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{Crashing @ Christy’s} Kitchen Makeover – Stage 2

November 7, 2012 in Crashing at Christy's, Kitchen

Wow! It feels like I’ve been away from the blog FOR-EVER. It wasn’t intentional. I had a moment of frustrated, frugal anger and CANCELLED my internet service. Trust me… they were overcharging.

Fast-forward a few weeks and I’m BACK IN BUSINESS. Saving $40 a month, no contract and a FASTER speed. Booyah. Take that Centurylink. I hate how phone, cable and internet companies give new customers a great price…. and then jack up the fees over time. So much for rewarding loyal customers!

Anywhoooo, I’m back from my impromptu blogcation and ready to share some of my fun!

First and foremost – we’re long overdue for an update from my sister Christy on her kitchen makeover. She first spilled the beans on her culinary-overhaul on October 1st. Wait until you see the progress! Take it away, Christy…

Hey, fellow Crafted Niche followers! I’m back to talk about my kitchen makeover. I am so over this kitchen makeover. Over it. This is a never ending project and I’m sick of going out to eat. We’ve been without a kitchen for about 8 weeks now. Lame city. But, let me show you what we’ve accomplished since you last looked and maybe that will lift my spirits.

We painted the walls to prepare for the cabinets being installed. I am loving grey right now and we went with Valspar’s Urban Sunrise. It will also be the hallway color (that or another one from the swatch).

The unpainted parts in the kitchen are where tile is going to go. So excited to get to that part, but we have to wait for the countertops. Blah.

Next up…. CABINETS!!! This is where it starts to look like a kitchen again. The Lowes installers were here for about a day and a half. They did a great job and had to spend a lot of time leveling since my old house is so off-level.

See that cutout below the window? Impromptu electrician visit. We had to have a wire run through the walls so that all the backs wouldn’t need to be cut out of the cabinets. So, I patched those a few days later.

See that blue “body outline” on the floor? That was a tape reminder not to step there. I had to try to smooth out a crack before we could tile in there.

I am so glad I had them installed instead of doing that part DIY. There are some things that are better left to the pros. For me, this was one of those things.

What now? More tiling of course!

We had to do an appliance shuffle because my old water shutoff valve doesn’t quite shut the water off. Almost, but not quite. So, we just kept sliding the fridge around after the mortar was set (at 24 hours later).

Had to show off some of my mom’s skills at cutting tile. She does such a great job!

Loving this tile color with the white cabinets! And, it should be noted that you don’t see our Labs’ hair tumbleweeds as much now. Yes!!!

Grout, de-haze, and seal. Then, we could bring in the appliances! Starting tomorrow, we’ll be cooking in our house again. So excited. But, we’ll still be without a sink for a few more weeks. Boooooo. Oh well, the next milestone is in our sights!

I love how my over-the-range microwave and range look together. So pretty. And, that microwave makes a mean bag of popcorn. Perfect.

Here’s a couple before-and-after’s to show you how we’re doing…

It feels bigger somehow. But, we didn’t move any walls or add any floor space. Actually, we lost a couple feet of cabinets, but we’ve gained countertop space. Up next is trim, countertops, tile, open shelves, oh my! And, then one day (probably this Winter), we’ll get around to tiling the floor in the laundry room that is seen from the kitchen. One day.

Thanks for reading!

-Christy

Pretty amazing already, right?! I’m telling you… Christy should be the one blogging. That girl is a get ‘er dun type… Whether it’s brass fixtures, 1970′s paneling or outdated cabinets, she’s a take-no-prisoners DIY’er.

And speaking of impressive…. my sisters are BOTH running HALF-MARATHONS in a week. Ummm WOW. I’m so proud of both of them. I wish I was closer so I could cheer them on and be their #1 fan. Super proud of my sisters!

……aaaaand sorry for the long delay in posting on the blog! I promise… I won’t cancel my internet in anger without having a back-up plan next time!

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{Crashing @ Christy’s} Kitchen Makeover Kick-Off

October 1, 2012 in Crashing at Christy's, Kitchen

Christy’s back again! This time she’s sharing how she kicked-off her kitchen makeover. I’m amazed at her progress already! I’ll let her take it from here…

Oh my. So, I’m writing this post because I couldn’t stand the thought of working on this project for one more minute tonight. I’m extremely tired and will continue tomorrow. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?

