1. Have y’all seen these Smart Tiles?
(CarnetsParisiens.com)
I’m so intrigued!
The Smart Tiles website says they’re specially designed for kitchen and bathroom environments (on backsplashes, not in showers), and are resistant to the heat of stovetops. They’re “lightweight, easy to handle, cut and maintain, and will remain on your walls for as long as you want them to” and “can be installed in minutes over a clean and sleek surface without any mess or specialized tools and that they’re made of an adhesive substrate topped with a gel component called Gel-O™, giving them a 3-dimensional effect”.
(CarnetsParisiens.com)
Cristina over at Fuji Files installed the subway-style tiles on top of her existing travertine tiles:
She said they pop up in Wayfair sales and are available at Home Depot and Lowe’s and that if you’re looking to renovate your kitchen on a low budget, or if you’re a renter who wants to make a non-permanent improvement, she would definitely recommend giving them a try!
2. Have you seen how Claire Brody used window treatments to make all of the (different-sized) windows in her living room look more cohesive?
See what she did there? So SMART! She raised the curtain rods up near the crown molding and positioned her window shades on the outside of her windows so the windows all look like they’re the same height and width. Floor-length (Ikea) drapes are the perfect finishing, tie-it-all-together touch!
Here’s a link to her full blog post about them: How To Camouflage Different Windows
3. Have you seen Jenna’s $15 faux stone countertop?
Y’all- she started with this shiny, brownish-burgandy laminate countertop on her 1970’s cabinetry…
…and for fifteen dollars she made it look like soapstone!!!
Here’s a link to her how-to post, which also shows the painted cabinetry: How To Make Laminate Countertops Look Like Faux Stone
Smart peeps. Fun stuff!
And speaking of home improvement-related facelifts, I’m helping a new friend do some re-decorating today. I haven’t seen her house yet, but I’ll be back Monday with some pics of whatever we come up with!
I used the smart tiles hex design in my budget bathroom remodel and we love them! It took less than an hour to tile from counter to ceiling in the sink area. My only issue was in our old house the walls were no longer plumb so in one corner the tiles didn’t fit perfectly. I recommend making sure the most obvious area will match up well and that the final seam be in a place that isn’t as conspicuous just in case it’s an older house that has settled.
That soapstone looks amazing!! I would absolutely love it in my kitchen. I love the fact also that she has paired black cabinetry with the black soapstone as I like a black counter top and I want to paint my cabinets black too but wondered i it would be too much with all that black. Thanks for this post, most helpful.. yaaayy:-)
I used the backsplash tiles for a play kitchen for our daughter. They are amazing! Durable, realistic and almost too easy to install. A little costly at almost 10$ for a square but absolutely perfect for our little ‘renovation’.
Oh that’s a great little product!! How awesome and mess free would that be plus to spruce it up under budget too.
Thanks for sharing!
Lauren | Lovely Decor
xx