The New Old Kitchen

Welcome to my 2nd "Met Monday"! Today I have some before and after photos of a little kitchen renovation we did last summer.

We live in a 12 year-old manufactured home, and over those 12 years I've painted over the patterned vinyl wallboard in every room. A couple of summers ago I finally did the kitchen. I must admit that the red was a bit out of both of our comfort zones, but we love it. I also replaced all of the door and drawer pulls, and Greg took down the ceiling light above the sink and put in a small pendant.

Last winter when we put in the wine and coffee centers, we chose the countertop with the red paint in mind, knowing we'd be replacing the laminate on the counters in the kitchen eventually, too. Last summer that project got underway. My honey is a very handy guy who can DIY pretty much every aspect of a small home renovation. This time he got to not only replace countertops, but also did a little electrical work and some plumbing. (We live in a tiny rural village that does not require licensed contractors for plumbing and electrical.)

We have a small galley kitchen. Here, I'm looking into the main kitchen area.

Here it is after Greg replaced the counter tops, changed out the rangehood, and put in the new faucet.

The fan over the stove had stopped working years ago, but Greg hadn't replaced it because the rangehood is an odd size, and he couldn't find one for a price we were willing to pay. Finally we found we could special order from Home Depot and the price was definitely affordable. Over the past 4 1/2 years we've changed out all of the appliances to stainless, so that's what we went with for the rangehood.
The gooseneck faucet is actually the third try for a kitchen faucet we've had in this house. I love it.

We also put in a garbage disposal - hadn't had one in this house. You can't really see it, but instead of a light switch on the wall, there is a little button for the disposal to the right of the sink, set in the countertop.

We planned to change out the sink, too, taking the double bowl out and putting in a single bowl. I did the measuring, and purchased the sink. Unfortunately I measured the top, not inside the cabinet, and the new sink was too wide. (Stupid manufactured homes have nothing that is standard measurements!) Fortunately we figured that out before Greg cut the hole for the sink. We just put the old one back in. (Yes, I could special order the correct size single bowl sink, but $600 is out of my budget...)

In this photo, Greg is removing the counter from the left side of the stove. You can see what the old wallboard looked like. No, I didn't paint inside my cabinets. If you look closely, you can also see the little jingle ball kitty toy on the floor. Not a safety hazard, was it?

Here's another view from the other end of the kitchen. See those plates on the wall at the far left? The bottom two are those tacky souvenir state plates that I spraypainted white. The top is from Avon and is a pale green, but light enough to go with the white ones.

This area is opposite the kitchen sink, next to the refrigerator. (The refrigerator that doubles as a bulletin board.)

And here it is after. Those canisters are actually antiques. I bought them at a garage sale several years ago for just a couple of dollars. They started out pale yellow, but all scratched up, so I spray painted them. The black is the third color they've been since I've had them.

Next summer's project will be the floor. I've picked out some black and white laminate, but Greg is dragging his feet. We'll see what we end up with. I'd also like to do something with the cabinets. The bottom doors and some of the drawer fronts have seen better days...

To see more metamorphases, head over to Between Naps on the Porch and check out the talent. You may be inspired to try a project of your own!

It just seemed wrong somehow...

I haven't posted in 11 days? Hmmm. Time sure is flying. But that's not what seemed wrong.

It is currently 86 degrees outside, but feels like 93. There is something wrong with that, especially since I must go outside in a little while to mow, but that's not what I meant, either.

On Monday we began a "quick" little makeover on the kitchen. Nothing much, just new countertops - now don't get excited, they're just formica, but they are beeee-u-teee-ful - a new sink, faucet, and range hood were all in the plans. Greg, being the handy-dandy diy-er he is (and I am ever so thankful he is!), got a good start that day, and I thought things might just move along swimmingly.

And they mostly have, but they are TAKING FOREVER. I told Greg last night that when we decide on a project, we need to set our timetable, then double it. :o) He's doing an excellent job, and I'm giving him all the credit for this makeover, because all I've done so far is help lift and carry out counters and paint. He's doing the hard stuff - outside where it is not cool and comfy. And he's doing a GREAT JOB. I'm just getting impatient. This is my second day with no kitchen sink. At all. Just a hole - well, not even a hole, because there is no counter. Just cabinets with no top.

So, I just washed two days' worth of dishes in the bathtub. That is what just seemed wrong.

I washed dishes in the bathroom.

Now I used my big Tupperware fix 'n mix bowls for dishpans, so everything was really fine and clean and now the dishes are dried and put away, but I hope I get my kitchen sink back SOON.

Now I must suck it up and go mow. Sometimes I expect HELL to call and want it's HEAT back. And my honey must really love me since he's been outside in it for two days and hasn't yelled at me once. :o)

I better get out there. And mow. Ugh.

Edited at 6:05 p.m. - I went outside to the hot heat.
I helped Greg carry in the counter with the sink.
I went back outside.
I threw away somebody's dead branch that's been in our yard for over a week and doesn't belong to us.
I mowed the backyard.
I tried to help Greg scrape the laminate off the one countertop we can't replace, but have to just re-cover.
I got yelled at. (I knew it would happen eventually.)
Now I am inside, and that is where I shall stay.

