Kitchen Blinds III

Yes, we're revisiting the kitchen window once again. The first two iterations just weren't working for me. I love the look of roman blinds, but the one I sewed was blocking the natural light. Here's the new one I ordered from Overstock.

Because of the trim on the inside of the window, we couldn't mount the brackets on the inside of each side as we usually do. Instead, the hubs mounted them on the outside face of the trim. At first, it looked awful. The blind is shorter than the window since it was meant to sit on the inside of the trim, so that's exactly what it looked like - a short blind hanging off from a big window.

Then I had an idea! I asked the hubs to hang the curtain rod back up slipping the rod between the valence and the shade.

So now the rod looks like an accessory to the blinds and the roman blinds don't look like they are floating anymore.

These are the same blinds I ordered for the dining room but in a different dimension.

Nevada Timberwolf Roman Blind from Overstock

Quartzite Counter Top

From Decorpad

I think I have my heart set on a quartzite counter top.

To-Do List Fall 2010

We have a few large items on our list and after that I think I'm done for the year.

• Get a new countertop for the kitchen once and for all. We have a friend who is a contractor and we're going to go through him. I'm just too busy to do all the research and deal with Home Depot or Lowe's. He's also going to help "finish" the kitchen walls and make everything look professional. We never finished refining the sanding of the spackle and such, so we're leaving it to him. Yay!
• Shampoo/steam the living room carpet and get the living room decorated once and for all. We never actually decorated our living room. There was just so much else that needed to be done that I never felt like I could decorate until this or that was done first. We've got all the bases covered - new sofa, walls painted, new window treatments and some new furniture so now all it needs is some color and decor on the walls! I'm slowly working on that.
• Clean out all junk in the basement, attic and closets. We have a lot of stuff that we don't use and things we never even unpacked from our move 4 years ago! Last week, we arranged a donation pick up by the VVA. It was awesome. They come right to your door and haul everything away. We donated 12 bags of stuff including clothing, household items, comforters, kitchenware, Christmas stuff and 2 lamps and a table.

I'm going to work on decorating the living room this weekend. My wallet is going to be hurtin'!

Enclosed Porch or Open Porch

In a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living, I saw some pictures of her porch that inspired me to think about our porch. I would love to open it up. I think the house would be so charming with a beautiful white railing and swing.


I especially like her tile or stone floors here. I have been thinking about tiling our floor anyway, so then I questioned whether we should open up the porch and do everything in one shot.

Here's what the house looks like with the porch. Everything, but the 3 columns would be demolished. Then I would want a railing up around the porch and along the stairs.

From the inside of the house looking into the porch. I love how Basil sits there so nicely.

On the other hand, there are lots of advantages of having the enclosed porch - no bug bites, privacy, protection from the cold and snow and keeps people who knock at a distance...But we don't use the porch as much as we could since the walls are up. It blocks our view and we end up sitting on the stairs outside anyway.

What do you think?

Flower Arrangements

We had some friends over this weekend who were new to our house, so I got everything all spiffy looking. To brighten up the place, I took flowers from my garden and made arrangements that I placed in each room of our house. Here are just a few that I made.


This one was by far my favorite. Yellow roses, Lilac Siberian Irises, Lamb's ear and branches of mint leaves.


Knockout Roses in the main dining room.

Yellow roses and lavendar.

Spiderwort and Lamb's ear for the guest bath.

Also, I arranged a cup of Dianthus in the guest bedroom and red roses and irises for the master bedroom. They were so beautiful that my friends took them home. It's so nice to be able to use things from your garden and bring them into your home.

Living Room Decor

Last year, I told myself that I would finally decorate the living room when the kitchen, dining room and half bathroom are nearly complete. Now that the garden is on autopilot, I can concentrate on the living room during the summer.


Capiz Mirror from Target. I want this so badly, but it's out of stock :( There is a round version of this from West Elm, but it's sold out!



Antiqued mirror from Pier1.


Avington Console table from Target. It's nothing fancy, but it matches the TV stand that we already have. As for a console, the drawer and bottom shelf was important for me for storage.


Hemnes Side table from Ikea that I'm thinking about using as a coffee table. Since our living room is very intimate, a full sized coffee table just gets in the way. I want to pair this with an ottoman, so I can put my feet up as I watch TV.


Spring Green Floral Cube storage ottoman from Target.

Walnut Photo Tray for on top of ottoman/coffee table.


Adair Floor lamp from Pottery Barn. These are just for ideas. I like the neck on this lamp since I read a lot and would need it to reach over me.


Leafy Prints from Pottery barn. I would make these myself.

