[ slowly, but surely ]

Ok, so i'm really lucky Christopher hasn't divorced me yet. Bless his heart and the approximately 650 tiles, and 1,200 spacers we have installed. Combine that with a crooked ceiling line of a 10 year old house, and you have a recipe for disaster and divorce.

So this is the one rather large, ugly wall that I had so lovingly convinced Christopher needed to be tiled.


Here is the plan. This is the small shot before i really got into my mock-ups. Trying to figure out switch plates and odd angles.



Christopher and my dad hard at work, while i "project manage."


Dad taking a break. You will notice in the background the new Corian counters and where we also added a new piece of cabinet for extra workspace. We used to have that fun painted piece there, but it wasn't working as we had hoped.


Christopher hard at work. I promise, i did tile too! It was actually a tad fun for a bit, and most certainly a labor of love.



We have since tiled the entire area that we planned on and grouted most of it. It is looking amazing. Doesn't even resemble our "old" kitchen anymore.

I'll be glad when it is over and can share some photos!

[ when it snows, it pours ]

In our kitchen.



*caveat - these photos don't do the damage justice, this was in the very beginning. sigh....

OK, so admittedly, i have never loved our kitchen. However, when we bought our house, it had been flipped so everything was fresh and new. Although the man who flipped it was no designer, he did a decent job. Just not my style. We could not justify remodeling the kitchen though with IF expenses and then adoption expenses on the table. Plus, there were other things that we were looking to put money towards.

Well, that has changed. We have to do a mini-remodel in the kitchen now. Lucky me! {insert half sarcasm here}. With all the snow and ice this winter, we came home from work one day to find water pouring through the recessed lights - and it didn't stop - for days, 11 to be exact. Our kitchen looked like a nightmare with towels, buckets and a dark room because we couldn't turn the lights on.



The water damaged a nice hefty piece of the ceiling, the wall and soffit. It also ruined a countertop (hello formica)! and a cabinet. So, the insurance adjuster came and of course, will only replace what was damaged. We can't find matching countertops (yay!) but were able to find a matching cabinet. So, in my dream world, the entire kitchen would be changed. I won't lie, i was bummed we found the matching cabinet. I was already on the hunt for new.

So, this week we ordered upgraded countertops to Corian and we are tiling a good portion of the kitchen and wripping out some upper cabinets, while adding a new piece of lower where we currently have a painted buffet.

We are going to add some open shelves and repaint! The last detail is to add crown molding which was on our to-do list anyway. So, i guess everything happens for a reason, huh? A nice distraction while we "wait" too!

Here are some photos i found that i love for some inspiration. While our kitchen could fit inside these kitchens, i can't help but to stare!

| source |

| source |

I think the demolition will start this weekend since the company is coming to measure for the countertops next week. I'll keep you posted!

Have a great weekend all!

[ landscape plan ]

Part of my post yesterday was living life as normal as possible without basing everything on the "what ifs".

One thing we have been dying to do around the house is all the landscaping. There was nothing done. And believe me when i tell you, nothing. The guy that owned this house had a bizarre passion for cement. There was cement chunks everywhere! I would post photos, but i'm afraid to frighten you all away.

With lots of thinking through the most cost effective and logical ways to take steps to pretty up the curb appeal, we came up with a plan. This will allow us to get moving on pieces of the outside, while staying within a cash budget and keep the projects moving.

If we don't get matched before the end of the summer, we have to have our home study redone and that will cost a pretty penny and take away from our landscaping funds. Unless anyone knows where to get seeds for a money tree?

If we don't have to have our home study redone because we get matched (yay!), then we can move forward with other items.

So here is the basic overview.

You will notice we did plant some of the hydrangea already, but this is the overall plan here for the side of the house, going up the driveway.

So there you have it. Pretty simple huh? We will see about that. I'm afraid of heights, so painting those red spots will be Christopher's job. We have a bunch of clay and rock so digging will be tough. I need to put my pink thumbs away and grab the green ones for the day, or weekend or summer at this rate!

