kitchen update number eleventy-billion

What, you thought we were done already?

No. No we're not...

But we do have some new stuff to share that's kind of a big deal, especially when it really makes the room seem 'done'.

Even when it's not, quite.

Check out the crown y'all-

and those base boards.

Never thought I'd be so excited over....base boards.

As you can see, we still need to paint the entire ceiling since we have a few spots like this-

But the way that trim just hugs the cabinets...

I mean it.

I'm in love.

Here's what we've been looking at since the cabinets were installed last September-

Poor, trim-less room.

But now...

Ba-da-bing-ba-da-BOOM.

And that's not the only change.

We've been using my great-grandmother's table + chairs since we were married because, well...it's fabulous and I love it-

but it really isn't suited for the banquette I've built in my head (and on Pinterest). I searched high and low for several months, and then I found it via Craigslist, via a blog...

Still on the hunt for chairs, but isn't the table a beaut?

A pedestal table, just like I had in mind. Already painted white at the bottom and distressed.

Just look at those lovely claws...

The top is au natural and smooth as a baby's bootay I kid you not.

I must thank the lovely couple who sold it to me, not only for the crazy low price of $50, but also for not looking at me like a crazy person while I stood in their house and rubbed my hands across the table, semi-hugged it, and acted like a giddy school girl who's just touched the Bieber. They also set up furniture around it to make a stand-in banquette so that I could be sure the table was the size I needed.

It was.

Our other table + chairs is now happily living in the man cave, by the way. Hubs and his friends eat in there all the time, so it all works out rather nicely.

And while we're on the subject of new furniture, we welcomed another piece into our house yesterday, even though this one won't be staying in the kitchen.

I've always wanted an Eames rocker and the Foundary had a crazy good deal on these about a month ago.

So I pounced.

The Foundary is another of those deal-a-day sites, showcasing several different brands of home decor/household goods every day. You can check them out HERE.

We introduced the chair to MM last night and she was smitten.

Can't wait to take it outside for a photo shoot with the kiddos.

Then we introduced it to the new table and I'm not gonna lie,

there was an attraction between the two.

And that's all the news that is the news on the kitchen front. The next order of business will be to make the banquette out of the cabinets I found last week at Surplus Warehouse. Can't wait. We also have to finish painting the trim/windows/doors, figure out what to do with the mudroom nook, paint the ceiling, have a lot of electrical work done, make curtains & cushions for the banquette, and then we might just be done.

Might.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with kitchen update, eleventy-billion and one entitled 'The banquette has landed'.

Until then,

Happy Wednesday!



kitchen reno: week 11

11 weeks.

eleven.

eeeeeeleven.

No update from weeks 9 or 10 because,

quite frankly,

there wasn't a whole lot goin on.

Well,

that's not true.

There was a whole lotta stuff goin on,

like sink using, and milk spilling, and food re-heating, and Mickey Mouse pancake making, and tantrum throwing, and song singing, and kisses giving.

You know,

the good stuff.

Just not a whole lotta kitchen finishing.

Until Monday.

As in-

2 days ago.

Now, some of you may not find this as thrilling as we did,

but on Monday,

we gots the trim.

In my last update, the doors and windows were a bit, well...

nekkid.

Especially the windows, what with all that pink insulation poking out.

Downright indecent.

But not anymore!

Trim, glorious trim!

Just check out hot hawt out pantry looks now-

The man cave, hallway, and utility doors are all sportin' new trim too.

Don't they look spiffy?

While I'd love to say that we DIY'd that beautiful trim work ourselves, we actually hired a handyman that came highly recommended. He and his partner were able to finish all 7 doors and 3 windows, and prep the top of our cabinets for crown moulding. While the labor for this step of our reno isn't free, the trim actually was thanks to my dad.

Thanks Pop!

Yes, the trim still needs to be painted and yes, there is a list of about a dozen things still yet to be done in here, however- I have allowed myself to start 'dressing' the space just a bit. Not just any chotchkies will end up on those quartz counters, mind you, but here's a few things that made the cut.

