kitchen reno, take three.

We are officially done working on our kitchen, and now I can finally share it with y'all!  I am really excited about how it turned out.  My last post was written about our first two kitchen renovation projects, you can read that here if you missed it: kitchen reno, take one and two.  This is the first time we have lived in a house while we did any major work on it, for the last two houses we always lived someplace else while the work was being done since they were both whole-house makeovers.  Being around for the renovation actually turned out to be way less of an issue than I originally thought it would be.  In some ways it was easier - we didn't have to leave to go work on another house and things had to stay pretty tidy for the most part since we couldn't really live and eat in a total construction zone for the six or so weeks it took to finish the project.  There were some days where I was cooking dinner in the "clean" half of the kitchen while Erik was putting up tile in another part!  While the last kitchen we did was pretty much my baby - I did all the cabinet refinishing, painting, electrical, and hardware installation myself, this time around Erik is responsible for almost all the hard work, and he did such a fantastic job.  I will take a little credit for some of the design and painting, but outside of that it was all him.  Here are some pictures, and more about how we did it (and in a really budget-friendly way!):

before:

after:

A little about how this project started...  When we first saw our current house, we immediately loved almost everything about it.  The layout is exactly what we wanted, the location is great, it has a nice fenced-in back yard for Lucy and the kids.  But I did have to look past a couple cosmetic things to get on board with buying it, knowing we would eventually change them out.  The thing I disliked most was the brown glass kitchen tile backsplash.  I don't know why I disliked it so much, I know some people really like that style, but I was just not a fan.  I contemplated trying to paint it as a temporary cover-up, but realized I would want to eventually replace it anyway so I held out until we were under contract on our old house and knew we would be able to comfortably afford starting on our planned house projects (as in, there was an end in sight to the double house payments we had been making for almost a year - blah!)  So this whole thing started out as simply replacing the backsplash, and totally snowballed into something much larger.  But, after six years of on and off house renovations, we should have known that was bound to happen!  That's just how we roll.  Anyhow, as the tile was being ripped out, we started talking about making a few other changes.  We have both always loved open shelving, and while it felt a bit scary to think about removing our existing cabinets (what if we actually hated having the exposed shelves?!) we decided to go for it and I am so happy we did.  Taking down one cabinet turned into taking out a total of four, and adding in floating wooden shelves in their place.  I love how much it opened up the kitchen and it is a much lighter and brighter space because of it.

We debated a bit about the tile, I have always wanted to do white subway but then worried it was getting too popular and that maybe I would get tired of it down the road.  But it's a pretty classic look and I have liked it for a long time so we went with it.  Initially we purchased all the tile and supplies from our local big box store but I then realized that I didn't like the boarder pieces you had to use with it, so we returned it and started looking for other options.  Since we were planning to tile up and around the window, I didn't want the distraction of a border all the way around that space, so we had to find tile available with finished edges so it could literally just "stop" where we wanted it to.  We ended up finding the prefect tile at a local tile shop.  The tile we went with not only had the edging options we were looking for, but was also a matte finish and a soft white color, as opposed to the glossy variety sold at the big box stores.  The downside was the cost, the stuff we went with was around three times as much as we originally planned on spending, but it was worth it to us knowing we would be looking at it for (hopefully) a lot of years to come. 

Did you notice anything missing in these pictures?  We got rid of our microwave!  Last September a coworker of mine and I got into a serious discussion about microwaves and it really got me thinking - why on earth am I comfortable with a machine in my house designed to radiate my food?!  We buy organic foods to avoid this very thing, and here I am radiating it after I bring it home.  Not that I microwaved everything, but I did use it often to quickly reheat leftovers.  So, that very day after talking to her, I came home and put a piece of tape over the door that said "no no no" to remind myself not to use it.  Ha!  It worked, we haven't used it since that day and quite honestly it has been incredibly easy to heat up our food in other ways.  Now I mostly use our toaster oven that I bought to replace the microwave, or the oven if it's a larger amount of stuff to reheat.  The space that used to hold the microwave is now open - we added in a light to keep that area bright and a shelf above for decorative items.  I am on the hunt for a large artificial plant to put up there but haven't found it yet.  If you know where to buy large, realistic-looking artificial plants please let me know!

