Everything Happens in the Kitchen

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I thought that I would give you a look at my kitchen. This room is open to our family room, and where we spend almost all of our time. Overall I like it well enough, but there are things that are definitely screaming for a change in here! For example, when we bought this house, the appliances in here were all builder grade white. Boo! We have been wanting to change them for years, but as a frugal person, I have been trying to wait until they die. (I think I may want stainless?) A couple of months ago, our trash compactor bit the dust, and I know our fridge and dishwasher are on their last leg as well.

Here's a peek at how it looks now.

Several years ago, while Mr. W was deployed to Afghanistan, I painted the kitchen cabinets. (My amazing mom helped me!) They were a really unattractive (in my opinion) honey oak color, so I figured anything I did to them would be an improvement. Unfortunately, a few weeks back catastrophe struck my external hard drive where all my photos were stored. I am sending it out to recover the data, but right now I don't have any before pics. :-(

We also just found out that we have a MAJOR leak issue from the upstairs shower, and there are going to be extensive repairs to follow. That means potentially BIG changes for our kitchen. The wall that the pantry is on will need to be ripped out and re dry walled, along with the kitchen ceiling, and the pantry itself will have to come down. We are also thinking that the stone floor in that corner may have to come up too. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little overwhelmed by it all, even if it means improvements can be made in the kitchen at the same time.

Anyhow...here is the rest of it...for now.

You can see that I still have a pot rack hanging, but now it just holds bread baskets and old wine jugs. The ceilings here are so tall I thought it would look to naked if we took it down. It will go when we remodel, in favor of pendant lighting of some kind.

 A view from the family room. I am currently working on a family photo gallery arrangement for that big empty wall with the tiny picture on it.

 This is the pantry cabinet, and weird desk (that we never use), and I would happily wave goodbye to. Maybe a wine fridge and some shelves with pull out baskets for root veggie storage? I don't know exactly yet, but I think it could be very cute!

Night lighting makes that table look super orange. It's not. I am planning to have a banquet built in an L shape on the back window wall, and the short wall to the left. I would like to find an old rustic farm table and set it up going lengthwise. The window treatments are ready for a change also.

I have tried to work around the granite and backsplash that were here when we moved in ten years ago.  This kitchen has come a long way since it's humble oak cabinet beginning, and I do still like it, but I am also ready for a change. I would like all of the appliances to go stainless, I think. New sink and faucet, and I was thinking about lightening up the cabinets a bit. Maybe a creamy white. We will see.

That's all for now. Stay tuned! You know there's a big change on the way!
Thanks for stoping by today! Hope you have an awesome week!
xo
-Lisa

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Living Room Update. It All Started With Pillows - Continued.

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by today! Yesterday I shared my wild hair moment with you. I stripped my couch, she is now in her undergarmnets! I have had the same couch for 15 years, but it has always lived in the living room, so it is in almost perfect shape. I have grown tired (after 10 years) of the ALL tan and brown look in my living room, and the MANY pillows that came with the couch that have lined the back, and helped to give it the oh-so-in-style at the time, slouchy look. Um...not so into that look anymore.

So anyway, as I revealed yesterday, the couch is covered in muslin, but the fabric is not good enough to live with for any length of time. Plus, the seat cushions seem to have a thinner material on them than the rest of the couch. I am still liking the idea of going lighter, after 24 hours of looking at it, ok- staring at it from every angle!

Yesterday I went looking for lamps and accessories, and while I did not bring home any lamps, I found a couple more pillows, and something else very interesting....maybe not for the living room, but in direct view of the living room. I know, I'll explain later.

I have to apologize for the lousy pics that were way too bright in yesterday's post. Sometimes excitement takes over, and I just didn't want to wait until evening to share my new inspiration with you.

Here's what the sofa looked like last night...keep in mind that the faux fur throw on the ottoman is only intended to cover up the olive green fabric to help me see what I want. I will be picking a lighter slightly pattered fabric to use on it. Ok here is it what it looked like last night...

