Dining Room

This might be my most favorite room in the entire house. It's seriously high drama. Needless to say, this room and I get along very well. 

I love this archway. This is the view from the living room. The walls are a brown/black I had custom mixed, a take off a color I saw in a design book. The rug (isn't it GORGEOUS?!) came from my neighbor, an antique dealer, who was moving. It's huge and was only $200. Be still my heart.

 The dining table was my grandfather's and I inherited it when he passed away 4 years ago. None of my enormous family wanted it. I'm glad they didn't, but I can't understand why. I think it's stunning.

 The chair and ottoman in the corner are both from Goodwill and the ottoman will definitely get recovered. I haven't decided on the chair yet. That green is so wrong it's right.

. One of my biggest pet peeves is badly placed thermostats. Why on earth would someone put it in the formal dining room? I wanted to do something symmetrical on either side of the archway, but that stupid thermostat kept getting in the way. So, I had to work around it.  

I had a pair of mirrors my grandmother had given me. They were a dingy gold-brown color circa 1978. I spray-painted them raspberry to give a touch of whimsy-meets-glamour and put one on each side of the archway. They look good, but they would look even better without that thermostat. So if you are building a house, take note: please don't put your thermostat in the middle of a room! Put it in a corner or a hallway where it is easily camouflaged.

The buffet came from a local antique shop, $200. The plants are normally outside my front door, but hibiscus do not like the cold, so they are in for the winter. Yes, that is a microwave under there. We never use it but got one while our kitchen was under construction. Now it sits there and is used a few times a month. I should probably take it to the basement.

My father gave me this dresser. It's been in the living room, my daughter's room, my room... Classic dressers are very useful. 

This painting and the smaller one pictured farther up were bought at a starving artist sale. I think both together were about $200, maybe $225. I got the frames at the hobby store when they were half off. Lamps came from a local second-hand store - the pair for $12.

This dining room makes a great spot for family dinners, dinner parties, and book club meetings. Hands down most favorite dining room EVER!

You can see what it looked like before here.

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!!!

Co-ed Nursery

To cheer us up (okay, to cheer me up) in the midst of all this remodeling drama, here's a little something to make you smile.
The Situation: one 6-week old baby boy and one 16 month-old girl, both in diapers and cribs
The Space: a 9x13 room with one standard sized window, average-sized closet, vaulted ceilings, and blue painted walls complete with airplane stencils along the ceiling line
The Plan: make a garden paradise that suits both genders and is super-cheap. I mean CRAZY cheap - diapers are expensive

The pictures really don't do it justice, but this was the final product. The rest of the pics are in-progress.

I used the height and hung these 'clouds', stuffing ripped and fluffed and wrapped in white thread which I suspended and hung from the ceiling by tacks. A few birds and several butterflies from the floral section of the hobby store are hanging, too. It's hard to see, but where the green and blue meet on the walls is a 1/2 inch ribbon trim, white with green polka dots on the left, purple with white polka dots on the right. I don't love the curtains, but I had them from 2 apartments ago and just made them work.

At first, it was arranged a little differently, so don't let that confuse you. This was our plan:

• paint the bottom 2/3 of the wall grass green, or roughly shoulder height
• paint cheap ($20) white yard-sale dresser darker shade of green, then paint over that with whimsical wildflowers (I know I am not an artist, that's why I said whimsical)
• buy one gender-neutral green toille bedding set ($40 at consignment sale) - green is a great option, as are red, yellow, and of course, white - blue can be pulled off, too
• split the set between two beds - one got the dust ruffle, the other got the bumper, each got coordinating sheets that changed frequently (these are babies we're talking about here), the pillow goes in the chair
• add shades of pink to soften up the boy-ish looking walls and paint flowers on lower section of wall, glue butterflies to upper section
• hang fancy blanket (gift) on wall as tapestry (you can't see the white embroidery in the center, but it was a really cute bunny)

This crib (girl) has a pink floral sheet with green leaves on it, a pink blanket, and the green toille dust ruffle. The pink rocker was a gift from my mother and grandmother (floor sample, $300 - and awesome!). The crib itself came from a family member and just happened to match the one we already had been given by a friend. 

It was fate.

This was the first crib we had, now used for a newborn baby boy. He got the toille bumper and sheet. As he grew, we lowered the mattress then eventually switched him to the other crib and removed the front off this one to make a toddler bed for our older daughter. The changing table on the side was super convenient and it was much easier having both kids and all their diaper paraphernalia in one place.

Quick note about rockers. PLEASE don't get a glider! I know they look comfortable and lure you in with their matching gliding ottomans, but really, you will never be able to use that chair in any other room. Worse! When your baby is no longer a baby, it will look completely out of place in their room! An armchair-style rocker - basically a comfortable chair that happens to rock - will stand the test of time and if you choose the right fabric, can work in more than one room. This pink one is now in my second daughter's nursery, and before that was in my 5 yr old daughter's room without looking out of place. 

Something to think about...

  

                 Room costs:
green paint for walls - $25
dresser - $20
dark green paint for dresser - $8

pink paint for trunk (oops can) - $2

clouds (3 bags of stuffing) -  $9

butterflies  - $12
curtains (already had, but original cost) - $20

Green toille bedding  - $40     

cribs - free hand-me-downs

chair - baby shower gift ($300 in store)

pink sheet ($8 at Target) - shower gift

TOTAL  $136

Downstairs...of Horrors!

So this is the living room. I know - it's very sad. Go ahead and cry.

 I've removed the lovely brass frame from around the gas fireplace and it looks much more hearth-like without it. It's a long room - the dining room is directly to the right in this pic, the big front window and door to the left. The room you can see through the door is a sort of sun room that we are making an office. It's below.

Those doors look out into the backyard via the pergola -covered patio.There's a gas heater that I want to turn into a gas fireplace. You can see it on the right of the pic. The ceiling was covered in horrible foam-cardboard-y tiles that I popped off and found beadboard underneath. Yay! A few hours of prying out staples and the ceiling was ready. This room is fun, but FREEZING! When it warms up, I'm sure I'll be in there all the time.

This is from the living room looking into the dining room. Love the archway, but behind those hideous curtains are TONS of cracks in the plaster. We've patched it all, and I am painting it this weekend... I think. 

This is the full-on dining room shot. The chandelier is actually covered in tiny bunches of grapes - super tacky - but it looks alright from a distance. The carpet is up to reveal the wood floor. The kitchen is through the little door on the right.  

This pic (below) is the other end of the living room. Front door is immediately to the right.

Because the kitchen is out of commission, the dining room is full of kitchen boxes and I have a slight urge to cry when I walk in there. But hopefully, with a coat of paint and a little more elbow grease, we'll be set. Hopefully...

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!

Big New Adventure

So we just bought this. --> 

As an impulse purchase at an auction. It took us a year and a half to choose a CAR, so this was a little out of character for us. 

It's a 2300 sq. ft. English country style house with a lot of Tudor-style architecture. We absolutely love the style and the outside of it, but the inside is a total wreck. We are remodeling it slowly on our own, and so far it has been equal parts exhilarating and stressful. Take a look. 

It's full of interesting details like the arched front door here. It has a knocker and a little window covered in shutters that can be opened from the inside. It's very Keebler elves.

There's also this on the side of the house...

And this super fun gate on the other side...  

And there's a window box. I LOVE window boxes!

This gorgeous attic will (hopefully one day soon) become a kick ass Peter Pan-style nursery for the kids. 

I'll be posting pics here regularly along with little snippets of updates. Follow this blog to keep up with all our amazing / horrifying exploits!