Now let's talk about those glass doors.  That is another idea we came up with when we were talking about how to give the kitchen a brighter and more open feel.  We initially removed the doors with the intent to replace them with new ones.  Strangely enough, neither of our big box stores could specially order custom sized glass doors, so we turned to the internets.  Erik found a website that sold them for $150 a pop, which I thought was quite expensive, especially since we needed three doors.  When I realized they were that costly and didn't even come painted or with glass, I said no way Jose.  We started looking for other solutions, and Erik found what turned out to be the best solution possible.  We actually used the existing doors, cut a hole in the middle and (I almost don't want to tell you this part) added in plexiglass!  Erik found this tutorial and loosely followed it to make our doors.  A huge sheet of plexiglass was around $60 and he had to buy a routing tool to help cut the space for the glass to fit into, so the whole door project cost only around $100, maybe a bit more.  And Erik is happy because he got another tool out of the deal!  The tutorial promised that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between real glass and plexiglass, and honestly, you can't!  The only way you can tell is by tapping on the glass, and really, how often do you do such a thing?  He added in some trim on the face of the door to hold the glass in place, filled in the seam, and put several coats of paint on top.  It was pretty easy and sooo much less expensive than buying new doors!!

We went back and forth on paint colors, it was probably the hardest decision of the whole project.  The kitchen opens up to the living room, which is painted a nice, neutral beige.  I tend to pick warmer colors but fell in love with the cooler grey/blues for the kitchen since they look so nice next to the white tile.  In the end, we picked a light grey with a hint of blue, but on the walls it definitely looks more blueish.  We love it though, and it looks fine next to the beige living room, which I was most concerned about. It is definitely a nice change from the formerly gold wall color!  The switch plates were something else that Erik and I went back and forth about, he wanted something decorative, I wanted something that would blend in with the tile.  As a compromise, I ordered white metal plates online.  When they arrived and I installed one, I noticed they were not the same color white as the tile so those were sent back.  The best solution ended up being the plain, inexpensive plastic plates.  They were just the right color white and blended in well with the tile.  We also replaced the switches and plugs - I tried to clean them but years of kitchen gunk had made them dingy, especially when next to the white tile.

In addition to new paint and a lighter colored backsplash, we also removed the gaudy 6" granite backsplash, added in some under-cabinet LED lights, and added a light above the stove, all which combined, made a drastic improvement in the brightness of the room.  We replaced the knobs with handles on the cabinet doors, and smaller profile knobs on the drawers.  We upgraded the light fixtures with the exception of the pot rack above the island which we both really like, and the light above the table which I am still shopping for, I am pretty sure we will replace it at some point.  And that is pretty much it!  I feel like we made a drastic change and this renovation cost far, far less than the last two kitchens.  I think because we didn't have to replace anything major - cabinets, counter top, or appliances.  The stuff we did buy was pretty inexpensive in terms of renovation materials.  I don't know the total cost of the project, but I can tell you it was surprisingly inexpensive.  And two of the cabinets we took out of the kitchen will soon be repurposed up in our laundry room, which will save us more on that project's costs.

The part of the kitchen pictured above is between the main part of the kitchen and living room.  We didn't do much here except remove the granite backsplash, paint, and change out the hardware, but we have tentative plans for a future phase two of this renovation.  Behind the wall on the other side of these cabinets, is the shower/tub of the full bathroom downstairs.  All of the bedrooms in our house are upstairs, and we don't ever see ourselves needing a shower or tub on the main level, so we are thinking of turning that full bath into a half bath, and using the shower space to put in a larger, walk-in pantry.  We do have a pantry, and I will not complain about it - it's the first pantry I have ever had and I love it!!  But we feel like we could add in some additional pantry space, plus a small bar/countertop/desk thingy and wine fridge inside it.  That's Erik's dream anyway!  This plan won't happen for a few years I'm sure, once baby #2 enters the picture all house projects will be put on hold for a while.

One other area that is kind of part of the kitchen, is an area we worked on last year shortly after we bought our house.  I found the idea on Pinterest, and we literally completed the whole thing in just one weekends time. There is a small entry space from the garage into the kitchen, where we took a blank wall and turned it into something of a permanent coat rack.  This was a quick and easy project that really made quite the difference in the small space, and also gave us a functional place to hang our coats and bags.  There is a large coat closet directly across from it, but we turned that into a "cat closet" for our spoiled kitty, with a cat door and ventilation fan for the litter box fumes.  I know, I know, he's a really lucky cat (you would think he would show more appreciation, but no.  None at all.)  Anyway, we have another coat closet by the front door for winter jackets and additional shoe storage, but our everyday things are kept by the garage for easy access.

