Goodbye to the Bowl - Circular Shower Drains Nomore

Traditional shower floors are like a bowl - the center is deeper than the edges thus allowing for good water drainage.

Today, we can say goodbye to the bowl and hello to sleek linear shower drains.

A linear drain is installed at the edge or wall of the shower and virtually disappears from view. In the past, homeowners and designers have been constrained by center drains when selecting tile and other accouterments for a shower. No longer are mosaic tiles the best choice (due to the ease of installing with a circular drain in the center of the shower floor) for a new shower because the linear drain can be tucked along the floor's edge so your floor tile/materials choices are now almost limitless.

A tile-top linear drain is one of the hottest looks now - that is if you even notice it! This is a sleek and contemporary way to disguise the function of the drain with serious style!

If you're ready to make a change in your bathroom, please ask Niki for some help so that you too can say Goodbye to the Bowl!

Vintage Finds on Cape Cod

On a recent trip visiting my friend on Cape Cod, we did our usual antique buying road trip to Brewster and Chatham where I picked up an old Kirsch Beverage wood bottle crate.  It had wonderful wide compartments and I thought it could serve multi purposes.   Over the weekend I pulled it out and created this great wine service caddy.    The handles make it a versatile piece to move inside to out.  

And have you ever seen an old cobbler's caddy?  Nothing too special on its own, but check out how it was re-purposed into a beautiful arrangement.

A Mirror Transformed

I am a certifiable mirror junkie.  On my main floor I have 4 large ones.  I particularly love the one I placed in the kitchen that reflects through the window to the beautiful garden outdoors, two views for the price of one.  So when a friend said she was taking her large oval mirror to the Salvation Army, I graciously took it off her hands.  Yes, it was circa 1980s but in truth it was the wide ogee edge and the oval shape that drew me to it.  I started out by giving the painted surface a light sand, just to give it some tooth so that my next coat would adhere. Looking to give this piece a rustic aged feel, I worked the first coat with a black metal iron paint which when dried looks much like wrought iron.  But to bring out dimension and further age the piece, I applied a solution that chemically altered the iron to a coppery rust patina. Check out the results.

ho hum green frame

a coat of metal iron paint

The altered rust finish