Linda {Calling it Home} Linda {Calling it Home}

One Room Challenge, Week 5

Here we are at week 5 already. Wow is time flying by. Thanks again for taking the time to check in with me. If I didn't think you were coming by, I probably would procrastinate more. If you would like to start at the beginning of all of this, you can go here. 

I am super excited to announce that my trimwork is done. It took a huge chunk of time, and I had help with the hard stuff. Here are all of the specs just in case you want to try this. 

All of the trim is BM Snowfall White. The walls were inspired by this bedroom. They are BM White Dove.

I could kiss Mary Ann for tracking down the paint name for me. I want my whole house painted this color.


Section 1 & 3 have the framed wall treatment above the chair rail


In Section 2, the walls were too narrow to frame them above the chair rail. I gave them a mock cap on top to finish them off. I also modified the crown in section 2.



Here, you can see that my CL altar table got a makeover. You can also see that I picked the yellow lamps. Although, weather permitting, they will be changing colors.




I think I am finally going to use this vintage brass light fixture that has been sitting in my garage for ages.

The glass is smoked, and there is a lot of it...not quite sure how I can do this without replacing all of it. I'm not even sure it works....they lady said it did, and I never checked.


I picked up this mirror, that has a gash in the upper right corner. 
You just can't get good quality for $15 any more. 


Hopefully, I can give it a makeover and place it above this CL table


Once I fix the red tinted stain


There is one more week....and then the big Tah Dah!

Now let's go make the rounds.

Week 6, go here



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Linda {Calling it Home} Linda {Calling it Home}

Wall Treatment Specs

Vinny, my painter, just left. I have to say, there is no possible way this will look as good in pictures as it does in person. Unless of course you have a better camera than me, or just know how to time the natural light thing. No matter, I thought this would be a good time to tell you the specs of my One Room Challenge walls, just in case someone out there wants to do a wall treatment and doesn't want to nail a bunch of sizes up to the wall....like I did. 

Here is what the walls look like in most of my entry. 

The majority of the trim is 1/2" MDF sheets cut to specific widths. I like MDF because it doesn't move {shrink/swell} like real wood. I hate seeing those cracks in the joints during the winter months.

Here you can see the reveal I used...3 1/2". Since that is the reveal, many of the boards needed to be wider. 


This will show you why


Maintaining a consistent reveal throughout will give you a really expensive looking project.  

Another thing to consider is the corners


On an outside corner, you would need to take 1/2" off one of the boards. 

As for the panel widths, I would suggest that you divide the wall into a size that you feel comfortable with.  Since every one of my walls were a different length, they are similar to each other, but far from exact. 
Furniture placement will camouflage a lot of this. 


In this small area that I called Section 2, you can see that a framed upper wall would not work. I kept the same bottom treatment as the other hall, but modified the top to be a mock chair rail. You can also notice that the reveal under the crown was modified, too.


Here are the specs for the top of section 2


Here are the specs for all the the bottom pieces



These are the trim pieces that I used




Some of the hard cuts that Joe and Mike did

Wrapped the corners








All of the trim is pained in BM Snowfall White. The walls are BM White Dove.

Do you have architectural moldings and trim in your home?


Week 5


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Linda {Calling it Home} Linda {Calling it Home}

What Size is My Blog?

When I started contacting blog designers for changes on my blog, I wanted to make sure I was able to communicate my thoughts as clearly as possible. I had strong opinions about what I wanted from looking at and admiring other blogs. 

The first thing that struck me, was size. I wanted to communicate size without having to copy and paste a ton of blogs into an email to the designer saying.....font from this, width from that, sidebar width like this......

So I started clicking on other bloggers images. Here's how I found out the sizes of images on blogs. 

For this demonstration, I'll use my friend's blog Elizabeth @ Little Black Door. 

How big is Elizabeth's header?




To find this out, put your courser on the  image you want to know about.

Right click, and scroll down to "Inspect Element"...click on that



You will then see this information image pop up just below the area you are sourcing. 
If you scroll your mouse down the numbers, the above image will change colors. 
Stop when the exact area you are investigating is blue. 
Now look at the px number above it. 
Elizabeth's header area is 960 px wide. 


Now let's see what size images Elizabeth could put on her blog. 

This sweet baby is 640 px wide.



Once you know what size you can place on your blog, it is fun to play around with various sizes and see what you like. I usually don't put the largest possible image size on my blog, but it's nice to know how big I can go if needed. 

Do you size your images? Have you discovered any great tips for this?

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Linda {Calling it Home} Linda {Calling it Home}

Easy Savings

I have been working nonstop on my entry, again this week. I am really happy with the results, so far. I just wanted to take a second and share a money saving tip with you. Honestly, A recent phone conversation with a friend made me realize some of you could benefit from this.  I thought everyone was doing this so it never occurred to me to share it.

I negotiate a lot of things people take for granted. I want you to know that I am not getting any pricing that doesn't already exist...i'm just doing a little detective work to find out where the best pricing is. 

First up, my cable bill.....this is the one I thought everyone was doing. I am shocked to hear that a few of my friends knew nothing about this. My Father-In-Law would laugh at me all the time over this one....until I bragged to him about my savings. He then had me negotiate his :)


It's not hard....it just takes time....a lot of it....an entire hour.