And finally, a few random photos of the renovation as it was happening...

this evening started with "I wonder how hard it is for that tile to come out..." and ended with this!

close up of the brown glass tile, oversized granite backsplash, and gold walls.  hey, 1996 called and wants their kitchen back! 

who does this?!  fixing little things like this made a big difference.  we moved this outlet over a few inches while we had the drywall out, replaced the outlet itself, and freshened up the window trim and caulk.

in the main area of the kitchen it ended up being easier to just remove and replace the drywall, which wasn't our original plan but gave easy access to run the new electrical wires through the wall.

Arlo loved watching Erik work in the kitchen and learned all about different types of tools and materials!

first few rows of tile complete!

hanging the floating shelves was something we did a good bit of research on, and in the end decided to drill holes in the studs (actually having to add in a few extra studs where we wanted them), screw in these metal rods, and then slide on the shelves which also had holes drilled in them.  

unfinished shelves before they were stained and sealed

I mentioned in a previous post that we had plans to start working on our laundry room when my parents were here a few weekends ago, but we ended up using that entire weekend to work on the kitchen.  In the upcoming month we will (hopefully) start and finish the laundry room and I will share some pics of that when it's done.  Thanks for coming along on what turned out to be, a rather long tour of our updated kitchen!

kitchen reno, take one and two.

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you know that Erik and I are no strangers to DIY house projects.  We are by no means professionals, but now that we are working on our third house, I would say that we do have a bit of experience!  Our current house really was move-in ready, but I knew when we bought it that there were a few little things I would want to change over time, namely the kitchen backsplash, laundry room, and paint colors in a few rooms.  Eventually we have plans to do more (dreaming of a fully-furnished, roomy screened-in porch but that's for another year decade, ha!)  Before baby 2.0 arrives this summer we decided it would be realistic to tackle a few medium sized projects, and first up is the kitchen.  But, before we go there, let's back up a few years.  Actually, let's back up six years, to when Erik and I bought our first house together.  That house was definitely not move-in ready, and when we bought it we knew it would need a full make-over.  This was before the kiddo phase in our lives (actually before we even got married!) so we had a lot more time on our hands.  Maybe some day I will share the whole house renovation, because we literally gutted the entire place and replaced everything, but for today let's take a peek at the kitchen.  Like I said, we literally took out everything in here - replaced the flooring, cabinets, appliances, countertops, and painted the walls and ceiling.  Erik's parents helped us with this project, and it wouldn't have turned out this awesome without them.  Here are the before and after shots:

looking into the kitchen:

kitchen sink area:

stove:

Hey, remember that time when I started a blog and one of my first posts was how to make a kitchen cabinet organizer?  ha!

Note the green walls - this was the second kitchen I painted green (I also painted the kitchen in my rental house green when I lived in MI) and also not our last kitchen of this color, stay tuned.  Erik installed the tile floor, and we hired someone to help us install the cabinets which were ordered from Lowes.  The counter-tops are granite and all the appliances are stainless steel.  The sink and faucet are also from Lowes.  This was a very small kitchen, but is still one of my favorites to date.  The back window overlooks a steep drop-off that leads down to a creek and if you didn't know any better you would think you were in the mountains when you looked outside.  I sure loved this little house and get a little nostalgic looking back at these photos!  Technically, since we still own it as it's now a rental property, and we could move back in if we missed it that much but I don't think that tiny house would fit our growing family!

