Whirlwind Working Weekend

Oh my, the dust hasn't settled one bit around here.  The whole weekend was devoted to working on our kitchen.   We started out first with the kitchen flooring....  how exciting~!

First we unrolled the whole sheet to acclimate it to the house temperature.  It had been stored in the cold garage so we let it rest for a few hours before starting the cuts around the corners.

I really like having the random pattern to the flooring rather than a square repeating pattern with grids or lines.  Being an old house, walls are never straight, so not having lines or patterns is a real plus.  I like the dark color too.  Our last home had WHITE ceramic tiles.  WHAT was I thinking????  For 15 years I had to keep that floor clean in spite of teens and dogs and country dirt.   This will be a piece of cake.

The flooring is a thick cushy vinyl product made of PVC and fiberglass, but it was very easy to cut with a scissors around the door jambs.  It was a lot of "on the knees" work, but we got it done before lunch.

Once we had it all in place, we opened the door up to let the doggers come in and check it out.  Yes, they approved!  They kinda match too.

Now the next part was going to be a bit trickier.  Our cabinets!   Here is the link to my blog about restoring them:

Old Oak Cabinets from Start to Finished !!!

The bottom base part of the cabinets is in one long piece, but we decided to cut off the two tilt out bins on the far right side so we can slide over the cabinets to the right.   That way the sink will hang down into a cabinet space, and not into the drawers as originally configured.  Otherwise, we would lose the use of the drawers. We would have to cut the boxes off the drawers and make all the fronts "fake" if we left it intact.  That is why we decided to cut the base cabinet apart and move the bins to the left end.

Soooo after measuring three times, we CUT! 

(See those cabinets in the background?  Those are the Upper Cabinets that go on top of this base) 

We carried the cabinet base into the house, and then measured for the fifth time inside.  We realized that keeping both tilt out bins was going to be a tight squeeze and make installing our stove and overhead microwave more difficult into the corner on the left.  Instead we decided to omit one bin, and shorten up the cabinetry. Here is the cabinetry changed to the better length on the left side, and we finished up the cabinet reinforcement.

In the narrower space left from removing one tilt out bin, we will put a pull-out trash bin. I will make a panel for the front of it from some of the other wood we have on hand.  Here is a pic, on the left, of the hardware we will get and add a panel to the end of it.  We had a pull out trash can in our last house and it worked great, especially keeping the dogs outta the garbage!

  

Enough work... we called it a day and went to bed! 

On Sunday morning, we had forcasted snow and sleet and freezing rain scheduled all day.  That didn't matter to us, because we had indoor projects to do!

We carried in the 12 ft counter-top after cutting off the backsplash.  I made a template of my copper sink, and we measured again three times before cutting.  Just to "be sure" !  Steve carefully cut out the sink hole with the jig saw and we got it right the first time!  Whew!  Now you can see why we changed the order the base cabinets.  The sink extends down into the open cabinet instead of the section with the drawers.

I know the back wall looks "messy" but there really wasn't any need to finish that or paint it.  It will soon be covered with two upper cabinets.  They are very tall, resting on the counter-top and extend all the way up to the ceiling.  The upper cabinets are only 12 inches deep, while the lowers are pulled out to be 25 inches deep.  That will leave about a foot of counter space in front of the uppers.  Also there will be a 3'x5' center work island with the dishwasher installed underneath it. 

After we cut the sink hole, we also drilled in the faucet holes through the counter-top   We were excited as we tried dry-fitting the sink into place and set the faucets on top. Perfect!!!!  Then we cut the hole through the inner shelf to allow access for the garbage disposal under the sink.

From there, Steve went into the basement and drilled upwards with a long bit to make room for the water lines.  I think we are going with the Pex tubing for the water leads, and we will get those and shut-off valves and the rest of the plumbing pieces tomorrow.  This was enough for today!

(note: the countertop is not yet sealed down nor the kickplate fastened tight)

Poor Steve needs to go to work tomorrow, 

in order to take a break! 

During the Week Projects

We are trying to do the "BIG STUFF" on the weekends around the house.. but during the week I am tackling a lot of the "small stuff" I want done to our new home.

