One Last Kitchen Project

Hello friends.  I am back today with one last kitchen update project:  My mini coffee nook area.  The builder left what I have always thought of as a "dead zone" at the end of one wall of kitchen cabinets.  From ceiling to floor there was a twenty-two inch wide, nine feet tall, are of underutilized space (16 sq feet of dead wall area)!  We had previously add a kitchen island on wheels to the area, which is great for serving or for additional counter/prep area.  That still left six feet by twenty-two inches of unused space.  

While scrolling through Pinterest (you know one of the three on-line time killers in our lives, Pinterest, Facebook, and blogs - like mine!), I found a photo where shelves had been added to an area using the shelving brackets pictured above and below.  They are by Ikea, but available through Amazon. I loved the almost floating shelf look.  I like the metal trim at the end of the wood shelves, without clunky shelf supports.  I had planned to install three shelves in the kitchen so I ordered three sets of supports.

The brackets hold shelves that are one inch deep x seven and  a half inches wide.  Through further reading I found out that one inch lumber is in fact NOT one inch thick, but three-quarters of an inch thick and I would have a 1/4 inch empty area in my bracket if I used standard 1 inch thick lumber.  I really wanted something that filled the bracket, but did not cost an arm or a leg.  Then I found an article that introduced me to Stair Treads.  Stair Treads are a true one inch thick piece of lumber made for building stairs.  They measure 1 x 11.25 x 48,  perfect.  I ordered two Stair Treads from Lowe's for $9.98 each.  Doug used his table saw and cut half of lumber to 7.5 x 22 for me, removing the rounded front edge. He cut the remaining pieces at 7.5 x 26. My total cost per shelf is $5.00.

I used wood stain from my home project supplies stash and stained the shelves to be very rustic looking.  I did not a high gloss look, but something more farmhouse.  

I purchased a small can of Chalkboard paint and painted a portion of my dead zone.  I rounded the top, which had to be painted twice due to mom's helpful nudge mid-stroke!  

Using my Cricut and two cartridges, Word Collage and one other that I did not record the name of (!), I cut the white vinyl elements from the Coffee cut on Word Collage.  I used the Select Contour feature and removed part of the collage, keeping on the areas I planned to use.   I used transfer tape to move the cuts from the mat to the wall.    This was a two day project, only because we had over night company after the paint and shelves were up, but before I had a chance to cut the vinyl.  Also, I am still waiting for the tall thin pitcher I order from Magnolia Market (Chip and Joanna Gaines on line store) to arrive.  It will sit on the top shelf under the C in coffee.

In the end I only used two of the shelves in the kitchen.  I ordered one more set of brackets and added the two remaining larger shelves over the toilet in the Master Bathroom water closet. The water closet needed some type of storage area and the longer shelves are perfect.  So, lucky for me, my final kitchen project (for a while) became a bathroom update too.  Kind of a home improvement "twofer" - two for one!

Thanks for stopping by for another in the series of "how I make my husband crazy" home update projects.  I do have one more diy project planned, then I have promised to take it easy on the house for a while!!

Updating the Kitchen

Hello friends!  Today I am going to tell you about a project I have been working on for the few weeks.  I have been updating the look of our kitchen.  It all started when I took a good look at my window treatments and realized I was truly tired of them.  They worked perfectly for the mix of chef/fruit themed decor I had going eight years ago.  But alas, I am more than sick of that look.

I should have taken BEFORE photos, but the photo below is the only one I could find.  Sorry.  Just lots of white and lots of fall-ish colors. 

The real genesis of the re-do was when I entered a contest (which I did not win) for a kitchen remodeling courtesy of HGTV and LG appliances.  I had to create a Pinterest board of the kitchen I would like.  While trying for something original, I went with a French Country Glam look.  It was truly the blues, grays, and French fabrics that attracted me.  

Even though I did not win the contest, nor did I expect to, I had a backup plan - redo the parts of my kitchen that bothered me the most.  I decided to focus on the window treatments, the cabinet colors, the lighting, and the decor details.  

Mid-February - I sat down and made my plan for updating the kitchen.  I found a pattern for my new window treatment at Pate-Meadow.com.  I have used their patterns before and I like many of their designs. I ordered the pattern and the interlining (not interfacing, but a thicker lining for window treatments).

I purchased the face, lining, and piping fabrics this week also.  I took FOREVER selecting fabric.

Over the weekend, after all of my pattern and fabrics arrived, I spent several hours editing the pattern to make it fit the print repeat on my face fabric.  I removed an inch from the length and 1.75 inches from each of the window treatment sections.  And then I moved on to cutting the fabric sections and sewing the panels together before cutting the pattern (the actual pattern single piece is about 6 feet long and I will need to repeat it 3-4 times for my full bay window). Yikes.

It was a lot of work, but I LOVE the new window treatments:

**I am going to confess to being intimidated by the size of this pattern.  The overall magnitude of the project had caused me to leave it on the dining room table for three weeks before the sewing commenced.

Late February - I spent time searching for the best (read least expensive) place to buy glass shelves.  I want to add an indoor herb garden to the bay window.  My inspiration for this came from two Pinterest images I found weeks ago.

I scored a total win at a local glass company.  All three glass shelves, with finished front edge, cut to size with 3/8 inch glass for strength, will cost around $25.  Yay!  

I planted my herb seeds and as you can see in the photos below, my baby herbs are growing!!!

