Renovation Reveal Re-Do…

April 19, 2015

This past Friday, I had an “open kitchen” (as opposed to an “open house”) of sorts.  A couple of my sisters (Joyce and Sis), two neighbors, three aunts, one cousin…and a partridge in a pear tree…all came to see the results of the renovation.  (Just kidding about the partridge in a pear tree bit.)  I thank all of them for the gifts and for taking time out of their busy day to attend the big shebang.

There was enough space to accommodate everyone easily and I only had to use half of the counter space for refreshments.  I think everyone had a good time and many comments were made about the difference in the size and appearance of the kitchen before renovation, compared to now. 

So, now I’m going to bore you with more pictures of the kitchen.  This time, though, I have all of my stuff in place, along with curtains, a lovely table cloth (a present from Sis), my prep table, and my buffet/sideboard.  In case you haven’t guessed yet, I’m thrilled with the results and I must thank my wonderful husband, Charming, for all the long hours, hard work, and injuries that he suffered while getting this kitchen renovation accomplished.  Gosh, I do love that man!

This is the kitchen, entering from the living room.  The vinyl
flooring has proven to be a winner.  It is a breeze to keep clean.
I just use a Swiffer dust mop with a dry cloth to "sweep" and
switch to a clean cloth along with a bottle of water & vinegar
to damp mop.  That is all that's needed.  (I make my own cloths
from microfiber cloths and Velcro that I purchase from
Walmart...but that's a subject for another blog post.)  

This is the part of the kitchen that used to be a closed-in porch.
It now houses our table, antique buffet/side board, TV, and radio
as well as cabinets that are along the wall to the right of the table.

Here is the wall of cabinets that houses my baking center (on the
right).  It is amazingly quick and easy to whip up a batch of
cookies, muffins, or blackberry cobbler at the baking center and
pop it into the oven.  It's not good for our waistlines, but it is good!

A better view of the buffet/sideboard, along with
the TV that Charming suggested we add.  As you
might imagine, this room gets used more than just about
any room in the house...food, TV, a mountain view
outside our window...could anyone ask for more?

From the middle of the room, looking towards the living room.
I am planning to put two 24-inch shelves on the wall above the
little black and white table, at a later date, but I promise not to
make you read about it when it happens.

From the middle of the room, looking at the sink.  To keep the
renovation costs as low as possible, we kept our old appliances
and will replace them as they die off.  I chose cabinets and counter
space over a dishwasher, partly because I actually like washing
dishes...weirdo that I am.

The curtains are made from "Homespun" black & tan fabric
that I purchased from Joann Fabrics.  The apple tie
backs were made with CraftSmart polymer clay that I purchased
from Michael's craft store.  I made most of the decorative items
myself, including the braided rug, curtains, tie backs,
quilted table runner, and prep table (with a bit of help
from my man, Charming).

Chop, Chop…

April 15, 2015

I wanted to share with you the photos of my finished prep table.  I think it’s adorable and pretty crafty (if I do say so myself).  Charming still thinks it’s a bit weird, but he did say, “It’s not as ugly as I thought it’d be.”  So that’s fairly good praise, I think, considering he has been threatening to tote my beloved wash tub to the landfill for almost a decade now.  I think he’s finally realized that wash tub ain’t goin’ anywhere and, since he participated in helping me put it together, he seems to be OK with it residing permanently in our kitchen.

The prep table is thirty-nine inches tall.  The table top is twenty-four inches across.  We came upon the top in Home Depot while we were shopping for some other things.  They sold two sizes.  The eighteen-inch top was too small as the top opening of the tub was eighteen-and-a-half inches across.  So I decided to go with the twenty-four-inch top and be happy with a little overhang.  As it turned out, this works much better as it offers plenty of space for even my largest cutting board and can also function as a table if I add tall bar stools for seating.  (The fact that the Home Depot ready-made table top cost only $6.99 was also a bonus…and much less work for us as well.)

I think I’m actually more in love with the family heirloom wash tub now than when I first laid eyes on it, half-buried by fallen leaves in the wooded mountains where my ancestors resided.  To my way of thinking it just goes to show that no matter how bad an object appears, it can always be improved upon and turned into something wonderful.  I hope this inspires some of you to find a piece of trash and turn it you’re your very own treasure!

This is the "before" photo of my beloved wash tub.

...And this is the "after" photo.  The writing at the
bottom of the tub is Psalms 17:8, which says,
"Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the
shadow of thy wings."  I just love that verse and
it seemed to fit the application perfectly.

A little creative thinking can lead to a fun and
functional design.  (I never even throw a
gum wrapper away without giving some thought
to how I might turn it into something useful.)

Lucky me...my prep table came with built in
towel holders!  (Actually, the tub's handles were
what tipped the odds in favor of turning it
into a prep table.)

As you can tell from most of my recent posts, I've become
quite fond of black and white enamel paint.  (Not because of the fumes,
but because of the high sheen that enamel gives to any object.)
Five coats of the paint and just look at the high gloss on that table top!
It mimics the baking center's vintage enamel top very closely.  

Spring Renewal…

April 7, 2015

Several of my readers have been asking why I haven’t posted anything recently.  I haven’t gotten lazy.  In fact, I’ve been really busy.  I’ve been working on curtains for the kitchen and they’re turning out really well.  I’ve also been working on the prep table.  Charming (bless his little perfectionist heart) has provided advice on the painting of the table legs and top by saying, “Another coat of paint won’t hurt a thing.”  So, several coats of paint later, I have finished the painting.  I’m hoping we can put it all together this coming weekend.  I still need to get Charming to cut the cornice boards that will go above each window, but he’s been working every day except weekends helping my carpenter brother with a construction project.  Like the good wife, I try not to give him too much to do on the weekends as he’s been a bit tired lately.

I have painted my old paper towel holder.  I probably mentioned that I bought it a long time ago at a yard sale for ten cents.  From the shape it was in I figure it once lived in a garage or a wood shop.  It was very dirty, even after I had done my best to clean it up.  After painting, it may not look better, but it certainly is a lot cleaner looking.

I have also been “designing” some other stuff.  I designed a bath mitt that has a pocket for soap.  I’ve tried this out and I just love it.  The pocket on it holds the leftover bits of soap from the regular soap bars or a full-size bar of ivory or homemade soap.  It’s great not having to chase the soap around in the shower!

Since spring is finally rolling around, I’m also piddling around in the garden a bit.  We have lettuce, onions, kale, and Napa cabbage growing in the garden and I’m planting potatoes today.  To me, the greatest thing about spring is the feel of warm dirt in my hands.  Happy spring!

The old paper towel holder that I got at a yard sale.  It was badly
stained and was warped.  The glass also had years of grime on it.
This is just the kind of treasure that I live for!

I took the thing apart (for the most part) then sanded, re-glued,
and painted it and...

Like magic it turned into something much better.  I'm always
amazed at the change a coat of paint (or sometimes coats of paint)
will make in an item.

Here's the bath mitt I designed and knitted.  It's made out of
cotton yarn and it works really well...no dropping the wash cloth
or soap in the shower!