Before and After Paint Pictures

I'm happy to report the paint brushes have been washed and put away! Do you remember my inspiration photo from Monday. Well, sometimes inspiration is meant to be interpreted literally. Hence, my new paint job...

 

I brought the ceiling color down and covered the top third of the wall. Than continued the look all the way around the room...

Need to know colors? PPG's Summertime on top and Sherwin William's Stamped Concrete on bottom. I'll have to say, Stamped Concrete is my favorite color in our entire house.

For those of you who have been following along with my bedroom updates, you'll be quick to notice I still haven't bought new lamps. I'm waiting for the perfect ones to jump out and grab me. I'm pretty sure white shades are in order. This area is totally needing a little roundness to offset all the straight lines.

Now, if only I could find a great piece to hang above the bed. The hunt continues...

Transparent Tuesday

Today's transparent Tuesday topic is an update of sorts. Back in March I posted about friendships and told you about a childhood friend with whom I'd lost touch. Click here to read the original post.

Transparent Tuesday Topic: Answered Prayers

{via tip junkie}

In case you didn't read it, I'll give you the short and skinny. We'd been friends since we were 7 y.o. We were each others' maids of honor. We were sure to be friends for life. But suddenly, communication stopped. No apparent reason, no big fallout...she just stopped returning my calls and even calling on my birthday which we've done every year since we were little.

Well, I posted about how friendships can be really difficult and I began praying for our relationship. Following that post, several of you even committed to pray for this relationship too (how cool are ya'll?!)

Several weeks ago, guess who I received a phone call from?!...you guessed it, she called. I was so excited. She had seen my facebook posts about my father's dealings with cancer so she called to check on him. This was just what she needed to break the ice.

We talked for nearly an hour and even made plans for her to come down for a visit. It was so good to reconnect with this sweet friend. Honestly, we never addressed our "time off" from each other. We just relished in the reconnection and what I see as an answered prayer. 

Know what else I find comfort in? Knowing that God was hard at work during a very stressful time in my life. He was answering past prayers at just the right time. He sent me my friend back exactly when I needed her most!

So, friends, if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times...Prayer works. Is there something in your life you'd like prayers for? It can be anything, big or small. Please leave me a comment for send me an email: dfrieling1@gmail.com. I'd love to cover you with this amazing gift.

Painting Inspiration

Have you ever found yourself gazing at the same inspiration picture time and time again? Each time I scroll through my pins on Pinterest, I find myself liking this picture more and more.

{nikolas-koenig via desire to inspire}

Pretty sure it's the color combination that draws me in. Then again, maybe it's the half painted wall. Whatever it is, I finally realized that its' allure needs to be replicated in my own house! 

All last week I was busy painting. What I thought was going to be a quick and easy paint job has turned out to be one of my longest yet. Have you ever noticed that you don't fully understand how large a room is until you have a paintbrush in your hand?!

I was just about to finish things up and guess what happened? Yep...ran out of paint! Of course, the paint store isn't open on Sunday so guess where I am today, friends?

Happy painting! Hoping to share pictures on Wednesday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Kitchen Remodel Before and After

I'm so excited to show you the full reveal today of my clients' kitchen remodel. This family was great to work with and now that it's over I'm kind of having withdrawal symptoms!

Let's take a peek at where we started...a kitchen with great bones but definitely dated.

After:

Go ahead and gasp, because it's totally gasp worthy!

Our initial consultation left me with a wife who leaned toward rustic touches and a husband who wanted a contemporary/industrial feel. Well, I'd say we married their tastes pretty darn well! 

An entire counter length full of cabinets...ahhh, function...it's such a great thing. 

Must I even write a caption for this picture? I think it speaks for itself...love it!

No need to drive to Sonic for an icy drink, they've got Sonic ice right in their kitchen.

Amazing new appliances. The refrigerator/freezer are two full size beasts. No lack of freezer space in this house. You have to have massive muscles to open these babies...they. are. solid. Hmmm, possible new diet strategy?

Beautiful walnut-stained contrasting island with fun hardware. By the way, in case you're wondering, the cabinets are painted Benjamin Moore's Navajo White and the walls are Benjamin Moore's Herbal Escape.

 See the faucet?...it's a touch faucet. Someone was very smart when they invented this feature.

 

A look at the accessories.

They kept their original table and we added a fun rug. Does anyone else love their amazing light as much as I do?!

Only thing left to do is add several cream curtain panels to soften this space up.

And one last gander at their gorgeous new kitchen...

A huge thank you to my clients for trusting me with such a giant project. It's my prayer that this space makes your heart smile every time you walk into it!

If you're thinking about a remodel or in need of a little direction on your next home project, please contact me. I'd love to work with you.

