

...or how low can you go.

Apartment Therapy

Make it monochromatic....

Home Designing

...or color coordinated

House & Home

Give it a vibrant background with black shelves...

Grange

...or with white shelves

House & Home

or patterned....

HGTV - Pure Design

The color can be rich....

Elle Decor

...or soft.

Vogue

behind glass doors...

House & Home

or what's the right angle...

Viceroy Hotel

If you had a wall of bookcases, what would you do.?

Thrift Store Tables

I have been on the hunt for end tables for my living room the longest time. As always the question was should I buy new or used. I decided to buy used but for the life of me could not find the right tables. I shop thrift stores a lot but often it is difficult to find two matching tables. I didn't want the end tables to match the coffee table, but if there are too many different styles of tables it can make everything look cheap. My living room is small and I feel balance is important in a small space. This means I need matching tables and had to be patient. After several months of patience, I couldn't wait any more so I started to shop, and shop, and shop. Nothing. Then I went on line and I saw these options. 

Overstock.com

Wayfair

I liked the size and color and all the detail made them interesting. I was almost ready to buy but thought I'd make one more trip to the thrift store. I was hoping to get lucky and finally I was. I found this matching set of solid wood end tables by Lane Furniture for $40 a piece. This is a little more than I would want to pay for thrift store finds, but I could see these were really good tables.  I talked to the manager to see if I could get a better deal and he agreed to sell them to me for $30 each.

They were a little beat up and had this ugly yellow top but I loved the scalloped details on the base, the fluted legs and the turned feet. The only thing I did not like was the size. I preferred about 18" to 20" square or round and about 22" high. These were 24" high and 22" square so before I bought I weighed the pros and cons. Pros: Solid wood, well built, nice details with two shelves and $30.  Cons: They are too tall, too wide and I don't like the color especially the top. These are solid wood end tables for what is likely to be a fraction of their original price so pros win. 

Now I have to decide what to do with them. They look like tables you'd find in a banker's office and that is definitely not the look I am going for. I can leave them as is, paint them or white wash but what ever it is I do, that top has got to go.

Stay tuned.

Paisley

Today I am writing about my all time favorite pattern, paisley. It's a fun, playful, not too serious not too silly pattern that is perfect in any room. The multi-colored pattern works well in a country or traditional setting and the single color is more contemporary. With paisley, anything goes. 

Sarah's House

Remember Sarah Richardson's country home on season 3 of Sarah's House? She used paisley in several rooms including the bedrooms and entryway. The best was the paisley pattern she chose for my favorite room in the house, the dining room. Tommy called it a "giant paisley". I'd never seen anything like it and thought it was stunning. This yellow settee from Horchow is so sweet. Love it.

Horchow

And a whole wall of paisley. Very nice.

T&G Interiors

Everyone could use a little paisley in their home. Here are some more paisley pieces that might inspire you.

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1. Amazon 2. Peter Dunham 3. India Circus 4. Company C 5. India Circus 6. Peter Dunham   
7. Amazon 8. Zazzle 9. French Bull 10 Zazzle 11. Amazon 12. Angelo Home 13. Company C