Have a terrific day!

[ question from a reader ]

Eep! I don't know how this comment made it to my spam folder, as i try and reply to everyone, so i apologize Lisa.

Back when we did our weekend assignment of painting our fireplace, she asked:

"Just curious, where is your DVD player and cable box? Are they hiding somewhere? I'm always curious about where people place them when the tv is over the fireplace."

Here is your answer, and again, i apologize for the delay!

My husband is a network engineer, so i'm lucky that he knows his stuff about wiring. So, he actually has our network of wireless, cable goodies and whatever other "nerd gear" he needed in the basement. He pulled wire down the wall of the chimney by cutting a hole and snaking it down to the basement. (If you look closely, you can see the outlet boxes next to the french door on the right.) We actually don't have cable anymore, so we use his PS3 to stream Netflix, HuLu and whatever else. That sits behind the t.v so it is somewhat hidden. Before we got rid of cable though, he had also run wire and cable on an adjacent wall and our cable box and PS3 player sat on a bookshelf.

If our house was new, it would be been done during the building phase. But since it is so old, we had to do it this way. I helped and it sucks, but the results are well worth it!

I hope that helps!

Now... i need to get my butt in gear and share some camping photos that are long overdue.

[ weekend assignment: the fireplace mantle ]

It has been such a long time since i have posted a weekend assignment, and yet i feel like every weekend is filled with some sort of project! Whew. We are going to go crazy the next handful of weekends and complete the nursery, work outside on landscaping and other goodies so we can enjoy the summer and just sit back and wait for our baby.

This project we did last weekend. It took much longer than anticipated, but came out lovely. I'm so happy with the change. However, it isn't done. I need to finish accessorizing and the hearth we decided needs to be raised. But- i wanted to share the project with you all.

So, the original inspiration came from this photo if you all remember.

This is what we started with. I think Christopher was scratching his head wondering what on earth he got himself into by agreeing to do this.

I don't know what was worse. The prep work or the actual painting of the fireplace.

STEP 1: Sand the entire fireplace to get rid of any extra soot, grout and dirt.

STEP 2: Vacuum really, really well getting into all the crevices.

STEP 3: Wash the entire fireplace with a wire brush and let dry.

STEP 4: Apply primer that is suitable for masonry. We started by painting in all the crevices first, then rolled on afterwards. We found it easiest this way. We applied just one coat of primer.

You can see how tricky it was to get all of the dark spots. We wanted it to look nice and crisp, rather than rustic so we really spent a ton of time going back in with small brushes and getting all the cracks filled. Here is the primer coat.

While that first coat was drying, we had already primed the red wall and now we were able to start painting the neutral color.

Here is the first coat of paint on.

Here is the finished product! Ta-da! This was taken a few evenings later when it was a tad chilly. As you can see, i'm sparse on the accessories, but i haven't found quite the find pieces to finish it off. It really made the entire room look and feel lighter.

So, i think it cost less than $100, but pretty much an entire day to complete. We already had the caramel colored paint that was leftover from when we had painted originally so we didn't have to purchase more.

I hope you like!
Have a terrific Tuesday.

Oh- and don't think my trip to Lowe's didn't include some fun colored glossy paint for the nursery. I can't wait to share a new color i have added in.

[ fireplace project is a go! ]

You might remember my post about wanting to change our fireplace? Well Christopher finally agreed and it will be a go! Not until spring though. Not because i don't want to start....like yesterday, but because after reading advice on Young House Love's blog we realized how much soot we actually have and will need to use an oil based primer on the bricks first. But that is OK, the longer we wait, the more time i have to make the project larger than life. (as my usual self). So in the meantime, i have been collecting some images that i have just loved.

If you have any others that you can guide me too, i'd love it. (Christopher won't, but that's OK). ;-)

| source: L.A Times blogs, unidentified, Simply Seleta |

{ kitchen chalkboard }

This is a small food prep area in our kitchen.

