One of our original Pella windows in the breakfast sunspace is damaged beyond repair. Replacement windows have been ordered. Yes, multiple windows are on order. We are waiting for them to arrive and to be installed by Pella Windows. 

The far right window in the set of four identical windows (only 3 are visible in the photo) is the damaged window. You can't see the damage in this photo because this photo was taken before the damage occurred. 

Photos taken over multiple years are in this blog post to illustrate the sunspace windows, the design of the windows, and the design of the sunspace.

French Country Bedroom | Hardwood Floor and Rug

Replacing wall-to-wall carpet with Wide Plank French Oak Light House ¾" Solid Hardwood Flooring and a 9'x12' Capitola blue variegated rug is a beautiful renovation to the master bedroom. The new flooring is the latest addition of French Country style to my post and beam country house. 

At first sight the bedroom may not look different from before replacing the carpet with a hardwood floor and rug. The blue and white color scheme is the same, the furniture is the same, and most of the room's decor looks the same. 

Take a step back to see a larger view of the room to see the difference. 

French Country Hardwood Floor

French country hardwood flooring for the master bedroom was an unexpected beautiful solution to replacing wall-to-wall carpeting. While searching for pale periwinkle blue and white carpet, I found a gorgeous variegated blue and white RUG that was exactly what I wanted in wall-to-wall carpeting. Then up popped a promotional advertisement for Wide Plank French Oak Light House ¾" Thick Solid Hardwood Flooring for a special buy price! 

All at once, the past 5-year search for new carpeting transformed into a fast-tracked ordering process for solid hardwood flooring and a 9x12 rug. 

Since the bedroom, closets, and bathroom had to be emptied from all of their contents to install the new flooring, the new hardwood floor project is also an excellent time to clean the rooms from top to bottom, to repaint the walls and trim work, and to refresh the decor. 

French Country Mirror Makeover

A new reproduction French Country mirror was too rustic for my style. With a lot of sanding, new white paint, and a little antique gold wax the mirror was transformed. 

For several months the new French Country mirror hung in the entry way powder room half way through its transformation from too rustic to just-right patina. The monochromatic overall white paint was a big improvement to the original faux patina, but did nothing to enhance the beautiful carving at the top. The one-tone paint masked the intricate details of the mirror. 

French Country Leaf Scroll Wallpaper

New French Country leaf scroll wallpaper is up in the guest powder room in the entry. And, I love it! The bathroom has taken a giant leap in its renovation from American Country to French Country. 

Freshly hung just this morning, the paper is still drying. But, I couldn't wait until the paper was dry and the mirror, towel bar, light fixture, and prints were rehung to show the bathroom mini-makeover with its new wallpaper. 

French Country Powder Room

While looking for new wallpaper for the upstairs bathroom renovation, I found a beautiful French-style scroll design perfect for the guest powder room downstairs. Which inspired more design ideas for a mini refresh for the powder room to add more distinctive French Country style. 

The guest powder room bathroom underwent a major renovation a couple of years ago which updated its style from American Country to French Country. At that time, I couldn't find a wallpaper with French flair that I liked. Nor could I decide to paint the walls instead of wallpapering. So, the old faded wallpaper remained... Until next week when the new blue and white French scroll wallpaper is being hung! 

French Finesse Bathroom | New White Paint

White paint works wonders as a way to brighten any space. While the French Finesse bathroom renovation has only just begun, wait until you see how much difference painting the wood bead board walls with white paint has made to the bathroom already.  

The narrow bathroom is so much brighter with the sunlight from the skylights reflecting against the white wood walls. The plank wood ceiling, massive structural beams, and roof rafters were already white before the renovation began. Now the bead board wood walls are the same white instead of the bright pink from before.  

French Quarter Finesse Bathroom Renovation | Before

After thirty-three years the upstairs bathroom needs renovating to become more ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant, to replace worn out fixtures, and to add more French Country style. The first post published early this summer explained the overall design from the planning stage and the details about the new tile selection. 

Today's post is a look at how the bathroom looks now, before the renovation. 

