Monkey Love

"ET... phone home"

Spray Gun Blues

We decided to start spraying the corner china cabinet we are "rehabbing" last Sunday. We would have started on Saturday, but Mister spent the entire day being cranky and building sawhorses for the doors. Which, of course, I totally appreciate, but I think they ended up being unnecessary, since the gun only sprays at a 90 degree vertical angle. How do you spray the tops of stuff? If Holly wasn't so ridiculously busy, I would email her and ask. 

This is the gun we bought:

The directions did specify that we needed to water down the latex paint based on the recommendations of the paint can. The paint can just said "no more than one pint per gallon". Hmmm... What if you won't need the whole gallon? That goes into a whole realm of Math that I do not care to contemplate. I hate Math! I only have two classes left to get my Bachelors and I haven't done it, because they are both Math classes. Oh, and my employer would pay. That is how much Math confounds me, people. I don't even know how much a pint it, it's not on my glass measuring cuppy thing.

So we winged it (is winged a word?).
Long story short, we must not have watered the paint down enough initially, which clogged the tip. Then we kept watering down the paint, because nothing was happening. Then we cleaned the tip. And watery paint came out. Grr.

 I figured watery paint was fine (there were no drips), I would just do three layers instead of two. Well, Mr. Mister (who hates to paint, does not help me paint, and thinks there is no reason to ever paint anything wooden) decided that my first layer didn't have enough coverage and sprayed it again. While it was still wet. And it ran. Bastard. Then it still wasn't dry three hours later, so I cleaned everything up and called it a day. Now I have to sand a lot of it down and try to even it out.

Oh, and while he was taking over my project, he dropped the paint gun and broke the volume control knob off. They don't make parts for these things apparently. BUT they do have a three year warranty. So I have to go back to Lowe's and get a new one.

Parental Kitchen Remodel: Choices

When they began their kitchen remodel, my mom knew two things; they wanted to tear the wall out between the kitchen and dining rooms:

and she wanted the new cabinets to coordinate with their existing dining room furniture:

Wouldn't be my first choice, or my 100th for that matter, but she loves it so that's all that matters right? 

The cabinets are Kitchenaid - Sonora cherry with a chocolate glaze.

Her old cabinets did not reach to the ceiling and she is definitely not a "top-of-the-shelf-decorator-and-duster" sort of lady, so all that space was going to waste. So there's another decision made, right? Ceiling height cabinetry in whatever color matches the existing furniture. Done. 

The DR furniture has crystal knobs with oil rubbed bronze fittings, so the top 12" cabinets got special ordered matching crystal knobs:

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The rest of the hardware needed to be ORB as well and she decided simple was best:

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She did, however, add three of these guys in ORB for a little extra fun touch:

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Two of them live on the pantry and one on the side of the island. They are all in a different position. I thought three different types of hardware was going to be a bit much, but most everything is in place now and you don't even notice.

They already had the stainless FisherPaykel double dish drawer, so stainless appliances were a given. My uncle happens to be an engineer for GE, so they got his discount on the range, hood, and refrigerator. Nice.

She knew she wanted cork floors. My cousin has had them for years and loves them.

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I am not totally loving the floors, but like I said earlier, it is her kitchen, not mine. 

My kitchen has stainless steel countertops that are original to the house (59 years old). They show hardly any wear and tear, just a few small dings and no scratches that I am aware of. They don't stain and you can have them crafted to any specifications. And, of course, my mother wants to be cool like me, so they decided on stainless steel for the countertops with sinks built right in. No seams to clean, lovely!

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I wish she had gone with the white cabinets - they really pop against the stainless! Isn't this a lovely kitchen?

The tile took a long time to choose. There are soooo many options at such varied price points! It came down to four, so she took them home and set them all up against the example cabinet she had and a stainless cookie sheet (as the mock countertop)and ended up choosing the one she had initially liked the least! It just goes to show that context is everything. 

