First I want need to say that I am VERY grateful for my handy husband. He is amazing! He may not always like my ideas or want to carry out my ideas, but often times he gives in, rolls up his sleeves, and jumps in to my projects, with a lot of begging and encouragement.
I keep telling Cory I will give him a break, but my mind is full of creative thoughts. Seriously, I will wake up in the middle of the night with some fabulous idea for updating our house. Sickness? Maybe, but it's my passion.
We finished our wall project. This was huge for me. I wanted an open concept feel so we could stay connected as a family even if we were in different rooms. Removing a large portion of the wall made this happen. I am SO happy with how this project turned out. This project made me fall in love with our home. I no longer want to move (unless its South to warmer weather) and if you know me, then you know that is a big deal.
When we finished up the wall project, my focus quickly went to the surrounding rooms. I made a couple small updates to our front entry. I still dream of board and batten in this room, but for now I am loving the new cushion, white mirror, and inviting feel.
My next project got a little out of control. Sorry honey ;-) I sure am glad you love me...
I decided that I wanted to update our kitchen island, a little. My idea started with a new counter. Our island counter had a belly that hung over on two sides, but our kitchen is too narrow for bar stools. This made things very cramped for a family of five. Mornings were a mess.
Don't mind the cluttered counters... I was on a mission.
So I removed the island counter and visualized. A. LOT.
I went to Home Depot and picked up a 24" base cabinet of drawers, then stopped at Menards and picked up a beautiful 8' long butcher block counter. The drawer base is just a builder grade cabinet, but I knew my handy hubby could make it match our custom cabinets. ;-) Luckily we have flat oak front drawers so they should be fairly simple to recreate.
Cory stained the cabinets before connecting them to the existing cabinets. I've attempted staining before, but Cory doesn't even ask me to help anymore. Hmmmm, must not be my strength.
I also picked up a new pendant light from Menards to match the lights that we have hanging in the cutouts in the wall project. I am loving this light. We had a ceiling mounted light before that gave off little light. This pendant really lights up the island counter. It's amazing how something so little can make such a big difference.
Cory attached the cabinets and the butcher block counter. We had to cut the counter down almost a foot to make it work for our space. Having a 7' island is amazing! We love all of the extra work space. Removing the belly from the side also added a lot of open space to our kitchen. We can now pass by each other in front of the fridge and pantry without waiting for the other person to move.
Mornings are happier because of this project.
We left a 6" over hang on the left end of the island. We have plans to put newels there to give the island extra character. It also creates an inviting place to stand (or put a narrow stool - don't tell my husband, he hates stools).
The butcher block is sealed and we are waiting anxiously to start using it again. It takes 72 hours for the seal to cure... waiting... and waiting... and waiting. Isn't it beautiful!
We started removing the old trim around the base of the cabinet. It will have a similar, but much more detailed look when we are done with it.
Here is a little peak at our pile of detailed trim. It's going to be fabulous!
I am very anxious to complete this project. We have Carter's 2nd birthday party planned for the end of this month, but have very full weekends until then.
Think we can have the island project done?! No pressure or anything Cory.
Oh, and I promise after this... I'll try to back off on the new project ideas for a while. Maybe.
Next up: tile backsplash, new wood floors! (sssshhhhh) ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment