Sunroom

We've been slowly working on improving our sunroom.  The far wall had what looked like a coffee stain dripping down the sheetrock, there were sap stains coming through the paint on all of the trim work, and the bead board ceiling was cracking pretty badly. 

The prep work on this room took days.  In fact, I took off a whole week of work for the painting part of this project.  First, we washed everything really well.  Then we re-caulked between every other board on the ceiling and around most of the trim work.  We also primed everything to lock in any remaining stains. 

Our original plan was to paint the bead board ceiling the same blue that was used on the cabinet in our kitchen, but we decided to just go with white incase the caulk ever cracked again.  We used the same white on the ceiling and trim that was used for our kitchen cabinets.  By the way, I had never used oil-based paint until this project, and other than the nearly impossible cleanup, we loved it!  I would highly recommend Sherwin William's oil-based ProClassic.  It went on beautifully and self leveled, removing most brush and roller strokes. 

We also used left over light yellow/ cream paint from our kitchen walls for the walls.

As far as putting the room back together after the painting was finished, we took a little different route than what we previously had.  Since our house only has two bedrooms, we have been contemplating getting a pull-out sofa for extra room when guests come.  But, we came up with the idea to add a daybed to the sunroom.  Plus, the way it was previously set up, only one person usually wanted to be in there at a time due to the sitting situation.  A daybed would allow for extra seating as well.

I watched Craigslist for awhile, and was able to pick up an antique iron daybed frame for only $60 since it was missing a few parts.  Luckily, we were able to find parts elsewhere to make it work. 

We also replaced the old white ceiling fan for something a bit more cute.  I'm a huge fan of the new light. 

Now the view from the kitchen into the sunroom is so peaceful.

Kitchen Rehab Finale

The work in our kitchen is finally done.  We still need to do the final walk through and make the final payment, but I'm glad the renovation part is finished.  We hadn't planned on updating this kitchen, but a water leak under the sink changed that plan.  As big of a pain as it was, I'm glad it's done.  I'm happy with how it turned out overall, and I think it's a definite improvement over our '70s white laminate.

So, I guess you'd like to see some before and after pics?  Well, okay...

In case you're wondering, the floors haven't changed other than a good grout cleaning.  I think the lighting and my camera's white balance setting were just a bit off today.

 

Another before...

 

And after...

 

Here are a few closeup pictures...

 

 

I like our new spice shelf and it's fun to be able to display the cute Anthropologie dishes I got for Christmas.

 

 

I love, love, love my new sink area.  I love the under mounted deep single sink and the awesome pull down Delta faucet.  It makes doing dishes (one of my least favorite chores) bearable.

 

We originally were going to use silver pulls, but I'm glad we went with the oil rubbed bronze on everything (including the outlet covers).  It pulls together the black on the appliances and the dark countertops. 

 

We lost some functional storage by keeping the corner cabinet open, but we decided to add storage above the refrigerator for a more built-in look.  And while we tried to work with most of our existing cabinets (other than building new doors), the top cabinet beside the refrigerator was rebuilt to extend to the ceiling.

 

So, what do you think?  I think we did a good job incorporating the ideas from my Pinterest board.  Now we can just never move since this kitchen was built to our exact tastes. :)

Kitchen Sneak Peek

No, our kitchen isn't done yet, but I wanted to share a few sneak peek pictures since I don't know when it will be completely finished.

Here's our new microwave...

And our new faucet...

And our new open cabinet feature...

I can't wait to share pictures of the entire finished product... whenever that might be.

Kitchen Renovation Day 6

Time for the big granite reveal.  So, which granite did we choose?  If you remember, these were our choices:

Bu-ba-da-dum... we chose the sample to the left.  It's called Blue Pearl and it is wonderful shades of black, grey, and blue.  I love the way the blue and silver speckles reflect the light.  I also think it will be easiest to keep looking clean out of the bunch.  I figured that the darker ones would show more dust.

So, funny story about the middle option up there.  It's called Uba Tuba and it's the choice that Jason really liked, but our designer and I really liked the Blue Pearl.  We finally persuaded Jason to go with our choice, but we were also told that most men will automatically choose the Uba Tuba over any other choice.  Not sure why that is.  I guess it is the simplest looking of the bunch.  Maybe that's why?  Now that the Blue Pearl is installed, Jason totally agrees that we made the right choice.

Oh, and guess what?  We have a sink again!  Not a functioning one, but at least it's installed!

We are soooo close to the finished product!  I probably won't make another kitchen post until it's all finished.  It's going to look so different once everything is painted.  I can't wait!

Kitchen Renovation Days 4 & 5

While I was in St. Louis for work this week, our carpentry work was finished.  It's beginning to look like a totally different kitchen.  They've done a good job blending our existing cabinet boxes with the new pieces.

 

Here are a few more views.  The area above the stove turned out nice.  It will look even nicer once the new microwave is installed.

I love our sink area.  Can you see the nice little ledge built in the back?   Our trash drawer still needs to be cut to fit the trashcan, but you get the idea.  We also have a mock drawer under the sink that will hold the scrubbies and such.

These are our granite choices and hardware.  We already chose which granite we like best, but I think I might keep it as a surprise until it's installed. 

 

Our faucet and microwave were delivered this week as well.  The faucet is heavy!  I think it weighs nearly 7 pounds. 

 

Next week the granite will be installed and everything will be painted.  I think the paint process will take several days since they have to use a special primer on the existing laminate cabinet boxes.

