When we bought our 18th century home fourteen years ago never in my wildest imagination did I think it would take so long to remodel my kitchen. Being both a Yankee and a New Englander we don't believe in waste and using things until they literally fall apart. I hated my kitchen and nearly dropped to my knees in thanks when my stove finally became a fire hazard. So when the husband said lets remodel the kitchen images of grandeur floated through my head''.
I dreamed of high ceilings and clean open spaces''.image viaBill Litchfield
I dreamed of tons of cabinet space and seating area....image via Steve Giannetti, Brooke's husband, fromVelvet & Linen(I'm in love with this kitchen just move it into my house please!)
I dreamed of large windows with lots of natural light....image viaBelgian Pearls
Lots and lots of light!....image viaBill Litchfield
I dreamed of using natural materials....image viaChateau Domingue
I dreamed of using stone....image viaCote de Texas
Image viaChateau Domingue
I dreamed of clean lines....image viaA Life's Design
I dreamed of stainless steel appliances....image viaDarryl Carter, love, LOVE this kitchen! But then reality crept into my world and my dream bubble popped and I was faced with the kitchen from my nightmares! The reality is I have a kitchen that's only 16' x 14', a whole 224 square feet with 8' 2' ceilings, the lowest ceiling height that could be found in my house. It's one of those quirks of an 18th century house.
The kitchen did have semi custom built cabinets and corian counters but it had a lot of issues. White counter tops are not my thing, neither is an electric stove with only two burners. No back splash around the sink or the stove. The microwave above the stove would get really hot when I cooked, it being digital you can imagine how well it worked after a few shots of heat. That refrigerator couldn't hold the makings for a Thanksgiving meal. The faucet had this annoying drip for years on end let alone it didn't reach into the middle of the sink just that one little corner and no sprayer! The floors were badly worn, wood floors should never be allowed in a hard working kitchen. We made the mistake of using our kitchen as a giant crate for our brand new puppy and he choose to do a little decorating himself'...look at the wall'nice huh? Sheet rock paper ripped off and the sheet rock and baseboards chewed. DO NOT USE YOUR KITCHEN AS A PUPPY CRATE! And I hated the country look but felt tied to it for some reason. Probably because of the elements in the kitchen felt so country.
I had a few restrictions when it came to designing my new kitchen''.I wasn't allowed to bump walls out in hopes of gaining space, the kitchen is not as wide as my house and I could have gained ten feet in width had I moved those walls. Since we have harsh cold winters we had to have a wood stove for warmth. I wasn't allowed to change the windows out since they were original to the house and not drafty believe it or not. And our Golden Dylan needed his area. Other then that I had a free hand and boy was I excited!
When Jess and I saw this tiny galley kitchen, we knew we had to help! It's the kind of space that most people on a budget would call"hopeless" because it's really, really tiny and everything was dated. Thankfully, we really love a challenge, so we headed to Matt and Linda's to give them a colorful kitchen renovation for under $1200! To watch this full episode online, click HERE.
Matt and Linda are a great couple and this kitchen makeover meant a lot to them because they have a family of four using the kitchen, but also because Linda owns her own baking business out of their home.
She was the one responsible for all of the amazing desserts and decor at our premiere party. If you're local and in need of any desserts, you have to check her out. Frog Prince Cake & Cookie Design
Take a peek at these before pictures… does this look like a kitchen for a woman that spends a ton of a time cooking and baking?
Two things made the biggest difference in this space… Paint & Opening up the wall. Here's a rundown of all the changes we made to this space.
Painted Cabinets, Counters, & Appliances Paint is one of the least expensive and high impact things you can do to a space. We painted the cabinets a crisp, semi-gloss white and added new hardware. The counters were painted using a Rustoleum paint just for laminate. The appliances we coated with a stainless steel appliance spray paint. We'll give you the full rundown later this week. Flooring- The flooring project we did in this space could be one of my favorite DIYs of 2013 so far! I can't believe how amazing the effect was! We'll share all the details later this week on the blog, but who would have imagined that peel and stick vinyl tile could look this amazing!
Faux Subway Tile Renovating an entire kitchen for $1200 is tricky, so rather than installing subway tile we painted it! It took a LONG time, and I might have gotten a few grey hairs in the process, but it looked amazing in the end! (Full tutorial coming this week!)
Opening the Kitchen Wall This kitchen is tiny and we couldn't change the footprint, but we wanted it to feel bigger and less closed off from the rest of the house, so we removed the top half of the left wall. Instantly, the kitchen seemed twice the size!
Add Open Shelving Once the wall was down, we really didn't want to put the cabinets back up, because it would make the space seem closed off again. Instead, we purchased inexpensive Ikea floating shelves and displayed their dishes added lots of fun colorful accessories.
Create Additional Workspace We never like to waste anything, so rather than just getting rid of the cabinets we removed, we used them as base cabinets in the dining room. All we had to do was build a counter using inexpensive pine, and for almost no cost, we created a huge workspace and kept all of their storage!
Lighting and Window Mirror We added a fun pendant light and backed an old window with a mirror to add more light to the room. We love using old windows to decorate a space. This really helped make this tiny space feel larger!
DIY Bake Marquee Sign This was Linda's favorite project in the space. It was really simple to make, but added such a fun pop to the room! Jess will be back with the full tutorial later this week!
Fun Accessories Of course we added lots accessories to complete the space. We don't have a full source list, but most of the items were from Homegoods and Ikea! We really keep our eyes open for clearance and sale items!
This kitchen took a lot of hard work. All of the projects saved us big time budget-wise, but required some serious (wo)man hours. We were SO excited with how it turned out and actually, we were even more excited with how happy the homeowners were!
Our first Knock It Off kitchen renovation was a huge success and we can't wait to tackle another one! Kitchens are usually the most expensive rooms in a home, and to think we did an entire kitchen and dining room for about the cost some people spend just on countertops alone makes us pretty sure that Knocking It Off was the best route to go!! Check back later this week for all of the tutorials! To watch this full episode online, click HERE.
After 14 years of waiting for my ugly kitchen to give out our renovation of it is finally complete! The blinds are hung, decoration in place and everything is new and clean. It wasn't without some tears, the husbands not mine, think cost, but it was a hard fought battle and I wouldn't go back for anything. The dust left a bit to be desired along with the noise and I don't mind saying the shock of seeing my kitchen gutted down to dirt took my breath away!
My wish list was mostly met, wish list, but with a room only 16' x 14', six openings with doors and windows, and a wood stove that had to stay for warmth my grandeur ideas of clean open spaces was bumped off immediately. But that's OK I was happy to work within my limitations. Those aren't the same cabinets just the same simple shaker style. We thought we would be able to keep the old cabinets since they were nice but when our contractors started taking them down they completely fell apart. Nice fronts but the rest were cheaply put together obviously to save on cost along the way.
Before
After With such a small kitchen we wanted to keep everything simple so as not to overwhelm the space such as using clear pendent lights so the eye travels through. We went with the wolf stove /sub zero refrigerator package because we liked that the refrigerator is in the same line as the cabinets, it doesn't bump out into the room by a couple of inches like most refrigerators. This is where the husbands' tears came into play since showrooms don't place price tags on these appliances for a reason! While I would have preferred an antique tiered console/table as my kitchen island I hate seeing microwave ovens and all the things that go with cooking out in the open let alone they get dusty. This island is perfect to hide all those things and gives me more working counter space.
We went with soapstone tile since it's durable enough for an eighty pound bouncing golden retriever. The slightest scratch is simply sanded out with a piece of fine sandpaper but so far that hasn't been needed. Laying the floor tiles in a long straight stretch helped to make the room look more elongated to the eye. The floor couldn't be sealed since it changes the color from shades of gray to black but it cleans up beautifully. We put radiant heat underneath that I love but the dog, not so much!
