Winter Update! (part 2)

And now, for the kitchen update. (yes, we still aren't finished nearly 10 months later!)

But we are getting a lot closer!

Justin's brother came up and installed our new kitchen window - which we wanted to get done before installing the backsplash tile. Even though everyone tried to talk me out of a casement window, I'm so glad that we ended up going with it. I love the unobstructed view to the backyard and it makes me want ALL new windows!! That might actually be the next big project we take on :) Gotta get those tax credits when we can!

And I FINALLY picked a color for the kitchen. It's a shade of white, but has just enough silver/grey tint to contrast w/the white furniture and trim. It is a different color depending on the time of day, and even though it's not Justin's favorite, I think it is slowly winning him over. Plus I like how it doesn't battle with the orange in the living room.

Winter Update! (part 1)

I've been seriously slacking with the blog updates, but to be honest.... that initial ambition that we had to get everything done faded pretty fast!

We did manage to get the front of the house painted and ripped out those dying/overgrown bushes. I think it makes the house look just a tad bigger. Dreadding digging those stumps out come spring, though. Maybe they'll die on their own over the winter??? A girl can dream...

And Justin and his dad installed our new garage door, which I think ups the curb appeal dramatically. I love it!

Still waiting on one part for the electric opener to be installed, but we'll get there.

If we hadn't bought each other kayaks for Christmas on Black Friday, there would have actually been room for a car in the garage this winter!

PS - Look at that sweet wreath that we made from trimming the juniper bush out back!

Brush strokes

Been a while since an update, been a busy summer! The rainy month of June put a damper on our painting efforts but we're finally been able to make some progress on painting the exterior of the house. 

Grow, veggies, grow!

We did a little bit more work in the garden a few weeks back. It's so exciting to see the veggies grow. So far we've harvested beans, scallions, a few peas and some cherry tomatoes. All the tomatoes are going to ripen at once, though - we're going to have a ton! And hopefully some peppers will be ready to pick soon, too!

Here's the before and after of the garden:

Oh - and we installed the hammock. Finally! Justin said if he knew how much enjoyment would have come from so little work than he would have done it last summer right when we moved in!

Summer!

Finally felt sorta like summer today and the sun was shining. The hydrangeas are blooming in the yard, but I think that they look better on the table!

Digging In

We have finally completed the terraced veggie garden!
Now we just need some sunshine to show the plants which way to grow!
Justin and I already can't wait to eat (and share) the beans, tomatoes, green, yellow, orange and red peppers, watermelon, cucumbers and squash! Here's hoping that they all produce.

Next year we'll hopefully build stairs where that dirt pile in the foreground is. Depends on if we remember how much digging was required :)

dishes are DONE!

The dishwasher has been installed! Hurrah for no more hand-washing silverware.

Here's a sneak peak of how the kitchen is looking now. Still need some finishing touches including backsplash tile, paint and hardware but we are getting there!

Oh! And we finally cleared away all the debris from the deconstruction. Luckily we were able to give away all of the cabinets on craigslist so those don't hit the landfill. What we ended up throwing away was mostly subflooring, the old countertop and dry wall. The bag was as long as Justin's car!

Goin' Green

Even though it's been rainy lately, it's time to get back out in the yard and get everything cleaned up.
We started our veggie garden this weekend and I can't wait to have tasty, fresh peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, cukes, scallions and hopefully more! I might be a little ambitious, with this being my first garden ever, but we'll see how it goes.We are also planning to add another bed that will be terraced behind this one to fit all the plants.

Justin also scored a sweet, collapsible rain barrel that will keep our veggies from getting too thirsty.

For my birthday, Justin surprised me with a potting bench that he built which fits perfectly in a nook in the garage. Also got lots of garden related gifts, so the pressure is on to prove my green thumb!

Hard as a Rock

The quartz countertops were installed today! The are Silestone in Mont Blanc (it's a white with speckels). I loved the IceStone, concrete and recycled glass countertops, but these ones fit in the budget and are just as pretty.

We still have a lot to do, but all of the big stuff is IN and I love it!

What do you think - a colored backsplash tile? I still can't decide and now am hesitant about committing to a color in the tile because then the kitchen ALWAYS has to be that color. Leaning towards white tile now... then I can change the paint color when I want a new look...

So Shiny and New!

I know it has been a while since the last post.


We did a lot of work getting the yard ready for spring, so not as much has been happening in the kitchen.


