Coffee Talk

If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you that whatever you are struggling with, you may think you can't handle, but you are most certainly qualified.

I would tell you that you are growing and learning, and through this hard stuff you are becoming even more of the person you are meant to be.

I would tell you to keep moving forward, to remember to take deep breaths, and to not feel guilty for that extra dash of cream and sugar in your cup.

Wishing you an encouraging, cozy, and joy-filled Friday friends!

XO,

{kitchen reno update part 2}

Oh I am BEYOND happy to share with you that for all intents and purposes, our kitchen reno is DONE!

Goodness that 7-ish weeks felt like an eternity! 

We still need to do some painting...white on the walls and a pop of turquoise on the island surround, but anything that we hired someone else to do is finished! 

It is all so bright and white and pretty. I don't know if I can pick a favorite thing. I'll post again when everything is 100% done but for now here is how it is looking!

Oh this backsplash makes me all kinds of happy. This photo was pre-grout but we went with gray so not much of a difference in the finished look...

The open shelving is from IKEA and is making me giddy! I couldn't resist plopping some dishes on it two seconds after the contractors left and snapping a few pictures. 

And now for a  good corner view of everything...

The upper cabinets, sink and drawer pulls are also IKEA. We purchased the lower cabinets and countertop (formica if you can believe it!) from Lowe's. 

And I actually smiled while washing dishes the other night... 

That Mrs. Meyers lemon dish soap didn't hurt! I'm obsessed with anything lemon scented these days. 

And because we all love a good before and after...

Holy cow right?

I've been pinning kitchen ideas ever since we moved into this house over seven years ago and really didn't know if we would ever be able to do this. It is a dream come true! 

And I really want to encourage you by adding that even though this wasn't inexpensive, we did it on a lower budget and income, so it is possible friends! Here are some examples of how we saved money...

We have a TON of countertop, and with formica it was only around $700 for the entire counter. No need to spend thousands on granite or solid surface to get a beautiful counter. The farmhouse sink from IKEA is only $300 which is a bargain. And it is a monster...so much room in that thing! Our faucet was an $80 Ebay find. The gas cooktop was $150 marked down from I think $400 in the IKEA clearance section. We have literally had it in a closet for like four years waiting for a new kitchen. The key is to be creative, think outside the box, and snatch up deals when you can!

Thanks so much to everyone that has joined in my excitement over this renovation. You are awesome!

XO,

kitchen reno update!

We are a month into our kitchen reno and I thought it was time to share an update with photos! 

I wish I could say it is finished...but it is well on it's way and for that I'm going to say thank you and keep practicing patience! (Although eating off of paper plates is getting OLD.) 

Here is my last post with the before photo (ack!) and lots of inspiration images and the plan. 

But in case you want to see that before again...

And here are the progress photos!

We had a new window installed which provided a much bigger before and after than we imagined! Worth every penny.

I'm really proud of Dan for getting the pieces for our island ready for the contractors. He painted the cabinets and has painted countless coats of sealer on the butcher block counter. Here it is temporarily put together so we could get an idea of how it will fit in the space...

The island will house our cooktop and have an extra piece of counter added to the back to accommodate stools. It will also have a surround added to cover the base cabinets that we'll be painting turquoise. The awesome cabinet with the pull out drawers was a super lucky Goodwill find, and we grabbed the slim cabinet from the clearance section at IKEA (we'll be adding shelves inside). They were mismatched colors so Dan painted them both white which really pulls it together. The butcher block top is also from IKEA. 

And umm how perfect is that Raskog cart nestled in the middle? I'm dying. Can't wait to see it finished! 

Next week is supposed to be counter install, which will then lead to the sink and hopefully back to a functioning kitchen very soon after that! Eek! 

SO ready to stop using those red solo cups. It looks like a 24/7 frat party at our house!

XO,

{kitchen reno}

Hello friends! Happy Saturday!

I want to take a break from my usual art sharing to chat about our house today.  I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but we're renovating our kitchen!!!