Quick back-story, the last time I negotiated my cable bill I was told that my rates were good for 24 months. Probably because my electronic record was a mile long. My husband noticed that the cable bill was $20 a month higher long before the 24 months was up. I needed to wait for a day when I had a chuck of time to deal with this.....and then I called. 

Go directly to the disconnect department. They are the ones who have the authority to really dig deep, and have incentives to keep your business. That department will put you on hold for an eternity...that's part of the game. They want you to hang up...thinking your time is too valuable for $20....remember that's a per month charge $240 per year. Put your phone on speaker, listen to the ridiculous music and go on Pinterest or something....while they play the staring game with you (anyone remember that one?). 

This is what I said when I finally got someone: "I have been a loyal customer of your cable company for 14 years and you continue to hike up my rates while you will offer non-customers the world. You don't appreciate my loyalty....I'm leaving your company because your (name of competitor) wants my loyalty. 

This is the most important part....THEN SAY NOTHING. The art of negotiation usually is simple, he who speaks first loses. You will never know where the bottom of this is if you start asking for things. I won't bore you with the details of the middle of the conversation, but I will tell you that it is a lot of apologizing on their part, and I just kept saying, "why don't you value and reward loyalty?" 

Two "on hold's" and a manager talk later, she offered me the best premium package (the one they use to REALLY entice new customers), I told you the savings are already out there...we just want to find them ...this was a larger package than what I had.....wait for it.... for $34 dollars a month less! Lower than my previously negotiated rate.

I wanted to make sure this was the bottom, so I said "What about the $80 I had lost ($20 increase for 4 months) because I did not realize that you went back on your agreement of 24 months". She said she was sorry, but they could not do a price drop and a credit. Pick one. 

Still not sure this was the bottom, I told her that I had received a credit for Hurricane Sandy when I did not have power or cable......SAY NOTHING! She again apologized, but repeated her words. 

Feeling like I might have found the bottom, I gave it one last try. I told her that I would take the new price because that would immediately reduce my rate, but would need to run it by my husband when he got home and if he is still mad, we will leave them. SIDE NOTE: for those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know that my husband could care less about all of this. It took everything I had not to laugh when I said those words. 

BUT....she said "hold on"....several more minutes....and she said that I would ALSO receive a $38 credit. She also told me to call back in 11 months and find out what deals are being offered then.

SEE...I TOLD YOU, the deals are out there you just need to find them.


For those of you who think this is too much work, and your time is more valuable than this...

I just made $446 dollars in ONE HOUR. 


This post was longer than I thought, so I will tell you about a few other ways to save in another post. If you like this information, become a Follower so you won't miss the next one.

Have a great weekend, Friends. I have 2 Craigslist purchase to pick up. What are you up to?

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Linda {Calling it Home} Linda {Calling it Home}

One Room Challenge...Week 4

Hello, and thanks for coming back and checking in on my progress with my entry. This is week 4 of the One Room Challenge. In case you are new, this is where you can start the beginning of this challenge. 

I am not going to lie...I worked like a dog over the last week. I really wanted to have something more to show you than millwork issues. I think I finally turned the corner, figuratively and literally.

Here is the finished millwork with primer on some of it.


Let me show you how I got here. 

This one's for you DAP people....who follow me on Pinterest. For the record, I have not received anything from DAP....but totally would if they sent me some!

I really like the High Performance one on the right for all the joints where the boards meet. The one on the left (the pink kind) is great for small holes.


Once all the holes and joints are filled
(does this remind anyone else of the book Put Me In The Zoo?)


I used a sponge sander to smooth out the joints


Check the smoothness with your hand when you are done. Remember, if you can feel it, you will see it when it's painted.

A coat of primer, and I am almost ready to call my painter for the finished coats.

I thought I would be done priming by the time Seth started his monologue at the Oscars....that didn't happen. In fact, I am finishing it as you read this. 

Moving on... remember that Vintage Regency piece I showed you? Well, I asked Joe and Mike to look it over and see if it was real Burl wood. These are two dudes who hate the thought of paining wood. Not only is it NOT real Burl wood, they went on to tell me how they thought it was poorly made. 

This would not be the time to explain to them how expensive the marble top would be if I tried to buy just that. I also had no guilt over painting it....so here is a sneak peak at the color selected.

It needs another coat, or two. 

Craigslist was good to me, again...I picked up a pair of stools, that need a makeover.

And, finally...I ran to Target and picked up a matching pair of lamps. Can you guess which style I selected?


Which one would you pick?

Now if the weather would cooperate, and give me a few spray painting days...I would really be grateful.

Let's go see how the others made out this week.

Wall Treatment Specs
Week 5

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Linda {Calling it Home} Linda {Calling it Home}

I Want to Try This

I have been working like crazy on my entry and decided to take a Pinterest break. I know you know what I am talking about. Since spring is just around the corner, I am feeling the love for fresh happy colors. 

Here are three things I want to try when the spray paining weather returns. 

How fun are these hangers? 

Via

This is the best idea for old silverware...just dip it in paint.

Via

Fun colored branches...so easy, I feel stupid for pinning it.

Pinterest, could not find original source
I just noticed that the wall panel detail is almost exactly like the one I am hacking away at.

All of these, and a whole bunch more stuff is on my Crafty Ideas Pinterest board. Has Pinterest inspired you to actually do something....other than pinning?


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