Edited again at 7:33 p.m. - I have a sink. It's installed in the counter and the counter is screwed into the cabinets.
It is not connected to any plumbing. Yet.
Tomorrow.
I'll have running water tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, water will flow.
Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow. You're only a day away...

Sorry - I've been up since 3:45 a.m. and haven't had a nap. :o)

Summer Project To-Do's

I just read about the "Before and After" challenge on BooMama's blog, and decided this was perhaps the impetus I need to get moving. There are always many projects brewing in my mind, but I'm a procrastinator. Sigh.

Here's my list:
Paint and set up the guest room (remove unused exercise equipment, move in furniture, hem drapes)
Re-paint master bedroom (thought I'd live with the color I chose last summer, but not liking it at all), change curtains.
Change drapes in living room.
Paint kitchen after Greg gets done with his list (same color, just new coat)...

Here's Greg's list:
new kitchen counters
new kitchen sink and faucet
new range hood
new flooring

Can it all be done by July 25? It could.

Will it be? Not if I stay in this chair playing on the computer.

Guess I better get busy -

Ready,
Set,
GO!

A Sneak Peek

For our Christmas presents to each other, Greg and I decided to add some new cabinets to the sun room, just off the kitchen. A small corner for a "coffee center", then a larger area on the other side for a "wine center".

We purchased a wine frig at Best Buy when we were Christmas shopping, then received a second one as a gift. Now we have one for white wine, and one for red, and since they're kept at different temps, this works great!

The drawer space has doubled from what I had in the kitchen alone, and there are a few new cabinets, too. I'm so excited about 78" more of counter space - sad, I know.
We purchased unfinished cabinets, then Greg and I stained them. Greg did all the rest - finishing the cabinets, installing them, and installing the counter top. My coworkers want me to loan him out. :o)

The wine center

The coffee center (Tucker loves it, too!)

These photos are what they looked Sunday morning. There is still some work to do: finishing the sides and toe kick, installing the rack to hang wine glasses, and the cup hooks for coffee mugs, handles on the doors and drawers, and a little painting, but I really wanted to share this with you.

I wish you all could join us for some refreshment, be it warm or chilled. Consider yourself invited! :o)

The grout is done!

Greg got the grout down late this morning, then I cleaned it up this afternoon. I love it.

And I'm so glad I repainted. :o)

And yes, that is a Pirate's Of the Caribbean At World's End bucket.

Oy, what a day

Painting again. Tiling again. Sweating again.

So I got a new color of paint this morning and it's better. Still looks a little peachy in the afternoons, but that's the reflection of the cabinets onto the walls. The last time I got off the ladder while painting, I broke a tile. Had the leg of the ladder too close to a corner, and it snapped. I'd been very careful about that up until that last time - guess I was seeing the end of the painting job and in a hurry to be done.
So Greg changed the tile - not too happy about having to wait another 48 hours to grout, now, though. This was after he wasn't too happy about waiting to grout until I repainted... but he's a patient man and I'm lucky to have him.

Good as new!

So, while I worked all day in there, doesn't seem like much progress has been made...

Tile on the floor

It has taken us just about all day, but the tile is set on the bathroom floor. Greg did all the measuring and cutting, and we only had to sacrifice one tile out of four boxes' worth. Not bad. He also mixed the mastic (thinset) and then brought it to me. I got to spread it, trowel it, and set the tiles. Now that it's finished, I can see a few places that are slightly askew, but nothing to be done about it now, and it really won't be noticeable when I put some rugs down. No, it really won't be. :o)

I'm not loving the paint color as we watch it change from the light tan it's supposed to be in the mornings, to a peachy-orange in the afternoons. Yep, I'm going to change it. I've been watching it for three days, and I just don't like it. It's just paint. (Yes, I'm eating those words I've said a hundred times to other people!)

I am loving that floor, though. Crooked tiles and all, I'm keeping it!

Renovation progress

I don't know if I really should call this project a "renovation", but it is a change, anyway. I've finished the second coat of paint this morning and that always makes a huge difference. It's a caramel color and when Jess looked at it yesterday, she said, "It's 'warm'. " That's exactly my thought. The color in this photo isn't quite true...

We also changed the ceiling light fixture the other day.

Today we're prepping the floor - well, so far Greg is prepping the floor, though he had me dig out the rubber mallet. He says I'll need it later.

And so it begins...

Greg and I are on "vacation" together this week and will spend our togetherness doing some renovation in the master bath and bedroom. Just a little spackle and paint, and a ceramic tile floor in the bathroom. Oh, and new light fixtures, and a new shower head, and a new exhaust fan, and my favorite thing of all, no wall of mirrors over the tub!

No more having to see ourselves as we get out of the shower, or as we sit for other necessary activity... Yea!

The mirrors came down easier than expected. We did have to heat them to soften the glue, but then they popped right off the wall. You can see where I scraped the glue off the wall, and took some wallpaper with it. Greg is covering that with spackle and assures me it will paint out with no evidence it was ever there.

So I didn't get any real "before" photos. These were taken after we ripped up the carpet and took down the mirrors.

I'll update as we progress...