Chateau Kitchen Update

It felt like the countertops on the cabinets were too similar a repeat, and more grey than I liked. I touched them up and they are warmer looking. This is how the countertops looked - this corner one was more obvious with the repeat than the others but I toned it down and stippled some beiges and creams.

I finally decided on the neutral wallpaper and got that installed. I have been working on the ceiling beams and its clear that what is throwing me off is one side where the ceiling starts is higher than the other. I've attached the ceiling more permanently and fixed the spot where the wall met the ceiling - so that entire wall is now the same surface. 

The embossed border I bought is also now up, and I had to add a strip of wood on the side that opens to make both wall heights the same. And I framed out the window! 

The ceiling beams have an arch, and I won't go into all the challenges I faced doing it. Let's just say that balsa wood was the way to go - soft enough to trace and cut an arch of sorts. I'm in the process of painting them, and may need to fiddle a bit with them to get at least the right side to snug up to the ceiling. 

The ceiling lights I selected are Ray Storey - I got this one for the 2nd floor landing, but it's much larger than I expected, so I got a 2nd one and will be hanging them in the kitchen. 

Chateau Courtyard and Quoins

As the exterior texture was done, I moved on to the courtyard and laying the slate. After laying, I applied the Mod Podge Ultra Matte, and then grouted, followed by a sealer layer of Mod Podge.

The quoins were painted white, and looked pretty stark against the dark grey house, and it seemed fitting that I give them a more grey tone, more like stone. I used a similar technique on them as what I used on the French Country - stippling.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the exterior!

French Country Dormer and Trim Work

The top dormer windows posed a challenge with regard to the color. I started by using the cream base, and used a white to outline the edge and the round circle. Not the effect I wanted. Then I did light grey base and highlights of cream. This was nice but didn't pack a punch.

I  then went to stippling and this gave me the stone effect I was imagining.
 

I then outlined in the cream - and though I liked it...it still needed something.

I finally settled on a lighter grey stippling for the highlighting of the edges and the circle. This is what I settled on.

You can see I've also glued on the stone patio and courtyard wall and painted them with stippling also. I'm very happy with the effect.

Moved on to the quoins - I could have stayed with the lighter grey but ended up with a slightly darker grey stippling to blend in more with the trims along the eaves. Its all now installed.