Canisters - I purchased new canister for to accent the new kitchen design.  I wanted something to go with the low key French-ish look and to compliment the new colors.  You may have seen the post I did transforming the canisters HERE.  I added a fleur de lis border and French names to the canisters in vinyl.  I think they look much more elegant with the border.

March 7 - I found the light fixtures I want to use to replace the yucky builder's basic long, tubular, white kitchen light fixture and the so-so breakfast nook light.  I have wanted to replace that ceiling hugging double florescent tube, long white light for soooo long.  

I ordered matching lights for the kitchen and breakfast nook, with the kitchen fixture being larger.  I also ordered blue chandelier lamp shades.

Our electrician installed the lights in the kitchen as well as move two others in the house.   Our electrician is Chris Powell, owner of Powell Plumbing and Electrical, LLC in Aiken, SC.  I cannot say enough about how great Chris and his associate were.  They even let me photograph them for the blog!!  If you live in the area and need an electrician, DO contact me and I will pass along Chris' contact information.

While waiting for Spring Break to arrive so that I could complete the painting without Avaleigh as a helper (the child has far too many hands for me to paint with her in the house), I decided to cover my white front dishwasher and oven with faux stainless film.  We plan to update our dishwasher in the not too distant future and will go with a stainless front, but in the meantime I thought the white fronts would really stand out in the kitchen.  With careful measuring and cutting, the film worked well.

I honestly think the faux finish looks pretty good on the stove and dishwasher.

Again, while awaiting the arrival of Spring Break, I began updating the wall and counter decor.  I was so tired of the colors in my kitchen!!  I have always liked blue and as luck would have, I also collect various china patterns.  I went through my stash of blue china and found some old bread plates and Spode Garden plates that I decided to use in the kitchen.  In fact the only new purchase for wall decor is the iron piece in the photo above.  Everything else came out of my dish stash.

Spring Break - Finally, finally, finally (!) Spring Break arrived and with it, the painting began!!  First I started to dis-assemble the kitchen and prepare for painting. 

We had take out four days in a row as the painting project was going on!  But I think the end result was well worth the effort!  I painted the lower cabinets only, Winter Fog.  This was another of the Rust-Oleum kits.  This kit was made especially for kitchen cabinet.  NO SANDING required.  

A final word about the island in my kitchen.  The stainless topped island is on wheels and includes a flip up bar on the backside.  It is great for serving when we have a party and the rest of the time it is home to several large counter top appliances.  Previously it too was white.  When I finished painting the cabinets, I took the leftover gray paint and added some of the blue from the buffet I painted a few weeks ago.  I made a gray-blue color and used that to paint the island.  I positioned it at the end of the cabinets so to better show the color for the photos.

The final update in the kitchen is the new runner on the floor.  I feel that the runner pulls the blues and grays together.  It brings harmony to the entire area.

Thanks for stopping by and viewing my kitchen update.  I will be back soon with a couple of new paper crafting projects!

Wedding Hurricane

Hello everyone.  I have been a bit busy this week and have been ignoring the blog world.  I am currently in Spartanburg, SC at Scrapbook Creations for a Breast Cancer weekend crop. I am joining my friends Jan, Susan, Bonnie, and Peggy for a weekend of de-stressing, girlfriend time, and cropping for a worthy cause.

Last night, while packing scrapping supplies and clothing, I took time to create this hurricane.  My older son, Aaron, is attending the wedding of one of his college roommates, Michael, and needed a nice gift.  Aaron and  Crissie will be spending the night at my house en route to the wedding.  I left the finished hurricane, it's box, a gift bag with lots of tissue AND a wedding card waiting for he and Crissie to take to the wedding with them.  I hope they like the hurricane as much as Doug and I.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the vinyl for this project.  I used a split letter alphabet, the letter M, and a basic font from my computer. 

In addition to Michael and Christie's names, I added "est. 2012" as they will be married on 9/22/12. 

Here is one final peek at the front of the hurricane.  The hurricane is 8 inches tall so the "M" was cut at four inches tall.  When I added the gap in the middle for Michael and Christie's names, the design filled most of the hurricane side.

I am hoping to have a restorative weekend here in Spartanburg but also to complete a lot of projects to share with you over then next couple of weeks.

Thanks for stopping by today and viewing my wedding gift project!

Early Delivery Surprise

We had a pleasant surprise at our  home yesterday - our new pieces of furniture delivered early!  We purchased a new leather sectional and a new occasional chair.  I am posting photos for MARY and anyone else who may care!!!  Note: Duncan was not cooperating during the photo session.  And yes, we are Easter-ized at the moment - lots of antique linens and Easter porcelain. 

Additional note - the baker's rack will be replace with a cherry buffet as soon as the buffet is delivered.  I will be adding a large clock between the buffet and the plate rack.

I love the chair (not so much the amplifier cord sneaking out from under the chair).  The real life colors are rich and it is so comfortable.

I decided to show you the whole room.  This is, of course, the entertainment center.  The crazy painted cabinet on the left is from Michael's and I painted it.  It hold CDs.  The crazy mini-UK-phone booth on the right housed DVD (as do the shelves in the bottom of the cabinet). 

The fireplace and an antique rocker with hand-knit throw..... Very warm on winter nights.   Note the Cricut vinyl over the shelves - and YES, I needed an eight foot ladder to install the vinyl!

And basically this is the room view from the dining room.  Very warm comfy, while somewhat neutral.  And though the Fender guitar area is a bit messy looking, it is my concession to Doug's hobby.