Limewash it instead. It lets some of the natural tones of the brick shine through but gives it a more weathered and natural appearance than a solid paint job will. It actually isn't that difficult to remove, and that would give you that 4" back to the room. Tape down some masonite to protect the floors and get in there with a hammer and chisel. Or pay market labor rates to some temps. A couple of hours and it's gone.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart as we are closing on a house purchase next week and plan to have some work done before moving in. Here is what I would like to have done: 1. Repainting several rooms and painting lots of built in cabinets (currently stained). 2. Change cab pulls and hinges. 3. Take out carpet in family room, master bedroom and master bath and replace with wood (tile in bath). 4. Add recessed lighting several places 5. Remove flourescent lighting in kitchen. 6. Replace a few ceiling fans 7. Convert 3 windows in master bedroom to french doors going out side. 8. Re-do tub/shower area (they are separate and OK but I would like a larger shower and there is room to extend). 9. Remove flourescent lighting above vanity and put in something else. 10. Extend utility room (adding to back of house) 11. Replace doors with glass with more secure doors. 12. Reface brick fireplace with dry stack stone 13. Open up between kitchen and dining room (i.e. take out top half of wall). Rearrange cooktop and refrigerator area. Add island to kitchen. 14. Replace laminate workspace in hobby room with something else. 15. Replace tile in kitchen/foyer. 16. Replace 4 1/2 ft fencing with 6 ft fencing. What we are actually doing on the list before moving in: 1. Repainting several rooms and painting lots of built in cabinets (currently stained). - Yes. This will be much easier and cheaper to do before moving in and is not all that expensive. We are cutting back and not doing as much in some areas as I would live as we are deferring other work in those area. We decided not to piecemeal the family room for example. 2. Change cab pulls and hinges. - Still doing this since the painting won't look good without it. 3. Take out carpet in family room, master bedroom and master bath and replace with wood (tile in bath). - Deferring this one. This would be easier to do without us there. But it is only 3 rooms and can be done later. And, this is an over $10,000 item so it really makes a difference on the budget to defer this a year or two. Also carpet is not to my taste but is in good condition. Had it been in poor condition I would feel differently. 4. Add recessed lighting several places. - Not very expensive and important to my enjoyment. 5. Remove flourescent lighting in kitchen. - Not expensive so will probably do this. 6. Replace a few ceiling fans. - Mostly moving around. 7. Convert 3 windows in master bedroom to french doors going out side. - Deferring. This can be done later. 8. Re-do tub/shower area (they are separate and OK but I would like a larger shower and there is room to extend). - Deferring. It is in good condition now, just not exactly what I want. 9. Remove flourescent lighting above vanity and put in something else. - Doing this. Not expensive and I really don't like how it looks. 10. Extend utility room (adding to back of house) - Maybe some day... 11. Replace doors with glass with more secure doors. - Important. I would like to defer but I want to get new locks (instead of just rekeying). Sellers have single deadbolts on glass doors and I don't feel secure with that. 12. Reface brick fireplace with dry stack stone - Probably will defer. Would like to do it now but makes sense to do it when we do the flooring. SO deferring flooring means deferring this. 13. Open up between kitchen and dining room (i.e. take out top half of wall). Rearrange cooktop and refrigerator area. Add island to kitchen. - Later. This is a huge project because it also likely means new appliances and new granite. 14. Replace laminate workspace in hobby room with something else. - Not sure. Logically it makes sense to do it now but I'm not sure exactly what I want so I may defer it. 15. Replace tile in kitchen/foyer. - Defer. The current tile is nice and fairly recent just not a color that I personally like. But it isn't objectionable so I will wait on this (probably for years).

I have also made my own quilted fabric, but usually not such large pieces - more tote bag and place mat size. It is very easy to do - BUT....it should also be pointed out that if you do not have an even feed foot they can be very expensive. Mine for my Viking was like $86 and that was years ago. Of course, I use mine a lot in making quilts so I could justify the cost. Also, depending on where you live, you may not have a source of pre-quilted fabric in a wide range of colors and patterns. That is what I have found in my little town. I would check out the prices on-line as they may be cheaper or you might find a good sale. I tried a Google search and there is some out there under "quilted fabric by the yard" but searching is difficult because so many "quilt fabric" results come up. Teresa

Epressler - all I did to figure out which hardwood to get was learn which floors were the hardest (on the Janka scale), decide which colors I liked best, and then ask the owner of the hardwood store which brand he loved the best. He said that all the installers LOVE Owens Flooring, and it has a really thick face to it, so it can be re-sanded three times. It was a good choice, because out of 24 boxes, only two smallish pieces were not straight. Anyway, you asked about how many samples I looked at to get the right color - just two. Brazilian cherry has so many colors to it anyway, that the samples you get may be vastly different than what will be in the boxes. It's hard to believe that one type of tree can produce all those colors! But my goal wasn't to match the cabs to the floor - it was just how it happened, because I guess I really love that color of wood! Chitown_remodel - here is a picture of the backsplash without flash, and the mother of pearl tile is made by Olympia. Dianalo - your idea is brilliant. That is EXACTLY what we will do. Now here's a question, if you happen to ever read this (or anyone who has an opinion) - we already have a very pretty mirror above the fireplace in the great room. Should we move that to the mudroom and put a painting above the fireplace, or is it OK to have two mirrors? Msmagoo - I designed the kitchen myself, and I was helped out quite a bit because I used ideas I learned here on the kitchen forum. For instance, we have a cell phone charging drawer. It's nothing fancy, but it wouldn't have occurred to make one - I read about them on this forum. My ceilings are eight feet... and you might get sick if I told you how much we spent. I will say that I got great prices on the appliances and wood floor, and fair prices on other stuff. Here is a link that might be useful: Olympia's Boutique Collection, which includes the Mother of Pearl tile I used