Tonight , we are having a speech contest in our club, as they have an international speech contest each year. I am in the Table Topics contest. They give each speaker the same question, and then you have to start talking and make it immediately into a short speech. I said "I don't want to" "what if I win I will have to go to the contest?" She said "don't worry about that" Do you think that means that she is thinking I don't have a snowball's chance in hell??? ...just thinking. So I am off Ladies and Gents. Wish me no luck! (in speaking tonight)

Much good luck, Mary Peggy! I hope you win...errr...if you want to !!!

Bobbi, I love your cabinets! So, I read back to see original question that started discussion. I think the easiest way to add a contemporary feel would be to change lighting and hardware. But I love your hardware as it is. Also, just throwing this out there, to add contemporary vibe you could paint the wood part of your floor black or a dark color to match the grout in tiles.

Hi all, haven't had a chance to thoroughly read all the chit chat today and have to get to the Church with BH but

Bobbi - you definitely ARE too like me, you know what you want but are being sidetracked by what others have done + trying to please R who probably feels your indecision and that is naturally making him hesitant. FOCUS!!!! You are raving about MPs cupboards which are all white, you have all white but you want to change them??????

However, had a thought that might help you - go onto the BM website and download some photos and play with painting your cupboards that way. You can create away to your heart's content.

Hey olldbobi..almost neighbors! You are very close to my Mom. She lives on Colony Rd (Off Arno Rd) just past Elk Grove. Hey - your kitchen floor is interesting looking! In a good way. :)

Roo, you're right, as soon as I get close to what I want I find something that interests me and I start to change my mind which is why I end up with a mish-mash of stuff! You're right, I need to focus.

Darzy! Not sure where Elk Grove is, near Sac? I don't really know much about this area, Sac included having lived in the Bay Area since 1968. I guess it's time to learn, tho. Hey thanks about the floor! It's different, that's for sure!

Holy Cow! Darzy. I can't believe you have found us. I am so happy.

I love the floor Bobbi! The cabinets look great and the chocolate brown is a nice color.

I would make a couple of changes though. I would stain the oak part of the floor darker to match the grout lines and add white blinds to keep the space bright.

I like the denim color inside the cabinets, but have you thought about using a brown, blue, and white printed wall paper to tie it all together?

Just checking one last time, no that I am dressed to go, and to say Bobbi you have done well dealing with what I can tell has been a challenging design delimma left to you by the previous person who had his way with your home. I think your floor is pretty actually. I think it is just like you said. Because we are designers we get excited about a lot of different directions and possiblities. Our homes are always the hardest, because we can't get an exterior viewpoint like we do with others. I would make a color board. Get paint chips exactly the color of each element in you kitchen, including the color of the woods. Move them around take some out. Add chips that are lighter or darker harmonics of the colors you are working with.

In my experience, the biggest difficulty that everyone has is accepting the colors that can not be changed and discovering what makes THOSE colors look and or work great.

It is a lot like me, I have a big butt. It is the truth. I said it here and I won't say it or admit it again. I would love to wear that slinky tight fitting dress, but, it just won't work on me at all. But when I wear a princess cut, a gored, is that how you spell it? skirt, I look very nice. But, I really want to wear that other out fit.

The same with you kitchen, it has a very strong personnality, character, that you can not afford to change. But you have the tools to make it look VERY nice. And, you are working that way.

Just remember don't dress a giraffe like an elephant.

Hi guys...I'm not an OLLD, but I might as well be. I love reading what you all have to say. This thread is a great idea and I have to say it's very inviting and welcoming.

Little one is still unwell and her viral rash seems to be contagious....seems like one of our other daughter's is starting to get a few spots on her body...yikes!

How is the weather where you are all. We are going to have a really nice weekend and I am keeping fingers crossed that the Girls get better soon so we can enjoy it!