First off, Sunday evening, Steve had gotten up the drywall around the kitchen 3 walls that needed to be installed up to 5ft high.  He did the cutting and I did the adhesive and holding into place while he added drywall screws.  We only had a few seams to tape and mud up, and later tonight I should be painting that part to match.  I will take pics after that portion is done.  For now, you can feast your eyes on my Drywall Man and his first few pieces!

Then we will put a plate rail at the point of transition 5 ft up (the rest of the wall above is good and smooth already).  I got the painting done on the upper portions yesterday.  I decided against the pale yellow I had bought.  I went with all cream paint on the walls and the ceiling.

I am thinking that with the added grey flagstone patterned flooring, it might be too many colors in the room if I added yellow to the walls.  The faux mortar between the flagstones is kind of cream too.  Plus with all the reddish brown cabinets and woodwork, that is going to be enough colors without adding yellow to the mix.  I want cobalt blue as accents, such as my coffee carafe, some vases, a big crockery bowl, and salt and pepper shakers on the stove.  I have a slew of dishtowels too in cobalt.  Now to make up some hot pads!

On Monday, we stopped by an antique shop in Waupaca, Wi after lunch out with Steve's dad.  I spotted this oil painting that was nicely framed.  I had to have it for my Loom Room!  $25 later, it was safely wrapped in a blanket in the trunk of our car.  It's called "The Little Shepherd".

I googled the artist, Minnie E. Janda and found out she is a resident in a nursing home in Medford, WI.  I wrote to the director to ask if she would let Ms. Janda know her work was being enjoyed and purchased in an antique shop.  The director informed me that Minnie would be delighted to hear that news, and she also has some work on display in the nursing home, and also the director has one of her pieces of art in her own home!   

This was a nursing home newsletter writeup about the artist.  I am going to print this out and attach it to the back of the painting for provenance: 

(you can right click on this to enlarge it in a separate window) 

Next on my list of projects was a mirror that we bought from the sellers of our house.  At first we thought we wanted to put it over our buffet in the diningroom, but now we are thinking it would go even better over our fireplace in the livingroom.  It's very heavy and has a lovely Mission pattern.  We are going to reverse it around to hang it with the detailed edge to the top of the mirror.

  

 The wood was a bit more brownish and not red enough to match our woodwork... soooooooooo out came my can of Polyshades (a stain and polyurethane all in one that lets you cover already stained wood with another color)    Now.. it's the right color!

Next up on the list was another item from the sellers of our house.  Paula had this heavy white metal chair that had been on the front porch when the house was first listed.  We bartered a handwoven rug for it, and she so kindly brought it back to the house for me!

This morning, I touched up the heavy metal frame with Rustoleum spray paint... and then re-covered the cushion with some fabric that was leftover from covering the cushions on our wicker furniture.  There....

And here it is all dry and complete!  

(I have to iron out some of the folds in the fabric yet)

I put it right back in the corner of the front porch where it had been before.

I think I need a little side table now to set my coffee cup, huh?

Our front porch is going to be a nice place to hang out once it gets a little warmer.  It faces east, so the morning sun comes streaming in through all the windows.

Here is the wicker furniture we bought from Craigslist for the porch.  I think we need a wicker coffee table in front of the settee, and I will weave up some rugs to match.

Daughter Erin keeps making fun of my silk cane plant, because she thinks it's tacky or something.  Well, can't have any LIVE green plants on the porch in the winter, so this is the next best thing, right?  The little plant on the far right was in the kitchen of the house when we bought it.  That could go on a little metal stand in the corner too.  Guess I gotta hit a few more resale shops, antique places or St. Vinnies!   The far end windows are facing the north... and yes, it's snowing out there!

Here is the porch view taken from the other end, facing to the south.  

My newly re-done chair sure fits right back in where it belongs!

Oh, this is our front door... welcoming our visitors! 

The lace curtain was left in the house on another window.

The wreath is left-over from the holidays, but too pretty to put away.

The snowman sign is from Steve's brother Mark and his wife Shirley

and the tiny knit hat and scarf were on a bottle of whiskey from Erin and Mark....

 Soo come on over, 

give my silly doorbell a twist 

and perhaps sit down with a cup of coffee?

.

.