Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Kitchen

Our house is by no means "made over." We have made a huge dent in our winter to do list though. 
Please come in.

This post is going to be pretty direct - as in "this is this and that is that" kind of directness. Not a lot of flowery business as I have a pineapple waiting to be eaten. 

This is the view from our front door. We loved the high ceilings...also the fireplace (not necessarily the way the fireplace looks but just the fact that we have one.)
We loathed the wall in the center of the room (kitchen is behind there.) Plus, I'm not a fan of having a wall that doesn't actually go to the ceiling - I really don't see the point except like my mom said "people don't see your dirty dishes." That's when I answered "yes, but where's the transparency in that?" Anyhoo...It would coming down shortly after the before mentioned conversation. 
note to self : you are getting flowery


So then walking around the wall you have the dining room and a little doorway leading into the kitchen.


I've seen uglier chandeliers ... but I'm pretty sure as soon as I looked at this one my brain went through a slide show over every light fixture I've ever seen that I would prefer to this one. I love the window with it's view ... it's needs wide farmhouse trim around it (and I have a Pintrest Pin for that one ... and a man that likes to make me happy.)


And here's the kitchen. Honey oak cabinets, faux wood counter tops, and linoleum floors. What's not to love?


Notice the placement of the fridge - cuddling up to that wall that must come down. You two have had a good run but this is where you say goodbye. I'm pretty sure as soon as I stepped into this house my brain was screaming in Viking tones "we must conquer that wall!!!!" 


This is the far wall ... where I imagined the fridge being moved to with a snap and wink and a wiggle of my big nostriled nose.


The 6 week makeover begins ....
We took off all the cabinets and sanded them down , removed hardware ...


... and gave them a nice coating of this lovely blue. 
~Sherwin Williams Indigo Batik ~


My dream was to always have a few glass doors so I could see my pretty dishes. However, at the cost of cabinets compared to the cost of paint ... the budget won . Easy peasy lemon squeezy ... just removed the door. I like the way the dishes play of the blue , makes me happy. 


Then there was that light fixture to replace...
Before we even moved into the house I had this Rustic Wire Chandelier from World Market all picked out and my pennies saved. However, they ran out of stock online and in all of the Denver stores. Once again, the Springs to the rescue ... the World Market near (read that as TWO MILES from my house near) had one left in stock. Yah me.


And then... the wall came down.
 Unfortunately for us, as anyone who has ever done a house remodel or watched even one episode of HGTV anything, there was a rather large pipe off to the left side. Now, the one you are currently look at isn't that pipe. The other one was larger...and twisted at the top. Our plan was to make a big island in the center of the room ... plan was still on except now we would have to build (oops...sorry...read "we" as "Zac" ) a decorative post around it. This is where flexibility is a very very good thing.
 For the actual base of our soon to be island we pieced together different cabinets and drawers sets we found at Habitat for Humanity. Buy used and save the difference. Or in our case, buy used and spend the difference...take your pick.


For the island top we ordered this bit of barn wood loveliness from a local craftsman. He makes them at his house and we chanced supporting local instead of taking our dollars to Ikea - I love it.


Then came the painting of the cabinets... this part still isn't quite finished even though we have it all set up in our house. We still need to do a second coat and then put the sealant over it (helps with all those little finger prints and pencil marks we found around here.)


It's coming together. Notice the post ? Yah, my man did that himself - I sometimes handed him a nail gun or what not ... at one point I was told to "squeeze the post as hard as I could." That was awkward. We still have to stain it but I rather love it - I have the perfect little basket waiting to be hung off the side to store cookbooks. 


Here's the view from the door ... notice the table full of stuff. Not having cabinets is a situation I've decided to never live through again.


And here's the kitchen up to now...
You will notice that there is some patchwork needed on that wall closest to us...or your computer screen...or the entry on the right side....
We still have to paint the edging on the island - Zac wrapped it in shiplap to give me a bit of the "Fixer Upper" look. There is one pendant light hanging and the other one will be installed in the next couple of weeks - we're waiting for a hole in the roof to be patched and textured before hanging it. 


We love the island top (at this point you will most likely note the unfinished wall in the background...we decided to take out a closet...more on the when's and why's and how's in a later post.) Oh...and side note ... how do you like the bar stools? Yah, we looked them up online and each one is selling for $80 - $120 EACH
Ridiculous ...but in our brains those were the kind that we wanted because :
1. They don't spin
2. You just have to wipe them off
3. We were tired of buying everything old and having to paint it
4. We really like some rustic modern flare

So I say to Zac "Why don't you look on Craigslist?"
 Bingo - a lady about 8 minutes from our house was selling a set of four for 95 bucks. 
Dear Readers...that is how the Divine Himself provides for us and grants even the small desires of our hearts. When we give Him our gratitude for even small things...a bar stool or a pretty window... He smiles and sometimes even gives you more. He loves gratitude and cheerful giving.


