I've always struggled to figure out what "style" I liked. I tried shabby chic as well but it just wasn't right. Even though I liked the rustic and shabby portion, all that white and pink made me want to scream. I tried French country, which was much better, at least I could have my beloved blacks and reds, but it wasn't quite right either. I took all those "what style are you" quizzes and they''d always say either traditional or cottage, which I guess makes sense now. This didn't really all click until I went to a moving/estate sale that had a farmhouse table advertised. I was still trying to do the country french thing but when I got there and she took me inside to see the table (she had half the stuff out, half inside). I walked in and it was YES, I'm at home!! Maybe a little too heavy on the Americana for me but still, it all felt so cozy and comfortable. I love antiques (and boy did she have some!) but never knew how I wanted it all to feel. I bought the table and a grocery bag of stuff - knick knacky stuff and left a happy camper. I would have loved to grab a couple of cabinets and dry sinks but alas, way out of my budget. The table is so cool. It's not a table made to look farmhouse / barn style, it's actually a table from a really old farmhouse. No faux distressing, this baby has seen some hard days. I love it. Since then I've made 3 trips to the thrift store, each time spending $20 or so, and have a huge stash of cool stuff. I haven't put anything together though because I've been stripping paper and getting ready to paint. It's all piled in my garage just waiting to come inside.

She's done, but she for sure is a doll in a gown. Maybe my next one will be a mosaic from start to finish. The arms are not added because they don't fit properly. I would have to add to them with clay to make them look right. Anyway, not something I'll be doing today. Here she is: Thank you all so very much!!! Here is a link that might be useful: Complete worklog of photos

LOL! Punamytsike, don't ever worry. If I'm not "feeling" the advice, I just don't take it! No hard feelings. It's funny, though, that you say that, because the minute I got it done I thought, "Blue toile wallpaper would be stunning in there, and would pull together all of my blue and white pieces that I have all over the LR. I even did a mockup of it: However, for now, I do like the green. You're right that there's no other greens around, but it's so subtle (in person, at least) that it just acts as a neutral. Plus, once I get the decorations inside tweaked a bit more, you don't see as much of it. I ended up refinishing the writing surface last night, too. I put the green cubbies back in, and I really, really like it (for now, at least!). I like that the green is just a little bit of the unexpected, and the secretary has that "changed over time" look. I also had another toile wallpaper in reds and golds, that *would* totally tie into the LR, but it was just soooo predictable. It looked lovely when I held up the sample, but it just didn't seem to have any personality, IFYKWIM. If I ever want to change it, it'll be a small job to paint the cubbies black, but for now I think I'll leave them as-is. Here's the desk down before with the horrid yellowing, chipping white paint, and after stripping and restaining it:

bellajourney -- I don't recall the brand of india ink I used; it was whate4ver Utrecht sold in large bottles and allowed clean up with water. I bought both the tung oil and the citrus solvent from Real Milk Paint on line. Their web site is really informative and the owner will respond to emailed substantive queries that are not addressed on the site. I should have said at the outset that I have little experience in painting anything but walls, the attention span of a flea, and the manual dexterity of a garden slug. All of which is to say that none of my processes was optimally left-brained, and I am confident that you and DH can do better. So, I had reason to be apprehensive at every step: the india ink looked streaky after every application. Ditto the tung oil. Indeed, the tung oil going on full strength seemed pretty disastrous in real time. It may have dried ok, but I was much less apprehensive about the process when I was applying it thinned, mostly with a foam roller and sometimes with a brush. I waited a couple of days between applications of the tung oil. After the last coat had dried, I ended up sort of buffing it with painters rags, as I wanted the wood grain to show through but did not want the scars from how badly the india ink and tung oil had been applied. I do use a cutting board, but the counters have gotten splashed with all kind of foodstuffs. Against all odds, the finish cleans up nicely after use. The laptop on which most of my photos are lodged has died and I only have access to pictures already web-accessible. What is attached is a slideshow that is really about how crazy decision-making gets at the end of a complex project. Photos 12 and 14 are the best of the countertops, although 12 does not make them looks as teal as they really were. God bless brickmanhouse, and please keep us posted. Cheers. hbk Here is a link that might be useful: weird peek at india inked counter project