If you were thinking about adding a dining space to your long narrow room, could you use the concrete block area as a form of delineation for a dining space, since its next tot the kitchen, and either move your sofa down farther or to another wall? I advent got the full idea of the living space, so it's just a thought.

It must be a bit disappointing to find cinder blocks...It would certainly steal beauty from the natural bricks, and too many of them would not do their job. My advice is to avoid using fake tiles.Instead, it recycles wood or natural plaster or a combination of the two.Check out some ideas for natural grooming here

4 year old post Peter.

Luc what did you end up doing?

If you are planning on selling in the near future, I would just paint the backsplash. Your tile behind the TV is a nice accent wall, and since you don't want to continue it as backsplash, switching to the glass tiles is a big clash in materials, pattern and colors. Many people hate glass tiles, myself included, and it would be the first thing they rip out, so why go through the expense and work? Just a thought.

Back at cha zaz. :-)) Hope you didn't take any of mine wrong either. You've don't a great job...don't pull the hair out!

Peppermint oil or even Vicks on cotton balls. Keep bedding OFF floor. Mint essential oil diffusers…you need to repel, not just kill.

Thanks Leah but for days now spider free but I can't sleep without my Pink lamp on LOL and ever since it was on my thigh and I was using peppermint oil the spray that's a bug spray has peppermint oil in it I had peppermint in my hair two it stayed off my face at least in my hair but on Saturday night usually I don't have peppermint in my hair because I have washed it and put the setting curling gel in my hair that conditions the hair and when it dries it looks nice

Great vanity. Wow, it's perfect. Now that you have the exact dimensions of the vanity, can you post a new layout?

Aha, so the travertine doesn't come into play at all. Sorry, Keako, I ran off with my husband to Santa Fe for a long weekend and have forgotten all the details. So, to go with your Carrara countertop, you could use a white floor tile, or a charcoal gray one (charcoal is always in fashion) or a checkerboard floor, or you could change the countertop. If you change your countertop to black, for instance, you could use almost anything on the floor.

Santa Fe? Awesome! Thank you so much for checking in! In a perfect world I'd have the warmth of the tumbled travertine under my feet and the elegance of the Carrara on my counter! I will find a way to make it work ;)

Haven't gotten any more info from OP in over a month...wonder what she decided to do?

We actually have a cabinet above the frig, but it doesn't come out near as far as the new frig does (2 years old, now) and we almost never want what is in it. The new frig came with flat blue tooth Harman Kardon speakers made to tuck in behind the door hinges, so you don't see it and its controls 'til you open a frig door. On top of that, to raise it high enough, we put a clock with very large red digits for time and day/date.

We love having the small but powerful speakers in the kitchen. So if this one breaks, we'll get another. No ventilation issue and we don't care whether the clock matches decor. The kitchen is our unconventional hub of the house.

You can probably find an “over door” (which is a ready made decorative panel ) if the color it comes in does not suit you, you can paint or stain it.

Move the box. Should take no time. My electrician put some boxes in odd places when I wasn't being vigilant. I moved them all. Maybe he'll ask the homeowner next time. Or tile all the way to the corner and down the wall, as another poster suggested.

Be sure to let your counter fabricator know that you only want the counter and not a 4" backsplash out of counter material. Then add your tile or what ever type of BS you want going from cabinets down to counter.

My advise is to move the switches and go with your original plan. It's an easy fix/patch and someone's mistake to fix. You shouldn't have to compromise your plan over a switch!! Go with your vision.

I think those 2 dark colors would be claustrophobic in your bath, with the heaviness of your vanity, counter and medicine cabinet. The plum might be good for towels and accents if you need some color, although I almost always use white towels. I think I would go with a pale almost latte color on the walls.

I would look for a color like the lightest wall tile...Coffee with a lot of milk!

Hi Colleen - would love to see a picture of how the bathroom finally turned out!

Divya

I'm so sorry..I thought I added this but see I didn't. This is he finished bathroom.

I would take small steps, which if it were me, would still end up costing more than I expected. I would go lighter with all your dark elements. Change the backsplash, the hardware, faucet and I would go for some bling in your hanging fixtures. The clear globes are just allowing you to see more of the cabinets you don't like. Really do something striking to brighten everything up and distract your eye. Maybe not this ornate, but you get the idea. I don't think that as a selling feature someone won't buy this house because the cabinets don't go to the ceiling.

