Sharpette's Profile

Seriously? And the irony is that this wouldn't prevent a kid from accidentally knocking a pot of boiling water onto themselves, which is my biggest concern when the kids 'help' me cook.

Beautiful light fixtures.

Or at the very least give someone else responsibility for running the craft and the gift exchange.

I agree with eclectorama. To me nothing says 'party over' more than the hostess standing at the kitchen sink. I'm all for soaking, but beyond that I think the washing should wait until the guests are gone.

We bought a Bosch dishwasher a few months ago and love it. The best part of the entire purchase was reading the manual and seeing their MANY suggestions for how to arrange your dishes in the dishwasher for optimal use of space if you have had a dinner party, breakfast, etc. So German! (I'm married to one so I know...)

I would wash it, paint on a coat of adhesion primer, then go to town with the low VOC paint. You can always test if it's lead with one of those rub-on kits, but I probably wouldn't want to go through the work of sanding if even it wasn't lead.

If you really don't have books, I would go to a thrift store and buy a whole bunch of white vases/knicknacks/whatever and put them on the shelves, then replace the artwork with something with more pizzazz.

I don't think curtains or panels will look good.

I'm with Pi on the cooler. Plus with kids there's always sand in there, not to mention spilled drinks and smears of sunscreen ... I prefer a cooler and a couple of canvas totes that can be thrown in the washing machine.

I completely agree. I started a tradition two years ago (hmm... coincidentally, when my husband finished school and got a job) of buying myself a piece of art every year for my birthday. They are the best presents ever.

Looks great! Though I disagree with the posters who suggest two sinks... I don't think there's enough shoulder room for that.