We've lived in our house for seven years and put up with a truly horrible kitchen for all of that time. And I'm not just talking about 80's cabinets or a laminate counter instead of granite. This kitchen is OLD and FALLING APART, big time. Like drawer fronts falling off and a faucet that is so janky we have to use two hands to turn it on in case it pulls out of the sink. 

It is embarrassing up in here friends. 

But a week from Monday the reno is starting and I'm still pinching myself that we're really doing this. Here is a before photo from waaaay back when we moved in and the room had CARPET. 

No worries...we remedied that right away with laminate...

And over the years we've painted the cabinets and tried to add touches to spruce it up, but when the bones are bad, not much helps!

So here's our plan:

• White modern cabinets
• Farmhouse sink
• Industrial faucet
• Dark gray laminate counter
• Lots of open shelving
• White subway tile backsplash with gray grout
• Island with cook top 

We're doing this on a fairly small budget, although a complete gut job is anything but inexpensive! Keeping to laminate for the counter (we have a TON of counter space), subway tile backsplash, and lots of shelves instead of all upper cabinets is keeping the cost down quite a bit. 

Here are a few inspiration photos I've pinned...

The two biggest chunks of the reno cost are the cabinets and appliances, which include a new fridge and wall oven. We decided to do the lower cabinets and appliances from Lowe's. The few upper cabinets we're using are from IKEA, as well as the open shelving. 

Why split the cabinets between Lowe's and IKEA? Well, on a practical level, Lowe's is close-by, they offer easy financing (IKEA doesn't anymore), and they will deliver the cabinets fully assembled. Not having to assemble all of the cabinets is a HUGE plus, because we have a crap ton of lower cabinets. 

Why IKEA for the uppers? I had my heart set on these cabinets...

And Lowe's didn't have anything comparable that didn't cost about 4 times the price. (Like this whole cabinet cost the same as the piece of glass for the door at Lowe's.) Whew! 

We also purchased our shelving and brackets at IKEA. We're using white shelves and these brackets...

We'll have open shelving on either side of the sink instead of cabinets. I'm super excited about how that wall will turn out. This photo has a similar feel to how ours will look, with the same industrial faucet and IKEA sink, as well as the window centered over the sink...

One of the biggest changes is that we will be removing the soffet over the cabinets. I know that will really open up the room, not to mention allowing us to move the cabinets up higher which will help tremendously! 

Another big change is that instead of our range, we'll have a separate gas cook top in an island, and an under the counter oven. Dan found a clearance gas cooktop at IKEA a few years back that we've been keeping in storage. He is beyond excited to start using it. 

Changing to an under the counter oven also means that we'll have a super long, uninterrupted wall of counter space which will be heavenly! The vent hood will be replaced by a wall microwave which will also free up counter space. 

For the island we're picturing a butcher block top and turquoise painted base similar to this...

We purchased two open stock cabinets (one was a lucky Goodwill find and the other from the clearance section at IKEA) to use as the base for the island which saved tremendously on cost. 

And finally here are a few of the finishing touches we'll be using!

We bought the smaller version of this pendant light for over the sink (from IKEA)...

And these bar stools are at the top of our favorites list...

So there's the kitchen reno in a very big nut shell! 

I can't wait until the process starts so I can share the durings and afters. And I really want to give encouragement to those who are on tight budgets like us. It may take a lot longer than you would like, but eventually these house projects can happen! 

XO,

{pinterest picks}

If you are like me, you have pinned dozens and dozens, {OK...2,491 to be exact} ideas on Pinterest. But how often do you go back and look through all of them? Me...not so much.

So I decided to pick one of my boards, look through all of the lovely pins, and share my top picks...to inspire myself and hopefully offer up some inspiration your way as well.

Today I've chosen my Kitchen Dreams board. Because, well, I'm dreaming of a new kitchen.

The mix of the modern cabinets, white counter, and cool greens in this kitchen make me swoon...

Source: housetohome.co.uk via Mandy on Pinterest

I love the pop of orange in this space mixed with the natural wood counters...

Source: bhg.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Who wouldn't love to have this cute coffee station in a corner of their kitchen?

Source: thecreamtomycoffee.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Layla and Kevin from The Lettered Cottage kill me with this chalkboard wall...

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Mandy on Pinterest

I love the absence of upper cabinets in this space...