Before
After Since our kitchen has the lowest ceiling in our home of 8' 2' we wanted to make the room seem taller. We did that by playing with perspectives and tricking the eye into thinking the ceiling was higher so we played with the different height of cabinets to make the room seem more expansive. We were able to do that because the refrigerator was so tall, the sink window sash goes right to the ceiling and the small pantry on the other end is tall. We had to keep the same configuration because of all the openings but hey it works.
I absolutely love my new bridge faucet from American Standard here since it reaches into the middle of the sink unlike the one that originally came with this kitchen and it has a sprayer!
Before
After Our kitchen really came down to the use of materials to give it a new look. Since we had enough of the black soapstone, used on the counters, we used a slab for the hearth under the wood stove. We pile wood in an antique copper bin during the winter and used to ding the old walls so we thought it would be a great idea to pull the flooring tiles up on the lower part of the wall around the wood stove giving it a European flavor. That's a 16th century Italian wine vessel hanging over in that corner that I purchased from Michael Trapp here. I love green and tried to use touches of it throughout our kitchen.
After table and chairs Gone are the antique table and chairs and in its place a small more solid table from restoration hardware that unfortunately they no longer sell. This table was actually sold as a hall table and is only 30' in diameter, plenty of room for two people to have dinner. The chairs from pottery barn here were kept open to let light pass through. Thankfully gone are the fabric roman shades from the windows and in their place custom made bamboo blinds from Smith and Noble here that are much easier to keep clean.
Before
After I love this dishwasher from Fisher Paykel that has two drawers! It simply makes sense for us since we're a two people family, dog bowls don't go in there. I don't like dirty dishes hanging about for a week and since the drawers run independently from one another that is no longer an issue. I've added a few antique pieces, a cappuccino machine and voile, new kitchen! Gone is the clutter and somebody else's design ideas. Absolutely everything in our kitchen is new right down to the wood stove. After all these years I've made my kitchen my own and the ride has been so worth it!
It's kind of a bummer that kitchens are usually the hub of a home and at the same time, they're the most expensive room in a house to remodel!! The good news is that we found ways to DIY almost every item in this galley kitchen and did the entire makeover on a tiny budget. Today we're going to share with you how we took the kitchen cabinets from dated, pickled wood to classic, crisp white!
To watch this full episode online Click HERE!
This was the cabinet situation when we arrived. I really wonder why on earth pickled wood was ever a trend?!? I'm sure in a few years, we'll look back on lots of our design choices and wonder the same thing.: )
Other than this one cabinet, all the rest were in good working condition. We also got lucky that the style of these cabinets was pretty simple and classic. No crazy scroll lines, just clean and straight- perfect for a paint-pick-me-up! The hardware however… that had to go!
The finished look was insanely different!!
Now, we're going to share some basic tips for painting your cabinets, but Jess also did her entire kitchen white last year, so at the bottom, be sure to click through to her post for a really detailed tutorial! 1. Remove the cabinet doors from the frames. Take off all of the hardware at this time and put them in a safe place, if you’re going to be reusing them. We did reuse the hinges for the cabinets, but that was it. 2. Set up a work station where you can lay out all of your cabinets at once- this is the fastest way to get all those cabinets painted as fast as possible. We like using plastic folding saw horses with 2x4s laid across. They're light and easy to move around. We got ours at Lowe's for $49 for a set of 2.
3. If you’re cabinets aren’t super glossy, you can use regular old steel wool to rough up the fronts of the door. You just want to make it so that the paint adheres. If you’re cabinets are glossy, go ahead and sand them. You won't regret doing this step right- it will determine if you have paint chipping in 6 months or not.
4. Wipe down the cabinet doors to remove all dust. Make sure you use paint plus primer to get the best coverage. Using foam rollers designed for cabinetry, roll on the paint in even coats, making sure to not drip! For Linda's kitchen we used Valspar's Summer Grey in Semi-Gloss. It reads like a white, but looks just a little moodier: )
5. Once the paint has cured for the recommended time, flip them over and repeat the process on the insides of the doors. 6. When your doors are drying, head back into the kitchen and rough up the frames of the cabinets with steel wool and paint them, as well. Once they’re dry, rehang your cabinet doors.Reattach the hardware, or install new hardware. This is when you can step back and admire the way your kitchen feels completely transformed!
Check out Jess' kitchen makeover with a full breakdown on how to properly paint your cabinets.
It's amazing the difference a coat of white paint can make! For about $30 you could completely transform any dated kitchen!! To watch this segment or the full episode- click HERE! Stay tuned for these other DIY tutorials coming to the KIO DIY Page soon!
Did I ever mention that I'm impulsive? And that I'm really good at convincing my hubs that the impulse is a good one? Well, I am. Such is the case with our kitchen remodel. I have, of course, been thinking about creating a more open kitchen, one that flows easily into the dining/living room, but it was sort of a spur of the moment decision to tackle that project the week before Christmas! . All of this was inspired by our oven breaking down. We needed a new oven, so why not remodel the kitchen while we're at it??!! Yes, I am crazy. However, I couldn't be more excited about this project, especially since it's the first full-blown remodel my hubs and I have ever done! We're totally newbies at this, but I'm fully confident we can handle it. And we know several DIY"experts" that we can call with questions. I keep telling my hubs that unless we burn the house down, there's nothing we can't fix. Can you tell that I'm an optimist? Disclaimer: This is going to be one long, ongoing project that will probably take several months to completely finish. I'll be walking you through all the nitty-gritty details, ala Young House Love, so don't expect the"After" photos next week!: )
Here's a peek at our kitchen BEFORE:
That's the dining room beyond the kitchen. See how closed off it feels? That doorway could not be any more narrow!
This wall is getting a MAJOR makeover. You won't even recognize it- I promise!
That hole there is where the oven used to be. It now has another home!
And now, the view into the kitchen from the dining room. The first thing we did was take down that huge mirror. We're so lazy that we didn't ever take that thing down when we painted the room. We just painted around it (in our defense, it's HEAVY, and was really, really attached to the wall). Then we measured and marked and measured again where we wanted to take the wall out. We didn't really use any scientific methods here- we just planned according to what looked good to us, and also where the studs were located. (I've highlighted our sketch below so you can see it better:)
Then, it was demo time! The hubs took his drywall saw and started cutting away.
Oops! There was a major heating duct running right through the middle of our opening! Gah! I'm pretty sure that my hubs was less than thrilled with me at this point (and that's putting it nicely). Lesson learned: do some research, like cutting a small hole in the wall to see what's in there first, before knocking down the entire wall. Luckily for us, after some brainstorming, we realized that this duct could be cut down and redirected (more on that in a minute).
Demolition is not glamorous. In fact, it's gross, messy and downright ugly. You might even find mouse droppings everywhere, along with the home they've made in your insulation. Makes me gag just thinking about it.
We took out that unbelievably-foul-it-makes-me-want-to-throw-up insulation and got to work cutting the duct with a sawzall. We called in the big guns, aka, my father-in-law, to help since he just remodeled his kitchen and it's ah-mazing! At first we just cut it to the height of the half-wall while we decided what we wanted to do from there, but then we decided to remove the entire duct and redirect the vent into the dining room.
Kevin took the old ductwork and reconfigured it to shoot the heat into the dining room, then installed it back where it was, but facing the opposite direction into the dining room!.
The next step was rebuilding the half-wall to make it sturdy. The wall that we removed is a not a load-bearing wall, so it was ok to take it out. Definitely check with someone who knows whether a wall is load-bearing or not before removing it! For whatever reason, this wall had (2) 2x4 studs backed up to each other (for extra support maybe?), so he re-installed new studs with braces in between them. Then came the drywall- an exciting step for me because you really start to see what it's going to look like!
