Scrub a dub dub!

When we moved into the house this was the only bathroom downstairs. It faced an outside door and was right next to the kitchen, technically where my refrigerator is now. The toilet is in what used to be a closet. See the framing? Our best guess was that because the couple who lived here was elderly and could no longer use the stairs, they rigged this for them. At least, I hope that's why they did it...

So it got gutted. Thankfully. But we didn't want guests (or ourselves - I'm a bit lazy) going upstairs to use the loo all the time, so we had to find space for a bathroom on the main level. The obvious (and really only) choice was the living room. We carved out a space in the corner by the stairs and put in a new bathroom.

Because of the shape of the room (a long-ish rectangle), it's hard to get it all in one picture.

I got tile at a discount place in Columbia - I don't know what it's called but I was told to find it by following the water tower, so there you go. 

I'm not sure if the green stripes were wise or not. Feel free to weigh in on that. Since I saved on the tile and tub, I went with a higher grade faucet and shower head - I HATE cheap bathrooms. The tile stretches higher than usual. Partially because I'm a little tall and I hate feeling like a giant in spaces, but mostly because the higher the tile goes, the less likely you are to have water damage to the drywall surrounding your tub.

That shower curtain is actually a big patchwork of pieces, almost like a finished quilt top, that I got at a yard sale 7 years ago for $2!!! It's been a tablecloth, curtain, and now shower curtain. Waste not, want not.

The sink is a table that I bought at a yard sale for $10 8 years ago. It had zebra painted legs and a giraffe spotted top. I painted it white and used it as a night stand for years. I was looking for something different for this bathroom, but I couldn't find a base I wanted, so I painted it green and had the contractor drill holes in this table. The bowl is an individual piece bought at Lowe's - $80, I think. The faucet was pricey at $125, but isn't it pretty? The cost of the entire vanity was only $215, and you can hardly find one cheaper than that, and definitely not a custom one that no one else has. There's a little bit of storage beneath for towels or a basket filled with random bathroom supplies. And the beauty of the green base is that it is solid wood so it can easily be repainted to change the color scheme.

The small shelf behind the faucet holds soap and candles and folded hand towels. It was made to hide the plumbing for the sink.

Both the walls and trim in here are white, Marscapone by Benjamin Moore. It's one of my favorite whites and is used in several places throughout the house. It's clean without being cold, simple but not bland, and somehow warm without actually becoming cream. I recommend it all the time and it hasn't failed me once.

The floors are wood, which is fine for a guest bath or simple powder room, but for a bathroom that gets a lot of wear, I wouldn't recommend it. Or maybe just not if the people using it aren't neat freaks. I always check it after anyone takes a shower to make sure there is not water on the floor. I am seriously considering painting it to give it another coat of water-proofing. The poly on it is pretty thick, but still...

The toilet is in a little nook. It gives it a feeling of more privacy and creates more maneuverability around the tub. The commode is that new two-option low-flow kind, so it saves water and refills faster, etc. The switch on the left is for the fan.

Because this bathroom is next to the living room (I know, not an ideal location but options were limited), the walls are insulated. You can't even hear the shower running when the door is closed.

And of course what bathroom is complete without a little Audrey?

Kitchen Evolution

So you probably saw my Scary Kitchen post before. It was super crowded, had a lovely view of a toilet when you walked in the door, and it was covered in three layers of wallpaper.





I don't know about you, but I think all refrigerators should jut into the doorway. It adds character, don't you think? Okay, to be fair, when this house was built (1928), they probably had an old school ice box that was significantly smaller than modern refrigerators, if they had one at all. But still...

First was this gorgeous bit of artistry. I especially like the bows on the necks of the geese. It reminds me of some carved wooden decorations my mother had in our kitchen in the '80s.


Beneath that bit of fun was this retro paper. I have to admit that I like it in a granny sort of way. The colors are cheerful and something about it reminds me of Strawberry Shortcake - the show, not the food.










And we can't forget the lovely porcelain tile on the floor - hiding not one, but two layers of linoleum,  a sparkly yellow one and a deep red with black scroll-work. Textured, filthy, and impossible to keep clean, not to mention the slickest thing you've ever stepped on. I lost track of how many times someone slipped and fell on this floor.




You can see here yet another layer of wallpaper, a brown gingham, beneath the Strawberry Shortcake paper. The slatted wood is called lath. It is what the plaster is affixed to and is extremely sturdy, lasts forever, and is excellent insulation. It is also a massive paint in the butt to remove.












Alas, it all had to go. We gutted the kitchen completely. And I mean completely. All the way down to studs. Even the wall you see here came down. We even removed the toilet that faced the kitchen door. Sad, but necessary.

This is the same angle as the picture above. The near right corner is the dining room doorway, the far left corner has the basement and outside doors. The header (large beam on the ceiling) adds support to where the wall used to be.

This is the opposite corner. The doorway on the left (half covered by a sheet of plywood) is the dining room doorway. The door on the right leads to the laundry room and then outside.

Then came drywall and cabinets. I wanted beams on the ceiling so we left the header exposed and put in long 2x6s a few feet over to make another. The first one helps with support, but the second is just decorative. They got clad in cedar a few days later.



