Adhesive Backed Tile DIY {EAsy}

This peal and stick tile update DIY project turned out so stinkin' cute! My daughter was looking for an affordable way to tile her kitchen back splash. With two dogs, a cat, a bunny, and a toddler running around, she didn't have a lot of time or energy for messy grout projects, and she needed to be able to drop everything in an instant, if the baby cried.

She went online to do some research, and found peel and stick tiles (check the bottom of this post for affiliate links to similar products). Her builder grade kitchen had basic drywall back splashes, and she wanted something more attractive and easy to clean.

She was able to do her entire back splash in one afternoon!

She ordered a brand called Smart Tiles, that came six 12" x 12" tiles to a pack. She needed two packs for her project.

The dimensional tiles seem to be a vinyl type of material, and are very thin.

You can see how flexible the tile sheets are.

The tiles are designed so that the pattern interlocks from tile sheet to tile sheet.

My daughter found the instructions to be very easy to follow. It couldn't have been easier. Start by cleaning the wall with a good degreaser. Next, use a level or chalk line to create a guideline. Then, measure and cut. A utility knife and metal ruler make it easy to create perfect cuts. Cut out holes for outlets before installing the tile. Finally, fold back half of the paper backing and carefully align the tile. Once you are happy with the placement, press into place, while peeling back the rest of the adhesive backing. Rub your hand across the tile sheet, to make sure you have good adhesion.

The finished result was beautiful.

There are so many different tile patterns and colors available -- I seriously plan to try this in my own kitchen!

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy this post about decorating with a brown sofa.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have scheduled. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on daily on Instagram. Feel free to link today's post to your favorite social media sites.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Amanda

This Abbot Kinney Welding Shop is a Piece of Authentic Venice

We've been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles, lately. For a couple of years, we need to travel between Venice and Seattle for my husband's job. We have fallen in love with Venice.

Venice is amazing. Venice is crazy. Venice has heart. Venice has crime. Venice has very high end homes, and Venice has homeless encampments. Lots of movies and TV shows are filmed in Venice. In fact, I can see The Today Show filming down by the graffiti wall as I type. When we first came here, I made my husband spend an afternoon with Linda Blair and me, watching Roller Boogie. The two star film was shot in Venice, and it's fun to locate the old Venice landmarks and to see how things have changed. You can see the exterior of our apartment in some of the scenes. You can still find roller skaters on the Venice Boardwalk, though roller skating has been eclipsed by skate boarding, with the addition of a new skate park.

The Art of Meenakshi Temple {a tutorial}

On our recent trip to India, we visited Meenakshi Ammon Temple, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Meenakshi Temple is beautiful, with a central pool, intricate carvings, ceiling murals, and Kolam designs on the floor.

The temple is an amazing example of Dravidian architecture, with it's towers encrusted with carvings of gods and goddesses.

I was most enamored with the colorful ceiling medallions. Each medallion is unique and brightly painted.

You can't help but be cheered by the abundant use of joyous color at Meenakshi Temple.

Much as I would have loved to sit down with a sketchbook to record what I saw, I had to satisfy myself with snapping a few pictures at the time.

I've always enjoyed doodling medallions or mandalas, but after the Meenakshi Temple visit, these doodles bring fond memories of a very special time and remind me of the exuberantly painted ceilings we'd admired.

I like to start a doodle using a mechanical pencil with a white eraser. White erasers don't smudge like the red ones do. To create a medallion, I start by creating circles -- these can be freehand or made with templates like lids and cups and bowls. Next, I divide the circles into four segments, then eight segments, and so on. I don't worry about perfection, because, it's just a doodle. Doodling is a creative way to relax, and I don't find seeking perfection to be relaxing. I usually doodle medallions without a plan, making petals or leaves or feathers in concentric patterns.

After I've sketched the medallion with pencil, I go over my lines with a smear proof pen and erase the pencil lines (sometimes -- other times I leave the pencil lines, because of that perfection thing).

The piece is then colored in layers. In this case, I started out by lightly laying on a base of color with Spectrum Noir markers.

Then more layers were added, to build up color. I changed my mind about the color direction along the way, but didn't stress over it, since the point was to play.

Next, I added some colored pencil on top of the marker layers. That turned out pretty, but I didn't like the texture, so I took the Spectrum Noir blending pen and blended the color out. I was pleasantly surprised by how well this worked, as not all alcohol markers play well on top of colored pencil. My Chartpaks cause waxy colored pencil marks to get gummy and weird.

I hope you try your hand at doodling. I love it, because it's not intimidating -- you don't need any drawing skills or knowledge of perspective or shading (although you may want to try shading to add dimension to your pieces at some point). If you can trace around a bowl, you can draw a decorative medallion.

