kitchen inspiration

I saw this picture (sorry but I can't find the source):


and now I'm revamping my kitchen makeover a little.

I'm going with white cabinets all around (top and bottom), black countertops, hardwood look floors (probably some kind of easy care vinyl that we get to match the rest of our hardwood floors) and we will widen the doorway near the refrigerator and add a hanging pot rack and maybe a butcher block rolling cart.

I probably won't be getting stainless steel appliances for awhile. That's okay. Our white ones work just fine and it will save us an enormous amount of money.

Total for the kitchen makeover is budgeted at under $1000. I'm sure we can pull if off. I just can't wait to get started. Well as excited as you can be sanding, priming and painting cabinets.

But today I'm working on our fireplace mini makeover. I'm totally inspired by Layla at The Lettered Cottage and am copying her. If you don't read her blog, you should. She has the best ideas!

Here is hers:


I've already painted the brick on mine black and Brian has to build a box out of 1x6's for the top. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to stain it. Total cost will probably be around $20 since we have most everything here!

new beginnings...

Finished one writing program, time to clean out binders and start a new one.

dining table...

I actually painted the dining table about a month ago but never got around to showing pictures. The table seats all 8 of us but I keep two chairs on either side of the buffet so it doesn't look so crowded.

It was just a solid oak round dining table and I wanted to break up the oakiness (hey, new word!) of it.

I took one of the million cans of gray sample paint and slapped several coats on the base, sanded it down and sealed it with poly. Honestly, it took me a few hours over two days. Why do I put these things off?

Before:


In other home remodeling news, we haven't even finished the upstairs bathroom (who actually likes to do finish trimming?) and I have big plans to redo the kitchen. We would like to gut it but that is not in our budget as we would like to move in about a year. So the plan is to repaint the cabinets (adding some moulding for interest), reglaze the old formica countertops, new floor to match the mudroom, some beadboard on the side cabinets and new stainless steel appliances. Oh and actually make the electrical up to code (I don't think extension cords are really code-friendly).




Stainless steel appliances here.

This floor in kitchen:


I like the layout of the kitchen and the cabinets are old but really, really solid. This is just really a cosmetic update that will hopefully help to sell the house later on. The new owners can gut it if they like :)

I really don't want to leave this house but we really would like to move closer to our friends and church. We drive 45 minutes to church and sometimes more if there are activities on a week night. So we'll see how it goes. At least I will get a nicer kitchen even if we don't sell!

slipcover...

Remember this chair? We needed a chair that swiveled for tv watching and we found this one at a yard sale for $10. It's from the 1980's but in really good condition (although dirty).


Mustard gold wasn't really in keeping with my decor so I picked up some really soft ticking fabric, washed it and put it aside for 3 months. I HATE making slipcovers. Finally I felt motivated after Christmas and while watching the girls play the new Wii Lego Star Wars game, got it done.

It actually ended up fitting pretty well and I was left with one scrap at the end. Phew! Now all of my living room furniture has slipcovers and my furniture stays clean for a couple of days. Quite an accomplishment with 6 kids and two dogs.





The pleat in the middle wasn't planned but I was running out of fabric and came up with that solution. I kind of like it now. The slipcover looks loose because I pulled it off and put it on 1.2 million times to get a good fit. Once I wash it, it will shrink back up (I hope).

I still have a chair in my bedroom I need to slipcover but I'm in no rush. It will probably be done in a couple of years.

first fire-fighter on mars...

Molly: "Mommy, I want to be a princess/mermaid/knight when I grow up. Oh and a minja."

Me: "Is a minja a mommy and ninja combined?"

Molly: "Yes."

Some days I do feel like a "minja" as I both mother and fight sinful behavior in our lives.



Grae wants to be the first astronaut fire-fighter on Mars. Then the first police officer to the Moon in case anyone tries to steal the American flag from it's surface. (I'm not making this up). We support him in his dreams but I really want him to be a dentist. He thinks that is too boring of course.

I am looking forward to seeing what my kids bring to the world. I pray that their love and knowledge of God grows and they can find ways to bring His truth to anything they do. Apparently even Martians.

living room...

Well, it finally happened. I'm happy with the paint color and layout of my living room. I kept trying new things until it clicked. There are still some things that I need to do (like the blank striped wall behind the couch) but I'm going to be patient and wait for the right thing.

I really wanted to have the living room feel cozy and inviting. It's not a very large room but when you have a large family, not many rooms feel large :)

Before:




After:







We took the board and batten treatment from the dining room around to the living room wall. It needed something and we can't put anything there that would block the flow of traffic.

Anyway, I'm done decorating and painting for awhile. I want to concentrate on other things (like homeschooling) and saving up money for the upstairs reno. I'm sure as soon as spring starts coming on, I'll change my mind :)

Linking:

going dark...

Up until recently I was scared of dark colors in my house, especially the color black. I would only go as dark as a deep brown. But then I decided to paint my dining chairs black, loved it and the logical next step was to repaint my bathroom black, right?

Well I did it and I am very pleased. Since we have a large window in the bathroom and white beadboard along the bottom wall, it is not dark in there at all. In fact I think it brightened the room up as the color that is in there pops.

Before:
ore:

After:



Sigh...why don't I do laundry before taking pictures? This built in isn't finished yet (and has been this way for 5 years. We'll finish it when we tear out the beadboard and tile the shower)





It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm enjoying it for now.

Linked: