pbsteele's Profile

Sunlight, as well as bleach, will rot silk. I would just get used to them; they look beautiful in the picture.

I used to think the moulding around a window was for something solid to attach the rod to! I always hang panels above and out to the sides of a window, if possible. I also hang bamboo and fabric roman shades well above the window. This allows for the shade to be pulled up into folds that don't obstruct the glass.

Laundry "room"? Looks like an ironing board to me.

Why do I suddenly feel itchy??!!

I finished a diy renovation last year on our kitchen. First bit of advice: live with your existing kitchen long enough to find out what you do and don't like about it. Also live with your plans long enough to see if something else could be better. I did all the cabinets myself (see Ana White's site for great plans for cabinets ana-white.com) and finished working every day at 4:00, so I'd have time to clean up. That made a big difference in my and my husband's sanity! We did laminate counters with a Kohler Vault sink- a big one- and we really like it. It's almost the same as undermount.

Those look exactly like one I inherited from my mom when she moved out of her house. She'd had it for so long, all the fringe was worn off. I used it in my kitchen for a couple of years, and washed it in my front loader several times. I hung it up to dry. I never had any problems with colors running, or a lot of lint, or shrinkage. I expect my mom washed it regularly, too.

I would experiment with gluing thin plywood beadboard on the tile. If that works, to finish off the top, nail on trim above the tile line, and glue or nail on the baseboard trim.

Before I remodeled our kitchen, I attached some temporary open shelves to the wall, to live with them for a while. They're right next to the window in our very narrow galley kitchen. Because they're floating shelves, they block very little light from the window. I use my range hood religiously, and don't have a problem with dust. The shelf is also above the DW, so it's convenient for putting things away. Someday I'll get around to posting some pictures of the before and after.

I've used clear contact paper for this same application. It worked just fine. I ran the contact paper horizontally so there weren't any seams to deal with. I had it behind my stove for years, and never had a problem. If you have it behind your sink, just run a bead of clear silicone between the countertop and the contact paper. One of the things I liked about it was the matte finish; it didn't look plastic (like plexiglas would).

Perfection!