Kitchen

Not your grandma’s laminate.

Posted by Lindsay C on Feb 13, 2011 in Featured Articles, inspiration, Kitchen, Likely Favorites | 0 comments

I think that every single house I’ve lived in has had laminate countertops.  Blonde, faux-wood, bull-nose countertops with an ugly backsplash.  I’m just that lucky.

But now I live in a house that we own, so I constantly mull over countertop choices because we get to put in whatever we want.  And I am actually considering laminate.  One of the main reasons is because I think we can build it ourselves.  And the other reason is because these pictures are of laminate countertops.  For real!!

And my personal favorite (and Glenn’s, too!):

It’s called Petrified Wood.  Badass. Pardon my French.  But look how awesome the close-up looks!

I’d rock it in my kitchen.  The drama of granite without the price!

All the kitchen images are of Formica in their new 180FX series. They’ve taken photos of actual giant slabs of granite, marble, wood, etc., and printed it actual size on laminate (plastic) sheets.  The real sheets are 4′x8′ or bigger so there is no small repeat like with cheesier versions. And I’ve seen DIY videos of simply adhering the sheets to 3/4″ particle board (aka subfloor material = cheap!), trimming it with a router, and ouila! You have a new countertop!

This gets me very excited! I know I’ve said it before but this puts a kitchen remodel closer than I’ve imagined! Enjoy!

{All images via Formica Flickr}.  Except the one of my lame kitchen!

My dirty little secret

Posted by Lindsay C on Jan 16, 2011 in Featured Articles, Kitchen | 0 comments

Wow…is anyone out there? I’m surprised this blog hasn’t shriveled up and died from lack of posting! Sorry about that…it was a busy, busy end of the year and 2011 has started off…very…interesting including a trip to the ER for me and a stay in the hospital! Very unexpected but I’m healing and trying to hit the ground running!  So anyway, back to the title of this post: my dirty little secret, ha!

It’s not as bad as you’d think, but let’s just say I am seriously neglecting a part of my house.  Subconsciously.  Well, maybe consciously but I’m not doing anything to stop or slow the neglect, and we’re not doing it on purpose, but I am realizing that if I just let it go we’ll have to do something about it sooner rather than later instead of sticking with the “it’s in good shape” excuse that I’ve been using ever since we moved in 2 and 1/2 years ago!  So here it is…my kitchen floor.  My dirty, beat up, eroding kitchen floor. Obviously I did not clean up for this photo!

When we moved in that was carpet butting up against the vinyl.  But we replaced the carpet with laminate throughout the house.  The carpet and vinyl had a metal threshold holding it all together, which helped avoid damage.  When we replaced it, we always intended on finding a new threshold, but as you can see the place where they come together is curved…and that’s been a challenge to find.  So we’ve done nothing about it…and the poor kitchen floor is suffering because of it.  And my subfloor is peeking through.  It’s becoming quite the eyesore. And my toddler trips on it occasionally!

But the good news is that means we can replace it!!  We have some amazing, space saving, budget conscious ideas to triple the size of our kitchen, and we are realizing that those dreams might not be too far away.  A slightly re-worked countertop and bar, moving an appliance, adding some cabinets and bumping out a wall and our kitchen will be HUGE! And the flooring will be replaced smack dab in the middle of it all.  On a straight line this time – no curves in sight! I. Am. So. Excited!

So why post this embarrassing picture of my neglected kitchen floor? Oh, you know me…I post anything on here that is embarrassing about myself! (Bikini picture, hello??).  But I also want to show you that everyone’s home has dirty little secrets when you look a little closer! And to hold myself accountable for actually accomplishing something awesome in my house.  Because my husband does all the dirty work, and because I really, really, really want a new kitchen! ASAP.

Thank you all for reading and checking in on me lately – I really appreciate it! I know I’ve not only neglected my kitchen floor, I’ve neglected my blog and website! Maybe I’ll get my act together soon…but don’t hold your breath!

xo,

L.

