Kitchen Sneak Peak
The kitchen is almost done! I’m exhausted, but it was totally worth it. Here is a little sneak peak for you until I am ready for the final reveal:
If you like these little snap shots then stay tuned for the rest…
Bit Of Chair Love
I happened upon this super cute chair on the blog Purple Area. It would make an adorable desk or side chair. I just love the black color and the curved back.
I even like the purple wall here. This would be adorable in a little girl’s room… or even a grown up girl’s room!
A New Headboard
I think this was Tony’s favorite project yet! My mom had an old brass headboard for a king size bed. She was going to throw it out, so I snatched it right up. After a coat of primer and a couple coats of black paint…
He was so excited last night after we got it hung that he said the bedroom looks like a hotel now. I take that as a compliment! I was afraid that the black would be too much next to the black art above, but I think it worked out well. Always a work in progress…
I think the pups approve too!
Progress- The Kitchen!
We have been hard at work painting those kitchen cabinets. Not finished yet, but getting close. I just thought that we would update you on some of the process and the progress.
Here are some before shots of the dark, mismatched, and very worn cabinets:
I started by using a palm sander to sand the stain off of all showing cabinet surfaces. They then looked like this:
Next, I removed all of the old hardware and filled the existing holes with wood putty. I did not need to fill the holes from the hinges, however, because we were lucky enough to purchase new hinges that fit in the old holes. But the handles are completely different sizes and shapes, so these holes and to be filled. I also swiped some of the putty across any cracks and dents I found. By the way, the new wood putty they have out there is more of a foam than putty. It is super easy to use. I sanded the putty spots down once they were dry. For the larger holes I puttied and sanded a second time so that they came out very flat with the wood. Here’s a shot of that step before sanding (after sanding they look much smoother):
I then started the painting process (the lengthy part!). I decided to start with only the bottom cabinets. There would not be enough floor space to paint all of the doors at the same time. I taped off walls, trim and floors with painter’s tape. I also taped down papers on the floor. (Actually, this is kind of weird, but I taped down puppy pee pads. We had a bunch left from when the puppy was still having accidents. She never liked to use them, but instead of throwing them out they made great drop clothes!) I then applied to coats of Kilz primer.
You can see that the first coat goes on kind of streak-y, but the second coat covers much more evenly. We now have the bottom cabinets painted with two coats of white semi-gloss paint, and we are hanging the hardware and doors tonight. More updates to come… but isn’t it starting to look gooood?! 🙂
Typewriter Table Detailed
Sorry, I forgot to upload new pictures yesterday. But, today you get to see a lot of progress from the weekend! Here is the typewriter table that I showed you before. It is now finished and detailed!
Once I finished the second coat of white spray paint I arranged cardboard scrap-booking stencils in the placement I liked. I traced and filled the stencils with a paint pen. These little guys work great! I have used it on a couple of projects now and it always does the trick. I think it is super cute and ready to be used!
Shabby Chair Love
I love the shabby chic look. I just do. I always have. But, Tony isn’t a huge fan, and our house has stayed away from it for the most part. However, when I saw this chair on Flickr, I just couldn’t help but love it. It isn’t just a shabby white chair, look at the large curved back! “Unique Chair,” by Jaci Berkopec:
Have a great weekend!
