Bathroom Floor

I guess its that time again.......time to pick up where we left off on our bathroom remodeling project from several weeks ago! I can't believe I've let so much time go by but I've never been busier in my entire life than I've been the past couple of months.

We actually finished the tile in the shower and I got my ginormous mirror hung on the wall and the crown molding installed (you will see photos of that later). The next thing we need to figure out is the flooring before we move onto the custom countertop. Since we're attempting to salvage the original tile, it makes for a tough job. Here is the before photo of one section of the floor just so you can see what we're up against.


After removing the baseboards and peeling up what we could of the vinyl floor, we're left with glue and part of the vinyl still stuck down. Not as easy as of a transition as I was hoping for. I headed to Lowe's and found this product:


This stripper is made specifically for tile flooring to dissolve glue and messy grout. So far its worked pretty well. I spread the product on the floor with a paint brush, waited an hour and then began to scrape and scrub. This what it looks like now:


Not too bad for just one coat. I figure with another coat, perhaps some light sanding/buffing with a very very fine sand paper and a fresh layer of grout, it will look like new...........or close enough :)

Reflections at The Cannery Art Gallery

Yesterday evening DSID - the Dayton Society of Interior Designers - held our scholarship awards meeting at the Cannery on third street in downtown Dayton. We awarded 4 students with scholarships to continue their interior design studies at Sinclair Community College. The scholarship meeting is always a fun meeting and looking through the students' portfolios reminds me of all my projects I completed with countless hours of effort while in school at Kent State University. Can't say I'd ever want to go back with all the stress and sleepless nights trying to make a project deadline! The DSID meetings always leave me feeling inspired to continue doing what I'm good at; to not give up on my dream.......and makes me thank God I'm done with Kent!

I admit, sometimes I feel a little depressed thinking about where I am in my career - its definitely not where I pictured myself being as a senior in college! There's a part of me that still yearns for a life in New York City or London or Hawaii or another exciting destination, but when it comes down to it, I'm happy where I am! Good ol' Dayton Ohio surrounded by family and friends. I've been extremely blessed in many different ways and life just keeps getting better: a husband who encourages me in all I do, Alfie, my mini schnauzer (who also encourages me in all I do!!), a beautiful historical home that I'm in love with, a good job with an amazing boss and coworkers, and my own thriving interior design business that keeps me more than busy.

All this recent inspiration and ambitions left my sleepless mind swirling all night. I have some new ideas up my sleeve for my business and its potential and can't wait to get to work on it! I'm sure you will hear more about it at some point but, since you never know what the future holds, I don't want to give away too much.

Anyways, back to what was going to be my normal blog post before I got a little carried away! Here are some photos from the DSID meeting yesterday and some cute things I saw at the Cannery.


This was one of my favorites.......those are tiny giraffes on the side of the table!




And speaking of college portfolios, I thought this would be fun to include! :)

PORTFOLIO_Kent State University from Laura Weimer on Vimeo.

Ohio Renaissance Festival

This past weekend Brian and I went to the Renaissance Festival with a group of family and friends. The festival is always a good time - and makes for some interesting people watching. The festival is the largest Renaissance Festival in the US and runs annually from September-October. There's good beer, food and laughs......and lots of costumes that have nothing to do with the Renaissance but I guess are still kinda fun (elves, nymphs, fauns, goths.....). For more info about the RenFest, Click here.

Lightbulbs and Mason Jars

How cute is this??



These are similar to the idea of Mason Jar Lanterns we used at my sister's wedding. They look gorgeous hanging from tree branches and are very easy to make! You don't even need to drill holes - just wrap the wire tightly around the top of the jar to make a hanger, add a tea light and you're done!

Window Dressings

If there is one part of the home I hate dealing with, its the window treatments. I'm very uncreative and dislike more than I like in this department. Lets face it; window treatments can make or break a room and there just aren't many good affordable options out there! Everytime someone asks me to take on their windows, I cringe. Then I suggest the same ol' straight panels framing the windows on either side. Since I realize this is very un-designer-ish to be so boring, I'm going to attempt to broaden my horizon. I found some alternative draperies that I actually like!

These are very classy. I also don't think they'd me too hard to make myself......that would save some money fo sho.

I love the valance in this one by Creative Window Dressings. Its simple and fuss-free. Whenever fringe and tassles and drooping fabric gets involved, I get out.



This style is a little more elegant yet still simple and not over the top. I love the subtle lilac color as well.



These drapes are certainly interesting! This image is from Hunter Douglas (I'm guessing advertising the blinds?? Not a fan of those. I do however, like the drapes!) Normally I'm not a huge fan of puddling drapes because I just think of how dusty the bottoms would get, and how much of a pain vacuuming around them would be. I like how soft these make the room look. I can just imagine those windows overlooking the beach.



I love this last design as well but they look expensive. I like how they look almost molded into place. Very different from flowy sheers that you normally see.



Feel free to recommend more creative window treatments. I need all the help I can get in this department!

Coral for Fall??

This past week I met with a client who really wanted to paint her bedroom walls coral. I know that coral has been a very popular color for spring and summer, but now that fall has officially begun today, it got me thinking how coral could transform into fall, as well as winter. I didn't want her to "miss the boat" with this color trend. After putting these palettes together I see that shades of coral don't have to be a trend but are rather a classic - These shades are extremely versatile!


We went with "Persimmon" by Sherwin Williams. In order to show you what I mean, I paired Persimmon up with just a few other colors in order to completely change the mood for each season.


Persimmon with Spicy Hue, Polished Mahogany, and Mandarin.



Persimmon with Naval, Attitude Gray, and Copen Blue.



Persimmon with Flan and Rejuvenate.



Persimmon with Decisive Yellow and Gladiola.


In addition to morphing with the seasons, Coral can be:

Sweet and feminine.




Rich and sexy.



Funky and flirty.


Or sophisticated and chic!

2011 Dayton Concours d'Elegance

Dayton's 5th annual Concours d'Elegance was held at the Carillon Park this past weekend (same place we had our wedding reception!). Brian and I met up with my dad for the show, then afterwards headed back to our house for pumpkin ale and a bonfire. A pretty good day, I'd say.

This year's car show had more than 200 cars and specially featured the cars of the Roarin' 20's, the race cars of the Indianapolis 500, and 100 year old cars. You'll see some photos of each below. Enjoy!



This horn is sick. Brian and I need to get one stat for our tandem.




CarBoat anyone?



This car was my favorite from the show (besides the Triumph TR-3 which I don't have any photos of!) It was extremely sexy with its mint green pin striping that's not showing up in the photos. BatMobile meets Cruella Deville, meets James Bond. Grrrrrrrr.





I rode in the sidecar of this exact same bike as a kid at my church picnic. Wish I could remember more of it/get another ride!




It doesn't get any better than a glitter steering wheel.







These old interiors are so adorable and charming! I love all the little added extras like the fold down seats, storage compartments for gloves and cigars, and the little clock and handheld speaker! It's amazing the kind of technology incorporated into these old cars (Like the 1947 Cadillac we rode in after our wedding......it had power windows!) Also, notice the blue lanterns on the bars that fold up when the roof is up. Soooooo cute!




I know this has nothing to do with cars but I thought the NCR display of cash registers was amazing! Brian and I are going to have to go back to the park one day. I forgot how much stuff is there! If any of you come to Dayton from out of town, definitely check out Carillon Park.

Beep beep!