Bye bye, Tudor

So we bought this really cool, and really damaged, 1928 Tudor house at the end of 2012 and moved in in January of 2013. We did a LOT to it over the three and a half years we lived there.

 Alas, our time there ran its course and we said goodbye. 


We painted every inch of it. re-plumbed the ENTIRE house. Replaced the plumbing line from the road to the house (water pressure was AMAZING after that!), replaced the old fuse box with a proper breaker box (thanks for the box, Dad!), and wired the attic for electricity.

We took the kitchen down to studs and took it from this...

to this...

The dining room was a thing of beauty. 

Before

After

Moving Day

I changed the living room more times than I can count. 

Before

After - close up 

We finally brought the furniture from the upstairs family room downstairs to the living room. I'll admit this was my favorite arrangement for this room. Too bad we waited so long to do it! 

My view from the chair by the fire. 

Moving Day

Both girls shared this room. Half bath through the door.

Moving Day

This was originally the family room - the only room in the house that was done from the get go. I like sitting rooms on the second floor. They are more private and familiar than rooms on the main floor.

As the kids got older, we moved our son in here.

Moving Day

The smaller picture looks bluer than it really was. It was darker like the picture on the right.

Overall, we liked living there and it will be missed. But it was time for the next adventure. 

This door is one of the things I miss the most. And the bathroom...

Magnetic Chalkboard

So I had this blank wall in my kitchen. It's just across the island with the cooktop, so I look at it while I'm cooking. I could've put a tiny piece of furniture there, like a small pie safe, but I didn't really want to and besides, I didn't have a pie safe, so I scratched that idea.

I could have done a painting, but I already had one on the other side of the room. So, I did this.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Some people love it. Some people think it's stupid. No one has told me they hate it, but they could just be being polite...

In case you haven't figured it out yet, it's a magnetic chalk board. I painted a large rectangle of black magnetic paint (3 coats) and covered that with black chalkboard paint (2 coats). I was going to paint some pretty scroll work on the top and bottom or maybe in the corners, like a frame, but I got burned out with the 5 layers of paint I had already done - and the 24 hours between coats required for the magnetic paint.We can write notes and make lists and leave numbers to call each other on, etc., and hang things with magnets. 

Of course that is all lovely in theory, but in reality the chalk board doesn't wash very clean and the magnet part isn't very strong, so if I had it to do over again, I would buy a large chalk board or make a stronger one on a separate piece of wood. As it stood, 5 layers on my drywall seemed like enough...

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!!!

Scary Kitchen

If you've ever read this blog before, you know I like cheerful kitchens. That knowledge should make this kitchen doubly horrifying.

Now this first picture might not seem so bad, but know that the counter in front of the window is only about as deep as a toaster oven. Apparently it was shortened to make space for the dishwasher.








This is the counter just next to it. Notice the maroon wallpaper with fluffy teal trees interspersed with geese wearing bows. (more close ups of wall paper later)

 Here's the whole room shot. That's my husband and daughter in the middle. The ceilings are high, just over 9 feet, and the sad ceiling fans come with. Those cabinets are solid wood, form the very bottom all the way to the ceiling is just one long piece. The floor is brown porcelain tiles. they are very slick, as I learned last week when I stepped on a fallen cookie sheet and slid all the way down until I met said tiles with my derriere.

The floor is so patterned and brown that you can't even see what you're sweeping, you just keep going in the same direction and hope you're getting it all.

Here's the best part! Just next to the kitchen is what used to be a hallway and is now a hallway AND a bathroom! Talk about multi-tasking! That doorway leads to the half bath (which you can see) and to the left is a door to the basement and a door leading outside to the side of the house.

This is the view when you come in the side door. Literally. You open the door, and this is what you see. At least you don't have far to go if you've been holding it in the car!

Cozy Kitchen

I no longer live in this house - we sorta move a lot - but I always loved this kitchen. Mostly because of the window seat I had built for a total of $40 in materials and I bartered the labor. I am a firm believer that anywhere there is a window in a nook, there can and should be a window seat.

What is more wonderful than having all the comforts of being inside (like AC in August and heating in January), but feeling like you're outside? This was my favorite place to read, check email, do puzzles, you name it. The cornflower blue table with turned legs gives it a cottage-y feel, as do the plates on the inner walls and the bubble curtain - Target's Simply Shabby Chic line for $16. I bought the foam and fabric for the cushions and pillows at Joann's when it was on sale and/or I had a coupon. The foam was the most expensive part, but altogether it cost about $75. Totally worth it for my favorite place EVER!

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.)