Thank you all who took some of your time to come here and help us with the decisions, your advice and suggestions were very much appreciated and helped get to where we are. Thank you!!!

Congratulations! Nice and bright!

Love the beadboard tile! I saving this photo for my next kitchen.

I opted for just beadboard with the same glaze as my cabinets. I LOVE the look and with the coat of laquer I should be great for years.

Looks great! I am glad it worked out for you.

Interesting, both sample pictures have somewhat open risers...
We have open risers and love them, they let so much light through what might be a dark stairway.

Open scares dogs and children

I agree that open staircases feel more contemporary, and in some houses it opens the place up, but if I am looking for a house to buy, I walk out as soon as I see open stairs. It doesn't only scare dogs and children, but me too! I have a fear of heights, and a phobia has nothing to do with logic, so I simply can't walk up on open stairs. Don't even mention glass floors on upstairs walkways!

Regarding heat from the fireplace we installed a quiet blower unit that comes on to direct the heat outward into the room instead of letting it rise straight up to the mantle and TV. Works perfectly. Heats the room, not the mantle or TV. Of course it just makes sense it can't go over a woodstove.

@eightpondfarm, that is so sad. My hubby and I enjoy our limited TV time together, watching the news, sports and our guilty pleasure...the Big Bang Theory. We converse, cheer and laugh together. I would not like taking my meals alone because what I want has been "not allowed", regardless of where in the room the dang fireplace is located. :-(

I've always thought it looked tacky, to put a TV above a fireplace! A fireplace is a beautiful focal point of a room. The TV is a TV. Not a decor statement. It takes everything away from the fireplace when placed there. Why would you want to do that? A TV belongs on a TV cabinet or an entertainment wall unit.

No it’s not tacky, if it works for the family then it’s fine.
I have 3 fireplaces in my house that I don’t use unless we lose electricity.
I also think tv cabinets/entertainment wall unit is outdated as heck

The Bali, it's small enough for any space. By the way, we love our Warmly Yours radiant heat in our lower level under the tile. I wish there was a way to retrofit it into our main floor master bath without ripping up the floor. :-(

I like the Skye!

Bali, Maldives, Skye, Vista, Sydney, & Altos.

I'm not a pro but I like the above suggestions regarding finding a rug with blue to start the room transformation while working with the new couches. They look very comfortable!
I found this photo on houzz that I think might be an inspiration for a rug and colors. Your wall color is very similar to the photo.


I think a rug like this is bold enough to stand up to the big leather. The black and glass tables let the rug show through and the black would look good against your beautiful fireplace. Then blue lamps with drum shades, then add the drapes. This rug is an $$$ antique, but it could be inspiration? Just some thoughts.
1 minute ago

Ha ha bahaa,black bear skin rug,growl lol

I agree with so many that the clock, lamps and coffee table make the room very old in appearance, but a few bold contemporary pillows, lamps and a rectangle coffee table of iron and glass would modernize you look so easily. Don't get discouraged. The suggestion to try somewhere like Home Goods or Target where things are very easy to return make it easy to experiment. Home Goods has good rugs as does Ballard Designs. A more modern print over the fireplace could help but never get rid of the beautiful white paneling as that is very, very popular. Very classy look.

I've enjoyed reading all these posts and seeing the progress! I do appreciate your cottage look. There's one thing that I might have missed, and I was thinking your restyled room wood divider type shelf, should be viewed from both sides and it would let more light through. Is there a reason I've missed that you keep the shade pulled down on one side?

Yes, cat shipped to the Amazon warehouse was amazingly ok. Even after 6 days with no food or water. He was reunited with his owners.

Michele, I don’t know if Charlie has toys but I highly recommend the ones I posted above. He might be bored if his only distraction is looking outside. Coralie also loves to look out at the birds and lizards. I don’t want her going out though. i think it would only lead to trouble.

I read that cat story on my phone not at Facebook it was in Google and yes it got back to its owners they accidentally shipped him or her and Amazon contacted them they were packing a box to return to Amazon and they didn't look inside the Box