          New center linen pillow is down filled RL (Ralph Lauren), found at Home Goods.   

 My son is playing made it in the background in this one. It was getting late, and he was waiting for me to finish so we could get ready for bed.

 New frilly little burlap-y pillow. Not really burlap. I would like it more if it were, but a cheapie from Home Goods, $16.99, I think.

 See, I told you...from.every.angle!

 I think I'm going to paint the double entry doors the same tobacco color I painted the door in the family room a few months ago. I will share that with you soon.

 Here is my unexpected antique store find yesterday. A cool wood sign that I will hang on the wall that is visible from the entry. Any one know what this used to be?? 

 Yep. A VERY OLD screen door! It is so cool! I got a great price on it, so home with me it came!

 I was really hesitating in the store about this, but I am so glad I bought it. It looks very cool in the spot I want to hang it.

 The back is rusty metal, and was elaborately painted when made.

 I love that it still shows up. I think I am going to spray it with a coat of matte lacquer to seal it.

 And, I will add a coat of clear wax to the wood in front.

This is how the metal was wrapped around the wood like a frame. 

Well, I am off to the gym. I need to be better about getting there 5 days a week. This new little blog of mine has been a bit too consuming lately. Time for a little balance.

Have a great day! 

xo

-Lisa

Special thanks to Amy @New Nostalgia for featuring me over at her AMAZING blog! Click the link or the button below to go visit! Tell her I said "Hi".
http://amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com/

 

Linking to the following...

Debbiedoos.blogspot.com

   

         

Procrastination Paralysis. Master Bath Update.

Hi all! Well, I am aiming for full disclosure here. I have been in a state of paralysis. Late last summer, I hatched a plan to update my master bath while Mr. W was deployed to Afghanistan. I was aiming to have it all completed upon his return home the day before Thanksgiving. **Warning** Long post, but hang in there for lots of pictures!

I would say that we are 80% there. (He was very surprised, and really likes it). I have not done anything else to the room since his return, and the whirlwind that was the holiday season. We were gone more than we were home from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve!

Now that it's late January, I'm running out of reasons not to dive in and finish it.The truth is, It's overwhelming to me, because I'm not IN LOVE with it just yet... it's just not singing to me.

I started with off -white walls. When we moved in, I stripped the wallpaper, and painted the walls off- white, knowing that I would live with it for a bit, and then develop my new plan. A few years after that, I painted the honey oak stained cabinets tan, and added a stain to age them a bit. Everything else stayed the same until this past September.

I wanted something dramatic, and after trying several colors, I decided to go deep brown. Bittersweet, actually. And, I think it was a Home Depot color that Sherwin Williams color matched. I was also in a bit of a quandary tying to figure out what to do with my white doors and trim. To me, it looked like an Oreo, to have the dark drown of the walls next to the white doors. (Actually, they were Swiss Coffee, I think. So not bright white, but close enough!) Of course if my cabinets were also swiss coffee, It probably would have looked less weird, but I digress.

I flip-flopped back and forth between painting the doors and moulding to match the cabs, or be really daring and paint them black. Well, partly because I am lazy sometimes, but mostly because I was worn out from being a single mom while the hubs was deployed, I went ahead and hired a painter to do the the last coats on the walls, and paint the ceiling. I decided to let him paint the doors black, honestly, I thought it would be easier than trying to have him match the finish I did on the cabs.

I'm still not sold on the doors. Now I'm wondering why I did not just paint them the same color as the walls? It just did. not. occur. to me. Who knows? I may not have liked that either.

Here's a rundown of what was changed, and what still needs to be done...

• All sink, and shower fixtures changed from (Liberace Gold) Shiny Brass to Oil Rubbed Bronze. We are still waiting on the tub fixture to come in. This is our 3rd one. (Long story.)
• Walls, ceiling, and doors painted.
• New cabinet hardware installed.
• New dark brown switch covers, switches and outlets/covers put in. (They used to be white.)
• New rugs.
• Some new accessories, some I already had. 