Sprucing Up

Posted by Lindsay C on Aug 31, 2010 in Appliances, DIY, Fabrics, Featured Articles, inspiration, Kitchen | 0 comments

I’m itchin’ to change up my kitchen.  Seriously, folks…I think I might be getting my much needed DISHWASHER soon…so of course I’m dreaming of some low-budget ways to update the kitchen. And as we will be changing things up in the future, I’m thinking of what we need to do now to tie things in down the road. For instance…this wall will have a new countertop and cabinets. Someday. So the stripes have to go. Sorry, stripes…I’ll miss ya’…

Which means I’ll probably do away with the rest of the green on my kitchen walls…

Don’t worry…the countertop, sink, faucet, cabinet doors and hardware, and the lovely vinyl flooring will all be gone someday as well.  Can I rip that horrible soffit out, too?!?!  Read: someday… but for now, I’m thinking paint and fabric will satisfy my need for change.  Especially because I’ll be standing right at that sink, loading my dirty dishes into a brand new dishwasher very, very soon!  So I won’t care what the rest of it looks like, for a while anyway!

So what color will I paint my kitchen?  Probably some form of white…not sure yet.  But I do like green…green cabinets, anyone??  I’m considering it.

How about something more like this?

Rosemary by Sherwin Williams

And I’d love to have this fabric for my curtains…

But it’s a little out of my budget at $138/yard!

So I might try something like this instead:

At only $8.98/yard with free shipping I might give it a try!  It’s not Kelly Wearstler linen, but it will have to do for my little kitchen.

Stay tuned…but don’t hold your breath!

Kitchen Dreaming

Posted by Lindsay C on Apr 4, 2010 in Design, Featured Articles, inspiration, Kitchen, Laundry Room | 2 comments

I really, really, really want to change my kitchen.  It’s very small right now, but we have the space to expand it and fit our needs a lot better.  And we could really use the storage…and the dishwasher.    So I’ve been playing with CAD today to make sure Glenn and I are on the same page – because by just talking about it I find that we often have COMPLETELY different ideas.  And I’m very visual so this helps…

Here is my idea – new L-shaped countertop with a breakfast bar with cabinets above and below in the existing dining room (where the striped wall is if you’re familiar with my house).  This is at the top of the drawing.

Then we’ll bump back the laundry room wall (4 feet back) into the garage and add a wall of pantry/floor-to-ceiling storage, and we’ll move the fridge there.  This is at the bottom-right of the drawing.  See – not a crazy change, just expanding above and below.  Plus we’ll add some new flooring to the entire kitchen space to unify it.  I can’t wait!  Oh, and I want a new door to go out to the ‘South Alley’ – one that is almost completely glass because this is the only Southern facing wall in our house and that is where the most light comes in.  Bring on the sunshine!!

{Color Therapy} Fieldstone by Benjamin Moore

Posted by Lindsay on Jan 21, 2010 in Color Therapy Thursdays, Featured Articles, inspiration, Kitchen, Real Rooms | 0 comments

Looking for a chic way to update your kitchen? How about painting your cabinets a COLOR?  I’m really loving white walls in spaces, but with colored trim, moulding, cabinets, ceilings, etc. lately.  If I had the guts to re-paint my house, that is what I’d do…but I need to add the architectural details first so it wouldn’t look so BORING in white!  I saw these kitchen photos and thought that it was such a calming and chic color scheme, I just had to share it to give a little inspiration.  So without further adieu, I give you the Texas kitchen of Sally Wheat (which has been all over blogland, I know, but I had to file it away here in my little corner of the web!).

The cabinets are painted ‘Fieldstone’ by Benjamin Moore, a mid-value warm gray that is just so perfect with those marble countertops.  A great example of how to inject some color into your space without painting the walls an actual color.

