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blue, beautiful blue.

 

notice anything different?  (pardon the phone photo)

with andy on vacation this week, we officially said sianara to the green kitchen wall this morning between preschool drop off and pick-up.  and oh what a difference it makes!  even with L's high chair in the kitchen as we currently have living room furniture in the dining room from having the carpet cleaned earlier this week.

i'd love to change the floor but it's simply not going to happen.  [1] we'll only be here for 15 more months and [2] my husband really would hurt me in my sleep if i mentioned anything of the sort.  i had thought of doing some sort of rug but not sure as i don't want it to compete with the large rug that's now in the dining room.  decisions, decisions.

i've heard of plans mentioning the rest of the cabinet hardware going up tomorrow and then i think andy's kitchen jobs are complete except for the grouting of the backsplash tile.

i have an idea for a window covering that i need to make happen as well as a few other decor items but otherwise we're super close to finishing this project.

infatuated with a rug.

 

i might not be able to finish the rest of the work that remains on the to-do list for the kitchen transformation, but that doesn't stop me from accessorizing, right?

back in the day before children and before moving here, i was an interior designer.  as such, i find i'm incredibly picky for things for my own house.  this of course drives my husband crazy.  for example, we haven't had a rug under the dining room table since oh, about june.  and the rug that was there?  a pieced together 9'x6' rug of six large carpet tiles.  first i was going to use a grey indoor/outdoor rug and paint my own design on it.  inexpensive and something that would withstand the amount of food that ends up under the table from my children.  especially the oldest one.  

i went as far as purchasing the rug but soon decided that perhaps we'd go sans rug so that i could easily clean the floor each day.  that's what we had been living with for the past 6+ months.  the grey indoor/outdoor rug was regulated to the basement and is used by andy to cover the concrete floor when exercising.

and then, in the last few weeks i started obsessing about rugs again.  because really, i'm not such a big fan of that vinyl flooring we currently have.  (note to pre-children self : you should've replaced the first floor flooring with wood while you had the chance!)  but then again, rugs aren't a cheap purchase and i wanted to make sure i found something that not only worked in this house but wherever we end up next as well.

i thought i had found something that would work - even if it wasn't really my style - but of course in the size that i wanted they were out of the colorway that i needed.  so i checked and checked the site multiple times a day for a restock with no such luck.  until one day i spied a thumbnail photo of THE rug.  the right size, the right colors, my style and just a bit more than i had originally planned.  but it was perfect and with a coupon code and a rebate it actually ended up being a few dollars cheaper than my original plan.

 

 

the first photo is a view from the kitchen - you can tell that duke and thomas are also in love with the new floor covering - which showcases it the best as you don't get the crazy amount of light in that you do with this view from the living room.  and yes, it BARELY fits.  as in, my husband thought i was insane for purchasing it when he helped me haul it into the dining room last night.  (even though he should know better by now than to second guess my design decisions!)

 

 

and a closer look.  with just a minimal amount of curling on one end which is amazing given that it's an 8'x'10' rug.  love, love, love it.  also love that the design only has the white diamonds down the center of the rug where they are least likely to get splattered upon.  genius!

and just to clarify... the girls are not allowed to sit at the table and eat until the new protectors that i ordered for under their chairs arrive tomorrow.  not that they mind in the least.  they spent the first part of the morning playing under the table as they thought it was so comfortable under there.

continued progress.

this weekend, a bit more progress was made in the kitchen thanks to my dear husband and father-in-law.  and my vision is finally coming together.

all of the doors are now back on the cabinets.  and i'm now getting used to actually having to open doors to get things out or put them away.  tile also went up on the backsplash and it's now awaiting grout.  the tile really sets off the countertops that were installed months ago.

amazing what a difference just a bit of tile makes in a small space.

still on the never ending to-do list :

• put hardware on remaining cabinets and drawers.
• grout tile.
• paint accent wall.
• replace window shade.
• switch out switch plates to stainless steel.
• put bumpers on inside of cabinet doors.
• touch up paint on cabinets.

and i'm sure there's more, but that's just off the top of my head.

coming together.

the kitchen.  oh yes, it's still a work in progress.  all of the cabinets are painted and now it's just putting on hardware and doors.  right now, it's a about half complete.  but i'm loving the new pulls.  and surprisingly, the girls haven't gotten into any of the cabinets that don't have doors on them. 

still on the agenda after doors and hardware?  tiling the backsplash and repainting the accent wall.  my goal is everything done by thanksgiving.  fingers crossed.

a date with grey.

 

after not seeing much progress in a month or so, this is what happened to the kitchen last weekend.  it had a hot date with andy, his dad and some grey paint.  and it also looked a bit like a crime scene with blue plastic taped over everything to protect it from overspray.  but in two days, everything was primed, painted and clear coated.  a christmas miracle for sure.

so now we're just waiting on hinges to reinstall the doors, which andy ordered yesterday.  i'm surprised the girls haven't bothered anything in the lower cabinets.  especially L and the readily accessible colanders that she so dearly loves.

and that grey paint?  best decision ever.  totally makes the new countertops pop.  the end is in sight!

a long process to good.

this weekend, we started the long process of painting the cabinets.  at the rate this is going, it'll be september before they're done.  and i'm okay with that.  because i do have a few other things going on to be able to focus soley on transforming the cabinets.

