Archives for January 2011

My Own Bliss & Reupholstery

While I did not attend Blissdom, I had my own weekend of bliss - scrapbooking with friends at a cute Bed & Breakfast style place called Treasured Memories Retreat in Brownsburg, Indiana. Imagine, if you will, breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared for you. Having a nice warm bed to go to at the end of the day because someone turned on the electric blanket. A large scrapbooking room to chat, hang out and let your creativity flow.

With more winter weather on the way, we were all fantasizing aout how cool it would be to be "snowed in" at Treasured Memories...

I'm slapping myself back to reality now, and am investigating references in doing my chair reupholstery. The fabric store gave me a couple of names, and I'm mulling over my alternatives. Do I reupholster the chair altogether or slipcover it? One of the references is an individual, and the other has a store location. The individual is significantly more expensive, but then she sent me some photos of her work...

I'm a big fan of slipcovers, so part of me finds that option very appealing. Just not sure how well this chair will LOOK if it's slipcovered. More thinking to do on that one, but aren't those pieces beautiful?

What are your reupholstery experiences? Any tips?

Restful, me-time over. Back to work!

Jenny

More Mom Cave Fun

I have to give major snaps to Thrifty Decor Chick for taking the time to feature so many baby blogs like mine. I knew something was going on when I had a huge influx of comments, and I'm thrilled! Welcome to the new readers - I'm glad you're here!

My project focus continues to be on my Mom Cave, and since this room is going to be my sanctuary, it just makes it even more fun. You all saw my Pretty in Pink lamp, and I'm adding some extra detail to bring her to life even more.

Call me crazy, but there is just something about pom-pom trim that I just can't resist (nor can my 5 year-old daughter - "MOM! I love your lamp!"). This lampshade is no exception.

You can see that more punches of pink have been added to the space as well. I found the square wrought iron pieces at Goodwill awhile back, looking not-so-pretty...

But look at them now -

They got a new friend too, and I'm loving the trio. These are more pink in person, but I have given up trying to tweak it to get that "perfect" picture. They match the lamp. ;-)

Can you see where Bahama Breeze has made an appearance?

Stay tuned!

Jenny

Linking to:

Kim's Boring to Better Party at Savvy Southern Style

Shabby Chic Cottage - Transformation Thursday

Remodelaholic's Anonymous

Kitchen Facelift Reveal

I always feel nervous, when I've been away from the blog for a while, to jump back in, but then I do and it's like a nice warm sweater and I get to feeling cozy again. I've been away for good reason, as you all know, I have been working non-stop on the reinvention of my small suburban kitchen. Thanks for staying around and if you're new here, thanks for joining me. It has taken me a little over three weeks to complete the facelift, but in reality, we have been paddling towards this goal for a while, and finally it's about 90% done and I couldn't be happier.

I haven't been bitten by the 'Spring' bug yet, so I've stayed with my green and white look, a time tested winner in my book. I hope to get some fabric ordered and as time goes on, more color will be added, but for now, I'm just happy to be done. I don't think I'm going to prime, paint, or sand anything for a while. I'm done.

I searched the photo archives and I couldn't have found a better before picture than when we first moved in, 6 years ago. Just a side note, I did not change the counter top in the facelift, so look closely at it here so you can see the change I did make to it.

When we moved in, we had the standard: Oak cabinets, laminate counter top, linoleum floors, and beige carpet in the eating area (whose idea was that?). Really, it is a decent space. Not too big, not too small, but of course my mind was spinning with the changes I wanted to make. Super speed, 6 years later, and I'm within close proximity to the beautiful kitchen that I always wanted to look at, I don't actually do the cooking. :) What we have done so far over the years making our way to now....that is saving up and buying, nothing bought on credit....replaced the carpeting and linoleum flooring throughout (6 years ago). New appliances (3 years ago), and new cabinet hardware (2 years ago), you'll see a close up of the pulls further down.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The eating area, look at the carpeting! Yikes!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

If you like my hutch and would like to see the changes it underwent, click here.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I don't think you can go wrong with this look, it's my favorite, and at this time of year, it's just enough. Coffee mugs from Crate and Barrel, round tray from Walmart reinvented with spray paint, vintage milk glass and pitcher from Kolh's.

