The Kitchen is FINALLY Done (almost)

 

 

So I set a goal back at the first of the year to complete the Joy Dare and sew along with Project Run & Play (whatever season this is).  Hubby came to me shortly before the sewalong started and said that he needed a project and he wanted to paint the kitchen cabinets.  Sure.  I've discussed before my feelings on painting the cabinets and I really didn't want to  so when I said sure he got in his truck without even saying goodbye and ran to get paint.  I didn't even get a good before picture.

 

This is the best I can do to share the beauty of the cabinets in my kitchen before we got started. I thought the wood grain was beautiful and didn't want to cover it. 

If you remember, we started originally with cream Corian counters and no back splash.  In 2011 (at 8 months pregnant, no less) we changed the counter tops to granite and I installed a tumbled stone back splash.  My sweet husband offered to help but I'm anal about a few things and tile/grout lines is one of them.  He cut the 45's on the rope trim over the sink (cause those tiles were $5 a piece and I had palpitations every time I thought about cutting them)

 

 

The previous owners had taken down the decorative piece over the sink and had replaced it with a curtain, which I changed to match my decor. I wanted to take down the curtain altogether but the original board was long gone and matching the stain would be nigh impossible.

 

Our task list soon grew from just painting the cabinets to this:

1. Remove spindles from the top of the cabinet and heighten by 6".

2. Add moulding to cover the joint at the addition.

3. Add crown moulding to the new top of the cabinet.

4. Make an arched piece to go over the sink.

5. Remove the wine rack and do something.

6. Paint and antique the cabinets.

7. Paint the island.

8. Change the dishwasher from white to stainless steel.

 

 

Halfway through priming cabinets was when we decided to go ahead and heighten them.  I did not take good pictures of the process but I'll try to describe.  After removing the spindles hubby made braces to hold the 1x6 to the top of the existing cabinet.  We cut 15 million triangles it seemed.  Using a liberal amount of liquid nails, he then screwed the braces to the top of the existing cabinet from the inside.

 

 

Then he liquid nailed and regular nailed the 1x6 to his braces.  I was a weensy bit worried about the strength of this but it ain't going anywhere.  The man is wicked smart--don't know why I doubted him.

 

Then came the arch.  I tried to mimic the arches over the windows in the rest of my house.  Mr. Smarty Pants My Sweet Hubby drew the arch using a method from shipbuilders of long ago--he bent a thin piece of wood around a nail affixed at the top of the arch.  We measured down at regular intervals to ensure it was even.  Then he cut it out oh-so-carefully with a jigsaw.  I was quite impressed.  I also got a history lesson on how they drew arches way back when.  Two fer one.  (For the record, I thought my plan of digging out my largest platter and tracing around the curve would have worked too).  He finished the plywood edges with something called screen moulding. 

 

 

 

After the arch came the base cap to cover the joint between the end of the old cabinet and the start of the extension.  Again with the liquid nails and tacks.  Finally, we were on to the crown moulding.  I was an excellent supervisor, board holder, and hammer finder.  I started a little joke--my hubs can't hang onto a pencil to save his life.  I stuck like 5 in my ponytail and when he asked (repeatedly) if I had seen his pencil, I'd pull one from the pony and say, "Here, have mine."  He found it mildly amusing.  Toward the end of the project he'd kinda laugh.  I thought it was hilarious.

 

At one point during these pictures the nail gun would fire air but not nails.  Hubs would look down the barrel of the nail gun and I had to *bite*my*tongue from saying "you'll shoot your eye out!" I got a little slap happy.

To recap:
(sorry--bed moulding should actually read base cap)

 

Then it was time to get out the wine rack.  We stored our grilling utensils, paddle, and other junk up in there.  See, we rarely drink (not that there's anything wrong with it).  We just both grew up without alcohol around and that's kind of extended into our adulthood.  I knew the wine rack could be a great display shelf and so I campaigned to have it come out.  Hubs finally caved (he thought it would be a future selling point) and went after it with a hammer.  There were more nails in that stupid thing than in all of our local Lowes but it eventually came out.  I.  LOVE.  IT.

 

 

At last, it was:

 

 

And then glazing, fixing mistakes, and more glazing...

 

1.  Original technique 2.  My poor attempt to fix original 3.  The finished product  4.  The big white wall
 

I knew that tall open spaces (like doors and sides of cabinets) are hard to get right and buddy are they.  I finally had to just call it good enough.  I used glaze and that crap is very tricky and it dries wicked fast. 

 

If you aren't sick of scrolling through pictures yet, here's just a few more...

 

And now I'm off to clean the dust that has accumulated and sew a little.  I have a whole other side of the kitchen (by the ovens) that I didn't photograph--my camera blinked "Battery Exhausted" while I was taking pics.  You and me both little friend.

