Crazy for My New Kitchen

Our mini kitchen remodel is finally finished! My husband and I just bought our first house about 2 months ago! It is an older house built in 1942 but nearly everything had been updated. Although the kitchen had been updated, it was still rather bland. Tan cabinets, tan counter tops and tan walls- Yuck! We knew this kitchen needed some work but we saw the potential in the midst of the tan haze. On the plus side the kitchen is rather large for the area where we live with abundant cabinet space. It has beautiful white ceramic tile floors, a cool pull out faucet head, and a dishwasher! (We haven't had a dishwasher in 5years!) We fell in love with the area at the end of the kitchen (see the last before picture). It has the feel of a swanky butler pantry and we knew it would be great for entertaining which we do often. Our understanding is that this area was added about 5 or 6 years ago when they put the dining room addition on the back of the house. This was most likely an eat in kitchen years ago.

Here are the Before pictures:

 Here is the kitchen that inspired our remodel from my favorite blog  Young House Love - The Story Of Two Young People Falling In Love With Their First House: http://http/www.younghouselove.com/

 

I loved the fresh white cabinets the cool airy blue walls in this picture. I knew it would be perfect for our kitchen as well. So we got to work painting the cabinets white inside and out. Then after four tries we finally found the perfect airy shade of blue for the walls (Olympic paint in Breakwater). We decided to keep the same hardware. It was important to us to have some warm elements to balance the coolness of the walls and cabinets and the hardware has a nice warm bronzy finish. We also added a sea grass rug and blinds to further achieve this goal.

After:

 

 

 

 

What do you think? It turned out pretty nice didn't it?! We love it! It definitely has the clean airy feel we were going for and we did all this for under $100!

There is still a lot I would like to do to our kitchen. The dishwasher has been updated to a stainless steel model. I would like to switch the fridge and the stove to stainless as well. I keep thinking about changing the light fixture above the sink to a pendant light like the one in the inspiration picture. I dream of beautiful black granite counter tops. I am currently looking for a runner rug for the longer part of the kitchen. I would also like to someday put glass in the upper cabinet doors of the cabinets in the second to last picture. Someday.....

How to paint your cabinets:

-wipe down cabinets to remove dust and debris

-remove all cabinet doors and set up in an unused area. We used our empty dining room.

-remove all hardware (I would recommend keeping these organized to make it easier to put back on)

 -decide now if you will use old hardware or buy new just in case the spacing on the new hardware is different than the old- drill new holes for hardware if necessary.

-sand doors for a smooth finish

-prime everything with one coat of an oil based primer- wool or polyester rollers work great for the surfaces and a tapered paint brush works best for any indentations.

-switch brushes- do not use primer brushes for painting

-paint everything with 2 coats of a white semi-gloss latex paint

-paint back sides of doors first so if anything messes up when you flip them over it won't show on the outside

-wait about 3-5 days to ensure everything is nice and dry

-hang cabinets

-celebrate!

Pin It

I Been' Thriftin'!

Why the twang in the title you ask? I am just so excited to show you all what i found today at the Goodwill!

Glasses with steer heads:

Aren't they so super cool?! I'm going to use them for my Hoe-Down Birthday party next month! The two tall glasses were $1.99each and the 3 smaller glasses were $.99each from the Goodwill on High St. in Columbus, Ohio.

Ok! Ok! So maybe steer head glasses really aren't your thing. Well, here are my other finds from today:

A white ceramic bowl. This could be used for so many different purposes. For only $2.99 it had to be mine!

An Asian printed container $1.99, a mother of pearl and brass candle stick holder $1.99 and pear shaped container $2.99. I just thought these were great decorating items for almost anywhere in the house. Pin It

Goldeneye

Looking for a new eyeshadow to try for summer? Why not try gold! It looks good on virtually every skin color. Ebony and olive skin tones should wear darker golds that border on bronze. Fair skin tones look better in light yellow gold hues. Think more of a subtle shimmer rather than a chunky glittery shadow. This is such a fresh look that it works not just for evening; it works for day too- just keep it more sheer. For evening try a burgundy lip or you could even add a dark purple or black shadow on the outer edges and crease to glam it up!

The Inspiration:

My take on gold shadow:

To Apply:
This is such an easy look! Just apply gold shadow from lashes to crease. Add black liner and mascara. I like to use bronzer with this look and a pale glossy lip.

-I used Urban Decay's Half Baked. Pin It

DIY Bib Necklace

Bib necklaces have been a huge trend for a while now. I've been seeing them everywhere from the mall stores to the pages of Vogue. As usual I didn't want to pay full price for something so I decided I could make my own!

Inspiration:

My creation:

 

Now you try...

Items you'll need:

hot glue gun

sissors

felt (your color choice)

ribbon or string (your color choice)

gemstones or flowers or whatever you want on your necklace

How to make it:

1. decide what shape you want your necklace to be 

2. cut it out of the felt

3. decide how you want your gemstones or flowers or beads or whatevers to be layed out on the felt piece

4. use the hot glue to attach them

5. cut the ribbon or string to the length you want your necklace

6. attach by sewing a few stitches or you can try using hot glue

7. wear with pride!

