Kitchen Island Reveal!

This week I've been busting a move to get all of my furniture projects finished & moved out. We're having new garage doors installed and it looks like a warehouse in there. Here is the kitchen island!

Before:

I showed this record cabinet last week - anniversary gift from Mom.

I loved the lines of it and it was the perfect size for an island, but it was a mess! I had to gut it and there were layers of dirt in the cabinet. We're still throwing around the idea of adding a shelf for more storage..planks across the bottom...we'll see.

After:

I used Silky White Ultra from Behr. I love the Ultra line of paint!

I sanded the top - it looks like pecan..didn't want to paint over that, so I stained it Ebony. Last step, Minwax wax sealer.

I added glass knobs and a cafe rod along the back for dish towels. I love the way this looks and it's SO functional. I may add some hooks on the side but I'm going to wait and see before adding anything else. You know, live with it for a while.

I'm now working on this big old bookcase...

Happy sanding!

I'm linking to Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Project Parade at DIY Show Off, Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday & Thrifty Decor Chick's Before & After Party.

Beadboard Backsplash & Pretty jars!

This was a long time coming, we finally finished the kitchen backsplash! What a long drawn out process (all my fault) but in the end, a very simple panel of beadboard was the answer. I bought tiles last year and laid them all out with a template but I wasn't sure, so I never put them up. I've learned to wait if things don't feel right..not to rush it. I'm glad I waited because I really like this look and it wasn't expensive (returned all the tiles & got a credit).

Before:

Without a backsplash the cabinets look lower & darker overall.

I included this shot not to just show you my dirty breakfast dishes, but because you can see how damaged the wall was over the sink and you can see where I had laid out tile that I was thinking of using. I'm really glad I didn't go with a dark colored tile.

How attractive is this? A man in your kitchen about to tackle a project for you..

Beadboard is up and now he's adding another outlet for me & raising them both an inch or two. I know he didn't have fun cutting out all the little corners around the window but he did a great job.

After:

I think it really brightens things up! (Unlike my photography skills)

The contrast with the counters and clean lines make me happy!

I'll be working on the record cabinet next, so we can have our kitchen island. Also on the menu is a fresh coat of paint on the cabinets.

These are so special to me, I just had to point them out.

My mom made these sweet jars for me in 1997. They've been moved around quite a bit and little hands (& not so little hands) have dinged them up looking for cookies...I just love them. She handpainted them for me and wrote little notes to me on them..

This one says, "Life and this little jar are full of surprises."

This one says: "The secret ingredient is love."

Good things to remember. Thanks Mom!


I'll be including this on Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts and the DIY Project Parade at DIY Show Off.

Where did the time go??

I got sucked into a wormhole, that's for sure! I don't know where the time has gone. We've been busy, busy but I have managed to add a couple of pieces to my ever growing collection of furniture to rehab.

Before I go into furniture, my dear friend, Leslie has a fun giveaway on her blog at Peachy Keen. Check out what she's up to & you'll get a good laugh!

Ok, back to the furniture....first up, we have this lovely cabinet:

This was a gift from my mom for my 4 year wedding anniversary. I've mentioned before that she gets me and gifts like this are how I know!

It is an old record player with all the mechanics still in...we're going to have to gut it. It's going to be great storage. My clevah sister, Julie, suggested using it as a kitchen island and I think it's going to be perfect!

That hole on the side is for the turntable crank. How cool is that? We're going to put boards across the bottom for more storage and attach small caster wheels.

It's the perfect size and allows plenty of walking room & some additional workspace. That's Olive Oyl..she's the last foster kitty I have crashing at my house until we find her a home (hint, hint).

Next find is this cute table:

If you remember I did have this set up in this little corner...it was cute but not very functional. I saw this table at HFH and I couldn't NOT get it. I've seen this style several times in antique stores but never for under $100 and I snatched this one up for $35.

I love the aged top. I think I'm going to leave it like this and just clean it up.

The corner seems a little dark but once I add all of these it will brighten up the table & the corner. BLT is ready to set up his bar area on the buffet, so I have to get organized.

On that note, as you can see, we're all ready to relax this weekend..I think the kitties will be the only ones doing that..we are scheduled tight for the next 48 hours. Have a good weekend!

Roadkill!

I just love stories like this....

My husband and I were driving home Sunday afternoon. We passed a neighborhood I hadn't noticed before and decided to drive through just to have a look around.

We drove by right when a man was putting these 2 lovelies at the curb for trash pick-up. I saw them and of course yelled for BLT to stop the truck. After a nice conversation of "are you getting rid of those?", "yes, we are", "can I have them?", "sure, I'll help you load them!" They are mine now and I love them.

We're going to keep their rehab very simple.

The storage is great and the lines are so pretty. My mom has already called dibs on the wardrobe and I'm keeping the dresser. My husband wanted to sell them but I'm going to have to owe him one and sell something else later.

The dresser came with this:

I'm playing around with putting the mirror on the mantle..I'll have to doll it up a little but I think I like it. BLT isn't completely sold on this idea, so we'll have to see. SO glad we bought that truck!

Lamp Makeover & Such

I started this last week and just finished it last night..

I was watching TV not too long ago and looked over at this lamp and noticed how dated it looked. I can't tell you how many times I walk past or glance at it and it just hit me that it looks so sad.

Before:

This lamp has served me well, I've had it about 10 years..maybe longer. I spent $10 for it and another maybe $50 on the shade and trim...
not feeling the love anymore, that's for sure.
(Since we're here, I'm going to camo this cord.)

After:

This is not the permanent location..I just put it here attempting to get a good picture in natural light.


I painted it satin black, popped on a new shade with grosgrain ribbon (leftover from the bathroom project) and added a tassel & initial. I like the white shade.
I'm on a mission to brighten my living room.

My projects tend to snowball...I'll start one and it quickly turns into several more and I still want it all done in a very short amount of time.

So I started on the lamp which made the cord situation really noticeable which made a fresh coat of white on these baseboards a total necessity for the lamp to look good. See how that works?

Nothing is ever easy!

Here is the after with the cord where I tried to make it blend in better...now, if I was hardcore I would've had the white cord go along the white baseboard.
I'm just not there yet.

One last thought:

I think this bag is so cute. My mom picked it up in the gift department of a little hardware store here in town. It's burlap with a simple handle and stencil/screenprint. It is very sweet and I think it would be a fun project to copy!

I'm posting this at Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts.

Woo-Hoo!

 Cindy at Cottage Instincts featured my Bathroom Redesign (among other's hard work) from last weeks Make It For Monday.


Thank you!!