I FINALLY ordered the shower faucets for both bathrooms in our new addition.

We are not able to get the final inspection on the new plumbing until we install the shower/tub faucets.  So hopefully our new faucets will come in this week, and we can get the plumbing inspected next week!

Once that is complete, we can get rolling on the dry wall!  WHoop! WHoop!

I have to share this great deal I got on Amazon last night.

I was hoping to get a one handle shower faucet to somewhat match the handles on our claw foot tub.  The tub faucet has cross handles, so I was so excited when I found this shower set from Belle Foret!

Every where I looked online, this same shower faucet was $150 or more!

But I got it on Amazon for $59.61!!

Plus, I had a $25 gift card to Amazon, so I really only paid $35.00!  And it had FREE shipping!

That’s one of the best deals I have gotten in a long time.  Especially for a brand new product.

Right now, our shower looks like this…

But I am hoping for it to have pretty white tile like this….

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And I want Cy to add trim around door frame like this…

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The shower at our previous house looked like this…(and I loved it too!)

What color tile do you think I should use in my shower?

I also got a shower/tub faucet for the boys’ new bathroom.

We got it from Home Depot online.

I think this is a pretty good price for the set.

Right now, the boys’ bathroom looks like this…

Here are a couple pictures that I’m using for inspiration…

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I REALLY want to do a split curtain.

Probably in stripes, like this one.

And I’m considering white tile for their shower too.  Am I crazy?

I like these cabinet mirrors, and I’m considering doing bead board half way up the wall.  Maybe.

How cool is that double sink?

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And Cy is going to make a barn door for the bathroom entry.  Kind of like this one…

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Wouldn’t it be cool painted red?

We are hoping in a couple of weeks to finally get back to rolling on the addition.

Cy has gotten a little drywall up, and now you can see the doorway to our master bedroom.

Yay!

So excited to share all the progress with you!

Have you gotten any great deals lately?

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Wow!  The first month of the year is over!

What have you been up to??

I looked back through my January posts, and I didn’t really have any new DIY projects.  We are still recovering from our crazy fast Kitchen makeover in December.

I did remove our shower door, but it was not an impressive project, so I’m not gonna share it again.   

You’re welcome.

But I know a lot of you have been super busy this past month!

I cannot wait to see your BEST DIY project of January, 2012!

Here is a reminder of the party guidelines…

• Your project MUST be about DIY home decor or home improvement.

• Only ONE project per blogger, please.

• Your project needs to be from the month of January, 2012.

• Please enjoy visiting other great projects by other bloggers and leave some comment love. 

• Please link back to the party somewhere in your post.  (Only those with a link back to the party will be considered to be featured on my blog.)

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Welcome to the final step in this series!

**Please be sure to take time to read the final thoughts at the end of this post.

Here is a recap of all the posts in this series:

Step 1: Add wood ceilings.

Step 2: Replace your builder’s grade doors with paneled doors.

Step 3: Replace your builder’s grade light fixtures with ones that possess more

            character and charm.

Step 4: Add Character to Your Home with New “Old” Hardware.

Step 5:  Add Character and Charm to Your Home with Finish Trim Work.

Today’s step is a no-brainer. 

Step 6: 

Add Wood Flooring!

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There is nothing more characteristic of older homes than wood flooring.

The charm and beauty is hard to match!

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I could spend time in this post talking about all different types of wood flooring, but I’m not.

Everyone has different tastes when it comes to wood flooring.  Some like light wood.  Some dark.

Some like thin planks. Some like wider.

There is soft wood, hard wood, engineered wood, and laminate wood.

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Whichever type of wood flooring you chose, I can guarantee one thing…

It will add instant warmth and beauty to your home!

My personal favorite is a dark stain on real wood planks.  And I prefer the planks to be 5 inches wide or wider.

We used pine wood for our kitchen floors which is a softer wood.  It does show wear and tear more than the harder woods.  If you do not like to see some wear on your floors, then you would definitely want to go with a harder wood.  But keep in mind that the harder the wood, the more expensive it will be.

I don’t mind a little wear on my floors because I think it gives my  home that old farmhouse feel that I love.

We are planning on adding the same hard wood flooring in our master bedroom and master bath in our addition.

Here are some beautiful pictures I found of wood flooring in a bathroom.

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We also plan on putting wood on our stairs in our addition.

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My friend, Sarah, from Thrifty Décor Chick removed the carpet from her stairs in her newer home to create beautiful wood steps!

