Sunday, October 2, 2016

Our Kitchen Update

When we bought this little quirky ranch,
the first thing we knew we needed to tackle was the kitchen.
It had no dishwasher, (gasp*)
moldy rotted out cabinets, (the horror*)
a pipe sticking out of the wall and into the cabinet, (what the huh?*)
and its overall look was pretty weird and depressing, (all right let's do this!)

We felt that we wanted to use a practical IKEA kitchen for our little space,
I wanted a cottage kitchen look, open shelves, white cabinets, farmhouse sink,
all desires IKEA could deliver!
So we got to planning, spent a couple hours purchasing,
drove back home with our sink in our car,
and waited to find some professionals who could help us get that pipe back in the wall
and who could wire an outlet for a dishwasher.
We demoed, added a door to the pantry/laundry/mud room,
scraped and painted, 
had a wonderful electrician (Tate & Sons, Louisville people!) 
and an incredibly kind plumber (Jamie Beeler Plumbing!) fix our problems,
painted the existing vinyl flooring, and began installing our new kitchen.

It was really discouraging and tough on some days, 
but I am so thankful and pleased 
every time I step into our little kitchen, 
and if I am ever ungrateful, 
I need to pull out this post to remind me 
of what it used to be,
and how for a month I washed dishes in the backyard. 
Enjoy the crazy transformation:


When you first walk into our galley kitchen,
this is the photo that was on the listing,
note the fly tape hanging in the laundry space.


taken by the listing agent

this is real lighting, not wide angle, when we first moved in, no dishwasher.
door, hidden dishwasher, open shelves, freshly oiled butcher block, ahhh*


Then you turn and look at the other side,

taken by listing agent
just a dreary mess, got some good use out of that pizza stone
in this project.

so much to love in this photo!!


Looking straight down the galley,

taken by listing agent
that door makes a world of difference,
and still need to finish that piece of trim.
We aren't fully finished with this project,
but it is beautiful and functional already!
We hope to add backsplash, finish some of the trim work,
touch up the floor, and maybe change out some lighting.
It is so fun to work in this kitchen now!

If you have any questions on that how to of any of our projects,
(painting a floor, working with an IKEA kitchen, butcher block care, etc.)
let me know and I would love to help!











Thursday, May 26, 2016

beginning a new season

Here I am, again, 
sitting at this little notebook,
wanting to write out a few feelings,
thoughts, and experiences as of late.
I am peering out of our big, dining room windows,
at the smoky thunderclouds rolling in,
in our new quirky cottage under the big oak tree.
Occasionally, I am snapped out of a day dream to the shrieks
and laughter of the girls dancing in their dainty bedroom 
which is now a good mix of 
Paris,
Pandas,
Pink,
Pale Green,
and 
Horses.

Outside, the cool wind is dancing through the trees,
 grasping at little leaves and carrying them across my view.
For the past three weeks, this has been our home,
we are settling slowly, into a new place,
with new faces, places, and food, good good food. 
This little place has lots of little rooms, 
and every room needs a little bit of love.
And I hope to document the changes and love added here, 
because I am excited at the transformations taking place in the near future.

When we bought this house, we had such a mix of feelings,
it wasn't the giddiness of the first house, 
it wasn't the easy excitement of a brand new house
(and this house is no Schuber Mitchell),
it was eagerness to live together in our new city,
it was nervousness about taking on a "fixer upper" without Chip and Jojo's help,
it was a bummer at the state of the little place,
and the constant flood of ideas for the potential.
So quietly, holding hands, we waded into this new season together.

But it is merely "brick and mortar" a place to be together,
and even though it needs quite a bit of love 
and the backyard has been let go for +5 years,
thats enough time for random small trees to be a nuisance, 
we have lots of love for it!

For Mother's Day this year I asked for flowers to plant,
I will be asking for this every year.
By our little lamp post,
which is constantly covered in bird poo from a fat, greedy robin,
my girls each picked a flower,
yellow dahlias,
light pink petunias,
and violet bacopas,
to plant. 
Right out of my dining room window, I get to watch those flowers,
(and that robin, he has become just a silly bird to us),
and I am thankful for this quirky place,
this neighborhood with its tall trees and kind folk,
this city and our season to love well here.