This acrylic tray that was a wedding gift-

love it and it's been living in the dining room hutch for the past few years. I thought it would make a great 'catch all' for our counter-

Do you have a 'catch all'?

A spot where stuff just seems to get dumped or thrown or a place where inanimate objects just seem to gravitate?

This little sticky out part of our counters is that spot.

I thought this tray would be ideal for keys and mail and gum and a hair bow for those last minute walk-out-the-door type situations. Ultimately, this is about as full as I'd like it to be since putting anything else in here would just start to look like clutter,

but let's be real.

This is its current state.

It's okay.

I'm learning to deal.

These canisters, however, will stay nice and pretty in their spot.

I hope.

I'm sure we could junk these up somehow, but here's hoping that doesn't happen.

I scored those babies from Willow House for 80% off and they're a great place to stash coffee.

And this little nook beside the sink got gussied up as well.

The vase and flowers are from Michael's, the short canister was thrifted by my mum, and that's one of my fave pics of the kiddos.

Love being able to look at those cuties while I load the dishwasher.

This little mint pretty is also from Willow House

(back in the day when it was Southern Living at Home)

and I blogged about those flowers HERE

While the space is slowly becoming warmer with pretties like these, there is still the occasional ugly,

like this:

'Bring in an electrician to help with wiring' is still on the list of things to be done, along with 'pick out crown moulding' so that it can be installed. Our cabinets were originally supposed to reach the ceiling, and while crown moulding will help with that, it's gonna take one huge honkin' piece to cover that gap. It was also pointed out to us that our cabinets were actually hung at different heights, as in the stove side doesn't match the sink side.

Awesome.

That will be a post within itself one day soon, titled

Discrepancies found after the cabinet installer left the building.

Oh what a tangled web that is my friends.

Not unlike a soap opera:

As the Kitchen Turns,

or

Days of Our Kitchen

or

One Life to Live in the Kitchen

Remind me to tell you what the cabinet installer did. 

Until then,

I'll leave you with one last look at that gawgeous trim,

and a peek at what the vase is hiding.

Happy Wednesday!

kitchen reno: week 8

my oh my oh my is our kitchen starting to take shape! Today's update is uber-exciting.....are you ready?

here goes...

Last week, on Wednesday to be exact, our floors went from this-

nasty, yucky, dirty concrete.

concrete that little feet liked to run around on.

see?

Cute feet, yes.

Clean feet, not really.

TO THIS-

Pretty, shiny, woodeny floors.

And yes, we put the 2 year old to work immediately.

She's the blur you see above.

The wooden gawgeousness extends to the hallway...

(and that's O looking for something to eat in the fridge that was stashed out of the way in the man cave. We had appliances all OVAH the house while the men were putting the floors down)

and into the laundry room as well.

We have a laundry room now.

Have I mentioned that?

Can't remember...

The washer and dryer spent the day in the dining room.

Glad we're done with the moving of the appliances now.

sheesh.

If you've had hardwoods installed in your home, you're probably familiar with the 'get-down-on-your-hands-and-knees-and-scrub-that-glue-off' that comes with the pretty shinyness. Unless, of course, you have people that do it for you. In which case, you're uppity.

We're not uppity so we did the scrubbing ourselves.

Every square inch.

Forgive the awkward sitting position.

Again,

not uppity.

We scrubbed until the floors shone like the top of the Chrysler Building.

Name that musical.

Ain't they pretty?

The next day,

we received a call from the countertop man.

Oh how we'd been waiting for a call from the countertop man.

Not only because he brings the countertops,

but because he also brings the

sink.

The blessed kitchen sink that we'd been without ever since

 kitchen reno: week 5.

August 7, to be exact, was the day the kitchen sink and the dishwasher were ripped out, so it's been a good solid 3 weeks of washing sippies and dishes in the bathtub, and drinking whatever I could find in the fridge because I was too lazy to walk all the way to the bathroom for a glass of water.

But not anymore...