If you have stair rails on your stairs, one thing that you might consider adding for some extra “old house” character is an antique newel post.

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I love the look of the top of the newel post stained to match the steps and the bottom half painted white.

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I am hoping to find a newel post at an architectural salvage place for our new staircase. It will give our stairs instant charm!

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Painted wood floors are beautiful too.

Look how fabulous these red wood floors look!

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Here is an adorable nursery with painted floors…

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Though I love the look of stained wood flooring, if I owned an older home with wood floors that were in really bad shape, and they had stains that couldn’t be sanded out, I would definitely consider painting them. 

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Another flooring choice that creates that “old house” feel is hexagonal tile.

I absolutely love this type of tile!

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I am considering hexagonal tile for when we redo the guest bath by our kitchen this year. 

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Don’t ya love it?

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Lastly, I also think brick flooring is a great choice for an mudroom or back hallway.

I think brick flooring is going to be showing up more and more in home interiors.

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Here is a picture of brick flooring in the kitchen…

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Well, that’s it!

I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have!

I would love to hear your thoughts about this series in the comments!

Final Thoughts on this Series

I just had to end this series with a word of encouragement to you!

I have loved posting these steps about how to create a charming home full of “old house” character.

And I have loved sharing all of these amazing inspiration pictures to help get your creative juices flowing.

But one thing I want to make sure I haven’t done is create discontentment in your heart about what you have.

Maybe your home looks NOTHING like these inspiration pictures.

Maybe your renting.

Maybe you are in a starter home, and it isn’t really the type of home you want.

Wherever you may be living, I pray that you are content.

This series is meant to inspire you to think out of the box when it comes to decorating your home.

It is not meant for you to feel frustrated with all the things you wish you could do to your home.

Remember to be patient.  It takes time to get your home looking the way you want it to.  Enjoy the process!

Start on a small room in your home, like a bathroom, and following these steps a little at a time to create a space you love.

But in the meantime, while you may not have wood floors, or pretty light fixtures, fancy trim, or whatever else you may want, count your blessings.

Let’s thank God for the roof over our heads.

For warm beds to sleep in at night.

For bellies that are full.

For family and friends to love.

And then….smile.

You are loved by your heavenly Father more than you will ever know!

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Welcome to Step 5 in this series!

Here is a recap of the first 4 steps if you missed them and want to get caught up!

Step 1: Add wood ceilings.

Step 2: Replace your builder’s grade doors with paneled doors.

Step 3:  Replace your builder’s grade light fixtures with ones that possess more

            character and charm.

Step 4:  Add Character to Your Home with New “Old” Hardware.

And now for the next step!

Step 5:

Add Character and Charm

to your Home with

Finish Trim Work

One of the elements that always catches my eye when I walk into an older home is all of the detail in the Finish Trim Work.

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It is beyond gorgeous!

I love the high baseboards, thick crown molding, beautiful door casings, and more!

In almost every home we’ve owned, we have had basic finish trim work.  Much like what was in our previous master bedroom.

Just imagine how much more character our bedroom would have had with thick crown molding and high baseboards!

So today, we are going to talk about wood.

Wood. wood. and more wood.

Finish trim work can make a big impact in a room for little money.

Look at the beautiful door casing in this historic home…

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I found this link that shows you how to make this type of trim work.

And look at the trim work on these windows..

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Who needs window treatments with beautiful trim like that?!  I am hoping to add some trim to the top of my kitchen window.

Another striking feature of older homes is transom windows above a doorway.

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There are many different types of finish trim work for walls, but there are two that I want to focus on today.

1.  Flat Panels (Board and Batten): Indicative of Arts and crafts style

2.  Bead board: Classic cottage style

Flat Panels

or

Board and Batten

Here are a couple examples of Flat Panels or Board and Batten finish work:

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We did a board and batten treatment in our previous laundry room.

You can read the tutorial of how we did it Here.

And I will forever be in love with my friends, Layla and Kevin’s, amazing reading room re-do!  They have flat panels on one wall, gymnasium wood floors on the back wall, plank ceilings, and built-ins (which we will take about in a minute)!

Love, love, love this room!

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Bead Board

Next, we have bead board finish work.  This is such a classic look for older homes, and is especially indicative of the cottage style.

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I love bead board in a bathroom!  It gives a lot of visual lift to a small space.

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Bead board also looks great in a kitchen!

