Welcome to Step 5 in this series!

Here is a recap of the first 4 steps if you missed them and want to get caught up!

Step 1: Add wood ceilings.

Step 2: Replace your builder’s grade doors with paneled doors.

Step 3:  Replace your builder’s grade light fixtures with ones that possess more

            character and charm.

Step 4:  Add Character to Your Home with New “Old” Hardware.

And now for the next step!

Step 5:

Add Character and Charm

to your Home with

Finish Trim Work

One of the elements that always catches my eye when I walk into an older home is all of the detail in the Finish Trim Work.

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It is beyond gorgeous!

I love the high baseboards, thick crown molding, beautiful door casings, and more!

In almost every home we’ve owned, we have had basic finish trim work.  Much like what was in our previous master bedroom.

Just imagine how much more character our bedroom would have had with thick crown molding and high baseboards!

So today, we are going to talk about wood.

Wood. wood. and more wood.

Finish trim work can make a big impact in a room for little money.

Look at the beautiful door casing in this historic home…

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I found this link that shows you how to make this type of trim work.

And look at the trim work on these windows..

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Who needs window treatments with beautiful trim like that?!  I am hoping to add some trim to the top of my kitchen window.

Another striking feature of older homes is transom windows above a doorway.

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There are many different types of finish trim work for walls, but there are two that I want to focus on today.

1.  Flat Panels (Board and Batten): Indicative of Arts and crafts style

2.  Bead board: Classic cottage style

Flat Panels

or

Board and Batten

Here are a couple examples of Flat Panels or Board and Batten finish work:

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We did a board and batten treatment in our previous laundry room.

You can read the tutorial of how we did it Here.

And I will forever be in love with my friends, Layla and Kevin’s, amazing reading room re-do!  They have flat panels on one wall, gymnasium wood floors on the back wall, plank ceilings, and built-ins (which we will take about in a minute)!

Love, love, love this room!

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Bead Board

Next, we have bead board finish work.  This is such a classic look for older homes, and is especially indicative of the cottage style.

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I love bead board in a bathroom!  It gives a lot of visual lift to a small space.

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Bead board also looks great in a kitchen!

It can be used on cabinet fronts, on the walls, or in the backsplash.

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This may not be considered “trim work”, but I have to share some pictures of the beauty of wood walls.

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Wood planks or paneling on the wall is all the rage right now.  (At least I think so.) 

It seems like every magazine I pick up has beautiful rooms featured with wood on the walls.

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We are planning on doing wood walls in our master bathroom, and maybe one wall of our master bedroom.  This can get a little costly, so we will just do what we can afford.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you another feature of finish trim work in older homes and that is built-ins.

How about creating a built in china cabinet in  your dining room for some character and charm?

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Or maybe some beautiful bookcases and a window seat in a bedroom?

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Check out that adorable little built in spice rack on the wall.  I want one of those!!

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And what is an older home without gorgeous fireplace built-ins?! 

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Such a classic look!

So have you enjoyed looking at all of theses amazing photos?!

I have had fun finding them for you. 

Have you gotten any ideas of ways you can add character and charm to your home with finish trim work?

If you would like to see even more great photos, check out my Pinterest boards!

You can follow me by clicking on the button below.

See you tomorrow for Step 6!

Welcome to Day 4 of this series!!

If you missed one of the first 3 days, here’s a re-cap.  Just click on the title to view them!

Step 1: Add wood ceilings.

Step 2: Replace your builder’s grade doors with paneled doors.

Step 3:  Replace your builder’s grade light fixtures with ones that possess more

             character and charm.

Let’s keep going!!  Here’s the next step:

Step 4:

Add Character to your

Home with new “old”

Hardware.

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Yesterday, we talked about how much changing out your light fixtures can improve the look and feel of your room.  Well, hardware has the same effect as well.

While searching the internet for inspiration pictures, I realized two things about changing the hardware in your home.

1.  You can replace your hardware with actual antique pieces of hardware.

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2.  Or you can purchase new hardware that is reminiscent of an older period in time.

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There are so many different types of hardware, that I would never be able to talk about them all in one post, but I will focus a just a few.