Rug Hunt: For weeks, I have been on a hunt for an area rug for the living room. I want something full of COLOR and contemporary. For one, everything is already beige in our living room. Second, I need it to hold up to all the traffic. I still haven't found what I want and what I do like is way out of my price range. I'm torn because it feels like such a big decision since the rug can be the deciding factor on which way the living room style will go.


Granada rug from Pottery Barn


Safavieh Rug from Target.


Stick Leaf Caroline Rug from Target.

That's it for now. I have plenty more stuff that I've been looking at. It's a slow work in progress...

VID00079.AVI

Click here to view this video

Living Room Updates

It's been a busy month in our first place, but here's quick update of what we've been up to besides the garden. Keith put up crown molding in the living room. I ordered some bamboo blinds for all the windows.



Also, I got some new living room furniture finally!

Next up, new console table, end table, coffee table and wall decor.

Jenny Lind

My imaginary child thinks I should get this for his next little imaginary baby brother or sister.

Genius

So after agonizing over our broken fridge door and doing research for a new purchase, Keith came up with a great idea and "fixed" our fridge!

Fridge doors can open from right to left or left to right. You just have to unscrew the hinges and move them to the other side.

After we went to the Sears Outlet Scratch-n-Dent, a light bulb went off in Keith's head. Why not just move the hinges to the right side of the door? It's the left that is completely worn out.

We went home and he gave it a shot. It's missing a plastic washer which we will have to buy, but otherwise it works! No more holding the door with our knee while we open it! And we just saved ourselves $800-900!

Spring Blooms

The weather is fine and the flowers are a bloomin'! Last fall, I planted red tulips to match my red door and look how pretty it turned out.


There are red tulips bordering both sides of the steps.


Close up of the tulips. (The photo is really blown out, but it's a nice red in person.)


These are some different daffodils that I planted in the Fall. These are so adorable. There are 4 flower heads on one stem.


This daffodil has a double row of petals in two shades of yellow.


This is a peach colored daffodil which also has double sets of petals in two shades of peach. The flower head is a lot larger than the yellow ones too.

I spent a lot of time planning out my flowers so that there would be something blooming each month. The tulips and daffodils comes first. So do the muscari and our cherry blossom. Next fall, I may plant some crocus which can pop up even when there is still frost on the ground. I also picked out late blooming tulips (pink and sorbet colored ones) which will bloom soon, but last longer than the red ones. The irises and peonies are beginning to grow tall. They will bloom in about 3-4 weeks. So will the roses and dogwood tree. The day lilies will bloom all throughout the summer with a second showing on the roses. I divided my one cluster of day lilies into 8 bunches! Yes, EIGHT! I potted them and temporarily placed them where I plan on planting them. I also worked on the veggie beds in the back yard.

How did you spend your weekend?

Raised Garden Bed

Ladies and gents, it's that time of year again! We've moved out home improvements to the outside of our humble abode. If I'm scarce around these parts it's because I'm in the garden.

This weekend on Le Jardin, we'll show you how to build your very own raised garden bed.

We have a bathroon door!

The carpenter came over yesterday and spent the whole day working on it. He trimmed the door, cut and installed all the wood work needed for the opening, and hung the door. Keith installed the door knob and lock hardware.



From the inside.


More "During" photos to come...

How to Paint a 5-panel Door

Today, I painted the door I found in the attic for the half bathroom. We found a carpenter who would do all the door trim and hang the door for us. It works out and costs less than a brand new pre-hung door. Since he's coming tomorrow, I had to finish painting the door today. It's much easier to paint a door while it's down and with no hardware. MUCH easier!


Finished first coat.

For a How-To, use this from This Old House. I LOVE this tutorial!!!


First, clean the door with a damp rag and give it a light sanding. Get in all the crevices.


Using an angled paint brush, paint the "molding". Get in the corners and make sure you don't have any excess painting drips. You want the molding to be defined.


Using a small paint roller meant for doors, paint the "panel" (center rectangular piece) and then the "rails" (the horizontal panels).

Allow the rails to dry a bit before finishing by painting the "stiles" (the two vertical panels on each side). It sounds tedious and you might be wondering why bother? I learned from experience that the results are just better if you paint the door in this methodical manner. The stiles will camouflage any brush/roller marks made from painting the rails.

Maybe tomorrow we'll have a bathroom door! Yay!

The House That Got Away

Listing here.

I was browsing and stumbled upon this house. To my surprise it's up for sale! Keith and I put in a bid for this house when we were house hunting 3.5 years ago. I can't believe the price too. It was priced at $255K when we first saw it. It's only $239K now. I wonder why the owners are selling. The owners had a larger down payment than we had so we lost the house. I was so down when I found out. I loved the kitchen and living room. It was HUGE. I mean HUGE. And it had a garage and stamped patio.