It can be used on cabinet fronts, on the walls, or in the backsplash.

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This may not be considered “trim work”, but I have to share some pictures of the beauty of wood walls.

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Wood planks or paneling on the wall is all the rage right now.  (At least I think so.) 

It seems like every magazine I pick up has beautiful rooms featured with wood on the walls.

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We are planning on doing wood walls in our master bathroom, and maybe one wall of our master bedroom.  This can get a little costly, so we will just do what we can afford.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you another feature of finish trim work in older homes and that is built-ins.

How about creating a built in china cabinet in  your dining room for some character and charm?

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Or maybe some beautiful bookcases and a window seat in a bedroom?

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Check out that adorable little built in spice rack on the wall.  I want one of those!!

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And what is an older home without gorgeous fireplace built-ins?! 

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Such a classic look!

So have you enjoyed looking at all of theses amazing photos?!

I have had fun finding them for you. 

Have you gotten any ideas of ways you can add character and charm to your home with finish trim work?

If you would like to see even more great photos, check out my Pinterest boards!

You can follow me by clicking on the button below.

See you tomorrow for Step 6!

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Welcome to Day 4 of this series!!

If you missed one of the first 3 days, here’s a re-cap.  Just click on the title to view them!

Step 1: Add wood ceilings.

Step 2: Replace your builder’s grade doors with paneled doors.

Step 3:  Replace your builder’s grade light fixtures with ones that possess more

             character and charm.

Let’s keep going!!  Here’s the next step:

Step 4:

Add Character to your

Home with new “old”

Hardware.

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Yesterday, we talked about how much changing out your light fixtures can improve the look and feel of your room.  Well, hardware has the same effect as well.

While searching the internet for inspiration pictures, I realized two things about changing the hardware in your home.

1.  You can replace your hardware with actual antique pieces of hardware.

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2.  Or you can purchase new hardware that is reminiscent of an older period in time.

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There are so many different types of hardware, that I would never be able to talk about them all in one post, but I will focus a just a few.

Of course, you know my love for farmhouses, so I am drawn to hardware that represents that feel.

I was wanting to put latches like the ones below in our new kitchen, but my cabinet fronts were not flat enough to accommodate them. 

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These latches are definitely representative of an older home.

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Look how amazing they look on the cabinets in the picture below!  This picture makes me melt!  It is soooo “pin-worthy!”

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Some more hardware that gives a great “older home” feel are these Classic Cup pulls.

They are one of the most popular type of hardware out right now.  The most popular finishes are brushed nickel and oil rubbed bronze, but chrome is gaining some ground.

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You can see in the picture below how they used cup pulls and latches on their cabinets.  Gorge!

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The next kitchen used the cup pulls in old rubbed bronze.  Oil rubbed bronze looks amazing on white cabinets!  Btw, check out that wood ceiling, would ya?!

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It’s also very acceptable to mix hardware finishes.  Talk about character!  Look how oil rubbed bronze and chrome hardware were used in this kitchen from For the Love of a House.  If you have never been to this blog, and you want to seen “old house” character at it’s best, you need to click on over there and check it out.  (And then be sure to come back and see me!) 

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These cup pulls are not just for a kitchen.  They look great on a piece of furniture too!

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I had a cherry piece of furniture that Mom gave me many years ago that just didn’t look like me at all.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of it because it was before my blogging days. It looked a little like this one, but was less “Queen Anne-ish.”

Mom told me to paint it black so it would match my décor more, so I did.  I also added cup pulls.

But when I decided to use it on my back patio, I painted it white, distressed it, and added different pulls to create a totally different look.  I loved it!

It definitely gave it more of a farmhouse look.

See the difference changing the

hardware can make?

The last type of hardware I love is glass knobs and handles.  They are so beautiful no matter where you put them!

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Glass knobs can add lots of charm in a bathroom.

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Or a kitchen…

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I also found this link at Shelterific on How to Refinish Door Hardware in Six Steps.

I also wanted to share how my blog friend, Jen, from Tatertots and Jello shared in a post how she changed her brass handle to a glass handle on her pantry door in her kitchen. Click on the picture to read about it.

IMPORTANT:  You do not have to have a lot of money to change the hardware in your home.

Have you ever looked at the hardware aisle at Hobby Lobby!  They have knobs for days!

And if you purchase knobs when they are half off, you can get some beautiful knobs for very little money!

