Where The Gold At?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is from one of our local news stations.  Five years and it's still funny!  Grab your leprechaun pipe and find your pot of gold.

The Kitchen - After

remodelFor a recap of what the kitchen looked like when we moved in, click here.  It was pretty bad.  Lets take a peek at what it looks like now...

It looks a little different.  Here are some of thet hings we did:

• New sheetrock
• New window
• New pantry door
• New wiring
• New subfloor
• New sink
• Plumbed for an icemaker
• Moved the dishwasher
• Got rid of the ceiling fan
• Added additional lighting over the sink and bar
• Widened the counter over the bar

Originally the dishwasher was at the end of the bar, but we felt it made more sense to put it next to the sink.  If you look closely, you can see it to the left of the sink in the pic above.  The ceiling fan wasn't doing it for us, so we swapped that with a flush mount fixture in the center of the room.  We put up a couple of other lights and created a space for The Boy to eat breakfast.  Butcher block countertops with a food safe finish, solid wood cabinets, and some brick finish it off.  We DIY'd everything in this room (with help from some friends).

Let's see, what else?  We have this faucet and the matching soap dispenser in chrome.  We put in a garbage disposal (I think every kitchen needs one), and this time we sprung for the midlevel.  Stainless steel components- yeah we're big spenders.  We also sprung for a middle of the line hood vent from Lowe's.  The oven and the dishwasher were reused, so we bought a new fridge to match (a floor model from Lowe's).  We are pretty cheap frugal, so I hate to buy things that we don't need.  I did make an exception in this kitchen.  We had a stove that we intended to reuse.  It was a counter insert type of stove with coil burners.  One day while wandering the aisles of our home away from home we stumbled upon this baby.  At the time it was priced a little over a grand.  We found one that had been returned and repaired and the manager cut us a deal; $225 later it was ours.  For that price we couldn't pass it up!  Lowe's loved us that year. 

We kept the pantry in the same place, but added an outlet to the inside of the pantry while the kitchen was being wired.  I have this thin about cluttered counters- I don't like them.  Our microwave lives in the pantry, and I love the fact that it is out of sight.  Originally I didn't want any appliances to live on the counter, but I broke that rule with our coffee maker.  It deserves a post all its own, because it is the best coffee maker ever!

The kitchen turned out pretty well.  It's very functional, makes good use of the space and seems larger than its dimensions would suggest.  My biggest complaint about the kitchen is that is a lot of dark tones, but I have big plans (I have to convince The Boy's Daddy, but I've been easing him into the idea).

The Boy's Room - After

When we started the remodel, The Boy had just turned one, so we decided that his room should not be a nursery.  We felt that he needed a big boy room that could easily grow with him.  We paired a neutral wall color with a fun light fixture and let the furniture and accessories do the rest. 

In the few years since we moved into our house the room has continued to evolve.  The crib was replaced by a toddler bed which has since been replaced by a big boy bed, but the bones of the room have remained the same. 

The Boy's Room currently looks like this:

The Boy loves sports.  He loves from football and baseball to tennis and golf!  He also loves Toy Story.  See the pillow on the bed?   There is a matching comforter.  We swap between the two every couple of weeks.

 

The jersey in the shadowbox is an Ole Miss jersey from the Boy's uncle.  I have no idea whose jersey is is, but The Boy loves it.

 

 

The dresser belonged to a close family friend who passed away.  The Boy's Daddy thinks that it is too small.  I can't imagine giving it away, but it may find a home somewhere else in the house.

 

We wanted a room that would grow with The Boy, and I think we succeeded.  From the neutral wall color to the sports themed photographs and memorabilia this room could almost belong to a teenage boy (the action figures would probably be a tip off though).

With the exception of the Buzz Lightyear on the dresser and the action figures on the shelves above the headboard, there aren't any visible toys in The Boy's room (when it's clean).  Don't feel too bad for him though...

Did you notice the left wall of the closet?  Let's take a closer look.

I can't take all the credit.  My sister gave The Boy this wall tattoo, but I did decide where it put it.  I like it.  I think it gives the room character.  I'm not sure that the light fixture adds any whimsy or charm, but The Boy and his Daddy won that fight.





 



Ash Wednesday

Happy Ash Wednesday!

He was so proud of his cross that he practically wiped it off showing everyone at church.

He wanted to make sure he had a picture and this horrible pic is the best that I could do.