Hi judyg! thank you..I'm glad I checked this thread out too! Mary Poulos..knock em dead! Bobbi...Elk Grove is 10 minutes south of Sacramento. BTW..bobbi...I like janishill's idea of possibly staining the wood part of your floor a bit darker to complement the grout lines. Your cabinet paint job is awesome and I love the handles. Oh..the 49ers left Rocklin Training Camp years ago.

pq, i like the bathroom light you posted

Welcome Darzy! I'm up in Sonoma County in Forestville...tiny town on the Russian River in wine country. I've been busy today, so it took me forever to catch up to this post! 140 comments? I've taken to doing what bobbi does....keep three tabs always open, on for Houzz, one for email and research, one just for this silly bunch! mp, am I mistaken or did J just pick up Dali, your new puppy...and then booked it a couple of days later? Or is my chemo brain not tracking? Was he selecting his surrogate? A puppy that piddles the bed? If you get a jonesing for California, looks like there are some folks to visit anyway! Course, we're all OLLD!

Shoot Dave....I've got plenty of olld friends out there from when I lived there before....plus I now have you guys!!! I'm thinking you all need to meet for lunch or dinner one day that are within driving distance. I'm very jealous!
I drove to get Dali with J in the passenger seat....lol
And she's been a total joy. House training is going along fine without him here! :)

Judyg, where in the heck have you been lady? Good to see you!

You know what...I think the suggestion above about staining the oak in the floor a darker color would look great bob!! Excellent idea! AND I love your blue in your cabinets...it's gorgeous!

Janis! I love the wallpaper on the left! Do you have any info on it, Please?

Mary Peggy, you're right of course. I just wish the prev owner had gone with a neutral colored tile! The blue rules the kitchen, unfortunately!

Darzy, the Niners left Rocklin years ago? Where was I? hehehe

David! Funny! Glad you haven't lost your sense of humor!!!

princess, I hope both your kids get better fast!

Ok! Everyone who thinks staining my kitchen floor darker, come on over and we'll all grab a sander! That is no small amount of wood! But thanks for your kind suggestions :))

Oh! BTW, the grout lines? Sharpie!!!

Hi Ironwood Builders. Thanks for the welcome! You live in God's country! Really pretty area.

mp, thanks for missing me. I spent the day with a friend, shopping for ME. Then we met the hubbies (who went to the movies) for supper. We stopped at HomeGoods and found a Tahari shower curtain and a great quilt for my clients reno. There was so much there today I could barely contain myself. The mirrors were over the top; an 8 x 10 Ralph Lauren large loop seagrass rug (originally $1200.00) for 299.00; four upholstered dining chairs in a Robert Allen fabric for 129.00 each. And the killer,,,,a southwestern kilim covered bench with Indian painted legs for $99.00. I could barely breathe.This was the fabric on the chairs:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/2168679/Our-Pillows---Dwell-Studios-by-Robert-Allen-pillows-detroit

lol judyg...I can feel your excitement from here on your HomeGoods adventure! Sounds like me..my heart starts a pumping faster when I find a fabulous bargain. Sounds like a GREAT score today!

wow, don't ya just love that! I need that RL rug for my beach porch!!! lol

Bobbi, that is a great idea staining the timber darker. I just checked the dining area too and it will match your furniture. If you are changing your dining chair cushions, just go for blue and green and with all your plants (I am sooooo jealous of) I can see one classy room. I note the timber outside is the same as the timber with the tile but the fact that the flooring is so different, I don't see a problem. I think it will make the blue look more dramatic, in fact I think it will change the blue a lot and the whole thing will look much classier. Your white cupboards will really pop too.

Think positive too - blue is supposed to be a very in colour this year, so you have a headstart. The blue you have backing your shelves looks really nice and sharpens the white and then you have your bench top for more contrast. I reserve judgement on the wallpaper until I see photos, but I am tending to white and more white.

Had a very successful shopping trip. Didn't see any vinyl like you got Bobbi, the wallpaper BH found was actually one you can paint so it was all embossed except one and BH wanted to get it. It was aqua for huge full blown red roses all over it. It was the most expensive roll and could not have looked cheaper. Inside a cupboard or not it was NOT coming into my home!!!! Dragged him off and found a vinyl flooring, very thin so you can cut it with scissors and was advertised as being temporary flooring for bathrooms and rented properties. It is the exact width as the linen cupboard so we only need 2 mtrs and at $13 m was perfect. I laughed thinking of you all talking about splatter painting the other day, the pattern on this looks like black, grey and pale yellow splatter paint. Sould look good with the yellow walls - not that I really need to match them.