Of course, we still have to add corner bead, spackle, sand and paint the wall, and add a piece of decorative wood that will act as the countertop to the wall. Phew! The list of things is overwhelming, but the important thing is, we're making progress!: ) So here's where it stands right now: (and yes, you're getting a glimpse of the few other changes we've made, but I'm saving those for another post so this one doesn't become the longest post you've ever read and are not that interested in; ):
It already makes a HUGE difference in how the two spaces feel, and I can tell that we'll be using our dining room in a whole different way in the future.
It makes the kitchen so much larger, it's nuts. Woohoo! I can't wait to get to the fun stuff- decorating! So, tell me, have you ever remodeled a kitchen? Do you have any tried and true tips we should know?
Ouch. That actually makes my eyes hurt a little bit. Now I know that I am so blessed to have a home with a fully-functioning kitchen, so I shouldn't complain too much, but now that we've made some progress in our remodel I can't imagine going back to that.
This is the corner of the kitchen that is getting the biggest transformation. We already knocked out the wall, and took down the cabinets. Then after repairing the half-wall and drywalling, we got down to the fun stuff: painting and stenciling. What? That's not fun for you? You're crazy.: )
The new paint color for the kitchen is the same color we used in one of the stripes in our bathroom makeover — it's Olympic Stormy Weather color-matched in Valspar Premium at Lowes. It's such a pretty color and is so calming. Actually, the other day after we had painted the kitchen, my hubs said,"Our home is starting to feel so calm". Honestly, I wanted to jump for joy and give him a big fat kiss, because that's exactly what I'm going for! I married a good man.
As part of our prize for winning Crafting with the Stars, we each received a stencil from Royal Design Studio. I know, right? So fun! As soon as I picked out my stencil (Large Fabric Damask), I knew what I wanted to do with it. My plan was to hang open shelves on one wall in our kitchen, but I though that an all-over stencil would add so much interest to the wall, and make it go from plain to amazing.
Royal Design Studio offers a whole tutorial on their website, which I actually read thoroughly. I'm usually a"let's give it a go, how hard could it be?" kind of girl, but stenciling was new territory for me and I really didn't want to have to explain to my husband why we needed to repaint the wall if I did it incorrectly. I started out by figuring out the layout. This is one BIG stencil, and it worked out perfectly to do three of each pattern across the wall.
Source: royaldesignstudio.com via Jessica on Pinterest I started on the far left wall and lined up the very edge of the stencil with the end of the wall, so some of the stencil plastic hung off the wall.
Is that gold paint scaring you a bit? Ha! Don't worry, we used this same stencil with gold paint in our most recent Nate Show project (which we can't wait to share with you!). The color I used for my kitchen was one shade lighter than the Stormy Weather- I don't know the name anymore, but if you get the paint chip for stormy weather, it's on there!
Here's what I learned while stenciling: 1. Stenciling is not for the faint of heart! It's very time-consuming and repetitive: each stencil took me about 25-30 minutes to do. 2. To get clean, crisp lines with no drips, use an extremely dry brush. I poured the paint onto a paper plate, dipped the brush, and then dabbed the brush on paper towels until there was almost nothing left on brush. 3. Use a level to keep the stencil repeating in a straight fashion. 4. Don't worry about getting the paint perfectly even througout the stencil, because the variation in darkness creates beautiful depth. 5. All that work is TOTALLY WORTH IT!
It took me stenciling one whole pattern before I figured out exactly how much paint to use without dripping it, but through trial and error, it became easier and I was thrilled with the crisp lines.
The RDS stencils are made of mylar and are so easy to reposition because there are cutouts that you line up with the stencil above/below/next to it.
Seriously, my right arm grew two sizes bigger during this project. I could *almost* qualify for women's body-building.
Once I got down to the back of the counter, I encountered (ha! get it? En-counter-ed) a tricky situation. We decided to pull the cabinet and countertop away from the wall, since we're hoping to replace the countertops and also slide the cabinets down a bit to fill some empty space next to the oven. So.much.easier.
After day one, this is how it looked:
Pretty awesome, huh? I was giddy about it. Really. Then once I finished up the stencil, we hung the shelves back up and were left with this:
We obviously need two more brackets on the upper two shelves, but I'm completely in love. I'm pretty sure this is my most favorite thing I've done in my house to date. You can see in that picture above that we painted the rest of the kitchen. All we have left to do is sand, prime and paint the cabinets, and the kitchen will be pretty close to finished!
You wouldn't believe how my hands are itching to decorate those shelves, but I'm trying to be patient and wait for the brackets. The last thing I need is to explain to my hubs why we need to buy new shelves. (Noticing a trend here?; ) Did you ever take on a project that took forever, but turned out amazing results?
I almost never watch TV mainly because it bores me right to sleep in under five minutes'LITERALLY! One show I discovered last year that bowls me over on Bravo on Tuesday nights is 'Flipping Out' with house flipper turned back to interior designer Jeff Lewis. He's an obsessive-compulsive neat freak/control freak who would be absolutely impossible to live with but watching him is fun.
Kitchen at Valley Oak One House, Jeff's personal home until it sold I got a little curious about his finished designs since you almost never get to see them on his show. The houses are usually under construction and the show seems to be more about Jeff's bizarre behavior rather than his finished work. I could never have a glass refrigerator like the one pictured I would be trying to arrange the contents all the time.
Kitchen at Valley Oak 2 House, Jeff's personal home now but for sale I have to admit his obsessive behavior shows right down to the smallest detail. He designs are clean and open, well laid out and very contemporary, he says his designs are "California Modern" and I'll agree. I know from watching the show Jeff prefers open shelves in place of upper cabinets.
Commonwealth Kitchen by Jeff Lewis While those open shelves look nice they show Jeff doesn't cook. Those shelves don't hold much and people who cook need their stuff. Plus what happens to all that stuff out in the open from cooking grease, the dust? I know I don't want to be cleaning something when I don't need too.
House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year 2010 by Jeff Lewis
House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year 2010, the other half of the kitchen I love this kitchen! Tons of gourmet cook conveniences, nice clean lines with an eating area and sitting area all combined. The only thing I would change is the dining table since I prefer something lower and more intimate when having guests. Love the shot of red in the dining area, every room needs one little surprise.
House at Edgemont, LOVE the gray paint color and how warm this room looks!
Edgemont Living room by Jeff Lewis Perhaps it's just me but what is up with everyone placing the flat screen TV above the fireplace? I thought the fireplace WAS the focal point of the room and the TV with its size takes away from it. Love this room otherwise!
While this living room is masculine looking it's stunning and so clean. While I think this guy is an absolute riot he's also a wonderful designer, shame Bravo doesn't show a little more of his finished designs. What do you think?
This is what the other side of our kitchen looked like when we bought the place. The cutout in the counter was for the dishwasher on wheels. To the right of that was a pea green stove. To the far left, below peach cabinets, was the yellow fridge.
This is after we gutted the room. After sketching out several designs, we realized that the best layout for the kitchen was to keep the sink (with the view), the stove, and the refrigerator in pretty much the same places as they were. And here it is now...
....which is the same angle as the before picture.
It's amazing how much light comes into the kitchen from the living room.
When we designed our cabinets, we purposefully wanted to avoid an overbuilt look. We really wanted this to look like an old farmhouse kitchen — sparse and simple. So we opted to avoid upper cabinets and to not enclose the refrigerator. We also opted to have the counter terminate at the wall.
I ordered this wonderful print of a Matisse still life, which happened to fit perfectly in one of my antique frames. I thought it would be a good piece for the kitchen.
