backsmash

A few more kitchen pictures...  The one of the left features our new access hatch, which gives us access to the piping under our stairs as well as a good place to store those things we don't use very often.  The one on the right features my new backsplash (less than $25 total).  I tried to use etching cream to stencil the pattern directly onto the piece of glass, but it was a flaming disaster.  I eventually decided to paint the pattern directly on the wall and I finally have a backsplash I can be proud of!

gromit's new address

Now that the giant cabinet is gone from the dining room, Gromit's bed has a new location.  I spent the entire day cleaning the floors, dusting, and putting food into the new/old pantry.  It's so nice to take pride in my house again!

demolition derby

We are putting in a new front porch--we're doing the demo ourselves to save a little cash.  Seth removed the boards while I pulled up nails.

light at the end

My new old pantry!  This is our old pantry, which used to be across from the sink in our kitchen.  We moved the fridge where the pantry used to sit (see here for pics), and we've been living with this giant cabinet in our dining room for months.  We paid a professional contractor to retro-fit the cabinet in the space under the stairs.  It still needs to be painted (white), but it looks so wonderful!

happy endings

My father-in-law came and spent most of last week helping us paint the cabinets white.  We went with Benjamin Moore's "Timothy Straw" (avocado green) for the wall color.  I could not be happier with my gorgeous new kitchen--the pictures don't do it justice!

enCOUNTERed

Our new countertops are in!!!  It makes the kitchen look soooo different.  Seth installed the new faucet last night, so now we have a sprayer.  I can't wait to get the cabinets and walls painted.  It's all coming together!

coming apart at the seams

The new drywall is in place and we're now in the taping, mudding, and sanding phase.









Seth had a bad headache the other night and left the Ibuprofen in the kitchen...makes for a pretty artsy shot, doesn't it?  :)  The new countertops are scheduled to be installed on Monday.  Woohoo!

kitchen remix

 

Even though I'm not a gourmet cook or anything, I'm so excited that we're finally remodeling our dated and dysfunctional kitchen.  Seth removed the raised bar and started on the tile backsplash in preparation for our new countertops.  I was on wallpaper-removal-duty; hooray for no more fruity wallpaper!  I also helped Seth move our fridge out of the time-out closet (bottom right picture) and into it's new home, where our pantry used to be (left side of top picture).  We still have such a long road ahead, but we've made great progress this week.

couch potato

The dining room is almost done! I just have a few framed patterns designed by Surly Bird Studio to hang from my glass doorknobs (above the church pew). I love this room so much that I almost want to eat dinner at the dinner table. Almost.

let there be light

Please pay no attention to the fruity wallpaper or hideous tile countertops. This before & after applies only to the pendant lights. We traded out the brass beauties for some gorgeous Edison-style globes.

tic-tac-whoa

A fresh coat of Chatham Tan and 25 wallflowers make the dining room look and feel like a brand new space. More photos to come!

warm thanks

Guess who is NOT going to freeze again this winter! On the two-year anniversary of our closing on our house, my wonderful aunt and uncle made the trek up from Georgia to give the gift of heat (and to see us, of course). :) Many, MANY thanks to [Uncle] Ronnie of Clayton Electrical. We love you both so much!

mantle remix

I'm so inclined to arrange things in a symmetrical fashion. My very talented friend who happens to be a graphic designer | crafter | artist extraordinaire graciously helped me rearranged things to give the mantle a fresh look.

barrel of savings

Our stylish new rain barrel, a result of our winning bid on the Lowes auction this week. It has a planter in the top, so I moved my Wandering Jew in hopes it will perk up. I hope it rains soon so we can test it out!

crafty bliss

Is that a clean floor I see? This really has been a labor of love (please refer to crafty mess and craftroom pt. 2 for some perspective), but I am so happy to be organized again. This concludes the craftroom series...

craftroom pt. 5

A closer look...

craftroom pt. 4

Time to turn around. Less is more!

craftroom pt. 3

We're getting there (just don't turn around yet).

craftroom pt. 2

Double yikes.

crafty mess

Yikes.