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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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Christy’s House – Kitchen Makeover

November 14, 2011 in Crashing at Christy's, Kitchen, Uncategorized

We’re headed back to Christy’s house again today for a look at her kitchen and just how incredibly farrrrrr it’s come since she first moved in. Seriously… every time I walk in her house there is a new project she’s completed and each and every one is fantastic. This girl is talented and I’m so excited she’s agreed to share her projects with us! We’re going to continue taking a tour one room at a time and she’ll have some tutorials for us along the way. LUV! …..and now….. take it away Christy!

Hi Everyone! Thanks, Dana, for having me back again. Having a blogging sister does have its benefits. ☺ Last time I showed you the exterior of my house. I would do a whole house tour, but there is rarely a day when all rooms in the house are photo ready. I guess I could move some of the piles from room to room for pictures, but that feels like cheating. So, I’ll just show you one room at a time when they’re ready for their photo ops.

Let’s start with the kitchen, shall we? Since the first day walking through the house, I knew that the kitchen was going to be remodeled from the slab up. But, it wasn’t (and still isn’t) in the budget cards yet. So, I was ready to live with what I had. Here’s what it started with the first day walk-through…

Lovely, right? You can tell by the layout of the fridge, stove, and oven that it wasn’t ideal. If you are standing at the stove trying to cook and someone opens the fridge, you’re going to have some choice words for that person when the door hits you. So, the layout needed (and still needs) a change. Hopefully I’ll get to blog about that in the next 2 years if budgeting allows. ☺

Within a month of being in the house, my parents and I decided that the cabinets that hung from the ceiling over the peninsula had to go. I’m only 5’4” and even I had to bend over to talk to others in the dining room. I didn’t mind losing the store because somehow this small kitchen has TONS of storage. So, to the curb the pieces went along with this weird counter (at table height) thing that was attached to the backside of the peninsula. So strange.

I lived with it this way for about 4 months until my mom decided that what I really should do was paint the cabinets. I am pretty sure I looked at her like she had that morning’s breakfast all over her face. “Um, WHAT?? Don’t you know how much work that is?? I’m going to tear these cabinets down later this year!!!” She reassured me that it wouldn’t take more than the weekend and that she’d help me with it (famous last words). Did it take longer than a weekend? Oh my, yes. Did I tear the cabinets down that year? No, three years later they’re still there. Did it make a huge difference and allow me to be patient while I wait for the money to be saved? Hate to admit it, but yes.

Dizzy yet? Bored? Well, I won’t take it personally if you skim the words and get to the pictures.

Then one weekend, I decided to paint the backsplash. I had different paint colors leftover from various rooms and thought why not?? I just cleaned the backsplash well (well, good enough), primed it, used yellow as my base color, and then used my laser level to tape vertical stripes and paint the other colors. Some of the paints were eggshell, others were semi-gloss. “Who cares?? I’m getting rid of this kitchen later this year!” (that was in 2009). Oh yeah! And, I also stenciled on the cabinet doors with a very basic pattern that happened to come from a brownie decorating kit that I found at JoAnn’s. I really didn’t like that and felt like it made the kitchen seem busy. So, my mom lovingly painted over those for me one weekend. I think she felt bad about the previous year when she left me to finish painting the cabinets. ☺ Love you, MOM!!!

Do I love it? Not necessarily. But, it sure looked better than the counter-meets-backsplash in all one hideous color! Now, it’s just the countertop that hasn’t been touched and I don’t hate it as much.

Enter 2010… Still no new kitchen. But, I’m okay with that. But, all you lovely bloggers and followers were so into doorless cabinets that I was starting to feel envious. Why not take the cabinet doors off some of mine??? Well, that opened up a can of worms. The tops of my cabinets are a fake soffit. But, the inside of the cabinets actually go all the way to the ceiling. What wasted space!!! This transformation is my favorite of the entire kitchen.

Added some curtains and shelves on the side of the cabinets for dog treats (our family sure loves dogs!!!) and this is how the kitchen looks today!

…and one more with the light off so you can get a look at that drum shade fixture. Swoon!

Pretty fantastic so far, right?! It’s amazing what a little (or a lot) of paint can do! …annnnd just today she purchased a counter-depth stainless steel fridge to kick-start her further kitchen renovations. That girl is a go-getter, I tell ya! Just wait until you guys get a closer look at some of the other rooms in her house!