Thursday, January 28, 2016

Bathroom Ta Dah!

First, THANK YOU to those of you who commented on my last "kitchen" post.  We are still working on the kitchen.  It's a work in progress.  

But for now....the pissoir (that's what Dave calls it!)

Does this happen to you?  You walk in the door from being outside, 
 and you HAVE TO GO to the bathroom NOW!  Yep.  Me too.  
So the door on the right is the door that leads into the house from the outside, 
and the door on the left......
THE BATHROOM
(TA DAH!)

We bought the antique medicine cabinets from my friend Leslie, who moved to Florida a few months ago, and had to get rid of most of the stuff in her house.
 
 

 We bought this mirror at a garage sale a couple of years ago for $10.00!

 And the vanity we bought at Lowe's on clearance, before we bought the mirror.  And the two go together just perfectly!
 We did change the little knobs on the front.
 
And see that opening at the bottom...well I found out I hate open bottom bathroom vanities.  And they are almost all open now.  You cannot get a broom or a mop under them.  And I'm too darn old to get down on a bathroom floor to clean under it.  And well....it's not the getting down part that gets me anyway, it's the getting back up!
 (oh, and if you ever come over and run out of t.p. it's in that basket!)
 So, I asked Dave to make a sort of hidden toe kick all the way around the cabinet bottom,
 and he did!  It looks like a dark hole.  It's not.  It's wood, tucked under the cabinet, painted black!  Yay me!  No cleaning.  Yay Dave.  Happy wife!
Cindy

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Kitchen Progress!

  
On Tuesday, a truck came rolling up our driveway and I was as excited as a kid at Christmas time.

  
 When they started unloading the boxes, we had 34 packages in total!

We unloaded them in the foyer, the kitchen and the dining room.
On Tuesday evening, I matched all of the numbers on the boxes with the paperwork, then the plan.  Then I wrote on each box where it was to be located in the kitchen.
  I had to open a couple of boxes right away.  
Unfortunately, the upper kitchen cabinets were supposed to have white sides.  They will show.  But Lowe's was very understanding and are going to re-order my upper cabinets.  I just hope I don't have to wait 6-8 weeks for them. (sigh)
There were a couple of glitches with installation, but we got it figured out.  

So far so good.
Perfect!
You saw my sink a few posts back.  I ordered it from NBI drainboards, a company in Florida.  I LOVE IT!  And it fit right on top of the cabinet, with a minor modification to the cabinet support.
 I cannot tell you how excited I am to get this kitchen finished!
 Dave and Robert unearthed the shop top that Dave bought at a school auction years ago.  It's VERY heavy.  And of course, it's going to need some refinishing....but it's going to fit and I think I'm going
 to love it!
 I had them flip the tops over to the other side so I could pick which side I like best.  I say "flip" like it was easy.  It...was...not...easy.  These are H.E.A.V.Y. I tell you!
We bought these off of a friend of mine, Leslie, a few months back. 
 Dave sanded and white washed them.
 And hung them in this kitchen nook.
Did I say I can... not... wait.....

 I love watching everything come together as planned....

Cindy



Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Kitchen Cabinets

I've been awake since 4:00 a.m!  And I even had a glass of wine before I went to bed in hopes of sleeping through the night.  It is now 6:30, and I don't know if I'll even bother going back to sleep.  Maybe a nap later.....

Today, sometime between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, thousands of dollars worth of kitchen cabinets
 will be delivered to our house.  It's like being a child on Christmas morning.  I remember many mornings getting my parents up at 4:00 a.m!  I would NOT do that now!!!  I like to sleep.
 Dave and I are visual people.  I was thinking back on how hard it has been to make a final decision on the kitchen.  I have tons of pictures on my phone and computer.  I've looked at magazines, the HOUZZ app, gone to open houses and show homes and tours and etc. etc. 

We have held up tables to try to see what a cabinet would look like in a certain spot!

  I've folded magazines and inserted them into the plan that was on paper at the time.
 I've taken pictures with my I-phone and inserted it into the plan!

It's hard to order cabinets when this is all you have to look at.  This and a drawing on paper.
 Especially if you are not a kitchen designer.  I am not.  I think maybe I could be now!

Our last house was a 1940's house.  When we went to sell it the Realtor (who we should never have hired) kept commenting that the kitchen needed updated!  I was somewhat offended.  It had original oak hardwood floors, white WOOD - yes REAL wood - cabinets.  (from the 1940's)  It had a new refrigerator and stove which I loved.  You could use gas or electric in it.  It did have laminate counter tops, but I like laminate.  I grew up with laminate.  They don't chip or crack.  Dave came home last night and was telling me about a guy at work that is upset because his quartz countertop cracked right down the center in his NEW house.  I LIKE OLD!  I LOVE OLD!  Old lasts.  Most old things were made with pride.

So, it is hard to order new, when you love old.  My plan is to mix in some old....such as this old shop top Dave bought at a school auction for two bills!  If it works out how we plan it in our head, it will be my counter top on my island.  But that's down the road a few days.  For the next few days we will be working in the kitchen.  I....am....so....excited!
 I've rambled on enough.  I wonder if I could get a couple of hours of sleep before the cabinets arrive......we'll see....

Cindy

Monday, January 11, 2016

The Den (Parlour)

This, is the view from our bedroom window.  All of this hard work is starting to pay off!
 And when you walk through our bedroom door it leads into the den, which I have decided just today that I'm going to call a parlour!  I looked it up and a parlour is a room in a private house where people can sit and talk and relax.  So parlour it is....Are you ready to tour the parlour?
 
 Come along...
WHAT in theeeee.......
 Dave is painting the wall black!

 And here is why.....
 Ok....let's start this tour again.....
 
 Hold on...I'll clean the plastic covered painted windows first 
(which took an entire evening as I listened to a book on cd)  
Now, come on in...
 (and this door is in our living/dining room which we are calling the great banquet hall)

 
and here is the parlour!
TAA DAH!
Dave bought the fireplace mantle from Craigs list.  He bought it without me even being with him!  And when I first looked at it, I couldn't stop staring, and touching, and wondering who touched it, and stared at it, and used it before me.  If only it could talk!  It came from an old Victorian home.   I wonder what room it was in, in that home.

 Isn't it stunning....

 It is carved...

Here are the other walls....a couple of chairs....
and that rocker on the right is not "Just a rocker"
I'll explain another time....
 And here is the door we entered through.
 This is the last wall....which I love as much as the fireplace wall.
 I love the shutters that look like an old southern home.
I love the full view door that looks out over this....
 porch.
And I love the porch.
 with this view.  
So far, the parlour is one of my favorite rooms.
 Cindy

PS....
I'm thinking about this for the kitchen floor.  It's luxury vinyl tile, which looks like an old wooden floor.

 This is the edge of my sink, and the floor. 

what do you think?