 

Oh and by the way--you will notice the dishwasher is still white.  See, it is a Kitchen Aid Superba (like that means anything) and it is really quiet and works great.  It was installed in 2008 so it is only like 5 years old.  I can change out the head and panel to stainless steel and have it be right and stainless for like $250.  To replace the whole thing with something of similar quality is like $900.  My fear is that I'll reclad it and it will break next year.  I hate to replace something that works so well.  Decisions.  Decisions.

 

So now for the 'on the cheap' part.  I realize that granite countertops are not cheap.  Tumbled stone backsplashes aren't bad if you can install yourself.  Here's the cheapest part--we took dated, 80's cabinets and spent about $700 in lumber and paint (I think there's a saw in there too) and got very up to date, beautiful cabinets.  To replace them would have been tens of thousands of dollars.  I think $700 is a bargain.

 

In closing, I'm real proud of my kitchen.  Can you tell?  After almost 12 years of marriage and now 3 remodels, me and my man can get it right.  It was really nice to work together on something other than survival of life with 3 little ones and we'd climb in the bed at night exhausted but really happy to be together.

 

 

 

I'm gonna link up a few different places this week.



The Kitchen

Here comes the sun...

 

 

 

And oh how happy are we to see it!

 

 

 

I promised my sister that I would post/send pics of the kitchen as we get things done.  I'm such a sucker for her.  I do things for her I would do for no one else.  You hear me? No one.  But she is the best friend I have ever had and a daily kiss from God.

 

When we moved 'to town' 3 years ago we bought our house knowing there were some things we would need to change.  We lived here a full 2 years before we got started on the kitchen.  I was about 8 months pregnant at the time with our surprise Peach.  We changed counter tops, tiled a back splash, and upgraded the double oven and cook top.  (yes, I kept the white dishwasher.  It's a disease).  Somewhere a few months ago we repainted the kitchen a much lighter color.

 

 

 

Everyone (and I mean everyone) encouraged me to paint the cabinets.  I didn't want to paint the cabinets--there was really pretty wood grain showing on them and I knew that once I painted them I could never undo it.  So I dug in my heels.

 

We decided that 2013 would be a year of getting the house closer to what we want it to be.  We are going to finish the kitchen, install garage doors, and possibly change the Saltillo out for hardwoods.  After much discussion I agreed to paint the cabinets.

 

What was I thinking?  Why was I living with country stained wood for 3 years when for $200 and a lot of work I could have fresh cabinets?

 



Then Mr. P even agreed to let me antique/glaze the cabinets--you saw those pics already in my post here.

But just in case you want to see better pics...

Cabinet antiqued

Yes, that is a toy train whistle on the floor.  It has been there since the first of the year and we have painted around it.  Good grief! 

I'm no expert and have to figure out how to fix some boo boo's...

But we have lefts them un-lacquered for a while to see how well we like it.  What do you think?  Mr. P says they just look dirty to him but if it makes me happy and it's the style, he'll live with it.

Would you leave them just painted (below) or would you go for the antiquing (above)??

cabinet just painted

Playing in Polka Dots: PR&P Week 2

So this week the theme for PR&P is Polka Dots and Stripes  I made a goal on January 1 to use all of the fabric in my stash in the upcoming year.  The only fabric shopping I will allow myself is from the remnant basket at Hancock.  The.  Only.  Now, combine that with my lofty goal of sewing along for PR&P and that's a pretty tall order.  Why is it I love fabric when I buy it only to bring it home and have it be not what I was looking for?

A quick review of the stash revealed polka dots in Christmas colors (red and lime).  Let me clarify--a quick review of the knit stash.  When making play clothes for the kids I almost exclusively use knits.  I hang out in knits, so shouldn't they?  Isn't climbing on top of the piano much easier and more fun in knits?  I also do not sew for the sake of sewing.  If I make an outfit, I intend for it to be worn.  Over and over again.  But I digress. 

I just love this princess castle knit which I originally bought for a nightgown for Princess but thought maybe Zuzu should get some too.  I decided to make a bodice that would read polka dot by reverse appliqueing circles.  Hmm.  17 reverse appliques later and I guess it's okay.

My favorite aspects of the dress are the sweet lettuce edge bow and the details at the neck and cuffs.  The bow is made from two strips of jersey laid on top of each other and then run through the serger using wooly nylon on the rolled hem setting.  Helga and I are still getting used to each other but she's definitely falling into line better.  Woolly nylon is awesome in a rolled hem.  The ladies at the store said to only put it in the upper looper and leave all the other threads alone.  I tend to put the wooly nylon in the upper looper and the same color regular serger thread in the lower looper.  I think next time I'm sewing a colored rolled hem on a colored fabric I'll change the needle thread too.  There's a little bit of white peeking through.

