The Kitchen is DONE

We finally wrapped up the kitchen project (99% anyway).  We are absolutely in love with it.  It has been heaven to use it every day.  I feel so lucky we had the skills to get this all done ourselves.

We put in some pretty neat strip power outlets under all of the upper cabinets.  We also put in strip LED lighting.  It's really great to leave the under cabinet lights on in the evening to provide a glow in the room without every recessed light being on.

 

After we put the crown molding on, it was quite a relief to see everything come to a close.  We still need to do a back splash but I think the kitchen looks and functions perfectly fine without one for now.  That is the only thing!  Whoo hoo!

I do have my eye on this tile as a potential back splash, but I need to order a sample before I commit to anything.  I love the look of cement tiles, but they are very expensive.  This one has the look but it ceramic.  I originally wanted a subway tile but I'm feeling like that might be too boring.  No rush to decide.

Here's a link to what the kitchen looked like before our remodel if you wanted to see that again.  It's come a long way!

Swapping Dean's Room and the Office

For awhile now, the office has slowly become the dumping ground for toys and items Dean is now too big for.  He basically has outgrown his bedroom too so we decided to move him into the office and move the office to his baby room.

Before any new furniture made its way into the house, everthing was cleared out of the old office and I painted the room.  This was the third time I've painted this room so I decided to go with plain ol' white.  I really like it and I knew I wouldn't have to change it again as our son's tastes grow.

I had intended to paint the new office all white as well, but after all the work in the bedroom I got over that idea.  Navy/white combo it is!  No more painting required.

I really dislike my desk chair.  I need to look around for maybe a gray tufted chair or something like that.

Dean had already upgraded into a twin bed several months back, but with the room swap I really wanted him to have a loft bed.  I had one as a kid and remember LOVING playing underneith it like a club house all the time.  Plus it allows for even more storage and play space.  So the twin bed he was previously using got to stay in the office.  Now we again have somewhere for a guest or two to sleep.

In Dean's new room I also purchased one more storage piece.  I really prefer the Target cubes with boxes but the Ikea storage system allowed for a few huge containers for those awkwardly large toys.

Dean loves his new room and shows it off to everyone that comes over.

I love having a neat office again.

Lastly, while at Ikea I picked up this really cute shoe cabinet and mirror.  Our entryway was never very cute so I was happy to make it a lot more presentable and a nice vibe when you walk in the front door.

Washer Dryer Ikea Kitchen Cabinet Hack

Surprisingly this project was super fast to complete.  We expected it to be a huge headache so Brian kept putting it off.  Once he started it he finished in less than 45 minutes!  We were shocked it worked so smoothly.

Basically, we wanted a panel on the side that would be removable to easily access the water valves behind the washer and dryer if needed. 

Brian routered out three pockets and added these metal cleats.  Genius!

If you have any questions, let us know.

Finished All the Windows

What a difference windows make!  About a year ago we had just the front windows of our house replaced.  We chose to do just a few at a time so we could pay in cash for each batch.  Now we were ready to complete the job.  What a change! 

We chose the Del Mar Anlin windows from American Vision.  They installed them all in one day after waiting a few weeks for them to be custom made.  The install job looks fabulous.  I knew that new windows would really help with the temperature control in our home and the sound.  We have been super pleased.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've Really Slowed Down... But Still Finishing Up That Kitchen

So since the kitchen is totally functional and pretty amazing, we have totally slowed down.  We are close to done, but just a little left to do.

On the to do list is just:

• attach cabinet toe kicks
• add door trim and baseboards
• install crown above cabinets
• finish installing the under cabinet LED lighting strips
• finish installing power outlet on island 
• choose and install a back splash of some sort
• and soooome day we will open up the wall between the living room and kitchen to make a bar top, but no rush on that.

We finally put all the pulls on (except one, can you find it?).  The under cabinet trim pieces were put on as well.

The drawer for recycling in the island is up and running.  What a convenience!  This originally was designed to house our trash, but we like our old trash can that we operate with our foot and it has a nice location too.  This was a welcome change of plan.

Every upper cabinet has these awesome power strips under them instead of a socket in the back splash.  We bought different lengths depending on the cabinet it went under.  We did a little outlet overkill, but that's ok.  It's better to have too many than not enough where you need it.  Plus they are hidden, so why not?

Also the dishwasher is so cool with the built-in door panel attached.  So fancy.  ;)

I love having my little breakfast bar area for cooking bagels and making my daily iced caramel macchiatto!  These two items used to take up the entire counter in the last kitchen.  So, it's nice having their own area off to the side.

Thanks for following up!

Making the Perfect Nursery Glider Chair

During my pregnancy I wanted to find a glider chair to have in my son's room. Maybe it was the hormones, but I could NOT find the "perfect" one!

I knew it was something I wouldn't want in his room forever so Craigslist was definitely the place to shop.  I found one in great condition that looked super comfy, but I hated the look.  I am NOT a fan of brown.

I bought the chair from a nice couple who had used it for under a year when their son was also a baby.

Now to the good stuff, the DIY nesting part of my brain took over and I painted and reupholstered the chair.

First, I took the arms and the cushions off the chair to get it ready for painting.  I sanded the chair by hand to get the glossy finish off.  I wasn't sure if this step was even necessary.  It might have even roughed up the chair unnecessarily, but meh, whatever.  I'm no expert!

I used about two cans of rust-oleum primer spray paint.  Next I think I went through about 3 - 5 cans of white spray paint to completely cover the chair with a solid finish.  I left it outside for about 2 days to dry and air out while I made the seat covers.

Next, I went to Joann Fabric and pick a cute frog baby blanket fabric.  It's sort of a flannel.  In retrospect I should have picked a fabric less stretchy, maybe some ::cough, cough::, upholstery fabric, but hey, I was going for "cute" here.  In the long run it held up fine.  I'd just recommend a firmer fabric for anyone else who attempts this.

So anyway, I took each cushion off and simply laid each piece on top of my fabric pieces and drew out the shapes.  I basically made a pillow case for each part.  I didn't want to remove any original fabric incase my reupholstering job totally sucked.  I'd at least have the original as a back up.

I stuffed the seat into my pillowcase and hand sewed the back edge shut.  I used green ribbon and also sewed that into the back edge so the seat can reattached to the chair.

I had to get a little creative around the front corners of the seat and along the top of the head rest.  If parts looked too loose, I'd just flip the fabric inside out again and sew the pillow case shape a little smaller. I did put two pleats on the edges of the front of the seat to keep it neat.  I honestly just "winged" the whole thing.  My grandma would be proud if she had seen my sewing skillz.  ;)  I know that's horrible advice if you're trying to use this as a tutorial though.  Sorry!

As for the arm rests, they only attached to the chair with snaps.  I made similar pillow cases for these sections and just cut rough holes where the snaps clipped.  They were hidden so the rough holes didn't matter.

The top portion also used snaps.  I made small pillowcase coverings for the snap straps there as well and also just cut rough holes for the snaps.  I hand sewed the edge of the covering onto the main piece so it wouldn't pull forward.

Lastly, I used a staple gun and just stapled fabric over the detached cushion section of the ottoman. That part was the easiest.

Overall, the reupholstering has held up well!  We used it more than a whole year, daily, in his room. Like I said, I'd choose a more rigid fabric if I were to do it over, but if you have any sewing ability I'd say go for it and make that chair a one of a kind!

A kid room is the best place to get away with making some goofy fun DIY furniture.