Of course, you know my love for farmhouses, so I am drawn to hardware that represents that feel.

I was wanting to put latches like the ones below in our new kitchen, but my cabinet fronts were not flat enough to accommodate them. 

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These latches are definitely representative of an older home.

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Look how amazing they look on the cabinets in the picture below!  This picture makes me melt!  It is soooo “pin-worthy!”

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Some more hardware that gives a great “older home” feel are these Classic Cup pulls.

They are one of the most popular type of hardware out right now.  The most popular finishes are brushed nickel and oil rubbed bronze, but chrome is gaining some ground.

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You can see in the picture below how they used cup pulls and latches on their cabinets.  Gorge!

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The next kitchen used the cup pulls in old rubbed bronze.  Oil rubbed bronze looks amazing on white cabinets!  Btw, check out that wood ceiling, would ya?!

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It’s also very acceptable to mix hardware finishes.  Talk about character!  Look how oil rubbed bronze and chrome hardware were used in this kitchen from For the Love of a House.  If you have never been to this blog, and you want to seen “old house” character at it’s best, you need to click on over there and check it out.  (And then be sure to come back and see me!) 

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These cup pulls are not just for a kitchen.  They look great on a piece of furniture too!

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I had a cherry piece of furniture that Mom gave me many years ago that just didn’t look like me at all.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of it because it was before my blogging days. It looked a little like this one, but was less “Queen Anne-ish.”

Mom told me to paint it black so it would match my décor more, so I did.  I also added cup pulls.

But when I decided to use it on my back patio, I painted it white, distressed it, and added different pulls to create a totally different look.  I loved it!

It definitely gave it more of a farmhouse look.

See the difference changing the

hardware can make?

The last type of hardware I love is glass knobs and handles.  They are so beautiful no matter where you put them!

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Glass knobs can add lots of charm in a bathroom.

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Or a kitchen…

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I also found this link at Shelterific on How to Refinish Door Hardware in Six Steps.

I also wanted to share how my blog friend, Jen, from Tatertots and Jello shared in a post how she changed her brass handle to a glass handle on her pantry door in her kitchen. Click on the picture to read about it.

IMPORTANT:  You do not have to have a lot of money to change the hardware in your home.

Have you ever looked at the hardware aisle at Hobby Lobby!  They have knobs for days!

And if you purchase knobs when they are half off, you can get some beautiful knobs for very little money!

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ALSO…You can always spray paint the hardware you already have to give it a completely different look!

I’m sure you’ve seen many posts about how bloggers have spray painted their door handles oil rubbed bronze.  It takes some time, but very little money to update the look of your home!

Here is a tutorial from Carrie at Dittle Dattle where she shows you how to change your brass door knobs to oil-rubbed bronze ones.

You can also easily spray paint outdated knobs on your cabinets.

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So don’t feel like you have to spend a ton of money to get a new look. 

Remember that you might find some pretty hardware at thrift stores or yard sales that can be cleaned up or painted to look like new!

Do you have hardware in your home that needs updating?  Or could you replace it with hardware that adds more character and charm?

See you tomorrow for step #5!

Welcome back!

I hope you are enjoying this series!

Let’s recap the first two steps in creating “Old House” character and charm in your newer home…

Step 1:  Add wood ceilings.

Step 2:  Replace your builder’s grade doors with paneled doors.

And now to the next step!

Step 3:

Replace your builder’s grade

light fixtures with ones that

possess more character and

charm!

For instance, look at this beautiful kitchen!  First of all, notice those fabulous wood ceilings.  Okay, now look at the lights!  I call those “school house” lights, although I am sure they have another name.  They add so much charm to that kitchen, don’t ya think?!

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But let’s be honest.

Unfortunately, many of us have these on our ceilings…

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The dreaded “boob” light!

(Yep, look at it.  You know I’m right.)

Raise your hand if you have a “boob” light or two in  your house.   Come on, don’t be ashamed.  Own it!

I have some of these lights in my home, but slowly and surely, I am going to change them out.

Now really, there is nothing horribly wrong with these lights, but they certainly do not possess much charm and character.

So I would like to declare 2012, “The Year of De-Boobing!”

Will you join me?

