Hi Barb, I have many antiques and the best thing to do is leave on the original stain and finish, unless the item is damaged. This wash stand and the antique chess table, that I posted a few months back, are the only pieces I restored. The chess table had severe water damage and cigarette burns. This wash stand was very dark and murky and it just didn't fit in with our other stuff. That's why I painted it. Then I decided to strip it (using a sander) and refinishing it to better match our bedroom. I can tell you how to refinish and restore furniture, however, I rather not give advise on antiques... I'll leave that to the professionals. I'd be happy to tell you how to finish other furniture though, as we build a lot of furniture and I do most of the finishing. I never use gel stains, because they are not penetrating and compromise the beauty of the wood. I rather sand a piece down to the raw wood and start over. Joann. Check out the antique forum on GW.

Anj, I know you feel better now that the painting of the walls and trim is done. Did your garden do well this year? I remember that you made lots of zucchini bread last year too. Nice to have it in the freezer ready to thaw and eat all winter long, huh? I'll be watching for your project this week. ;o) Luvs

Have not read entire thread so forgive me if I am suggesting/asking stuff already covered. Not sure what area you are in but do you have good cell coverage? Could you do without a landline? Can you get internet thru satellite or cable? When I had small kids I would not give up landline in case of 911 emergencies. When they got to where I thought they could accurately report address I dropped landline and we all have cells as well as an emergency cell that is pay as you go. It is charged and sits in kitchen. Also a couple years ago our area allowed us to voluntarily register our cell numbers with our address. I have since made 911 calls and they asked are you calling from home and able to then connect us to our address. I know that I really like the savings! Best of luck in your new home. Again, if you have small kids the cheapest landline might be a good idea. Maybe this really isn't about what you are asking but just my thoughts.

Glad you have enjoyed them - I had a good time rediscovering them all over again as I flipped through so quickly. I'm going to see if DH or my MIL can take the kids away for a few hrs. so that I can enjoy them over a cup of tea in peace & quiet & plan some more. I think that I really noticed some recurring theme's in what I like - especially color wise w/ all of the green, purple, pink combo's. In fact the page that says Floral Essences w/ a pic of the lady in the green dress is about to help me round out my color palette for downstairs! Her green dress is similar to my LR wall color. Her basket: close to the shade of brown that I've chosen for the top 1/3 of my kitchen walls. The brick wall: My house is brick I was trying to pick a red for my DR but the consensus on the forum is that the deep reds I liked were too dark for my dark trim BUT when I saw that pic I thought "Why not a color similar to the flowers in her basket?"! The whole pic flows so I know it would look good in my house as I already have so many colors in the layout. Color inspiration can be found where you least expect it! And it looks romantic but still earthy. As for my organization: That's a long way coming but thanks! I just used a 3 hole punch one weekend & just shoved my tear outs into 2 binders that I found laying around. I slipped a piece of blank white paper between each article to separate them. I still have tons to add. Soon I will begin looking for some decadent binders to organize them in. A few for decorating, gardening & entertaining. Right now they're all mixed together w/ no rhyme or reason. I need to add the little white thingies to the holes to reinforce them & I've learned that if I break the binding of the magazine I can easily pull out an entire article out w/o having to use scissors to score the pages & risk an uneven tear.