The fridge did indeed fit perfectly on the far wall. Zac found the upper cabinet at Habitat for Humanity and then built a little box around the fridge. The little cart that you see was given to us - still needs to be painted white.


I found a cute little light from Lowes for over the kitchen sink. The white quartz counters we bought of Craigslist and had them fit to the space (supposedly according to the fabricator this was a mistake and it made his job very hard ... I Guess buyina piece that had been previously cut wasn't good...we don't care.)
 I think my favorite part about the kitchen is having an under mount sink - clean up is so much easier. Zac had to install a garbage disposal and we are still waiting to do the floors. I think for now, we are going to wait on flooring. I know what I want but after all my research and looking at fumes and formaldehyde and prices ... we aren't ready to commit yet. I don't walk around everyday going "oh my goodness I love my house but these floors....." No, for the time being we are quite content.


Here's the view from the back door and you will see where the new pendant light is suppose to go ... so there will be two centered with the island. Zac took the doors off to paint them and then left to go to work today so I might try and tackle that job. I love how open the space is now. 


I actually found these pendants on Amazon and had them shipped Prime -  did the same with the Edison Bulbs. Amazon saves my bananas (I can't rightly say "bacon" anymore in good conscience.)


I found this thingy (for lack of a better word) at the antique store. I'm pretty sure it use to be for creaming corn? I love it's rusted bolts (that's not a sentence I ever thought I would type.)


I also got this platter/plate tray at the antique store. Miss Lori is a dear friend of my family and when I was in high school I remember walking into her house and seeing her platters all nestled in an old plate hanger and I loved it and planned on having one. I don't forget things easily.
This little nook on the other side of the fridge works perfectly as our coffee spot. Like I said, it still needs work - some paint and new hardware and I may also look for some hooks to hang a few coffee cups ... but it was pretty amazing that Zac and I looked and looked for a little table (for an entire day) and weren't comfortable spending the money on one - and the very next shift Zac went on, the fire department was going to throw this one out. Their trash, our treasure.


So, I guess that brings us to the view from the door .. since that's what I first showed you. I love how sunny this house is - makes being stuck inside on long days not really feel "stuck." 


We haven't done anything with the living room except paint the walls Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey. It's a warm grey with brown undertones. Let me tell you about tones and greys and light ... I learned heaps and bounds by reading for an entire week. It was rather painful but I'm glad I did the homework because grey is not simply grey. It really will look different depending on the light in the room and at our other house...whatever grey they had on the walls literally depressed me. I now know it's because it was a cool grey with a lot of blue - like jumping into an icy lake at dusk. Not my favorite adventure to relive day in and day out. We still have to reface the fireplace...and like I said before...there's a pin for that and a man. 


My lovely boho/southwest rug. Make me feel like sitting in the sun and chewing on sugar snap peas.


Here's the dining room - and yes, I know those pictures looks too small on that wall. They are all I had though and I'm stilling getting use to the high ceilings. From one angle they look like little dollhouse photos and from another they fit the space perfectly. 


Here's the after...minus trim being put around the windows. 


...and the view of the front door from the dining room.


Last but not least, a rather fuzzy picture of the hardware I chose. I went with brass just because I think it really compliments the blue and the white counter tops. Of course I went into Lowes wanting the one style of fixture they don't carry ... so I had to order them and then later order more and so on and so forth. But I love them...and of course I had to order the 4 inch ones instead of the 3 inch because that extra length really "does something for me." So now Zac gets to spend his spare time filling in holes and I get to spend my spare time blogging about it. 


Sorry for the length of this post ... for those of you that just wanted to see pictures I'm afraid I did get "flowery" and for those of you that enjoy detail...this post is for you (Grandma)
Have a lovely weekend.
~Alyssa Spring

7 comments:

  1. We love your home. It as been fun watching you guys at work!! I reckon you'll blog Trin's and the boys' rooms another day :-)

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  2. It looks lovely! I love how you opened it up by taking out that wall. And I've been very much in love with navy blue as well - we're painting our bathrooms all in navy blue.

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  3. LOVE IT! You made some great decorating choices that have inspired me.

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  4. Wow! Awesome progress and I LOVE it all opened up!

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  5. The deep blue looks very nice contrasted with the white and natural wood island.

    Isn't God so wonderful and personal in providing those stools for you at such a great deal!!! He's faithful to those who wait on His timing and put their concerns/needs (even wants) in His care.

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  6. Just beautiful, all of it. Will be fun to see the next steps. :)

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