I just don't think you have to go to the poorhouse to achieve the look you want. I almost prefer something second-hand or thrifted to be reinvented and who doesn't love a chance to be creative? The botanical art is a tea towel I stretched, see how I did it here. That white pear jar was a thrifted find that I painted, that was a fun project, take a look at it here.

So on to what all I did in the facelift, obviously painting the cabinets have been the number one changing force in this whole transformation. I've been sharing the 'during' and finally here is the final result. I primed, painted, sanded between each coat. I was a good girl and did everything just right so this will last for years to come. As you know, we added height to the top of the cabinets, crown mold and corbels to the bottom. I painted the uppers in Tailor's Chalk from Martha Stewart and the bottoms in Silhouette from Martha.

As much as I wanted to get new counter tops, we just can't afford it right now, so I had to work with what we had. The laminate has one thing going for it, it's neutral and easy to work with, what it doesn't have going for it was the oak trim. Who came up with that idea? So the literal counters are laminate and then trimmed in oak, geez...so I painted the oak. I taped everything off, the wall and the laminate part and primed and painted it, just like I did for the cabinets. The funny thing is, I used the same color I have on the walls in the living room.... it was a perfect match, I couldn't believe it. I'm pacified for a while, and it looks great. I've got to buy an outlet cover for the phone jack that I ripped out, but I just can't bear to make another trip to the hardware store, maybe next week

Stainless steel appliances, like I said, we bought about 3 years ago. I love the microwave off of the counter especially. One thing that I regret, although I just wasn't aware of it, is counter depth refrigerators, I would have certainly wanted that, but I just didn't know any better at the time, but it's only six inches, not too bad.

We kept the original sink too, but we'll be getting one eventually. I want one of those goose neck faucets. Those are the three big things that is keeping us at 90%....counter tops, sink and faucet and back splash. Is that four things?

I wasn't sure how the white and black was going work, but it is working so well for our family already, and I just can't imagine it all white, or just all black...this is perfect and of course oakless.

I found these corbels at the Home Depot. I fell in love with the profile, some of them are too scrolly for me, but this is perfect and adds some much needed character.

I painted the door to the garage with chalkboard paint, Logan is breaking it in as we speak. It's going to be a lot of fun having it.

The Bedford Gray on the walls have just been such a great neutral color, love it.

After we added the height to the cabinets, the seem between the tops of the cabs and the 1X4's were driving me crazy (yes, I'm that anal), so Justin added some trim for me to cover it up, it turned out great. I just painted and it blended right in, like it's always been there

Here is a close up of the countertops deoaked. This has a major impact too in the overall look, I'm really happy with the results. For now. I still hear Quartz counters calling my name.

One other little thing that I learned, plan out the placement of the corbels. Outlets are a bear to work around and I had to knock a couple corbels down (that I had already glued) because it wasn't working all the way around the kitchen....I worked it out and again, love the added interest. P.S....because I will be adding a back splash eventually, I glued them to the underneath of the cabinets, not to the wall, so when the time comes, they will come down easy and then accommodate the tile and not damage the wall.

Love the black.

Another close up of the hardware, I found it at Lowe's a couple of years ago on sale. $1.48 each, the perfect blend of retro, yet mod, love it and looks great on the white and the black. If you've replaced your cabinet hardware, you know how hefty a price tag that is! $1.48 was a steal.

Don't tell anyone, but it occured to me, that I'm going to be able to fit a lot of dishes up there behind that height addition! That's four inches of space plus the crown that I can store dinnerware in! What plate addiction? Whatever do you mean?

Oh, and another tip that I did to save on money...I spray painted the hinges. They aren't a perfect match to the brushed nickel, but can you imagine putting the gold back up there? Yuck! It would have ruined it! I used metal primer and 'Brushed Nickel' spray paint from Krylon. I priced new hinges in nickel and I saved myself over 130.00 dollars, less 6.00 for the cost of the spray paint and primer.

A little vignette on top of the fridge....hey, there's the bonus at having a full size fridge, more foo-foo room. Seasonal dishes are stored in the small cabs behind, if you're wondering.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate all the comments and encouragement and tips that I've been getting on this project. Thank you for taking the time. I can't believe how it's come out and I'm so tickled! If you have any specific questions on things that I might not have mentioned, ask them and I'll do my best to answer.
Also, if you'd like to see an obscene amount of pictures of this facelift, check out my photostream, click here.

