A Dreamy Kitchen

So my original plan was to wait until our whole house is finished to "reveal" the finished product.  I've recently come to realize that if I do that it will be next year before you all see another blog post.  My new plan is to post room by room as we slowly get things finished.  That being said...we officially have a KITCHEN!!  Before you see the new pictures I just want you to remember what this place looked like to begin with.  It was bad.  The floors, the cabinets, the countertops...none of it stayed.

Side note:  Look at that sweet baby sleeping in his carseat! Where did that baby go??  Now he runs around this kitchen like he owns it.

We ripped out all the cabinets and floors, took out the soffit above the cabinets, got rid of the old appliances and opened up the wall going into the living room.  

Here it is!! I'm so so pleased with how everything came together.  Changing the layout has made the biggest difference.  It feels like there is twice as much space as there was before.  Taking the cabinets to the ceiling helps the room look taller and the white cabinets and neutral colors make everything so open.

I love all of the details of the kitchen but let me tell you...all of these decisions were not nearly as easy to make as I thought they would be.  (Especially when your husband makes you stick to the budget) :)  The countertop was probably the hardest decision.  Carrara marble is the most beautiful countertop that was ever created but apparently its a terrible idea to put marble in kitchens...even though everyone on HGTV does it.  So we ended up using quartz in a color called Lyra and I LOVE them.  

The color we used on the walls is called Watery by Sherwin Williams.  And since we're going for the "classic" look we had to use subway tile for the backsplash.

This island is amazing.  As soon as we get some stools I will spend all of my time right here.  When I was growing up, I remember spending hours and hours sitting at my grandmother's bar in her kitchen.  I learned to cook without even realizing it because I sat there so often to talk with her, do homework, maybe because I was in trouble a few times.  So, when we started planning the kitchen remodel one of my non-negotiables was some type of bar where kids (or anyone) could sit.  This will no doubt be the center of our house.  

I just couldn't have a brand new kitchen without a farmhouse sink.  I've loved the look for so long and now I love it's functionality too.  It's size makes it easy to wash lots of dishes at once...or to at least "store" lots of dishes until the dishwasher is empty.

I'm so happy to finally get to share a little slice of finished product with you all!! Hopefully before too long we'll have a few more rooms complete and I can share some more!!

Finally! Floors!

Here they are! We've finally finished laying all of the floors in our house!  Keep in mind that it's still somewhat of a construction zone and that it's hard to keep everything clean.  The floors clearly aren't polished and waxed but I couldn't wait any longer to share these pictures.  You can at least get a good idea of the different floor types that we chose and (hopefully) start to see what the finished product will look like.  My goal was to keep a fairly "classic" look throughout the house while adding as much character as possible.

The entire main floor of the house (kitchen, living room, and dining room) are covered with a "machine scraped" hardwood.  The "machine scraped" effect adds lots of texture to the floors and helps it to seem much less "perfect" and a little more "worn".  I love the personality that this feature adds to the floors but I'm especially glad that it will help hide most of the dings and scratches that are inevitable when raising a boy....and a husband. 

In the family room we decided to lay carpet.  I know, I know...not very "classic".  Sometimes you just have to put all of your design dreams aside and go with what will be practical.  This will be the area where Isaac plays and where we will spend lots of family time together so we wanted to make sure it will be a cozy space.  Isaac is already in the process of staking his claim on this room with his truck and blocks...what else does a boy need?

After giving up a little bit of character in the family room, I decided that we needed to redeem ourselves and do something different in the half bath and laundry room.  I decided to go with these brick pavers and to have them laid in a herringbone pattern.  I love how they turned out!  These floors will continue to gain character over time as they become a little worn in and not so perfect.

After much debate, I decided to extend the hardwood upstairs into the hallway and master bedroom.  It's hard to imagine what a big space will look like covered in floors that you've only seen in a sample thats a few feet wide.  These are even more beautiful than I imagined they would be when we ordered them.  Also, it's hard to take pictures and keep babies out of them once they start walking.  He makes the room cuter though, don't you think?