How to shop with a male - Kutchie and Dave you stay out of this - We had to get 3 light fittings 2 for the hallway and 1 for the toilet. There is nothing wrong with the existing fittings except I can't clip them off to change a globe and BH said the new ones we had bought for 2 bedrooms with screws were much easier for me to manage. However when we got to the lighting section he found another he liked better and suddenly the screw ones weren't really that easy for me, he thought I would still have problems. It was a damned ugly light so suggested then we get open shades so there is nothing to take off and found a really nice one that doesn't show the globe too much, but he didn't like it either. FINE!!! Told him to buy whatever he liked and I would buy a torch. Naturally, I won. Love that word "fine" - have you ever seen the joke about a lesson to males in female language? Must find it for you.

morning all, lots has been going on it seems:
1. bobbi - I agree with mary peggy about staining the wood. I also think she has a very valid point about us circling ideas - I can mull something over 24/7 and either pounce on it eventually with a very definite plan .... or get dizzy and not know what i was thinking. I call it the "walk in the park" syndrome - I want to check every thing that is out there before I commit - problem is I have a tiny brain... so I just can't remember it all and get overwhelmed. Big breaths, small steps.
2.What a community is emerging - and it looks as if half of you might get to meet up. That is crazy and amazing.
3. p_q - Do you think it might be chickenpox? that's how it started for my kids...
4. judyg - there is nothing quite like going shopping and coming across real bargains with stuff that you really love. Sales in the US are the best!

asv - I call this brain overload, where you get to the point you constantly forget things and lose all focus even purpose to the whole exercise. A walk in the park - or as I've told Bobbi, a walk with Rocky - is an absolute necessity. Bobbi is like me too, can see things in rooms on Houzz but can't see what is under her own nose. Maybe when she gets all the photos taken it will hit her.

We have actually had one big co-incidence here, my grands in LA go to the same school as another OLLDs grands. That was really spooky but as yet our dds haven't met up.

Princess - have you had chickenpox? If your littlies have it and you haven't then you are at risk and if you catch it there could be problems for your baby. Not sure how far along you are, maybe you are far enough for it not to be a problem but do check it out. Hope they get better soon, it is so hard to cope with them when they are so little and don't understand what is happening to them.

Bobbi, I've got an air chisel and a mini electric jack hammer. It would take maybe a day to get that tile out of there! But I hear you on the $$ issues, no fun stubbing your toes for months while you figure out which tile and how t o pay for the stuff...though it is a great motivator! Certainly got me going when I heard a crash and a scream and ran into the kitchen to see the ex's leg sticking through the ceiling! Damn, should have got that vent cover on sooner!

Dave, since it was the ex - maybe this was a Freudian slip! (literally)

My, my, my, you've all been so busy while I slept! Roo, you crack me up! Aqua with huge red roses? That would never make it in my house either! It boggles the mind what they're thinging sometimes, doesn't it? But I'm really glad you found a liner that works for you. And at a great price! I agree, 'fine' is a wonderful word!

David, that's really sweet of you regarding the air chisel and jack hammer! Your ex's leg sticking through the ceiling??? Sounds like 'The Money Pit' to me :)) One of my favorite movies!

Ok, let's say for a minute I sand and sand and sand all the oak, and stain it dark. I think it would bring the floor into the current century, but....what do I do about the oak in the next room that won't change color? They butt right up against each other.

R didn't take any new pics last night because he's going thru a really rough time at work right now, didn't get home til late and I DID NOT want to push the issue. Home improvement isn't his thing at all so we'll see....... Thanks everyone for your ideas and support! I must look at it like Rome wasn't built in a day kind of way.

I'll open 2/26 with a dilemma for eztia!

Bobbi, I don't think there will be a problem with the two colours of the timber when the flooring is completely different anyway. If it is dark too, it may not even look like timber, it may look more like tile. Find some dark brown paper or cardboard, cut it to fit the timber and put it over the top of it near the doorway to gauge how it will look.

