Kitchen Reveal

 

Back in August, I made you aware of some changes that I had planned to make to my kitchen, along with expressing some fears as how it was ultimately going to turn out. Fears, I might add, that were justified because I tend to be one of those people who buys things online, sight unseen; that’s just the way that I operate. There are shoppers, and there are non-shoppers, and I fall into the latter category. When you get to be my age, you’re shopped out, at least I am. I do not want to go from place, to place, to place, taking up my time, my energy, and my gas, and still not find what I’m looking for.I am happy to report that all of my selections worked out unbelievably well. The countertop was installed first, and it was lovelier than I had anticipated. It’s very hard to photograph, but it is a rich mix of colors, with tiny gold flecks throughout.

The whole process, however, was not without its issues. As happens, when you get a new countertop, you need a new sink. Cha Ching. When you get a new sink, you need a new faucet.  Cha Ching. When you’re replacing your sink and your faucet, you might as well replace your 12-year-old garbage disposal with a new one. Cha Ching.

I do love the sink. It is an under countertop mount that is beautiful. It is one large sink rather than the one large and one small one that I had previously. It has a rack on the bottom to keep things from scratching it, a built-in strainer and cutting board, both of which are removable, and I couldn’t be happier.

The new countertop allowed me to make the ceramic tile mural, that I had fallen in love with four years ago, a reality. Back then, my builder, Joe, told me that there was no point in attempting to add a mural or tile the backsplash until I got a new countertop. As soon as the countertop was in, Joe came over to measure. He told me exactly the size mural I would need, and I placed my order. Cha Ching. Before shipping, the company both called and texted me to make sure I had ordered the proper size. I assured them that I had, that my contractor had been over, measured, and he told me what I needed. Fine. It shipped, it arrived, it was beautiful. It was also too big.

I mentioned this to Joe and who told me that, no, it wasn’t too big, that he had measured it all the way down to the counter, but in reality that meant that one row of mural tiles would be hidden behind the stove. That would have seriously/negatively affected the look so, do I have to tell you what that meant? I ordered a new stove. A backless one. Did I need a new stove?  Probably not. The stove that I had was a contractor’s model so it not a particularly good one, but it worked. Would it have continued work for the next 5 to 10 years? Probably. Nonetheless, Home Depot delivered my new backless stove on Tuesday, September 10. Cha Freaking Ching!! I will say I’m excited about the stove because it has a built-in air fryer as well as a griddle on top. I think the griddle excites me more than anything because it will allow me to get rid of a griddle appliance that I have, plus I see pancakes, French toast, and a wide variety of toasted sandwiches in my future.

With the mural purchased, that meant I needed to buy backsplash tile. I ordered samples from an online site, found one that matched perfectly, better, in fact than if I had gone locally because Joe went locally for me when we found out that the shipping for this tile was going to be a whopping $100!!! But nothing at all matched or even came close to the mural as beautifully as the rustic Spanish tile that I ended up purchasing. Cha Ching. Cha Ching. Cha Ching.Am I worth it? You bet I am! This was my birthday gift to me for a rather large milestone birthday that had been looming ahead all year long, and that I am celebrating today.

This post is inked to Metamorphosis Monday.

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Laundry Room Makeover

 

I have made a lot of changes to this house, and have enjoyed every one of them. The other day, as I was tripping over junk in the laundry room, nearly plunging down a couple of steps into the garage, I wondered why I hadn’t done anything with that grubby, wretched little pass-through known as the laundry room. I got in touch with my faithful builder, Joe, and asked him to come out and take a look at it to see what we could do. I knew that I wanted cabinets. I was sick and tired of piling cleaning products and laundry detergent on top of the dryer, only to be knocked to the floor, often landing on one of my bare feet.

Here is the result of our conference. It’s amazing what a little paint, crown molding, and Home Depot cabinetry can do. It went from a place I tried to ignore to one I enjoy seeing.

The wall paint is Sherwin-Williams "Foothills;” I have used this same paint in both of my upstairs bathrooms. Despite it being a dark color, it does not make the room look small, particularly when there is the addition of white crown molding.

