First of all, thanks so much for the kind comments! It really makes me feel happy that you can't tell it was done on a budget! I've gotten a couple of questions about how this is a budget remodel, so here's how I saved money and a brief price breakdown: Layout - didn't change anything. This is where I saved the most money. When we bought the house I had grand ideas about gutting and starting fresh, putting in double wall ovens, a prep sink in the island, etc....then reality struck and I realized I didn't have the money for that kind of overhaul unless I won the lottery. The layout isn't too terrible. No "work triangle" but overall it works. We kept everything in place. No changes in appliances, plumbing, etc. Cabinets - didn't change them out. Kept old 1989 cabinets and had them painted. I did have professional painters do it, they came in, took off the cabinet doors, drawer fronts and garage door and took them back to their shop and sprayed them in BM Decorator's White. It cost about $1000 to have them do this and come in and paint the side panels in place. Countertops- tropical brown granite - total cost was $4300 installed and that included the stainless undermount sink and tearing out the old counters. That was my big splurge, but it was still cheaper than most of the other granite colors. I figured if I splurged on the countertops it would make the rest of the kitchen look a little more elegant! I searched GW for granite info and found lots of advice that was absolutely priceless, including a great post by Stonegirl that should be bumped to the first page for eternity. Drawer/Cabinet pulls - I got these from Menards, a Midwestern home improvement chain similar to Home Depot but less expensive. Total cost for all of them was under $200. Faucet - got it on sale from a local plumbing supply company - $250 Lanterns above island - Overstock.com - These were only $166 a piece, and I think they also give the kitchen a more glamorous look! Construction work (replacing soffit lighting, taking out fluorescent light box, leveling out island to one level, labor on backsplash)- I hired 2 guys to do the work at $25/hour. I had seen their work before and they worked with the granite supplier/fabricator on many jobs so it was nice that they all had a good working relationship. I saved money by doing the cleanup every night so I didn�t have to pay them to do it. They worked pretty fast and I�m really happy with the work they did. I would definitely hire them again. I think total labor cost was $1500. Backsplash - Daltile Rittenhouse Square subway tile in arctic white semi gloss. I looked up many threads on GW for backsplashes and settled on this because of the classic look and cost! $250 for materials, took the tile guy about 8 hours to do it. Adams Counterstools were from Target.com, not Pottery Barn. I liked the look in the PB catalog but found the lookalikes at Target. I have 2 little boys that are very rough on furniture so I didn't want to spend a lot. Plus, I was on a budget. I think they were $78 a piece. Kitchen table & chairs from Kmart. $229 for table and 4 chairs. Surprisingly, shockingly well-made. Kmart doesn't suck as much as I thought! Appliances- the range was kind of a splurge, it was about $2000. But I cook a lot and justified the expense. Fridge was on sale. Dishwasher on sale as well, it's okay, if I had to do it over again I maybe would have forked over a little more money for a better dishwasher. Apparently Maytag and I have different definitions of the word "quiet". Window Treatment - I think that roman shade from Smith + Noble was about $200. Oh, how I wish I could sew better... Thanks again! This forum is AWESOME!!!

I see zig zag stictches around the outside. Did you do that before starting the hooking or once it is completed? Is that necessary because of the fabric you used, as opposed to "stiff rug stuff"? The zig-zagging is necessary to prevent the burlap from unraveling when I cut it off in the process of binding the edge. (I'll sew wide rug binding tape all around the mat, then cut off the excess burlap and turn the tape under and sew it to the back.) I also zig-zagged around the edge of the whole piece of burlap to prevent raveling during the hooking process. All backing fabrics for rug hooking--burlap, linen, monk's cloth--are fairly soft. Caron International is a supplier of latch hooking kits and patterns. I'm guessing your pattern is designed for latch hooking, which is done with short pieces of yarn and is quite different. Latch hook backing is stiff, and I don't believe it accommodates traditional rug hooking woolens. I hope you'll share your quilting with us!

ajsmama: There are others here much more qualified than I to advise on your painting project. I'm learning as I go, though I do think getting the right tools/paint for the job is very impt. so be sure to post a separate thread before you start. ttodd: Thanks for the compliment. I was thinking about going a glaze on it, but not sure how that would work since all the other pieces were not glazed (and I don't want to go back and glaze them all). I've enjoyed reading your techniques on getting the distressed shabby chic look. I'd love to try it sometime--just need to find the right piece. Is your DD's room complete? caroline: I am with you on the chipped paint look; that is until amysrq posted some stunning photos of a distressed made-to-look-old cabinet recently. But for girls rooms, I definitely prefer the fresh look of newly painted vintage furniture. sheesharee: It would've been a lot easier if I spray painted it; however I don't own a sprayer and since I'm doing all furniture in my DD's room, it's not a job for Rustoleum. I ended up using different sized brushes. I'm not totally happy how it turned out as you can see some brush marks, but finally decided to stop messing with it and call it done. work_in_progress:08: The seat was actually the easiest part of the whole project; though I didn't mess too much with what was already there. I took off two layers of fabric and then it was covered in a burlap like covering. Inside were some cushion and springs--that I left intact. I covered it all with some batting and the fabric using a staple gun. vampiress: Yes, she does. I'm going to make a couple of pillows for her bed as well using the faux fur. fillagirl: Would love to hear about your plans for your DD's room.

Some leather upholstered parsons chairs would go nicely with the lines of the table and the cabinetry, and would also have the same lines as the stools. Maybe you even want to do the red leather, as you've already established that as an accent color, and it looks like there's some red in the carpet under the table. Big plus -- they're easily dressed up with a slipcover when you're ready for a change. I think I can see quite a bit of wrought iron or oil rubbed bronze in the knobs, curtain rods & table lamps. I would use this as the jumping off point for the ceiling fixture. If you like chandeliers, maybe a curvy bronze chandelier with a few crystals hanging down (I mean a fun & flirty one, not a gaudy 70's number, lol!). Or you could go with a straighter lined one -- look at Pottery Barn Lowell & Veranda, for examples. I don't necessarily think the red side chairs are wrong...but I'm curious what bothers you about them. TO me it's just that they're kind of floating there with no real purpose. Like, if that's meant to be a reading area or a place to have a cup of tea, they need a little table between them. Think about what you want that space to be, and then you'll know how to address the chairs. Hth! Leigh