wallpaper borders

a quick before + after of my back door...
remember where i started?
(you can see my "action plan" post here)

before:


after:
 the new rug adds a little jolt of color and pattern, which i love...it also helps hide dirt!

 the door was painted benmajmin moors "onyx", my all time favorite black.

 the simple, matching art pieces add additional color and the gold frames add some warmth.

i plan on adding some horizontal trim banding on all of the kitchen walls, and may possibly change the color they are right now. the walls are currently "winds breath" and the trim and kitchen cabinets are "swiss coffee".
this is what i had in mind:

i spotted this treatment here, and have LOVED it ever since.

adding the wall trim is a bit of a "pandoras box" project---in order to add it, we also need to add the casings around the windows, and box in the cased openings in the living room so they look more like columns, AND add crown molding...so, it is a project that we may not tackle for several months. you can see a picture of the space right after we moved in here:

for now, i think just adding some art to the walls and getting some curtains up will add enough softness to the space to tide us over until we tackle the trim.
yay for progress!

oh, and if you follow me on instagram, you may have noticed that i finally got the stenciled grasscloth project underway!

it turned out GREAT--i am just working on getting some pictures of the space, which is a bit of a challenge since my "regular" camera lens broke (is is just me, or does it seem like EVERYTHING electronic that belongs to me is having issues??), and the space is really small and has no natural light. i should have a post up in the next day or two!

we are (finally) having our front and back exterior doors painted! i am pretty excited. since this is such a small area, i really don't have a design plan for it---just an idea of what i want...what i like to call an action plan!


door color:
the color choice for the back door was an easy one for me--onyx by benjamin moore.
it is my favorite black--dark but soft, and with a neutral tone to it.
all of the other doors in the house are a slightly softer black called "blackjack", but i want the exterior doors to be just a little bit darker and shinier.



art:
i have a set of these vintage guache paintings that my dad bought in brazil in the 1960's. i think i will hang a grouping of them on the small wall adjacent to the door.





 it is 2' x 2'9", and fits perfectly in front of my door.

 i really love the texture and pattern that it adds to this little area of my house. i am also so impressed with the quality and feel of this little area rug! it is tightly woven, and the colors are so deep and rich.


new hardware:
like the rest of the doors in the house, the back door will get this knob:

(the andover series from schlaage)


everything should be all wrapped up by this weekend! i am excited to show you.



thank you to medallion rug gallery  for collaborating with me on this post!

One project I am planning in my own home for this fall is replacing the carpet in the lower level. The carpeted areas include stairs, a hallway, the family room, my office, my dressing room, and a sitting room. I had one of those moments of enlightenment yesterday and decided to carpet it all in seagrass. I absolutely love the combination of the textural, neutral, organic, natural fiber rugs/carpet with Chinoiserie. The seagrass will also be perfect for layering other rugs I want to use like my Ben Ourain in my office. Here are some great examples and I have many more in my new Pinterest board on the subject here. Have any of you used sisal, seagrass, or jute as wall to wall?