The shelf is nothing more than a finished board set on these brackets. The cabinets are stock cabinets from Home Depot.

The baskets on the shelf I got at Pottery Barn Kids years ago. They hold cleaning rags and plastic bags; the cute little laundry room sign I found here.

The non-skid floor mat is a welcome addition. It’s easy on the legs, inexpensive, and can be found here.

Because the cabinet above the freezer is difficult to get to, I store things in there that I’m only likely to use a couple of times a year. As a consequence I used a little bit of greenery, and a macramé table runner, to spruce it up.

 

I love my new space!

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 This post is shared on Metamorphosis Monday.

Welcome to the Conservatory

In June 2017 I introduced you to the first of many building projects that I've had done on my home. I decided life was too short to not live my way, and I turned a small 12’ x 12’ deck into a beautiful 16’ x 16’ screened-in lanai with a 16’ x 10’ open deck attached. You can read about that here.

It was wonderful fun watching that project come into being, and I had a delightful time furnishing it. But, as it turned out, as much as I loved it, considering the intense heat and humidity that we have in this part of the country during the summer I realized that, at best, I could only use it three months out of the year.

I loved that room because it was bright and airy, and I could be outside of the house without really being outside of the house, if you know what I mean. So last year I decided to have it torn down and a four-season room built with two giant skylights. This has become my favorite room in the house. Let me introduce you to my sanctum sanctorum, the conservatory.

A lot of thought went into this room. I wanted to be able to spend a lot of time here. I wanted it to be an extension of the house. No more did I want to open up a door to step into the room, so a wall was knocked down to make the transition easy. I wanted as much light as I could get, so had two of the largest skylights I could find installed.

  The tray ceiling that my faithful builder, Joe Rogers, used in the deck, he rebuilt in the conservatory. I decided to get a bit more creative this time and have the square at top painted a different color than the ceiling. I also decided to opt for a fan without a light fixture, but quite different from the tropical design I had before in this windmill style.

A room isn’t a room without a pile of books, so I had twin bookcases built on either side of the door that leads to the deck where I grow citrus, flowers, herbs, and vegetables.

Decorating this room was a lot of fun, and despite its newness, went through a couple of transitions.  Because this was built during the pandemic and lock-down, I did a lot of my work in this room and initially used had a desk as a work table. Last weekend that came down and was replaced with this charming table for two. This is where I enjoy all my meals including morning coffee, afternoon tea, and a nightcap amidst the glow of candlelight.

As you can see, this room is as beautiful by night as it is by day.

 All of my favorite things are in here, as well as the very beginnings of a rather bohemian dollhouse.

The furniture is comfortable, the plants are plentiful, and when the citrus trees are in bloom the fragrance is heady.

Keep an eye on this space and watch as the plants grow, fruit ripens (The tall tree behind the couch is a Key Lime.), and this table for two transitions from one theme to another as seasons change.

I hope you love this room as much as I do.

 This post is shared on Metamorphosis Monday.

Industrial Chic Bathroom

I’m going to admit something to you that I don’t just tell everybody. I went a little crazy during lockdown. Something about being stuck indoors for weeks on end had me looking at my home with new eyes. All of a sudden, the contractors' white walls started closing in on me, the boring fixtures that were in the house when I bought it were annoying me, and the days of solitude caused the real me to finally emerge.

Fortunately, day one of lockdown, my remodeler was here to do a little work. That little work turned into a lot of work, and the place looks entirely different.

One of the things I love the most is my industrial chic master bath. There is absolutely nothing special about my bathroom, it’s pretty basic. Personally, I don’t like investing loads of money in a bathroom because I don’t spend all that much time there, and let’s face it, it’s not like I’m going to be doing any entertaining in the bathroom, am I? Don’t get me wrong; I don’t begrudge those of you who do. If you want to turn your bathroom into a spa, more power to you. Me? I have a spa day when the steam from the dishwasher hits me in the face.

