kitchen update

YEA!!!!! we are done, or as close to done as we can get.  The floors will be done later this month while I'm gone and the table and chairs will eventually get painted, the weather has just not cooperated with doing spraying outside.  We started the first weekend in January and here it is the the first week of June. We had figured by the end of March we would be done, ha, ha. 15 weekends of nonstop work and almost no social life.  We did take time to go see the kids and parents but other than that it was work, work, work, approximately 600 hours.  We are both pleased with what we have accomplished and think all the upgrades we did makes the kitchen far more valuable than what we spent.  We came in about $300 over the high end of our budget and stuck mostly to the initial plan.  It is very difficult to plan how much gets spent on things like sanding disks, paint, stain, drop cloths and necessary hardware.  That is where most of the extra money went.  We stuck pretty close to the original floor plan which meant we didn't need to move much of the electrical or plumbing.  We bought unfinished cabinets so we have the exact finish I envisioned with plenty of custom details. We made our own counter tops to get an exact fit. We tried to maximize every square inch of storage and upgrade our pantry along with the kitchen for extra storage.  I can't think of a single thing I would change.

how different this shot looks from the first day of the project 

remember this little open look

now it blends right in

this pulls out to reveal a tall skinny storage space for cookie sheets and cutting boards

you can't see the crown molding well in the previous pictures but it made a huge difference in the room and made the cabinets look finished

As soon as the floor is finished I will go over all the cabinets with steel wool then wipe on a mix of mineral spirits and a little stain to catch any stray nooks and crannies that might have gotten banged up in the whole process.  Unless you've done this kind of big project yourself you can not begin to understand how good it feels to say IT IS DONE!!!!

kitchen update

We're getting closer still.  The things we need to finish in the kitchen are mostly the small things that don't show up well in pictures.  The trim will be started today and with the weather we've been having who knows when we will get the table and chairs painted. It does seem with little things they are never ending because putting them off does not affect the function of the room.  We did get the can cabinet finished and filled.  It sure is handy to just pull open a door and have all the cans visible at one time.  The light over the table is a vintage Moe Light mid century modern shade coupled with a ceiling fan globe.  This shade was originally meant to be hung design side down but that looked like it would be a perfect bug/ dust  catcher so I wanted it turned the other way.  It's a good thing I have such a talented husband.  I can come up  with the design ideas but he has to come up with ways to make them work.  The shade was found in my father-in-laws work shop after he passed away.  It was brand new and still in the box.  I did look it up and the same shade on E bay was selling for several hundred dollars. This is hung high enough, I don't think any curious kitties can grab hold and swing from it.

Old light that will be converted to an outdoor solar chandy

New light during installation.  We tied dental floss on it to get the balance right while hanging

This shade is 26" wide and the design is beautiful when lit.  From the early 60's.

I love the can cabinet, I can see what I need at a glance.

Open shelves filled, the color helps break up all the black along those two walls.  I love having my bowls and cups hanging under the cabinets with cup hooks.  It saves a ton of storage space in the cabinets.  When those hooks are empty it's time to wash dishes!

spring cleaning

With all the work going on in the kitchen the living room has been a mess. Every square inch was covered in the dust from the remodel.   There have been sinks, wood, lights and cabinets filling every space.  Once I got all those things out of there I decided it was time to do  a major cleaning, put away all the winter decor and bring out the spring summer green, aqua and whites.  I've been  washing, sorting, purging and storing for several days.  Just getting the dust out and the window washed have brightened the room.  It's not quite done yet but that will require a tall ladder and someone to climb it.
I have a few sewing projects to do,whip up a couple of pillows and I am going to order an off white slip cover for the couch.  I am ready for spring!!

Some times looking at a picture lets you see things better.  I think this display is too crowded . I will remove all the black to brighten it up.

I moved this desk from the LR to the kitchen and drug the secretary desk into the LR 

This pile is my goal for today, I will put away, sort and purge to clear it off.

new projects

I currently have about 10 windows sitting in my kitchen in various stages of work.  These are a couple I have finished.  I think they will make great message board, hanging racks in a kids room, family room or kitchen.  The back of the smaller one is lined with burlap while the larger window has more hooks as well as several spools for additional hanging space.  The glass can be used as a dry erase board.  The perfect organization for a busy family.

what is it

I found this interesting piece at a thrift store.  Nobody in the place had any idea what it could be.  It was $2.00 so I brought it home and  hung it in my closet to hang me growing collection of scarves.  It has an Ikea label and a hook for hanging.  If you know what it is let me know, I'm curious.

shopping list

I made up this shopping list on my computer years ago.  It is divided into categories like cleaning, frozen food, meat, produce and several more. We can just circle the things we need.  I also write out our menu for the week and have room to l write things that aren't on the list. As our family has changed I can redo the list to include things we didn't buy 20 years ago.  I never thought about doing this as a post until I was stopped at the grocery store again last week, it has happened several time before.  The lady wanted to know where I had bought such a comprehensive list.  When I told her I had done the list on my computer she was excited to go home and do the same.  I guess organizational helpers give some people a thrill.
I keep the list hanging on a clip board, inside one of my cabinets so it is easy to write on when I realize I'm out of something.

Fancy clip board adds a dash of color to the inside of a door.

organization

I really, really, really do try to get organized.  Sometimes I succeed, many times I don't.  One thing I always do is take my old calendar down and before I throw it out I go month to month and write down important dates, birthdays and events.  This is the calendar that I use to write my sub dates, notes and show info so I buy a cheap one, because after 12 months there's no saving the pictures from this one.  If I find one that has photos I would like to save and frame, I buy and extra copy when they go on sale after New Years.
Happy organizing.