There's no gas line in our neck of the woods. If we opted for gas, we'd have to have a big tank in the yard. This didn't appeal to us at the time, and neither did the added expense, so we stayed with electric. When we started looking for a new stove I told Hubby, whatever we get, it won't be one of those shiny black top ones....and so here you are. But I'm used to it now. We almost placed the stove on the other wall (where the open shelves are now) but we changed our minds at the last minute because I decided that I wanted one wall in the kitchen to be completely pretty. We also didn't want the stove hood obstructing the view. P.S. Rachel over at Raenovate just postedon our farmhouse! Her beautiful blog is one of my favorites as it's, "dedicated to bringing you a glimpse of all things reinvigorated, refreshed and revived."
Voting is closed! To see the winners of Round 1,click here. Check back next Monday, March 18th for Round 2 projects and voting! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to Creating with the Stars 2013! Let the contest officially begin! This season of CWTS is going to be Epic and these Round 1 projects are a clear indication of the insane talent of these contestants! Just a few reminders before we get to the voting… Round 1 Challenge:
Round 1 Prize Package: We have the Best Sponsors for CWTS2013 and here's a reminder of what our Contestants are playing for this week… $50 worth of 31 Gifts products $60 worth of Twysted Yarn products $70 of Henle Headbands products $100 Blog Re-design from 733 Design (who designed all the CWTS logos!) Project featured by HomeTalk We also want to thank Homes.com for being the Official Grand Sponsor of Creating with the Stars!
Without Further Ado… In No Particular Order, Here are the Round 1 Projects…#1- Dresser Turned Modern Sandbox This dresser had no hope. It was in extremely poor shape. I mostly bought it for the legs, but after learning I was in CWTS, I thought I could do something with it. I decided to turn it into a sandbox filled with sand and dirt. What kid does not like sand or dirt?! The issue I have with sand tables is how much of an eye sore they can be. After cutting off an entire level of drawers that brought it down to kid/side table height, I placed sand and dirt inside the top two drawers. When guests come over, I simply place the dresser's top back on covering up the dirt and sand. It is an easy solution that is modern and stylish. Using a friendly exterior paint protects the furniture from the elements. Placing the dresser top on when not in use protects the sand and dirt. The two bottom drawers are functional and can be used for outdoor storage like small plant pots, garden tools, and kid toys. I used a couple of rabbit knobs for fun and green paint for a punch of color.
#2- Little League Lounger I love taking old, crappy stuff and turning it into something that I will actually use! I found an ugly outdoor folding chair at my local thrift store, and knew it would be perfect for my upcycle project. Now, I have a completely re-done"little league lounger" to use at all my boys' baseball games this summer!
Here's what the chair looked like before I worked my magic:
I added all new cream-colored webbing {with a navy pin stripe}, updated the arm rests by re-purposing an old wooden baseball bat, and made a baseball stitch pillow from an old table runner. I love how it all came together!
I can't wait for baseball season to get started so I can use my new chair!
#3- Floor Board Kitchen Island
I love our kitchen, but I've always wanted a big kitchen island where we could hang out. I wanted to take this unused space in our family room and add a table or counter. I had no idea what to use, but all of a sudden, a light bulb went off in my head. I remembered some old floor boards hidden in the basement rafters. They were dusty and worn and perfect. BAM — perfect for an old rustic island! We washed and sanded the boards, and got to work building our new favorite spot.
Add in some painted stools and we now have a space just off the kitchen that is perfect for parties, eating, hanging out, or working on crafts.
#4- Man Chairs Often the"dreaming up" of a new project can be done in my sleep, literally. But execution can feel like a trip to the dentist, one in which I go in for a routine cleaning and find I need a double root canal. The trick to any DIY project is COMMITMENT. Commit to your goal and don't let up no matter how many coats of paint are applied in vain. These previously drab, brown, faux-leather club chairs were purchased on sale for $12 each at a local thrift shop.
A bit of auto upholstery paint, steal tacks, metal coating paint, a couple patinas for good measure and some tough new casters and this thrift store find is ready for"the man".
#5- Tin Tile Mirror So, I'm still totally in shock that I was chosen to be a part of Creating with the Stars. With the first theme being"Upcycle", I wanted to do something a little different. I hit up a local flea market, hoping to find something that screamed my name, and when I saw these vintage tin ceiling tiles, I knew these were it. The fun color that looks so much like patina, the rust, the texture, the scuffed parts revealing the silvery color underneath. LOVE! They were marked $6 a piece, but I offered her $5, and she accepted. So $40 for all 8. Score!
The next stop was Home Depot for wood, and I built a simple frame. Each tile was approx 12x12, so the finished size is 36x36. Not all of the tile sides matched up when I nailed them in, so I'm going to blame the tiles and say that they're wonky, rather than my measuring (which is probably more true). A little paint matching, painting in the gaps, building a frame for a mirror that I picked up at Michaels, attaching the mirror and frame with some glue, and we're almost done.
I had the perfect spot in my hallway that was just begging for some oomph. For under $60, it's a huge statement piece that fits perfectly. I'm thrilled with how it turned out.
#6- Television Stand Upcycled to a Bar When I saw this ugly, 80’s style television stand at our local Goodwill for a whopping $30, my mind immediately started churning with ideas. I’ve been wanting to set up a bar area in our house, and I knew this would be the perfect piece to turn into a bar. It just needed a little (or, um, a LOT) of love!
I added legs and a little stand at the bottom to make it a bit taller, and gave it a few coats of navy paint (and, of course, a stencil to add some fun). I turned the drawers on either side that used to be used for VHS storage into the perfect place to stash a few bottles. And, since most alcohol bottles are all different sizes and shapes, I poured our frequently used ones into uniform glass bottles that I etched with the name – that way I can be sure the bottles fit and they look pretty to boot!
Finally, for a last little touch, I dipped some of our glasses in gold paint to make things a little more sparkly and fun. I’m so happy with how it turned out and I’m loving the extra storage! I can’t wait to put this thing to good use!
#7- Trash Pile Tire Made Trendy Table Early Saturday morning, still bra-less and in my PJs, I drove to a neighbor's house and hurled an old tire from their curb-side trash pile into the back of my car. My plan for the filthy tire was still foggy… as was my pre-coffee brain, but I was determined to turn it into something cool. After a day of deliberation, trial, and error, I determined side table was to be its fate. Let's get upcycling.
I started by giving the tire a scrub with some dish soap. Next, I tried to figure out what to use for legs. Since this tire still has the (very!) heavy rim attached, I needed something sturdy. After contemplating many possibilities, I decided to cut them out of a piece of pine left in my garage from another project. The legs were stained and attached to a plywood circle I cut for the base. Then, I glued the tire on top of that with construction adhesive, and added a smaller circle to the top of the tire to act as the table top.
I covered the entire tire in rope using Liquid Nails and"dipped" the legs in a bright citrus-ey yellow paint. I'm pretty jazzed with how it came out and can't wait to tell people I have an old tire in my living room. Ha!
#8- Vertical Blinds Headboard Why is it that bedrooms are always the last rooms to get decorated? This room had no artwork, no matching furniture, and a mattress sadly sitting on a cheap bed frame. The only good thing about it was that it was prime for a makeover!
When my parents upgraded their patio doors from vertical blinds to curtains, my mom saved the blinds for me thinking I could “make something with them.” Does this happen to all creative types? But Mom was right, those old vertical blinds were the perfect material to make an over sized woven headboard for the bedroom.
A sleek wooden frame hangs so that the headboard almost reaches our 8 foot ceilings, and two spray painted clamp lights provide adjustable lighting for bedtime reading.
Similar, but smaller, woven headboards can cost over $700, but since I re-purposed my materials, this statement-making headboard cost less than 1/10th that much. No more sad, bland bedroom for us! #9- Bicycle Wheel Clock
There are clocks. And then…there areclocks. There are clocks that tick and tock and ring and jingle and tell time underwater and sound an alarm. And then there are clocks made from a bicycle wheel with yardstick ruler hands perched on a chalkboard surrounded by roman numerals above a table strategically styled with a bicycle seat. That is one fine clock.
