Still chipping away...

literally....
We chipped off all the brick-front backsplash.
And it was real brick front; each piece mortared into place.
Not fun to remove.
We were hoping to salvage the drywall behind, but decided it wouldn't be worth it after some got beat up in the demo.

So we ended up removing the old drywall as well, which is nice because we were able to add a vapor barrier (shown) and will top it off with backer board before applying a brand-spankin new backsplash (as yet to be decided, but I'm pretty sure glass tiles will be included!).

You can also see in the pics that we chipped off the "backsplash" attached to the countertops. We did this to make it easier to remove the drywall while keeping the counters in place. Until later this week anyway, when the NEW countertops arrive. Excited! Nothing fancy, formica design called madura pearl. A new (well, new to us as we got it off craigslist) sink is also in the works for this week. The tile backsplash, as well as the new faucet fixture will come at a later date. Remember, we're doing this project as we can afford it. So far, we've spent about $500 on refacing and painting the cabinets, new pulls and knobs, new countertop, and new/used sink.

Starter projects

First steps to painting the cabinets!


Ok! First thing was to take off all the doors, drawers, and remove the hardware, hinges and magnetic catches.
Then I gave the frames a light sand and primed with an oil based (aka stinky) primer.

Here are the doors in the garage. They got a more aggressive sanding followed by a coat of oil based primer and then a thick coat of the most expensive paint I've ever bought (I'm a least-expensive-paint kind of gal for my walls since my tastes and preferences change so often!). This color is by Glidden and it's called Polished Limestone. Ooooooh. Sounds fancy. I got it in semi-gloss. Notice the boring flat panels? Check out what's to come. I added 2" lattice boards all the way around to create a shaker style.

The old hardware was antiqued bronze. Blah. While I budgeted for new knobs and handles, I didn't want to buy allllll new hinges too. Sooooo....

I lightly sanded them and then spray painted a crsip flat black to go with my new hardware.

Here are 4 of the finished drawers! Oh la la! Quick check here to be reminded of how dark and dreary it was. And then be WOWED at how amazing it's going to look when it's all done!!!

Feeling the itch

As in kITCHen.

Yup.

The kitchen remodel is starting this weekend.

It may take a few months of "as funds become available" projects.

But it will happen.

And it will be exciting on a half-shoestring budget.

What was my big plan?

Remember two posts down (Project in the Works) when I showed pics of the rolled up snowfence??? Just in case, here's another shot of the snowfence...

So what did I do?

What crazy inspiration drove me to unwind the wire to free piece by piece by piece?

What was my vision that nobody else really "got" and my husband hesitantly trusted?

Drum roll...

A reclaimed snowfence ceiling! I LOVE IT!

It's the crowning jewel of our driftwood/fly fishing themed master bath/laundry room.

Training up Children

In the school room aka my son's room. :)

Project in the works

What do you see? Miles of adandoned snow fence?



I see something else, but it'll take some unwinding first.




Check back later to see where they end up!

Must have elephants!

Saw these little cuties in the latest Pottery Barn catalog and we HAD to have them in our princess room. Just two though; it is a princess room after all.

Sketched a template on cardboard and cut it out.
Taped it to the wall and carefully "traced" the outside of the template with my paintbrush.

It's ok if it's a little rough!

Fill it in (making sure to leave unpainted spots for the eye and ear) and smooth it out. Flip the template (after the paint has dried) and repeat.

Touch up and add tails!

Now YOU can have these little cuties too. :)

Bathroom revisit

It has come to my attention that we never took a look at the "afters" of the main floor bathroom/laundry remodel. Before we start, click here and here to remember what it used to be.

Did you see how BAD it was?

All right, here we go!

Still needs a new window and ceiling tiles, but we love this new space!

First line of attack: KITCHEN!

The kitchen is a HUGE eysore. From the flat panel, dated cabinets to the eww brick backsplash. Before we moved last summer, we did a few basics: the new floor that is throughout the main level and a new light fixture. The appliances are newer, but no built-in dishwasher. That's the dishwasher on the left (with the vase of roses my amazing husband got for me as a welcome home gift!); a portable one that I hook up to the faucet when it's ready.


So we are very very excited to transform this kitchen on a very minimal budget (we'll see how long the excitement lasts!). First thing to go is that space-hogging, unattractive peninsula. We got right to it, even though we're not quite ready to do the rest of the space, because we bought a new table that would not fit otherwise.

Jake made it look easy!

WOW! What a difference already! We'll fill in the floor there, adapt the dishwasher to be a built-in, and add a pantry on the end. Because the cabinet boxes are in good shape and I like the arrangement (mostly), we're going to paint the fronts and frames, add some molding for visual interest, new hardware, and new sink and countertops. Check back over the next couple of months to see how this progresses!

And this is why we are so happy to be back:

The view from our backyard: our new pool (thanks to some wonderful friends!), the kids' fort, Jake's shed, the trees and acreage. It's like we can breathe again. :)