Le sigh

Viva Las Vegas

Okay, so I know this has nothing to do with home improvements but just in case you were wondering, I was in Vegas doing this!



If the flowers look familiar to you it's because they were in my half bathroom! So it has a little to do with the house.

See more at Mariko's website or blog.

Half Bathroom: Cost Breakdown and Resource List

Here's the break down as requested. I budgeted $3,000 for it including labor. If we had done it all ourselves, I budgeted $1500 for materials. Also, a half bathroom like this will add $7,000 to the value of our home in this area.

Cost Breakdown:

Sink Vanity (includes granite counter top, sink & knobs)=$425 Lowe's
Faucet=$60 Lowe's
Toilet=$159 Lowe's
Mirror=$27 Ross
Roman blinds=$20 Home Depot

Door: Using the old one we found in attic

Floor tiles=$75 Lowe's
Grout=$13 Lowe's
Ceramic threshold=$25 Lowe's

4" Crown molding=4x$11 Lowe's
Crown molding corners=4x$5
8'x4' Bead board=6x$23
Chair rail=4x$7.50
6" Baseboard=4x$11

Gloss Paint in "Swan Wing" by Behr=$12 Home Depot
Semi-gloss paint in "Rejuvenate" (green) by Behr=leftover
Primer & Ceiling paint=leftover
Paint Brush=$8
Rollers=$10
Trays=2x$0.69
Spackle=leftover

Nails=$0.50 for a jar of long nails at a yard sale
Box of plastic anchors and screws (only need 2 to hang mirror)=$4
Electrical Outlets=3x$1.00
Outlet Covers=2x$0.65+$1.90
Ceiling light (we did this a while ago)=$10
Caulk=3x$3

Towel Rack=$10 Home Goods
Toilet paper rack=$10 Home Goods
Brown towels=2x$5 Ross
Green patterned towels=$4+$7 Home Goods
Glass pedestal jar=$1.99 on Clearance at Ross
Floor vase=$7.99 Ross
Silk ranunculus=3x$2.69 AC Moore

Things we used that I didn't include in the cost, but you would need if you had to do this yourself from scratch:

• caulk gun, drill, level, taper measure, ladder, spackel knife, spackle, sander (for spackle), nail gun, coping saw, flashlight, shop vacuum, brooms, rags, drop clothes, painter's tape, cleaning products, paper towels, mop.

Materials Cost: $1,156
Labor Cost: $1200 Plumber, $300 Tiler, $120 Electrician = $1620.
Accessories: $40.

TOTAL: $2,816 We just made it!

The tiler was obviously a splurge since we could have done it ourselves as we did the kitchen, but we have NO regrets. It was worth every penny spent and every minute saved! He also leveled the floor for us. The electrician was unexpected, but I guess necessary. His pricing was LOW. I googled plumbers. On HGTV, a girl paid $500 a few years ago. Another company my coworker uses quoted like $3000! Assuming a union worker gets $30/hr (which is low), he was here for 6 days which is $1440, we still made out. Wiki answers this question here. We also upped the ante with a better sink vanity. We could have gone with a cheaper stock cabinet for $200, but we really wanted this bathroom to have a better cabinet since it's the focal point and will be the main bathroom for guests.

My only issue is with the toilet. It's a good quality low flow toilet, but it has a PLASTIC seat cover and lid. I HATE plastic seats and lids. I just don't like them. I didn't think to look for that in the description before we bought it. It doesn't use a lot of water and the tank does fill up quickly. It's a little noisy in my opinion but it's brief so that's ok.

Any questions? So who's inspired to do their own bathroom now? Or did I just scare you away?

Half Bathroom: The Unveiling!

After 11 days, we are ready to unveil the new half bathroom! It's so surreal. We've been talking about doing this from day 1. This room was advertised to be a future half bathroom by the seller and it was always on our mind. For a while, we just didn't have the funds to do it but a second bathroom on the first floor of the house was so crucial.

Before we reveal the bathroom, let's revisit the before picture. I took this picture during our inspection of the house.


Before: Linoleum floors, wood paneling nailed over dry wall painted baby blue, beige colored molding and trim. Old cabinetry and particle board counter top. Curtains, need I say more?

....

Wait for it....

....

....

AFTER!


Picture from the same view.


Sink console, mirror and toilet


Accessories


Floors


Silk ranunculus


Bead board and trim


Basil likes it too.

I'll be back with a resource list.