Little things can make a world of difference, paint being an economical biggie, so the wall color changed from a flat sage color that I was never happy with to “Foothills” by Sherwin-Williams in an eggshell finish. The light fixture had to go, and I wanted something unique. I spotted this one on the Lamps Plus website, and in less than a week it had been mounted.

I love the look of weathered old wood. I had (don’t ask me why) taken a finial off of the weathered fence of our old house before we moved. I gave that finial to my remodeler, Joe, and told him that I wanted the mirror framed with wood that looked old and weathered like it did. 

 I also wanted the ridiculous towel rack over the toilet (Who uses a towel rack over a toilet? It’s too far away from the sink and the shower to be practical. Let’s not even discuss it’s possible other uses.), and replace it with two shelves in the same weathered wood with brackets made of gas pipe.

It was Joe's suggestion to use that same gas pipe for the toilet tissue holder. I love it!

The leafy candle sconce that used to be on the wall was replaced with a blueprint of a hot and cold water mixer valve from 1893.

One of my dreams was to have a skylight in the bathroom in order to fill it with plants. I did get the skylight, but, it doesn’t let in enough light to allow me to fill the bathroom with plants, still I do have a lovely little corner of low light plants that are doing just fine.

 The rug, a bold choice, what is the final addition. I love the simplicity of everything, the clean lines, and every time I’m in the bathroom it makes me smile.

One final thing, the toilet is new as well, and I’ll be dating myself when I say this next thing... I love my new toilet! Comfort height, an elongated, self-closing seat, and skirted, making it a dream to clean.

I know I’m not alone in making changes. What have you done in the past year as far as improvements to your home? 

 

 

The Bookcase of my DREAMS!

If you are a follower of this blog you know that I lost my dear dad, unexpectedly, in February of this year. What you don’t know is that he passed away in the middle of panting and construction projects on my home. What grieves me mightily in all of this is that he never got to see this wonderful project completed. Dad was in on the planning stages from the very beginning. We discussed ideas, we went over pictures on Pinterest, and I sent him sketches of what I wanted. He was as excited as I was, and bought me the fireplace insert for Christmas. I shared pictures of early stages of construction with him, but he never got to see the end result.

Because of all this, I would like to share this project with you. These additions were constructed in the downstairs great room, my “chill zone,” where I go to relax and watch baseball. (In thinking about it, the words “relax” and “baseball” don’t really go together, but I digress…)

I was interested in having a fireplace, because I love them (if I had my way I would have a fireplace in every room), and I needed a large bookcase to hold all my books. (If you are a bibliophile like I am, then you know that this doesn’t begin to hold all of my books, again, digressing…)

Because my husband and I spent 20 years of our life together working in rare book rooms in libraries around the world, I wanted to replicate that in my own home, and thus I needed a ladder. Here is the end result, and I absolutely love it!

This bookcase holds a lot of history, literally and figuratively.

Many of Jim’s rare books are contained here, his collection of dictionaries, my collection of Nancy Drew books.

My collection of mystery cookbooks are here. I don't use them mind, and would never kill anyone intentionally with my cooking, but I do know how (evil grin).

Sherlock has his own space.

There is even room (well, I made room) for a bit of whimsy in this “Haunted Typewriter” that types out H E L P  M E when anyone passes.

My dad has his own little shelf where his textbooks from Yale are kept.

Walking Across Egypt was one of my mother’s favorite books. It is displayed on a stand on the table.

I LOVE dictionaries! Only a part of them fit here.

Sitting at this library table makes me feel as though my family surrounds me with their love. Dad always questioned my need for both lighted shelves and a ladder (and boy are they expensive!); Jim would have found it pure folly. True, I’m tall enough to reach the books on the top shelf, but it is an ornament that I had to have. 

While I eventually intend to paint and decoupage the top of the table with mementos from my life and travels relating to literature, I currently enjoy breakfast in this warm, bright, and wonderful spot. Come join me! Stay tuned for the fireplace addition in a future post.

As an aside, the builder on this project is the same wonderful man who built my deck. You can read about that here.