Still on the list to be completed...

• Painting the old (Liberace Gold) Shiny Brass shower trim. (I found an ORB spray paint that works great for this!)
• The GIANT honkin' mirrors. I was going to frame them out, but now I think I am going to pull them out, and replace with some nice pre-framed mirrors I saw at Home Goods.
• Hang grass cloth wall paper in the inset wall where the mirrors are hung.
• Install wall mounted sconces on grass cloth wall paper on either side of both mirrors.
• Get new textured roman shade for large window over the tub. I want one with a top-down, bottom-up feature. Smith and Noble has some nice options. 
• New hand towels.

That about covers it. Our master bath is open to our bedroom, which is predominately a black and tan color scheme. Here are some pics...

 Sink Fixtures.

 Some of my accessories.

 The view looking back into the master bedroom.

 The view of the bath from the bedroom.

 The wall above my tub. Wall plaques reflect three of my favorite cities!

 View from over by the tub, and water closet.

 Yep, that's my arm! No other way to get the shot!

See, there's still tape on the shower glass where I did the test portion ORB.

P.S. For those of you too young to get my Liberace reference, he was a very flamboyant pianist when I was a kid, with a propensity for the overly shiny, overly done look. His costumes alone were so blinged-out, they could have blinded someone! Think an Italian style Elton John playing showtunes. I've always just called our brass fixtures Liberace gold. I am SO happy to be rid of them! 

I am hoping to get this thing wrapped up very soon. Does you also find yourself putting projects on the back burner if they are not living up to the vision you had for them? What do you do to get going again? I'd love any inspiring words that you have for me!

Well, that's it for today! I will be back with more updates on the master bath, as it nears completion. Wish me luck!

Linking up to...

                         
Have a great day!
xo
-Lisa

A Clutter-Free Night Table.

Ok, this is gonna be a quickie. I am all cozy in my bed, and I am FINALLY going to watch an hour of my DVR shows. Ok, fine...it's American Idol night. Ok? Yes, it's my guilty pleasure. So, let's get right to it!

A few weeks back, I was grumbling to myself about not being able to ever find the TV remote, who's home is supposed to be on my night table. I also was lamenting the fact that every time I reached over for anything I was constantly knocking the tissue box off it's perch. 

I got to thinking that maybe I should put that 3M command strip stuff, similar to velcro on the side of my night table, and the bottom of the remote. Same with the tissue box, but I wanted to find an unobtrusive re-fillable one. Out of sight, and out of the way!

I had a plan! Wouldn't you know, just a few days later, I found the cutest vintage clear plastic re-fillable tissue container at the G.W. (That's my code for the Goodwill, folks!)  It was 99 cents!! Yep. That's right.

I cleaned that baby up with hot soapy water, and applied the hook and loop strips to it, and the remote.

 Hey, nice Uggs, and red jammie pants!

 A little blurry...sorry.

 Once hung, they were barely visible from the side, and I love it!!!

 My night table is quite old, and was purchased at a little Santa Barbara antique store for $50 bucks! The finish was this way when I got it, And I love it. I added some free hand gold scroll work on the front of the top drawer, and little stars on the knobs.

I also found a little beat up pewter tray several months ago while thrifting. It was $1.99, I think. I lived with it pewter for a while, but decided to hit it with some bronze metallic spray paint, and some cork contact paper so I can put my drink on it. It works great!

 See, now there's plenty of room on my night table, and you can't even see the remote and tissue box on the side!

I am currently tweaking my master. It is furnished with collected pieces. I do have a nice large high boy double chest from Restoration Hardware on the wall that's not shown here. The same wall that houses the TV. 

That's it for now. Off to watch my show. Don't judge, I know it's crazy! I love it anyway! :-)

xo

-Lisa