We did get our gas range installed and the fridge delivered, though, and I'm loving both of them!! Although I can see that the fingerprints on the fridge are probably going to drive me nuts!

We're almost ready to install the new light fixture and the countertops should be going in within the next two weeks. HURRAH!

Still haven't selected a backsplash tile or paint color!

Splish, Splash!

We are getting down to the wire with the kitchen. Lots of muddin' and sandin' this weekend and almost ready to paint the ceiling. Just need to tie everything together to finish up and I can't believe how quickly the project happened and how different the place looks.

We've also been narrowing down backsplash options and really like the mossaic glass tiles. We're leaning toward the last picture below because the first one looks too dark and the second one could be a bit washed out.
What do you think?

Tile!

Got our feet (and our tile) under us!!

The tile came in last night, so Jordan and Steve came up today and were able to lay it all down!

Grout goes in tomorrow and then we should be all sealed to go by the end of the weekend!

Up and Running!

We  have a functioning kitchen!! We still cant believe how much Steve and Jordan have done in 7 days work, we are so lucky to have their help! For now we have a temporary sink, and are going to wait to move the new appliances into place. 

The only cabinet left to add is the one above the fridge, and then its on to tiling and painting!

Tile!

There were endless options for floor tile, but we finally narrowed it down and ordered it last night. Everything else in the room is pretty light, so we went with an imperial grey, contemporary, porcelin tile. There are subtle patterns on it, but nothing too overpowering. I can't wait until it comes in!


We loved the rectangular shaped tile, but it didn't come in a small enough size, so we're going with 12x12 and are going to stagger them. The best part is that they have rectified edges, so the grout lines will be TINY!
I finally feel like it is coming together.
And I heard a rumor that the lower cabinets were installed today and we MIGHT (fingers crossed) have a temporary sink!
Still working on the paint color and the backsplash tile, though. What would you suggest?!

Are we there yet?

Not yet but we're getting closer!!

Steve and Jordan got a TON done this past week, check out the progress!

View when you walk in the front door:

View from corner of the living room into the kitchen:

Kitchen Renovations Have Finally STARTED!

Here we go!

This is the before and then below is after two days of demo/reconstruction. I can't believe how fast it happened!

Let There Be Light, part II

I dont think that there is one piece of furniture in our house that was purchased new, and I'm hoping we can continue that trend.

A couple weeks ago I found a vitage lamp on craigslist and really liked the shape of it. The tan color, though, not so much, but at $5 the price was right. I was inspired by a "before & after" posting on design*sponge's blog and thought - HEY! I can do that!

It still needs a new lamp shade, but for now it is doing a fine job of illuminating a dark corner of the living room. The blue is the after.

Justin's dad visited this weekend and we were also able to finally wire up the pendant light I wrote about in this post.

Little by little we are getting there! We're working on kitchen paint colors, too. You can see the swatches I tried out this weekend on the upper right part of the wall. Not crazy about either of them, but I think we are getting closer.

It's going to look so pretty with the corner bench Justin is planning to build. I'm still on the hunt for two chairs that would finish off the area, and I'm sure that with enough patience I'll find something that will fit.

I'm starting to worry that everything is blue or orange or white in the house and I need some additional accents!

toe picks and hockey stops

Because we didn't get the predicted 10 inches today, Justin and I did double time on the shoveling and cleared a skating space on the Res. FINALLY it has stayed cold enough for the ice to freeze!

Wish the VT kids were here to show us how it's done!

Invites to the skating party going out SOON!

Kitchen or Bust

We finally ordered our cabinets! It was def. a good move to hold off on ripping out the kitchen right away. We were able to do the proper research and make sure that we knew exactly what we wanted.

Our appliances have been in the garage for about... oh six months now. And soon the cabinets will be here!!!

I finally feel like things are underway!

Despite what we were originally thinking, we went with maple cabinets with a honey stain. We were hoping for the lightest possible wood, and we were advised against going with natural because of some fading possibilities.

We still need to finalize flooring, paint color and pick out the sink and faucet, but I am SO EXCITED.

Here is a picture of the cabinets we ordered - ours will actually be a shade lighter than this. We are going with a white quartz countertop also, so you can get an idea of how it will look with the island in the foreground.



Here is how the final design ended up coming together - we ended up going with option #2 and are planning to wall off the pass-through on the end of the kitchen to create a U shape.


The upper cabinet to the right of the sink will actually have only two glass doors.



Any suggestions for paint colors?!?! I need something that will coexist with the orange in the living room! The orange is Sherwin Williams "papaya"