Reader Redesigns
Reader Redesign: A Kitchen With Pop
We were so happy to stumble upon Beth’s email in our inbox. Her retelling of her kitchen redo had all the elements that we love in a good renovation story: an ugly before (a brown fridge!), lots of DIY details (yesss!), a bit of drama (the counters arrived the day before Christmas, yowza!) and – best of all – a beautiful after. Here’s her note:
Hello, Sherry & John! We bought our current home a little over a year ago, and to say it was outdated is the understatement of the century. Like you, we wanted something to fix up and make our own. Our kitchen was dark, ugly, and closed in. No matter how often/well I scrubbed the fridge, it smelled like garlic, and the OLD electric stove/oven burned everything.
The first thing we did was remove the existing linoleum and carpet in the adjacent family room. We lived on sub floor for almost a month because while the floor was up we tore down a wall between the formal dining room and the kitchen. With 4 kids under the age of 10, and a dog, it was a challenge to say the least.
Finally, we were prepped to install prefinished hardwood flooring that matched the hardwood throughout the rest of the house. So, we ripped out all of the rest of the cabinets, demo’d the soffit, and installed the floor in a little over a weekend. Once the floors were in, we started installing cabinets that we had ordered from Home Depot. They’re technically ‘in-stock’ cabinets, but we had to order ours since we wanted 36 inch upper cabinets, and a few drawer configurations that they didn’t offer in the store for some of our lower cabinets.
Originally, I wanted to have my brother-in-law help my husband make concrete counters (he is a concrete finisher by trade) but we worried about the weight being supported enough, particularly because our island is pretty big. So, we went with Silestone counters in the color “cement.” The counters were installed the day before Christmas Eve (you can imagine my stress level!). My husband Jake installed a marble subway tile backsplash that goes all the way to the ceiling.
Obviously, we got all new appliances (Kitchen Aid). The lighting is warehouse lighting and an outdoor light. The red counter stools are from Overstock. The open shelving was made with bits and pieces that Jake found at Home Depot. The corbels were actually ordered from the same company that we got our cabinets from.
The whole project took more time than I had hoped for, but with four littles and Jake and I doing all the work ourselves, that is to be expected. I still can’t believe that this is my kitchen! Hope you enjoy! -Beth
Thanks so much to Beth and Jake for sharing their beautiful kitchen! You can read and see more about the project on Beth’s blog. Didn’t they do an amazing job? It doesn’t even look like the same room. Let’s play the favorite part game (Sherry and I both picked those killer stools). I have to admit they’re giving me some ideas for ours…
Reader Redesign: A Welcome Change
Sometimes it’s so easy to forget little spaces like entryways, hallways, closets, etc. That’s why we love Mandi’s complete transformation of her entryway, which we originally discovered when Sherry pinned her awesome ceiling paint treatment over on her home away from home (yes, as a guy I still don’t quite understand the magic of Pinterest but then again Sherry doesn’t quite understand the magic of Angry Birds). Anyway, back to Mandi’s entryway makeover. Here’s her story:
I’ve spent the last week and a half making over my entryway and I am dying to show you! This is what it looked like before the makeover:
And here’s the after. I love it.
The hands down greatest thing in here is the tandem bicycle art by Jonathan from Olson Ink. All I did was tell him that I wanted a tandem old school bike in cobalt and white. He painted it on a 8’x4’x1” plywood with a wood veneer. The wood was stained a light Honey Blonde color before he started painting. Then when he was all done he cut it into 5 sections.
The credenza was a find that my mother-in-law spotted about a year ago for only $35.00. Its probably from the 50’s and not one thing has been changed on it. Sometimes you can really score a great piece that just needs a good wipe down! It is made out of metal so its really industrial but, helllllllo it’s teal. Its like a combo made in mismatched heaven.
All of the books and odds and ends as well as the lamp were found thrifting. The cute little stool was a $10.00 Craigslist find and it gives it the raw industrial push that the space needed.
And then there is of course the herringbone ceiling. Oh how I love it. But it would not be as awesome without Octy the Purple Chandelier.
Ol’ Octy is still one of the best thrifting finds I have ever happened across (painted in Krylon’s Rich Plum).
Thanks so much for, Mandi! Isn’t that such a fun space to come home to? I mean, hello – BIKE ART. Everything from the colorful spray painted chandelier to that killer herringbone ceiling is definitely smile-worthy. And $35 for that teal metal credenza = jackpot (and yes, that is the first time I have ever typed credenza). You can read more about the makeover on Mandi’s blog. And feel free to chime in with your favorite part. Mine is obviously the bike art. But that ceiling has Sherry doing all sorts of happy dances over here.
Psst- Clara met Santa! And it was quite the adventure (she apparently went through a roller-coaster of emotions from being nervous and excited to feeling some sweet affection for her cousin). More on that here.
Reader Redesign: Small, Simple, And Striped
We’re so impressed with how much style Marianne packed into such a small room. So for anyone out there struggling with the small space blues (our last bedroom was tiny with no closets – so we can totally relate!) hopefully this will inspire you! Enough chit chat, here’s Marianne’s letter:
I gave the smallest room in our house a total makeover. And when I say small, I mean small:
The room is barely even 4 square meters big (about 43 square feet if I’m not mistaken) but I feel I still managed to give the space some oomph and character. Since I know you guys love living a ‘simple’ life without a lot of unnecessary clutter I thought you might appreciate it too!