Source: lonnymag.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Brick wall + open shelving + chalkboard sliding door = shut up!

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

So what do you think? Could I get away with adding a brick wall, chalkboard door, open shelves and a coffee station to my kitchen? Yeah...I know...that would probably be *a bit* too much. :)

Which one of these spaces is your favorite?

{Please REVIVE our kitchen!}

Have I ever mentioned to you all how much I dislike our kitchen?

Oh yeah...that's probably because I hardly EVER TALK about our kitchen.

Not since we moved in and replaced the nasty carpet with laminate. Yes...our kitchen had CARPET.

Proof:

And its current state:

This post shows the progress we've made in the room so far.

And here is a before shot looking into our dining room:

And a slightly more current one {we've since removed the brass fireplace screen}:

But other than that, we've been a total FAIL at making it a functional and fun place to be. And we're only in there, like 60% of our time.

No biggie.

Sooo when I saw that Mandi from Vintage Revivals was once again doing her Epic Room Makeover I got really, really excited...and started to daydream about a pretty new space...

Look at these sponsors! Who wouldn't wan to win this?!

Now before I go bashing our kitchen, and adjoining dining room, let me point out its endearing qualities:

• It is a HUGE room...like 500 square feet huge, which makes it the perfect space for tricycle races, tag, and nerf dart gun battles
• The dining room has a brick fireplace...who doesn't want a fireplace in their dining room?!
• The kitchen layout works well...it has that "work triangle" thing going on.
• I wish I had another one... but I'm all out. 

Here is a little video where I attempt to explain the space and how Mandi could work her magic on it...I think I say "ummm" about 50 times. *blush* But here it goes anyway...



So here are the things that we would love to improve about the space...

• Add color, color, color! Paint the trim and walls!
• Makeover the fireplace! Paint the brick, add a mantel, go crazy!
• Hide the AC unit....pleeeeeease!
• Makeover and fix our cabinets {or new ones? Is that even possible?!?!}
• Pretty, pretty please replace the painted tile backsplash *batting eyelashes*
• New sink and faucet???? Lowe's can do that, right? *batting eyelashes again*
• Lighting! We need more of it, badly.

It would be beyond exciting to have Mandi come to our home and makeover this space. It would quite honestly change our lives and how we live in our house. It would give us a space to enjoy spending time with our family, cooking delicious meals, and sitting around the dining room table creating memories.

Will you help us win?!  

YOU CAN VOTE FOR OUR KITCHEN HERE FROM SEPTEMBER 7-14th! {Ours is #115}

I have all of my fingers and toes crossed!!!

{2012 home goals}

Following along with my one little word for 2012, commit, and being inspired by The Nester's 2012 Home Goals blog party, I've decided to make a list {a rather lofty one} of the projects I would like to accomplish around our house this year.

Before I go into each one separately, here is the complete list...

Told you it was lofty! :)

Do I expect us to complete all of them? Not realistically. But do I think it is doable in a year? Totally. A lot of these projects can be completed in a weekend {minus the kitchen renovation}. I just have to commit to completing them!

We've been living in a house that just isn't ours for over two years now and my hubby and I are more than ready to remedy that this year. A lot of these projects involve a simple coat of paint, which is inexpensive and fairly quick, especially if you have family members to bribe with pizza recruit to help.

So let's break down each one a bit shall we...









I've talked about this one quite a bit on the blog. It is an eyesore that I know can be beautiful with a little bit of paint and some wood to beef up the mantel. When we moved in it looked like this...

So far we've replaced the flooring, painted the concrete mantel white and removed the fireplace doors which was a good start. Here it is in its current state...

Next up is a scary coat of white paint on the brick {someone hold me and tell me it will look fabulous} and some sort of constructed cover for the skimpy and uneven concrete mantel.

Here are a few fireplaces that are inspiring me...

Source: designspongeonline.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: remodelista.com via Mandy on Pinterest

I know it can be a showstopper if I just stop procrastinating and jump into this project. And going right along with the fireplace is...









White and dingy walls + ugly stained woodwork = not a happy dining room {see above pic of our fireplace}. This one is pretty self explanatory.