So, I took the plunge and decided that 2012 would be The Year of the Kitchen. Woot woot! Very exciting until you write down what all needs to happen to get a new kitchen.

This is how it’s looked for a few years.

Ever realize how a home project in one room can spiral into the adjoining rooms? UGH. There are two types of flooring in the dining room/kitchen/laundry areas. I knew that I wanted to all be tile. So, once I ordered the cabinets and countertops (I ended up going with Lowes’ Shendoah Cabinetry line), I wasted no time ~~suckering~~ talking my guy into scraping out the old parquet flooring. Thank goodness he helped. It would have taken me triple the amount of time that it took him.

Walking on the bare concrete was gross and I’m looking forward to the whole room being tiled. Notice the paneling in this room (dining room)? Well, it kinda just ends at the current cabinets. So, I needed to get this room drywalled so it would make sense with the new cabinets and open shelving I have planned. This part I had done by a pro. It’s totally worth paying someone to mud/tape and hang drywall. They’re so much quicker and better at it! See, project continues to spiral…

So, I had to rip out the cabinets first. That took about a week of ripping out and taking breaks. Then, I found a guy on Craigslist that would haul away the materials from demo for only $125! Sweet. Less than a dumpster and what I had wouldn’t have fit in a Bagster. Score.

All my cabinets were built in place back in 1965 so they were a bear to tear out!

Pretty right? One of the holes was from a laundry chute that dropped into the kitchen. And the others were from old leaks. Creepy. Enter the drywall guy…

In addition to tearing out the paneling, they had to tear out the scrap drywall pieces that was placed as filler behind the paneling.

Add some primer and it’s really looking nice. I still need to caulk the ends of the beams where there’s now a gap from the paneling not being there.

Getting ready for tile now! My mom offered to help (and she’s a worker bee) so I definitely took her up on her offer. I got her help for 7 hours. She’s a master tile cutter and mortar mixer. Definitely a handy lady to have around during a project like this. And, my guy helped us out by carrying in tile, mortar, and running to get tools we forgot or lunch. Everyone was exhausted at the end of the 7 hours. BUT, it was totally worth it to knock out a major chunk of the tiling.

This is us getting our layout correct and snapping our chalk lines.

My guy had pity on me and helped by taking out all the spacers. I probably would have cried if I had to do it before grouting. My body was soooooooo tired.

A series of pictures makes it look so quick. Ha! Is it easy? Yes. But, it’s time consuming and you will definitely be sore and tired. It’s all sealed and helped us spread out some of the sore muscles,

Lowes installers are coming this week to install the cabinets so we’re making a mad dash this weekend to finish up prep work for them. We have to remove the linoleum in the kitchen, would like to paint the walls and ceiling in the kitchen. I just think it will be so much easier to do that before the cabinets are in. So, back to a little couch recovery so I have a little energy in the morning!

-Christy

How GREAT does that tile look? Uh-mazeballs right?! I wish I had a fireplace in my dining room. How cozy. Who am I kidding… I wish I had a fireplace in ANY room. #MantleEnvy

Stay tuned for the next update… this one is going to be GOOD!

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Milk Crate for Wine!

September 9, 2012 in Building and Repurposing, Kitchen

Have you looked on top of your fridge lately? No… You might want to take a looksie….

I did.

…and I was HORRIFIED. Oh my goodness. It was. So. DUSTY. I know… this post isn’t off to a sunshine-and-rainbows start… but I’m just being honest. DUST-EEEEEK.

I decided that a top o’ the fridge makeover was due. Sorry guys… no “before” on this one. Trust me. It wasn’t pretty. Lots of dust, a couple baskets and a stash of wine glasses.

But now….

Rather than pile things on TOP of the fridge… I decided to use the otherwise empty cabinet to store things. Then, I fetched one of my new (to me) milk crates to double as wine-bottle storage! What do you think?!

I’ve had that silver horseshoe for years. It came off of a horse I bought and rehomed from the racetrack a few years ago. I painted it silver and hung it on my wall. (Sidenote – I’m happy to say he has a wonderful home with a girl that loves him very much!)

The letter magnets on the fridge were so super simple…. They sell a bag of the wooden letters at Michaels for a few bucks. I just glued magnets to the back and stuck them on the fridge. I love when people leave me notes to find later. Right now I’m sporting a “Hi D” and a “Wurp Wurp”.