Painting Sneak-Peeks

There has been a whole lot of brush-weilding going on in our house recently.  A couple of projects were completed by yours truly and the hubs, but our biggest project (painting all of our crown molding, baseboards, interior doors and frames, and window trim) was hired out.  This was an amazing, generous birthday gift from my parents that we so appreciate.  I may have gone completely crazy trying to paint the windows.  I know you can just scrape the glass later, but that kind of minute, detail work makes me want to jump out said window.  I guess I probably wouldn't accomplish my goal of getting out of the rest of the work though since we live in a one story ranch. Hmmmm...I need to think through these things better.

The first painting project that we tackled was our living room built-ins.  Remember what they looked like when we moved in?

You probably remember that we have since painted the living room a light blue (Benjamin Moore's Woodlawn Blue) and unsuccessfully primed the built-ins (I had purchased a special primer to go over oil paint and Seth used the wrong thing).

We were all about painting the inside of them to highlight our books and tchotchkes (Seth hates this word by the way) but we just weren't in love with the blue color that the previous homeowner had chosen (especially with the light blue that we chose for the walls).  So, when my mom came for a visit during her Spring break, I put her to work (don't worry - she was more than happy to help).  Seth first gave the built-ins a nice sanding with our palm sander since, as previously mentioned, they were painted with oil-based paint (yuck!).  Then my mother and I used this primer to ensure that our latex topcoats would adhere.  After letting it dry for the recommended time (4 hours I think), we brushed some off-the-shelf Olympic white paint onto the front, sides, and shelves.  We finished with Valspar's Rugged Suede on the back panels.

Much better right?  (Sorry about the first picture - it must have gotten oversaturated because the bottom pic is more of a true representation of the gray color.)  Hopefully I will soon find time to style them, and when I do, I'll share more pics.

Did you notice another change in the pictures above?  Yes - we now have WHITE TRIM in the living room, kitchen, office, and dining room!  You wouldn't believe how much brighter and fresher everything seems.

It makes a world of difference I think.  This week, the painters will be working on the rest of the house.  I am so excited to finally have white trim.

Lastly, Seth and I painted our master bathroom vanity.  Here's a little glimpse for you.

The color is Sherwin Williams Peppercorn and we used their Emerald paint.  It's pricey, but thankfully, we snatched it up during a 40% off sale.  We are being extra cautious about letting the paint fully cure for 4-5 days before we attach new hinges and hardware.  More pics to come.

This week and into the weekend, we hope to get some landscaping done outside.  I'll be sure to let you know what we get done.

A New Fridge, An Overhead Light, and a Mood Board

Seth and I have continued to make some progress in the kitchen.  Our new stainless steel fridge is in place and I couldn't be happier.

It's amazing how an ice maker can turn your life around.  Okay.  That may be an exaggeration, but I'm loving the fact that I no longer have to grab freezing cold ice out of a bag with my bare hands when I want a cool drink.  To be fair, our old fridge did have an ice maker, but it produced weird tasting ice.  There is nothing worse than having your favorite beverage tainted by bad ice.

We have also retired our beloved brita pitcher (you may have noticed it sitting on top of the fridge in the first photo) since we now have filtered water in the door as well.  I will admit that I miss the brita.  The filtered water from the fridge doesn't taste as good as my brita water did.  Oh, well. Maybe we'll bring the brita back at some point.  It will be like Justin Timberlake bringing sexy back. Brita water is that good.

We also installed a new overhead light.  We inherited a large "boob light" when we purchased the house, which I somehow never managed to get a picture of.  It was like this but in oil-rubbed bronze. I found our replacement light on sale at Lamps Plus for $99 with free shipping.  Not too bad.

I like the modern aesthetic of the new light.  And I think it blends well with our other two light choices in the room.  

The kitchen is slowly but surely taking shape.  Seth and I ordered a new cooktop, new countertops, and a new faucet last week.  We are also trying to save up for a new wall oven.  The trim will be painted white (finally!) within the next few weeks.  I decided to attempt my first mood board to show you guys an overall picture of the direction that we're heading with the kitchen makeover. Some of the things below are already in place, some we have purchased and have yet to install, and some are on our my wish list.  I'll go into more detail below.

Side note: I can't figure out how to get numbers above 10 in polyvore so that is why the numbering started over with a different set after 10.  I apologize.  If anyone knows how to get higher numbers, please let me know.

1.  Our new overhead light from Lamps Plus (I snagged it on sale for $99)  /  2.  LG HiMacs Solid Surface Countertops in Cotton Dust (awaiting arrival)  /  3.  White subway tile with gray grout (on the wish list)  /  4.  The pendant over our kitchen sink (in place)  /  5.  Our new Ruvati faucet (to be installed when our new countertops come in)  /  6.  Our kitchen wall color - Valspar's Clean White from the Waverly collection (done)  /  7.  Our chalkboard wall (done)  /  8.  Our ceiling color - Benjamin Moore's Sesame (done)  /  9.  We ordered a sink similar to this for the kitchen (I'll talk more about why we chose a single basin over a double basin in a later post)  /  10.  Our curtain fabric - Braemore's Gazebo pattern in the cloud color way (done)  /  

1.  Possible color for our cabinets (my plan is to use a lighter gray if we decide to paint all the cabinets the same color)  /  2.  Other cabinet color options (if we decide to do two tone cabinets like this, this, or this)  /  3.  Ikea's Metrik handle (to be used on our drawers)  /  4.  Anthropologie's Feather Imprint Knob (in the running for our cabinet knobs)  /  5.  CB2's Vapor Chair (my vision for the eat-in area)  /  6.  West Elm's globe pendant light (in place over our eat in area)  /  7.  CB2's Twist Bistro Table (on the wish list for the eat-in area)

I also recently found this rug that I'm considering for the sink area.  If you look closely at the curtain fabric, you can see a similar turquoise color.  The countertops and sink are supposed to be installed in the next 4-6 weeks (gosh, that seems like an eternity at this point).  After that, we can install the new cooktop and faucet.  Then, when we work up the energy and mentally prepare ourselves, we will tackle the cabinets and the floor.  I'm so excited to get rid of all that cream.  Here is a reminder of how far we've come.

I still have some small projects for the laundry area up my sleeve.  I'm thinking a shelf with some baskets for storing clean socks and unmentionables that can be grabbed when full for transport back to the bedroom.  Also, a small piece of art may be in order.

I hope you'll stick with me through the next few months as we chip away at the to do list and inch closer to the reveal of our fresh, modern kitchen!

Won't the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up?

Apparently, lampshades evoke Eminem lyrics in my head.  Anyone else?  I've been keeping an eye out for a shade for the lamp on our dining room buffet for awhile now.  There is nothing terribly wrong with the old one, except that it doesn't seem to go with the feel of the room.

It's got kind of a nubby/tweedy texture (which I feel evokes more of a shabby chic/rustic/manly feel) and is not meshing well with the modern, clean-lined buffet or the bright rug.  A few months ago, I purchased a plain white shade from Lowe's but that was wrong, too.  It didn't add any interest.  It was b-o-r-i-n-g.  I spotted this shade at Target last week and brought it home with me to try.  

I'm not normally a huge floral person, but this seemed more "fauna" to me so I was okay with it.  And, it echoes the colors in our dining room rug quite well if I do say so myself.  

I don't think Seth was too sure about it at first, but he got overruled.  It has found a home.