The trim will definitely be going white. Not sure yet on the walls, but it will be something on the neutral side. A bit of inspiration for these walls...

Source: g-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: cape27blog.com via Mandy on Pinterest

When we moved into the house, Landons' entire room, including most of the trim, was smurf blue.

Seriously. I didn't photoshop that...they painted EVERYTHING blue.

I painted his room the same shade of brown as the boys' first nursery before we moved in, but neglected the closet, which is a really awful shade of royal blue...

We took the doors off when we got the carpet installed, Which cued my instant obsession with painting over those awful blue walls. My plan is to leave the doors off, paint the inside a lighter color, add some shelving and organize the heck out of it. And maybe add a reading nook.

A bit of inspiration for Landon's closet...

Source: google.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: yvette-keeping-it-real.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

I was so excited a few months back to paint our hallway. When we moved in it was two toned with a chair rail. I took this photo minus the chair rail before I started painting...

And I finally got around to painting it gray to match our family room. Before I did the trim it looked sooo much better...

And then procrastinator me waiting too long to do the trim, and the little bit of paint I had left thickened up. No problem I thought...tt will be fine.

And then it dried like this...

I wasn't going for the spotted leopard look.

So we need to repaint the hall. BUMMER. Thank goodness I have the numbers to color match the paint.

And while we're at it...the stairwell needs to get a coat of the same lovely gray. This will require a ladder on the stairs which I'm definitely not going to attempt. Anyone game? I'll get you your very own pizza!

And now heading downstairs...

 

I have never been a fan of yellow walls, so when we bought the house, I knew that the entryway would have to change asap. Two years later and it is still yellow.

I'm thinking of a darker gray for this space with a white table and other light/bright accents. Here are a few photos that are inspiring me...

Source: decorpad.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Ahhh the rec room. Haven't really shared much about this space with you all {if any at all now that I think about it!} It is a really great extra room on the first floor of our house that we're slowly turning into a play room/office.

And guess what? Its yellow too! {duh duh duhhhh}

We have our spare couch and TV on one side, and the other side houses our treadmill and miscellaneous stuff for now. The plan is to divide the room with a large IKEA Expedit bookcase and add a desk, which would move our office space down there from where it currently is in our family room. This photo shows a similar concept...

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Mandy on Pinterest

The Expedit will give us a TON of storage, which is a good thing because the plan is to move my scrapbooking and crafting supplies down there. The hubby is bit scared about that one. I think I might have to do a little bit of supply purging.

The room also needs a fresh coat of paint. I think that the ever popular "silver sage" paint color would look great in there. Here is a sample of it in my friend Beth's home...

Lots of work to do in there but I'm excited to make it a fun and functional space for the whole family!

Tiny space + bright yellow walls + outdated vanity = help!!

At least it is a small space and painting will be a quick job. This photo has me inspired for this space...

Source: jenniferjohner.typepad.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Fresh, light walls and a gray vanity. Eventually we want to turn this into a full bath, so we won't be putting much money into this space for now. 

And of course I left the most monstrous project for last. Our kitchen.

Here it is in all its glory when we moved in, carpet and all...

We've since replaced the flooring with laminate, painted the upper cabinets white and added a DIY island...

And now we've decided that it just needs to be gutted. No more 70's falling apart cabinets, gold speckled counter, dingy white sink, painted tile backsplash. It all has.to.go.

But of course we are going to be doing this on a very small budget, so we will probably be tackling it in stages. The bottom will most likely be first so we can replace the sink, faucet, counter and non-functioning dishwasher. As for the top, we hope to remove the soffet and replace some of the upper cabinets with open shelving, both for the aesthetic appeal and also to save some money.

We will almost definitely be going the IKEA route with this renovation. We know we want to get the same farmhouse sink we had in our old kitchen and butcher block counters. Here are a few inspiration photos I've pinned...

Source: thestanleyclan.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: perfectlydisgraceful.typepad.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Whew! Are you still with me?

If so, congrats, because I think this was the most involved blog post on This Girl's Life to date.

Now your mission is to stick with me through 2012 to see how many of these goals we can accomplish.

Are you in?