Now don’t go getting’ a screw driver today and start taking all your “boobs” down. Your husband will come home and think you’ve lost your mind, and he will not like me much either!  He may want to keep the “boobs.”  (I am so sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.)

Take your time de-boobing.  Look around for the right light fixture to take its place before you start removing them.

Maybe you could score a cute light at a ReStore shop or thrift store.

I got this ugly brass light at my Habitat store for $3.00!

I cut the curly-que thingys off and spray painted it black for our previous laundry room.

It added sooo much character to our laundry room!  (And so did that bead board ceiling!) 

So much more character than a “boob” light would have. 

And it was only $3.00!!

Whenever you see a brass light at Goodwill or a yard sale, and you like the shape of it, REMEMBER it can be painted!!!

My friend, Melissa, from 320 Sycamore had this very dated light in her entry way.  

She scored a $5.00 brass light off of Craigslist and painted it black.  Here it is…

Doesn’t it look so much better than what she originally had?!  And it looks an awful-lot like this one from Pottery Barn, doesn’t it?

But Melissa’s was only 5 bucks!  BIG difference!  You can check her post out HERE.

Lanterns are very “in” right now, and I am so glad.  I think they are beautiful, especially in a kitchen.

They make a beautiful statement above a kitchen island or dining table.

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Chandeliers are also reminiscent of the past and add a wealth of charm to a room.

These can get very expensive.  I’ve been looking for an old one for a while now, but they have been out of my price range.

But I’m gonna keep on looking!

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Pottery Barn has some beautiful chandeliers to choose from.

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Look at the charm this old chandelier brings to the room…

Although chandeliers look great over a dining table, why not change out the “boob” light over your bed for a chandelier?

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Or maybe over your bathtub?…

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Unfortunately, I am not an expert in light fixtures that were used in older homes, but there are many companies out there that sell light fixtures from all different time periods and decorating styles.  Just google, “antique lighting” and see what comes up.

Here are a few more pictures I found online of some of my favorite types of light fixtures.

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So there you have it!

I want  you to take a tour around your home today and see how much de-boobing you are going to need to do.  Then start thinking about what type of light fixture would look better in the “boob’s” place.

Don’t go out and start buying a bunch of expensive light fixtures.  Wait until they go on sale, or maybe you will find one at a thrift store that you can paint.

Be creative!

I would have to say that besides painting a room, changing the light fixtures can make the next biggest difference in the feel of a room.

Do you have some light fixtures in your home in need of some updating?

See ya tomorrow for the next step in adding “old house” character and charm to your home!

Welcome to Step 2 of adding “Old House”

character and charm to your newer home.

(If you missed Step 1, click HERE to read it.)

I am really enjoying writing this series!  I cannot get enough of older homes.

It is so much fun to look through pictures online and dream about how I can make my 1970’s ranch feel like an old farmhouse.

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The picture above just makes my heart go all a flutter!  I believe it is a newly built farmhouse, and I just love the character is possesses!

So here is the second step in creating that “old house” feel in your own home…

Step 2:

Replace your builder’s grade doors

with paneled doors.

Most of our homes have basic builder-grade (hollow core) doors in every room.

This is what all of the doors in my current home look like…

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But I want my home to have charm and character, so I want my doors to look like this…

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Or this…

Beautiful, solid wood, 5 panel doors…

Look how much character this 5 panel door adds to this new home…

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(I believe that is actually a new solid wood door.  But why would you buy a new one when  you can get the same look by buying a used one?!)

If you buy new, solid wood panel doors, they can be very expensive.

But you may be able to find a panel door at a Habitat for Humanity store, thrift store, or architectural salvage place, you might score a good deal.

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We got these 5 panel, solid wood doors for FREE! You can read about that story HERE.

I am planning on using these in the boys’ new rooms upstairs in our addition.

We built the door frames upstairs to accommodate these tall doors.  I’m not sure if I am going to repaint them, or sand them down and leave them natural, but we are planning on keeping the original hardware on them.

(If you buy on old painted door and decide to sand it, please be sure to take the necessary precautions to protect yourself from lead paint.)

I also wanted to share with you a few other bloggers who replaced doors in their home as well.

