A New View

 When we redid the kitchen it had a window pass-through to the porch. It was suggested that we wall up the window so that we could have a few more wall cabinets. Our carpenter lamented about covering up the window, but thought it would be unique to leave the exterior wall looking like a window was there, and art could be showcased "in" the former window, or it could be painted. 

The view from the inside of the former kitchen

The view looking into the kitchen

After the kitchen was complete it looked like this:

I looked for ideas online, and thought I'd try to recreate the view to our east. I started the picture and decided I didn't like it. My painting skill is crude, at best, and I was trying to make it look too realistic, and failing mightily.

I liberally painted over it, making the background for a sunrise When I stepped down, I saw that my sunrise must be coming along with an approaching, horrific storm! It was similar to the photo below, but I hadn't put in any trees. The painting, although pretty, was too dark for the area.  (As often happens, I failed to get a picture of it)

I'm better pleased with this attempt. I may work on the transition between the yellow and the blue, and I feel like I need to work on the sun, so that it doesn't look like the cross section of a fireball! But, for now...It's OK!

Making it Ours - The Kitchen

The kitchen in our new/old house is beautiful. It has three large picture windows looking out to the back yard, pasture and the barn. There is another window that opens onto the lanai so it can be used to pass food/drinks back and forth. The windows were great, but that meant there was only one wall for upper kitchen cabinets. The existing cabinets. including the two wall cabinets, were functional. The granite was dark, and there were work areas with little light from the 2 existing florescent fixtures. The refrigerator was large, and had only one door, which made it awkward to open and put food in or out with the opposing island in the way. 

Fast forward (well, maybe not so fast) to our new kitchen. Here are some before and after photos:

The window pass through to the lanai

Our great view into the back of our property

Our only wall cabinets

The "minimalist kitchen"

New cabinets, new countertop and new appliances. 

The window for the pass-through was removed so more wall cabinets could be added. 

 My previous kitchen had far more cabinets and a walk-in pantry. It has been a challenge to organize and store my food, cookware, dishes and glassware, but I think I have it. I have a new double oven and a double-drawer dishwasher. I'm loving them both. Now all that is left is to decide what color to paint the walls in the kitchen. Any suggestions?

The Project - Week 3: Two Steps Forward and One Step Back

 This week was not as productive as I would have liked. We got hung up getting the kitchen and bath cabinets ordered before the deadline....

There are so many choices, and every choice has so many options...

Do I want to store wine bottles and hang wine glasses?

Or would I rather have a plate rack and a cute shelf?

Do I want glass doors...or do I want to hide my junk?

We wanted bath and kitchen cabinets. The sale was going to end.

We had to pick cabinets...NOW!

This is pretty...Honey, what do you think?

Hmm, my hair is a bit of a mess.

Did I remember to brush it this morning?

Do I want roll-outs or drawers?

Do I want light wood? Or dark?

Cherry? Or Maple?

How does one decide?

I can't stand it any more.

I'm going to shut my eyes,

you spin me around and

I'll just point to one!

After a lot of time picking cabinets and planning and measuring and placing them in the diagram it was finally time to pay for them. Eeeek! So, we swipe the magic card and spend the plastic money that we won't be accountable for until later. We look at the receipt. The 'Buy More, Save More' discount is WRONG!

Do you know that it takes less than 30 seconds to spend a chunk of change on cabinets and it takes over an hour, with the help of 2 clerks, 

the kitchen design specialist, 

the installation specialist, 

the sales manager, 

the IT department 

and at least two guys at 'corporate'

to back that sale out of the system???!!!! 

Arrgghhhhh!

We actually had to go back the next day to spend just under $150 to buy one more goo-gaw to bring the total up to the next price bracket to get an additional $400 in savings. I'm not sure who was happier when the sale was final and we walked out the door: my husband, the kitchen design specialist, the store manager or me!



Other accomplishments included:

• Continued demo in the Master Bath. It is now stripped of almost all wall tiles. We'll get to the floor next week - we hope! Oh, and yeah, we'll have to patch or replace some of the sheetrock - getting the tile off made a huge mess of the walls. The mirror is gonna come off too - probably in tons of little pieces.
  

• The refrigerator, washer and dryer that we bought around Thanksgiving were delivered. They currently reside in our bedroom.
• We tore out the knee wall in the kitchen. It turns out that the original blueprints that we used for planning the kitchen cabinet layout did not match the way the kitchen had originally been built.  No problem we can rebuild it. We have the technology. We have the capability....
• The plumber plumbed. He moved a few shut-off valves, created a new drain for the kitchen sink, repaired a broken pipe in the shower and turned the water on. We have running water inside! We can use the bathroom...inside! Woohoo! 
• I listed the old appliances on Craigs List and sold the range, the wall oven and the kitchen sink.

We didn't get to the house on Sunday. The snow made driving too treacherous. Hopefully the roads will be clear this week and we will get more accomplished.