Random Act of Kindness #43

Hello, friends. I hope many of you will take today's RAK challenge to heart and make it a priority in your own life. I feel it's an important one!

Meet Honey. She's the kids' great grandmother and she's amazing! When I grow up, I want to be just like Honey. 

Honey's been a widow for the last 30 plus years. She has a busier social calendar than we do! 

As we shared the day with her yesterday I began to think of the men and women who aren't fortunate enough to be surrounded by family. I remember a past conversation with a sweet woman from church who had recently lost her husband. She told me, "My house is so quiet. Silence is lonely."


So, friends, make it your mission in the very near future to share your time and add a little joyful noise to the life of someone who will appreciate it. Now, go out and be kind!


**Speaking of kindness, I've had the pleasure of getting to know a fellow blogger this year. Kristy, from Hyphen Interiors. She's been working hard on a great series about go-to greiges and asked me to chime in on the fun today. Hop on over and soak in a few words of wisdom from Kristy and her friends.**

Sprucing up your Garage Door

I'll be honest, I don't think about garage doors much. But, the other day I got lost was driving in a trendy little area of town where lots of great remodels are going on and I was enthralled with several of the garages.

These houses were stunning. Very architectural and very modern. They were nestled into the trees so privacy wasn't necessarily an issue. I guess the fact that there were ridiculously expensive cars parked inside these garages had a little to do with why the homeowner went this route. If you have a car like that, I'm assuming you can afford to pay someone else to keep those beautiful doors clean, as well!

Garage Door Blog

These doors would be a great option if you renovated your garage and want to bring the outside in.

source

Clear glass to much of an invasion of privacy for you? Have no fear, there's a frosted option.  It's rather pretty when illuminated, right?

Okay, back to reality...

Paradomo.com

Here's a pretty option that's a bit out of the norm but still affordable. We have wooden garage doors and as we're rounding the 4 year mark of moving in, I'm getting a little anxious when I think about having to re-stain them. Not a fun project!

What if your garage door is totally normal but you'd like to add a little curb appeal? Add an arbor! This is so on my "someday" list. 

Transparent Tuesday

Today's transparent topic: Coincidence vs. Holy Spirit
Okay, so do you remember waaay back when, when I shared in another Transparent Tuesday post about my relationship struggles with my brother? If not, you may want to read it so this post makes a little more sense.

So, a quick little recap...I love my brother deeply but we don't have a lovey dovey relationship. In fact, if we have a full conversation once a quarter then it's a very good year. In light of this, when I was shopping last week it's safe to say my brother was quite possibly the last thing on my mind. That is, until I saw this...

"Wow! Those are my brother's initials, how random!" I thought. And would you believe that these were the only letters in sight? I snapped a quick picture and seized the opportunity to send him a text to let him know I thought about him while I was out shopping.

Here's where my insecurities come into play. I knew I had to send the text quick before I chickened out because honestly I was expecting him to think it was totally cheesy. Or, that I'd make him feel uncomfortable and he wouldn't even respond. He passive aggressively told me once that I live a charmed life and he wishes "he could live life as John's wife."

Okay, so I totally sold my brother short, because here was our texting conversation:
Me: "Thought of u today while out shopping!" (with the above pic attached)
Brother: "Very cool! Think of me now as I am..." (I left the rest off due to its personal nature.)

I was so honored that he shared a side of himself with me that is typically closed off (to me at least). I responded to him and this text resulted in a phone conversation later that evening. It was the most transparent conversation we've had in many, many years!

This is a ton of background to get to my main point. If you're still reading at this point, thanks for hanging in there with me.
Now, I pose this question to you...Do you think seeing his initials in the store was a coincidence or was it the work of the Holy Spirit?


Initially, I passed this off as 'really strange,' but the more I thought about it it became overtly obvious to me that this was NOT a coincidence but rather God was making good on many, many prayers that have been prayed.

He knew I wouldn't have an inkling of a desire to talk to my brother that day so He smacked me in the face with something so obvious that I couldn't help but think of him! Boy, I'm glad I didn't let my insecurities get in the way and keep me from sending that text. There's no doubt in my mind that the 'nudge' I was feeling, was a gift from the Holy Spirit.

I urge you today, friends, to change the way you see things. Open your eyes to the workings of the Lord instead of passing things off as coincidences. Once I started living my life looking through "God eyes," I found myself feeling much more secure and at peace. It's amazing to see His fingerprints all over your daily happenings!

Prayer had such a powerful impact in this situation in my own life and I know it will change your life too. If you'd like me to talk with God about you and any struggles you're wrestling with, please leave me a comment or send me an email: dfrieling1@gmail.com. Nothing's too big or too small to take before the Lord.