Look how my friend, Ashley, from The Handmade Home replace her builder’s grade door with an old screen door for her pantry.

Small change, but a totally different feel.

I love the way Layla, from The Lettered Cottage, replaced one of her doors with this beautiful, old, solid wood door.

Older doors are so beautiful to me!

It feels like I am walking back through time whenever I place my hand on the knob and walk through the doorway. 

It really is a pretty easy and inexpensive way to add a ton of character and charm to your home!

Do you have any doors in your home that you would like to replace?

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow as

I share with you Step 3!!

I love the look of older homes.  Like, 100 years old (or older) homes.

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I love the character and charm they possess.  There is a beauty and warmth that is hard to describe, but can definitely be “felt” when you are inside on older home.

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But my home was built in the 1970’s, so what is a girl supposed to do?

Well, all this week, I am planning on showing you the steps I plan on taking to hopefully create that “old home” feeling in our house (and our new addition.)

Step One: 

Add wood ceilings.

A lot older homes have wood ceilings.

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You can create your wood ceilings by installing wood planks or even bead board. 

You can paint it or leave it natural.

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Either way, adding wood to your ceilings makes a dramatic difference in the feel of the room.

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It adds warmth and character to the room.

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I can attest to this!  Adding wood on top of our stippled ceiling made all the difference in the world when we renovated our kitchen!

I am hoping to add wood ceilings in some other rooms in our home as well.  This will be a gradual process and not something I plan on doing this year.

But we do plan on adding some wood beams in our new master bathroom.

Something like these…

We have some plumbing (for the boys’ upstairs bathroom) in our bathroom that is going to need to be hidden.  So we are going to make some hollow wooden beams to cover the pipes!

I cannot wait!

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow as I share the

 2nd step

I plan on taking

to add “Old  House” character and charm to

my home.

Our home has two full bathrooms in it right now.

When we moved in, both of the showers had sliding glass doors.  I do not like sliding glass doors, especially cleaning them.

I believe we took the boys’ shower door down the week we moved in, but the one in my and Cy’s bathroom has stayed.

Partly because I knew we would be tearing it down once we built our new master bath in the addition.

But like I said, I do not like sliding shower doors.  It makes me feel all Closter phobic when I am taking a shower.  And they get all gross and dirty in the sliding trays.  Ugh!

Plus, our shower doors had a mirror on one half.  Not cool.

Who really wants to see themselves as they sit on the toilet?  Not me!!

So on New Year’s Eve day, I had had enough!

I KNOW that we are going to be gutting this bathroom in the next couple of months, but I couldn’t take it any longer!!

First I took the doors off their tracks…

There is our lovely window in the shower.  Aaaah, gorgeous, right?  {insert sarcastic look}

After removing the doors, I just  needed to unscrew the frame from the wall.

There were several screws in each side to be removed.

Once I took the screws out, I just had to pull the frame off the wall.  This was a little hard in places, so I used a box knife to help scored the caulk.

Then I yanked, and pulled, and pulled, and yanked.

I had to get Cy to help me with one part that just wouldn’t come off, but we finally did it!

Much better already!!

After removing the frame, you will be left with some caulk on the tile which can easily be removed with a blade.

See the little red plastic thingy where the screw used to be?  I just left mine there because we will be tearing this whole shower down soon.

But if we weren’t, I would remove that red thing (I know it has a name, but it escapes me.) and fill it up with a little white bathroom caulk.  You’d never notice it!

Since I didn’t want to spend any money on this bathroom (that will be non-existent in a couple months), I just bought a tan shower curtain from Lowe’s. 

Didn’t even iron it, girls!  And it doesn’t bother me one bit!

It looks pinkish in this picture, but it isn’t. 

I love it so much better than the sliding shower doors, that I am lovin’ life when I take a shower now!

It took me about 30 minutes to take down that shower door.  So, so easy!

Eventually, this room will just have the toilet in it, the door entry will be walled up, and the window will lead into our new master bath!

I cannot wait!!

Here’s the winner of the

Thirty-One Thermal Tote giveaway!

VJ Kloosterman

Congratulations!!  I will be contacting you soon.

