(School ends for me this week, so I'm in official summer-mode, whether or not it's June 21st!)Mr. C and I finished up our countertop installation a little while ago, and it was the last major hurdle of our kitchen overhaul. You may recall that we hemmed and hawed over whether to go granite or butcher block for the majority of the countertop surface, along with whether to keep the breakfast bar granite or install carrara marble. If you missed my ramblings on this subject, feel free to get caught up here. In the end, we decided to go with the butcher block and keep our granite breakfast bar as is….and to allocate any recouped savings on curb appeal projects (much to Mr. C’s delight)...so this decision was a true win-win for both of us! Here are some preview pics of our kitchen after the countertops were installed and in its almost finished state:Happy with the price (approx $600 including the home delivery fee) and quality of Ikea’s butcher block, I knew we had found a winner. However, I also knew that the coastal kitchen vision I had in mind for our butcher block countertops would require a few extra "customizing" steps to truly fit the bill.

As my inspiration pictures here and here show, I am drawn to a darker walnut color butcher block. convert rod pocket curtains to pinch pleated curtainsTo achieve this walnut effect, all I needed to do was simply stain my beautiful yet light colored Ikea butcher block, right? isinglass curtains center consoleWell, it sounded easy enough a solution to me….but up until that point all of the Ikea countertop pictures I’d seen in blogland featured the countertops in their natural state – which was beautiful but not the look I was going for. curtains for sale in yanbuAll of the wood we have in our house (floors, furniture, etc. is dark – it just wouldn’t mesh right. tommy bahama orange cay drapes

I have a thing for matching woods.) So I scoured my favorite blog sites even deeper to try and see if someone out there had attempted such a project. And wouldn’t you know it, I stumbled across This and Thatpost This and That'sThis and Thatwebsitewhat we opted forThis and That's I am linking up to the following blog parties. Choose your preferred language. We speak English (US) and 42 other languages. Most often used by people in the United States Lists are an easy way to save properties and plan trips with friends. Based on 920 reviews Good: 7 – 9 Okay: 5 – 7 Poor: 3 – 5 Very Poor: 1 – 3 Groups of friends (288) Good: 7 – 9 (417) Okay: 5 – 7 (201) Poor: 3 – 5 (78) Very Poor: 1 – 3 (16) Date (newer to older) Date (older to newer) Score (higher to lower) Score (lower to higher) Are you traveling for work? 4 people are looking right now easyHotel Brussels City Centre

3 people are looking right now Hotel A La Grande Cloche » View more apartments in Brussels Newest Reviews for Apartments AMS Brussels Flats 눇The house was centrally located and close to everything. And we had no problems. 눉Bathroom is very small, it was uncomfortable. 눉After cooking, the whole house smells of oil눇Spacious room 눉The bathroom is quite small눇Perfect location, nice apartment and the owner was so kind. 눉Toilet leaking on arrival and then blocked (took 24 hours to fix). Check in was an issue as did not know where to pick up key and unable to contact owner on arrival - needs to be better organised.눇Central location. Great view of Grand Place especially with the Christmas light show. Washing machine was convenient. 눇The view is wonderful and it is very well-equipped and comfortable. 눉The apartment was not in photo i book . They charge me 20 euro extra. Very noise.눇The location was great 눉The bathroom is quite uncomfortable.눇Location is great although it can get very noisy in the night

눉Very noisy and don't feel safe.눇From our apartment 's window can see the grand palace. 눉I wish the apartament was more clean.눇The location was excellent! Just 2-3 minutes away from Grand Place.We do enjoy our stay there for a week :)눇The ambiance of the apartment is a very homey feeling, the view outside is magnificent and the location itself is the best as it is in the heart of brussels :) 눉- Before you get the elevator there are few stairs (no problem for us). If you have problem with stairs take this into account. -- We were on Beaujolais Nouveau day and so bought a bottle to taste it. Well, the big suprise was when we have found no corkscrew in the apartment!눇+ Perfect location. Close to everything, e.g. small bistro in the basement of the building :o) + The apartment itself is light and large enough to accommodate 4 persons – we are 5 (2 adults and 3 children – 5, 8, 11 years) and to stay there was comfortable. ++Even we were 5 the the company did not charged us for an extra person.

++ Magnificent view of the town hall tower directly from the bed! 눉There are two double beds and one of them (which is in the bedroom) is really really noisy - it creaks with every movement you take. Apart from that everything was good.눇Really good option if you would like to save some money and cook by yourself. There is everything you need (kitchenware) and also a Carrefour market nearby. The location is perfect - most of famous attractions are literally five minutes walk away from the venue. Also a great variety of pubs around. Great for such a moderate price. 눉The apartment is a bit worn out so some refurbishment will be a plus눇Comfortable apartment with an equipped kitchenette in the very center of Brussels with a stunning view on the city hall tower, the facilities are fine and the apartment is clean and warm, the staff is kind and helpful. 눉Too many fine prints, you get free cancellation, but they take out half the cost straight after booking and if you cancel, you will not be refunded money already paid.