And the best part? I got the bicycle wheel for free. Can you even believe it? I walked into a bicycle shop and randomly explained to the resident bike expert that I wanted to make a clock and I needed a cute bike wheel that had preferably been around the block a time or two. Wordlessly he stared at me. I don't really know why. I'm sure they get that request all the time.
And then he went to the back where they keep all the spare wheels for people who come in with clock requests and he handed me this bicycle wheel. I totally wish he could see his wheel now. He'd probably charge me for it.: )
#10 Statement Piece Light Fixture
Walking through Habitat ReStore, I spotted a few egg crate diffusers — you know those grates that cover fluorescent lights in basements across the country. It's the last lighting fixture I would consider for a project but once I got around my thoughts of drop ceilings, I began thinking how neat it would be to use the grid to create any square cornered geometric shape that I wanted. At $2 each, what could I lose?
Browsing Pinterest I found this amazing light and fell in love with the arms. It's lines are simple, but make a big impact! Perfect for a statement piece! The egg crate diffuser was cut into the shape of the arms, filled with plaster of paris, sanded and painted. So that the wiring and housing wouldn't compete with the outer arms, I made a simple fixture out of metal tubing, PVC plumbing parts, and a few parts from an existing chandelier. After wiring it (and being elated that it worked!) I installed trim on the ceiling to frame the chandelier, and added a little more interest by painting alternating stripes in ivory and a light gray. Finally, I installed a gallery wall with a few fun pieces!
From a designer's nightmare to an energetic statement piece, this diffuser has come a long way! #11- Lab Station Turned Dining Room Buffet
servin' it up old school… The story of how a lonely old science lab station gained new life as an industrial-style dining room buffet. Once upon a time…on an unusually warm and sunny spring day, I was leisurely browsing a flea market when I spotted this piece and was immediately drawn to it…the color, the rust & patina, it's industrial style, and the fact that it was old and had great visual evidence of it's previous life--lots of it. As I looked closely at the butcher-block top complete with bunsen burner stains, student-carvings (i.e."jennie-loves-alex") and distress-marks galore, I knew that I had to have it--for something, but what that something was, wasn't clear to me at the time. We just had"chemistry"--I could feel it.; ) Luckily, the kind gentleman who I was buying this (very heavy) treasure from was willing to help me get it into my truck…and let me tell you: it. weighs. a. ton. Chapter Two: Fast forward to Project One CWTS: Upcycle. I knew instantly that this sad science lab station was about to have a major career change. I tossed around a few ideas, but pretty quickly decided it would be a fabulous, industrial-style dining room buffet. The hardest part was this: while I love the"vintage-industrial-rusty-patina" look and eagerly welcome it into my house, this was looking a bit too"raw" for my dining room. Well, try googling"how to tone down rust on metal, yet keep just the right amount of color and patina". If there is a tutorial for this…I didn't find it!
Chapter Three: So, I did a little DIY-science-experimenting and discovered a technique to get just the look I was hoping for. After this process I added the casters, the door knobs, stenciled on the quote and stained the butcher-block top. Add some wine, grapes, cheese…and this"new" buffet is all ready to help you eat, drink and be merry.; )
…and she lived happily ever after in my dining room.
#12-From Frumpy to On Fire, Fireplace! When I was told that the first week of Creating With the Stars theme was upcycle I was over the moon excited. Upcycling is my thing. It’s where I get my groove on. And so, it wasn’t a matter of finding something to upcycle; it was a matter of deciding which thing to upcycle. So, I took a tour of my house and gazed at all of the items that needed some good loving. And then, I sat and thought about what I wanted in my home. And, it came to me. Hmm… could I? Would it be possible? Yes… yes, it could!!
I’ve wanted a fireplace forever and ever. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But, you get the gist. And, while this fireplace/bookcase might not be the real thing it fits the bill quite nicely. I was able to create my “fireplace” from an old bookcase that was sitting in my laundry room, a mirror frame that was on it’s way to the trash, and an antique footboard that had lost it’s headboard (poor thing). The bookcase is the most important element; the mirror and footboard helped create awesome and turn the bookcase/fireplace into something spectacular.
I cut the footboard down to size and used it as the “mantel” as well as give the fireplace/bookcase a skirt at the bottom. Scrapbooking chipboard embellishments gilded, painted, and antiqued look like beautiful wood cutouts on the mantel. The trim on the sides of the fireplace/bookcase are pieces of the mirror cut down to size. A chimney that runs the length of my 12 foot wall was created with a simple frame covered in tin. The back of the bookcase was covered in that same tin for added charm. I must say this project exceeded my expectations and far surpassed the image of awesome I had for this project when I started out. I love walking into my home and seeing this and am so pleased waiting forever and ever is over!
Can You Believe That Talent? It's Time to Vote!You can only vote one time, but you can vote for your favorite 3 projects.Before voting, please LIKE EC2 on Facebook. Thanks! If you're having trouble viewing the voting box, click HERE to vote. Don't forget that tomorrow it's your turn to link up your own upcycle project!Thanks for playing along!!
Welcome to my kitchen. You might remember we built about 18 months ago… darn that we weren't blogging back then. It would have been fun to come to all of you for design ideas. Although, after 5 homeless months I was sort of like whatever, just finish the house! Well my kitchen was"fine"… and remember, when I say fine I tend to mean take it or leave it. It was just lacking anything cool. We do have a fun chalkboard backsplash, but the fun ended there.
Last week, we were sitting in our breakfast room, eating dinner (why is it called a breakfast room?) and I was looking out into the kitchen and not thrilled with the view…
This plain wall was screaming at me to do something! I love the barn sale chalkboard, but the wall was blah!
I looked to Eric and said,"Mind if I do an itty bitty project tonight when the kids are in bed?" To which I think he said something like,"Oh boy…" I quickly cleaned up from dinner, grabbed my oldest daughter and ran to Lowes. I needed black paint STAT! (Sidenote: it took the guy at Lowes 40 minutes to mix my black paint. Not exaggerating. I was the only one in line, but it was a hot mess. It sorta deflated my"we're on a mission" mindset, but oh well, I pressed on!) I got home and started gathering supplies… tape: check, paint: check roller: check chalk line… UGH! It got mixed up with Nate Berkus' supplies and it was sitting in NYC. This was almost a deal breaker… I got a little cranky, and then decided to stop being sad and start being awesome!
Source: joyshope.com via Meg on Pinterest That's right… I had chalk and string, so I just sucked up the royal mess and made a chalk line!
Eric was really, really happy about that decision. He loved that it looked like a blue snowstorm in our kitchen! (hehe)
Before snapping lines came the math. Boo math! Lucky for me, not only is the hubs handy, he's also super smart! I told him what I wanted and he handed me this nice, little cheat sheet of measurements. Pharmacokineticist by day… DIY Mathematician by night. SCORE one for me!
We chalked our nicely spaced and pre-measured grid lines
And then I got taping. I will be honest here… taping chevron wasn't my favorite thing ever. Getting the points right isn't hard, just annoying. I used an X-acto knife to get them crisp.
Then I painted. Then I asked Eric to paint the top because I wasn't tall enough. I think I heard him say something like,"How did I know this was going to become an us project?" I think I might have then suggested he change out of his grubby, outdated work jeans, and into something more blog-friendly… yeah, that didn't happen. It was worth a shot!
All painted!
We used our perfect stripe method and had no bleeding lines! SWEET! But, we did have some paint pulled off by the tape, not sure why, but I touched up any imperfections.
I just went back the next morning and did some reverse taping so I could touch up.
There she is… I couldn't love it any more than I do! Well, actually that's a lie. I'm also going to do the wall to the left of it. I wanted to be sure I liked it first. Once both walls are done I'll be fully smitten!
This is my not-so-boring kitchen now. I know chevron (especially in black) isn't for everyone, but I think it's just right for us!
