New Things At That Old House!

Three Or More Tuesday, and I've got more than three new things to show you!

Join Tam at The Gypsy's Corner for more triplicate fun!

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Sometimes you do things to please yourself; sometimes you do things to please someone else.

Like your dog.

Our dear Dion DiPoochy is 10-1/2 years old, and he's having a little trouble now with slick floors. He does fine on carpeting, and on the stone tile in the kitchen, but on our old wood floors he just slides. His furry little legs just slip right out from underneath him, and he goes SPLAT down.

He has trouble sometimes getting his legs under himself without them slipping, and he can't get a foothold to jump up on the furniture. (And I hear you asking, "And this is a problem?")

Anyway, this can't be fun for him.

Since he spends most of his time hanging out in the wood-floored study,

we decided to put a rug in there, to give Mr. Dion a break. A big soft rug.

Months ago, daughter Anne and I agreed that the study, with all its shelves full of books and ambient clutter,
should be a riot of pattern and wacky pairings of color and texture,
rather like a traditional country English study or snuggery.

So, I began looking for a red rug, maybe a Turkish bokhara or other tribal-looking weave, to add more brilliant color to the quiet green of the walls. I ran into a problem. Nice Turkish bokhara rugs cost 'way more than I wanted to spend on a rug I was buying for my dog. My aging dog. My aging intact male dog. Get the picture?

I set my sights lower.
On Saturday, while shopping at a Big Box store, we found The Rug.
It is synthetic fiber and is crazily patterned and was cheap. Sadly, it is not red.

But it has leaves galore, as do the tapestry-covered sofa and loveseat.

This upholstery fabric never photographs true; it always looks off in color,

and shows way more blue in pictures than in real life. Odd.

Whatcha think? Now I need to work on curtains, and things for walls.
I wonder if Wal Mart still has those cute leaf plates? Wouldn't several of them in
different shades look nice on the walls in here? We can carry through a leafy theme!

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The next new things involve our kitchen.

Here are the bare bones of our kitchen, in a picture taken before we moved in,
when the painters were using it as their base of operations:


The kitchen is only 5 years old, but we want to switch a few things, and are beginning gradually. Eventually we will bring the kitchen back in time; it won't be historically correct but it will look as if it fits in with the rest of the house. Less 1980s and more 1880s.

Besides, the double sink is impossible for cleaning large stockpots and roasting pans, and the faucet now is leaking. Time for change!

Our first change involves three separate elements.

One -- a new sink.


Big, and stainless, and single bowl, and deep. Hooray! I can wash those big pots and big cookie sheets after parties! If by "I" we mean "Howard."

Two -- a new cooktop.

There is nothing wrong with the GE Profile smooth top cooktop that came with the house. Except that I loathe it. I have scorched enough food to know that the good Lord never meant for me to cook on an electric stove.

So, in its place, we are putting a 5-burner Thermador stainless cooktop. It's got the cutest star-shaped burners; they are supposed to distribute heat more evenly, but I like them because they are quite adorable.

And Three -- new counters!

The long L-shaped counter that is home to both sink and cooktop is going to be changed from dark green Formica edged in oak, to soapstone. I have been carrying around a hunk of soapstone since we placed the order, showing it to anyone who will stand still long enough to look at it. Have odd paperweight, will travel.


Ah, it reminds me of Mr. Oleha's 11th grade chemistry class --
all those soapstone counters in the high school lab.

As for the great big awkward counter to the left in the nekkid kitchen picture above, that too will get a quick makeover, including a butcher block counter. More on that when we firm up those plans.

We will have some of these projects done for Thanksgiving and the holidays,

but will finish the rest of the kitchen makeover after the new year.

I now need to surf the Web for a kitchen faucet I can't live without. Suggestions welcome!

Thanks to Mary at Little Red House for her endorsement of soapstone; I value her opinion highly! And thanks also to Rue at Rue's Peanut Butter and Jelly Life, for her endorsement of the IKEA wood counters. I trust her judgment, too.

So, ladies, no pressure there! :-P

I am still looking for a red rug for the parlor, as I don't let Dion hang out in there on his own.
I am an indulgent pet owner, but I am not stupid.

And today's Moment Of Awful Truth. Enlarge the picture, below.
Note the credenza that holds the TV:


On its left side, a bottle of furniture cleaner topped by a rag. Notice the dust UNDER the television. Hey, I had good intentions, but I ran out of time. . . I had to blog! -- Cass