Ahhh...room two down...and its a biggie...

The KITCHEN
Talk about a room that takes a lot of effort to make a big change. Thank goodness the cabinets were in good shape. So some before pics...




So you look at these pictures and you probably think...that kitchen isn't that bad. At least everything works and it could be a lot worse. Still, it was like taking a walk back into the 70's. The most up to date thing in the kitchen was the paint. White and yellow. Not my favorite either. I don't know why, but I am not a big fan of yellow paint.

The to do list...
New floors, new counters, remodel pantry, paint cabinets, paint walls, new hardware, new light fixture over table, new sink - undermount, new window treatments, clean and scrape the ceiling. Here are the rennovation pictures. Almost everything on this list is done with the exception of the ceiling. We will get to that and the rest of the lighting being changed, but we figured we would wait on the lighting until we did the ceiling.

So you have seen the new floors and you have seen the remodel of the pantry, but here are some finished pics of those items.

New Floors - Check

Next new counters. We wanted granite and we watch a lot of DIY, HGTV and there is a newer product out called Trendstone. It is a granite/marble mix and is more durable than both with a slightly lower cost to it, easier installation, lighter and NO maintenance, ever! And it is insured for life! Can't go wrong there. So this was the second and last project in the kitchen we hired out for. It was installed this week and looks gorgeous. The counters and backsplash are the same material and the backsplash is laid in a diagonal tile. Oh, and these tiles are several inches thick like granite or marble either. They are thin, like tile. The installation...




New Counters/Backsplash - Check

Next...to paint. I repainted the cabinets with a bright white to clean them up and make them look fresh. We also moved several of the handles on the doors. For some reason some handles on the doors where in a lower or upper corner and some were mounted right in the middle of the door. Weird. So now we have moved them and they all match. Our kitchen has been wine/grape themed with greens, purples and burgandys. So we went paint color shopping and got lots of opinions. With everyone's help we decided on a beautiful green. The kitchen is all a lighter green with one accent wall above the desk and much darker version of the same green. Beautiful. It really helps warm up the kitchen since it is such a large room. And it compliments the cabinets and counters very well.



Paint - Check

Cabinet Hardware...well the gold has to go. So do any of you have any idea how expensive cabinet hardware is...my gosh. And for all the cabinets we have...it would cost a fortune even for something simple. So, back to my DIY...paint them, spray paint to be exact. We decided to go black to draw out the counters and make them pop from the white cabinets. It was black or brown and I just couldn't see brown with the rest of the kitchen. These peg boards are perfect for holding them in place while you spray paint too.


Black knobs...check!

Lights...so this is one area we are not completely finished with. We have a new light in the kitchen nook over the table and it is beautiful. The main kitchen light is nice and won't be changed. We will be replacing the light over the sink with a can light, but we are going to wait until we do the ceilings so patching holes is easier. Now, if you look in the pictures above you will see several more lights on the ceiling. None of them work, they aren't hooked up to anything...just decoration. I know...weird. So we are going to remove them all, but again, that will leave holes that need to be repaired so Bryan wants to do them all when we do the ceiling.


New Sink...new counters call for new sink...and granite counters call for undermount. That is such a great look. We found a black granite sink, deep that could be undermount and had it installed with the counter. Yes, granite sink. It doesn't chip, stain, burn, anything. I can't wait to try it out. Bryan also ran all new plumbing pipes for the sink as the old ones were...well...old. And yucky. Great job babe! The water came out the right place. :)



New sink and working with no leaks...check!

And finally decor, starting with replacing the window curtain that is now a creamy yellow hard lace instead of the original white. Replaced with curtains that Bryan's mom and I made to match our grape/wine theme.

The finished product with some decor...more decor to come...




Scraping the ceiling will come...someday when we have finished a few more rooms. For now, come on over and enjoy a nice glass of wine and dinner in our new and vastly improved kitchen.

One room down...

Ok, officially, we have the first full room finished! With the exception of two window blinds that are on order...but that is it!!!!!! Finished meaning floors, ceiling scraped, painted, drapes, blinds, moved into...not organized. Wow, I feel like we have accomplished so much. :) And I am so excited to share photos, because this room is one with a ton of transformation and it looks gorgeous now...except for all my stuff just being thrown in. By the way...this is my craft room!
Ok, first things first...before pics.




Now...to get rid of the smell from that nasty carpet and green and white curtains. Plus the ceiling is holding some smell too and those hooks in the ceiling have to go. The whole room smelled like a greenhouse from all the plants they kept in there. Like miracle grow aromatherapy. So here goes nothin...
After we cleaned everything out of the room including the white and green curtains it was time to pull up the indoor/outdoor green turf grass. We hired professionals for this task as it had been super glued to the concrete floor and was a buger to pull up. Not something Bryan and I wanted to do.

Next, we scraped the popcorn from the ceiling. We tried all kinds of tricks for scraping ceilings and followed all the DIY advice. Let me tell you something...throw it out the window. This advice about spraying it down with 1/2 water 1/2 alcohol mixture does not work. It is supposed to dry it out and make it just fall off...well that isn't the case. It makes it wet, clumpy and then it actually makes it harder to scrape it off the drywall on the ceiling. It was much easier to get a small paint scraper and go to town ont he dry popcorn. It came off much easier and in small sheets that where dry and easy to sweep up. Also, it didn't leave gouges in the ceiling from where we scraped. It was a nice smooth drywall surface ready for painting/texture or whatever.

Next, the old lighting had to go. Plus with all the windows I wanted a fan in there. A lot of windows means a lot of extra sun, which is great for working, but not for keeping cool. We bought a smaller fan since the room isn't huge and Bryan put it up. It is a small light, but I am going to add some standing lamps and desk lamps for extra light so the little fan is perfect!

Next, we had to go back and patch up all the million and one little holes in the ceiling from the hooks that were hung for hanging plants. What a chore to pull all those out and patch back up. Yuck.

Then to the fun part...painting. I like painting. Something so easy and cheap can make a room look completely different. I chose a light grey paint with a hint of blue to it. I wanted something soothing that I could match with bright colors for inspiration. I think it turned out beautiful. I painted all the walls and baseboards, my mom primed the drywall on the ceiling and then the girls at work came over for a swim and happy hour and helped me finish painting the ceiling and touch up. It made it go by really quick having three of us working on it...thanks girls.

Now to add some color. Norma, Bryan's mom, came to visit a few weeks ago and helped me pick out some beautiful drapes. They were large panels so she spent one day while I was at work cutting them all in half and sewing the new side back up. We bought some small rods that would fit between all the windows and walls and hung them up last night! Gorgeous!

Now to move in...everything had been moved into the dining room next to the craft room so it wasn't far. Right now everything is just thrown in the room because I still have to decide how I want it arranged and what I want hung up where. It is more difficult because of all the windows and doors and no closet. Not that I am complaining...no complaints from me...I have a whole room dedicated to my crafts. But...still have to do some space planning and figure out where to fit everything and make it functional and useful. Plus right now I have a lot of extra stuff, because I am storing some of my moms scrapbook stuff too. But...tada...the finished product. When it is organized I will post more pics. Just so proud to have a whole room finished, done, completed, and usable.



By the way...just a little hint of what is to come...our new granite countertops get put in on Monday and Tuesday comes the backsplash. I can't wait. Then the kitchen will be nearly complete as well! Oh what progress we are making. Yipee!