Here are some answers to questions from the comments so far:

Did you paint the countertops or is it new?
I painted the oak that trimmed the existing counters. I used a paint that closely matched the color of the laminate.

Did you sand and prime the door before painting it with Chalkboard paint?

I did prime the door, I didn't sand, but it still took three coats of the chalkboard paint. Luckily, it dries really fast and it was a quick project. I love it and so do the kiddies! Plus, just doing a door is a big enough surface if you don't have a whole wall or nervous about taking the chalkboard plunge.

What did you use to to hold the corbels in place while the glue set?
I was watching This Old House one time (I don't have cable) and they used a combo of liquid nails and hot glue to adhere some countertop (or something), so I thought to myself, Why wouldn't that work for the corbels? and it did! I did sit a couple of paint cans under them as well, just in case, I just pushed them up against the wall part, but the hot glue really did the trick.

Pretty in Pink

I have to tell you, I'm having a lot of fun with my Mom Cave project, now that I've settled on a paint color that makes me happy, and I'm feeling good about my bold (for me, anyway) fabric choices for the room. I'm digging the pops of color in the room, and have found some new friends to help me with the process.

I have turned into one of "those people" who carry fabric swatches in her purse, and thank goodness for that, because I don't think I would have picked up this paint otherwise! A refresher on my fabric choices:

The paisley is for the my ugly chair that needs to be reupholstered, and the other fabrics will be used in the room in other ways. So, can you see why the paisley would give me a bit of an anxiety attack? It's pretty, yes, but to upholster a chair? That's a bit of a step out my comfort zone. Me likey my comfort zone.

But, the goal of this space (since it's windowless) is to have it bright and cheerful. These fabrics fit the bill.

And so does the spray paint. Maybe I'm gravitating toward such bright, fresh colors, because I'm in a winter funk, and craving Spring in a big way. But I'm loving these colors - Watermelon and Bahama Breeze. And so is my Goodwill lamp.

Poor, sad, washed out lamp...

But she's looking fresh and happy now, isn't she? I still want to do something with the shade, but I'm digging this lamp. Pinky Tuscadero would be digging this lamp.

Such a fun, punchy color! Literally. Punchy. More pops of color coming soon!

Jenny

Linking up to:

Mom Cave Paint - Plan B - A Mini Reveal

I finally made a leap of faith and chose a paint color for my office/mom cave. I had bought some sample paints in shades of green and let them "marinate" for awhile, and decided that wasn't the direction in which I wanted to go. I started thinking that since I had such fun, bold (for me anyway) fabrics, that I wanted to keep the backdrop neutral. So, I opted for Concord Buff by Sherwin Williams.

Well, I got it up on the walls and let it sit with me for awhile. Then I got to thinking. Remember how I described the original wall color as "baby poo brown"? Well, the walls in the rooms leading into my office are the same brown color. In terms of room flow, you're looking from a brown room to a yellow room. Then I start thinking about my kids talking about a local high school teams' colors of brown and gold, chanting "Poop and Pee! Poop and Pee!" So when I look at this room, guess what's playing in my head?

Poo colored room leading to my office

Another contrast in the before/after colors
since I hadn't painted behind the storage piece yet

I even looked at the upholstery fabric out to see if I could warm up to it some more.

Now, I know it doesn't look that bad, but it was definitely more yellow than what I wanted. And, I didn't want to be working down in this space, always regretting my color choice. Perhaps I should have just been more patient and waited for the Room Remix Paint Series. Alas, patience is not one of my virtues.

Did I ever tell you that I repainted our master bedroom the day before my due date? Went into labor early the next morning. Not the patient type when it comes to painting.

Now, on to Plan B. Since I couldn't finish the room with one gallon of paint (flat paint sucks, literally - it absorbs the paint like a sponge), and I needed to buy another gallon anyway, I opted for Muslin by Sherwin Williams, instead.

It's a creamier neutral, and works with the light tones in the fabric. So, I was up until midnight on Saturday night, painting. Much better. No more poop and pee anymore.

I'm in love with the Muslin color - it really hit the mark. And I'm having a lot of fun with the pops of color in this room as well (more on that in another post). The chair is obviously not reupholstered yet, but I wanted to see if I could get a feel for what it would look like. A work in progress...