Welcome Back!
I've been MIA for a
long time apparently!
Gosh....it says I haven't
blogged since SEPTEMBER!
YIKES!!!!
What can I say we've been as
busy as a one armed clothes hanger!
Guess what....
we FINALLY tackled the kitchen!
I'm going to share all of it with you
the good, the bad and the
close to calling a divorce attorney bad!
But hey....in the end it all got done...
We are all satisfied...
and the marriage is
still happily intact!
This is a before picture of the kitchen!
And here is the after!
I was aiming for a mix between the kitchens
from It's Complicated, Downton Abbey
and Practical Magic....
I think I hit closer to Practical Magic...
what do you think?
So let me start by saying this....
kitchen redo's are not for the faint of heart!
Sweet husband and I have tackled our
fair share of projects in the past
but I have to say this one darn near
did us in!
Of course he would start by telling
you that MY first mistake was
trying to pack a 2 month or more
project into 1 week (yes 7 days!)
over the kids spring break..
But in my defense who wants to pack
school lunches and make dinners in
a messy kitchen? I thought...we can
do this...one week...TOPS!
UUUUMMMM.....yeah....NO
Granted it was back in tack by 7 days
with the majority done...but it was no
where close to done!
And after 7 days...we were both exhausted
and barely speaking...not sure if it was all the
work, the paint fumes or the countless
decisions that had to be made...but it was rough!
However, I did learn a few things
about myself, my family and kitchen redo's...
I'm going to share them with you and then I promise
to get to the good stuff!
1.
I HATE painting kitchen cabinets! Matter
of fact...you will never catch me doing that again!
I will save up every penny I own and buy white
cabinets before I EVER do that again!
2.
Just because you're husband is a General Contractor
and can make/do/fix just about anything.....
this does not and I repeat NOT mean he
is the right GC for you!
Because believe you me....it makes for an
uncomfortable family dinner time when
you have just fired him off the job that morning!
3.
My daughter will jump a sinking ship faster than a rat!
Day 3 she had called her Nana to come get her
and save her from the chaos!
4.
My son is oblivious to anything as long as you
keep feeding him...
breakfast...snack...lunch...snack....dinner..snack
5.
If you think it's going to take an hour/week/month
and it's going to cost $/$$/$$$
well just go ahead and double everything...
you're better off that way!
6.
And finally I always thought I was
pretty confident in my decorating
decisions and most of the time
pretty good at it....
this taught me I know nothing
and it's a good thing to have
friends who are design savvy
who can help you when you
are almost in tears in the middle
of the grout selection at the Depot!
Now...on to the good stuff!
Much to sweet husband's dismay I decided
if I was going to paint cabinets then I was
going to use the GOOD STUFF!
Annie Sloan Chalk paint...here I come!
I ordered from a wonderful store...
seriously they were super nice and super quick
with both shipments of paint!
(remember...double everything...HA!
I didn't buy enough first go around)
Upon researching the colors
on other blogs and websites
I found that Annie Sloan's
Pure White would be too white
and Old White would be too yellow.
But a 1 to 1 ratio of both would be perfect!
And it was!
It took about 3 good coats..but we got there.
I then finished with a coat of
Varathane water based
satin floor sealer from Lowe's
Sweet husband did a fabulous job
building a faux range hood.
I found the corbels at a thrift store
awhile back so we added them
into the design and then painted
everything to match.
He also added trim to all the cabinets
and finished out the under side of the cabinets
so everything would look custom and complete.
Luck was on my side when I found this
deep white Kohler porcelain sink on Craigslist...
for only $20!
I really think it added so much
to the style of the kitchen
One of my splurges before we even
started this project was buying
Bessie the cow!
I've wanted her for so long...but she
needed the perfect spot....hence
the reason we built the hood!
Her name is now Daisy and we love her!
You can buy your own Bessie at
I think they are on back order right now...
but hopefully will be back in stock soon!
We used classic white mini subway tile from
The Home Depot as well as the grout
the color we chose was Bone
The flooring was also from the Depot and is
a really cool product. It is water resistant and can
even be used in basements.
We installed it right over the
existing floor.
It even stands up to commercial use!
Perfect for a rental home such as this!
For those of you who don't know or don't remember....
we only rent here! So everything we did had
to be in a classic design and be able to hold
up for many, many years! Plus, since we were
doing everything ourselves cost also played a
big part!
Because, lets be honest if it were my house
you can bet I would have been looking at
great big beautiful white marble slabs and
new stainless steel appliances!
But all that aside I think it turned out wonderful!
And not to be tacky and talk money here....
but....just so you have an idea...
everything from the
hardware, paint, counter top, tile, wood, sink, & flooring...
we spent under $800.
Even though I realize I have a free General Contractor...
I think anyone can do what we did.
And while the upfront money was hard to stomach..
that's honestly only 8 REALLY good dinners out!
At least that's what I keep telling myself!
Hardware is from The Home Depot
as is the counter overlay we used.
I hope you like our "new" kitchen!
Check back soon and I will show you
how we transformed the glass house into
a different room also!
What can I say...we were really inspired by
the house in the movie
Practical Magic...
hint hint!