I finally erased my month-old birthday message and added this to my chalkboard…
A Beautiful Mess is one of my favorite blogs and also describes this family of six pretty well. If you haven't checked out Elsie's blog you should, but I'll warn you. It's a love-hate thing for me. She is so adorable, so creative, so stylish, so cool that it makes this nerdy blogger have a little pitty party once in a while, but I keep going back for more. Some of my favorite posts are about her wedding… heart shaped pancakes for the meal… need I say more? Go take a peek! Okay, so there you have it… my new wicked awesome kitchen wall!
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Ahhhhhh…I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Well, kinda. Our kitchen renovation that I've chronicled here, here, here and here, is done…for now! You may remember that it all started like this:
Ugh. That's a sad picture, people. It's not sad anymore, though, just look at it now in all it's *almost* finished glory!
Seriously, that is one big difference! I am absolutely crazy about our open shelves, new kitchen layout and big opening to the dining room. (Although I REALLY wish I made some sort of effort to clean up our dining room before snapping pics! Bad blogger!) I've been decorating and undecorating the shelves for weeks now, and I'm pretty happy with them, so I figured it was about time I shared. This is how they look right now, but I can absolutely guarantee you that they won't stay this way forever, since I crave change after about 4 days of anything staying the same.
The blue and green add just the right pop to my otherwise serene color scheme. I really do love the contrast of the fancy stencil with the trendy aqua blue accents. So fun! Those two round pie plates were wedding gifts, but they're only hanging out there until I can find a tray or something that I love- the blues just aren't perfectly spot on.
Up close and personal:
You've already seen the printable I made, but the plate right next to it is from the Pottery Barn Outlet. Can't get enough of that thing. That and the bird (from Joann's) are the only new things I bought for the shelves. Everything else was gathered from around the house- you got to work with what you have sometimes, right? Ok, I lied. I forgot that I bought this blue vase at a flea market this weekend for $4, and the mugs came from Ikea.
I have been scouring the stores to find dish towels that I liked and that matched the kitchen, and couldn't find anything that wasn't chevron (no offense to all you chevron-lovers out there, but I'm just not on that bandwagon!), but I found this one at Kmart! Yes, I was shocked too.: ) Cute, cute, cute!
I'm showing you this picture of all our mail for two reasons: 1) I just got this mail sorter from Kmart and it's a lifesaver. Really. All that stuff used to just lay on my counter making my already frazzled brain even more frazzled (if that's possible), and 2) See that uncovered outlet? I didn't even realize it didn't have a cover on it until I looked at this picture. It's so ridiculous what you get used to living with, and then start to ignore. *Fingers crossed that that baby EVER gets a cover.*
Here's a view of the other side of the kitchen:
We finally cut and hung two more open shelves to house our microwave. I gotta tell you, I so enjoy the extra space on the counters now that thing is off of it. So roomy! And if you're wondering about that crack in the counter, it's there because we moved a cabinet and it's counter from it's original spot on the other side of the fridge. It'll stay like that until we upgrade our countertops, and then it'll be seamless. Technically, I could hide the seam using a painting method a friend told me about, but, honestly, there are so many other things I'd rather be doing with my time.; )
I'm thrilled that, after 8 years of marriage, I can finally easily access my china. What a nice surprise to see that it actually works really well with my damask stencil and the colors in the kitchen. Woohoo for happy accidents!
Oh yes! I almost forgot that we installed this new light fixture above the window, and it's stinkin' awesome. Forget about all the additional light it gives off, it's adorable!
***Update: Several people have asked where I got this light. It's Allen + Roth from Lowes.
And finally, a view from the hall. I'm contemplating adding simple, wooden blinds to the window because it seems a bit bare. Anyone have thoughts about that? Should I or shouldn't I?
So now I've promised my husband that I'll tackle only really easy projects that don't involve him for a while.: ) I think this room has come a long way, and it just feels so much more like me. After a few annoying touchups on paint, fixing some broken tile and installing one more light switch, this pretty baby will be complete. Phew! Next week I'll show you what I finally decided about the curtain situation on the other side of the room.
Next on my agenda? A dining room redesign! I can't wait to show you what I have up my sleeve.
So, what's your favorite part about my new kitchen? Color scheme, open shelving, white cabinets, something else entirely?
Okay one last picture of the kitchen. This is the only picture I happened to take of the old kitchen showing the upper cabinets. They went all the way to the ceiling, so it wasn't easy to capture them standing in the kitchen itself. This photo was probably taken within hours of owning the house because we started tearing things apart that same day. Notice the plaster falling off the ceiling from an old leak, the pea green industrial carpeting (which ended up preserving the old oak floors beautifully), the 60's style linoleum (which preserved the old fir floors beautifully), the plastic partition that was hung in the threshold (those were in every threshold)....wow, it takes me back. We had so much work ahead of us at this point and were pretty much naive on how hard that work was going to be!
Here's the after, taken a few days ago. What we did....replaced entire living room plaster ceiling with new drywall (this wasn't a choice), added new crown moulding to both kitchen and living room, exposed original oak floors in living room and fir floors in kitchen, decided to forgo the plastic partition, new kitchen cabinets, spackled lots and lots of cracks in the original plaster, used lots and lots of paint....and needed patience, patience and more patience.
This past Sunday I attended a baby shower for my older sister at her mother-in-law's house in Lititz, PA. If you don't know where Lititz is, it's right in beautiful Lancaster County. Honestly, if I had to move out of Bucks County, you could find me in Lancaster. I really love the charm and old-world feel. Anyway, Mrs. W. (the mom-in-law) has lived in the same house her entire life, with the exception of only six years. It's a lovely old farmhouse that has undergone several renovations. One such renovation occurred in the seventies, and transformed the house into one with wood paneling and shag carpet. In the nineties, however, the W's started making some changes to update the look, while trying to preserve the good bones of the farmhouse. This wasn't easy, since the previous renovation had gotten rid of the great deep-silled windows and some of the other important historical pieces. That brings us to three years ago, when Mrs. W. decided she had enough with the small, enclosed rooms and decided she would knock down some walls to form what is now her gorgeous kitchen. This is where my kitchen envy comes in. Just take a look for yourselves:
The house has high ceilings- I don't know, maybe 10 feet high- which just adds to the spaciousness of the kitchen. I couldn't get enough of the stove area, the hood above it and the mantle/shelf mounted to the hood. And the backsplash is beautiful as well.
There are soooo many cabinets, so there's plenty of room to store all your dinnerware, your neighbor's dinnerware, their friend's china and a small child. Also, check out the double wall ovens! {Swoon} I have no need for double ovens since I try my hardest to never have to bake anything, but it's still swoon-worthy as far as nice kitchens go.
On the opposite wall of the work area and across the kitchen, there are these gorgeous built-ins. They honesetly look like big, beautiful pieces of furniture.
Here's a glimpse of the entire length of the kitchen, including the 10 foot-ish island in the middle.
You may wonder why I would take a picture of the sink, but did you happen to notice that it's copper??!! So cool!
The entry has a copper-paneling ceiling which was fabulous, as well. I had to stop taking pictures because I feared that the W family might think I was crazy and I didn't want to be the cause of any issues between my sister and their in-laws. That would not be good.
On a side note, check out these adorable cupcakes that my sister's sister-in-law made for the baby shower. She made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing and vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate icing, both of which were delicious. The cupcake toppers came from here and were the perfect addition since they were going with a safari-theme.
Too cute!
Have you ever wanted to take pictures of other people's houses, or am I the only strange one?
New here? You can check out our kitchen demolition here.
Imagine with me for a minute…See this soffit?
Imagine with me that that soffit is no longer there. There would be no interruption from the countertops to the ceiling, and as a result, the ceiling would seem so much higher. Nice, right? It would be so open and clean.