I think ultimately, we are going to get rid of the painted piece that is there and get a butcher block instead. Yesterday as Christopher and i were prepping dinner, i was thinking how nice it would be to have a chalkboard hung to put our weekly menu. We pre-plan every week because things just get so hectic in our lives, and it makes it really easy. I was thinking i will be on the lookout for a cool old frame, paint it white and add chalkboard paint. Here, next to the window is probably the best spot for it.



I have always thought that area of the wall was rather bare anyway, so this will be a nice way to spruce it up!

Here are some inspiration photos i found:

{ source: Aubrey + Lindsay }

{ source: Emmy Lu }

{ source: Design*Sponge }

Has anyone ever done this? I wonder how good the chalkboard paint works, and what brand works best?

Closet demo: Part 2

Well...the worst part is over. Thank goodness! After 4+ hours of demolition, lots of coffee (with 2 spilt cups), snacks, spats, 5 gallons of spackle, 6 full bags of garbage, scratches, bumps and bruises and 2 weekend assignments later and we are done! The only thing left to do is have the floor fixed and build the storage units. (that is the easy part though)!

This is what we started with as a reminder...

After all the new trim was made from approximately 5 pieces of smaller trim to re-create what was there, we were able to start painting!

Oh... how i love to tape

This is mid paint, getting rid of the awful shade of yellow

So, the moment we have all been waiting for....

As another reminder, Christopher mumbling i'm quite sure, although he never really came out with it..."what the hell were we thinking?"

Ta-dah!

The new trim

I have to give Christopher all (OK most) of the credit for the trim. I helped him design it to mimic the old 95 year old stuff, but he used his fun new corner cutting thingie to actually do the work. Kuddos to him!

Here is the crib (yes... filled with my purchases so far) on the wall. We both love the paint color and the crib in there more than we thought!

So, now the fun begins of decorating!

The last piece after getting the floor fixed is putting in the closet system. We have been comparing product at IKEA and Walmart so far as well as Lowe's. We haven't made a final decision, but this is sort of what we have come up with for organizing.

I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head and i can't wait to share! Christopher says our child is going to be one spoiled baby.. i like to call it "well loved."

Have a terrific Tuesday all!

Closet demo: Part 1

What a project weekend! It was great, and i must say, i am really enjoying these DIY home projects. I guess that is what happens when you are forced to figure it out on your own, rather than pay someone to come and do it! I have learned a ton though and they start to become a labor of love, much like my print design work.

Some of you might remember my post about wanting to open up the closet in the nursery because of the lack of space in that room. Well, we started this weekend, and it is looking good. As usual, we underestimated how long it would take and the mess involved. Thank goodness it was cool in good ol' NY. It took about 4 hours just to demolish and pull apart the wood work without ruining it. Our house is just shy of 100 years old and has the most beautiful original woodwork. We wanted to keep that and reuse as much as we could when pulling apart the closet.

This is what we started with:

It was fun to pull it apart, but like i said tedious because not only were we trying to save as much trim as possible, but the house is so old, that it is made of plaster and lathe. (good times i tell you)! The walls were so fragile, and yes, i accidentally went through a few times and had to patch.

Clemens wanted to see what was going on and kept trying to get close, but decided he would chill in the hallway before the vacuum got him!

Yay! We have the new closet opening!

The one thing we have to deal with though is filling in the hardwood where the frame was. This is the one part where we just might have to hire someone.

After spending about 1.5 hours in Lowe's, we got pieces of trim that are so close to what was there. Years ago, trim was built in large sections. Since so much is pre-fab now, and we need to match as close as possible to what was there, we have to re-create ours. Here is the start:

So all we have left to do is finish up the trim making the corner pieces and paint white. Then... the fun begins of putting some color on this bland wall!

We have finally selected our paint.

| source: Benjamin Moore - Robin's Nest #618 |

Hope everyone is having a superb day!