  

THIS is my favorite feature in the house to date!  Trying to stick with the classic style, we decided to cover the shower in white subway tile and the floors in white hexagon tile.  The black grout was a leap of faith but I love how it makes the patterns pop!  Once this is really scrubbed down it will be such a clean look...and clean is what you need when it comes to bathrooms!

The guest bedrooms and Isaac's room are covered in the same carpet as the family room.  Once again, practicality won out.  I will say, the rooms have a very warm, welcoming feel already because of the carpet.  Also, the pictures make the color look a kind of brown, they are actually gray.

We hope you've enjoyed another look around the house!  Once all the trim is finished we will start putting in vanities, toilets, washer, dryer, and other details.  By the end of the month the kitchen will start coming together too.  Check back soon for another update! 

Paint, Paint, and More Paint!

I've totally been a slacker this last month or so when it comes to the blog and keeping you all up to date on the house.  No worries though.  There is still much work being done and our house is finally starting to look more like a home.  In fact, it will be our new home in a little over a month!  Believe it or not...we will be moving into this place by the end of January.  Needless to say, changes will (and already have) start happening waaay faster now!

These pictures are a few weeks old but I want to make sure you all can see each step of progress that we have made.  With the gracious help of many friends, we got this ENTIRE house painted in ONE day.  It was incredible.  If you are reading this and were a part of making that happen...THANK YOU!  It would have taken us weeks to paint this on our own.  Without further ado, here are a few snap shots of the house with real walls and updated paint on them.

Living Room/Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Kitchen

Family Room

 Flooring has been laid in most of the house now but I want to wait just a little longer to post those pictures so that you can see it completely finished out.  They are beautiful and I cannot wait for you all to see them!  Trim is also getting under way and everything will start falling into place after that!  Check back soon for another update!

We Have Siding!

It's been a while!  I'd love to give a good excuse for why I haven't updated recently but all I can come up with is...life.  Our life has been a little (or a lot) hectic recently but the craziness has paid off because....this house is FINALLY starting to look better!  We've had several different companies over at the house working during the day and we've still been working at night as much as possible.  I have to say, I am so excited to share these long awaited pictures with you all! 

When we first bought the house we thought the window in the far left of this picture was damaged because it wouldn't close.  In reality, there was no damage at all.  Just a vine an inch thick growing in the seal keeping the window from shutting.  That said...a little clean up went a long way back here.  Here you can also see some of our new windows and siding going up! 

I think life hit me in the face and reminded me that I'm really a grown up now when I got so excited about new garage doors.  Can you blame me though?  They're pretty doors!  When our garage door guy came to put these in the old garage doors literally fell off the tracks.  So to say it was time for these to go up is an understatement.  

And FINALLY our house is starting to come together! On the outside at least.  If you don't remember what the "before" picture looked like its certainly worth going back and comparing the two.  There are still lots of little things to be done to the outside (shutters, gutters, front door, etc.) but this improvement is too good not to go ahead and share with you all.  

Tonight we're putting up sheet rock!  That means paint will be on the walls before we know it!!  I can't wait to show you all more pictures of the inside once it starts shaping up.  Check back soon for more updates!!

Baked Spaghetti and Four Layer Wallpaper

I think I've mentioned this once before but in case you missed it....I do not possess very many skills that come in handy when it comes to remodeling a house.  At least as far as actually doing the work is concerned.  I can pick out cabinets, countertops and paint colors all day long but when it comes to framing a wall or hanging sheetrock...you're better off finding help elsewhere.  It is true that I am not awesome at laying subfloor (ask my husband) but I do love to cook!  And all of our friends and family who have come to help us so much over the last several weeks deserve to at least have a little supper before the work starts.  Plus, everything is a little more fun when food is involved! With that being said...I am excited to share with you all some of the yummy meals that we have been having together recently.    

Last night we had a "wallpaper removing party"!  Doesn't it sound a lot more enjoyable when you call it a party?  Before the fun began we gathered around our "cute" little card table in the dining room and had some Baked Spaghetti.  This is a recipe that my mom and grandmother have been fixing for as long as I can remember but, sadly, I did not learn to appreciate its goodness until I was an adult.  This is not a "traditional" spaghetti dish with a meat sauce but there are lots of yummy veggies and cheese involved! 

