Design Notes

Today I won't be going to the house, so I thought I'd take some time to write some notes down and do some design planning.

My idea for the bathroom is to have cobalt-ish blue tile on the floor and walls with pale yellow paint above the tile on the walls. I found some really nice tiles at: http://www.tileshop.com/ Here's a photoshop collage of how I think it would look:

The cabinet and mirror would be a medium wood, like this.
Though I really like the style of this one I found:

I think the hardware would look good in a dark brushed nickel, kind of like the handles on the top cabinet. And then I could decorate with fishie ornaments and such.

Tony and I agreed the bedroom would look nice in green or blue. I thought we could mix it, half blue wall and half green, not alternating or anything. The wood floor could be polished a medium honey color. Anyway, here's a collage of what I had in mind:

I think it would be really neat to do a mural on the wall in the bedroom too, a Tolkien-esque tree. The rugs, curtains, bedspread and moldings could all have floral or ivy like elements in them too. I found a nice site for moldings: http://www.invitinghome.com/. Here are a few pictures I'm using as inspiration for the mural:

I was giving some thought to the landscaping too. I'd like to put roses back into the beds on the side of the house. I think a nice juniper would look good in the front. I also think wisteria, beauty bush and hydrangea look gorgious, but I don't know where to put them. I'd like to put a Japanese red maple in the front yard too, but we need to make sure that planting a tree won't harm the pipes. I'd also like to plat grapes too, maybe around back. We'd need to see the sun requirements for grapes.



I was wondering how I was going to go about cleaning to poop out of the toilet. I read online that we can use a pumice stone or we can buy this stuff called muratic acid. The acid will be harder to get, more abrasive on the senses, but involve less scrubbing. This was a nice article I found on cleaning walls. I wasn't quite sure how to tackle that:

Generally, walls and ceilings are painted with either latex or alkyd paint. Latex, a water-base paint, is easy to wash after it has "cured" or set for a period of time. Alkyd, or oil-base paint, is durable and washable. Both types come in four finishes: flat (for walls and ceilings), satin (for doors and trim), semigloss (for walls), and gloss (for kitchen and bathroom walls and woodwork). You can clean painted walls with all-purpose cleaners.

A Cleaner for Painted Walls and Ceilings

Here's a homemade solution that can get the dirt off painted walls and ceilings:

Mix 1⁄2 cup vinegar, 1 cup clear ammonia, 1⁄4 cup baking soda, and 1 gallon warm water. Caution: Wear rubber gloves, and work in a well-ventilated area when using this powerful solution. Apply to the wall with a sponge, and rinse with clear water. If your walls have a rough texture, use old nylon stockings or socks rather than a sponge because they won't tear and leave difficult-to-remove bits on the surface.

Anyway, these are all ideas for now. We still haven't decided on anything.

View the Deisgn Album here.