This week has been a blur. So much is going on. In addition to getting graduation card photographs, printing and mailing, we have been busy inside too.
You may recall the little sneak preview photo of my new bathroom mirrors. Well, today I wanted to make a short post to show where we are int his project. I don't pretend to do clean and perfect renovations every time, so prepare yourself for messy photos. That's just the way it is folks when you live in a house while renovating it.
Now, onto the photos...
The above picture was the bathroom last weekend. We had just sanded and started painting the cabinets. The walls were being painted a soft gray. The first picture is of my sweet husband. I love how he is wearing cowboy boots to climb on the countertop and pull down a mirror. Lol! N-O-T OHSA approved working conditions.
The photos below show how he started to attached the shiplap. In the pictures showing the side of our upper cabinets, you can see how we applied shiplap there as well. These cabinets are cheap builder grade and the sides are nothing more than plywood with a vinyl "sticker type" coating. Paint will not adhere to this properly, so we decided the shiplap look was right for us. It was free because he used scraps and it allowed us to paint the sides of the cabinet. Winner! He cut down scrap wood into various sizes and applied them using liquid nail. Nails would be too long and go through the cabinet box. The photo shows how he inserted pennies between the rows to give symmetry in the spacing between planks. He then took 4x8 sheets of MDF and cut it into 4" strips. Then, he used his router to give the edges a nice finish. They strips were then applied to the walls as a sort of crown moulding without all the extra work. We painted the ceiling getting rid of that peachy color that the previous home owners seemed to love.
Finally, he reinstalled the light fixture so we can see again and sat one of my new mirror on the counter to use for dressing until they are permanently installed. Aren't they gorgeous? Hobby Lobby splurge even at half off.
We still have to finish sanding and painting the cabinets doors. The pictures don't show it, but the trim is painted. The tops of the upper cabinets still need moulding and trim. All the walls need is for us to finish applying the gray paint. The countertops will receive a concrete treatment and seal. Finally, the curtain, shelf and wall decor will need attention. So, that's where we are folks. I am hoping to finish the doors this week. We are supposed to receive more rain, so drying times will likely increase. :(
I will post another update when we get the mirrors hung and I make a new curtain out of a drop cloth.
If Kevin's job doesn't have him busy working, you can bet he is busy around the house.
Those of you who know my husband already know that he is probably one of, if not the hardest working man on this Earth. Seriously. If I am working, he's been working, for longer and harder.
He is not only a hard worker, but so sweet. A few weeks back, he decided to make me an herb garden just off our back patio. I have wanted one for some time in this area. Boy did he one up me on this project. He made a patio area out of some old stepping stones and even mixed up a smear, (like the one Chip did on the Fixer Upper house for Max Lucado's daughter), to give the bricks an aged look. But, he continued his work. For Mother's Day, he added a second raised bed off the patio for Lavender. I planted two French Lavender and two English Lavender plants. These will take a few years to fill completely out. Gorgeous.
He has personally wanted to extend the patio for at least a year or two. I wasn't sure how it would look. Well, I love it. He always exceeds my expectations. Love him!
The pictures below were snapped in a moment to give a quick update. (Try to ignore the lighting). I just wanted to keep up with all that is going on over here at the homestead. I posted it now instead of waiting for the everything to scream perfection moment, which rarely comes around here...
You know, I am really excited about his patio extension. Not only is it pretty, but this allows for me to do something I have desired for a long time. This desire started long ago with a table, just a few months short months after we moved into this house. I was browsing Craigslist's Free section to see what kind of junk might prove useful over here. That's when I stumbled upon this super cool, FREE, old farm table in downtown Dallas. Since Kevin works in the Metroplex, I asked the owner if he would hold it until my husband could make it over after work to pick it up. Behold, a peek at the free junk table. Notice the antique hardware and chippy paint. Someone made this from scraps. Gotta love that. We are presently enjoying its use as a potting table. I have ideas of grandeur and a much more noble purpose for it in store...