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

28oz can diced tomatoes (with liquid)

4oz can mushrooms

12oz spaghetti, cooked

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream of mushroom

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until tender.  Add tomatoes and mushrooms.  Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  Place 1/2 spaghetti in a greased 9x13inch baking dish.  Top with 1/2 vegetables and sprinkle with 1 cup of cheddar cheese.  Repeat layers.  Mix cream of mushroom soup with water and pour over casserole.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

This is an easy dish to add or subtract ingredients that you love or hate.   The original recipe actually included olives but they're not my favorite so I left them out.  If you're a meat lover you could easily add a pound of browned ground beef to the layers.  I love making recipes fit what my family prefers!

A special thanks to our faithful friends who endured a not-so-glamorous night of peeling off wallpaper that only wanted to come off in tiny strips.  To our kids who adapt to the crazy things we bring them into.  And to the previous home owners who somehow found one wallpaper made up of four layers of material. 

Bye Bye Brick!

It's been a while since we've given you all an update on what's been going on around the house!  Isaac and I were out of town last week so I took a little break from the blog too.  While we were gone there was still lots of activity going on over at our fixer upper.  Kyle is always hard at work even when I take breaks!  We're finally starting to see some "positive" progress.  All of the demo work is finally done and big things are happening!

Our most noticeable accomplishment to date is definitely getting the brick painted on the outside of the house!  Doesn't it look awesome?!  Our painter did a great job and got the job done insanely fast.  I can't wait to see the color in contrast to the white windows and doors.  Siding will be going up soon! 

Before the brick was painted we had to clean up the outside of the house a little more.  This meant removing the large shrubs and railing from the front of the porch.  When we planed on doing this I didn't expect the difference it would make.  The space looks so much more open and clean.  We'll have to replace the railing at some point but this space will be so much cuter that I expected it to be!

On the inside of the house we've got some progress going on too.  The framing for the laundry room and guest bathroom is officially done!  Dry wall will go up in these rooms soon and we'll really start seeing things come together.

In the kitchen we've finally gotten rid of that black and white checkered floor!  Along with the layer of subfloor that held an awful odor that a previous owner's pet left behind.  Be thankful that pictures don't come scented.

  

In the living room we have light!  Can lights to be exact.  Previously there were no ceiling lights at all in this room.  Thanks to an efficient electrician we will no longer be living in darkness.

And last but certainly not least...our appliances were delivered! Aren't they pretty?? :) I cannot wait until its time to open these beautiful boxes and see the new, clean appliances that I get to cook and clean with!  It will be a good day!

That's all for now!  Don't forget to check back soon to see what else is going on around the house!  I promise an update will come sooner this time!

We have running water!!

This week at the house we've been working on tying up some loose ends so that "big things" can start happening soon.  Though the pictures from one post to another don't look much different these days there is still a lot of progress being made.  Soon the changes will be a lot more visible and we will start seeing things come together to make our house look more like a home! 

One BIG task we've knocked off the list this week is the plumbing.  We officially have running water in the house!!  When we bought the house there was a pipe in the laundry room that had frozen and busted causing lots of damage to the surrounding area.  Because of this, the water to the entire house has been turned off for quite some time.  This week, Mr. Stan Reid came to the rescue and spent much time and effort helping Kyle repair the pipes so that the water could be turned back on.

The soffit in the kitchen also came down this week!  One step closer to those beautiful cabinets stretching all the way to the ceiling.  I know Kyle is especially excited about this feature in the kitchen as he will likely spend a lot of time getting things off the top shelves for me. ;)

More tack strip is coming up so that the floors are all ready for the pretty hardwood that will cover them soon.  We had some special helpers stop by this week just to work on this tedious task.  And they loved every minute of it! :)

Isaac found the work this week less than thrilling.  One day he will enjoy being at this house, I'm sure of it!  Until then he will spend most of his time there strapped to his momma's back and taking in the craziness.