hey look...

I made the curtains for the kitchen...er, not really. I just threw the washed fabric up there to see if I like it. I think I do but I'll really know after spending an hour making them and then declaring that I hate them. 'Cause that's how I roll.

detour...

A little detour from the schoolroom makeover as I'm waiting for the new computer and a trip to Ikea. So I decided to paint the back of the kitchen cabinets. They are open cabinets (on purpose not because we haven't bought cabinet doors yet) and were just boring white. So I got out the wall color (SW Rice Grain) and painted.

I would have liked to add some pattern but this was fast and free. I might stencil something later. Yeah right, who am I kidding. That will never happen.





I'm also looking at making a box valance for the boring window using one of these fabrics. I want to tie in the green of the living/dining room and schoolroom.

Don't mind Ava making lunch for our trip to the park. I rarely get a picture of my house without some kid in the room (and I like it that way).




Once I hit the fabric store I may come home with something completely different. It has been known to happen.

my life in bullet points

• Made laundry detergent. Super simple, cheap and cleans really well. Doesn't look so good though. Kind of like my cooking.

• Taught Algebra. Fun for me, not so much for the girls. I think I actually messed up on that problem. Yes that is an Ikea list in the corner :)

• Trying to get her over her head cold. Poor thing. Doesn't she look pathetic? I think she wanted candy and I told her we didn't have any.

• Painted kitchen, now waiting for cabinet doors. Still need new floor. Molly is still giving me the eye.

• Started a Pandora station to get me through this all. I don't know why I would include this in my list but I'm listening to it right now. Weird song just came on. Thumbs down.
• Off to make dinner.

kitchen....

Well all of the tongue and groove is up but not all primed and painted (as you can see behind the cart). We did finally get the drawer pulls back on the drawers but have no cabinet doors up yet. I haven't even begun to paint them. Sigh...

I did buy this rolling cart on Overstock (which soon will get a coat of moss green paint). It holds all of our baking pans and various things as well as provides more counter space. I love having the wider doorway. A rolling cart and a pot rack - I don't want to move now.

my weekend...

More kitchen posts...















Still to do: fill in nail holes and some knots in the tonque and groove. Paint and do some sort of edging.


New potrack from Ikea.


Sewed some new pillows.


Sewed some curtains but still need to find some trim.


New $7.00 lamp and shade from Goodwill. It was brass but I sprayed it black. Still need to do trim to match other lamp.


New trim on other lamp. It matches the pillow I made.

Whew!

Linking:

ikea...

Brian went to Ikea yesterday after work to pick up the rug of my dreams and a few dining chairs. Our black chairs were too wide for the table and are listed on Craigslist.

When I saw this rug at Ikea I couldn't get it out of my head. I actually liked another rug better but it had white in it and white is not a good color to have with kids. I can't believe I actually liked this rug as it isn't my normal style but it goes so well with my house and new Ikea gray slipcover. It sure makes our coffee table look small, hmmm...

Want to see it?



See the "indian" style print. Totally not me but I love it.

Brian and Maddie started to install our sink so we could have running water.




While Lauren, Ava and Ellie were assembling my chairs:


I just stood back with encouraging words and took pictures. Nice to have help!

Speaking of Ikea...Graedon loved the store so much he did some drawings.

I'm in love...

with my new countertops. Why didn't we do this sooner?

This is what I woke up to this morning...






Why there is dish soap next to the sink, I don't know. It's not like we're going to do dishes there.


Why yes there is a couch in my dining room. Hopefully it will be sold this week.

After the guy left:






Wow! It is Formica made to look like soapstone. Now we have to wait for Brian to get home to install the sink. Counting down the hours....

bunch of stuff...

Before:


During:


Now:


Love it and I can't believe we lived with that dinky doorway for all these years!



On the kitchen front, we got some of the tongue and groove up. We took down the 1970's paneling and it looks so much better! There was quite a bit of sheetrock to fix. We're waiting to install the rest until after we get our new countertops. This is going to be our backsplash as well.

I'm putting together a new color palette for the house and I don't know what I will paint the kitchen above the tongue and groove. I'm trying for a more neutral palette because I don't want to paint before we move (which we hope is by the end of the year) So the aqua walls are out. *sniff*

Here are the colors I've been jotting down while browsing various blogs.


The tans/greige for the living room, hallway and dining room. I'm trying for something with green undertones to counter our orange oak floors. The blue/sea salt for our bedroom. Greens for the school room and maybe the little kids bedroom. I'm not sure what I will paint upstairs, probably whatever I paint in the living room. I'm trying for safe colors because we want to sell our house as move in ready.

We can get wild again in our new house! Well I need to get back to priming kitchen drawers and put a coat of paint on them. I would like the kitchen project finished by the end of March. We'll see.

busy weekend...

So we rented this:


to deal with this mess in the garage...




and it was looking like this at the end of the day


We still have to do quite a bit but at least we can walk in there and most importantly, I can start painting the cabinet doors.

My older girls took the younger kids to the play park behind our house so I could sand down the cabinet bases. Then I primed them with oil based primer (it took 2 coats to cover the dark brown well enough...


and carefully painted the first coat of Miller paint Acrinamel in white semi-gloss. It is too stark white so I will take it back in and have some yellow added just to warm it up a bit.

I didn't get a picture of our upper cabinets but they look really good. Of course I can't put anything back in my cabinets yet so we are living like this for now.



This Saturday I plan to line the cabinets with new contact paper and start putting everything back. I bought some turntables and some various organizational items so it will look good on the inside and out (which is kind of important as we won't have cabinet doors on for awhile).

Aw the life of a remodeler...

kitchen started...

With the countertops ordered (we got this by the way:)

Brian started tearing the backsplash off so the template can be made. This is how my kitchen looks now:

Duct taped beadboard and paper.


Took off the 1960's "brick" and Formica backsplash and discovered something funny.


The original color of the kitchen was almost the same exact color I painted it.


Nothing much changes, eh?

So today I'm busy turning the blue interior cabinets into white.


I didn't bother to prime as the blue is a flat paint so I just cleaned it real good and started painting Polar Bear white in Semi Gloss by Behr.


I'm off to give it a second (and hopefully final coat)