If you didn’t win, but still want one of these adorable totes, the special runs through January 31st!

Just click on the picture to visit Crystal’s webpage to order.

Well, I said I wasn’t going to talk about my kitchen anymore.

Oops.

But I’m not really talking about my kitchen, just my kitchen sink!

I’ve had many of you ask about the durability and quality of my sink, so I thought I would share with you a few of the things that I found out.  (After I made my purchase.)

I will be honest that I often choose form over function.

Here are the two things I considered when looking for my sink online:

1.  I wanted a pretty farmhouse sink.

2.  I wanted an inexpensive, pretty farmhouse sink.

That’s it.

Here’s what I didn’t know before I started looking for a farmhouse sink:

Farmhouse sinks are NOT cheap!

Sheesh!

I about died when I started searching the web for a farmhouse sink!  The prices are steep!

The best deal I found was the farmhouse sink from IKEA.  It was only $313!

I bought it, brought it home, and it didn’t fit in our cabinets.  By like half an inch!  UGH!!

If our dishwasher wasn’t right beside our sink, Cy may have tried to rebuild some cabinets to make it fit.  But he wasn’t able to do it with out some major changes to our lower cabinets, which would have ended up taking a lot of time and more money.  Not  good.

After looking online for hours, it seemed the cheapest farmhouse sinks were $600, and then they go WAY up from there.

I found my farmhouse sink at Signature Hardware.  You can purchase items online or at their store.  We needed our sink quickly, so I picked it up at the store since it was located in Northern Kentucky.

I LOVE my farmhouse sink!  It is was the most expensive part of the budget for our kitchen makeover, but it was worth it.

Since buying our sink, I’ve done a little research online to find out more about fireclay sinks.

I wanted to share with you what I found out.

First of all,  What is Fireclay?

Widely used in London, England, for their durability and style in the late 1800s, fireclay sinks finally have made a design comeback. Fireclay sinks are forged at extremely high temperatures, which cause the clay and glaze to unite. The result is a sink that is not only extremely durable, but also will look shiny and new for many years to come.   (source)

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How durable is fireclay?

The modern fireclay apron sinks are commonly covered with a thick layer or glaze which is irrefutably acid, alkali, chip, scratches and impact resistant.  (source)

I love the look of fireclay farmhouse sinks because they are classic, elegant, and a great focal point for you kitchen.

Fireclay sinks do not rust, discolor, or fade.  Yay!!

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How is Fireclay different from Cast Iron?

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A cast iron sink is beautiful as well, but here is the difference…

Cast iron is fired at a much less temperature than fireclay, and not as durable. The glaze is softer than the glaze on fireclay. Cast iron also chips easily, and when it does, rust appears under the glaze. Plus customers are specifically asked not to use abrasives or harsh cleaners.   (source)

We had a cast iron sink in our last home, and I loved the look.  But I accidentally chipped part of the white glaze off when a pot slip out of my hand. 

Cast iron sinks are usually more expensive than fireclay sinks, but some believe they are more durable.  Here is a great link that discusses the pros and cons of fireclay vs. cast iron sinks:  http://www.ehow.com/about_6672827_fireclay-vs_-cast-iron-sinks.html

As you can tell by what I found out about fireclay sinks, I am very happy with our purchase!

And after living with this sink for almost two months, I can honestly say that I am VERY pleased with our fireclay farmhouse sink.

It cleans up so easily and truly makes cleaning the kitchen more fun.  I’m not kidding!

So I hope that helps you out if you are looking to buy a farmhouse sink in the near future.

What is your favorite type of sink?

I am so excited about a new website that debuted today called Sisters in Bloom!

It is a site created to encourage women!

There are 33 contributing writers, one of which is my precious sister!

I am so excited for her and this amazing opportunity.

Here is a great video that I want to encourage you to watch.  I know God is going to use this site to encourage and strengthen many women.

Now click the button below and jump on over to Sisters in Bloom and be sure to subscribe or follow while you are there 

Have a blessed day!

Have you heard of Thirty-One products?

Thirty-One is a faith based company that is founded on the scriptures of a virtuous woman found in Proverbs 31.

