Kitchen Remodel

Now that I'm starting this post, "remodel" seems like a strong word choice.  However, we did have the entire existing kitchen backsplash ripped down and replaced, swapped out the blinds, and added hardware- all in an effort to make this guy seem less out of place.  Kidding.  But seriously, he did offer some inspiration.

Purchased at the Boardwalk Art Show from PalmsUpPottery

The real sense of urgency for this update came 100% from me and my Type A tendencies.  I've always been a freak about wherever I live feeling like home immediately and it really doesn't matter how long I'll be there.  The truth is, I just need to make myself (and others) feel right at home, right away.  Now, I realize this quirk can make me difficult to deal with sometimes, but with a little bit of patience and a few "sounds good" usually I can meet people in the middle.

In this particular instance, it took me quite awhile before getting the green light to move forward, but it was well worth it.  Below are the before and after shots.  I can't take ANY of the credit when it comes to the tile work, apart from picking it out and being really good about offering the guys working on it a constant flow of beer and water (depending on the day and time, of course!).  

Notice the odd starting/stopping points for the tile- it's obvious they were put up before the cabinets

The only thing I can really take ownership of is the upgrade of the blinds from the 1" vinyl to the 2" white, faux wood and adding the hardware to the cabinets.  Picking out both was easy since we'd already updated the blinds in our living room and I'd had the perfect handles in mind (and pinned) months before starting on the remodel.  However, installing them wasn't quite as simple.  

The blinds were pretty basic, but the smaller window required they be shortened- which is easy enough if you follow the directions.  The hardware on the other hand definitely took some time and a lot of patience.  It was one of those situations where nothing seemed to go right.  The cabinet guide I bought fit most standard size handles but the ones I bought were much longer.  That said, there was a lot of eyeballing measuring and marking required.  The cabinets didn't already have hardware so I was having to create holes first which required flipping back and forth between drill bits.  And lastly, the screws that came with them were not the best quality and as a result had to be screwed in by hand to avoid stripping them.  

So, what do you think?  If you know me and my current home decor I think you'd agree this is a much better fit.  

Armoire Do-over

Feeling encouraged after my lil yellow table turned out ok, I thought it wouldn't be too too scary to tackle a larger piece.  That said, I had a rule about buying furniture while we were still renting- and that was not to do it.  I'd just hate to invest and fall in love with a piece of furniture that wouldn't fit in our next space.  Don't you agree?

Well, low and behold the minute we put an offer on our house I started to nest.  I found this piece on craigslist for $100 cash and convinced Jake we "needed" it for the new house.  With our closing date a month away and no real place to store it, my parents kindly enough offered up a corner in their garage... a spot I found myself in several nights after work until it was move-in ready.

This is how he (I personify inanimate objects a lot) looked the day I got him:

The first step was to remove what hardware I could- there was no getting the door of, but the handles all came off easy enough.  After giving him a good sanding, I taped the door trim to protect the glass and started priming.  This guy definitely took two coats of basic primer, but it was important to get it right since I planned to paint the shelves white.

Next came the color!  Something you should know about me is that I don't typically pay full price for a gallon of paint.  I'm that person frequenting Lowe's and Home Depot's reject section snagging anything in the blue green family or completely neutral for $5 or less a can.  So far it's worked for me.  But in an effort to be honest, I didn't have anything other than primer when it came to white, so I did buy a quart of a grey/white color.  There, now everything is out in the open. 

Making progress...

Once I was done painting, it was time to add the finishing touches.  The below coral handles I'd purchased in white and planned to replace the original drawer handles with didn't quite work out. The knob on the door is connected to the cabinet's locking mechanism making it difficult to remove and the combination of it with the new handles just wasn't working for me.  Oddly enough I'm happy with the original pulls... it keeps a bit of the character for sure, but I'll let you decide for yourself.

Here he is in his new "home".

Well, what do you think?