Study: Done.

She Says:

This is our study, before and after:

Here are the finishing touches for the study:

I framed pretty notecards between glass.  The shelf was an old Pottery Barn item from years ago, painted to match the cabinets.

We found the clip and wire system at Ikea to display cards and hold important reminders.  We ordered the track lighting from Amazon.

Our guests also really appreciate the futon, also from Ikea.  Surprisingly comfortable.  It has storage underneath for the bedding!  We also dedicated one of the cabinets into a wardrobe by adding a clothes rod and shelving.  The rug was actually from our previous house- it's wool, from Target, and I still love it.

This room also provides critical storage for HoneyDo's guitar collection, and I think it looks cool, too!  We got the guitar hooks from our local music store.

And I think this my favorite thing in the room- it just looks like an end table, but it's actually my filing cabinet!  (Under the cat.) I found it at Target- it was even the perfect color- and I installed a file hanger inside.  Beauty and function... love it!

Okay.

Next project.

It's massive.

The great room!

Kitchen: Done (Mostly)

She Says:

So the kitchen is mostly finished... mostly.  Fully functional, there's a lot of little touch ups to do, crown moulding, some task lighting and the like, but we need to get on to the next room.  So we decided to call it good at this point.  Would you like to see?

Here's where we started:

And here's our after:

A word on appliances: if you're patient, you can find some really great deals.  We've been haunting the local Home Depot, Lowes, and even Best Buy watching for deals, discounts and floor models.  We chose all stainless steel appliances (except the wine fridge, which we found on sale for $100) including the sink.  The range hood is an Ikea find, 50% off.  The range is a slide in, and we got both the range and microwave 20% off at Lowes.  The fridge was the most difficult find: a stainless look, counter depth, 15% off.  I found the dishwasher, which was a 50% off floor model, in perfect condition!  

We ordered some of the cabinets without front panels and had specialty glass cut to fit:

Installation isn't difficult (as long as you measure carefully and order the right size glass pieces!)- we caulked a strip of silicone into the frame, laid the glass in and used a glazing point gun to mount the glass.  We found this gun on Amazon for $30.  

It will also come in handy when we finally get to the point where we can start decorating and hanging things on the walls (oh happy day, will you ever arrive?)...

I think this is my favorite part: the coffee and wine bar!

 Everything you need for the perfect cup of coffee, or a great glass of wine (or something stronger)!

And here are a couple of close ups of our custom island:

A space for loose spices, vinegars, cookbooks, and extra hand towels- I can never have too many towels around, especially during a reno!

So now that we have a real, live kitchen,  I'll probably post a recipe or two every now and then... HoneyDo and I really love to cook, and we've missed it terribly.  Stay tuned!

    

Kitchen Beginnings

She Says:

Okay.  This next room is a biggie... the kitchen.  Just like the bath, we are completely gutting this one.  But there is sooooo much more to do.  Here's what we started with:

This is the breakfast nook... currently the only dining area in the house.

 And here's the kitchen.  It's like a cave in there.  And just as scary.

This is one of the lovely holes in the floor that made buying this house so darn affordable!  As I've mentioned before, I think every single piece of plumbing in this house leaked at one time or another, creating soggy subfloors, riddled with holes.  This one is courtesy of the kitchen sink.  Not to be outdone, the dishwasher (which I dare not even open) sports a certain sponginess in the floor as well... it's only a matter of time before somebody falls right through it.

Here's our To Do list:

• Pine board ceiling
• Hardwood flooring
• Garden window
• Sliding glass door
• Cabinetry
• All new appliances
• Granite countertops
• Eat in island
• Wine and coffee bar
• Can and pendant lighting
• All new wiring
• All new plumbing

That's all.  Not much to do.  In the immortal words of The Money Pit, it should take about 2 weeks...

He says:

A kitchen has a lot of...things...going on in it.  Lots of very demanding dimensions with no room for error.  Lots of wiring, plumbing, gadgets.  This is going to be very complicated.  Sure, two weeks sounds about right!

Bath: Done

She Says:

Just to remind you how far we've come in this room:

And here we are now:

I remodeled this wall mount shelf- painted it, added the back board and hooks.  It gives us extra storage on top, and room for more towels than a traditional towel rack.

I searched high and low for this shower caddy- I wanted a stainless steel one so that it wouldn't rust.  Finally found this OXO Good Grips model at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  It was more than I wanted to spend, but I don't want rust stains running down my nice new tile, plus I had my 20% off coupon to ease the pain a bit.

HoneyDo installed this fanastic light and fan switch- the light switch has an auto night light, and the fan has a timer with choices of 5 to 60 minutes.

 The only decor I used in here is a glass jar filled with seashells from a trip to Florida.

The vanity is an Allen & Roth from Lowe's that we snagged at 40% off!

We're so happy with the way it turned out!

Laundry: Done

She Says:

The last project for the Laundry Room is the laundry line- fairly straightforward and easy to do:

1.  Wooden dowel and wood shelf bracket from the hardware store

2.  A Forstner bit to drill the holes

3.  Mount the brackets under the cabinets

4.  Caulk with Alex Caulk - not a necessary step, but we like the finished, built in look

5.  Paint - Again, because it's wood and because hangers are going to be sliding around on it for all of its life, I used our trusty oil based paint, in Spice Delight color.

And with that, the Laundry Room is done!

The whole project is here.