I love the casement window, the gorgeous Farmhouse style apron-front sink, the polished nickel faucet and cup pull hardware, and the decorative brackets on the open shelving.  Notice how the cabinets’ hinges aren’t showing?  It keeps the look of the cabinets less busy (or you can try white hinges with white cabinets, and metal pulls).

White subway tile with white grout is always a good choice.  I love the open shelving to show off her great crystal and white glass collection.

And here is the wide angle shot of the whole space.  How about those industrial pendants?  And that plate wall?  If you click over to see the whole house (see the link below), you’ll see that the homeowner/designer loves to mix vintage/traditional pieces with modern elements and trends for an eclectic look, and she does it well.

Want to re-create a kitchen like this?  Try these items:

Polished Chrome Bridge Faucet, Overstock.com: $174.99 (it used to be $109.99 – always check for specials!).

Polished Chrome Bin/Drawer Pull, eBay.com: $1.70 each (eBay is a GREAT place to buy cabinet hardware).

Fisherman Ceiling Lamp, Pottery Barn Kids: $89.00 each.  (But PB should know – clear light = clear bulb!)

DOMSJÖ Double Bowl Sink, IKEA: $312.98 (this one is HUGE at over 3 feet wide!)

And this is their single bowl version, 25″ wide: DOMSJÖ Sink bowl from IKEA, $185.99.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this kitchen!  Have you seen it before? What do you think of painted cabinets? Would you rather stick with wood or white?  Let me know!  Happy painting!

{Images via Cote De Texas of Sally Wheat’s kitchen. Click here to view the entire home!}

Knock Off Wood

Posted by Lindsay on Jan 19, 2010 in DIY, Featured Articles, handmade, Kids Rooms, Kitchen, Likely Favorites | 3 comments

In case you’ve been living under a rock and don’t read Young House Love (or follow them on Twitter or Facebook) then you might have missed their post on the FABULOUS website/blog by the name of Knock Off Wood: How to Build Knock-Out Knock-Off Furniture.  Hey…there might be one or two of you that are coming to my little ‘ol website and haven’t browsed theirs recently…right?

So anyway, on to the furniture plans!  I love these…the carpentry obsessed blogger behind Knock Off Wood is Ana from Alaska, who posts plans, step-by-step instructions and even videos to copy or be inspired by your favorite catalog store’s more expensive furniture pieces.  Plus she’s a mama to a toddler.  Impressive, Ana…impressive!  Here she is in action, oh, just working on a kitchen island.  No big deal…

For instance…have you ever been shocked (like I have) at how expensive a simple bookcase could be?  But they look so easy to build!  And Ana says that they are – this Cameron 3-Shelf Bookcase is in her ‘Fast’ category…but it is on ‘Special’ for $239 EACH at Pottery Barn Kids if you’d like to just buy your own.  No thanks!

{image via Pottery Barn Kids}

And her plans are very nicely illustrated using Sketchup – and did I mention that they’re FREE?  Click here for the plans to make your own ‘Inspired by the Cameron’ bookshelf.

{Image via Knock Off Wood}

And for you more advanced woodworkers, how about your own tiered bookcase, like the Apex from West Elm?  She has a plan for that.  But if you want to buy it, it costs $449 online.

{Image via West Elm}

You can find anything on her site…from coffee tables to beds to picture frames to…

…PLAY KITCHENS!  I was sooo excited to see these EASY plans to make fridges, ovens and sinks for little girls.  Her 3 year old’s room is seriously decked out!  Maybe if I start now I can get something done before Harper’s 2nd birthday (it’s in August, hehe!).

Or you could buy this set from Land of Nod for $448, plus tax and shipping…I do love the chalkboard paint, though!

Or this retro set from Pottery Barn Kids for $699…

And how cute is this ‘Town’ plan?  I need to get Glenn to get building…or have him show me how to use his tools a little better than my current skills.

Thanks for the inspiration, Ana!  And for making building things so simple for rest of us!

{images linked to sources and via Knock Off Wood}