katcorr2003's Profile

Any shade of beige, from a light cream to a dark tan would be great. The sink looks like kind of a sage tone, so if you want a lot of color, terra-cotta would work. Chocolate brown might be too dark. Pink is great, but be sure not to pick anything too bubble-gum. Pale pink or deep rose are great shades.

What about making it a nice dining area?

I agree with several of the previous posters. If you plan on staying there for a long time, do what you want. If resale value is important for the near future, then get rid of that ugly backsplash and learn to love the wood. I think an experienced realtor knows what people who are buying in your area, in your home's price range are looking for, and yes, a homemade paint job can definitely affect the price of your home. If you go with paint, call an auto body shop and see if they will paint the doors for you, so they will have a clean, glossy, dust-free, streak-free professionally done look that people may not realize is not original.
I have black granite countertops with light colored wood cabinets, but my granite has copper flecks in it that work with the warm wood color. I can't get a good look at your granite, but it looks like it's black and white/gray. Painting the cabinets black or white might be a good idea, but definitely get rid of the brick.

If you want to make it look more like a chandelier, maybe you could buy some of those pendant lights that screw into light bulb sockets. The Home Depot has a selection and I'm sure if you check around a bit, you might find something that looks more vintage.

I have an almost identical bench that belonged to my grandmother and is between 75 and 80 years old. I reglued ad refinished the bench in a nice walnut stain and when I took the ugly pink fabric off, I found the original rich red and gold silk/satin jacquard covering. It was shredded in places, so it was unusable, but I managed to find a red/gold satiny jacquard fabric in Mood fabrics in NYC. It looks gorgeous. If it's a family heirloom, definitely try to restore it. You will be very pleased with the result.

I had roller ball rings and they flipped upside down all the time. They were such a pain that I just went to WalMart and bought large round shower curtain rings. They're a perfect circle, so no matter where they go, they're not going to get caught on anything or flip upside down or get knocked off the rod like all the others did.
As for the shower curtain liner, we just throw the plastic one in the wash every few months or so with a couple of towels and it comes out looking just fine. We haven't had to buy one for quite some time.
We also use the vinegar and water in the shower and it's great. I actually use vinegar and water for a lot of my cleaning. It works as well or better than some of the commercial cleaners and costs a lot less.

Personally, I would go to the Home Depot, buy some wall shelf brackets and shelves, and then build a simple wood frame to go around them, attaching it to the wall also. We have a VERY small room in our house, which is a library/home office/craft storage room, and we did this and they look just like built in bookcases. This way, you could customize the sizes and wood stain or paint, and put whatever trim around them that you want, and they will look as nice as custom, built in shelves.
Good luck! Don't forget to send "after" photos!

You could wire them onto a wreath, or poke a skewer in to them and use them in a centerpiece with pine cones, or dry them out (some of them dry beautifully) and then paint them, or cut them and use them as candle holders (after they're dried) or paint them and put them in a bowl or put Elmer's glue all over them and dip them into glitter or tiny beads of different colors. If you dry them, you could even make ornaments out of them or a garland. The possibilities are endless!

What about a wire basket? Check flea markets and yard sales or even discount stores for them.

Well, coming at it from the angle of the remodeling contractor (my husband), business is down a bit. People want to wait to see what the economy does before they make any commitments to home improvements, even if they will save money in the long run.
My husband offers many green and energy saving solutions in his business, but the bottom line is price. If an "green" solution is a lot more expensive (as many of the products are), then middle class people, who need to watch their family finances closely, won't go for it if the non-green solution is just as effective. It's just the way it is right now. We all want to be greener, but the bottom line, again, is cost. Even as far as energy-saving products go, people are still putting off home improvements that will save them money in the long run, hoping to get one more year before replacing the roof or windows, opting for cheaper solutions like window films from the Home Depot, rather than the expense of replacing windows.