I got a big honking island complete with extra large drawers, two of which are super deep. Deep enough to hold several mixing bowls and ALL my storage containers, aka glass tupperware.

A pantry where the squished refrigerator used to be...

Some paint...

 A chandelier...

(You can measure time by how big this baby has gotten. I refer back to the first kitchen post...)

And finally, she was DONE!!!

The outer cabinets are painted Linen White from Benjamin Moore, the island is Black Jack, light blue walls are Cumulus Cotton. I never choose a paint that I don't like the name of. It's bad juju. 

You can see the finished beams here - the cedar planks look amazing and you can't tell they aren't solid cedar - excellent trick to save money.

Stone backsplash and an iron sink bought secondhand. That thing weighs a TON!!! Because I saved on the sink ($40 at ReStore), I splurged on the hardware and got a swanky Moen faucet that looks sculptural and gorgeous against my stone backsplash. I could look at it all day. *sigh*

Brand new windows that open from the top and bottom with no cross bars to mess with my clean lines, solid butcher block top on that island, beadboard around the island and on the ends of the cabinets.

I AGONIZED over the floor plan of this kitchen. Knocking out the wall gave us 4 extra feet, but it still wasn't huge. I am a firm believer in design over space, so I got graph paper and did scale drawings for HOURS until I hit on something I thought couldn't be improved on. 

In my family, one person is usually doing the food preparing or cleaning with the occasional "helper", while everyone else is hanging out talking to the preparer (usually me), or  people drift in to get a snack while someone else is cooking. So this is what I did: The sink, double oven, stovetop, and dishwasher are all within a few feet of each other. And most importantly, they are insulated from the rest of the room. The pantry cupboard is in the back left corner and the fridge in the back right in this photo. So someone can come in, from any of the 4 doors into this room, and pass through or get a drink or a snack without disturbing the person doing the cooking.

There is also seating at the island - 3 adults or 4 kids. It's a medium sized bordering on big kitchen, but it has a lot of counter space, great work flow, and designated paths that keep everything moving and working like it should. I LOVE IT.

I made this little shelf with my own two hands. It isn't perfect, but I was really proud of myself. I got a plank at Lowe's and they cut it to size for me, as well as the little bit of trim I got for the front. I wanted to do trim all the way around but I don't know how to do 45 angles and so it's weird like this. I got the brackets and the wine glass holders at Lowe's, too. I painted all the wooden pieces the same color as the cabinets and screwed the brackets to the board and the wine glass holders into the bottom of the shelf. I glued the trim piece on with wood glue. If you look closely, you can see where it went a little crooked on the end, but no one has ever said anything about it, so...

I did cheat and get my husband to put the wall brackets in for me, so this will technically hold 50 pounds or something like that, but I did the majority of it myself.

In case you're wondering, those giant glass jars came from Wal-Mart and they are FABULOUS. Easily the most fabulous things I've ever bought there.

The chandelier was second hand - I seriously love it. Enough that I am considering swapping it out for a different one and taking it with me when I sell this place...

View from the corner by the basement and outside doors. The floor is laminate because I have 3 children and it's easy to clean. The ceiling has pot/can/recessed lights on 3 different switches: The main switch turns on 5 lights, there is another for the light over the sink, and another for the one by the door, directly over the camera in this shot. The chandelier is on its own switch as well. What can I say? I like lighting options.

So there you have it. Dungeon kitchen turned bright and cheery. Thank God!!!

Cheap Fix

Hate your kitchen? Wish you had a new kitchen? One that has personality and flair and is just more you? New cabinets are very expensive, and new cabinet doors are also pricey. New knobs are a good option, but do not always make a big enough impact and depending on the style, can cost a pretty penny. Time to look at other options - like a paint treatment on your cabinets. Check these out.

Now, if pink's not your thing, envision this in classic black on natural wood, or blue or even Kelly green. If you like funky, think purple or lime or turquoise on wood or white or even another painted color backdrop.

Once you've picked your poison, you'll need a pencil and a ruler, some tape, a brush and paint and you're set. Here's how to make diamonds (or harlequin for you fancy pants out there) without swanky geometric implements: Measure the width of the cabinet and put a pencil mark halfway. Example: the cabinet is 12 inches wide, mark at 6 inches. Measure the height and put another mark halfway. Example: 22 inches high, mark at 11 inches. Do this for all 4 sides of the cabinet. Place the ruler between the mark in the center of the top and one of the side-center marks and draw a line. Repeat this with all four points going around the edge, like connect-the-dots and the end picture should be a diamond. Go inside the box if your cabinets are not flat faced, all the way to the edge if they are.

 For the stripes, the easiest way is to use painters tape in the desired stripe width. Start on the end with a taped space, no tape, tape, no tape... you get the idea.

Once you're all marked, tape your lines and paint inside them. Once the darker/fun color has dried, paint a layer of base coat over top - in this case white - and use another dry brush to go over it and remove roughly 40% of the paint. This will give it a streaked, white-washed look. Let it dry, take off the tape, and voila!

This project took me 2 afternoons and cost $8 for a quart of hot pink paint. That's a seriously cheap, high-impact change. And the best part? If you get tired of it, it's super easy to paint back over it with white. (Which I did when I sold the house - only took an hour.)