I don't know if you will need to do all that much sanding back when you are putting a darker colour on.

ps - why do you think Rome wasn't built in a day??? Women couldn't decide on their decorating!!!

Roo, great idea with the cardboard! I really like the idea of making the oak darker. Boy that wouldn't happen in a day for sure, there's a whole lot of wood there. But I will def try the paper or cardboard idea, I like it, thanks!

Bobbi...I had to do a hunting, but I found the wallpaper again: http://www.allmodern.com/Marimekko-Lumimarja-Wallpaper-in-Blue-and-White-by-Erja-Hirvi-13020-MKK1022.html

Bobbi, it is something you could spend an hour or two a day on, probably better too when the areas are high traffic and you can leave walking spaces. Not the end of the world if it took you a couple of weeks to do, but knowing you, you wouldn't stop till you finished.

Janis - I love that wallpaper, just wish it wasn't so expensive. Would that be in a vinyl finish I wonder so it could be easily wiped over? I had my kitchen wallpapered back in the 70s - didn't everyone?? - and I used a vinyl then, it was amazing the gunk and grease that built up on it.

Janis, thank you so much! $111/roll??? OMG I'll really have to save for that one! I do like the idea, tho, and I really like that paper. Kind of you to hunt for it for me, thank you!

Roo, in the 70's there was this furniture stripper called Jasco and boy did it work! Brush it on, let it sit, scrape it off with a putty knife, rinse and sand. If I can talk R into changing the wood color I'll look for the Jasco. There are multiple layers of clear sealer on the wood so I doubt just sanding it all off would be an easy task.

Bobbi, there are some 'paints' on the market that still let wood grain show through. I wonder if something like that would work so you would only need to sand enough to rough up the surface and then finish it with a clear sealer to protect the colour. Sounds like you need a trip to Church to see just what products there are available. Maybe Jasco might not be around but I'm sure others would have taken their place.

BH also has a heat gun he used to remove all the layers of gloss paint off our bathroom doors. He had spent ages sanding it and was cursing he hadn't thought of it earlier as it was really fast to do too.

Bobbi - found this

http://www.floodaustralia.net/products/stripping/citristrip.php

There is a place in Ohio that manufactures it in the US.

Roo, if nothing else I like the name of that product, it sounds a lot less lethal than the Jasco! Probably with a paint stripper we could do it all in two or three weekends. I wonder if there would be any damage to the grout or the tile......I will look into this, thanks! But first I have to convince R that changing the color would be good, he's not in favor but then I didn't ask him at the best time either. I'll try the cardboard idea first.

Thanks Roo!

Roo, color question, the grout is black (Sharpie!) but I wouldn't want black oak floors, so would a deep walnut color work? Don't like the red in mahogany (sp?). Something like the table and chairs?

NO!!!!!! STOP!!!!! :o) I didn't say restain the floor darker. I said a lot of other things, but not that!! And I would not here. Especially if it is bumping up to a floor next to it that is the same light color.
I love you all and you are so high energy you are like a freight train!! When you are all on board.
Actually JanishilI said that and it would look fabulous, I agree, with the fabrics she showed you. Perfect blues are in.

Darzy, has done a lot of home staging as have I, and I am sure probably most of you here, if not all. So we all know when we go into a home we do not have the luxery to change a lot of the permanent finishes, so we have to work with what is there, no matter what. I agree the floor would look nice stained darker color, but I think you can make this kitchen look wonderful without doing that. Darzy do you agree?

So, the way I do that, and we each have our methods, is I do the color thing, getting the chips of color and I start working them together. First, I have to reduce it to the fewest amounts of color possible. In this case the blue/gray of the floor and light oak? floor boards.

Find fabrics with those two colors. I: the color of the wood floor in a paint chip, and the color of the floor tile in a paint chip. You may or may not use the fabric, but it may have other colors that will create a color palette you have not thought of, and you know you can love.

Take your two paint chips and along with your white put them in an envelope in your purse. Put them on everything you contemplate for your kitchen, including everything in your kitchen now that is not bolted down and see if they will work in your kitchen. If they don't DO NOT USE THEM.

