I thought I'd give asneak peek in to the kitchen makeover. Oh yes we're still at it......we hit a snag when realizing the trim color was going to be too stark (for me) on the cabinets so a trip to the paint store and 4 qt samples later....I finally chose one. The walls are all painted now, only the trim around the window is done. Still need to paint the crown molding and eventually the new baseboards. Then of course the cabinets.
Here's the thing.........I have ideas swirling and whirling through my head on a constant basis. I am constantly googling and emailing sites for information on various things. BohoHandyman calls me (in his best attempt at a New York accent) "Baby, you're the brains of the outfit"! HA! Everything we're doing is being done in the least expensive way we can without compromising quality of course. Right now we have the 20 yr old white tile and grout counter tops....I loathe them. BUT we can't afford to replace them with a solid surface AND the new apron front/farmhouse sink I want right now......so I thought and thought. Other than the countertops themselves we have a backsplash on the stove wall that goes all the way up to the cabinets....so Saturday I said I thought we should do something over that backsplash....when I say WE...it really means HIM. (or did you already know that?) So guess what? Yes, you guessed it, he did a fantastic job (I'll share what he did later)...we did leave the area behind the stove for something else that I emailed about and waiting to hear.
The idea is to repurpose, revamp, reconfigure, reuse as much as we can...like the chandelier we took down from our room and will now hang over the island in the kitchen. I have done a few things to make it more colorful and can't wait until it's up.
Ok I have rattled on enough.....here are a couple of pictures of the floor before, during and after:
Here is the old floor, it was in icky (technical term) shape. You can also see that vibrant citrus green I thought was "cool" for a time and to add insult to injury we painted that turquoise around the window. Can you say Easter eggs? (yes, that's BohoHandyman you see) The baseboards were removed in ready for the new floor. Those windows are new this year (used to be one big sliding window), the pendant lights are also new over the sink.....they put out fabulous light!
It's really a good sized kitchen for our small cottage-like house, the picture is deceiving. When we bought this house it was smaller....where the back door is now was a window and from right of the door over was a wall to another door. Behind that wall (where the sink is now) was actually a small laundry room with the water heater and the back door. We had the wall taken down and reconfigured the kitchen (20 yrs ago). Where the big opening is btwn the kitchen and living room there used to be a wall with a regular door in to the kitchen......most people thought we added on but we didn't, it just opened up the room by taken 2 walls down. Looking back there are so many things I would have done differently......you know what they say about hindsight.
This is the installer prepping the old floor for the "float"material that went over it. We were so glad they didn't have to rip it all out. These people who did the floor were FABULOUS to work with, very professional, very sweet and very funny. I'd recommend them to anyone. If you live in the Bay Area and you're in the market for a new floor email me and I'll pass on their info.
Here is the new floor (Lucy was inspecting their work). They are vinyl weathered oak "planks" that are 8"x36" and laid down one at a time. It's commercial grade used in retail situations so it's made to withstand traffic (although for us it's 2 cats and a dog) The transition from the living room is really close in color AND they specially had a wood strip stained to match the floor so no more gold metal between the 2 floors.
Here is the new wall color:
Please note that it looks a different color on the left compared to the right......it really isn't. This paint color changes throughout the day with lighting etc. In real life it's the color on the right....a soft gray-green called Richmond Gray by Mythic Paint. This is "green"(and I'm not talking color this time) paint that has virtually no odor and is quite safe for pets and humans. You can see the trim around the windows is no longer turquoise too, though I love the color turquoise it wasn't the right choice. The back door and all other trim and the ceiling still needs to be painted the trim color.
You have to know that I am literally chomping at the bit for this all to be finished so I can begin to "decorate". (I am itching for a flea market day) But patience is a virtue when doing a room makeover AND when your Handyman only has nights and weekends to do things you HAVE to be patient. SOON I am going to learn to use a table saw, a chop saw, a miter saw etc...........then look out! (I want my own cordless drill) You won't believe what I want to do when we get to the living room makeover. BohoHandyman just shakes his head and says "draw what you mean". Hey, he DID say I was the "brains of the outfit"....and that brain just keeps on whirling!
See you soon!
Love,
Lisa
XOXO
I hope you're having a great start to your week and for my Canadian friends I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
P.S. If you've done a room makeover/home improvement and have posted about it please let me know....I'd love to take a peek!