I could hang the cabinets from the ceiling, which would increase the space between them and the countertop. You with me? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Ok, good. Because here goes:
First we removed all the upper cabinets (and by"we", I most definitely mean my hubs). We were amazed at what we found behind those cabinets- apparently the homeowners before us did their own DIY with painted tiles, framed by a sharpie marker! Plus, there's a vent that was hooked up to the microwave that we realized we need to take care of, as well.
I did loads of research on removing soffits, since this is our first big demo/remodel, and everyone said the same thing: make a small hole in the drywall and check to see if there is any wiring or pipes behind the soffit. In a lot of cases, soffits have no real structural function, but are there so you could hang cabinets from them. If you notice, new construction homes almost never have soffits in the kitchen. Luckily for us, there is a recessed light in our soffit, so we were able to remove it and get a good view into the interior of the soffit.
Since it's a pretty small hole, we stuck our small digital camera up in the soffit and took a few pictures in each direction to make sure all was clear. It worked like a charm and I was thrilled to see that there wasn't anything there but insulation!
Also, a bunch of people said that soffits aren't always made of drywall, but could also be plywood, which is why we weren't afraid when we saw this:
So, we kept on ripping things out (while trying hard to ignore the mouse droppings- Eew!) Then, when we were all done, my hubs said he thought that maybe this big beam in the front might be load-bearing beam that runs along the entire length of the back of the house. Ahhhhh!!! Noooooo!!!!
This is when we called in the experts, ie: my father-in-law and my parent's genius handyman, Robert. While we waited for them to come, I spent a few days trying to decide how I felt about have no upper cabinets.
I decided that I really liked it, but after stewing over it, I also came to the conclusion that it wasn't really practical for us since I removed the upper cabinets on the other side of the kitchen. My new plan for this side of the kitchen is a combination of cabinets and open shelving that I'll share with you as we get closer to it. (Believe me, LOTS has to happen before that).My hubs also spackled the wall, and painted it the new gray/tan in anticipation of the next step.
Well, you guessed it, we did find out that the beam was load-bearing like my hubs suspected and needed to stay in place. So, (and this is so sad, and yes, I know my hubs is a saint!) my hubs went to work drywalling the soffit back in, with the help of Mo's husband, Eric. Poor guy. But, we were able to remove the recessed lighting kit and install a pendant light kit. Woohoo! I can't wait to pick that baby out!
Even though we had a really big I'll be trying to make it up to my hubs for a long time minor setback, we did make some progress elsewhere. When we moved the oven to the other side of the kitchen and slid the fridge in it's place, we were left with this small cabinet space to the left. It was not functional at all, and it really made that side look disjointed.
We removed the counter from the wall, and then moved the whole thing over to the other side of the refridgerator, giving us more counter space to the right.
There is, of course, a crack between the two countertops, that, we're told can easiliy be masked with some paint that matches the counter brushed on the crack and then wiped away. You'll still notice it, but it won't scream out at you, and we don't plan on keeping this countertop forever (hopefully not past this year!). Here's where we are right now:
I have to admit that my 3 year old took this picture, but what can I say? She has a good eye! Ok, take a deep breath. That's all for now.: )
With Hubby out of town all week, I decided to paint our kitchen walls. But let me just say (in case I've implied otherwise), that I absolutely dread painting. I think by far the hardest part for me is just getting started. For example, I put on my calender "Paint Kitchen Tuesday." Wednesday came and about 5pm, I called my Mom and said, "ugh, I have to paint the kitchen today....at some point." It was 6pm before I started and almost midnight before I finished.
I painted the walls Simply White (eggshell finish), which is the color we used on the cabinets, shelves and trim (in semi-gloss). With a fresh clean slate, I then experimented with creating a not so kitcheny kitchen! Jennifer over at The Newlywed Diaries inspired me with this post! As I began gathering up some not-so-kitcheny items, I started to gravitate towards all things white, silver and wood.
I added a clock, some candlesticks, an alabaster bud vase that I put toothpicks in (to add some wood) and my sweet little owl figurine.
I didn't spend very much time on arranging things — can you tell? I sort of began with the basics of all the whitewear dishes and drinking glasses we'd be using on a regular basis. To balance out those kitchen items, I added my Grandmother's old candelabra, her big silver tray and her old little lamb print....oh, and her old owl print that I reframed. xo I tried to break away from my previous tendency to create too much symmetry. I still tried to balance things out, but in a more irregular way.
I like how the light reflects on the silver things.
I also really love my owl figurine.
And look, here we are....I think this will be Hubby's favorite not so kitcheny addition to our shelves. xoxo
But Michelle, from Ten June created this Garden Wall which totally inspired me. I've been noticing a lack of greenery in my house (mostly because I don't take care of the few plants I do have) and wanted to rectify that, so I decided to try my hand at creating a garden wall in my kitchen. My internal self warned me that I should only do this if I promised that I would take care of the poor, terrified plants. So I made a deal with my internal self, and off I went!
According to Michelle, Ikea had some great containers that could be hung on the wall. She used the galvanized steel buckets, but after perusing the container isle for a while, I decided that these darling white ASKER containers would be perfect for my kitchen. (Recently, I've been consumed with thoughts of making everything white in my house. I'm not kidding. And I just might do it.) The holes in the backs of the containers makes it so easy to hang on the wall! I love when things are easy.
Lucky for me, Ikea also sells potted plants. I didn't have to go anywhere else to get all I needed for this project, because knowing me, if I did, you wouldn't be seeing this post until 2015. Please, oh please, oh please, don't ask me which succulents I bought. I don't know their names, but I do know for sure that I bought the one second from the left in the picture above. I've decided that I love succulents because they require virtually no care (they need to be watered only once per week, and thrive on indirect, but not hot, sunlight). Plus they are so unique and sculptural-looking!
The wall I used is very narrow, so I went with three plants in a vertical line. I wasn't too concerned with the containers being the exact same distance away from each other because I knew the height of each plant would make it look off anyway. (I'm the one who doesn't need perfection, remember?) I went with two dark green, and one light green plant to add some interest.
Here's a view of the kitchen coming in from the garage. The color in our kitchen is same throughout, but it looks so different in this picture! The most true representation of the color is the one the plants are on. The garden wall adds such a fresh pop of white and green to an otherwise un-remarkable wall. It doesn't overwhelm you when you see it, which makes me happy.
I love how flush they are to the wall! (And by the way, we hung them using white picture hangers.)
You might have noticed these pretty little ladies sitting on my kitchen peninsula. These were a gift from my hubs for Mother's Day, and even though they are now over a week old, they are so beautiful! I loved the colors and the antique look they have. You should have seen them a couple of days ago! Really, they took my breath away. Call me old-fashioned, but it's always SO nice to have fresh flowers in my house. Do you have plants in your house? If so, what's your favorite kind?
I've never bought a rug. Ok, that's not completely true: I've bought a bath mat. Does that count? And sadly, I'm probably a long way from purchasing one, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming. Thank goodness that a lack of funds doesn't keep you from dreaming. Can I get an amen? In my dream kitchen, I would have a gorgeous rug in the"breakfast area". Let me remind you of the direction I'm heading in with my kitchen:
I'm on the lookout for a reasonably-priced rug that will bring in some light blue/aqua into the room with accessories and the rug. My first stop was RugsUSA. If you're not careful, you can get get swallowed up in an abyss of beautiful rugs and lose a few hours of your life, but thankfully, I came out alive with a few rugs I would love to have grace the floor of my kitchen.
Of course, this Morrocan Trellis Rug is out of stock. But so pretty, right?
This Keno Bold Floral Rug in Slate is my favorite of the whole bunch, and is 50% off right now! Only $120 for a 5x8 makes this beauty a great deal. It would look so fabulous in my kitchen because it sort of mimics the design of my stencil (the two would be across the room from each other, so the two patterns wouldn't conflict.) Love it.