NOTE: I added the extra detail of adding the gold trim by hand sewing gold thread around the edges. Be creative. There are literally millions of possibilities. Have fun with it!

Pin It

Tis' the season for straw!

I have a confession to make.... I'm obsessed with straw! Anything from accessories and shoes to rugs and chairs- I love it all! I love the way it can texture to an outfit or a room. And, right now is the best time to use it! There is just something uniquely summery about straw.
Check out some of my favorites:


Ikea chair that I painted (about$20) and my straw fedora (from Kmart in Lake Wales, FL. $7)- What a steal! I've seen similar hats go for anywhere from $25 to $75.
TIP: Don't be afraid to check out the clothing and accessories at discount stores like Kmart and Walmart!


My favorite summer carry all bag! This bag seriously holds everything! (from Goodwill $1.49)


My straw chair from pottery barn. I know this sounds expensive but it was on sale for $199 and my parents bought it for us for Christmas- so technically it was free! This chair is so incredibly versatile. It could be used with so many different decorating styles from beachy to country to our more modern eclectic style. It just adds great warmth and texture to our living room.
TIP: Look for straw items in the colder months when they are considered not in season to score some major deals like this one.


I love the little detail on this fabulous red straw bag. The zipper pull has a string of tribal looking beads on it. (from goodwill$1.49) It can be a shoulder strap bag or a clutch! And if you haven't noticed Tribal is a huge trend right now! These are the go with almost anything essential summer wedges. I love the straw heels! (from Target $20)
TIP: Do I even have to tell you to SHOP AT TARGET?!


This is a straw rug in my kitchen. Again, it adds such warmth and texture to our light blue and white kitchen. TIP: Use a straw rug to really ground a soft and airy room. I got this one from Kohls for $21! It was originally $60 then it was marked down 65% (Kohls always has great sales!) then I had a $10 off coupon!
TIP: sign up for mailings from Kohls. They send me coupons almost monthly!


These are a few examples of different straw purses all found at thrift stores for $3 or less! The cute little floral print shoes I got at a clothing swap for $3.
TIP: I highly recommend doing one of these clothing swaps with your friends! We did ours as a fund raiser for a friend who was going on a mission trip. All items were set at $3 and all the money went towards her trip! Pin It

A little thing that makes a big impact

When we moved into our new house we were so excited to have a charming built in cabinet in the hallway! Although, we were less than charmed with the skinny dark green hardware. I felt the hefty drawers needed something a little more substantial and I also wanted to make a statement in an otherwise bland hallway. Immediately the store Anthropology came to mind but I knew they would not be cheap. So in the spirit of being thrifty I decided to buy the one knob at Anthropology and match up some drawer pulls from Lowes (at which we had a gift card). So altogether this project cost us only $12! Thats a small price for a big impact!



Before:

After:

This was another one that we considered from Anthropology:

Hardware is like accessories for your furniture! Think about what the perfect necklace or earrings can do for an outfit. It's a great and inexpensive way to spruce up anything from dated kitchen cabinets to an old boring dresser! Pin It

Outfit of the day

I'm wearing an off the shoulder T-shirt dress with unfinished edges from a boutique in Kansas City Missouri $14 with native american woven belt from a thrift store $1.50 and my criss-cross studded nine west heels found at the Goodwill on Morse Rd. for $3.99. Perfect for my dinner date tonight with my husband to celebrate the launching of my blog! Pin It

Today's finds from Goodwill on High

This is such a great summer party dress! No Necklace required! It is a great example of the tribal/ethnic trend going on right now. Try a pair a nude wedge heels or dress down with a pair of turquoise braided sandals. I got this for only $4.99! Score!
I LOVE rompers!!!-especially when they are this cute and only $4.99! I also love these small americana floral prints. They are everywhere right now! So easy and breezy for summer. Just add some flat sandals and a low slung brown belt. I would probably top it all off with my straw fedora!
Isn't this skirt just adorable?! It is very similar to ones shown at J.crew this season for $58. I snagged mine for $4.99! Since fashion is all about contradictions right now I think I'd like to pair it with some tough chunky heels to ground it and temper the sweetness. Keep it simple on top with a white tank or boyfriend t-shirt. Take it into fall with some black tights and a black motorcycle jacket. This really is a season less piece. Pin It

Today's Finds from Goodwill on High

Found some great accessories for the new house. Two turquoise etched glass votive candle holders, a tiny blue bud vase, a gorgeous lemon yellow glass vase, and a little white lamp. The lamp I don't have a plan for quite yet. I just thought it was adorable. I just love rounded lamps! I will need to get a shade for it so stay tuned for what happens! Oh and the best part is that I got it all for $5.20! Pin It