We lived in that sweet little house for two years before we decided we were ready for a change.  We were planning on starting a family so we started shopping for a house with a little more space both indoors and out (our first little house had virtually no yard.)  In September of 2012 we bought our next house, another fixer-upper with the intention of keeping our (then current) house as a rental.  We figured it would take a few months to fix up house #2, so we lived in house #1 while the "new" (to us - it was built in the 1960's) house was being worked on.  In reality, it took closer to nine months before it was to the point where we could move in!  But, it was worth it.  House #2 was another complete make-over, including replacing every single door (I think there were over 20 total) which required tearing out the old ones, installing the new, priming, painting and installing new trim.  I swear we would have finished the house months sooner had I not had such an obsession with those five-paneled doors... Anyway, I digress.  The kitchen wasn't a complete gut like the last, we opted to keep the cabinets, flooring, and countertops, but give it something of a face-lift.  We did rip out a built-in bench in the kitchen nook, painted everything (ceiling, walls, trim) and replaced all the appliances, lighting, and sink/faucet.  I refinished the kitchen cabinets myself which involved me taking a week off of work and putting in a solid 8-10 hours a day, on the kitchen project alone.  I removed all the doors and shelves, stripped them, sanded them (orbital and by hand), primed and repainted.  I then reinstalled the doors and added new hardware.  We opted to paint the cabinets white (you will see a white kitchen trend here soon) but used a gel stain to make the island a dark brown.  We were going for a farmhouse kitchen look and I felt we accomplished it quite well!  Here are some before and afters.  Note, the after shots were taken by a professional we hired when we listed the property for sale, which is why they look, well, professional!

It is hard to tell in the after shots, but this kitchen was also painted a light green, but much paler than the last.  I think we went through something like six paint samples before finally having Lowes mix us up a custom green for the walls.  Also note the new lights - I did those myself, along with all the other electrical work in the house.  For the light above the sink, I removed the unsightly external conduit someone had lazily mounted to the ceiling, properly ran the wires through the ceiling, and just patched it up after.  In the breakfast nook, you can see there were formerly two (really weird and ugly) lights.  I combined them into one pendant light, and also repaired the ceiling where the old lights were.  I can't remember how many coats of white it took to cover that ugly red paint in the nook, but it was more than a just a couple!  The cabinet above the stove was removed so we could install a range hood.  The brick backsplash was done by Erik with a thin brick veneer, and we both absolutely loved it.  To the left of the range hood and stove we added in a cabinet that Erik built, with open shelving for our funky little microwave that everyone always thought looked like a TV!  We left the laminate countertops as they were, but in retrospect I wish we would have tried to resurface them with a faux concrete or something like that.  They were the one part of the kitchen I always felt really didn't fit in.  We had intentions of eventually replacing them with either solid concrete, solid surface, or butcher block, but ended up moving again before that could happen!  This brings me to kitchen reno #3, which I will get to in my next post.  We still have a couple small things to finish before I can take the after shots, but so far it's my favorite (and definitely the most budget friendly) of all! 

We are scheduled to close on the sale of our last house in just under a week now.  Which, is actually a huge relief since we moved out nearly a year ago already, but also makes me just a tiny bit sad - we put so much time and hard work into that house, and looking back at this photos has certainly reminded me of everything that went into it.  But, onto the next I suppose.  Stay tuned for kitchen reno, take three!

Breaking up with May.

Justin Timberlake, you can suck it. Singing about the month of May with that cute face of yours.  Making me think it was going to be all awesome and stuff.  May was a pretty crappy month in more ways than one.  I think when I last checked in I was just getting over the stomach flu and chiggers and a back injury.  Barely was I feeling better when all three of us got sick with a respiratory infection that still lingers on for Arlo and I, and this past weekend I came down with a not-so-lovely case of food poisoning.  I have literally been sick in one form or another for an entire month.  If June doesn't bring us a better bill of health I am officially sterilizing everything we own and not leaving the house or letting anyone in until the sickness is gone.  Germs, you are being evicted. 

Moving day is scheduled for this Saturday (that is just three days in case you are not so good with the math) and for the past week I have been teetering on the verge of freaking out.  I'm really not very good with big changes, even a good one like this will be.  However, today for some reason I woke up feeling a bit better, health wise and emotionally, and am looking forward to this weekend and all the changes the move will bring.  I have decided to dive right in to our new environment and have signed Arlo and I up for child-parent swim lessons close to the new house that start a couple of days after we move in.  I have also already joined a couple of meetup groups in the area, and researched all the best parks and library story times.  I won't be working much at first, if at all, and while I totally want to embrace the whole "slow parenting" movement this summer, where not a lot of activities are planned and each day is taken as they come, I also like the idea of getting out and meeting other kids and moms in our new area.  

I think this summer will be a good one.  For now, I've got to get back to work.  These boxes don't pack themselves.  However they do seem to unpack themselves, but that could just be my little toddler trying to help.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, the puns were intentional.  

And finally..... These boys.  

June, I'm ready for ya.  Let's do this.