DeClutter With Sarah

Plastic benches held up by concrete block make a simple benching system. Wire closet shelving adds extra room for plants. 3/8" pea stone floor with drainage pipe beneath keeps the floor dry. Photo by Bob Trainor

Photo: Ten Ten Creative
Wet bar - transitional single-wall dark wood floor and brown floor wet bar idea in Dallas with shaker cabinets, black cabinets, black backsplash, subway tile backsplash and gray countertops

It's a little difficult to label this a "mud room" with the beautiful finishes and generous shelving and closet space.
Example of a large transitional travertine floor mudroom design in Denver with beige walls and a dark wood front door

Trendy bar cart photo in London

You can fit a lot in a small space, just note all that is stored in this spice roll out right next to the stove. Beautiful functional cabinets really add to your kitchen.

Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional master subway tile marble floor freestanding bathtub remodel in San Francisco with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, marble countertops, a one-piece toilet and green walls

To achieve a professional appearance, remove your cabinet doors so you can effortlessly paint the back side of the cabinet door and the inside frame. This may sound like a lot of work, but it’s more difficult to try to paint them whilst attached. You may consider labeling your doors and hardware so that you can put it back together easily. When you remove your hardware, place all screws and miscellaneous pieces in a plastic bag so they do not get lost.

kelli kaufer
Mid-sized mountain style ceramic tile eat-in kitchen photo in Minneapolis with a farmhouse sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, wood countertops, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances and no island

Luxury Vinyl Planks are a great option for water areas like bathrooms, basements, and kitchens. The technology is advancing so that the product looks and feels like natural products like wood and stone.

We used: Custom cherry cabinetry in Arts & Crafts Shaker style by Kabinart in Boulder and Espresso stains. Liberty Hardware Venetian bronze 1-1/2" cabinet knobs. KitchenAid Architect II Series 22 CF counter-depth French door refrigerator. KitchenAid Architect Series II 27" convection single wall oven. KitchenAid 36" 6-burner dual fuel freestanding commercial-style range. KitchenAid Architect II Series 24" dishwasher. Sharp Insight Pro Series 24" built-in microwave drawer (Model #KB6524PS). Crystorama Solaris 12" wide pendant lights in English bronze. Granite countertops in Brown Fantasy. 3"x6" polished marble backsplash. Paint colors: Walls: Glidden Silver Cloud 30YY 63/024 Ceilings/Trims/Doors: Glidden Swan White GLC23 Robert B. Narod Photography

Gorgeous master bath with dramatic retro "wave" tile. Peak Photography
Example of a 1950s bathroom design in Los Angeles

Engineered cedar siding creates beautiful gray-blue tones at the exterior of the home, while adding a textural element to activate the simple exterior design.

This couple moved from Chicago’s Wicker Park to a rural setting but wanted to maintain their modern aesthetic. Scott Dresner of Dresner Design created a modern spa oasis for the couple’s master bathroom. The second project completed by Scott in the couple’s home. On the client’s, wish list…a luxurious space to relax, a new window to replace the dated looking glass block, great storage for towels and larger items as well as smaller toiletries. Scott accomplished a variety of storage with deep vanity drawers with push hardware, medicine cabinets with storage on the entire wall, and a large linen closet. Finishes are modern with a hint of warmth created by the floating walnut vanity and trim work. LED light along the vanity and medicine cabinets create a soft ambience perfect for a relaxing bath. Floors are radiant heat, window treatment is motorized, and panel controls a speaker and LED lighting in the rain showerhead. Sources: -Lighting, Lucy Slivinski -Artwork, Linc Thelen -Gray Porcelain Tile, Renaissance Tile + Bath -White Porcelain Tile, Porcelainosa -Black Porcelain tile, The Tile Outlet -Mosaic Shower Floor, Porcelainosa -Bath Tub, Victoria + Albert -Tub Tray, Victoria + Albert -Bath Filler, Phylich -Regulators, Graff -Shower Head, Jaclo -Accessories, Colonial Bronze + Dezi -Rain Shower (LED lighting + music), Thermasol -Toilet, TOTO -Hand spray, Graff -Stone, Calia Stone Boutique -Stone Fabrication, Euro Marble Supply -Vanity, Mirrors, and Linen Closet, The Dresner Design Private Label Collection by De Angelis Italia -Radiant Flooring, Warmup -Linerar Drain, Infinity -Sinks, Lacava -Sink Plumbing, Graff -Window Treatment, The Shade Store -Chair, CB2

Example of a large classic hallway design in Tampa with yellow walls

Coral Honeysuckle at Garden in the Woods, the botanic garden of New England Wild Flower Society Photo copyright Ellen Sousa/THBFarm

Earlier this summer I was called out to this job in the garden of a house in the city of Ely to inspect a freshly laid porcelain tiled patio with grout haze issues. The builder who had installed the patio hadn’t removed all the grout from the textured surface of the tile before it had dried. This was probably due to the hot weather which reduces drying times and has caught many tilers out. Multiple repeat visits by the builder trying followed who spent countless hours trying to remove the grout haze, unfortunately due to the textured surface of the tile he was unable to remove it and the patio was left looking awful. Like the builder we are increasingly finding modern grouts, which although more durable, are very difficult to remove. Fortunately belonging to the Tile Doctor network, I had already been made aware of this problem and was able to offer a solution. I arranged to pay the property a visit to demonstrate a potential solution and quote for resolving the issues. Even though the grout haze was indeed difficult to remove it wasn’t impossible if you know how. The demonstration came out well and relieved that they had finally found a solution to the problem booked me in to get the work carried out. On my return I started with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This product is ideal for removing grout haze or smears as they often referred to; however, being acidic we don’t recommend it for use on every surface so if your using it yourself do check the label first. I left it to soak in for ten minutes before being agitated with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffer The weather was good, so it wasn’t a problem working outside and once all the grout smears were removed, I finished off by giving the whole patio a high-pressure rinse. I use a van mounted rinse/extraction system for this that applies warm water at high pressure onto the patio to dislodge dirt and then extracts the waste into a separate tank in the vehicle. It was an expensive investment but makes light work of jobs like this. It took around four to five cleans to complete the job, by the late afternoon the grout haze was gone, and the porcelain patio looked completely transformed. It was quite a warm day, so the patio soon dried allowing my client to use it later that day. I should mention that this variety of Porcelain tiles were not the micro porous type and therefore did not need to be sealed. Relieved the problem was finally resolved and happy with the result my client left the following feedback: Amazing service, they were able to provide us with a quote and demo before we agreed to work. We are so happy with the results we have as our patio slabs looked ruined to the eye but the Tile Doctor managed to get them looking brand new. Tom Conlon Cambridge Tile Doctor

Black Cohosh / Actaea Racemosa Photo: Fritz Flohr Reynolds, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

The grey trend has evolved in the last twelve months. Nowadays browns, beige and a touch of grey are in demand. Greige is the new buzzword. Heavier hand scraped or contoured products, the rage that started around 2005 has taken a back seat in most areas, while a softer wire brushed "ceruse effect" seen mostly on White Oak has been remarkably strong showing no effects of becoming “dated” like the others mentioned. Ceruse Color Possibilities There are numerous color combinations to the "cerused" process with the most popular being white or off white. This design trend in hardwood flooring can have darker gray white oak with a mild ceruse off white effect. There are limitless possibilities in either a prefinished hardwood floor or with what we can create for you in a custom on-site finished hardwood floor. If something suits your fancy, contact us and we can work on creating just the look and sense of style you are looking for.