Little Brick House
Friday, November 30, 2018 • by Lana // Blog Author
Here's another fun update on our bedroom. It's been slow going since we've just done things as we go along and don't focus completely on each house project. Remember the purple and black walls (see end of post for before photo)? It is so much more peaceful in here now. I love the color scheme we've come up with. Now that we have it mostly done, we just have to hang up a few things here and there and it will be complete!
And just for a refresher, here's the before photo! You can also see previous posts about this room, here and here.
Bedroom Updates #2
Friday, November 30, 2018
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 • by Lana // Blog Author
It's been a few months since we finished painting our kitchen cabinets, and for the most part, have the first phase of our kitchen updates done! All we have left to do are patch a few wall holes, refresh the ceiling paint and install a new light over the back door. Also, I want to get a little freestanding island/cart so we have more workspace and aren't constantly fighting over the one little counter we have.
Just a reminder on what our kitchen looked like when we moved in:
THE PROCESS
We roughed up the ugly greenish-taupe color painted on the cabinets, and found a layer of paint underneath that was a putrid pale blue. The original cabinet color is a dark walnut, and I'm super sorry they ever painted them. However, I wasn't in the mood to sand everything down and stain it again, so... I painted them this deep teal blue. I did it gradually over the summer, just doing a few doors and boxes at a time. The summer is a very busy time of year for me with my gardening, and wanting to take advantage of our beautiful weather, so the slow method was perfect.I love the color, and since the cabinets are super old boring builder grade, I think it makes them look fantastic. Also, the silver hardware the previous owners installed really pops against the blue, and matches with our appliances that we installed. All I did was give them a quick wash and they look so bright with the blue cabinets!
The biggest surprise to me was how the ugly stone backsplash suddenly doesn't look as ugly. I was positive I was going to be scraping it off the wall. Turns out it just needed something pretty to pop against. And, a few people have asked me if we installed new counters. We did not. They just look so much better with the blue cabinets. I also only used half a gallon of paint, so I have plenty of the blue to use on other things in the house. If you have any fun project ideas for the blue, let me know!
When we first moved in last October, the appliances were black and all of them were broken or really old and unsafe. It looked like the oven had been sitting outside for years, and I didn't even dare turn it on. We got a killer deal on our kitchen appliances at Lowes during their fall/holiday sales. Our dishwasher, oven/range, and over the range microwave were all less than $1100 combined!
After I painted the walls and cabinets, the kitchen door seemed a little too drab, so I painted a pretty sage green and it brightens up that whole corner. We also replaced the dark brown curtains on the kitchen doors and kitchen windows with a pretty white and gray curtain from Target, and some bamboo shades from IKEA.
I'm pretty happy with how everything has turned out. Taking this kitchen from drab 50 shades of brown, to this bright and fun color scheme was well worth the effort.
FUTURE KITCHEN GOALS
If we decide to stay in this house for a long time, I want to build a half wall along the stair railing and add some more cabinets with some countertops since we have almost NO counter space to work on. We also want to update the decades old linoleum to something easy to clean, and pretty. Like the linoleum faux wood plank flooring. Or, if we get enough cash saved, we want to move the stairs to the outer wall of the kitchen, and make the living room and kitchen an open floor plan with more cabinets, and a big island in the middle (Joanna Gaines style, ya know?).Right now, the living room sits just on the other side of the stair wall. In the basement it makes our basement living room small, and a gigantic laundry room sits below the kitchen, a total waste of space. Moving the stairs would make a much better use of the space in this house on both floors.
PAINT COLORS & PRODUCTS
Walls: Behr Polar BearDoor: Behr Environmental
Cabinets: Sherwin Williams Sea Serpent
Oven: Similar GE
Dishwasher: Similar Whirlpool
Microwave: Similar Whirlpool
Fridge: Brought with us - Similar Whirlpool
Shades: Similar IKEA
Curtains: Target
All in all, I've been really impressed with the power of paint to make an old ugly kitchen not feel so outdated. It's not as perfect as an interior decor professional, but it's a huge improvement from what it was!
+ Have you painted your cabinets before?
Kitchen Upgrade Update
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Tuesday, May 15, 2018 • by Lana // Blog Author
For about a week in April, the crabapple trees in front of my house went crazy with pink and red blossoms. I took a billion photos, and felt they deserved their own post. I even acted like a dork and tried to take selfies with them. I'm obsessed with my trees, you guys. I wish the blossoms lasted longer, but they come and go so quickly, if you blink, you'll miss them.
I was hoping my husband and I could take some couple's photos under them, but life has been too crazy lately. Sadly, that will have to wait until next April.
Aren't they amazing, though?
++ What's your favorite blossom color?
Pink Blossoms
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Thursday, March 22, 2018 • by Lana // Blog Author
One of the biggest changes we made to this house is one I'm really excited to write about and share with you. Our kitchen, as I've lovingly called '50 Shades of Brown' had a raw cedar plank wall that had aged probably at least half as long as the house has been standing. The planks actually extend all the way down the stairs, and down the basement hallway. It seemed to have trapped some kitchen smells in it, and as a result, in certain circumstances, you could really smell them coming out of it.
I wanted to find a way to brighten up the kitchen, but I wavered back and forth between keeping it raw, and rustic. I mean, a lot of people really love the look of raw wood on walls. Also, if I did paint it, and it looked awful, we'd have to take it down, and I didn't want to ruin it. I thought maybe I could come up with some cool way to keep it, but after leaving it for a couple of months, I was ready to paint. I love the way painted shiplap looks, so I decided to paint it the same color as the rest of the kitchen walls, and went with Behr's Polar Bear.
Since the wood is raw, it took more pressure and detail than I thought it would. I used a much fluffier roller, and also had to press pretty hard to fill in all the little divots and grains in the wood. Then I went back over it with a paint brush for the final touches. I left some of the knots and cracks exposed to give it a bit of a rustic look and love how it turned out.
I love how much brighter the stairs are now. We are in the process of installing new lighting in the basement so it's really dark right now, and having the walls white helps the light from upstairs bounce around the stairwell. It also helps show how gross the carpet is on the stairs. We definitely will be adding "shampoo the carpets" to our list of things to do this summer.
I love how it all turned out, and am so happy that I decided to risk damaging the wood wall and go for it! Now, we just need to finish decorating the kitchen and I can post some REAL after pictures.
++ What do you think? ++
The Big Raw Wood Wall Gets a Makeover
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Wednesday, February 7, 2018 • by Lana // Blog Author
It feels so good to finally be over the crazy long flu we had the last two weeks of January. In Mid-January, we had my husband's family up here to help us paint and install some electrical which I'll post about later. Our 50 Shades of Brown kitchen was so depressing we had to make a change. I decided to grab some white paint at Home Depot, and brighten up the tan walls. Immediately, it made a huge difference! Now, if I could ever make up my mind on a color, we could paint our cabinets!
BEFORE
CURRENT SITUATION
Also, the wood paneled wall will soon be painted white, as well, and I have plans to paint the inside of the kitchen door a bright color.
**The white paint color is Behr Polar Bear.
++Doesn't it look so much brighter in here? I love it!
Kitchen Painting (In Process)
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
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