So, what have I been wanting to do to the patio area? I'm glad you asked! I want to move the older patio set to the brick paver area and pull the free farm table away from the wall where it is currently located into the center of the covered back porch. I have four free chairs I scored on Craigslist from around the corner waiting to be refinished and their seats recovered. They would look good in a weathered white paint and neutral outdoor fabric on the seats. We have roll down shades to block the evening sun, but perhaps I will make some outdoor curtains. I have an old greenish/antique patina chandelier hanging in my garage. Perhaps I can remove the wiring and refit it to hold candles. A nice chippy white finish would complete the look. What do you think? Here is a picture of the chandelier.
I have stepped out to snap a few quick photos of the table and chandelier. Kevin cracks me up. He keeps asking me what I was taking a picture of...lol. I told him he would have to go to my blog to find out. I hope that when he reads my post about the patio area, it doesn't kill plans for my french farmhouse garden patio. He's a good sport.
Kevin, if you are reading this, please remember our vows.....I love you dear.
Okay Guys,
It's been two months since my last post. I know, FAIL! Life has been throwing me curve balls. I have been planning my youngest son's graduation party and his move to live on campus for seminary this fall. Plus, I have been working a bit outside the home to make a little extra money. My garden is beginning to look really fabulous, but it does take work to keep it that way you know. Enough of the excuses...
I guess I should start my update with the home projects portion of this post. There are so many, lol. Okay, I am still working on the makeover for my bedroom furniture. It's driving me crazy that I haven't enough time to do it all at once, or the space necessary for that matter. The problem is that everything requires disassembly, sanding, prepping and of course, the milk paint must be done within a few short days so that the mixture does not ruin before you use it all. In the midst of all the fun, I have been sick with allergies and allergy induced asthma. Getting out of the house in the air right now is a serious trigger leaving me to suffer with difficult breathing between treatments. Urgh. So, I have to find inside projects to work on. Well, my bathroom cabinets have been a part of the house renovation plans since before we even closed on the property. They have been staring me down, waiting to be refinished every time I enter the room. I had an idea of what I wanted in mind, but I decided to try a sample door to see a few different finishes before proceeding. I keep discovering that I am just a plain white kind of gal. Not just any ole white will do, but white. I decided to go with the Valspar Du Jour. I have used it throughout the rest of our house. It is a very soft, neutral white that works with our lighting perfectly. I prefer to purchase the Valspar 4000 because it does not contain a primer and the coverage is a bit thinner and leaves less brush strokes if you want to brush it on as I do. I prefer a bit of the hand painted look without the thick streaks you see when using some paints containing primer. Plus, it has very little VOCs and that goes a long way with someone who has allergies. Seriously, the primer odor gives me headaches. And the bonus is that it is CHEAP!
This week I have been trapped at home again going stir crazy to do something outside. No luck. So, while Kevin was taking a day trip to check on his stores in the east Texas area for work, I decided to take off the cabinet doors and sand down the base cabinet. (I have to do this while he is gone so that he cannot talk me out of it).
Our cabinets are in good shape, but are a little over 10 years old. The color and style are your standard builder grade. Not particularly flattering in my opinion. However, this is nothing a little paint won't fix. Paint is a cheap way to update almost anything in good repair.
Here are a few pictures of the messy, in-progress project. I have now put on a second coat of paint to the base cabinets and the doors are being sanded. Hopefully, I will make enough notable progress to share something with you very soon, so check back to follow me on this project.
The first two photos are from when we first moved in and painted the bathroom. The next photo shows the wainscotting we added. The last three show just after we started to paint the gray, sanded the cabinets and applied the first two coats of paint.
We have much more to do and plan to move the light fixture higher up on the wall, add wood and trim to the extra cabinets to help blend them with the style of the room. We will also be adding shiplap boards to the wall behind the mirror area and running crown molding around the entire room. You will notice the mystery picture at the beginning of this post. It is a peek at the only splurge I am going to use in the room. This is the top of the frame for the two mirrors I purchased at Hobby Lobby. We considered cutting our existing mirror down and framing it. Then I saw these mirrors... The last step of this whole project will be the faux concrete countertop. We will be using concrete to layer multiple coats onto our cultured marble, sanding in between and finally sealing it. This is the one wild card in the project. We have an old countertop we plan to try this process on first. When I decided this may be a possibility, I searched the internet for others who may have posted about their project. Surprisingly, there were quite a few who had great success and still love their counters months after they were completed.