F r e n c h  Q u a r t e r  

F i n e s s e 

Bathroom  Renovation 

No. 3

Existing Layout - The Before

SINK  AREA 

The current layout of the bathroom includes two small sections separated by a door (visible in the mirror). The first section is the sink area with storage cabinets and drawers under a long laminated counter with one white porcelain sink. 

Bulletin Board Inspiration No. 4 | French Finesse Bathroom

A Paper Series Post 

While the Bulletin Board Inspiration Series has previously focused on clippings to display in a beautiful artistic style, the July Bulletin Board Inspiration is a design project board for a French Finesse Bathroom.

One of the basic functions of design boards is to display materials and products in home projects. Today, project boards, commonly called MOOD BOARDS, are created and shared electronically by designers, bloggers, architects, and national brand companies. However, a good old-fashioned bulletin board is a perfect place to display a tactile MOOD BOARD. 

After more than thirty years, our upstairs bathroom needs a drastic renovation. This summer, we are renovating the upstairs bathroom to make it more ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliant, to replace worn out fixtures and plumbing, and to add more French Country style with the new upgrades. 

French Quarter Finesse Bathroom Renovation

Tile is the inspiration for a French Quarter Finesse design in the second floor bathroom renovation. After thirty-three years the bathroom needs updating to become more ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, to replace worn out fixtures, and to add more French Country style. 

The actual work on the second floor bathroom renovation should begin this summer, and several posts with progress updates will follow periodically. This first post shows the overall design ideas from the planning stage and details about the tile selection. 

French Country Pine Table Refinish No. 2

Water damage over the past two years to my French Country style dining table required refinishing the pine table this winter... for the second time in thirty plus years. The first time I refinished the table by myself, but this time I paid someone else to do all the work with input from me. 

During the pandemic and the historic Texas snowstorm!

A F T E R 

Here is how the table looks finished after stripping the table top to bare wood and applying three coats of special waterproof polyurethane finish. 

Unfortunately for readers who want full details with photos of the process BEFORE, DURING, as well AFTER, there are no photos of immediately before or during the process. I was too busy trying to survive February to take photos. 

However, there are some photos of the before to explain the need for a full renovation of the pine table top. 

Garden Shed DIY New Shelves | Extra Space With a Touch of Elegance

New shelves in my backyard garden shed will provide needed storage/display space and some French elegance to the hard-working little shed. The French Country garden shed in my backyard began life as a utilitarian plywood garden shed. Then the little shed was transformed into a special Christmas retail shop for a French Country Christmas Event each December. 

After the Christmas sale each year, the little shed reverts to more of a garden shed with only a few Christmas items stored between the yearly Christmas events. Seed packets, flower pots, gardening cloches, and a fluffy long-haired concrete bunny take over the center table. 

Kitchen cotton towels with lavender and hydrangea designs replace the red-and-white Christmas towels with amaryllis, holly, and poinsettias.  

The French Country Christmas Event has grown over the years, and the shed is now packed each December with special finds that pass the test, "Would this live in my house?" Each year I have to look at the space and create vignettes to display all of the treasures so shoppers will be inspired with Christmas ideas for their own homes.    

The little garden shed needs more shelves! 

How to Get Your Porch and Deck Ready for Summer

Six tips will help you get your porch or deck ready to enjoy all summer long. 

Cecilia of My Thrift Store Addiction invited me to share what has been going on at my house this spring as part of a Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop. Spring nesting is still taking place at my home this year, maybe even more so since we are sheltering-in-place. 

Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop

A special welcome to readers coming from Kathleen at Our Hopeful Home. If you have not read her Copycat Lemon and Eucalyptus Candle, be sure you hop over for a great idea to give your home fresh scents for spring. Our Hopeful Home is a relatively new blog to me, but Kathleen grabbed my attention with her recent living room refresh done in French Farmhouse Style! 


You will find the entire list of nine creative spring posts with links at the end. 