The only example I found of what appears to be the same tile in a kitchen environment is actually the kitchen from the Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie! Which I never saw.

Although, it looks like they actually topped the island with the tile. Not very practical from a daily cooking standpoint. Unless you put a glass top on it, maybe. And they have my fancy slim line trash can! Yay!

The island has two height levels. One counter height for cooking, baking, etc. and one bar stool height. The counter height section is receiving the stainless treatment, but the bar stool height gets a zebra wood counter.

The desk on the opposite wall also got a zebra wood top.

It all sounds pretty busy, doesn't it? I even put a composite together for my own benefit to try and "see" her vision.

She didn't end up choosing those lights (they were my pick, thanks to Suzie!) and the blue tile didn't end up making it's way in. Luckily. She wanted to put it on the side of the island where your knees would be. The guy at the tile store talked her out of it. Thank God. 

The kitchen is almost finished, IRL, so stay tuned for more pics!

Check out the beginning of this project here and here. 

Parental Kitchen Remodel: Potential

Starting from scratch on a remodel is always tough. Tougher still when your brain is constantly wracked with indecision and the knowledge that you may come to regret any decision that you eventually make. Imagine these are the thoughts you are plagued with every minute of every day for the rest of your life... Yeah, that's what it's like be a member of my freaky little clan. 

So, you are beginning a kitchen remodel. 

Now.

Do you choose dark wood cabinets?

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Or light wood cabinets?

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Or white cabinets?

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Or cherry wood?

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Or something fun and funky?

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What about appliances? 

Do you pick white?

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Stainless?

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Panelled to match the cabinetry?

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What about the floor?

Matched to the entry and living areas?

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Tile floor?

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Patterned?

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Herringbone? (Yum)

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Checkerboard? (My Fave)

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What about the island?

Yes?

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No?

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Simple table as island?

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With Seating?

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Without?

What are your thoughts on beginning a project from scratch?

Hilarious kid!

I can't get the video to embed. Youll have to follow the link, but it's totally worth it. This kid is awesome.

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/bad-romance-by-mickey-mouse-kid/8cpa9i1r


Anyone else notice dad racing past the camera in his bikini skivvies? Disturbing.

An Epic Story: Parental Kitchen Remodel

About 6 months ago now, the toilet in the guest bathroom on the 2nd floor at my parents house exploded. Something to do with the water level regulator not regulating. My mother came home to find water dripping into the kitchen. Luckily, my brother and S.I.L. live across the street and my brother was able to come over and help staunch the flow of water. Unfortunately (or a blessing in disguise), it was too late. Our State Farm guy sent over one of those disaster relief guys and he said lots of it needed to be replaced. Some of the kitchen cabinets were ruined, the ceiling in the kitchen, the ceiling in the hallway, the vanity in the upstairs bathroom, the vanity in my parents bathroom (it shares a wall), etc... They had been wanting to remodel for quite some time, but my indecision is hereditary, I get it from both of them! This "disaster" forced them to make choices. Here are some before shots (Okay, some are really just water damage shots):

 This toilet is the one that overflowed.

The main floor half-bath is directly below the flood zone.

 The water leaked all the way down the basement. 

The drywall had collapsed and there was water pouring out of the ceiling.

The restoration guys had to drill holes all over the ceiling and tear out a lot of drywall. 

This was the best shot I could find of the "before" kitchen floor. Linoleum parquet, klassy.

They decided to remove this wall while they were remodeling. 

The same wall from the kitchen side.

The wall to the left backs to the garage.

The maroon velvet curtains my mother had in the dining room. 

A detail shot of the original cabinetry and hardware. 

Past pantry, future fridge nook.

Aren't you loving the brown stove? It used to have a fridge to match. Yum. 

Past fridge nook, future pantry. They took part of this wall out, so the fridge wouldn't fit there anymore. 

The window is new, it used to be a garden window. 

Stay tuned for "in progress" pictures!