The bookcase I used is an old Ikea Billy bookcase that I gave a new life by turning it into a built-in.
Almost all of the other bigger and smaller projects where done using thrift shop finds or by revamping old objects that I found in my own basement or attic.
Since I live in the Netherlands I don’t think sharing paint names or resources would be of much help to you, especially as I ended up mixing my own colors anyway. But I hope you and your readers enjoy it! – Love from the Netherlands, Marianne
Oh and you can get more info on Marianne’s blog. Of course we were crushing on the subtle striped walls (they remind us of the ones we added to our first house’s bathroom). Ah memories. Oh and did you notice there was also a key leaning in front of a map in a printer press letterbox? This room’s just a few dozen white ceramic animals short of the Dutch version of us!
Psst- Just wanted to make sure that everyone in or near Portlandia is planning to check out The Portland Bazaar (Grace Bonney is one of its founders) this weekend on the 10th and 11th! We hear it’s going to be full of crafty slash DIY goodness, so we wanted to shout it out for you West Coasters. Wish we had time for a Portland road trip...
Reader Redesign: Dreaming Of A White Kitchen
Lately lots of the submissions that we’ve been getting are kitchen related, and you know we’re in the kitchen mindset these days… so we’re happy to share. Jasmine & Sam’s remodel wooed us with their use of white on white with tons of texture and a sleek clean feeling. And when it comes to function, we’re really impressed by how the addition of more upper cabinets and details like molding and trim elevated (both literally and figuratively) the entire room. Here’s Jasmine and Sam’s email:
Hey guys! My family and I just had our one year anniversary in our new house and I thought to send you some pics of our new kitchen. We actually did almost all of the projects in our house makeover on our own. Luckily, we are a handy pair.
The kitchen cabinets were maple, in a shaker style. We ordered a second set of cabinets from a local company (Summerhill Kitchens) for the top row to match the bottom row and sent all the doors to an automotive painter friend of ours who sprayed them in Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. I painted the gables, and stretchers, and anything else that was nailed down with a foam roller. The big splurge was new appliances – all Vikings. Love them. A Lot. Not Sam’s favourite things to install, but totally worth it (we saved money by having him install them all).
The backsplash is a white beveled subway tile. They were a great bargain (around 60 cents each) from here. The floor was a combination of birch hardwood and the ugliest shag you’ve ever seen. Not only was it ugly, it really broke the space up. After ripping it all out, we laid an engineered walnut floating floor on top throughout the whole main floor. We bought it from an auction that sells flooring a few times per year, so the flooring ended up being an unbelievable $1.50/sq ft (including underlay). Oh and the stools are from Crate & Barrel.
The wall colour is Antique White and the cabinets and trim are Simply White by Benjamin Moore matched to Home Depot’s Behr Paint & Primer in One paint. There’s a post in the middle of the kitchen that we really really wanted to remove, but apparently since it holds up the entire house, they told me it had to stay. So we tarted it up with moulding and called it a day. We’re used to it, but I still wish it was gone. Anyways, have fun with your kitchen renos, catch ya later! – Jasmine and Sam
Anyone else think Jasmine and Sam need to start a blog so we can learn more about their renovations? They look like quite the stylish duo. And I for one, love that coffee table above. Here’s hoping they can drop in and answer any comment questions that you guys have here. And in the meantime, let’s play the what’s-your-favorite-part-game. I’m digging the extra cabinetry they added along with those cool stools. And Sherry’s drooling over those shiiiiny counters and that gleaming backsplash.
Psst- We (finally) shared our road-tripping Thanksgiving adventures with friends, family, and food over on Young House Life. Find those deets here.
Psssst – We just put our dining table and six chairs from our first house on Craigslist (it’s from Target, is in great condition, and is about four years old). More deets here.
Reader Redesign: Media Magic
Is there anything better than a beautiful, functional, and DIY-ed piece of furniture? Arguably yes (a free car full of money?), but not much. So we loved getting Kim & Scott’s email about the built-in media wall that they constructed with a couple of friends. Not only was it custom built to perfectly fit the space, it saved them at least $450 (many similar units go for $750+ and theirs was $252 to build). Here’s Kim and Scott’s letter:
We started out with a very green accent wall, and over time we began to layer in a few new pieces to the living room (a shaggy rug, a Craigslist coffee table, etc). After said changes, we grew weary of the bold wall and figured that if we were going to change the wall color – what the heck! – we should just create a whole new media wall. Of course, right?
So with the help of some friends in another state, our road-tripping wall made it’s way back to Chicago where she was finished up, styled, and enjoyed. We have a tiny city condo, and the media center, although much larger than our last one, actually saves space, looks built in, and completes our room. Thank you for continuing to inspire with your many projects – large and small! -xx, Kim & Scott
Isn’t that awesome? We love the flip-down wood drawers and the perfectly customized shelves (and you know Sherry’s sweating that yellow ceramic horse – that’s a jersey term that she taught me by the way). Thanks for sharing Kim and Scott! For more photos or to learn more about the process of creating their built-in, check out their blog. This is just the kick in the butt that we need to upgrade our own media cabinet situation. As soon as we get a bit more accomplished in our counter-less kitchen…