The cuff/neckband are my new favorite way of finishing a knit edge.  It is a combination of two different techniques I read but didn't pin.  I'm so sorry that I can't provide you with the original sources--let me say that these were not my ideas.  I finally found the original author of this technique here.  Scroll down to item 2C.  This time I pinned it and saved it under my Peachy Things.  To make the bands I folded my band piece in half and sewed it to the inside of the garment.  Then I flipped the band to the right side of the garment and set my zig zag to a wide and long stitch with a crazy high tension setting.  You allow one of the legs of the stitch to fall just off the outer edge of the band.  The high tension draws in the stitch and scallops the edge of the band.  I love it.

I made the leggings with an upcycled tshirt and some ruffle knit from the remnant basket (both from the stash).  I think I have like $1.50 in them.  Love me a bargain. 

I thought I had planned my photo shoot so well--I finished the dress last night so I would have an awake model in the daylight.  It has actually stopped raining after floods of epic proportion and the light was okay.  I collected the baby's favorite toy as a prop and enlisted sister to help make her dance and laugh.  No dice.  Here are some of the lovely shots I got...

In the end she stole Sissy's Barbie (and Brother's tablet) and played on the steps.  And I couldn't shoo the dog away from the steps.  That's her favorite lay in the sun spot.  Okay.  Our cupcake set will have to wait.

Project Run & Play--not

Tonight was supposed to be a post for the lovely Party Dress Remix but as you can see it is not.

This is what has been going on at my house.  My hubs helped me start painting my oak stained kitchen cabinets.  What.  A.  Pain.  The sanding, the priming, the sanding, the cleaning, the dust, and so on.  All of that was done by him--I am solely responsible for picking a color and applying the glaze.  It was totally trial and error.  So far so good.











I did in fact start a PR&P project...

Pretty cool idea or so I thought.  I took strips of fabric and wove them together to make a basket weave bodice.  So I wanted to barf when I ran through the linky party and saw someone else with almost the exact same bodice.  Really?  I haven't seen anything like this and in the 30 projects uploaded one was exactly like mine?  I kinda lost my steam after that.

I didn't start this with high expectations.  Ha.

Getting Back in the Groove

So I have to admit that I fell off the housekeeping wagon during KCWC.  It was a big challenge for me as I have admitted before.  My sweet hubs graciously said nothing about the number of times we ordered pizza or I pulled leftovers out for supper (again).  The laundry was severely out of control and the rest of our house was a hot mess.  A big house is a blessing and a curse--everyone has their space but when all of those spaces are a mess, it is pretty overwhelming.

Yesterday I set a goal to get most of the laundry done and the downstairs picked back up.  That was accomplished and the picking up demolished in a 24 hour time frame.  I only have 3 kids--how does this happen?

I also climbed back on the treadmill and thought many times in my 30 minutes (I do 3-5 min warm up, 30 min run, 5 min cool down) that I would not be able to go another tenth of a mile and somehow the 3 miles passed.  I'm hoping to do a 5K respectably by the end of the year.

So, I have 2 tips to offer on housekeeping.  When we are just doing our normal routine, I keep a pretty tidy house.  Don't judge my housekeeping based on things right now.  I don't know about you but once I get behind I have to fight hard to get caught back up.

The first tip is so silly.  I mean, really.  Once I started doing laundry this way I was like, 'well duh.'

I don't carry my laundry to the laundry room anymore.  I load it all on a dirty towel and pull it there.  I have hardwoods through most of the main floor, so it makes short work.  I used to get really irritated when I was carrying arm fulls of laundry and I'd drop one black sock.  I mean, I'd bend over to get it, drop four more socks and a pair of underwear and I'd be boiling.  It does get a little tricky when I go over rugs and such but this is immensely easier than the carry method.

The second tip is a something NOT to do.  Whatever you do, don't generate piles to come back to later--like the pile of upstairs things on the stairs.  We have 2 floors with the kids on the second floor--their bedrooms and playroom.  That translates into toys on the first floor that belong on the second and vicey-versey.  My sweet boy, the light of my life, will put 5 things in a backpack (he so thoughtfully ensures each item came from a different room), play with them a while, and then drop the pack and all in the middle of the den.  I have emptied more bags of their contents than I care to mention.  I used to pile things up and then clear the pile, but what happened was that I'd get my pile made and then be on to bigger and better things.  I will walk by a pile, watch it grow, and not want to fool with it.  I walked past a bucket of stuff upstairs that needed to come down for 2 weeks, no kidding.  The fireplace pile grew until it was falling off the hearth--this pic is after it was mostly cleared.

My new plan of attack is to find several things that go to the same place and take them there.  This requires more walking and stair climbing admittedly, but that's not a bad thing, right?  What happens it that I don't have black holes around that suck things into them, never going to their rightful homes.

Are you struggling to come up for air?  Me too.  Why don't we get off the computer then.  That would help, right?