Home Tour {the kitchen}

Oh the kitchen... what a project! We have spent lots of time updating the kitchen...
When we bought the house the kitchen had hardwoods that were a honey oak color, the cabinets matched as well.
So the story goes that I didn't like this color...

Me: "I don't like this color!"
Caleb: "Well what are you going to do about it?"
Me: "We are going to change it all!"
Caleb: "No."
Me: "Well we are definitely re-doing the floors!"
Caleb: "Okay."

Floors were re-done {by a professional}... in a dark walnut color...

Me: "The cabinets and floors don't match!"
Caleb: "Well what are you going to do about it?"
Me: "WE are going to re-do the cabinets!"
Caleb: "That will suck!"
Me: "No, it will be fun!"
Caleb: "You're lying."

So 15,000 paint swatches and 2 weeks later... the cabinets were re-done and I was a liar!
 
It was hard work to re-paint the cabinets, but I definitely think it was worth it.  Here's a simple break down of the steps...
1. Remove all doors and drawers
2. Clean everything with a de-greaser {especially for areas near the stove}
3. Sand everything {we used an electrical hand sander to speed up this step}
4. Prime with an oil-based primer {per recommendation from a professional painter}, let dry
5. Lightly sand with fine sandpaper
6. Wipe down with tack cloth
7. Paint with latex paint color of choice {we rolled on the the paint on our cabinet frames and rented a professional sprayer to spray our doors and drawers}, let dry
8. Apply any new hardware
9. Put all doors and drawers back on the frames

And here is the after....

 The blueish wall color that was also seen in the living room is Night Mist by Benjamin Moore.  The dark gray color that is on the walls with cabinets I honestly can't tell you the color {I don't have any left & I don't remember}, but it is just a charcoal gray color, with more blueish undertones.

The kitchen table and chairs are all from Crate & Barrel. I choose different styles of chairs for the head of the table and the middle table seating.  The chairs at the head of the table are ones that actually match the table itself, the gray wicker chairs just complimented them nicely - but they aren't sold together or put together in the store necessarily.  Here's a close up...

The chair cushions are sold specifically for that chair... it took me a while to purchase them but I'm glad I did.  Since they are made for that chair it fits perfect and they are a great washable material and I can un-zip and remove the fabric shell to wash.  The candle sticks on the table are brass and I have found them at various thrift stores, along with varied glass vases as well {and yes that's my lighted Christmas garland in the background because this picture is from my Christmas decor post}.

One of my absolute favorite pieces of furniture in my house is the antique glass cabinet in my kitchen.  I got it at River Market Antique Mall a couple of years ago.  I think I paid something like $130 for it.  I absolutely love it and I'll keep it forever! It is great to show off some of the pretty dishes I have...

Nearby the cabinet is my apron from Anthropologie {a gift}, hanging on a hook which I also believe is from Anthropologie.  Then there is my chalkboard calendar, you can read the post about how I made that here.

Here are some more details from around the kitchen...

 

1. New kitchen faucet from Home Depot - brand is American Glacier {$88}

2. Vintage style Campbell's soup cans that Target sold several months ago

3. My air terrarium that was a gift from my sister-in-law, hangs above my sink

4. Collection of wooden spoons in a ceramic green jar from Macy's, Martha Stewart Collection

5. Antique glass herb jars {with herbs still in them!}

6. Various saucer's from thrift stores and some small bowls from Anthropologie

7. A photo strip of us from a wedding, taped to my chalkboard, washi tape purchased from Paper Source

8. Measuring cups from Anthropolgie {gift from the hubs at Christmas}

9. A close up of our cabinetry, the light gray color was a color match from a now discontinued {I think?!} California paints color. Cabinet pulls are from a store called Locks & Pulls.

10. Rug from Ikea {bought this on our NYC trip}

11. Notepad station... I'm obsessed with lists... see here. :)

12. New dishtowels from Crate & Barrel

Here is also a few phone/instragram pics of the items from the kitchen...

I attempted to get a picture of this plate with my real camera but during the day the light glares off of it {it's next to a window} that you couldn't even see the cute owl.  I took this picture at night, with my phone because I was too lazy to go grab my camera...but I didn't want to leave this guy out of the post! And this plate is from... Anthropologie... again a gift. {How do I have so many gifts from Anthro you may wonder... well maybe I tell my brother every single year for my Christmas and birthday that I want stuff from there.... maybe I've even been with him to pick it out exactly... maybe I rig the whole "draw a name for Christmas" thing because this just really works well... does it really matter?!?}  ;)

And an instagram pic, featuring my Crate & Barrel towels and new casserole set.  I had found a really old gift card so all this cost me a few dollars! Yay, best kind of shopping trip!