Janishill's Fabrics are the essence of what I am saying. The blues seem to me to a perfect idea of what to bring in. She also remarked take out the dark blinds. I totally agree. Go to white. Can these be sprayed white?

I must sound like the Pottery Barn lady, but the reason I use them for an example when I am staging is because I need that home to look like what these buyers are being told what a home should look like on February 26, 2013. The (Pottery Barn and ever other retailer is brainwashing the masses into what they should love right now) I just get on board with it, and you know what??? We all love being on board with what is going on right now.

Pottery Barn weaves in the textural neutrals all the time and in your case with your floor colors, which I know you think you hate.

The large Black cupboard Could Be replaced an Armoire or traditional Cabinet painted the deeper harmonic of you floor color. Find one that opens wide enough and it can become your pantry.

The blinds can be replaced with a linen shade with gra/blue ribbons ( pottery Barn).

I also would take the black frames down and find a mid-century contemporary piece. as needed.

I hope this is not to opinionated for everyone. But, I just have to note down my thoughts when they come to me, in case later I can not. I know I am only one opinion among all you very talented people.

Bobbi - black is a pretty universal colour so I wouldn't have a problem with it, I think you will probably just notice it less. Yes I was thinking the same colour as your furniture, which I normally don't like to see, but in your case the blue tiles will work to break that up nicely.

Mary-Peggy - That is funny, a freight train, I'm thinking more waves on a beach. When something happens we all dive onto it and dump all our thoughts before running off to the next thing.

Bobbi has done a lot to her kitchen fairly recently and she only has a small budget to work with so we have to keep things waaaaay down to purely cosmetic changes AND keep her focussed on her aims - now that can be like stopping a freight train!!!. Firstly, we have to zero in on her main area of discontent and that seems to be the floor which in the main, can't be changed. Personally, I'm not seeing a problem with changing the timber colour when the floor is so different, it would be no different to the floor changing to all tile or lino or any other different coloured and patterned surface. I'm really thinking this is going to work for her and solve all her issues and if she finds some brown paper or cardboard to cut to the size of the timber and puts them over some of the existing boards, she will get a good idea of how it will work. She can also put it near the doorway to check the effect with the other timber flooring. If she is still not happy with it then we go back to the drawing board

Thank you roo! And happy Wednesday to ya!

I agree with Mary Poulos that you don't HAVE to darken the wood on the floor. It does look nice and can work for you as it is. I'm sorry I haven't seen the entire space and nearby living room floor to make an informed decision! I tried to find your home photos on Your Houzz page but it wouldn't load. But...it WOULD look great stained in the walnut you were considering. :) Are there photos of your entire spaces?

Thanks Darzy! No, not really, no photos of the entire space. I'd be too embarrassed to post any. While I have plenty of ideas I do not have plenty of $$$ to back them up!!!

I hear ya ollbobbi! My plans for a gutted master bath remodel have been put on hold. :( A backyard remodel, new front landscaping last year and a kitchen gut job a few years back has put a halt to that!

Darzy, in some respects we were lucky in buying a flipped house, but in others no so much. We did get new sod in the front, along with three dead birch trees. Kitchen is original (1967) but I've somehow managed to get it fixed up with some paint and a whole lot of elbow grease! Think layers of wax over dirt over wax over dirt on the tile floor. Front bath was updated but only because the prev owner took the bathtub with her!!!

One day, I will have more money than ideas......

Our house wasn't a flip. We've had this home for 20 plus years and have been working on it for that long! But, our house is very private on 1/3 acre and our taxes are low so we decided to fix up this old 1977 girl. :) I lived with a bad kitchen cabinet paint job for a while. You, on the other hand did a great job updating your ol' girl. I'm sure your house has great bones. Paint and elbow grease does wonders!

Darzy - glad you are on board now, Bobbi, MIGHT listen to you. We are sounding like broken records.

Hey olldroo...If she doesn't listen, I live close enough to bobbi to slap her into shape. :)

Just watch that savage dog she has!!!