The lovely countertop man arrived bright and early Tuesday morning and boy howdy is it nice to have water in the kitchen again. I also may or may not have rubbed my face against the countertops.

I mean, we waited so long.

And they're so purty.

Again, may or may not have.

We went with a solid surface top which will never scratch or break and is pretty much all around indestructible. The price was amazing and included installation AND a sink (which we got to pick out). Here's a close-up so you can see the prettiness.

Black with some subtle silvery-grey speckles. The pic really makes them stand out a bit more.

They are truly subtle.

Because isn't that how you'd want your speckles?

Subtle.

I haven't 'styled' the kitchen yet, but that will come.

Soon.

The first thing I actually put on the countertop were the paper towels.

Priorities you know.

Can't wait to play with accessories in there and get it lookin' all pretty.

So, to recap-

in the past week, the floors AND the countertops were installed. While those are two HUGE things we were able to check off of the list, and while it does bring functionality back to the room, there's still quite a bit to do.

For example,

trim for the doors and windows has been purchased (thanks Dad!) but still needs to be painted and installed. Also need to paint the doors (man cave, pantry, hallway, and utility closet) and replace the door knobs. Still have to purchase base boards (or base trim? you know, the stuff at the bottom of the walls...) and quarter round, paint that, and install it. Also have to finish swapping all of the plugs and switches from brown ones to white ones and put new white face plates on all. Already purchased those.

And oh yeah,

we're gonna have to build a banquette.

Since that was my original vision.

Can't give up on my dream ya know.

(Examples of what I've cooked up in my head found HERE)

whew.

So much accomplished though.

We were actually able to cook in our kitchen tonight,

and of course, when I say 'we', I mean 'my hubs'.

I don't really cook-

it's in my bio.

I did, however, have to pack and unpack a plethora (that's the word for the week, by the way) of cookbooks during this process and was inspired to find something I might actually want to make.

We'll see.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Now, just for fun, let's have a quick 'before' and 'after' at this point in the game:

BEFORE

AFTER

Or, really close to being AFTER

la la love it.

Happy Thursday friends!

kitchen reno: week 7

Well friends,

still no kitchen sink.

BUT,

we did score some free laundry room shelves, courtesy of my Pop!

Thanks, Dad, for the awesome shelving that will allow my OCD self to have a spot for all things 'laundry' related, as well as the lovely containers that hold my spray paint, light bulbs, and extension cords.

There's even a rod for hanging clothes (super pumped about that).

And no, I didn't stay up all night organizing all things 'laundry' so my shelves aren't pretty yet, but that's coming. I also scored some vinyl on Pick Your Plum the other day, so the inside of the laundry room will be getting one sweet makeover soon.

Have you heard?

I have a laundry room.

A ROOM, I tell ya...

{happy dance commencing again}

In other kitchen news, I've been looking at fabrics to use in the space and have  lots of beautiful options.

Here are my faves:

found HERE

found HERE

found HERE

found HERE

found HERE

found HERE

found HERE

Whatcha think?

Any favorites among those?

In the beginning, I was dead set on using only turquoise and white in the space,

but now that I've had a chance to really think about it, the last 3 options are in the lead. I've still have a little time to think about window treatments and banquette cushions and whatnot, but at least I'm narrowing down my search a bit.

And...

in other news entirely,

I didn't mention Design Star yesterday.

Can you believe they sent 2 people home?

To be honest, I really thought Meg was gettin' the boot.

What on earth was she doing with her time?

She had 2 quasi-rooms!

Karl had the entire master and was able to accomplish several projects within his space. Mark had 2 entire rooms, and big ones at that. The dining room and living room looked fab. Loved the records on the wall.

How was it that Meg's spaces (foyer & stair landing) were so incredibly sparse and really not finished?

If you're throwing pillows on the floor when time is called, you ain't done.

Glad Kelly got to stay, but when all the kid asked for was bunk beds, maybe she should have bought some bunk beds.

Am I right?

For those of you who watch Design Star,

what were your thoughts?