we - or rather, andy - started on this cabinet yesterday afternoon.  removing the doors and hinges and filling holes.  sanding wood filler.  deglossing the cabinet and doors.  priming.  and what you see is the first coat of paint.  one more coat to go.

a small victory.  with the contents of said cabinet all over the other counters of my very small kitchen.  this is the reason there is no way we could do all the cabinets at once.  but i ordered the cabinet hardware today and am really excited that my vision is coming together.

in the end of this process, this photo would also show new countertop, a new paint color to replace the green accent wall and backsplash tile.  they measure for the countertop on friday.  slowly but surely is the name of this game.

in my eyes, we're getting to do so much that we didn't think we'd able to do AND i'm getting to enjoy it before we move.  awesome stuff.

the kitchen : new appliances.

after a week with new appliances, i'm finally getting to share photos and a few thoughts about them.  as a refresher, this is what the kitchen looked like before.  kudos to the delivery guys who were here, took out the old appliances, installed the new and were gone in 45 minutes.  just in time for the girls to go down for naps.  perfect timing.

i can't begin to tell you how much i love this new ge range.  not only is it gorgeous, but it's made spending time in the kitchen cooking for my family even more enjoyable.  and i love to cook so that's saying a lot.  the first night i put it through it's paces my making a bacon and swiss chard pizza that cooked at 500 degrees.  no problem at all.  a perfect pizza.  my favorite feature is the fifth burner in the middle of the range.  i'm thinking it will be perfect come thanksgiving and making gravy in my large roasting pan but i can also remove the middle grate and replace it with a griddle.  i did just that today when i made the girls grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  can i tell you how much i despise digging out my large griddle for this chore?  the fact that i just took out the grate and replaced it with the griddle that was stored in the oven's storage drawer made me deliriously happy.  i also loved by just turning a knob, the griddle was preheating while i was assembling sandwiches.  the end result?  perfectly toasted bread.  i have plans for pancakes this weekend...

and then there's this beauty.  the original plan was for andy and his dad to install it this past weekend as we feared it might be difficult to install due to stories we had heard from our neighbor from last summer when he replaced his dishwasher.  ha!  when the delivery guy asked if i wanted him to install it, i told him to feel free to give it a go if he thought it was doable.  no problems whatsoever with install.

i can't believe how unbelievably quiet this ge dishwasher is.  if i'm running water in the kitchen sink, you can't hear it.  it's that quiet.  i love the electronic controls and how nice and roomy the interior is.  i can fit a lot more dishes in it than our old model.  works like a dream.  those hand prints on the front?  yes, the girls had to check out the new appliances as well. 

i'm so glad we were able to replace these appliances now so that we could enjoy them for a couple of years before moving.  unlike at our last house when we repaired/replaced things right before moving.  there are several more projects to be completed in the kitchen.  hoping to get something started this weekend!

the kitchen before.

so tomorrow is like christmas at our house.  or i shall clarify, it's christmas for me.  i seriously doubt whether the girls, andy or either of the cats are as thrilled as i am.

let's start at the beginning...

 
this is my kitchen.  my very small kitchen.  my very small kitchen that's still bigger than my even smaller kitchen that i had in our previous house. 

this is the room that i spend the most time in.  each day.  every day.  when i'm bored, you'll find me here making something.  after having children, a good portion of my day is spent preparing meals and making snacks.

but as much as i love being in the kitchen, i don't actually love the space.  but little by little, it's coming along.  there's a fine line to making it an awesome space and making it a great place that will make a good impression on future buyers in a couple of years. 

tomorrow, my vision is coming one step closer to reality as a new range and dishwasher are being delivered.  beyond excited.  we replaced the fridge to a stainless model the year before C was born as an anniversary gift to each other.  the microwave was switched out a couple years later.  so these two appliances are the last ones to make the switch.

then the appliances got the ball rolling on other projects that will hopefully soon take place.  that green wall will soon become a slate blue grey.  (which means i'll need some type of new print to write our weekly menu on.)

the right side of the kitchen.  sianara old range.  i'm happy to say i found it a new home via craigslist.  i wanted to insure that it wasn't going to the dump as it is in great condition and works really well.  that space between the counter and the upper cabinets?  soon to be a tiled backsplash.  perhaps as soon as after this weekend thanks to my dear husband and my even dearer father-in-law.  (i think he likes my home improvement ideas as much as my husband does most days but is always willing to go along for the ride.)  thinking i'm going to spray paint the "eat" on the soffit with silver spray paint that i know i have from a previous project.

this is the beautiful FIVE burner range that should be installed by tomorrow afternoon.  it has a number of nifty features i can't wait to put through their paces.

and this would be the left side of the kitchen.  with more of the cabinets that will soon be painted a shade of grey.  oh how i adore grey.  we're still discussing what we're doing with those laminate countertops.  in my dream world, i'd go with quartz or concrete.  i'm 99% sure that's not happening.  maybe one day.  so i'm still mulling ideas.  another idea from my dream world?  replacing the floor with wood.

and the beautiful dishwasher that my dynamic duo of husband and father-in-law are slated to install this weekend.  it's a nod to the old days pre-children where we'd always have some type of job slated for andy's dad to help him with when they visited.  did you know they put in french doors where there was once only a window in our old houes?  and then built a deck to walk out on?  yes, i know i'm a very lucky girl.

so that's the before of everything that's going on.  feels good to be putting my interior design degree to work!