it's all in the details

I'm finally back to the blog!  Last week was full of work meetings and a hard drive crash.  Now, I'm learning to navigate my brand new computer ~ feeling a little lost, but hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon.

Anway...
I want to share one more post on Carson's kitchen.  I had such a great time adding the little details, I've just got to share.

Carson actually has his dad to thank for the grown up details in his new kitchen.  Jeff firmly said "NO MORE crazy kid's stuff in the house".  So, I had to promise that this little kitchen would be aesthetically pleasing.  I must admit, these details were really for the grown-ups more than the little guy.  He doesn't seem too impressed by the tile backsplash, but we are!

I've already shown you the updated paint job and the new handles.  Carson's kitchen also has a refinished countertop, beadboard cupboards and a tile backsplash (all to match the "real" kitchen).

I refinished the countertop by sanding down the Ikea plywood, then waxing it with Briwax tudor brown to make it look like our butcher block.

I added the knobs on the sides for hanging this and that.  These were leftover from our real kitchen remodel so they are exactly like our cabinet knobs.  Right now he's got a chalkboard (I made this using a plaque from Michael's and some chalkboard paint) and his apron.

We've got beadboard cupboards in our kitchen, so now Carson does too.  I used this wallpaper.  I had already purchased it with a plan to update the downstairs bathroom.  That hasn't happened yet, but hopefully it will one of these days.  At least my wallpaper purchase came in handy for my mini kitchen remodel.  I simply cut a small square of the paper and followed the instructions (wet, wait 5 minutes, stick).  I let it dry for 24 hours, then painted it with the same paint (Dunn Edwards Whisper White) that I used on the rest of his (and our) kitchen.

His backsplash was made using leftover tile from our backsplash.   I just LOVE these subway tiles.  I chose them for our kitchen because they're a classic subway tile with a little twist, a beveled edge.  They're also very affordable!

I just used liquid nails to stick the tiles to a really thin piece of wood I found in the garage and cut to size.  Once the tiles were stuck nice and tight I used sanded caulk to fill in the grout lines (also left over from our kitchen remodel).
I used teeny tiny screws to attach the board and backsplash to the back of the kitchen.

Here's another pic of the final product!  For more on the grown-up kitchen click here or here!

kiddo kitchen remodel

Who would've thought I'd be DIY'ing two kitchen remodels in less than 3 years?  I must admit, this one was quite a bit easier than the big kitchen!

It was high time for Carson to have his OWN kitchen.  I was tired of him trashing MY kitchen every time I tried to cook a meal.  He's such a great little helper, but somehow his "help" creates a lot more work for me!

He's very into pretending, so I was fairly certain that a play kitchen would be a big hit.

I'd been debating whether or not to purchase a play kitchen for the past few weeks.  I just love the retro kitchens from PB Kids and KidKraft, but I was holding back because they're spendy and we didn't really have an occasion to celebrate (we ended up cheating and giving him the kitchen for his 1/2 birthday).

Anyway, all my kid's kitchen research went out the window during my most recent trip to Ikea.  I just couldn't resist when I found a little Duktig kitchen in the "AS IS" section for $44. Like most things Ikea, their little kitchen is simple but cute as is, but with a little extra it can be REALLY cute.  My "as is" find was scratched up (and missing some screws) so I took that as my opportunity to get started on a little remodel!

Here is the original Ikea Duktig kids kitchen...

 And here is my remodeled version...

I used paint, hardware and tile leftover from our "real" kitchen remodel to keep the cost down and make it fit in with the real thing!

I'd say the project was a success.  I think our budding chef would definitely agree!  He's becoming quite the expert at whipping up a batch of play dough cookies.

More to come on exactly how I "renovated" this little kitchen later this week.
 

let the sun shine in!

The first time I saw our dark, dreary, little kitchen I knew it would be perfect.  It was all dark wood paneling and avocado green paint, but it was chock-full of potential.

I couldn't wait to brighten things up.   Our house gets plenty of natural light, but the kitchen had tiny little windows.  We planned to wait it out and use the kitchen as it was (while we saved a little more money) but patience isn't my strong suit.  I couldn't fit a cookie sheet in the silly little oven, the drawer bottoms fell out from the weight of our silverware and the cupboards were more than slightly lopsided.  I only managed to tough it out for a couple of months before I'd had it.
I did a little research and figured we could make it work with the money we had, so we let the remodel begin. 
We couldn't wait to tear down the wall that separated our kitchen from our little breakfast nook.  With my father-in-law's help, we went at it with the Sawzall (one of the coolest tools ever) and the sledge hammer and within a couple of hours we had a pony wall that overlooked a cute little breakfast nook! Don't worry, we did our homework and made sure to leave the support beams in tact.  I've seen enough of HGTV's Renovation Realities to avoid that mistake!

Next step was to tear out the tiny windows and really let the light in.  We had planned and measured for new windows soon after we moved in.  I found a great bargain on windows while visiting Portland, OR (where I grew up) and they were waiting patiently in the garage, all ready for their big debut.

The old windows went to the garage for use in a later project.  (I just refinished one to create a picture wall - I'll share soon!).  The new windows made such a difference.  Check out the before and after pics.

Our old little windows

The wall that we knocked down

Pretty new windows and a new pony wall!

View from below the pony wall

Let the diy begin...with a $10,000 kitchen remodel

We searched and searched for the perfect little Southern California beach house.  I daydreamed about a cute little beach cottage ~ shingles, shutters, a sweet little yard and definitely a farm house sink.  Well, turns out it wasn't easy to find perfection within our limited price range.

A fixer upper was the only way we were going to become home owners.  We finally found the one we wanted to transform and after a loooong escrow, it was ours.

So my fantasies changed, instead of decorating and painting, I was knocking down walls, using a tile saw and washing dishes in the bathtub.  And you know what, I actually think that's a lot more fun!

I'm going to start with our biggest project...the kitchen remodel!

I feel like everyone has been through one, but ours was a bit unique in that we only had $10,000 to spend.  I'm a pretty determined little gal and I spent A LOT of time bargain hunting.  It was definitely a labor of love.  Of course it took longer than expected.  I threw one of my best girlfriends a baby shower with half a kitchen and a tar covered un-refinished wood floor because we terribly misjudged our "finish date".  Oh well, those little stories that caused tears at the time, seem like good memories now.

I submitted our kitchen to This Old House magazine for their annual reader remodel contest.  We didn't win, but we did get sort of close.  The prize was $10,000 which would have covered all our costs (would have been nice)!  I must say the winner of the contest has an amazing kitchen (but I still wouldn't trade it for our diy version). You can ogle over the beautiful winner here.  Anyway, they recently emailed and asked if I could send them more info and pics for an upcoming issue.  This one doesn't involve any prize money, but This Old House is one of my favorite mags so I was excited anyway.

I just finished putting together all of the info and pics to send off to TOH, so now it's all organized and ready for my blog!

Here are a few beginning and after pics to get you excited.

In my upcoming posts I'll be explaining what we did, what we spent, what we'd do again and what we wouldn't!