Well House to Tool Shed | Exterior Before

Photos of my old rustic well house in the country may look romantic to those who love chippy paint, but the truth is the building needs repairs. And, I need a tool shed for garden tools, garden supplies, and garden equipment. 

This spring the well house has finally risen to the top of my list of repair projects. 'Before' photos from last spring, during bluebonnet season, show the old well house at its best. Spring green trees and wild flowers soften the views of badly damaged siding and a damaged flower trellis. 

How Do You Add French Country Style?

How do you add French Country style to a room? Two pieces of furniture that add immediate French Country style to a room are a toile chair and a Provence style wood chest. Cover the chair in a blue and white toile print and paint the cabinet in navy to use a classic French color combination. 

Yes, even a laundry room becomes French Country style with those two pieces of furniture. 

French Country Laundry | ORC™ Reveal Week 6

Welcome to the final reveal of the French Country Laundry with new insulation, washer/dryer connections, cabinets, tongue and groove walls, and white washed tongue and groove ceiling as part of the One Room Challenge™. 

Is a project ever really finished or do you just get to a stopping point? 

Whichever is the answer, here is the final reveal of my first One Room Challenge™.  Thank you, Linda of Calling It Home, for the creative vision to challenge designers and guest participants to complete a makeover of one room within a six-week period and to share our progress in weekly updates. 

Thank you, also, Better Homes and Gardens for sponsoring the Fall 2019 challenge. 

French Country Laundry | ORC™ French Style Week 5

After four weeks of 'before,' design inspiration, mechanical updates, and woodwork progress, this week's French Country laundry update reveals how to add beautiful French style to a laundry. 

Welcome to Week 5 of the French Country laundry renovation as part of the One Room Challenge™, hosted by Linda of Calling It Home and sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens. 

French Country Laundry | ORC™ Woodwork Week 4

Choosing the perfect shade of navy for the French Country Laundry cabinets as part of the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE™ has not been easy. Colors for the wall and ceiling tongue and groove boards have been easier to choose than the blue for the cabinets. Fortunately, paint is one of the least expensive parts of a major renovation project. 

The color scheme in the new laundry room is navy blue and white with white washed wood.  Lots and lots of white, a bold spot of navy, and white washed wood set the background for French Country style and accents. 

The new unfinished beech cabinets were painted during Week 2 of the ORC™, hosted by Linda at Calling It Home and sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens. However, from the first week I have wavered between two shades of navy for the cabinets. 

French Country Laundry | ORC™ Design Week 2

W E E K   2 
ONE ROOM CHALLENGE™
sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens 

Transforming an outdated laundry room in need of repairs, new insulation, and a fresh look means adding French Country style at my house. 

For Week 2 of the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE™, you are getting to see the Design Inspiration board for my laundry room. Plus, I am sharing the Pinterest boards behind the Design Inspiration board. Two personal Pinterest boards helped me recognize design factors that appeal to me. The boards helped me to see what colors, floor plans, cabinets, lighting, and functional plumbing kept showing up over and over. As I studied the boards, an overall plan emerged as the boards helped me organize my thoughts about what I want for a beautiful updated laundry room. 

Pinterest boards are great for collecting ideas and sources. If you are dreaming of new projects at your house, I highly recommend you create Pinterest boards for those projects. Pinterest is the modern-age electronic equivalent of paper scrapbooks where we once stuffed torn-out magazine pages for inspiration. 

French Country Laundry | One Room Challenge Week 1

W e e k   O n e

B E F O R E  

Can a laundry room have French Country style? Plans for my laundry room are to replace damaged sheetrock, to update the washing machine and dryer connections, and to insulate the room better to keep it warmer in the winter. What began as purely functional updates has expanded to give the room the style I love ... French Country. 

Since I am working on the room anyway, why not take the opportunity to do a complete overhaul and to add beautiful French Country style? Why not go for it! Why not remove the sheetrock walls and ceiling down to the studs and create a completely new functional and beautiful laundry room? As my daddy always said as I was growing up, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right."

And why not do it within six weeks as part of the 

O N E   R O O M   C H A L L E N G E ™

Guest Participate