Last week we got the call. Our cabinets are on their way! They’re arriving on Monday the 26th- which means we’re finally able to schedule all the installation details. So now it’s looking like we’ll have a kitchen before the end of the year. Happy New Year to us. When we first walked into Home Depot eons ago (i.e. September) we knew two things about our cabinets: we wanted white and we wanted KraftMaid. White because, duh, our dream kitchen says so. KraftMaid because our friend who works for a home decorating magazine swears by them. They’re close to the most expensive cabinet brand both Home Depot and Lowe’s carry, but Nancy Kulik CKD agreed
Finally Fall
Feels like it has taken a while for autumn to hit Richmond, but it’s finally here in full force. Its late arrival probably means it won’t be long ’til all the yellows, oranges and maroons are replaced with brown and more brown, so we were sure to capture the fall colors on film while we could. Enjoy!
Turning Vacation Photos Into Art
With a house full of newly painted neutral walls, we’re psyched to have plenty of rooms begging for some art. So hopefully you’ll start to see several posts about good artsy-fartsy finds. We’re starting with a John & Sherry original. When we went on our Alaskan honeymoon in July we took tons of memorable photos, including the one below during a private seaplane flight to a remote volcano several miles outside of Anchorage (yep, I said volcano in Alaska). That field of blue and black in the foreground is a glacier speckled with deposits of volcanic ash. Definitely not something you see everyday. On a whim, I desaturated the pic in Photoshop to see what
Hunting For Granite For Our Kitchen Remodel
Do you ever feel like there are too many options in the world? If so, DO NOT attempt to pick out new counters. Or just make sure you’ve got a wifey with extensive internet research skills. (And if you don’t, hands off – this one’s mine). Here’s what I learned from Sherry’s quick crash course. Laminate and marble were immediately out of the question. We already had laminate and wanted to upgrade to something more natural and less plastic-y. And as gorgeous as carrera marble can be (we loved it in our inspiration kitchen), it eliminated itself from the mix thanks to being much too expensive (about $100 a square foot) and not nearly as
A House Tour On Video
You’ve seen plenty of photos, but it was ’bout time we got all 21st century up in this mother. Here’s the minimally-anticipated world premiere of our first video house tour. Sherry plays Vanna while I take on the role of Spielberg…and keep an eye out for a cameo by Burger. Enjoy it HERE on YouTube.
How To Fix A Leaky Pedestal Sink
The weekend kicked off with what seemed to be our biggest plumbing project ever. Mainly because it required turning off water to the entire house (which involved me sticking my hand down a muddy, bug-filled hole in the front yard with a tiny wrench as my only weapon.) We were fixing a small leak the floor guys created when they re-installed our bathroom pedestal sink. It couldn’t be fixed by simply turning off the water under the sink because that shut-off valve was the very source of our problem. And the last thing we wanted was a leak onto our new floor. Luckily, we had been able to temporarily tame the leak by turning off
Choosing Mocha Oak Wood Floors From Lumber Liquidators
We got gorgeous new mocha oak flooring from Lumber Liquidators- here’s the whole rundown for you.
Old School
Remember that old wallpaper we found after demoing the chair rail in our dining room turned third bedroom? Well, over the past couple of weeks we’ve uncovered some other “interesting” design choices made by the original owners. For instance, when the kitchen cabinets came down we found this toothpaste green paint under the sink: And when the floor guys took up the layers of linoleum on Monday, they revealed the original faux-brick flooring (to match the faux-brick backsplash, maybe?): I can’t even wrap my mind around how this floor and the paint looked with the knotty pine cabinets and “green monster” appliances. But the kitchen wasn’t the only room showcasing questionable patterns and colors. This
Our Hardwood Floors Are Installed!
Put a fork in ’em, cause they’re done. Actually, on second thought, please don’t get anything sharp or scratchy near the new hardwood floors. It took two full days, but the floors are officially in and officially awesome. It’s mind-blowing how they (along with all the wider doorways) totally enhanced this part of the house. It looks completely and amazingly updated…well, except for the still-gutted kitchen. Here’s documentation of the transformation: Old linoleum covered in construction dust… is now glossy hardwood. 4 different foors in 4 different rooms… become only 2. There’s plenty more to share about the flooring adventure, but it’ll have to wait because right now we’re enjoying our “new wing” too much.
How Lowe’s Can Ya Go?
7:30pm, Monday- SHERRY: Floors are looking great so far, right? JOHN: Definitely. You agree, Burger? (Burger stands in silent agreement) SHERRY: Do you think it’s weird that there’s no baseboard here against the brick? JOHN: No, it’s fine. SHERRY: Yeah, you’re right. It’s fine. 11:00pm, Monday- SHERRY: I’ve been thinking, it is weird that there’s no baseboard there. JOHN: What? No, it looks fi- SHERRY: TOTALLY weird. JOHN: Okay. So what do you want to do? SHERRY: Get a baseboard and have the floor guys install it. JOHN: But the floor guys’ last day is tomorrow and we can’t buy any baseboards tonight because Lowe’s closed an hour ago. SHERRY: Can you get it tomorrow
Our New Whole House Color Scheme
The last couple weeks we’ve had paint on the brain. And this weekend we finally got paint on the walls…and our hands, clothes, hair, etc. We had 3 reasons for the painting extravaganza: Flow: All the widened doorways make the house feel more open and connected, but our old schizophenic paint scheme (which included celedon, turquoise, seafoam, butter yellow, and about three shades of brown) was fighting it. Trend: We’ve seen soothing neutral colors all over design magazines and model homes, so it felt like it was time to ditch the turquoise for a more sophisticated palette. Necessity: All this demo left a lot of things “putty” and “drywall” colored, so almost every room was
Installing New Exterior Porch Lights
We added instant curb appeal with two new porch lights to crisp things up. These affordable fixtures from Lowe’s really made all the difference, check it out!