It's pretty obvious that I love stripes. Combine that with a nautical navy color, and this Boardwalk Stripe Rug is right up my alley. It would take my kitchen in a bit of a different direction as far as color goes, but I just might want to do that! (Considering I change my mind every 30 seconds…:)
You probably have seen this rug before because it's a pretty popular Ikea rug called the Gislev Rug. Why is it so popular, you ask? It costs only $20 for a 6x4 rug! What?!! Besides being so affordable, our bloggy friend, Mandi, tweaked this rug with a little bit of paint and it looked amazing, so I'm pretty sure I could add some blue and it would be just right.
This Bogart Flat-Weave Wool Rug from Garnet Hill features a modern interpretation of the Moorish Tile pattern and comes in several glorious colors. And it's on sale too! Plus, this was one of Oprah's favs so you know it's pretty cool. Duh.
What about a DIY Rug? Jamie, from The Creative Imperative, sewed several Ikea table runners together to make one large rug for only $35! That's seriously tempting, people!
Painting plain rugs is pretty popular in blogland right now, but this Painted Rug by Hayley Anderson really caught my eye:
Again this rug is from Ikea, and you know I wouldn't use chevron (I've shared my feelings for chevron here), but the possibilities are endless if you're willing to tackle the project yourself. But isn't that the truth for everything?; )
Am I the only person who has never purchased a rug?
******************************* PS- Hey, this is Monica… I'm hacking into Jess' post. I need to throw out a plea for help. I need 2 BIG rugs. I have been looking for rugs larger than 10x12. My living and dining rooms have been waiting for rugs for eighteen months! So if you have any good, reasonably priced sources, let me know!!
Phew! Can you believe that 2012 is over already? We are gearing up for an unbelievably awesome 2013 filled with lots of fun and exciting things for this little blog (we'll share those with you tomorrow!), but we thought we'd take some time to round up our favorite projects from each month in 2012. Take a look, let us know what you think, and pin it if you like it!
January Monica's Fav: I loved going green in 2012! Not really in the earthy-crunchy way, but by adding a pop of color to my collection of ornate frames. These Green Granny Frames had a fun impact on my dining room!
Jess's Fav: I breathed some new life into our New and Improved Entryway by adding a striped accent wall and a big gallery wall.
February: Jess' Fav: This project injected what can only be called Stencil Happiness into my kitchen renovation. Thanks to an awesome stencil from Royal Design Studio, my kitchen now has style for miles!
Monica's Fav: I took a bit of a risk and got personal with all of you by sharing my Game of Love Perfect Valentine's Gift. You ladies sure loved it, because it became our #1 post of 2012! Stay tuned for this year's version- it'll be on the blog on Monday!
Since 2012 was a leap year, I get to add another for February! This post went live on 2/29 and it's such a time saver in our house! Once a Month Sandwiches
March Jess' Fav: This Giant Shaped Frame is by far my favorite project from 2012! I'm pretty sure there is no better way to dress up your wall for this crazy low price. This is a big impact project, people. *I also have to nominate this one too! Jess and I had no idea how successful this project was going to be when we created it- we sure love Staples Prints! -Mon*
Monica's Fav: I love the BIG impact my Chevron Wall made in my kitchen. It's packed with personality and was pretty easy to paint!
April Jess' Fav: My hubs and I surprised my daughter with this Playhouse Loft Bed for her fourth birthday. It was totally worth it, because she and my son play in it all the time. I'm all for a DIY project that keeps the kids happy and occupied! *wink*
Monica's Fav: My Front Door got a major face lift with a super cool color and house numbers that are so my style!
May Jess' Fav: We started our kitchen renovation in December and were finally ready to do the big Kitchen Reveal in May. Of course, I'm still tweaking it, but this room makes me super happy. It's filled with tons of DIYs like painting the cabinets, stenciling the wall, making a fabric shade pendant light, painting color-blocked curtains and adding a fab rug.
Monica's Fav: Warm weather meant it was time for some outdoor projects! I loved how simple and inexpensive these DIY Planters were. Even now, they have winter pansies and look great on my front porch!
June Jess's Fav: I love the ability to customize things and this Fabric Floorcloth let me create the perfect mat for my entryway!
Monica's Fav: Jess and I completed our Super-Fab Guest Room Makover. We loved everything from the shutter headboard, fun accessories, and of course the houndstooth stenciled wall! We also had a blogger's dream come true when Young House Love featured our makeover!
July Jess: My son turned 2 this month so I showed you how I made his custom invitations using digital scrapbook paper and picmonkey. How to Make Custom Printables became one of our top posts- you guys obviously love free things!: )
Monica's Fav: While we were busy finishing up our patio project, I also worked on an Outdoor Furniture Upcycle
August Jess' Fav: We took our house exterior from boring to awesome by painting the front door and shutters. Hello Curb Appeal!
Monica's Fav: August was when I pulled off a birthday surprise for my hubs with a Garage Mudroom Makover I'm still loving the organization and how it's actually functional for this family of 6!
September Jess: It's a tie! I just can't decide between Stenciled Faux-Tile Fireplace & Planked Wall with Exposed"Stud' Shelves. Both of these guys transformed the room and I'm in love with them!
Monica's Fav: I went a little outside the box with my Shut the Front Door — Foyer Update. It's still one of my favorite things in my house.
October Jess: Our dining room has been slowly undergoing a transformation and my refinished dining table fits perfectly in the new space! Refinished Dining Room Table
Monica's Fav: In October, we had our DIY Patio Reveal! It was a HUGE DIY project, but we saved tons of money doing it ourselves and the end result was pretty awesome!
November Jess's Fav: I love Mr. Berkus and didn't think he would mind me knocking off one of the items from his new line- the Rope-Wrapped Hurricane Vase. Want to know a secret? I like mine better.: )
Monica's Fav: During a road trip to visit one of my best gal pals, I whipped up a Fireplace Makeover in her new house. It's a super-simple way to get rid of that brass fast!
December Jess: This project was honestly a surprise to me. It came out so much better than I ever thought it would! The Wood Slice Wreath is the perfect winter decoration.
Monica's Fav: Just in time for Christmas Jess and I made this Illuminated Silhouette Art. It looked great next to my Christmas tree, and now I'll be swapping out the silhouette for a lovey-dovey Valentine's quote!
One thing that stands out to us the most this year is how thankful we are for YOU! We so appreciate your comments, emails and faithful visits to our blog. Here's to another crazy, fun year!
I have big plans for our kitchen. Plans that include painting the cabinets (which we had previously stained. Ugh. Not my favorite thing to do), putting in butcher block countertops, and getting appliances that actually match. Right now we have a white fridge, cream oven, black microwave and black dishwasher. All fully functioning but not aesthetically pleasing, by any means. However, my big plans have to wait until it fits in our budget. (I'm crossing my fingers for the year 2015.: ) So, in my opinion, a cheap update was in order.
These are the curtains we have had hanging on our slider door/window since we moved in three years ago. Again, fully functional, but a little boring. We received a few things in Nate's Crate that we didn't use (or at least not all of it), that worked perfectly for the feel and direction I'm heading in with our kitchen. So, why not put the free stuff to good use? Brilliant idea, Jessica.: )
Tada! With the help of my handy mom, we now have great new curtains for the slider and the window above the counters in my kitchen. Woohoo!
Not only are they functional since they close over the entire window, but they're cute and fun!
We hung this valance all the way up at the soffit and the entire width between both counters in an effort to make the window look larger. It worked!
Tia Zoldan's awesome kitchen in High Gloss I am so doing this — painting my kitchen door gray. Doesn't it just make this kitchen? try to imagine it white....just not the same. I'll be getting a new french door in my kitchen soon. I'm thinking:
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