Hi Rhoda - thanks for coming by to take a look. I referred to your blog as I did this project and it was incredibly helpful. Keep up the good work! Hockeymom I'll take a picture of the edges and post it. You can kind of get an idea by looking at the picture above with the clamps. I glued the moulding on flush with the edge of the door. On one of the doors I think the moulding went a little over the edge because it rubbed a little against the door next to it when we rehung them. So my son sanded both edges a bit and I had to repaint, but it was fine. I did fill in the seam between the moulding and the original door. I used spackle pretty liberally, let it dry overnight, then sanded the next morning with an electric sander to get it smooth. I think Rhoda used caulk. Any place I missed got filled in pretty well with paint. It was a little easier to have the wallpaper go almost all the way to the edge of the door (that happened on the hall cabinet doors, but the laundry room doors were too wide for a single sheet to go entirely edge to edge). valinsv - I was a little nervous about using the mitre saw, but my son (he's 19) stepped right up and started cutting angles with no problem. I had him do a couple of trial cuts first just to be sure that the 45 degrees was exact (it was). The guy we bought the saw from showed me how to use it. Next project for my son's summer break from college: baseboards! Lynn I might have to go to Albuquerque in the next couple of weeks. I've seen the pictures you've posted of your beautiful house - I'd love to help, but you're so talented I'm sure you'll have no problem with this kind of project.

Thanks again. Celticmoon, I wanted to try Annie Sloan's chalk paint, but it's so expensive, so I started researching for a homemade version. I found the site above, plus talked to my DH who is a chemist, and he thought the Plaster of Paris would be best (aka cheapest), so that's what I went with. Juddgirl, thanks. That's how I purchased my cabinets. It's just actually my island. The outer part of the kitchen is a dark wood. Pauline, SO good to see you! I have a garage full of old ugly stuff that may or may not get some chalk paint, but the next project is two really ugly old oak filing cabinets that will eventually be made into a desk. I can't decide on the color, but it will be part my office/part arts and crafts room, so I'm thinking it will be more girly than manly, which will be tough with these pieces. They are ugly with a capital UG!

Your room is very pretty! I like red dining rooms too, but for yours, I'm not sure your furniture would look right with red? I like the gold color, which would look great with your rug. Your current walls seem too pale. A darker color will really change the feel. A new light fixture might help, although yours looks fine to me, if not a bit heavy. I hope you stay true to what you love and not be too swayed by current trends. Have you tried mixing in some of your white plates with the pink? I like the wallpaper idea also, which may solve the problem of what to put on the wall behind the end chair...it may need nothing if wallpapered. So, find a deep wall color (SW Restrained Gold?) or wallpaper for a base, add some pretty drapes, reupholster chairs, decide then on a light fixture, play with the plates..it'll be beautiful!. My DR is outdated. We have the original set which was the first real furniture DH and I bought after saving up some money (30 some yrs ago). I cant change it out, too sentimentally attached, besides its too heavy to move lol. I just call it my "oak" room. Interestingly, this room gets the most compliments of any room in our house. People always comment how comfortable it feels. Color is off in the pic, the walls are SW Blonde (an outdated color now I think, lol). The day i found this perfect rug was the key. Everything was so easy from then on. Good luck with your pretty room.

" It's also a practice space for my daughter who plays the violin, and I'm pretty sure we've got a few other instruments coming down the pike at some point" I totally understand this. the music 'student' needs to be separate from the siblings and friends yakking and giggling and people in and out of doors and rooms. Distraction is not what he/ she needs to concentrate! also, opening into the LR gives a nice 'audience' area for a mini recital! I so understand you wanting the table in your kitchen area - to keep an eye on those little rugrats too! how about one with leaves that can be put in to extend it at holiday/company time? and other times allows more room around it (for racing? lol!) I had 4 but there was 6yrs between 2 and 3 and 4 came about 18 months after 3. I swear they are born with little explosive packets in their brains. And each yr near their birth date the appropriate packet explodes and all the tinytot terror tactics for their coming year are revealed to them.... God really has a sense of humor - it's done to keep parents humble (I think) while aiding the tinytot Ts in developing the defense armor they will need for their pre-teen and teenage yrs when they turn into crazy, hostile and alien creatures. For parents, they depend on the memories of those sweet little cherubs that used to live in their house and pray for the day they return to being normal sane humans. My mom's very small DR did open into her LR and at holiday time we had to put 2 card tables in the LR but close to the end of her DR table to make space for the grandkids as the ones she had grew and the number of them increased from yr to yr... what is the width and length of your mudroom? maybe some think it is bigger than it is from looking at the layout. You have some darling little former T's lurking in that pic. they will grow and take up even more space putting coats on and taking them off. btw, you weren't mean in your post. you put it very nicely. Maybe some missed that you said at least 2x that you didn't want to move your kitchen from its space and didn't want to use the music room for a DR - and that you have a limited budget. We all have boundaries and budgets and wants that we need to work within. There are times on here that some who are remodeling say they don't want 'something' changed or done, until they see it laid out in front of them. Often they do change their minds because prior to 'seeing' it they just couldn't visualize it. But, that's also when the budget and actually living in the space comes into play. Those are both major, major priorities for the one (or 2) paying and living there to decide.