Thrifted and Rearranged
We have been busy busy. It all started with a quick stop at the D.A.V. (Disabled American Veteran’s) thrift store. I happened upon a cute little vintage typewriter table for $3.95! I love the metal industrial look, so I couldn’t resist. It was just a bit dirty and scratched, so we painted her white. With one more coat and a small black swirl on top (this weekend) this beauty will sit next to the door to the backyard in the dining room. It is on wheels and easily movable, so it will serve as an outdoor drink table as well. We have been searching for something to go outdoors while enjoying grilling or the bonfire, and nothing seems pretty but built for the outdoors. This way we can just bring the little table in when we aren’t out there. Here she is:
While I was there I also spotted an antique, claw foot, drop leaf table. Hmmm… We got to thinking. We have been wanting a bigger table for the dining room and decided to try moving the red table to the kitchen. After giving the rooms some rearranging we fell in love. Here’s the kitchen:
It feels so nice and cozy in there now. We even sat here yesterday morning and had coffee together. So, after giving the new arrangement a night we decided it was a keeper. I headed back to the D.A.V. and snatched up the dining table. We got a great deal, but it does need some work. I removed some scuffs, but there are scratches. We are probably going to cover it with a table cloth until we get some other projects finished and then start stripping and refinishing it. We are thinking of staining it either a lighter brown to match the maple bar or black like the desk that is still in progress. I am still hung up on my mis-matched chairs, and am in the process of adding a few different styled ones, so although it doesn’t match perfectly right now it will when we get done! Bonus: I found out that the table expands for adding leaves! Although it didn’t have the originals with it we can make some for it to have big family meals here! 🙂 Here’s the dining room:
Well, what do you think? Any suggestions or ideas? Its always a work in progress, but it’s getting there! Oh, and Romeo the camera hog says hi, too.
Antique Treasures
My grandmother just sent me a box of antique jewelry and doodads! I was so excited last night to rummage through all of the sentimental pieces. I’m not sure what I am going to do with all of it, but I have some creative ideas going. Here is a peak at the goods:
The island covered in all the treasures.
I really loved this little tray. My grandma said it was very old. I thought it might look cute in the bathroom when we get in refinished.
A gorgeous cameo and some really pretty crystals.
Another cameo and a very old pin and rings.
Two old jewelry boxes and a sweet locket.
This box was special because my uncle made all of these turqoise and jade rings and pieces. His sign is a paw print and is engraved on the back of each piece.
Exciting huh? I will let you all know what I do with some of the pieces… I can feel the creative juices flowing…
Sweet Little Details
I really believe that it’s the little details in a home that make your space special. Ok, that sounds cheesy. But, it is true. We have made some major repairs, spend lots of money, and in the end it’s the little projects worth a few bucks that make me so proud of our home. I have been excited for days about the new towel bar we hung in the bathroom. This is not only a convenience, but looks so much better than having the towel laying on the sink all the time- and, it only cost me about $3!
So, last night while finishing up the living room curtains we also hung up some coffee mugs in the kitchen. I bought a few new red mugs at Wal Mart for $2 apiece. I got a few cup hooks, and viola! Instant face-lift for the kitchen space. I love my bird of paradise mugs, but these look much more updated and will go great once we finishing the painting of the cabinets. Tony actually hung a separate board under the cabinet so that the screws for the hooks wouldn’t go all the way through. He also had to slightly open up the cup hooks, as the mug handles were a bit wider than standard ones. All in all I think they look great and will be awesome in the new kitchen too!
I know I said that I would be starting to work on the cabinet painting last week, but I got a bit lazy. I really am going to work on it this week, so check back for updates and tips on the cabinet painting!
More Curtains!
Last night we finished hanging curtains in the living room. I am so excited to not have these flowery old lady curtains any more:
I really wish I would have remembered to take specific before shots of these. They even had poufy, paper-stuffed valences!
I’m not too sure about the new curtains we chose, so I need your opinions and suggestions. They are, no doubt, better than the before, but not exactly what we had in mind. We wanted to stay inexpensive for right now, so we got these at WalMart (no Ikea near us!). We originally picked a charcoal color, but when we got home we realized that the packages we grabbed were all black! They do need some steaming, but here they are:
I think it is a huge improvement, but it still feels a little off. Tony likes the blinds on one window (this is the previous family’s doing- not mine!) but, I think the small window should have sheers as well so the two match. What do you think?
Either way, these are much more our taste, style, and colors, and best of all- no foofy grandma curtains! 🙂
Oh, and I realize that we really need a rod that is meant to be showing, but we aren’t going to spend the money on a custom length one right now. So, the white bar has to stay and we just have to deal with it for a little while!
Make Mine Eclectic 