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the kitchen, leave any questions below!

P.S. - house is OFFICIALLY for sale, check out our listing here, and tell your friends!

Home Tour {living room}

From some time I have really wanted to write posts about the updates we have done in our house. {Hence the button up above that says "my house" and when you click on it you get nothing!} What has really been keeping me from showcasing any rooms is that little last detail or small project that I haven't had time to complete yet... which seems to be the case for every single room.  Add to the incompleteness that the perfectionist inside of me says to not post anything about the room until it's all done and put together and resembles a page out of Better Homes & Gardens... I dream big. :)  So, that's why there is nothingness behind that button up there! **Update: By now I've got it all together & all the home tours can be found by clicking the "my house" button :)** But... nothing will make you actually finish little piddly projects & style your rooms more than putting your house up for sale! Since we have been prepping to do that, I can say we have actually completed a lot of those little projects around here, and, as a whole, the house has been cleaner than probably it's ever been! Plus we are going to try and sell the house by owner first, so I was the one responsible for taking the pictures of the house anyway.  Now I have pictures and cleanliness! No time like right before you move out to showcase it all anyway, right?!

First, here's the outside of our house...

 We haven't changed anything except landscaping on the outside of our home.

I'm going to start in order of what you see when you walk in the house, which would be the living room.  Our house is a side-to-side split or possibly a California split... I'm not sure on the exact details of what makes a house each of these but I've heard it referred to as both.
Here is the before picture of what it was like pretty much right after we bought it... {lots of tan, tan, & more tan!}

What we changed: We changed the tile on the fireplace surround {did ourselves with help from qualified family members}, added hardwood floors and stained them dark walnut {professionally done}, changed out the stair railings {professionally done}, put high traffic carpet on the stairs {professionally done}, and redecorated {done all by Caleb... haha, maybe in an alternative universe}.

Some details...

I put together the gallery wall within the last couple of months.  I actually decided to do it when I was trying to fill nail holes along this wall.  It might sound strange that I decided to hang a bunch of stuff after filling nail holes, but this is where my new favorite home product comes in... 3M picture hanging strips! I'll never use nails to hang regular pictures ever again! What a lifesaver that when I move I'll be taking all these pictures down with no holes to fill or touch up with paint!  I first heard about these picture hanging strips on the blog House Tweaking... she talks about them here.

The "Be still.." painting is one that I used a frame I already had, some pretty paper from Paper Source {the background is gold waves...which is why it makes sense}, white paint, a tiny paintbrush, and lots of hours to complete. :)  It is a line, actually the first line, from one of my favorite Chris Tomlin songs, I Lift My Hands.
The bright floral painting is one that I did. It is probably one of the very few things I've painted that I actually like enough to hang on my wall. Paint and I don't always get along well. It is inspired by paintings by Lulie Wallace.
The rest is collection of different photos, including one I took in Colorado last summer, the Statue of Liberty, a picture of Caleb and I, an old picture of my dad dunking a basketball, an ampersand that I covered with printed paper and mod-podge, a printable I made for Easter {found here},  a small oval mirror from an antique store, an empty frame from Hobby Lobby, a small frame with scrap paper, and a small collage of old family photos I put together.

Here are some other items from around the room...

1. Rug from Pottery Barn {It was a floor sample so I got it cheap!}
2. Throw from West Elm {On clearance!}
3. Paint by numbers picture from antique store
4. Fake flowers from Target
5. Thrifted lamp that I spray painted, the shade is from Lowes
6. Ikea sheepskin rug
7. Old pillow from West Elm, bought on clearance when they had a store in Leawood... those were the days. :(  Cream colored rectangle pillow from Ikea
8. Some books, including Design Sponge at Home - love! The corner of my antique plaster frame & and jar filled with split peas.
9. Brass lamp from Urban Outfitters... gift from my mom this last Christmas!
10. Mr. Owl... I think I got him from the store Tuesday Morning.
11. Our fireplace tile surround, it's tumbled marble - each square is 1x1 inch of varying heights, they come in 12x12 inch sheets for easy installation
12. My birds... Bert & Ernie... just kidding. :) Although not a bad name, I might stick with that! I drew them not long after we moved in and had them framed at JoAnn's.

Any questions? Post them below!
Next room on the tour will probably be the kitchen.

P.S. - Anyone want to buy our house?!?



*All pictures taken by me unless stated otherwise