You might also enjoy this post about India's colorful trucks.

You might also enjoy this post about how to draw a spring tulip.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have scheduled. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on daily on Instagram. Feel free to link today's post to your favorite social media sites.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
~Amanda

Steel and Glass Home in a Mesquite Bosque {Tour}

We waited too long. Over the last few years, we've been trying to figure out where we want to live when we retire. We love Arizona -- it's where we met and fell in love and married. Now, thirty plus years later, our kids are raised and are starting families of their own. Retirement is on the horizon.

Last year, we traveled to Arizona to see some properties near Tucson.

DIY Patchwork Rugs for Cheap!

We own some boat slips in our condo marina. Along with the slips, there is a condominium clubhouse in the adjacent building that is jointly owned by all the moorage owners.

It's basically just a giant concrete room. A few years ago, a sump pump that serviced the residential portion of the building malfunctioned and flooded the entire space. The carpets and portions of the gypsum board needed to be removed. It was ugly.

Most Popular Posts of 2016

Well, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't limit my annual "best of" post to just ten posts, so,since last year was 2015, I decided to do a "top 15" post!

Here they are, in no particular order:

How to Decorate With Zinc

Don't you just love an old-fashioned kitchen work table with a zinc top? Zinc can feel charming or industrial -- or even a little bit of both!

You may feel like zinc is out of your price range, but you can add zinc accents to your space on any budget.

For a big splurge, you might use this vintage architect's table as a kitchen island. This table would be equally at home in a farmhouse kitchen or an industrial urban loft.

factory20

Anything with chippy goldenrod paint makes me giddy, but add a zinc top and I am in love.

1stdibs

If you can't find just the right vintage piece for your space, SDS Designs builds custom zinc topped tables!

You can even use zinc for you countertop material. The zinc countertops in this kitchen, from Country Living, are simply gorgeous.

Country Living

Zinc countertops and tables may not be within your budget, and that's okay. You can add just a touch of zinc, with this boot tray, from Crate and Barrel.

You can organize your desk in style, with this zinc wire basket.

(affiliate link)Zinc Austin 3-Tier Paper Tray - World Market

Keep track of incoming papers with this beautiful zinc-finished tray. I love that it has a surface on top to put a pen holder and a few office supplies. I'm pretty sure I NEED this!

(affiliate link) St. Laurent Paper Tray - World Market

I am a big fan of mail sorting baskets, and these are no exception. This first sorter would be perfect in the mudroom for school papers.

(affiliate link) Urban Trends Metal Mail Organizer with 3 Shelves, Galvanized Zinc

(affiliate link)Urban Trends Metal Mail Organizer with 2 Shelves, Galvanized Zinc

craigslist

For an even smaller budget, I found these vintage Ball jars on Craigslist yesterday. I LOVE Craigslist. You can find vintage ball jars and Mason jars, with their original zinc lids in antique stores, on EBay, on Craigslist, and even at garage sales. They are a wonderful way to add storage to a kitchen or craft room.

Do you love zinc? Zinc lends such a warm patina to a space. I would seriously LOVE to have that chippy yellow table as my kitchen island, with lots of blue Ball jars for storage.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to House Revivals. We have lots of projects and tutorials planned for 2015.

Thanks for stopping by!

Why You Need to Shop Architectural Salvage Stores

If you've been reading House Revivals for very long, you will know about my love affair with reused, reclaimed, and re-purposed items.  After all, why buy new, when you can buy used, right?

I adore architectural salvage. As an interior designer, I love the idea of giving a design project "soul" by including items that have a story to tell.

Amazing Ways to Re-purpose Vintage Doors

We have a really cool door re-purposing project in the works for the beach house, so I have had doors on the brain lately!  I am constantly amazed at all the creative people sharing their ideas on the web.

I can seriously spend way too much time reading about re-purposing projects -- this stuff just sucks me in. How about you?  Here are some of my favorite re-purposed doors from around the web:

This Etsy listing for a re-purposed vintage door is so cute.... and the staging is pretty awesome, too!

bhg

This vintage screen door does double duty as a storage shelf and a pot rack. Because it's a screen door, it doesn't block a lot of light.

Not Just a  Housewife created this stunning screen!

via Cote de Texas

I am seriously IN LOVE with these matching doors used as mounts for those amazing sconces!

Humanité:  dwelling.  style.  compassion. via House Tweaking

This must be the BEST store display ever. What a charming way to display garments!

At Dreamy Whites, chippy old doors make great bedfellows!

Killer B Designs created this lovely coffee table.

Jordan Valley Home and Garden Club

How about building a sunny yellow arbor with a set of old doors?

At Creatively Living, they created this sweet chalkboard door!

Did these ideas inspire you to look at old doors differently? Let me know in the comments.