There are products are beautiful, useful, and very well made.

My friend, Crystal, is a Thirty-One consultant, and she wanted to do a giveaway on my blog.  Since these are products I KNOW that my readers would love, I said, “Of Course!”

Click on “read more” to enter to win a Thirty-One Thermal Tote!

Thirty-Oneis having a great sale on their thermal totes.  These are great to keep your lunches cold!

Totes are on sale for $10.00 with no embroidery,

$17.00 with embroidery.

The new cinch-it-up thermal is 15.00,

embroidery not available.

These sale prices are good through January 31, 2012.

Now for the giveaway!

One lucky Beneath My Heart reader will win the

thermal tote (with or without embroidery)

of their choice!

(The Zip It tote can come with embroidery, the Cinch It tote cannot.)

Here’s how to enter:

1.  Visit Crystal’s Thirty-One webpage and view the new catalog.  Tell me some of the products you love (‘cause I know you’ll like more than just one!)

2.  Click HERE to visit Crystal’s facebook page and click the “join” button for another entry. Just come back and tell me in a separate comment and you will be entered again in this giveaway.

3.   Copy and paste this tweet, and then come back and tell me you did in a separate comment:

Enter a Thirty-One Thermal Tote giveaway @beneathmyheart http://www.beneathmyheart.net/?p=6463

This giveaway will run through Thursday, January 19th at 9:00 pm, and the winner will be announced this Friday!

Goodluck!

Also, if you are interested in starting your own business by becoming a Thirty One consultant, they are offering a new spring kit. 

You can email Crystal at cftay112(at)yahoo(dot)com

to find out more!

My sweet friend, Layla is hosting a word of the year party.

She has encouraged us to  “choose one word that has the potential to inspire you and create intention in your life, all year long.”  (Layla)

I have thrown around so many words in my head trying to really think of ONE that would guide me this year.  Picking a word has actually been harder than I thought it would be.

But I finally come up with one…

In my head, I kept thinking that I want my life to be WORTH something this year (and every year, for that matter.) 

I want the time and energy that I put into the activities of each of my days to be of value.

I don’t want to live a pointless life, or waste my time or thoughts on things of no value.

I want my family to know they are WORTH everything to me!!

Being a wife to my husband and a mom to my boys is my greatest joy! 

I found a few definitions of WORTH that stood out to me:

1.  WORTH (moral or social value): the goodness, usefulness, or importance of something or somebody, irrespective of financial value or wealth

I want my life to be good, useful, and important. 

My worth is not in my material possessions or money, but in WHO I am as a person.

2.  WORTH:  excellence of character or quality as commanding esteem.

I want to do things with excellency, not just half-way. 

And I want to teach my children to do things with excellency as well. 

Always giving our “best” each day!

3.  WORTH:  usefulness or importance, as to the world, to a person, or for a purpose

This definition made me think of my blog. 

I want my blog to be useful to my readers. 

I want it to inspire, encourage, and help those who read it.

I want my blog to be one that is WORTH taking the time to read.

I also thought about my plans for this year.   Some of my plans may succeed and some may fail. I don’t know yet.  But I want to have the attitude that it’s WORTH the risk of failure.  I have to at least try.  Dream BIG.  Believe in myself.  Whether my plans succeed or fail does not determine my WORTH.  My WORTH is in the “trying.”

Lastly, I chose the word WORTH because of my faith.  This year, I want to go deeper in my walk with Christ.  I want to know Him and make Him known.

Two truths that kept jumping out at me is:

1.  Jesus said that you and I were WORTH dying for.

Here is a song I am wanting Jonathan to sing at church sometime soon. It called, “Someone Worth Dying For.”

Also…

2.  Jesus makes life WORTH living!

One of my all-time favorite songs is “Because He Lives.”

Here are the words to the chorus:

Because he lives,
I can face tomorrow.
Because he lives,
All fear is gone.
Because I know he holds the future,
My life is worth the living just because he lives.

Here is a link to the song on youtube if you want to listen to it.

So that is my word of the year!

I am so excited to see what all 2012 holds for me and my family.  And I can face this year with a peace and joy knowing that I KNOW the ONE who holds 2012!