So we finally hit the breaking pit (or at least I did) about the kitchen. I just couldn’t take it anymore. So about a month ago I did something about it….while he was at work of course.
Sidenote: Why do I always think that just because I start a huge project before he gets home, he won’t notice the mess when he arrives? I must be delusional.
Now here’s a lesson on how not to remodel. Keep in mind this was done just to keep me sane. I think I mentioned the nasty previous flooring in another post. But here is a picture just in case you forgot how yucky it was down there. Keep in mind that was after scrubbing on my hands and knees with bleach and ajax powder.
As you can see. .Basically. I threw money at this just for visual sake.
So I got the Tarkett fiber floor that I stored in the basement. We actually brought it from Lowes the first week that we moved in. Don’t ask why, we didn’t install it then when our appliances we much smaller and easier to lift.
The first part went down easily even around the pipes for the washer…..
Then I hit the bane of my existence (aka the radiator) and most of hell broke loose.
And it sat there for about an hour while to went to have a few glasses of wine for my nerves.
So I finally got it around the radiator only to realize that I had no idea how to get the fridge back in place without lifting it OVER the flooring, and lord knows it was not lifting a fridge full of food by myself.
So I took another break (with wine), sat in the entry hallway and contemplated how I was going to explain this when J got home. Look at that mess
When we first moved in to the house, the dining room looked like this: There are a few things you should be on the look out for; sch as the beautiful wallpaper that is a “quaint” floral print with little birds hidden in the leaves. although I love birds, I felt like I was in a scene from the movie “The Birds” every time I walked through to get to the kitchen. They were just staring at me…I swear I’m not paranoid.
The saving grace is the set of french doors that lead to the foyer and font door area. Oh, by the way that small door on the right in the last picture is actually the door to the basement. If I gain more then 5 pounds, I have to go sideways down the stairs. Laugh if you want to, I am not kidding.
After a long hard day or two of stripping i got the wall paper off of the walls, and though long and hard about what colors to paint the walls. I wanted something bright, yet subdued, so I decided to go for accent walls, two green and two brown. I love green, and I figured that the brown would lower the impact of such a shocking color. I also already had a table runner that had the same colors. One of my friends asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I exclaimed “PAINT” (Damn, I’m getting old when I ask for paint for birthday, sigh) and this is how it turned out. More pics will be added once I clean up a bit more.
I think the green works well with the colorful masks.
I used to love to sew a lot, but then got so busy that I stopped for a long time.
After searching high and low for curtains that I loved, and ones that matched the picture I had in my mind. I decided to make my own.
Ths window was my first project.
I had some deep blue taffeta that I was saving for a special occasion such as this. It is a beautiful jewel tone, kind of a sapphire blue.
I brought some velvet and satin ribbon from the $1 rack at Michaels that I was thinking of using for J’s sister’s wedding, but never used. (And a bag of yummy lime Tostitos for inspiration)
After a few minutes of sewing and a half hour of getting the poles on the wall I ended up with this…………….
One of the great things about working in education are the extended breaks and vacations. That is if you are sane enough not to try and tackle 10 projects at once. So I decided to take the wall paper of of the kitchen walls. Why you ask? Oh, just look at the picture below.
THAT, ladies and gentlemen is a beautiful array of light blue and cream butterflies and flowers. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that it is vinyl wall paper that was bubbling at the seams. So I was at the sink staring at the wall while washing the dishes and my curiosity got the best of me. I decided to take a peek at what was behind the wall paper. The irrational voice in my head was telling me.”Just do it, here might be money behind those walls!” and ” The walls are probably flawless behind that hideous stuff”. So I slowly peeled back a bit of wall paper. It was pretty unremarkable underneath, no money though. So I went on a ripping frenzy, so I could be done by the time J got home. I figured that he would be so impressed with the beautiful new walls that he would go and buy me a 1/2 gallon of butter almond ice cream. YAY!
SO I figured that I had just enough time to ant the cabinets too. That would probably get the me the ice cream and about 3 weeks of his taking garbage/recycling duty. So I ran top the paint store and grabbed a can of Kilz paint to “jazz up” the cabinets. By “jazz up” I mean paint an alarming orange color. I figured that the color would distract the eyes from the other stuff going on in there.
Lo and behold I end up with this…..
Needless to say I didn’t get the ice cream prize.
I won’t blow up your brain with other pictures. I promise.
Lately I have been thinking about moving the washer and dryer to the second floor. The washing machine is in the kitchen now, so as I cook dinner I can wash clothes… Yay!.
But I found this article here that might help out.
Its from The Family Handyman website
September 2002 By Carl Hines
Click Image to enlarge.
How can I avoid a flood in my upstairs laundry room?
Q I’m moving my laundry room to the second floor. I’m worried about a potential overflow. What precautions should I take?
S. Hudson, E-mail
A Washers and floods go hand in hand and can cause huge damage to the laundry room floor and the rooms below. Take these four steps to prevent a disaster if an overflow or leak occurs.
Install a recessed washer box (about $35 at home centers ) in the wall directly behind the washing machine. This recessed box provides connections with shutoff valves for the water supply hoses and a drain for the washer’s discharge hose. For easy access and servicing, mount the bottom of the box so it’s about level with the top of the washing machine’s control panel. Be sure to choose a box with the shutoff valves included.
Install a washer tray under your washing machine. Set the tray tight against the back wall framing and run the drywall down to it. Our tray’s drain does not connect directly to the house’s waste line. It’s an indirect line that dumps into a laundry tub, floor drain or even outside through the wall. If the machine leaks, the water will be caught in the tray and safely drained away. Washer trays are available at home centers for about $20.
Make sure the supply hoses are in good shape. Check older hoses for cracks and replace if necessary. If you’re buying new hoses, consider the no-burst ones; these rubber hoses are sheathed with braided stainless steel. Be sure to use new hose washers. Connect and hand-tighten the hoses to the supply valves and the washing machine inlet. Turn the water on and check for leaks. If necessary, tighten further either by hand or with pliers.
Turn off the water to the supply hoses when the washing machine is not in use for additional peace of mind. This is easy to do with a single-lever shut off such as the one shown at right.
This is what the kitchen looked like when we moved in. Notice the beautiful wallpaper!
Yes, that is the washing machine next to the little tiny refrigerator. The step stool was to reach the extremely tall cabinets.
Oh, by the way the linoleum floor is supposed to be “light gray” and speckled, but it turned a muddy brown from not enough cleaning. I loved cleaning that up.
This reminds me of when I was a young girl. I feel like I need to play this every time I’m frustrated about his house. It has a weird way of calmingme down. This really is OUR house and we intend on living here for a VERY long time.
One one drawback to moving to this house is the lack of an extra bathroom. Someday, we hope to add another bathroom after getting some of the other major projects completed. So this is what it looked like when we first moved in. Notice the slanted ceilings because of the dormers. The shower head is hidden behind the curtain.
Pretty right? I bet you just can’t wait to take a bath in that tub….or maybe you can.
After a few minutes of sewing and a half hour of getting the poles on the wall I ended up with this…………….