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ALSO…You can always spray paint the hardware you already have to give it a completely different look!

I’m sure you’ve seen many posts about how bloggers have spray painted their door handles oil rubbed bronze.  It takes some time, but very little money to update the look of your home!

Here is a tutorial from Carrie at Dittle Dattle where she shows you how to change your brass door knobs to oil-rubbed bronze ones.

You can also easily spray paint outdated knobs on your cabinets.

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So don’t feel like you have to spend a ton of money to get a new look. 

Remember that you might find some pretty hardware at thrift stores or yard sales that can be cleaned up or painted to look like new!

Do you have hardware in your home that needs updating?  Or could you replace it with hardware that adds more character and charm?

See you tomorrow for step #5!

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Welcome to Step 2 of adding “Old House”

character and charm to your newer home.

(If you missed Step 1, click HERE to read it.)

I am really enjoying writing this series!  I cannot get enough of older homes.

It is so much fun to look through pictures online and dream about how I can make my 1970’s ranch feel like an old farmhouse.

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The picture above just makes my heart go all a flutter!  I believe it is a newly built farmhouse, and I just love the character is possesses!

So here is the second step in creating that “old house” feel in your own home…

Step 2:

Replace your builder’s grade doors

with paneled doors.

Most of our homes have basic builder-grade (hollow core) doors in every room.

This is what all of the doors in my current home look like…

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But I want my home to have charm and character, so I want my doors to look like this…

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Or this…

Beautiful, solid wood, 5 panel doors…

Look how much character this 5 panel door adds to this new home…

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(I believe that is actually a new solid wood door.  But why would you buy a new one when  you can get the same look by buying a used one?!)

If you buy new, solid wood panel doors, they can be very expensive.

But you may be able to find a panel door at a Habitat for Humanity store, thrift store, or architectural salvage place, you might score a good deal.

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We got these 5 panel, solid wood doors for FREE! You can read about that story HERE.

I am planning on using these in the boys’ new rooms upstairs in our addition.

We built the door frames upstairs to accommodate these tall doors.  I’m not sure if I am going to repaint them, or sand them down and leave them natural, but we are planning on keeping the original hardware on them.

(If you buy on old painted door and decide to sand it, please be sure to take the necessary precautions to protect yourself from lead paint.)

I also wanted to share with you a few other bloggers who replaced doors in their home as well.

Look how my friend, Ashley, from The Handmade Home replace her builder’s grade door with an old screen door for her pantry.

Small change, but a totally different feel.

I love the way Layla, from The Lettered Cottage, replaced one of her doors with this beautiful, old, solid wood door.

Older doors are so beautiful to me!

It feels like I am walking back through time whenever I place my hand on the knob and walk through the doorway. 

It really is a pretty easy and inexpensive way to add a ton of character and charm to your home!

Do you have any doors in your home that you would like to replace?

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow as

I share with you Step 3!!

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I love the look of older homes.  Like, 100 years old (or older) homes.

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I love the character and charm they possess.  There is a beauty and warmth that is hard to describe, but can definitely be “felt” when you are inside on older home.

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But my home was built in the 1970’s, so what is a girl supposed to do?

Well, all this week, I am planning on showing you the steps I plan on taking to hopefully create that “old home” feeling in our house (and our new addition.)

Step One: 

Add wood ceilings.

A lot older homes have wood ceilings.

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You can create your wood ceilings by installing wood planks or even bead board.

You can paint it or leave it natural.

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Either way, adding wood to your ceilings makes a dramatic difference in the feel of the room.

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It adds warmth and character to the room.

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I can attest to this!  Adding wood on top of our stippled ceiling made all the difference in the world when we renovated our kitchen!

I am hoping to add wood ceilings in some other rooms in our home as well.  This will be a gradual process and not something I plan on doing this year.

But we do plan on adding some wood beams in our new master bathroom.

Something like these…

We have some plumbing (for the boys’ upstairs bathroom) in our bathroom that is going to need to be hidden.  So we are going to make some hollow wooden beams to cover the pipes!

I cannot wait!

Click the links below to see steps 2 through 6.

Step 2:  Replace your builder’s grade doors with paneled doors.

Step 3:  Replace your builder’s grade light fixtures with ones that possess more character and charm.

Step 4:  Add character to your home with new “old” hardware.

Step 5:  Add Character and Charm to your home with Finish Trim Work

Step 6:  Add Wood Flooring!

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