Have I mentioned that I'm looking forward to having this all done?  I'm looking forward to having a sink again, and cooking and eating at home, and not having to deal with scheduling, and not having guys track in and out of our house all day.  Oh, and I'm looking foward to having a much nicer kitchen as well.

Kitchen Renovation Day 3

Ok, the carpentry work is about 1/3 of the way done.  Today's pictures are going to be a bit of bead board overload (it kinda reminds me of old school wood paneling right now), but I think it's going to look awesome once everything is painted.

 

Today's work consisted of:

•  Taking down the old microwave 
•  Installing the back splash
•  Building some cabinet doors
•  Building drawers (including the trash drawer)
•  Working on the open shelving feature you see in between the windows

So the cabinet in between our windows looks completely different, huh?  I promise the old laminate cabinet is still underneath there too.  You'll see a similar concept above the oven eventually.

 

I really like our new doors.  They are really nice quality.  Do you see the pantry door in the picture above?  So much better than our last pantry door.

 

Our carpenter even built us some new shelves in this cabinet.  It was a nice surprise.  And do you see the trim around the top of our cabinets?  We didn't have any trim before.

We still have about 10 more hours of carpentry work.  Then comes granite, painting, plumbing, installing new light fixtures, and fixing our loose tiles.  Whew!  I get tired just thinking of everything that still needs to be done.  And I'm not even the one doing the work! I think it's going to be worth it though.  Heck, just having a sink again will make it all worth it.

Kitchen Renovation Day 2

Well, our contractors just wrapped up the second full day of the kitchen renovation.  And guess what?  We have cabinets again!  Yes, they might lack doors, drawers, paint, hardware, etc., but at least they exist!

So, here's the rundown for today:

• Removed the cabinets above and beside the refrigerator
• Removed the existing drawer fronts
• Built the new lower cabinet boxes
• Built new cabinets above and beside the refrigerator
• Added wood to the top of the lower cabinets where the granite will sit
• Started building the drawer fronts and doors

 

As you can tell from the picture above, we have changed the layout of the bottom cabinets.  We will now have a diagonal corner sink cabinet and the dishwasher will sit directly next to the sink.  Apparently, it's an inconvenience to have to take a step to load the dishwasher.

 

Here's a close-up of the corner sink cabinet.  To the right of the sink, we will have a trash drawer.  The other two bottom cabinets will just be normal with a drawer on top and cabinet door on bottom.



 

Speaking of sinks, how do you like this bad boy?  Isn't it pretty?

We now have a built in refrigerator.  Both upper cabinets now extend all the way up to the ceiling, and the cabinet above the refrigerator comes all the way out.  Before it sat in the back and was pretty much inaccessible.

We are also leaving the diagonal cabinet on the end as open shelving with no doors.

 

Here are our paint choices.  The cabinets, backsplash, and trim will all be a bright white.  The walls will be a creamish color - more specifically, Sherwin-Williams Clean Linen.  We will have an accent of turquoise, Sherwin-Williams Hazel.

 

Here's the start to our drawer fronts.  The drawer fronts will be plain and the doors will be shaker style.

Now that construction's moving along, I've started looking at decorating accessories.  After all, we will have quite a bit of open shelving now.  Check out my Pinterest page to see what I've come up with so far.

Kitchen Renovation Day 1

Remember how I mentioned the leak that caused 1/3 of our kitchen to be ripped out, and then you didn't hear anything else on the topic for 6 weeks?  Well, that's because for 6 weeks there wasn't any progress. 

We joined Angie's List and searched the neighborhood's message board to find contractor recommendations.  We talked to several contractors who wouldn't even come bid since we weren't doing a full demolition/ renovation.  We had a few contractors come out and I'm sure they were capable, but we weren't too impressed with their communication or turnaround times for the bids.

Just when we were feeling completely defeated by the process, we went to a pub crawl here in the East End.  On the pub crawl we walked into a store we thought was an art gallery, but it was actually a decorator's store.  After Jason played Foosball with the owner (completely random, right?), we asked what exactly they did.  We discovered that while they usually sell directly to contractors, they have a contractor they work with and they were interested in our project.

We met with the contractor and received a super detailed bid.  We signed a contract this past week and work started today.  I've been impressed so far.  They've had awesome design ideas, and I'm really excited to see how it turns out.

Today, the team:

• Demolished our existing back splash and counters
• Removed the cabinet doors
• Fixed the drywall
• Finalized the design plan for the new cabinets
• Cleaned up after themselves

It's amazing how different the room looks without the green tile back splash.

Kitchen Sink

 

You never know how much something means to you until it's gone.

Kitchen Madness

You know our kitchen?  The one that usually looks something like this?

Well, it currently looks something like this...

You see, the day after we got back from Alaska, we discovered a leak under our sink.  A valve had given out.  And well, it resulted in 1/3 of our cabinets, drywall, and insulation being ripped out.  Good times. 

But, look on the bright side.  Now we get to tackle our first major renovation.

We've started interviewing contractors, and hopefully the renovation process will begin soon.  'Cause eating on paper plates is getting kinda old.

Currently, the plan is to:

• Keep the saltillo tiles
• Rebuild the missing base cabinets
• Reface the existing cabinets with shaker style doors and drawer fronts
• Add new hardware
• Replace the existing back splash with bead board
• Upgrade the countertops - we're thinking black granite
• Upgrade the sink and faucet
• Add a fresh coat of paint to the walls and trim
• And possibly replace the light fixtures

I think that's it.  Plan is subject to change depending on timeline, funds, and our mood given any particular day.  I'm sure there will be plenty more to come on this topic...

To see our design inspiration page, click here.